Disobedience to the Gospel
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Romans 10:16
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias said, Lord, who has believed our report?
1. Man is the same disobedient creature under all dispensations. We bemoan his rejection of the gospel, and so did Isaiah, who spoke in the name of the whole company of the prophets.
2. It is one of the greatest proofs of the depravity of man's heart that he will no more obey the gospel than the law, but disobeys his God, whether He speaks to him in love or in law. Men will sooner be lost than trust their God.
3. When any receive the gospel it is a work of grace — "the arm of the Lord is revealed"; but when they refuse it it is their own sin — "they have not obeyed the gospel."
I. THE GOSPEL COMES TO MEN WITH THE FORCE OF A COMMAND. It is not optional to men to accept or refuse it at pleasure (Acts 17:30; Mark 1:5). To refuse to believe is to incur great sin (John 16:8). There is a death penalty attached to disobedience (Mark 16:16). It is so put —
1. To secure the honour of God. It is not the offer of an equal to an equal, but of the great God to a condemned sinner.
2. To embolden the proclaimer of it. The minister now speaks boldly with his Master's authority.
3. To remind him of his obligations. Repentance and faith are natural duties from which the gospel does not exonerate a man, although it blesses him by bestowing them upon him.
4. To encourage the humble seeker. He must be at full liberty to believe in Jesus, since he is commanded to do so, and threatened if he does not do so.
5. To suggest to men the urgent duty of seeing to their soul's welfare. Suicide, whether of the body or of the soul, is always a great crime. To neglect the great salvation is a grave offence. The gospel is set forth as a feast, to which men are bound to come, under penalty of the King's displeasure (Matthew 22:1-7). The prodigal was right in returning to his father; and if he was right in doing so, so would each one of us be in doing the same.
II. WHAT, THEN, ARE THE CLAIMS OF THE GOSPEL TO OBEDIENCE?
1. The authority of the sender. Whatever God commands, man is under bonds to do.
2. The motive of the sender. Love shines in the gospel command, and no man should slight infinite love. To refuse to obey the gospel of salvation is an insult to Divine love.
3. The great gift of the sender: He has given us His only begotten Son. To refuse Jesus is a high affront to measureless love.
4. The reasonableness of the demand of the sender. Should not men believe their God and trust their Saviour?
5. The earnestness of the sender. His whole heart is in the gospel. Note the high position which the scheme of salvation occupies in the esteem of God. Shall we not obey an appeal put before us with such energy of compassion? Ask your own consciences whether you do right to refuse or neglect the gospel of the grace of God. Ask those who are now saved what they think of their long unbelief. Do not incur a world of regrets in after years by long delays. Do not jeopardise your souls by refusing the gospel.
III. WHAT IS THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED BY THE GOSPEL? Not mere hearing, crediting, liking, professing, or proclaiming; but a hearty obedience to its commands. It claims —
1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Renunciation of self-righteousness and confession of guilt.
3. Repentance and practical quittance of sin,
4. Discipleship under the Lord Jesus; and this means obedience both to His teaching and His example.
5. Public confession of His name, in His own way, namely, by baptism. Conclusion: If you refuse to obey the gospel your hearts will harden to a deeper unbelief. Others will obtain the blessing which you refuse; and this will deepen your own condemnation (Romans 10:19). You will die in your sins, with your blood on your own heads.
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