Christ a Sanctuary
(No. 3522)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1916.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And He will be as a sanctuary." Isaiah 8:14.
MANY of the Rabbis, and I think with good reason, refer this to the
Messiah. We refer it to Jesus Christ, the Man of Nazareth, the Son of
God, who is the Messiah of God to our souls. We are, no doubt,
justified in referring it to our Lord Jesus Christ, because Peter,
speaking by the Holy Spirit, uses the next part of the verse in
reference to Him. He declares that it was written that Jesus should be
a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. If, then, the latter part
of the verse is by Divine Authority interpreted as belonging to Christ,
we may be pretty sure that the former part of the verse requires the
same construction!
So then, as a subject for our present meditation, we take the fact that
Jesus Christ will be as a sanctuary. He will be as a sanctuary in three
respects, upon each of which we shall speak with all possible
simplicity. First, Jesus will be as a sanctuary–
I. IN WHICH WE, AS POOR GUILTY SINNERS, SHALL FIND A SHELTER.
A sanctuary was a place where a criminal who dared not appear before
the tribunals of his country found a shelter. Such sanctuaries once
abounded in England. Certain shrines which were considered sacred had
this privilege or this curse–I do not know which it was–accorded to
them–that whenever a criminal had fled to them, he was beyond the arm
of justice. There was such a sanctuary in Westminster and another not
far from this Tabernacle, but they were ultimately abolished. Among the
Jews the privilege of the sanctuary was kept in proper check, yet it
was not forbidden. Certain cities were set apart to which man-slayers,
who had accidentally slain anyone, might flee for security. We find
also that among the Jews, some hoped to find shelter in the precincts
of the Temple. Joab went to the altar and laid hold upon the horns, and
thought himself secure, though when Solomon sent and bade him come
outside, he said, "No, but I will die here," so that the altar in those
days was nota sanctuary. It was not until later times that it was
unjustifiable to kill men when they had entered into holy places, and
hence holy places and sanctuaries became places of refuge.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is a place of secure refuge for every soul that
flies to Him. The moment a sinner believes in Jesus, he is safe–and
continuing to believe, he remains safe in life, safe in death, safe in
judgment, safe in eternity! The passing out of self-righteousness into
confidence in Christ is the act that saves the soul. When your faith
lays its hand upon the dear head of the Redeemer–what if I say upon
the horns of the altar of His Sacrifice–then is your soul secure and
nothing can destroy it!
Let us explain this mystery. Why is it that believing in Jesus makes
the soul safe? It is because when God was angry with men and must
necessarily smite men for their sins, Jesus interposed. The blows that
ought to have fallen upon men fell upon the Savior. The debt which was
due from the multitude of sinners to the great God, Jesus paid–
"He bore that man might never bear His Father's righteous ire."
It will be manifest to you all that if Jesus Christ suffered, thus, in
our stead, we shall not be called on to suffer the penalty He
discharged. If Jesus paid our debts, they are cancelled and we are in
debt no longer! If Jesus Christ became our Substitute and stood for us
before God, then our warfare is accomplished and, henceforth, the Law
of God can exact nothing at our hands. Do you ask for whom did Jesus
Christ thus shed His blood as a Substitute, a Representative? We
answer, for as many as believe on His name. "For God so loved the
world"–now, mark, here is the gauge, this is the test! I have heard
people dwell on that word, "so," as if it were something boundless and
unqualified, without measure or
limitation! But listen to the passage–"For God so loved the world"–so
much and no more–"that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever
believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The work
of Christ thus begins and ends with, " Whoever believes on Him." If you
believe not, dying as you are, the death of Christ has nothing to do
with you except to plunge you into yet deeper despair! It is only to
the man who believes that the blood is applied! No other soul under
Heaven has any share in the merit of that glorious Sacrifice, or shall
be accepted thereby, but the men who believe. But for every soul that
believes in Him, Jesus Christ has borne all the punishment that soul
deserved to have borne. God cannot in justice punish that man, for He
has punished Christ instead of him. For every soul that believes,
Christ has drunk the cup of wrath to the very dregs. There is not a
drop left in that cup for anyone who believes on Christ, for Christ has
drained it. By Jesus the debts have all been discharged–He has not
left one of them in the book of God's record. Every soul that believes
is secure before the courts of Heaven because Jesus stood for him! My
main enquiry here must be, "Do you believe in Jesus?" I will put it in
other words. To believe is to trust. Do you trustin Jesus? Do you rely
upon Him? If so, then Jesus stood for you!
Now do you see how Jesus Christ becomes a Sanctuary? Just in this way.
Because I fear God's anger for my sin, by faith I put myself beneath
the Cross of Christ. There God's anger fell upon the innocent Victim.
Divine Justice was clear when it allowed the Holy One to be condemned
and put to death. But that same Justice demands a full release for
those on whose behalf He mediated! Their faith furnishes the evidence
of their freedom. If God has punished Christ for my sin, He will not
also punish me for it. If Christ has paid my debt, then paid it is–nor
will God, the Judge of all, bring the handwriting of ordinances which
was once against me, to indict me for charges that have been fully
satisfied! Where is common equity if the Substitute should suffer and
then the man for whom the Substitute suffered should suffer again? Thus
Justice, itself, puts a canopy over the head of the ransomed sinner.
When the fiery sleet of God's wrath descends, he smiles, because he has
found a retreat, a Sanctuary. The fury of the storm spent itself upon
the great Substitute. He bore it all and the sinner escaped. Oh, what a
blessed Truth of God! He who has never realized it for himself has
never known the Gospel. I care not how high your professions, nor how
great your boastings, nor to what church you belong–if you have not
come to rest in the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ, you do not
know the first letter of the Gospel alphabet! May the Lord, the Holy
Spirit, teach you, for this is the Gospel of the Grace of God which we
declare unto you, knowing that we shall have to answer for our
preaching at the last assize!
Mark, the Lord Jesus Christ in this way becomes a Sanctuary to us from
all our deadly fears. Who among us is not sometimes disturbed with the
recollection of his past life? Surely it has not been as it ought to
have been with us. What black spots does our memory conjure up? How
much of our time has run to waste? Were you called to die now–and oh,
how soon the summons will come–every week takes some of you away! But
in the solemn hour of death, would not your past life bring up dismal
fears, deep regrets and dark forebodings? What, then, would you do?
Why, what should you do but–as you have done before–fall back upon
this great Truth that Jesus died for him that believes and, trusting in
Him, you would say–
"A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On Your kind arms I fall! Be You my
strength, my righteousness, My Savior and my All!"
So might you lean your head back upon your pillow and feel it sweet to
die with confidence in Christ. Thus, Beloved, from God's wrath and from
our deadly fears, the Lord Jesus Christ becomes a Sanctuary to those
who trust Him.
A Sanctuary He is, likewise, from all our cares. From anxiety and
disquietude, who among us is exempt? In the midst of trials and
troubles, be they in mind, body, or estate–from pain, poverty, or
pressure of any kind, is it not a blessed thing to say–
"His way was much rougher and darker than mine Did Christ, my Lord,
suffer, and shall I repine?"
The remembrance of what He endured for you becomes a sanctuary from
dejection and despair! The Friend you trust will prove true. He will
treat you tenderly, to whatever cause you trace your hardships.
Permit me to ask each and every one of you individually–Have you ever
fled to this Sanctuary? Can you answer, "Yes"? Then happy are you! Go
and tell others about it? Let not your tongue be silent. Let others
know that there is a covert from the tempest and a shelter from the
rough wind; and that you have found and proved it. Be not afraid to
speak. There is more reason to fear silence than speech with such a
safeguard from sins, snares, and sorrows! Publish it to the worst and
vilest, if you meet with them. Let your kinsfolk and acquaintances know
that there is a safe sanctuary in Christ and that you have tested its
virtues and its validity. The weight of your personal testimony may be
blessed by God's Spirit to their conversion! At any rate, your duty to
your fellow creatures and your devotion to your heavenly Benefactor
demand this grateful service! Or perhaps you may have never resorted to
this Sanctuary. Then be sure that your peril is fearful and your doom
is imminent! Out of Christ there is no hope! He that believes not on
Him is condemned already, because he has not believed on the Son of
God! At this present moment–and who can tell how critical the present
moment may be–the wrath of God abides on you! It rests on you, moral
though you may be as a citizen, virtuous though you may be as a young
man, or pure and affectionate as a young woman, seeing you have not
believed! The one thing necessary is lacking. No plea you can offer is
valid. You have put yourselves out of court. The wicked shall be cast
into Hell with all the nations that forget God! That is the category in
which you place yourselves. You have forgotten God! You have neglected
Christ! You have never reached a resting place!
Oh, listen! Do you not long for an asylum, a sanctuary, a safe retreat?
Are you anxious to reach it? You may easily find it! As you run
eagerly, you will read clearly. If you are really humbled and brought
to know your need of a Savior, He is easy of access. Just give up all
your doings and cast yourselves into His arms. I have used this
illustration before, but it will answer my purpose again. There is a
boy in a burning house. He is clinging yonder to a windowsill. If he
falls to the ground, he will be dashed to pieces. But a strong man
standing underneath cries, "Boy, drop! I will catch you!" His hands let
go and he falls safely into the arms that are stretched out to rescue
him. That letting go is an act of faith, and he is saved thereby. Such
faith I would have you now exercise–let go of everything you have been
clinging to–just drop into the Savior's arms and on His sacred bosom
you shall find rest. Depend on Him, and on Him alone. 'Tis all that is
asked of you! Will you tell me that you are not fit? Did you ever hear
of fitness in connection with a sanctuary? Why, the worst of thieves,
and even murderers, were accustomed to fly to the sanctuary! So,
however vile you may be, Christ sets the sanctuary of His Atonement
wide open before you, that you may go to it and find shelter–
"Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream.
All the fitness He requires
Is to feel your need of Him–
This He gives you,
'Tis His Spirit's rising beam." Right joyful should I be if, by the
Holy Spirit's power, I might persuade some of you to flee to Jesus and
depend alone upon Him. This would be the happiest day of your lives,
the beginning of a new life! Well do I recollect when I looked to my
Lord and Master and found salvation in Him. Never can I forget the
happy day when Jesus took my sins away. Most affectionately and
earnestly do I entreat you to look to Him–and so shall your eyes be
enlightened. Depend on a Crucified Savior and you shall find peace and
comfort to your souls. Secondly, Jesus Christ is a Sanctuary in the
sense of–
II. A PLACE OF WORSHIP.
We often hear people talk, nowadays, of exclusively holy places. They
will sometimes call some edifice, be it a parish church or a private
chapel, a sanctuary. I take it that this is a mistaken use of the word
if used exclusively. No one place is a bit more sacred than another!
Those who would draw near to the Lord should remember that–
"Wherever we seek Him, He is found, And everyplace is hallowed ground."
It is nothing but a relic of Judaism, or a result of Roman Catholic
superstition, to suppose that there are specially holy places
constructed of bricks and mortar, or consecrated stones. Your bedroom,
where you bow the knee, may be as near the gate of Heaven as the grand
cathedral along whose vaulted roofs the music of song has resounded for
centuries! Jesus Christ, however, is a Sanctuary! He is the Holy Place
of His people's worship! Treasure that up. You may worship God anywhere
if you get with Christ, but if you forget Christ, you can worship
nowhere! "No man comes unto the Father but by Me," says Christ. You can
never have an acceptable worship of the Most High except through Jesus
Christ.
I will take you for a moment into that which was called the Holy Place
under the old Jewish law, the Holy of Holiest. What was there? Only two
things which could be seen. The one was the golden censer, and the
other was the Mercy Seat,
and both of these things were instructive. Now, Beloved, when you go to
the Lord to worship, the first thing you need is somebody to render
your worship acceptable. See there, in the Person of your Lord Jesus
Christ, a golden censor, representing the sweet merit of His prevalent
intercession by which you are accepted. When the High Priest went into
the Holy Place, he filled this golden censer and waved it to and fro
till the sweet perfumed smoke went up before the Mercy Seat. That is
just what Jesus does in Heaven for us! We burn the incense here, below,
and the sweet perfume of His merit continually ascends before the
Throne of the Most High and Holy God. And beneath the cloud of smoke we
worship. Jesus becomes a Sanctuary for us, and you can never worship
God aright till you feel that Jesus' merits go with your worship. If
your prayers are perfumed with the incense of your own merits and you
think they will be acceptable, you know not what you are doing! But if
you see that golden censer and look to God through the smoke of Jesus'
merits, then do you really worship–and Christ thus becomes to you a
Sanctuary!
The other article of furniture in the Holy of Holies was the Mercy
Seat–a square casket upon which were set cherubim with outstretched
wings. It was before this Mercy Seat, perhaps, that all prayer had to
be offered. There was only one place where Israel's gifts could really
come up before God–and that was before the Mercy Seat. Now, Beloved,
when we go to God, we cannot go directly to Him–we must go to the
Mercy Seat first. "I will have nothing to do with an absolute God,"
said Luther, and he was quite right. We may not come unto God except
through Jesus Christ! We look towards God in the Person of His dear
Son. God in the Son of Mary. God in the Man of Nazareth. God in the
bleeding Sufferer of Calvary–we look there, and we look through Jesus
Christ up to the unseen, but ever-glorious Father–and with Jesus'
merits before us, with His precious blood before our mind's eye, we
come to God through Jesus Christ–and we are accepted in the Beloved!
But, Beloved, I am afraid that many Sundays, and many weekdays, too, we
try to worship God without Christ! It will never do–it cannot succeed!
If ever you come out of your closet without the sense of having put the
blood before God, you have had a lost season of retirement! If you ever
go out of this Tabernacle feeling that in all the worship there has
been no sense of Christ's Presence, no thoughts of His precious
blood–that worship has been worthless–the time has been wasted!
Without the incense of His merit, without the Mercy Seat of His
substitutionary Sacrifice, there is no Sanctuary, there is no worship,
there is no drawing near to God!
Inside the Mercy Seat, if you had been permitted to open the lid and
look in, you would have seen three things. First, you would have seen a
golden pot of manna. Now communion is one of the sweetest portions of
worship. Communion is set forth in Scripture by eating bread with one
another. So the eating of manna with God is typical of communion, but
we get no manna unless it comes out of the golden pot of Christ! I find
no manna, except it is concealed beneath the Mercy Seat–no eating with
God unless we come through Jesus Christ. Do not, I beseech you, attempt
to commune with God apart from a precious sense of a Crucified Savior!
It is at the Cross' foot that Jacob's ladder stands, the top of which
is in Heaven. If you would see a Covenant God, you must get the
telescope of faith and stand at the foot of the Cross and look, for you
shall see God nowhere but in Jesus! You shall feed upon heavenly manna
nowhere but as you feed upon Christ!
Another mode of worship is that of service, for to work for God is the
best of service. Inside the Ark there was Aaron's rod that budded. What
was that? It was Aaron's symbol of work when he was called to work for
God. Do you want to know whether you are called to work for God? Look
for your Aaron's rod in Christ! You will never have a rod that buds if
you look away from the Lord to the visible Church. The Church may call
you when you have no Divine vocation. There are thousands of priests
who have had bishops' hands upon their heads, who are neither God's
ministers nor truly called to minister among men! But if you see your
calling in Christ, if you get Aaron's rod that budded, full of life and
vigor, the Spirit of God will maintain you in your work. In your
worship, then, and in your service, Christ must be your Sanctuary.
One other thing was in the ark, and that was the tablets of stone, the
perfect tablets of the unbroken Law of God fairly written out. If you
desire to have the Law written on your hearts, if you desire to have
perfect righteousness in keeping the Law of God, you must not try to
approach God for yourselves, but you must come through the Mediator,
Jesus Christ! He who would offer to God a perfect obedience must take
the imputed righteousness of the Immaculate Son of God, and being
arrayed in that, he shall worship God aright, Christ being a Sanctuary
for him.
I am very, very anxious that every Believer here should draw a ring, as
it were, around himself and ask his heavenly Father for help, that he
may draw near through the torn veil of the Savior's pierced body and
come spiritually, with
heart, and soul, and strength, near to the Throne of God, worshipping
the Most High! Our third point is that Jesus is a Sanctuary in the
sense of–
II. A DWELLING PLACE.
This is an unusual sense, perhaps, but it is a Scriptural one. "He that
dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty. In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide
me. He shall set me up upon the rock." The priest under the old Law
only went into the Holy of Holies once a year, but every priest unto
God–and you are all such who have believed–every priest unto God goes
in and never goes out again–at least, he never needs to go out! He may
abide always in the Holy Place–a place where in the morning he sings
his waking song–and a place wherein at night he sups with Christ.
The Sanctuary was a place in which only one Person ever dwelt, and that
was God, Himself. The mysterious light which they called the Shekinah
shone from between the wings of the cherubim. There were the pillar of
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night–the symbols of the Divine
Presence. It was God's House. No man lived with Him, no man could. The
High Priest went in but once a year, and out he went again to the
solemn assembly. But now, in Christ Jesus, in whom dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead, bodily, we find a Sanctuary to reside in, for
we dwell in Him–we are one with Him! God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. And as
God was in Christ, so is it written, "You in Me, and I in you." Such is
the union between Christ and His people. Every Believer is in Christ,
even as God is in Christ. So Christ is the Sanctuary where God and man
may meet together and live in perpetual delight and solace! My Beloved,
do you always dwell in Christ? I wish I did. I find it comparatively
easy to get fellowship with Christ, but oh, it is so difficult to keep
it up. When one climbs the mountain, gets one's forehead bathed in the
sunlight, talks with God and feels the world to be far below in the
valley, one feels that it is good to be there! But ah, we are soon down
again, mixing with the people, marrying and giving in marriage. We are
fighting our battles and buying and selling again! Oh, that we could
have Peter's wish and build three tabernacles, for it is good to be
there, where the transfigured Master reveals Himself to His delighted
people! Oh, that we could always live in the banqueting-house, and see
that banner of love always floating over us! And let me tell you, we
may do so! There have been some of the saints who have been helped to
do it. They have been as much with God when they have been trading
across the counter as when they have been bowing the knee–as much with
Jesus in their daily toils as in their Sabbath rest! Why should it not
be so with us? I covet. I covet beyond all luxuries, to walk with God!
If I might have this, I would not ask for anything else beneath these
skies–
"Oh, that I might forever sit With Mary at the Master's feet To hear
His gracious voice!"
Oh, that I might go into the door of His House and never find my way
out! If we leave the Table, it is not because the feast is over or the
Master has dismissed the guests. Oh, never! You are not straitened in
Him, but in yourselves. The deep bottomless sea of His precious love is
all before you! If you thirst, it is because you will not drink! If you
live in the cold Arctic regions, distant from Christ, it is not because
the sunlight of His love could not warm and cheer you. If you would
come into the equatorial regions of a simpler faith and a more abundant
trustfulness, you might yet have all the luxuriance of a tropical heat
sent into your souls! Come up higher, Brothers and Sisters! From the
lowest chambers come to the highest ones! From the Master's feet come
to His bosom, and from His bosom come to His lips. From the outside
court or tabernacle come to the court of the priests, and from the
court of the priests come to the Holiest of All. Advance! Come boldly!
The Lord help you by His Spirit to come and dwell in the Sanctuary!
Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS 10:1-20.
Verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is
that they might be saved. Now these people had persecuted the Apostle.
Wherever he went they had followed him–they had hindered his
work–they had sought his life and yet this was the only return that he
made to them–to desire and pray that they might be saved! Let us never
be turned aside from this loving desire for those among whom we dwell.
We wish them nothing worse–we cannot wish
them anything better than that they may be saved. Let us not only
desire it, but let us prayfor it. Let us turn our desires into the more
practical and holy form of intercession.
2. For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not
according to knowledge. Always make allowance for anything that is good
in those who, as yet, are not converted. We must not be unjust with
them because we desire to be faithful to them.
3. For they, being ignorant ofGod's righteousness, andgoing about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. And that is the great mischief with persons
who are not saved. They are very sincere, very earnest, but they will
not submit to the righteousness of God–they will not agree to be made
righteous by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. But they "go
about"–that is the Apostle's word. It is very expressive of the energy
men will put into it, and the shifts to which they will have recourse
in order to work out a righteousness of their own. They will go about,
yes, even to the very gates of Hell! They will try to climb up by
prayers, even to the gates of Heaven! They will go about to establish
their own righteousness, but they do not know the righteousness of
God– and they refuse to submit themselves to it.
4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who
believes. He that believes in Christ is as righteous as the Law of God
could have made him, if he had kept it perfectly. The end of the law is
righteousness, that is, the fulfilling of it–and he who has Christ
will see the Law fulfilled in Christ, and the righteousness of Christ
applied to himself!
5. 6. For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law, That
the man who does those things shall live by them. But the righteousness
which is of faith speaks on this wise–Ah, that is a very different
sort of thing! It does not speak about doing and living, "but the
righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wise."
6-9. Say not in your heart, Who shall ascend into Heaven? (That is, to
bring Christ down from above). Or, Who shall descend into the deep?
(That is, to bring up Christ again from the dead). But what does it
say? The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart that
is, the word of faith which we preach. That if you shall confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. There is the Gospel in a
nutshell! What a very simple way it is–to believe these great facts
about the Lord Jesus Chr-ist–really to believe them so that they
became practical factors in your life. This is all the way of
salvation. Christ has not to be fetched down. He has come! He has not
to be sent up. He has risen from the dead! The work is finished! What
you have to do is to believe in that finished work and accept it as
your own–and you shall be saved!
10. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the
month confession is made unto salvation. How different all this from
that going about to establish our own righteousness, this setting up of
prayers, tears, church attendance, chapel attendance, good works and I
know not what besides! Instead of that, here is Christ set forth and,
"you are complete in Him." If you take Him to be yours, you are,
"accepted in the Beloved," and "being justified by faith, you have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Oh, what a blessing this
is!
11. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on Him shall not be
ashamed. Though he did much that he need be ashamed of, yet when the
Law of God so brought him to believe in Jesus Christ for righteousness,
he is righteous! And he is so righteous that he shall never be ashamed
of his righteousness, nor ashamed of his faith in Christ! Would God
that some who are going about after a righteousness of their own would
be led to try this method and believe in Jesus Christ.
12. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. What a
blessed word that is–"There is no difference between the Jew and the
Gentile"! There are some who want to keep up that difference. They say
that we are Israel, or something of the kind. I do not care what we
are. There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek!
12. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all who call upon Him.
Someone said to me, "I think that the Romish Church cannot be a
Christian Church. I do not think that the Church of England is a
Christian Church. Do you think the Baptists are a Christian Church?'
And my answer was, "The Christian Church is to be found mixed up in all
churches, and no churches at all." It is a people that God has chosen
from among men–and they are to be found here and there and
everywhere–a spiritual seed that God has marked out to be His own! And
they are known by this–that they call upon the Lord and, "the same
Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him."
13. For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. We
call upon that name by having confidence in it. By speaking to God in
prayer, using that name. By adoring and reverently proclaiming the
majesty and the name of God. Whoever shall call upon or invoke that
great name shall be saved!
14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?For
at the bottom of the saving invocation or call there must be real
faith. There cannot be any true worship of God unless it be grounded
and bottomed upon faith in
God.
14. And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
There cannot be such a thing as believing what has never been spoken in
our hearing, and has never been made known to us. Of course, reading
often answers the same end as hearing. It is a kind of hearing of the
Word, but a man must know, or he cannot believe.
14. And how shall they hear without a preacher?How is that possible? Do
you see the machinery of the Gospel? There is the calling upon the
name. That comes of faith. There is the faith that comes of hearing,
but there is the hearing that comes of preaching. Now a little farther.
15. And how shall they preach, except they are sent?Poor preaching. It
will not be the kind of preaching that produces believing hearing,
except they are sent. If God does not send the man, he had better have
stayed at home! It is only as God sends him that God will bless him. He
is bound to back up His own messenger when he delivers God's own
message. "How shall they preach, except they are sent?"
15. As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them who preach the
Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. And they are so
beautiful because, you see, God has put them at the root of everything.
God makes the preacher whom He sends to be the source of so much good,
or the channel of so much good, for by his preaching comes the hearing,
and by the hearing comes the believing–and out of the believing comes
the calling upon the name and the salvation!
16. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. "But." A sorrowful "but"
is this. Oh, this is the mischief of it. The Gospel, then, has an
authority about it–or else the Apostle would not speak of obeying the
Gospel. Men are bound to believe what God declares to them, and their
not believing is a disobedience! "They have not all obeyed the Gospel."
16. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report?As if there were
so few that did believe it, that he had to ask who they were!
17. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. You
are wise, therefore, dear Friend, if you are seeking salvation to be a
hearer of the Word. But mind that it is the Word of God that you hear,
because the word of man cannot save you. It may delude you. It may give
you a false peace. But the hearing that saves is hearing which comes by
the Word of God. Oh, take care, then, that you do not run here and
there just because of the cleverness of certain speakers, but keep to
the Word of God–whoever preaches it–for "faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God."
18. But I say, Have they not heard?These very people for whom the
Apostle prayed–have they not heard?
18. Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words
unto the ends of the world. The preaching of the Gospel went forth
among those Israelites who rejected it. Wherever they went, the Gospel
seemed to follow them like their shadows. They could not escape from
it, but they did not believe it.
19. But I say, Did not Israel know? Assuredly, Israel did know, but did
not believe.
19. First Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are
no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. Moses told them
that it would be so if they rejected Christ. Christ would be preached
to the Gentiles, and those whom they thought to be foolish would come
in and accept what they had rejected!
20. But Isaiah is very bold, and says, I was found of them that sought
Me not: I was made manifest unto them that asked not after Me. He told
them, therefore, that God would save a people who up to now had never
sought after God– that He would send the Gospel to a people that were
dead in sin, and had never asked to receive the light and life of God!