Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

Yes, I know it is Saturday, but I don’t control the internet, and it was out again yesterday.

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To lay hold of and receive the gospel by a true and saving faith is an act of the soul that has been made a new creature, which is the workmanship of God.
Whoever receives the grace that is offered in the gospel . . .
they must be quickened by the power of God,
their eyes must be opened,
their understandings must be illuminated,
their ears must be unstopped,
their hearts must be circumcised,
their wills must be rectified,
and the Son of God revealed to them.

Pithy gems from John Bunyan (1628–1688) @Grace Gems

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INTRODUCTION

If you are anything like me, until the wonder of the internet and things like Google searches, I really had no concept of the volumes many of my favorite Puritans had written. Today is a great example, when one thinks of John Bunyan, they immediately think of Pilgrim’s Progress. Yet John Bunyan wrote many gems. Here is the list from one of my favorite sites.

The final section of today’s post is Bunyan’s thoughts on Praying in the Spirit.

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COMMENTS and COMMENTARY

What Does it Mean to “Receive the Gospel”? For some, it is having an “emotional experience”, going forward to an altar call, praying a little prayer, and “accepting” Jesus as savior. For others, it is a well-meaning confession to follow Jesus without the follow-on changes that come with being truly born again. I am sure there are other descriptions for what I will bundle under the term “Easy Believism.” Even among those who acknowledge Faith Alone by Grace Alone Ephesians 2:8–9, we see a growing number of pew potatoes. “True Christians” are those who, like Bunyan, can cry out: Run when I can; walk when I cannot run; and creep when I cannot walk.

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Receiving the Gospel

The Importance of Receiving Christ

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STUDY

Old Testament View

The Basis of Salvation. Of all the passages cited, those of Isaiah provide the most important background for gospel in the NT. According to Isaiah’s gospel, it is God alone who saves, and there is no explanation for his saving action except in his own nature. Israel’s deliverance is undeserved; she is no more worthy of the divine love now than when she went into captivity. In whatever measure she has paid the just due for her past sins (Is 40:2), she remains a sinful people (42:25; 46:12, 13; 48:1). It is only by God’s grace that she is saved (55:1–7). By God’s design, Israel’s salvation depends not upon her own righteousness but upon his (41:10; 45:24; 46:13; 51:5, 6). There being no righteousness to reward, the Lord acts to create righteousness in Israel (45:8; 61:3, 10, 11). Yet as these references indicate, salvation is not accomplished at the expense of justice. The penalty for Israel’s sins is to be paid in full. God’s mercy is not hereby called into question. On the contrary, it is precisely here that his mercy is most poignantly expressed; for the penalty is exacted not from his people but from the Servant appointed to stand in their place (53:4–12). Through the Servant’s work, many shall be justified (v 11); those who could present no case for their own righteousness (43:25–28) shall be acquitted.

The Effects of Salvation. The joy which attends the proclamation and reception of gospel finds its ultimate expression in the praise of God. In reporting victory to David, Ahimaaz exclaims, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered” (2 Sm 18:28). The gospel of Psalm 40 is declared amidst public worship (vv 9, 10). It is during a festal procession celebrating God’s enthronement that the glad tidings of Psalm 68:11–14 are recollected. At the heart of the evangel in Isaiah 40:9 is the exclamation “Behold your God!” The herald of 52:7 declares, “Your God reigns”; it is not primarily the appearance of the herald or the release of the captives that causes the watchmen to “sing for joy,” but rather “the return of the Lord to Zion” (v 8). The identity of the evangelist in 61:1 is not disclosed; what is certain is that the Lord has anointed him (v 1), that he proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor (v 2), and that God will be glorified through his preaching (v 3). According to 60:6, the nations “shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” Psalm 96 calls upon the whole earth to tell of God’s salvation (vv 1, 2) and thereby to “bless his name” and “declare his glory” (vv 2, 3).

J. Knox Chamblin, “Gospel,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 892–893.

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New Testament

The Gospel of Grace. According to Peter’s testimony at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:7–11), an essential part of the gospel—for Gentiles and Jews alike—is salvation “through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (v 11; cf. 1 Pt 1:10–12). Toward the close of his missionary career, Paul states that his basic concern has been “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24; cf. Col 1:5, 6). This statement can be understood only in relation to Paul’s concept of the righteousness of God, particularly as set forth in Romans. Paul is here not merely expounding a divine attribute. Rather he is dramatizing a divine activity—the manifestation of God’s righteousness now, “in the present time” (Rom 3:21, 26), in the New Age inaugurated by the coming of Jesus. The manifestation is twofold. Viewing the two aspects together, and doing so in the light of the gospel declared by Isaiah and by Jesus, respectively (both of whom strongly influenced Paul), will help us to understand why Paul speaks of “the gospel of the grace of God.” (1) The gospel is a witness to God’s grace. In offering his Son as a sacrifice for sins (Rom 3:25a), God demonstrates his righteousness (vv 25b, 26). That is, in the death of Jesus sins formerly “passed over” (v 25c) become the object of God’s wrath (cf. 1:18) and judgment. Yet in the very place where God deals justly and decisively with sins, he shows his grace to sinners. For the judgment against sin is focused not upon the sinners themselves but upon the One appointed to act on their behalf and to stand in their place (4:25; 5:6, 11; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13). On this basis sinners are freely pardoned (Rom 3:24). “The grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11) toward the sinful is also in evidence, for he willingly bears their iniquities and suffers the consequences of their wrongdoing (Gal 2:20; cf. 2 Cor 8:9; Phil 2:6–8). (2) The gospel is a channel of God’s grace. “The righteousness of God is revealed” in the gospel, says Paul (Rom 1:17). By this he means, not that the gospel talks about the righteousness of God (though it does), but that God’s righteousness is actively at work in the gospel. This activity in turn explains how the gospel becomes “the power of God for salvation” (v 16). And just how does God demonstrate his righteousness at this stage? In short, by bestowing it as a free gift on sinful human beings. It remains the righteousness of God, but by God’s grace it is a righteousness in which humans may share. Furthermore, partaking of God’s righteousness depends on being personally united with Jesus Christ. In Paul’s view the saved person is one who has been acquitted, justified, “declared righteous,” by God the judge. The basis for the verdict is not that I in myself am righteous (God justifies the ungodly, 4:5). Nor does God treat me as though I were righteous. According to Paul I am declared righteous because I really am righteous—not in myself but in Christ (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). This union is established through the revelation—and the free offer—of God’s righteousness in the gospel (Rom 1:16, 17).

Responding to the Gospel. The gospel calls for a threefold response. (1) Believing. The gospel, says Paul, is “the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith” (Rom 1:16). For Paul, faith is the abandonment of all reliance upon “works of law” for justification (3:28) and utter dependence instead upon the grace of God as demonstrated in the work of Christ, especially his death (v 25). Accordingly the “different gospel” of Galatians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 11:4 is spurious, for it preaches salvation by personal merit rather than (or together with) the work of Christ (cf. Gal 2:16). Ultimately faith rests upon God (Rom 4:24; 1 Thes 1:8, 9) and upon Christ (Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20). Yet it is imperative that one believe the gospel also (Acts 8:12; 11:20, 21; 15:7; Rom 1:16; 10:8–17; 1 Cor 1:17–24; Phil 1:27; Heb 4:2), for it is just by this means that God’s salvation is made known and mediated. Moreover, believing the gospel entails repentance (Acts 14:15; 20:21, 24; 1 Thes 1:5–10) and obedience (Rom 1:5; 15:16–18; Heb 4:6). Those who refuse to obey the gospel are imperiling their lives (2 Thes 1:5–10; 1 Pt 4:17; cf. Rv 14:6, 7). (2) Growing. The gospel is more than a message to be received; it is also a place in which to stand (1 Cor 15:1, 2). It is sustainer of life as well as giver of life. One grows as a Christian not by turning from the gospel to other things (to turn away from the gospel is to abandon God and Christ, Gal 1:6), but by going ever more deeply into the gospel. In Romans 1:15 Paul expresses his eagerness to proclaim the gospel to the Christians in Rome. In the ensuing chapters, anticipating his visit, he offers his profoundest exposition of the gospel—one whose truth has never been fathomed and whose power has never been exhausted. (3) Hoping. “The hope of the gospel” (Col 1:23) includes not only the return of Christ and the glory of heaven (Col 1:5; 3:1–4; 2 Thes 2:14–16), but the final judgment as well. For those who embrace the gospel the last judgment holds no terrors, because the Judge is the very one who rescues them from the wrath to come (1 Thes 1:10). Those who are united to him need not dread condemnation now or at the end (Rom 8:1); instead the last judgment will mark their final vindication (1 Cor 4:5; Gal 5:5). Accordingly this theme is not just a corollary but an integral part of the good news (Rom 2:16). Those who have died since believing the gospel (1 Pt 4:6) may seem to have suffered a fate common to all men, or even the condemnation reserved for the lawless; in fact, their response to the gospel assures them of approval by the coming Lord (vv 5, 6; 5:4) and of a share in the imperishable inheritance of heaven (1:4).

J. Knox Chamblin, “Gospel,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 896–897.

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DEVOTION

I Will Pray with the Spirit

A N D
With the Understanding Also-
O R,
A Discourse Touching Prayer;
Wherein is discovered,
I. What Prayer Is.
II. What It Is To Pray With The Spirit.
III. What It Is To Pray With The Spirit
A N D
With the U N D E R S T A N D I N G also…
spiritually enlightened to see the promises and to be encouraged.

By

J O H N. B U N Y A N
1628-1688
 

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WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662.
PUBLISHED, 1663.