













swarms of locusts -
Swarms provides the reader with a fascinating look at the
detrimental impact that the Jesuits have had in
undermining genuine Biblical Christianity.

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the bunker mentality...
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.
(2
Cor. 4:3-6)
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):
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.
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:
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.
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.
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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