The Wednesday Word - 02AUG23 A.D.

Bathed in the Gospel

by D. G. Miles McKee

 Romans 10:16 says, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel.  For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report?  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Notice how the “WORD of GOD” and the “GOSPEL” are one and the same. If we would grow in faith, therefore, we should continually bathe ourselves in the Gospel and its applications.  Faith will grow as the Gospel is expounded!  The preaching of the good news of the person, work and offices of Christ is the Gospel, and it always brings and generates faith … unless we have stopped our ears against it. We must, therefore, get away from thinking that the message of Christ is exclusively for evangelistic meetings!  The gospel is every bit as much for the believer as it is for the lost and believers will grow in faith as they are exposed to the good news of Jesus Christ.What a wonderful gift of God faith really is!  It enables us to take hold of the salvation that has already been accomplished in Christ Jesus.  When faith comes to our lives, it agrees with God’s verdict that our human righteousness is no cleaner than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In the light of the gospel, faith causes us to abandon all hope of ever being saved by our own goodness. Our salvation, however, is in Christ not in our faith.  By faith we receive that which has already been accomplished by Christ thus we are said to be justified by faith (Romans 5:1).  In other words, faith takes hold of the salvation which has been already obtained at Calvary.  Also, I have at times talked to people who say they were justified when they had a “deep experience of the Holy Ghost.”  Nonsense!  This is not faith talking. We are declared not guilty because of Christ’s experience on our behalf.  The more we are bathed and washed in the gospel the more we will realize it is not because we have been filled with the Spirit or have had some new blessing that we are fully accepted and welcome in heaven.  Faith’s vision is not foggy!  Faith sees clearly that we are not made more welcome in heaven because of our experiences.  Indeed, faith does not rest on our experiences … no matter how intense they have been.  Faith sees that our full acceptance and welcome before God rests entirely upon Christ's experience for us and not on our experiences of God.Faith also sees that we are not saved because we are being good and are trying to be obedient to God:  Faith sees, however, that the obedience of Jesus Christ is entirely superior to our faulty attempts at obedience and totally sufficient to satisfy all the demands of God’s holy and righteous character.But surely this is a dangerous teaching?  Are there not those who will twist this kind of message and live like the Devil?  Of course, there are!  But does that mean we should hold back from proclaiming the gospel and its applications because some people may pervert them?  God forbid!When the person of Christ, His doing and dying are preached and applied, faith is created, and the believer is reduced to nothing.  It is the preaching and application of the gospel which produces true humility in that it brings us to an end of ourselves.  Faith will cause us to continually hold truth like this, “Nothing in my hand I bringSimply to Thy cross I cling,Naked come to Thee for dressHelpless look to Thee for Grace,Foul I to the fountain fly,Wash me Saviour or I die”. Because gospel faith will cause us to see our bankruptcy and destitution in ourselves, the gospel and its applications, when properly expounded to the church, will cause us to take up our cross and follow Christ.  A truly destitute person has nowhere else to go but to Christ and nowhere else to look but up. They see their spiritual poverty and it humbles them.  They must now turn in reliance and trust to Christ Jesus who alone can do for them that which they cannot do for himself.  And that’s the Gospel Truth! 

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