Think of that young Scottish
preacher who died at 29 years of age, Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, under whose
faithful ministry multitudes were saving converted to Christ in Dundee. His
doctrine can be summarised in his own words:
“Christ offers Himself as a Saviour to all of the human race.”[1] Listen to a point he makes at the end of one
of his sermons: Referring to the Lord
Jesus Christ,
He cries to all.
– had he cried to the old, then the young would have said, “We are safe, we do
not need a Saviour.” Had he cried to the
young, the old men among you would have said, “He is not for us.” Had he cried to the good or to the bad, still
some would have felt themselves excused.
But he cries to you all. There is
not one person hearing, but Jesus cries to you.
Then all are lost, - old and young, rich and poor. Whatever you think of yourselves, Jesus knows
you to be in a lost condition; therefore this piercing cry: “Unto you, O men, I
call.”[2]
Brothers and sisters, let us
follow the noble example of those whom God has used mightily to bring in his
harvest. Let us not any longer be hide-bound
by theological systems that do not reflect the true biblical balance of the New
Testament. Keep in mind the dangers of
hyper-Calvinism, for they are so obvious, they are so real, they are so
apparent; and eschew that system at every sight or sound of it. Lloyd-Jones warned his hearers in a most
stern way “against the ‘abomination’ of hyper-Calvinism.”[3] There is a world out there that is perishing
without Christ, millions dying without hope.
We have been given the wonderful privilege of standing between the
living and the dead. What a place to
stand! Remember, Baxter’s
confession: “I preach as never sure to
preach again, as a dying man to dying men.”
The world that you and I live in and in which we serve must be told that
there is a Saviour who is ready and able and willing to save to the uttermost
all who come to God through him.[4] We must be sure and convinced in our own
minds that the door of mercy has been flung wide open by the God who loves the
world; and none need perish in God’s hell for want of a Deliverer.
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