"Is not this the Carpenter?" — Mark 6:3.
On the twelve parapets of a bridge in Austria are twelve images of
Christ, in which He is represented as being occupied in various vocations, such
as, Jesus the farmer, Jesus the physician, Jesus the carpenter, and others. In
entering the city, men bow in worship before the image which represents their
craft. It is my desire that we may bow before Jesus the Carpenter.
A big lump — supposedly of stone — lay for centuries in a shallow
brook in North Carolina. People in passing, saw only an ugly lump, and passed
on. A poor man saw a heavy lump, — something good to hold his door ajar, and
took it home. A geologist saw it and found a lump of gold, the largest ever
found east of the Rockies. Many looked upon Jesus in such a way: some see a
Galilean peasant; some, a beautiful life; others see only a man; while a few,
with eyes that are lighted with Divine light, behold Him as the Divine
architect, carpenter, and builder of all things. Jesus' work before He came to
this world and since His departure was, and is, a work of building. In order
that His thirty-three years of earthly ministry might harmonize with His
Pre-incarnate and Post-incarnate work. He must of necessity be a carpenter
while in the flesh. If He had been anything else, God's plan could not have
been fulfilled completely.
Jesus as a carpenter built the world. "All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). You will notice that this verse refers to the creative acts of God. Please remember the words of Jesus: "I and my Father are One" (John 10:30). The God of the Old Testament is the Christ of the New, so that even though the name of Christ does not occur in Gen. 1:1, it is His creative acts that are described. "For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him" (Col. 1:16). "God… hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" (Heb. 1:1, 2).
I believe that this world was created and all things therein by
the Lord Jesus Christ. Evolution can never explain the riddle of the universe.
A lad came rushing home to say, "Now I know where horses come from; Mr.
Shultz, the blacksmith makes them." When his father remonstrated, the boy
said, "I saw him make one." The father said, "Did you see him
make a whole horse?" To which the boy replied, "No, I did not see him
make a whole one; I saw him finishing one up; he was just nailing the shoes on
when I passed by." That is just like evolution. At best it is but a system
of guesses.
"Don't
be discouraged, poor little fly,
You'll
be a chipmunk, by and by
You'll
be a full grown chimpanzee.
Next, I
see with prophet's ken
Then in
the great sweet by and by,
Well be
angels, you and I.
Why
should I swat you, poor little fly?
Prophetic
chum of my home on high.
That's
what Darwin says, not I."
Just look about for Jesus' work as a carpenter. View the world as
His creation. He built every spring that ripples in the sunlight; every stream,
great and small; every lake that mirrors the glory of the down-looking moon;
the swelling whitecaps of all the oceans and the seas. He built every mountain
which adds its grandeur to the world. He made the rock-ribbed canyons of the
west, the peaceful valleys of the east. The hand that built the hardy redwoods
of California is the hand that built the gentle maples of Ohio. The mesquite
bush of Mexico, the cactus of Arizona, the bluegrass of Kentucky, and the date
palm of the sands of the Sahara are all built by the self-same carpenter. The
designer of the universe fashioned the common limestone as well as the
expensive marble and granite. Every rose that sheds its perfume on the desert
air, each slender violet that peeps from beneath the snow, and each hardy,
golden sunflower, Jesus built them all.
Turn your telescope toward the heavens. Behold the gentle moon of
the night as it placidly beams upon earth and water below. Notice each tiny
star, the golden sentinels of the night. Note with Job the sweet influences of
the Pleiades and Orion. View the sun as a great ball of fire in its travels
from the eastern to the western horizon daily, and then turn away to say with
the Psalmist, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth his handy-work" (Psa. 19:1). Surely David must have been thinking
of Jesus as carpenter when he said, "When I consider thy heavens, the work
of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man,
that thou art mindful of him?" (Psa. 8:3, 4). Every ray of sunlight, every
color of the rainbow, and every tint of the sun-kissed sky tells us of Jesus
the designer of the universe.
Turn your telescope toward the interior of the earth. See there
the gold, silver, iron, coal, diamonds, platinum, and quartz. Sometimes it
occurs in pockets; sometimes as dust; again, it is in nuggets; and at other
times it occurs in strata, but always the handiwork of God is seen.
Look at the life of the waters, with its hundreds of specie of
fish. Some beautiful, others hideous; some game, some timid; some, monstrous in
size, while others are so small they must be magnified 400 to 500 times to be
seen; some with fins, others finless; some, useful for food, some the rankest
of poison. Yet, each bears the marks of having come from the hand of God.
Even in the animal world we behold Jesus' work as carpenter.
Compare the slow-footed tortoise with the swift-footed hare; the shrieks of the
noisy jackass with the musical "baa" of the sheep; the agility of the
monkey with the clumsiness of the elephant; the usefulness of the cow with the
uselessness of the warthog; the ferocity of the lion with the gentleness of the
lamb. Each is built exactly as Jesus drew the design.
The birds that fly in the heavens show many marked differences.
The crimson breast of the robin, the sweet songs of the oriole, the chirping of
the chic-a-dee, the destructiveness of the catbird, and the singing of the
canary were all alike planned by the hand of an all-wise Creator.
Then, study the capstone of creation — man himself. Five colors,
hundreds of languages, thousands of diversities, and millions of habits
differentiate the 1,500,000,000 of the human family and Jesus Christ made us
all. There are those who have been troubled believing that God created the
world and all that is therein. No so with me. When I see the beauty and
homogeneity of it all I would have trouble believing that it came otherwise.
Sir Isaac Newton, the Christian scientist, had a friend who was an avowed
infidel. Newton had a mechanic make a replica of the solar system in miniature.
The central, large gilded ball represented the sun; Mercury, Earth, Venus,
Uranus, Saturn, and other planets were arranged so that by turning a crank, the
sun would revolve and the planets revolve about it. The infidel friend began to
admire it and said to Newton, "Who made it?" Newton said,
"Nobody." The infidel quickly turned and said, "Evidently you
did not understand me; I said, 'Who made it?'" Newton said,
"Nobody." The man said, "I'm no fool; I know that someone had to
make it." Newton said, "This is but a poor imitation of the grander
system which we know; you will not believe but that this had a maker, yet you
are willing to say that the original came into being without either designer or
maker."
Jesus as carpenter built the Bible. Twenty-six hundred times the
Old Testament prophets and five hundred twenty-five times the New Testament
writers assert that their words are the words of God. Numerous statements occur
such as, "The Lord spoke unto Moses," "Thus saith the
Lord," or "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah." "For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Pet. 1:21). "All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:16).
"And Moses . . . said unto them. These are the words of which the Lord
hath commanded" (Ex. 35:1).
When Columbus discovered the Orinoco River, someone said that he
had discovered an island. He replied, "No such river flows from an island.
That mighty torrent must drain a continent." It is thus with the Bible. No
man could have written it if he would and no man would have written it if he
could. It must have come from Jesus.
The Bible was written on two continents and was printed in three
languages; its composition extended through 16 centuries. It was written by
forty men at different times and places and under the most varying
circumstances. It was written in tents, deserts, cities, palaces, and dungeons.
It was written by kings, judges, priests, prophets, physicians, patriarchs,
prime ministers, herdsmen, scribes, soldiers, and fishermen. Yet in spite of
all these differences, it is one Book, with one system of doctrine, one code of
ethics and one plan of salvation. Suppose we were to select forty men of
different walks of life today to write a book on theology or church government,
and were to put them in different rooms. Their completed book would be so
diverse that it would take steel binding to hold it together. The differences
of the writers would be even far greater if they were separated by centuries as
were the Bible writers. Yet in the case of the Bible, there is unity and
harmony. It is a volume of sixty-six books written with such perfect accord and
unison that we know that it must have been Jesus Himself who placed the words
in the mouths of the prophets. Many human mouths and hands spoke and penned the
words of the Bible, but behind all was Jesus' guiding, overruling and
controlling.
Shall we suppose that there is a man upon the earth who has lived
for 6,000 years and that he has been thrown into the sea to be drowned; he has
been compelled to drink every deadly poison; he has been locked in prisons and
dungeons and has been bound in iron chains; he has been crucified until his
friends thought him dead; hundreds of times he has been burned at the stake,
yet he lives. Such a person would be a superman. This is precisely the
treatment which the Bible has received. Does this not prove that the Bible is
superman? The fact that it lives despite all opposition, unmistakably proves
that it is not of man but of God and that Jesus the carpenter built the Bible.
You can find evidences of Jesus as the builder of the Bible in the
entire book.
In Genesis, He is Shiloh and seed of woman.
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus, He is the High Priest.
In Numbers, He is the Star out of Jacob.
In Deuteronomy, He is prophet like unto Moses.
In Joshua, He is captain of the Lord's host.
In Judges, He is the messenger of Jehovah.
In Ruth, He is our Kinsman.
In Samuel, He is the Lord and seed of David.
In Kings and Chronicles, He is the Lord of lords and King of
kings.
In Ezra and Nehemiah, He is Lord of Heaven and earth.
In Esther, He is the mighty God, who cares for His people.
In Job, He is our risen Redeemer.
In Psalms, He is the perfect all-in-all.
In Proverbs, He is the wisdom of God.
In Ecclesiastes, He is the preacher.
In Song of Solomon, He is fairest among ten thousand.
In Isaiah, He is the suffering servant.
In Jeremiah, He is the Lord our Righteousness.
In Lamentations, He is the Man of Sorrows.
In Ezekiel, He is high priest of God on earth.
In Daniel, He is the ancient of days.
In Hosea, He is the risen Son of God.
In Haggai (and other minor prophets). He is the desire of the
nations.
In Malachi, He is the Sun, our Righteousness.
In Matthew, He is the King of the Jews.
In Mark, He is the perfect servant.
In Luke, He is the man whose name is the Branch.
In John, He is the Son of God.
In Acts, He is the ascended Lord and Christ.
In Romans, He is the Lord of our Righteousness.
In Corinthians, He is first fruits from the dead.
In Galatians, He is author of Paul's apostleship.
In Ephesians, He is the head of the church.
In Philippians, He is the believer's pattern.
In Colossians, He is the fullness of the godhead bodily, or the
All-in-all.
In Thessalonians, He is the Coming One.
In Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, He is the sovereign of
His servants; the Head of His churches.
In Hebrews, He is our great High Priest.
In James, He is the Lord of Glory.
In Peter, He is the chief comer stone and the example of
suffering.
In John, He is the Advocate for His little children.
In Jude, He is the keeper from Apostasy.
In Revelation, He is the coming one.
S. D. Gordon tells of a Christian lady whose age began to tell on
her memory. Though she had been a great Bible student, eventually all of it
went from her memory save only, "I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day" (II Tim. 1:12). As her last days continued all she could
remember of this passage was, "That which I have committed unto Him."
And on her deathbed all she could recall was "Him" and she kept
saying this to herself — "Him, Him, Him." She had lost the whole
Bible but one word, but she had the whole Bible in that one word.
Jesus as carpenter built the church. "And Jesus answered and
said unto him. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto
thee that thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:17, 18). In spite of
these words of Jesus, there are many heretical and hetrodoxical souls who say
that the church was founded on the day of Pentecost. I do not think that it can
be too strongly argued that Jesus built the church in the days of His flesh. On
the day of Pentecost 3,000 souls were added to the church. "Then they that
gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41). If one says that he is going
to add $100 to his bank account, it argues and implies that he now has a bank
account. Accordingly since 3,000 souls were added on the day of Pentecost, then
surely the church was in existence before that memorable day.
Shortly after Jesus first mentioned the church. He gave to it a
rule of discipline. "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee,
go and tell him his fault between thee and him. alone: if he shall hear thee
thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee
one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but
if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican" (Matt. 18:15-17). He does not say that this was the rule of
discipline for the future church nor for the church that was to be organized at
Pentecost. Rather He said, "Tell it unto the church," as it to imply
emphatically that the church already existed.
In prophecy it is stated of Jesus, "In the midst of the
church will I sing praise unto thee" (Heb. 2:12). The only time that Jesus
ever sang in the church was when He instituted the Lord's Supper, at which time
it was said, "And when they had sung a hymn they went out unto the Mount
of Olives" (Mark 14:26). Please remember that this was not only prior to
the day of Pentecost; but it even antedated His death.
Do not the Scriptures likewise tell us that the Apostles were in
the church before Pentecost. In fact the first members of His church were the
Apostles. "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles" (I
Cor. 12:28). These were chosen in the beginning of Jesus' ministry which would
emphatically say to us that Jesus built His church in the days of His personal
ministry.
Jesus as carpenter built the inter-world bridge. I mean by this,
the bridge which spans the chasm between Heaven and earth. Note these
Scriptures, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures"
(I Cor. 15:3). ". . . And without shedding of blood is no remission"
(Heb. 9:22). "For he hath made him who knew no sin; to be sin for us, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Cor. 5:21).
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we,
being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed" (I Pet. 2:24). "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (I Pet. 3:18).
Such a bridge spanning earth and heaven had been prophesied since the fall of
man in the Garden of Eden. When Christ died upon the cross, that bridge was
completed, for Jesus who was God in the flesh, the perfect man, the perfect
God, joined heaven and earth which had become separated at the Garden of Eden.
When the famous Brooklyn bridge was constructed two architects
were prostrated. One was slain by his toils, the other became a life invalid.
To build the inter-world bridge required the death of the Divine architect. The
blood of Jesus had to be spilt.
The first time I visited Niagara Falls I was tremendously
interested in the tradition concerning the Seneca Indians who once lived in the
neighborhood of Niagara Falls. Each year they made an offering to propitiate
the Spirit of the falls. The offering was a beautiful maiden. On a bright
moonlight night, in a white canoe, filled with flowers, deer, and fruits, she
would push out into the stream, and the current would carry her to her death.
The daughter of the chief was chosen one year. As the Indians waited in their
canoes just above the precipice over which the water drops, the old chief saw
the current carrying his daughter swiftly to her destruction. With a few swift
strokes of his paddle he brought his own canoe along side that of his daughter.
There was a look of infinite love, a swift embrace and both went over the falls
together. He loved his daughter too much to see her take the death journey
alone; that was real love. But the story lacks the superlative element. It
would have been far better had the chief stepped into the boat and died for his
daughter. It may be fine to die with another, but far better to die for
another. That was what Christ did. When humanity's boat was about to drift over
the falls. He placed the feet of the doomed race safely on shore and went down
into the rapids alone, thus bridging the gulf between earth and heaven and
destroying the chasm which separated God and man.
Jesus as carpenter is building Heaven now. "Let not your
heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house
are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a
place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also" (John
14:1-3). The Lamb who built the inter-world bridge has gone away to build for
each of the elect, a mansion in Heaven. If you are one of God's elect, then the
title to it is yours; you are absolutely sure of it; no one can prevent you
from inhabiting it; what a glorious day it will be when you cross its
threshold.
Jesus is now selecting, marking, preparing and finishing that home
for you. A Sunday School teacher asked what was Jesus' work while on earth.
Someone said, "He was a carpenter." "And what did he
build?" was asked, "Why houses, I suppose." "And,"
said an old saint, "Thank God, He is still building them; He is preparing
a mansion for me."
When the Franco-Prussian War broke out a young lieutenant of the
Prussian army told the girl he loved that when he returned he would take her to
the home that he would provide for her. When the war was over and the troops
returned to Berlin in triumphant procession, Julie stood by her gate waiting
for her lover who was sleeping beneath the sod of a foreign land. "But he
must come: he said he would," she kept saying to herself. So she watched
for forty years in all kinds of weather, day by day. Then her mind was turned;
she fell ill waiting for him, was carried to the hospital where she died. Thank
God, Jesus is providing a home for us and will not disappoint us! His coming is
made possible by His going, for He said, "If I go, I will come again"
(John 14:3).
Are you ready for His coming? If not, then heed the words of
Jesus, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15).
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified."
— Rom. 8:29, 30.
The whole Bible from Gen. 1:1 to Rev. 22:21 pulsates with the
infinite greatness and majesty of God. In the Scriptures man is minified and
God is magnified. This is much in contrast with modern theology, for much of
our preaching today glorifies man and puts God in a very insignificant place.
Some time ago, a popular preacher announced for his subject one Sunday morning,
"God's Duty to Man." Ah, dear me, as if God owed man anything! And
who is man? Who are you? Who am I? Just one of 1,500,000,000 like you that
inhabit the globe today. Not very big are you? Just one out of 1,500,000,000.
And what is this globe? Just a small part of the universe and so small at that,
that if the sun were hollowed out, you could pour 1,200,000 earths like ours
into it and there would still be room to rattle around. And what is the sun?
Just one of 350,000,000 known suns and stars. And God made them all.
Do you wish your size stated with mathematical accuracy? Divide
one by 1,500,000,000; and that by 1,200,000; and that by 350,000,000; and that
by infinity; and that's you! And how great is God? Multiply one by
1,500,000,000; and that by 1,200,000; and that by 350,000,000; and that by
infinity; and that's God!
Oh, how mighty is God and how puny is man! Perhaps no Scripture
more clearly teaches this than does our text, for it breathes, and throbs, and
swells with the majesty of God. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and whom he called, them he also justified and whom he justified, them
he also glorified" (Rom. 8:29,30).
I like to think of our text as a great chain of five golden links,
fastened in eternity past, stretched through time, and anchored in eternity to
come, each link magnifying God.
The first link is God's Foreknowledge. "For whom he did
foreknow" (Rom. 8:29). This is the very thing which man lacks. As an example,
who knows what the weather may be like tomorrow. We may be able to give a
shrewd guess as to the future but one thing is positive — we lack knowledge.
What man lacks. God possesses. "Known unto God are all his works from the
beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).
Every event of our lives is known to God; and was known even
before the world began. In the days of His flesh, Jesus declared that He knew
the time and manner of Simon Peter's death. "Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou
wouldest: but when thou shall be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and
another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake
he, signifying by what death he should glorify God" (John 21:18,19). Jesus
in this passage declared the manner of Peter's death as that of crucifixion,
and the time of it, when Peter should be old. Since Jesus knew the time and
manner of Simon Peter's death, I am led to believe that He likewise knows the time
and manner of death of each of us. In fact there never is an event in our lives
that He does not foreknow.
"God
moves in a mysterious way
His
wonders to perform;
He
plants His footsteps in the sea,
And
rides upon the storm.
"Deep
in unfathomable mines
Of
everlasting skill,
He
treasures up His bright designs,
And
works His sov'reign will.
"Ye
fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The
clouds ye so much dread
Are
big with mercy, and shall break
In
blessings on your head.
"Judge
not the Lord by feeble sense,
But
trust Him for His grace;
Behind
a frowning providence
He
hides a smiling face.
"His
purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding
every hour;
The
bud may have a bitter taste,
But
sweet will be the flow'r.
"Blind
unbelief is sure to err,
And
scan His works in vain;
God
is His own interpreter,
And
He will make it plain."
The second link of this text is Predestination. "For whom he
did foreknow, he also did predestinate" (Rom. 8:29). Predestination and
election! What words are these! So seldom are they heard today in the average
church that they sound as though we had borrowed a phrase from some dead
language of the past.
Predestination! What a marvelous doctrine, though little taught
today! Why before the foundation of the world. God chose some to Salvation.
"I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought
me not: I said. Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my
name" (Isa. 65:1). "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain" (John 15:16). ". . . and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). "According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). "But we are
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (II Thess. 2:13).
"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit" (I Pet. 1:2).
God has through the ages worked on the basis of election. God
chose Abel, and rejected Cain. God chose Shem as the line through which the
Messiah must come; at the same time He rejected Ham and Japheth. God chose
Isaac and rejected Ishmael. God chose Jacob and rejected Esau. "As it is
written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." "Nay but, 0 man,
who art thou that replies! against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed it. Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay,
of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured
with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; and that
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy; which he
had afore prepared unto glory" (Rom. 9:13 . . . 20-23). God chose Abraham
alone and rejected all his idolatrous relations. "Hearken to me, ye that
follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye
are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham
your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed
him, and increased him" (Isa. 51:1, 2).
God chose the Jews for His people as a nation. Read Gen. 12:1-3.
The Egyptians were far wiser. The Chaldeans were more ancient. Yet God chose
Israel. Why? "For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have
even called thee by thy name: I have sumamed thee, though thou hast not known
me" (Isa. 45:4).
God has gathered out in the past 1000 years practically all His
own from the Anglo-Saxon race. The Chinese practice a nobler system of
morality. India has thrice America's population. Why hast He chosen thus?
"Even so. Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight" (Matt. 11:26).
There are many objections offered by the carnal man to the
doctrine of predestination. Often do we hear it said that it is so mysterious.
I am ready to grant that it is beyond the power of man to understand it.
However, there are many things which we can never grasp. I cannot understand
why God permitted sin. I cannot understand the many inequalities of the human
race. I cannot understand the procreation of life. I cannot understand how God
saves. I cannot understand why that hogs, cows, geese and sheep eat grass and
yet it produces bristles, hair, feathers and wool on the back of each
respectively. I can only bow before God to hear Him say, "For my thoughts
are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways, for as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:8,9).
Again there is the objection concerning the doctrine of election
that God is unjust. May I remind you that salvation isn't a matter of justice
but of grace: "For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8).
If we received justice we would all spend eternity in Hell. It is best that God
should elect some then that all should perish. It is also objected, why preach
the gospel since God has elected some to be saved. We are to preach it because
God commanded us to do so. "And he said unto them, go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Preaching is
the means God uses for the saving of His elect. "It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21). Since I
do not know who the elect are, it is my duty to preach the gospel to all as
though each man were one of God's elect and then wait on God to do the saving.
The third link in this chain is that of God's Calling.
"Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called" (Rom. 8:30)
In a general sense God calls every one. "That was the true light, which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). However, there
is an effectual call which only the elect hear. Through His goodness God calls
sinners to Him. "Or despiseth thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance
and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to
repentance?" (Rom. 2:4). Likewise He uses the Bible. "Say unto them,
as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked;
but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil
ways; for why will ye die, 0 house of Israel?" (Ezek. 33:11). Sometimes He
uses our troubles to call us. I once conducted a funeral of a little babe that
had left its baby clothes to live with God. After we had heaped up the little
mound, the grief-stricken father of the little babe said, "Tell me pastor
will I ever see my darling baby again?" God had thus given that little
grave a voice and it was calling that hardened man to repentance. A few years
ago in listening to the radio, a news commentator told of a vessel which
overturned, throwing the only occupant of the small boat into the water when he
was returning home at the close of his day's fishing. It was very dark and in
the water he became confused and began swimming in the wrong direction. Just
then his daughter came out of the door of his home and called to her father,
not knowing of his plight in the water. When the light shined out through the
open door and he heard the voice of his daughter he turned and swam to shore.
If she had not called, he would have died. So it is with us. If God had not
called us, each of us would perish in Hell.
The fourth link of this chain is Justification. "Whom he
called, them he also justified" (Rom. 8:30). Long years ago we find Job
saying, "I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with
God" (Job 9:2). What Job was grasping at and desirous to know, we learn
through the New Testament Scriptures. "And by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of
Moses" (Acts 13:39). "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:28). "Knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith
of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified" (Gal. 2:16). "Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth" (Rom. 8:33).
Justification is just the opposite of condemnation. Each of us who
are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ are justified sinners. We are not
sinners paroled but we are sinners justified. The fact and fear of condemnation
are gone.
How we do rejoice when we learn that that which has been justified
by God can never be condemned by man or the Devil. "For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38, 39).
The fifth link of this glorious chain is Glorification. "And
whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Rom. 8:30). In eternity past
God foreknew us and elected us unto Salvation. In time God calls and justifies
those whom He has foreknown and elected. But in eternity to come He will
glorify all those whom He foreknew and elected in eternity past and called and
justified in time.
Glorification! What a wonderful doctrine! All fleshly nature and
habits will be gone from the body of each of the redeemed. There will be
nothing to tempt nor clog. "And as we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (I Cor. 15:49). "Who
shall change our vile body, according to the working whereby he is able even to
subdue all things unto himself" (Phil. 3:21). "Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is"
(I John 3:2).
What a marvelous text is this which we have been considering:
foreknowledge, election, calling, justification and glorification. How can all
this come to pass and who is it that brings it to pass? It is none other than
the Lord Cod. Thus we are compelled to say that salvation in every respect is
an act of God. There is no room for human effort, no place for priestly
meditation, no room for good works on the part of man, nor is there any place
for religious ordinances and services.
Long years ago a disobedient prophet named Jonah went to school in
the belly of a whale where he learned what we choose to call, "whale belly
theology." When he had graduated and hung up his sheepskin, he just knew
one text, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). May God grant that
you, too, might learn that it is "God that justifies" and may you
trust His Son now as your Saviour for time and eternity.
"The
stars shall shine for a thousand years
A
thousand years and a day;
But God
and I shall live and love,
When
the stars have passed away."
"There is a God in Heaven." — Daniel 2:28
There was a time in this world's history when there was no true church. Can you imagine a world without a true New Testament church? There was a time when there was no Bible. When we consider the comfort, the joy, and the instruction which it gives, it seems pathetic to us to think there was a time when there was no Bible. There was a time when there was no sin. Originally man was placed in the Garden of Eden with perfect human righteousness. When man was living in the Garden without sin, dwelling in constant fellowship with God, the sweetest music that could ever fall on human ears tell on Adam's when God spoke to him face to face and he heard God's voice. There was a time when there was no man. Imagine, if you can, an earth with no man to till the soil. Not even one of the 1,500,000,000 of earth's population existed then. There was a time when there was no Devil. When we recall the tragedy, the wreck and the ruin wrought in the human family, the earth, and the Church of Jesus Christ, how we rejoice that once upon a time there was no Devil. There was even a time when there was no earth. Actually this world did not exist. So accustomed are we to it that it seems almost impossible for us to imagine that there could have been a time when the earth was not. Though there was a time when there was no church, no Bible, no sin, no man, no Devil, no earth, there never was a time when there was no God. For God has always existed. "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" (Psa. 90:1,2).
A wise man one day was asked, "What is God?" Realizing
the profundity of the question and the importance of his answer, he requested time
for mediation. At the end of one day, he declared that the subject was too vast
and asked that the time be extended to three days. At the end of three days the
answer was the same, that the subject was too deep for him to comprehend it in
so short a time and requested six days for meditation. At the end of the six
days he asked for two weeks. At the end of two weeks he asked for a month, and
at the end of a month he asked for a year, and at the end of a year he asked
for a life time. The subject was simply too vast and too profound for the mind
of man to comprehend.
In view of the vastness of this subject we approach with timidity
the question, "Is God dead?"
The infidel answers this question with an emphatic affirmative to
declare that God is not only dead but there is no God and that never has there
been a God. How such a one can live in this world and still deny the existence
of God is beyond my comprehension! Over at North Benton, Ohio, there lived an
infidel, notorious for his blasphemy of God and his dishonest dealings with
man. He held a mortgage on pretty nearly everyone's property in that section.
Through his dishonest financial dealings, he amassed quite a fortune. When he
attended services
at the little Presbyterian church house at North Benton on rare
occasions, his presence caused a frigidity to come over the entire
congregation. Before his death he decided to build a tomb for himself. Wanting
an inscription for the door of this tomb he went to a poet in that section and
paid him $10 in advance for a suitable small poem which would be placed on the
door of his vault. A few days later the poet delivered him the following lines:
"This
is the grave of Chet Bedell,
Here
lies his body, his soul's in Hell."
Somehow the infidel seemed to think that that was an unsuitable poem and sued the poet for the recovery of the $10. The court returned the verdict in favor of the poet, who in turn sued the old infidel for libel and won a judgment of $50,000 against him. This experience dampened his spirit as to the vault and he then decided to build a monument in life-size form which he erected in the cemetery in North Benton, Ohio. The monument depicts him with his feet trampling on the Bible and in one of his upraised hands is a scroll with these words, "Universal Mental Liberty." Before he died he wrote in his will, "If there be any truth in the Bible or in the things which I have denied; let my grave be inhabited by snakes." When he had died and they started to dig his grave the workman had to kill several snakes. When his body was lowered into the grave a snake fell down in the grave along side the casket. From that time on the grave has apparently been a mound which has been infested by snakes. All around the base of his monument are the holes where they enter the ground to live beneath his monument. It is not uncommon for one to find snakes on top of the ground stretched out on his grave at any time during the summer days. When I visited the community wherein this infidel formerly lived and began to inquire for the cemetery and Chet Bedell's grave, a native grinned and said: "You are looking for snakes aren't you?" Another a little later on said, "Well if old Chet Bedell asked for snakes he sure got them." I gathered from this experience when I visited North Benton, Ohio, three years ago that God had answered this infidel who declared that God was dead and who blasphemously said that there was no God.
Here's the question we have before us, "Is God dead?"
The agnostic says, "I don't know." The skeptic says, "I doubt if
He is alive; I think that He is dead; I am not positive; I am in a fog of
doubt." The materialist says, "I believe in only material things; I
have no time for spiritual things in my life; therefore, there is no God; God
is dead."
Suppose we observe our church members for an answer to the
question, "Is God dead?" Frankly, if we judge by the life which the
average church member lives we must conclude that God is dead. The majority of
church members think nothing of staying away from the house of God with only
the slightest pretext or perhaps no excuse at all. Many go camping and
picnicking on the Lord's Day. The lives of many are filled with the filthiest
of sins. Gross immorality characterizes the lives of many who are supposed to
be God's own. Sins too vile for the lips of modesty to mention are often found
in the weekday lives of many church members. Many of them are worldly beyond
description. They go into places of sin. They drink and dance and attend
theaters with no thought of conscience. The weekday lives and the Sunday
experience of most professors are poles apart. Very few live sacrificial lives.
You have doubtlessly heard of:
"Old
Deacon Horner, who sat in the comer
When
the collection plate passed by;
He put
in a cent, heaved a sigh of content
And
said, 'What a good Christian am I.' "
How truly he characterizes many church members today!
To the English nobility. Lady Barclay illustrated Sunday Godliness
and Monday Godlessness with a little mechanical bird so contrived that by the
raising of the lid the bird would sit up and sing and then when the lid was
closed, it went back into its house of darkness until opened again.
Many professors, but not possessors of Christ, come into God's House
with an air of piety, with a song book and Bible under their arms on the Lord's
day and in a sanctimonious whine sing, "My Jesus I love Thee." On
Monday morning back they go into their little box of darkness and all the good
intentions of their feeble lives are lost in oblivion until they emerge on the
next Lord's Day. Truly from all appearances the average church member says to
the world, "God is dead," for surely he could not believe very
strongly that God is alive in him and then live during the week as he does.
Theoretically, he may believe that God is alive, but actually he does not walk
before the world as though God were living within Him.
However, in spite of the answer of infidels, agnostics, skeptics,
and materialists and contrary to our observation of Christian professors, I
want to answer emphatically, that God is alive.
Nature proves the existence of God. Everywhere in nature we find order, beauty, symmetry, law, and design, conclusively proving the existence of an intelligent Creator of the material realm. There can be no design without a designer, no beauty without one to make beautiful, and no order without one to establish it. Suppose you take out your watch and look at it for a moment while I ask you a simple question, "Did your watch have an intelligent maker?" Without a moment's hesitancy you would answer that it did. The very shape of it, the numbers in orderly procession from one to twelve, the works within the case, and the makeup naturally forces you to conclude that it had an intelligent maker. However, suppose that I might tell you that you are mistaken; that the watch did not have an intelligent maker but that the atoms and molecules which constitute the watch danced about in space until by a fortuitous chain of circumstances, they came together in their present shape and style. Just what would you think of this speaker, if I were to speak thus to you? You would doubtless say, "That man may be a graduate of the best schools but he is a fool." And in plain words you would be telling the truth. But what is this watch in its grandeur of makeup, in comparison with this world in which we live? If your watch had an intelligent maker, surely this world must have possessed One too. Even the human body in its structure is far more intricate, complex, and delicate in its makeup. If the watch had an intelligent maker, how much more must your body have had One too?
To revert to my illustration of your watch: If I were a teacher in
the public schools and were to say that the atoms of the watch danced about
until by a fortuitous chain of circumstances they came together into their
present shape, you would probably think that I needed a good strong mind cure.
However, if I were a teacher in the public schools and were to tell your
children that the atoms and molecules of this world danced about for centuries
of time until by a fortuitous chain of circumstances they came together into
their present shape — the world and all things therein — you would say,
"My, ain't he smart, let's give him a raise in salary." Surely this
old world is round and funny.
I remember a few years ago in between my Freshman and Sophomore
years in college it became necessary for me to secure employment in order that
I might get back to school in September. I couldn't find a position so I began
to look for a job. The only thing I could find was construction work on a
public highway. When I walked up to the boss and asked him for a job, he looked
me over and said, "I have a team of mules in the barn that are standing
idle; they've killed every colored man that has driven them. If you want to
take a chance on your life, I will give you 40 cents an hour to drive
them." I wasn't very anxious to gamble with my health but I did need the
40 cents, so I went to the bam determined to harness the team. I opened the
door cautiously and pushed my head inside just in time to have a pair of mule
heels fly through space barely fanning my face and striking against the side of
the barn. I closed the door at once. Life was mighty sweet to me that morning —
too sweet to gamble away at 40 cents per hour. Presently I decided that I
needed work badly enough to make a second attempt, and with the bridle in hand
I started back into the barn. One of the mules laid his ears back and rolled
his eyes wickedly around in my direction and started for me. I began to think
that perhaps the mules were color blind and couldn't tell the difference
between me and a colored man. After nearly a halt morning's effort I had the
mules harnessed and ready to put to work. My team and another were hooked to
the plow. The driver of this other team took up the reins to drive and I took
hold of the handlebars to plow. We had plowed about ten minutes when we struck
a thorn root which nearly threw me over the plow. With an axe the root was
quickly dispatched and we continued our plowing. When we had finished, the man
who had cut the root for us came to me and with his penknife split the root's
outer bark. Then he peeled the inner layers of bark one by one, nine of them in
number, if I remember correctly, as yellow as gold, and as fine as tissue. When
he had finished. his eyes filled with mist as he said, "Preacher, it seems
to me there is enough of the love of God shown in God's protection of this
thorn root to convert the whole world." I heartily agree that nature
proves that God is not dead. Long years ago the Psalmist David slipped out of
his tent one evening to turn his face toward the pale blue Syrian sky above
him. He saw the moon as it took its place in the heavens and the stars come out
one by one, as the golden sentinels of the night; then he wrote, "When I
consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which
then hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man,
that thou visitest him?" (Psa. 8:3, 4). In the early morning David viewed
the world about him and the heavens above him and wrote, "The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork" (Psa.
19:1).
The events of our own lives prove that God is alive. A few years
ago there came a depression, — a financial panic, which engulfed not only our
country but the whole world as well. Following in March, 1936, the Ohio River
stood at flood stage for its entire length of nearly 1,000 miles, for the first
time in the history of civilized man that it stood at flood stage for its
entire length, at one time. When this passed, then came that terrible cyclone
and tornado through Mississippi and Georgia which brought thousands of dollars
of financial loss, as well as the loss of many, many lives. Then the greatest
dust storm ever experienced, 1,500 miles in length, began moving eastward from
the west. Who of our listeners do not recall the drought of the summer of '36,
when the ground become chapped, pastures became dust and the entire country was
experiencing a great fire hazard because of the drought? All of these events
passed by to give rise to the flood of January, 1937, the disaster of which is
remembered all too well by my audience. Where I am standing tonight, on the
second floor of our church building,
the water stood 34 inches in depth. Then came the school house explosion in
Texas. Truly the parents of this entire country sympathize with those grief-stricken
parents in Texas over the explosion of the school building and the many, many
little lives that were snuffed out without a moment's warning. Somehow after
each of these events, I can hear the voice of the Lord saying, "Yet have
ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord" (Amos 4:11). Most assuredly do
each of these events prove that God is alive.
Further, the believer knows that He is alive because he can feel
His presence. "For the which cause I also suffer these things;
nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day" (II Tim. 1:12). "For as many as are led by the Spirit of
God, they are the sons of God. The spirit himself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:14, 16). A minister saw a
lad running along one day holding on to a string gazing up into the air. When
he asked the lad as to his occupation, he received the reply, "I am flying
my kite, sir." To this he replied, "But I don't see any kite."
"Neither do I, sir, but I can feel its pull," said the boy. So it is
with a believer. He can not see God but he can feel His pull.
I know that God exists because I can feel His presence. My
personal experience with Him is enough to convince me that God is not dead but
alive. I am thinking now of an exceedingly close friend. Suppose you were to
try to convince me that that friend did not exist. You might by some system of
philosophy prove his nonexistence. When you had finished your argumentation I
might not be able to put my finger upon the weak spot of your argument but I
would still know that that friend existed because of my personal experience
with him. You might try to convince me that God does not exist and when you
have finished with your argument I may be unable to put my finger upon the weak
spot thereof, but I would still know that God exists because of my experience
with Him.
Prayer is one experience which proves the existence of God. During
the World's Fair in Chicago several years ago, Mr. Moody was carrying on a
campaign which cost a great many thousands of dollars. A little group met one
day to plan and assist and pray with Mr. Moody about the work. As they sat down
to eat, Mr. Moody said, "We need $7,000 today for the work. I have already
received $1,000 but before we eat I propose that we pray and ask God for the
other $6,000." So with simple childlike faith Mr. Moody presented this
problem to the Father. About an hour later after the little group had finished
their luncheon and completed their plans for the day, a boy came in with a
telegram in his hand. Mr. Moody read it and handed it to Reuben Torrey to read
aloud. This was what it said: "Mr. Moody, your friends in North Field had
a feeling that you needed money in Chicago. We have just taken up a collection
and there is $6,000 in the basket." North Field as you know is a short
distance from Boston. It is nearly a thousand miles from Chicago. That morning,
as a service was coming to a close in North Field, someone proposed that they take
a collection for Mr. Moody's work in Chicago. Others voiced their opinion and
it seemed unanimous that Mr. Moody was desperately in need of funds. How are we
to account for the fact that 1,000 miles away God put it on the hearts of 3,000
people to respond to the tune of $6,000? There is only one way whereby it can
be explained: God lives! The believers know He is alive by their intimate
experience with Him.
How many times God has proven Himself alive in my own life in
response to prayer! There is a restaurant over in Lexington, Kentucky, where I
used to eat quite often when passing through town. I used to walk up to the
counter and give my order to the girl standing behind it, who in turn called my
order back through a little hole, about two feet square. Suppose I were to
order my favorite dinner, fried chicken, corn bread, buttermilk, and pumpkin
pie. She would immediately call this order back through that hole in the wall
and within a few minutes time it would be set up and she would hand it out to
me. I never saw anyone behind that hole in the wall but I know that someone was
back there for as soon as I gave my order the food was handed out. Prayer is
just such an aperture in the sky. I go to God and voice to Him my petitions.
The answer comes back. I can not see God but I know He exists because He
answers prayer.
Therefore, since God exists you need to heed the words of the
prophet: "Prepare to meet thy God, 0 Israel" (Amos 4:12).
And how do you prepare to meet God? There is only one way.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). There is only one door.
"I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John
10:9). There is no salvation in any other save only in Jesus who died for our
sins. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:1).
". . . and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22).
Several years ago when I first came to this church as pastor, I
visited a dying man in Ashland. His disease had destroyed all the red
corpuscles in his blood. The pillow upon which he lay was no whiter than the
flesh which lay upon it. I saw the doctor one evening take a healthy friend of
mine and make a blood transfusion. Within a few minutes the hitherto colorless
cheeks assumed a rosy glow. A few days later when I visited him that healthy
blood had been burned away and his cheeks were colorless again. A second and
third transfusion was made with the same results. Finally we took him out to
the cemetery and lowered him thus within the grave. When the service was ended I turned away thinking how
that human blood had failed. His own blood had failed him, the blood of three
friends had failed him but thank God the Blood of Jesus Christ never fails. How
we rejoice tonight that God still lives and that since Jesus Christ died for
our sins you can live too by trusting the shed blood of our precious Redeemer.
May the grace of God lead you tonight to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
"Rock
of Ages, cleft for me,
Let
me hide myself in Thee;
Let
the water and the blood,
From
Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be
of sin the double cure,
Save
from wrath and make me pure.
"Not
the labor of my hands
Can
fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could
my zeal no respite know,
Could
my tears forever flow,
These
for sin could not atone;
Thou
must save, and Thou alone.
"Nothing
in my hand I bring,
Simply
to Thy cross I cling;
Naked,
come to Thee for dress;
Helpless,
look to Thee for grace;
Vile,
I to the fountain fly,
Wash
me. Saviour or I die.
"While
I draw this fleeting breath,
When
my eyes shall close in death,
When
I rise to worlds unknown,
And
behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock
of Ages, cleft for me,
Let
me hide myself in Thee."