Romans chapter ten and verse nine is a Gospel classic for the unsaved. "Because, if you confess with your lips that JESUS IS LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" ( R.V.) . We see in this verse that two things are essential for salvation -- confession with the mouth and belief in the heart. The heart is the symbol of the inner life, while the mouth is the symbol of the outer life. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34). There must be a heart belief in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. To believe that God raised Him from the dead is to believe in the finality and efficacy of His atoning sacrifice. To believe in the resurrection of Christ, is to believe that the precious blood of the Lamb silenced the thunderings of Mount Sinai. To believe that God raised His Son from the dead, is to believe that Christ met the righteous claims of a holy God against the repentant sinner. God stamped His divine approval upon the sacrificial work of His Son in that He raised Him from the dead on the third day. This is the glorious news of the Gospel of the risen Redeemer!
Guilty, vile and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
"Full atonenment!" can it be ?
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!Lifted up was He to die,
"It is finished," was His cry:
Now is Heaven exalted high,
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
The death of Christ was the payment for our sins, and the resurrection was the receipt. "Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification" (Rom. 4:25).
There must be a confession of Jesus as Lord of the life. Although this includes a public confession of our faith in Christ as Redeemer, it is plainly evident from the New Testament that it also involves the acknowledgement of the entire life to live under the lordship of Christ. That this confession is not a mere lip service is clearly evident from the words of the Saviour, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). Paul warns the Corinthian believers, "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (I Cor. 12:3). Only by the miracle of regeneration and a transformed life is a man able to call Jesus the Lord.
We next discover in the apostolic evangel the preaching of an ascended Lord to the Father's right hand in power and glory.
"Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted" (Acts 2:33).
"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus" (Acts 3: 13).
"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner" (Acts 4:11).
"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56).
The triumphant entry of our glorious Redeemer into the courts of Heaven is tersely expressed by the Holy Ghost in the words, "Received up into glory" (I Tim. 3:16). The Scripture affords the clearest proof of the triumphant manner in which the Lord of life and glory went up on high. In Psalm 68 there is a blessed description of the glorious convoy of angels which attended Him on His royal progress up to Heaven's gates. For even as when He will appear the second time without sin unto salvation, He will be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels" (II Thess. 1:7, and Matt. 16:27 ), so also did thousands upon thousands of ministering angels attend upon Him at his triumphant ascension. "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them" (Ps. 68:17-18).
This triumphant ascension of the blessed Lord is also clearly intimated in Psalm 47: "O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding" ( Ps. 47:1-2,5-7 ) .
Nor are we left without scriptural intimations even of the blessed Lord's reception in the courts of glory. When He reached the gates of Heaven the celestial courts were, as it were, moved at His approach, for then was accomplished that memorable transition recorded in Psalm 24 as thus represented to our faith. It was as if the attendant angels that formed His glorious convoy shouted aloud before Him as the heralds of His approach, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in" (Ps. 24:7). But from within is made the inquiry, "Who is this King of glory?" The answer is given from without by the attendants of His train of triumph, "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." Then comes forth the universal chorus from without and from within, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory" (Ps. 24:9,10).
In another scripture the Lord is represented in His glorious ascension as the conquering Christ dragging at his chariot wheels the infernal hosts of hell and openly showing them to all the holy angels as vanquished prisoners. "And you who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having cancelled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in Him" (Col. 2:13-15, R.V.).
"Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious,
See the "Man of Sorrows" now;
From the fight return victorious,
Every knee to Him shall bow.
Crown Him, crown Himl
Crowns become the Victor's brow,Crown the Saviour! Angels crown Him!
Rich the trophies Jesus brings;
In the seat of power enthrone Him,
While the vault of Heaven rings,
Crown Him! crown Him!
Crown the Saviour King of kings."
What a glorious truth is that of the ascension of our blessed Lord. It was Peter's explanation of the phenomenon of Pentecost (Acts 2:33). Why are there so few hymns on the ascension of Christ?
Since His ascension His official title is, "The Lord Jesus Christ." "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). This is the official royal proclamation from Heaven. "Him hath God exalted . . . to be a Prince and a Saviour" (Acts S:31). The name Jesus occurs six hundred and eight times before the ascension, and only sixty-two times afterwards. It is used thirty times in the Acts alone, which is about half the number, to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is now the Enthroned One and Conqueror. The name Jesus, by itself, is mentioned in the Epistles thirty-two times, and like the references in the Acts is used with deep significance to prove the lordship of Christ. Two passages will suffice to illus trate this fact:
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11)
and,
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" (I John 5:1).
It is striking to notice that the title of "The Lord Jesus Christ" never appears before the ascension, and that it occurs some eighty-one times afterwards. There is a tendency today to declare the Saviour's death on the Cross for sinners and that alone! While the essential basis of the true Gospel appeal must ever be "Christ crucified," it must never leave the hearers with a crucified Christ. The plain fact is that Christ on the Cross can save nobody. The atoning sacrifice of Calvary and the shedding of His precious blood is the foundation of our salvation. But it is a RISEN LORD and that alone which saves. The New Testament Gospel message includes, by presupposition, that Calvary opened up a way whereby a holy God could justify a hell-deserving sinner: "Being justified freely by his grace through.the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24).
It must not be overlooked that when Jesus is received as Lord, He must be received as a crucified Lord. The One Who is now exalted "in the midst of the throne" is represented as a "Lamb as it had been slain" (Rev. 5: 6). It is not as though He was Christ only in His sufferings for us, and is now Lord since His exaltation. No, He was "the Lord of glory" when He was crucified; and it is as the "Lamb that was slain" that He now receives the worship of the redeemed in Heaven (I Cor. 2:9 and Rev. 5:11,12). So then it is as the crucified Lord that He must reign in our hearts now. To receive the crucified One as our Lord means to be despised and rejected with Him. We must bear the stigma and the reproach of the Cross of Christ. The acceptance of Christ as Lord means also the crucifixion of the old life of selfishness and sin. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5: 24). If the crucified One is Lord of our lives, the hand that rules will be a nail-pierced hand. He, as the Captain of our Salvation, will lead us in a path of crucifixion and shame. That is what it means to receive Christ as Lord.
There are many who want to be saved from the consequences of their sin, who do not want to be saved from the love of it. Many want to be delivered from sin's curse and sin's wages, who do not want to bow their neck to the yoke of Christ. There are many who are attracted by the Gospel message and see the way of salvation, who are still possessing a craving for this present evil age. How great the need for care, lest by an inadequate presentation of the truth of the Gospel we deceive these souls into a false profession. There is a grave danger that many people will make a mistake of substituting an emotional religious crisis for a born-again experience. To preach Christ as Saviour without preaching Christ as Lord, makes a mockery of the Gospel and the entire Christian life. There must be true repentance. "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (I John 2:15).
To those who want to receive Christ as Saviour in order to have a passport to Heaven, but desire to remain in their sins and in the world, we must be faithful and declare like Peter,
"Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." (Acts 8:21-23)
Mr. Spurgeon warns his students:
"If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do you imagine that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Saviour, while they are wedded to their idols and their hearts are still in love with sin? If I do so, I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness."
The Son of God does not save rebels. There must be true submission ( repentance) before there can be salvation. What a parody of the Gospel when many are told to "trust Jesus to take them to Heaven when they die," who nevertheless are living in the practice of sin and rebellion against His laws.
Mr. George Goodman has left on record an illustration of the truth of the utter hollowness or utter impossibility of claiming to rest on "the finished work of Christ", while refusing to live under the lordship of Christ:
"A king has part of his kingdom in rebellion, and in order to show his grace, causes mercy to be proclaimed to the rebels on their yielding to him and seeking reconciliation on the ground of the proclamation. He threatens destruction to those who continue to defy his authority. One of the rebels is warned of his danger, but he replies, 'I am in no danger; I am resting on the proclamation; I am sure the king is faithful. He will never break his promise or withdraw his proclaimed mercy.'
"'But you are still in rebellion. You are continuing in the course he condemns, and are indifferent to His commands, and the mercy is offered to those who yield.'
"'True, but the mercy is free; there are no conditions, and to make conditions would be to make it no more of grace,' is the reply."
'What should we say to such reasoning ? Alas, is it not in effect what some of us say who, while refusing Christ as Lord, profess to trust in Him and His work for salvation ?"
Walter Marshall wrote some three hundred years ago,
"Why doth a man seek a pardon if he intends to go on in rebellion and stand out in defiance of his prince? They seek a pardon in a mocking way and intend not to return unto obedience ...To take a part of His salvation and leave out the rest? But Christ is not divided...They would be saved by Christ and yet be out of Christ in a fleshly state, whereas God doth free none from condemnation, but those who are IN Christ."
"There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared" (Ps. 130:4). Many of God's children forget, when dealing with the unsaved, that the grace of God does not give deliverance to the sinner from the penalty of his sins and then give him liberty to live a life of sin. Paul tells us that the pardoning grace of God teaches us to live a life of holiness:
"Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." (Titus 2:11-l5).
The teaching is clear in the Epistles that if a person has passed from death unto life, he is now under the sway of the lordship of Christ.
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again . . . Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Cor. 5:15-17)
The young convert is now UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!
Paul's conversion is the pattern conversion of the New Testament. His first words in his new life in Christ were, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Yes, the first word of a new-born soul is "Lord." The Lord takes control of the heart that accepts Him as Saviour and makes known His will. The believer knows His voice and rejoices to obey. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).
Let me finish with an incident in my evangelistic experience. When I was preaching in the open air in Scotland, I invited the listening crowd to come forward and accept the Gospel of John in my hand if they were interested or anxious to be saved. Immediately a young girl of fourteen years of age came forward and received a copy. "Why do you want to be saved?" I asked. "Why do you want to accept Christ as your Saviour?" The answer came clear as crystal, "Please sir, I do not want to live a life of sin." John D. Wheeler, my colleague (an aged, experienced worker, having laboured with Dr. Torrey and Gypsy Smith) said that this was the finest answer ever given to this all-important question.
Oh, my fellow Christian workers, let us cease proclaiming a perverted Gospel, and preach the evangel of COMPLETE SALVATION: Jesus Christ is Lord! "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
Lord, thou hast won, at length I yield;
My heart, by mighty grace compell'd
Surrenders all to Thee:
Against thy terrors long I strove,
But who can stand against Thy love?
Love conquers even me.All that a wretch could do, I try'd,
Thy patience scorn'd, thy pow'r defy'd,
And trampled on thy laws;
Scarcely thy martyrs at the stake
Could stand more steadfast for thy sake,
Than I in Satan's cause.But since thou hast thy love reveal'd,
And shown my soul a pardon seal'd,
I can resist no more:
Couldst thou for such a sinner bleed?
Canst thou for such a rebel plead?
I wonder and adore!If thou hadst bid thy thunders roll,
And lightnings flash, to blast my soul,
I still had stubborn been;
But mercy has my heart subdu'd,
A bleeding Saviour I have view'd,
And now I hate my sin.Now, Lord, I would be thine alone,
Come, take possession of thine own,
For thou hast set me free;
Releas'd from Satan's hard command,
See all my powers waiting stand,
To be employe'd by thee.My will, conform'd to thine, would move;
On thee, my hope, desire, and love,
In fix'd attention join:
My hands, my eyes, my ears, my tongue,
Have Satan's servants been so long,
But now they shall be thine !And can I be the very same
Who lately durst blaspheme thy name,
And on thy gospel tread?
Surely each one who hears my case,
Will praise thee, and confess thy grace
Invincible indeed!JOHN NEWTON
(Author of "Amazing Grace").
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