The Glorious Gospel

Author: S. Stennett Tune: Amazing Grace

1. What wisdom, majesty, and grace
Through all the gospel shine!
'Tis God that speaks, and we confess
The doctrine most divine.

2. Down from His shining throne on high
The Almighty Savior comes,
Lays His bright robes of glory by,
And feeble flesh assumes.

3. The mighty debt His chosen owed
Upon the cross He pays;
Then through the clouds ascends to God,
'Midst shouts of loftiest praise.

4. There He, our great High Priest, appears
Before His Father's throne;
There on His breast our names He wears,
And counts our cause His own.

A Sovereign Savior!
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace;
that bringeth good tidings of good,
that publisheth salvation;
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”
Isaiah 52.7
The gospel declares to us that all men are entirely unable to improve their spiritual condition: natural man is ignorant of needed truth and unable to receive that truth even if it is told to them. Furthermore, the gospel teaches us that we are utterly devoid of anything good.
The gospel also declares to us that God is absolutely sovereign in all things, including the salvation of sinners. We are told that God chose whom He would save, purchased their salvation through His Son, and is calling each of His elect to Himself at the appointed time, giving them understanding and faith. We are further taught that God is continuing His work in them to keep them from falling so that they will be blameless and without fault at Christ's coming. God has done all of this and has never asked for anyone's permission to do it. He is God and He does all that He pleases.
Is it not amazing that nearly all men are opposed to this gospel? By our inborn nature, we were so convinced of our own abilities and so determined to advance our own glory that we always choose the way that leads to death rather than the way of life. Even as we rejected such a wondrous gospel, we were proving that such a gospel is the only sort of gospel that is able to save us.
In times past we foolishly rebelled against such truth not considering the alternative. Consider the alternatives to the gospel based on the truth that "Our God Reigns!"
If the gospel is not designed specifically for those who are "Totally Depraved," then it must be that we are required to produce a righteousness of our own - a thing we know by experience is impossible for us to do.
If our salvation does not come about by the sovereign, electing will of God, then our salvation is left up to our will which we know to be a perverse and changing thing. It is our perverse will that got us in trouble in the first place. How, then, can we have any hope that our will can help us OUT of that trouble?!
If our redemption was not completely accomplished by Jesus Christ in such a fashion that His work cannot fail to save us, then we are left with the job of redeeming ourselves - a redemption which is far too high a price for us to pay.
If our knowledge of the gospel and faith in Christ is not by the omnipotent, and therefore, undeniable work of the Spirit of God, then we are left with the job of discovering the gospel for ourselves and generating our own faith, a task which we tried and failed at for a long time.
If our preservation and perseverance in the faith are not by the continual love of God for us, the continual, effectual intercession of Christ in our behalf, and the unlimited patience and power of the Holy Spirit to create and maintain life in us, then we are on our own from now until we reach heaven; and we know ourselves to be too weak for such a long and strenuous march, don't we?
In short, if our salvation is not by the sovereign grace of God, then our salvation is our responsibility, and such a message is no gospel - no good news - at all.
What a head-shaking amazement it is that men demand the right to damn themselves if they choose to do so. Let us exalt and magnify the sovereign, free, omnipotent grace of God which saved us depraved sinners, and rejoice in the gospel of Isaiah which says, "Your God reigns!"

-Pastor Joe Terrell

Daily Readings - Oct. 22-Nov. 4, 2017