December 17, 2006

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

Have You Obeyed the Gospel?

 

Introduction: Text—Jeremiah 8:20-22

 

   Jeremiah lamented concerning Israel: “The harvest is past; the summer is ended; and we are not saved.  For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded.  I mourn and dismay has taken hold on me.  Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?”  (Jer. 8:20-22.)

 

   Jeremiah wrote to warn Judah and Jerusalem of the impending captivity in Babylon.  The time was nearing; thus, he wrote: “The harvest is past and the summer is ended.”  It was the winter-time of captivity.  Judah had been disobedient to God.  They disregarded the voices of the prophets to repent and turn back to God.  We could also say that the harvest is past and summer is ended if: 1) the year is coming to an end and after knowing God’s will all year, you have not yet obeyed the Gospel of Christ, 2) if the spring and summer of your life has now passed and yet you are out of Christ spiritually, or 3) if you are mature enough to respond to the Gospel, but you have not yet responded to Christ’s invitation.  Solomon wrote, “Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them.”  (Eccl. 12:1.)

 

   Jeremiah asked, “Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?”  Gilead was a place in Palestine where a balm was made for medicinal purposes.  Gilead became famous for this balm.  The prophet is speaking figuratively; is there no one who can help Judah spiritually?  We could also ask, Is there no Savior for the lost among us?  Is this the reason why we are still lost in sin?  No, we do have a Savior which is Christ the Lord.  This is not the reason for our lost condition.  It may be that you have just recently learned what to do to obtain the forgiveness of God, or that you have just reached this good time of maturity in your life.  There is a balm in Gilead; there is a Savior for us.

Some Non-effective Balms

 

   There is a sticky, honey-like gum resin prepared at present day Jericho and sold to travelers in small tin boxes known as “the balm of Gilead,” but it has no real medicinal value.  There was a real balm in Gilead in ancient days.  It really helped ailments of the body.  But one has to be careful about false balms that are sold to unsuspecting tourists who are not really sick.

 

   Preachers are telling lost people all kinds of things that are not according to the Word of God.  If you are given a fake medicine, it will not help you to get well, no matter how much you believe in it.  People are not just psychologically sick; they are really seriously ill.  Sin cannot be cured with a band-aid.  I want to warn you about some small tin boxes that claim to be the real balm of Gilead, but they are not.

 

   You will not really go into captivity.  The leaders of Israel and Judah largely ignored the prophets.  They reasoned that they were the people of God.  They would not be taken captive by Babylon.  Of course, they learned the hard way that the prophets were speaking the truth of God.  Some today have bought into the lie that you need not obey the Gospel.  You will not suffer any consequences for doing so.  Besides that, you are not really sick.  Sin is just an invention of preachers and churches.  Listen to Jeremiah: “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land.  The prophets prophesy falsely and priests rule at their direction.  And my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?”  (Jer. 5:30-31.)

 

   For some reason, sinners like to be told lies instead of the truth.  We like to be told that there are no consequences to our behavior.  Satan told Adam and Eve, You shall not surely die, but they did.  (Gen. 3:3-4.)  Jesus referred to Satan as a liar and the father of lies.  (John 8:44.)  In the end, lies will not help us.  Judah spent 70 years in captivity in Babylon.  Jeremiah foretold two things: that they would go into captivity, and how long they would stay in captivity before Cyrus would allow them to return to Jerusalem.

 

   The Bible gives us warnings about our disobedience.  Jesus said plainly: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.  But he that believes not shall be condemned.”  (Mark 16:16, NIV.)  The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the baptism of John the Baptist.  In doing so, they rejected “the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized of him.”  (Luke 7:29-30.)  They remained lost even after having the privilege of hearing the preaching of John and Jesus Christ.

 

   You do not need to be baptized.  This is exactly what the Pharisees and lawyers believed.  We have the Law of Moses; that is all that we need.  They stumbled over the stumbling stone which was laid in Zion. In rejecting baptism, they were also rejecting Jesus Christ.  Baptism is to unite one with Jesus Christ.  We are united in the likeness of his death, burial and resurrection.  For this reason, it is called “obeying the gospel.”  The Gospel is the message about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  (1 Cor. 15:1-3.)  We obey something that is called “the form of doctrine,” because what we do is in the likeness of what Jesus did.  (Rom. 6:17-18.)

 

   Modern preachers are telling lost people that they do not need to be baptized.  I really do not know why so many are saying something that is so manifestly false.  I do not believe that it is for the same reason that the Pharisees rejected John’s baptism.  They did so because they were rejecting Jesus Christ.  We have many today who say that they believe that Jesus is the only Savior of the world, but yet they still do not teach the necessity of baptism in water.

 

   I suspect that the reasons are: a) Baptism is humbling.  One gets drenched, not only physically, but their pride gets it too!  b) Baptism calls one into a commitment.  c) Baptism is a work?  Many claim that baptism is rejected because it is a work (the Bible nowhere calls it such).  I believe that it is rejected by some precisely because it is not a work.  It is passive in nature (be baptized).  Some want to do some big thing in order to be saved, so they can speak about what they have done.  We are saved principally by what our Lord has already accomplished.

 

   No one can argue that baptism in unnecessary because: 1) It is not found in the Bible.  2) Because Jesus was not baptized.  3) Because the first members of the church were not baptized.  4) Because it is not found in the Great Commission.  5) Because it is an obscure Christian doctrine.

 

 

   Just say the sinners’ prayer.  What sinners are told to do today by many preachers is just to repeat the sinner’s prayer with the preacher.  The prayer itself is not a bad prayer.  It is a confession that one is a sinner before God and needs redemption.  It is an invitation for the Lord to come and live in your heart and to become the Lord of your life.  I do not know one thing in most of these prayers that I object to.  The only problem with it is that the sinner’s prayer is nowhere to be found in the Bible.  No lost person was ever told to say a prayer like that.  Saul of Tarsus was told to arise and be baptized, washing away your sins.  (Acts 22:16.)

 

   The sinner’s prayer has been put in the place of baptism.  Instead of calling upon sinners to repent and be baptized, as Peter told the Pentecost audience, today lost people are told to repeat a prayer that the preacher made up.  It seems to me that the sinner’s prayer is now offered as a matter of convenience.  It is just more convenient than being totally immersed in water.

 

   Just be immersed.  Another false balm given to people in tin cans is immersion in water without a change of heart.  Jesus said, Believe and be baptized.  (Mark 16:16.)  Peter preached, Repent and be baptized.  (Acts 2:38.)  John preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  (Mark 1:4.)  The power is in the blood of Christ, not just in the physical act of immersion.  The grace of God always works through faith.  (Eph. 2:8-9.)  We have access by faith into the grace of God.  (Rom. 5:2.)  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.  (Psalm 51:17.)  Baptism alone is a non-effective balm.  You can put it on a wound, but it cannot heal.

 

Weeping for the Lost

 

   Jeremiah wept over the lost state of Judah.  He wrote, “Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.”  (Jer. 9:1.)  Years later, Jesus likewise wept over Jerusalem.  He knew and had foretold that the city and temple would be destroyed by the Romans.  (Matt. 24.)  He said that he would have gathered them together as a chicken gathers her chicks under her winds, but they would not allow him to protect and save them.  Paul added that he was among the Ephesians preaching day and night with tears. (Acts 20:31.)

Reasons for Obeying the Gospel

 

   Because we need the Great Physician.  We ought to obey the Gospel because we need the balm of Gilead; we need to be healed of sin and all the problems that it brings upon us.  Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Rom. 6:23.)  Every person in the world should obey the Gospel because they need its blessings.  We need forgiveness and the healing that comes from being in Jesus Christ.  There is not one person who can say, I do no need help from the Savior.

 

   Because of what Jesus endured for us.  Paul called it “the unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ.”  (2 Cor. 9:15.)  One ought not to refuse a gift from another.  Suppose some rescuers found the lost man who recently died from exposure in the cold, but upon finding him he refused their help??  Such would not make sense.  Only a person who does not understand his dire situation would do such a thing.  Suppose the passengers on the Titanic refused help from the ship that came to rescue them?  Jesus came to earth to rescue us from sin and death.  In order to do so, he had to bear our sins on the cross.  The Hebrew writer spoke of those who “trod under foot the Son of God and the blood of the covenant, despite the spirit of grace in which it was given.”  (Heb. 10:29.)

 

   Because of your influence upon others.  What you do in life affects others around you.  You ought to obey the Gospel because it will encourage and inspire others.  Every parent ought to obey the Gospel.  Every husband and wife should.  Every young person who is mature enough to understand the Gospel ought to obey the Gospel, because you have lost friends.  You will have an impact upon them and their decision.