What is the Gospel? A Series, Part II

The Gospel Hidden

A Sermon,

Preached on the Lord's Day

in

SANTA ANNA, July 1, 2007

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In this statement alone, this plain statement that the Gospel is hidden from the lost, is the ruin of the false gospels of Universalism, Roman Catholicism, and modern Evangelicalism – which is merely Arminianism unleashed. Here we see that the devil is used of God for this purpose, that he might keep those for whom the light is not intended from receiving the spiritual light by which they might see, believe, and receive Jesus Christ and be saved. Christ validated this truth by saying, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Mat 13:13-15); And that it is God that uses the devil for this purpose is made plain in the Gospel of John, “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them” (John 12:40). And so we can readily conclude that God, who never works without purpose, has purposed to keep some from spiritually receiving the Gospel which reveals the true nature of Christ, His person, His offer, His requirements, or His benefits and promises. He has hidden the light of the Gospel from them. Not that God has removed from them any power that is resident in natural man, as wicked men accuse us of preaching, because there is no power in man to un-blind his own eyes, or un-harden his own heart – nor would it ever be the “free will” desire of any fallen man – who believes himself to be well and good and in no need of a physician – to be cured of any disease or illness he does not believe he has. Of those who are planted on the wayside of God's field, God has allowed the devil to “taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12); and this is no stain or black mark on the character of God, as Papists and Arminians will insist, because there is no lien or “right” to the gift of God, and such as are planted in the wayside are those who, though claiming to love God and to believe in Christ (being plants emerging from the seed – which is defined for us as The Word of God), do not (and will not) receive justifying faith and belief in their hearts and minds by the glorious light of God. Mark this, that they have received the Gospel by some manner of faith (which we will define further in a moment) and have assented to it as essential truth, and yet the Lord allows the devil to pluck that seed from them lest they should believe in a saving way and be healed of God.

We must note some important points about the premise that we are examining, that the true Gospel is hidden from the lost (and by lost we mean those who claim to have received the Word, according to the parable in Luke, Chapter 8, but who are deceived):

1. That if the true Gospel is hidden from religious professors, then the true Gospel cannot be the mainstream “gospel” that is commonly and widely received by religious professors of every stripe. It is for this reason that the gate to the Kingdom is considered “straight”, and the way is considered “narrow”. The word “straight” concerning the gate, also means narrow and has the connotation that there are obstacles which make entrance to the gate difficult. The way of the false Gospel is wide and the entrance therein is without obstacle.

2. Consequent to this, if the true Gospel is hidden to mere religious professors, and if most religious professors are able to agree on what they call the “bare essentials” of the “gospel” whereby they have some form of unity, then the truth of the Gospel which must be believed and received must lie outside of what the mainstream “christian” professors consider the “bare essentials” (I will revisit this point later when I discuss the types of faith). So, here are logical facts which must be derived from the scriptures. If a “gospel” is widely preached and widely received, and if the bare essentials of that “gospel” are agreed upon by the many, then that “gospel” cannot be the strait gate and narrow way that leadeth unto life, which, it is said, that few find.

Now, this issue is one that is almost never preached upon today, and because of this there is much confusion and darkness in the minds and hearts of men, which goes to prove the point that it is only by the glorious work of God in casting a light into the confused and darkened heart that such things may be understood and apprehended for our good that we might truly believe and receive Christ as He is in Scripture, and by Him be healed. And so we pray that Jesus Christ, who is that light that must shine into our hearts and minds, will do so this day and use the truths expressed in the Word of God to banish the darkness under which we formerly operated. So to be clear once more before we enter into our further study on the Gospel – we are saying that the true Gospel of God is both:

a.) revealed to those who by it believe and receive the true Christ and are saved, and

b.) hidden from many who truly are convinced that they belong to Christ and are saved.

In both cases, according to the Scripture, there is a Gospel which is made evident in the Word of God, and is received by some manner of faith and assented to as essential truth. In one case the professing believer is deceived, and is blinded by the devil, his heart hardened to his own destruction. - all the while believing that he is safe and in a good stead. In the other case, the professing believer is enlightened by the light of God, his blindness and hardness of heart is removed towards some end, and he receives Christ as Savior and Lord to his eternal salvation. How, then, do we differentiate between these two? How do we know which “gospel” has been received? This is our task in this study, and we pray God's assistance, mercy, wisdom, understanding, and grace as we move forward.

Recapping what we learned in the last part, in receiving the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, we must not make an error in person – which means that we must rightly identify Christ, His ability, the basis and requirements of His offer, and we must on this account receive Him as both Savior and Lord. It is essential that we receive the real Jesus Christ as He is presented to us in scripture – as a Master, Lord, and King, as well as a Priest and a Savior. If we say we have received Christ as husband, when we continue on in adultery with other suitors and former husbands, then we have made an error in person, since Christ will not share his bride with another. We must accept Christ according to His offer, which declares that we must love Him – and show that we do so by keeping His commandments. So it is critical that we know that the Christ we have received is the Christ of the Bible and not some clever forgery, devised by the devil to blind eyes and harden hearts. Now these facts, which we examined in the last sermon, are necessary to our current study. First, we must admit that it is the true Christ and the true Gospel that we must receive. Second, we must take (or receive) this Jesus Christ by faith. Third, that faith by which we receive and take Christ as husband, must be true and justifying faith – not some other type of faith masquerading as true faith; and it is this element that I must examine in some depth in this part.

What is this justifying faith by which we truly receive and take Christ?

To understand this and answer it properly, we must admit some things. We have determined previously that, just as there is a true Christ and a true Gospel, there are false gospels and false Christs. The devil prospers by concealing this device from the minds and hearts of men. In the darkness, it is impossible to tell the counterfeit from the true. We are not equipped, as natural men, to spiritually discern between the truth and a clever counterfeit. The devil utilizes the cover of darkness in the heart and mind to deceive the simple. It is the light of God, shining into our minds and hearts that allows us to see that there are counterfeits of both Christ and the Gospel, and to spiritually see the true Christ and the true Gospel. Now it remains that we must engage our regenerated minds and wills to receive this true Christ according to the true Gospel by FAITH. Having the light of God thus far shining through the darkness, we encounter a new and more devious device of the devil. Just as there are many sorts of “christs” and many types of “gospels”, there are also many types and sorts of “faith”. We must receive and take Christ as Savior and Lord by true and justifying faith – and here is where many wayside professing believers, who were in some manner enlightened by the sun, and who sprung up in some manner as true plants, are trodden down (Luke 8:5), and fall away (Heb. 6:4) in such a way that they cannot be renewed again to repentance.

Faith in its barest essential is assent. Assent is “the act of the mind in admitting, or agreeing to, the truth of a proposition”, it is to concede to some truth, to agree or to concur with some proposal. But the Bible allows for several types of faith, for Peter had faith that could fail had Christ not prayed that it would not (Luke 22:32); and there is a faith which stands in the wisdom of men (1 Cor. 2:5) and not in the power of God; there is a faith not grounded and settled, from which some men move away (Col. 1:23); there is feigned faith (1 Tim. 1:5, 2 Tim. 1:5), a faith which may be departed from (1 Tim. 4:1), which may be denied (1 Tim. 5:8), and cast off (1 Tim. 5:12) and erred from (1 Tim. 6:10, 21), and overthrown (2 Tim. 2:18); and there is a faith which does not save (James 2:14), which is dead faith (James 2:17). Now these faiths are not that faith of which Christ is the author and finisher (Heb. 12:2). James and Paul agree that we must have justifying faith in order to be considered the saved of God, and so we see that there are several types of faith which we must examine. I will mention three:

1. Since faith in its barest essential element is mere assent, our first type of faith is that faith which has no reason or standing outside of the one who asserts it. This type of faith is best called opinion, which all men have. Now, concerning the Gospel, there are some who are of the opinion that the Bible is true (for the most part), and that Jesus is the Christ, and that He came to save sinners, and even that He is the Son of God – and God of very God Himself. Any number of Biblical truths may be asserted and believed, but this opinion is not based on knowledge or wisdom in the Word of God, or in any revelation other than the meanest of ideas, facts, or insinuations, some taught since birth, some picked up from the culture or from modern “churches”, or from some teaching imbibed at some time or other. This “faith” is mere mental assent or agreement based solely on the opinion of the professor. In this category you may put the bulk of those who profess Christianity today. Some in this category have no knowledge, wisdom, or understanding at all, but profess Christianity merely out of the strength of an opinion that just as well might be true as it might not. It is true precisely because they believe it to be true. Some who possess this faith have learned some lessons from Sunday School, or from some light reading and study in the Bible, or from some teaching received in the “church” or on TV or radio, and some may even have spent years (or whole lives) in the pews of professing christianity imbibing opinions from preachers and pastors and others who are of the same “faith”. They have developed their prophecy views, if they have any, from reading the books of others with strong opinions, and from these they may have derived some private opinion about eschatological things and end-times events. How close or distant this opinion is to the bulk of Biblical truth on the subject is neither here nor there for those who hold this faith. Generally if they can find, or if someone can show them, one single verse – whether it be in context or not is immaterial - that they believe supports the opinion they already hold, then they will hold on to their opinion no matter what. Their faith is no more than an opinion, which they believe to be the right one, though, secretly and unknown to their conscious mind, they fear they may be wrong; but they are certain their opinion must be right, because, after all, it is their opinion, and surely God would not delude them in that which they believe – because they believe God to be good and merciful (if not just), and they are persuaded that they are correct and so they rest solely on this type of faith. Some of these are heard to say that “the Bible can be made to say anything”, or “no one has the whole truth”, and therefore they deify opinions (either their own as superior, or as all being equal) whether they be based on fact, reason, logic, scripture, or just whim. Of course, the problem with this sort of faith is that it quite often believes a lie, or embraces some truth wrongly, or is easily swayed by the power of a weightier opinion to the contrary. This faith my be stubbornly clung to just as easily as it may be lightly cast off – because it is not grounded in truth.

2. A second type of faith is assent based on science or logic, and may never be questioned by the man of this type of faith, merely because all known rational and reasonable objections have been overcome to the satisfaction of the hearer. Reason and rational argument prevail, and so long as no reasonable or rational lie appears, the man of this type of faith may be steadfast and unmovable in his declaration of faith. This man is one who comes to Christianity by the strength and power of his rational mind, and, rightly overcoming the intellectual obstacles to believing in Christ and the Gospel, He assents to the basic truths of that Gospel because there are no overriding objections left in his conscience to those truths. This faith is sometimes hard to discern, since it may be found in the person of the legalist, such as in the Pharisees, who may embrace some or all of the elements of the Mosaic or ceremonial law, or salvation by works, because he is convinced by reasonable and logical arguments that these things are pleasing to a God and required by scripture; or it might just as readily be found in the Antinomian, who may have reasonably and logically come to the conclusion that the moral law (the Ten Commandments) are done away in Christ, and that there is no active requirements at all other than mere intellectual assent to the truths presented in the Bible. Now, doubly dangerous is when this type of faith, using reason, logic, or science – grasps hold of some or most of the basic elements of the faith (such as the Doctrines of Grace, Predestination, or Election), because now you have a very dangerous brew – a man who believes that because his mind has apprehended and accepted some principle doctrines of the faith, he is somehow included in the promises contained therein. The false logic is based on some Biblical truths, peppered with misunderstandings or some false definitions.

He asserts that:

• Because no man can truly hear the “gospel” and believe it by faith unless it is given unto him by God to believe in a saving way, and...

• Because I have heard the “gospel” and believed it by faith, then...

• I must be saved.

Since none of the words are defined, and since his definition of the “gospel” is stripped down to bare “Calvinism” or some simple system of bare essential doctrines that he believes constitutes the basics of truth, and since his definition of belief includes no requirement other than mental assent to these bare basics – he concludes that he is predestined, elected, saved by God and on his way to heaven, despite Biblical evidence to the contrary.

The first problem with this type of faith is that it is quite often satisfied with mere intellectual assent, without the will ever being engaged in receiving that which is promised. The mind may embrace Christ and the Cross while the will neglects both. This faith may see and recognize Christ, and may believe the promises in the Gospel, and may assent to the basic truths that Christ is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do, and yet it can still not act by true faith (which is an act of the regenerated will) on that which is required, which is to receive Christ as husband via this faith. The second problem with this faith is that it often withers when alternative facts, reasonings, “new” science, or plausible logic is given.

3. The third type of faith is that faith which assents to, believes and receives the truth on the authority of Him who gave it. Which is to say, we believe that the Bible is completely true, and is authoritative, and is the rule of life and living, and contains God's message and Word to His people, all on the authority of God who gave it. Thus those who hold this true faith are not just believing based on opinion or on the basis of science or reason alone, but on the power and authority of Christ, therefore it is called “believing on Christ” and not just believing. Those who hold this faith are able to beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things (1 Cor. 13:7) so long as the authority of Christ is behind those things; and by Him they are able to feareth Him and worketh righteousness (Acts. 10:35). They are enabled by Him to say “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:97-100). Whereas the other “faiths” may believe the whole Book of God, or parts here and there, because they have no argument against it, and they have hope that it is true, those with this true justifying faith believe the whole Book of God because it testifies of Christ, whom they are given to love, honor, and obey. They throw themselves on Christ as the personification of all truth, because they would have truth and so must have Christ. They love Christ, and take Him, and with Him receive all of His benefits and privileges, as opposed to those of the other types of faith, who would have the benefits and privileges, and so believe they have taken Christ.

The first type of faith knows little or nothing about Christ's commandments, and does not keep them. The second type of faith, either keeps the commandments or doesn't keep them based on whatever reason or logic is applied to the case. The third type of faith, which is true and justifying faith, loves Christ, and so keeps His commandments – not out of servile fear – but out of love for Him who gave them. They believe Him from experience when He says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30).

The first type of faith believes what it will, no matter what, and may accidentally believe the truth to no eternal effect. The second type of faith may believe all of the truth contained in the Scriptures, and that there is One God – this the devils also believe, and tremble - and so is the same faith as the devils have who perish in eternal flames. The third type of faith goes beyond the faith of devils and takes Christ as husband, puts off all other suitors, follows Him by faith, and receives that which is promised in Christ.

So now we arrive back at our premise, which is that the true Gospel is hid to them which are lost, and now maybe we can understand how this can be true. The Devil blinds and hardens them for whom the true Gospel is hidden, and his devices are such that they believe themselves to be in a good stead, and saved, though they are woefully deceived. The Devil is said to “taketh away the word out of their hearts” and this for a reason which is stated for us plainly, “lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). This is a terrifying truth, and it ought to occupy us in prayer and study to make certain that we have not been deceived in this way. The question, then, is not particularly “have we believed?”, but more importantly, “what is the result in us of what we have believed?”. The first question is good, so far as it goes, and may begin the journey of faith for us; but the second question reveals more which is relevant to where we are and where we are going. As much as we may love to hear that works that are done without faith are dead works (Heb. 9:14), we must also recognize that “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:17-20). The argument is that there must be evident results of faith in order for us to conclude that the true Gospel has not been hidden from us, and so it is our duty to seek out the truth here as it applies to us. Have you believed a lie to your own detriment? Have you been blinded for a time? Or, has the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ been made evident to His Glory?

To conclude, in examining “What is the Gospel?” we are driven to examine what has been revealed (and to whom), and what has been hidden (and to whom) – and how can we know the difference. It is a truism that those to whom the true Gospel has been hidden will not accept it when it is plainly offered. They will find it offensive, and will rail against it, because it condemns them, and here a great mystery is revealed. While the wayside professor claims that he has believed the Gospel and has received Christ and is in a good condition spiritually, he patently and plainly refuses the Gospel when it is completely unveiled. How can this be true? How can a thing be unveiled and still be hidden? The truth is that the infirmity lies in the beholder. It is the wayside professor who is blinded. The truth is gloriously made evident and unveiled freely to all, but he cannot see it. It is the wayside professor who is hardened. The truth is given unto all who will receive it, yet he cannot receive it, because his heart is hardened to it. There is a light that has shined out of the darkness, and that light must shine in our hearts - but to what purpose? Let us look at the scripture again:

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

The light has shined in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. John Gill said this about this passage:

“...men must be first made light in, and by the Lord, or they will never be fit and proper persons to hold forth the word of light, or to communicate light to others; God first shines into their hearts, and then they give light to others: by "the glory of God" is not meant the essential glory of God, or the perfections of his nature, though these are to be seen in the face, or person of Christ; but rather the glorious counsels of God, and scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ; or in other words, the glorious Gospel of God: and by "the knowledge" of it is designed, not a mere notional speculative knowledge of the Gospel, but an experimental one; a spiritual knowledge of the Gospel, of Christ in it, of God in Christ, and of an interest in God's salvation by Christ”

If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. This is a wonderful and fearful thing. We pray that God will enlighten us to our condition, that we might rightly see the knowledge of God in the face of Christ Jesus.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

 
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