“HAS THE GOSPEL BEEN OVEREMPHASIZED
AT THE EXPENSE OF THE LAW?”
The Ordo Salutis Part 3 of 3
“HAS THE
GOSPEL BEEN OVEREMPHASIZED
AT THE EXPENSE OF THE LAW?”
The Ordo
Salutis Part 3 of 3
You know
Dear Reader, we have every Bible Pastor, Preacher, Teacher, Evangelist
and
Tract Distributor labouring away in the streets and pounding their
pulpits,
about Paul’s description of the gospel as follows …
“… I
declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, … how
that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:”
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
… and
their
efforts are worthy of all commendation … don’t get me wrong!
However,
do
you think if the law was preached properly, then what follows … that is
… the
gospel … would make more sense? Would there be less false conversions?
You know …
“May
as well give Jesus a go … ‘cos I’ve tried everything else?
For those
of us that are saved, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the good
news,
the great news, the unbelievable fantastic news, the joy
of
salvation, the ecstatic fact of not to be subject
to the wrath
of God’s hell, the release, the liberty, the sin
debt paid in
full, eternal life in heaven with God the Father and God
the Son of
God, the love of God that he would love me so much that he
would send
his Son to die for me … a sinner … and so on and so on!
Got the
picture?
Has the
gospel of salvation overshadowed the demands of the law?
Have God’s
servants downplayed the law, it’s purity, it’s demands,
it’s curse, and the resultant torment in the literal fires
of
hell … before they start preaching deliverance?
It would
seem to me, that when Jesus Christ was preached, a couple of centuries
ago, to
hardened wharfies, drunken sailors and criminals … they already knew
about the
fires of hell … there were not too many sceptics of the very fact that
fires of
hell were real!
So as the
ground work had been done, and the ‘hard ground’ had been softened with
these
sinners, that hell existed, they were more susceptible to the gospel of
Jesus
Christ … it simply followed as a matter of course!
Why has
the
gospel being ignored today? Why do people yawn and say “Well, good on
you Jesus
… yes, you were a good chap selflessly serving others … but no thanks
for me.
I’ve got my own religion.”
Let me
give
you an example …
Would a
man
who was building a house start with the roof? Of course not!
No, he
would lay the concrete slab, then erect the walls …
then put the roof
on!
So it
should with preaching the gospel … the foundation of the law comes
first
and it’s purity, then the walls of the curse of the law with
its demands
… and then finally the ‘roof’ … the love of God and the gospel
of His
Son.
SO HOW
SHOULD WE PREACH THE GOSPEL?
First the law
… and second … the gospel
1. Preach
the Ten Commandments … God’s laws are holy, just and good
God gives
the law … his Ten Commandments which are pure and holy … as
stated …
“Wherefore
the
law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just,
and good.”
(Romans 7:12)
2. Preach
how God’s law
demands
sinless perfection
“For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one
point,
he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) … it’s 100%
or nothing.
3. Preach
the law’s demand for sinless perfection is a curse for man.
“For as
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is
written, Cursed
is every one that continueth not in ALL things which are
written in the
book of the law to do them.” (Galatians 3:10)
4. Preach
how Christ came to earth as a man to fulfill God’s law … he ‘defeated’
the law
… he was sinless
“For he
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made
the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
“And ye know that he was manifested to take
away our sins; and in him is no sin.” (1 John 3:5)
“Who did
no
sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth:” (1 Peter 2:22)
5. Christ
was like the perfect lamb in the Old Testament, he was without blemish.
“And if
there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any
ill
blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.”
(Deuteronomy 15:21)
Yes,
Christ
rode into Jerusalem on the Sunday, and was examined for four days by
Israel,
and crucified on Wednesday night … four days later, according to Old
Testament
law.
6. All the
sins were laid on the sacrificial animal to become a curse.
For
leprosy,
representing sin, the priest took two birds (Leviticus 14:4), with one
to be
killed and the other to fly off into heaven … a type of Christ … Christ
being
killed and then also returning to heaven.
7. Preach
how Christ became a curse for us that we would be redeemed
“Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us:
for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
(Galatians 3:13)
Like
the
birds, the goats, the lambs and so on, Christ had all the sins of the
world …
past present and future … laid on him … for you and me ... that is all
our sins
were paid for 2,000 years ago.
8.
Preach
how Christ died for our sins, being justified by his blood
“For
I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures;”
(1
Corinthians 15:3)
“Much
more
then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from (God’s)
wrath
through him.”
(Romans
5:9).
“In
whom we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
(Colossians
1:14)
9. Preach
how God commends his love to us in Jesus Christ
“But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us.” (Romans
5:8)
10. Preach
BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has already done for us.
… not
repent, turn, repent, choose, seek the Lord, surrender, turn from sins,
get
baptised, speak in tongues, eat the mass and so on.
“For God
so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16)
And they
said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved, and thy
house. (Acts 16:31)
Instead
of
me … in my place … Christ lived the sinless life in
fulfilling/defeating the
curse of God’s laws upon me.
IN
CONCLUSION:
This
is the
God centred salvation that must be preached.
First
the law
and then the gospel … savagely cut with the knife of
the curse
of the law and then perfectly healed with Christ’s perfect
doing
and dying … his sinless life and his sinless blood.
Preach
the
holy law, the ten commandments, and its curse on us for making us sin,
and how
Christ fulfilled the law … then becoming a curse for us and then dying
for our
sins in our place.
“Dear
heavenly Father, I am a sinner.
Thank
you
for sending your Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins.
Your
holy
laws are a curse to me and only Jesus Christ could live the sinless
life that
you wanted from me.
I
believe
on you Lord Jesus Christ, for dying in my place for my sins and saving
me from
the fires of hell.
Thank
you
for saving me for all eternity … and never to be lost. Amen.”
And
this
Dear Reader, is the ONLY Ordo Salutis that needs be
preached … no
huffing and puffing … no twisting of arms! Believe or leave it! The
light of
the day being a wonderful relief after the dark of the night!
Harley
Hitchcock
July
2024
This
website’s front page is:
www.
“THE ORDER
OF SALVATION”
aka the Ordo
Salutis Part 1 of 3
