To the question; what must I do to be saved? the old gospel replies; believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. To the further question; what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?; its reply is; it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners; abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon Him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one's natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one's heart by the Holy Ghost. And to further question still: how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things? it answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sins, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself on His mercy: ask Him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask Him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from Him. Turn to Him and trust Him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to Him; watch, pray, read and hear God's Word, worship and commune with God's people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you. The emphasis in this advice is on the need to call upon Christ directly, as the very first step. "Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him" So do not postpone action till you think you are better, but honestly confess your badness and give yourself up here and now to the Christ who alone can make you better; and wait on Him till His light rises in your soul, as Scripture promises that it shall do. Anything less than this direct dealing with Christ is disobedience of the gospel. Such is the exercise of spirit to which the old evangel summons its hearers. "I believe -- help thou mine unbelief"; this must become their cry. And the old gospel is proclaimed in the sure confidence that the Christ of whom it testifies, the Christ who is the real speaker when the Scriptural invitations to trust Him are expounded and applied, is not passively waiting for man's decision as the word goes forth, but is omnipotently active, working with and through the word bringing His people to faith in Himself. The preaching of the new
gospel is often described as the task of "bringing men to Christ"
-- preaching the old gospel could more properly be described as bringing
Christ to men, for those who preach it know that as they do their work
of setting Christ before men's eyes, the mighty Saviour whom they proclaim
is busy doing His work through their words, visiting sinners with salvation,
awakening them to faith, drawing them in mercy to Himself. In the matter
of believing and preaching the gospel, as in other things, Jeremiah's
words still have their application: "Thus saith the Lord, Stand
ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good
way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls..."
(Jer. 6:16). -- J.I.
Packer from the introduction to The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen
Only the Lord knows your heart, and if you have called upon Christ directly, confessing your sins as best you can, asking Him to give you a new heart of true repentance and firm faith and to be the Lord of your life, you have just taken your first step in your walk with Christ. If you dont know any other Christians, you'll want to find and get involved in a good church near you that believes that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God and corporately worships Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There are hundreds of churches here in Columbus and a few of them provide good solid teaching. I am a communicant member of Grace Presbyterian Church of Columbus (Orthodox Presbyterian Church). You can have full confidence in the OPC Presbyterian church denomination, which provides a solid framework of constancy and consistency in presenting the Reformed Theology. The Westminster Assembly of Divines, convened by the English Parliament in 1643, completed the Westminster Confession of Faith, Shorter Catechism and Larger Catechism in 1647. And, these documents serve as the doctrinal standards, subordinate to the word of God, for all OPC and most PCA Presbyterian churches around the world. Other Reformed denominations may use The Heidelberg Catechism, The Belgic Confession and The Canons of Dordt, the three forms of unity, as part of their doctrinal standards. The Heidelberg Catechism is one of my favorites. The OPC and PCA denominations are in no way associated the Presbyterian Church USA. Find a Bible and begin reading it. The book of John is a great place to start learning about our Lord and Savior -- I would suggest an inexpensive New International Version Bible (NIV), and highly recommend The Reformation Study Bible, New King James Version (NKJV), formerly titled New Geneva Study Bible. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, complete and unabridged, nearly 2500 pages in one volume, is available through Christian Book Distributors. And, according to Charles Spurgeon, it is so very "trustworthy and profitable...in finding good matter in every text" as Matthew Henry clarifies and gives practical application to every verse in Scripture. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan is a must read as we walk the "Narrow Path to the Celestial City". I recommend the version revised in modern english by L. Edward Hazelbaker. The History of the Christian Church by Philip Schaff is a fascinating study of the Christian Church from Apostolic Christianity (A.D. 1) through the Swiss Reformation (1605) in 8 volumes for $49.95 and/or you can read it on line. Ray Stedman provides great book-by-book overviews in Adventuring Through The Bible. While working in my shop, I study Scripture by listening to either an audio Bible or real audio expository messages found on my Selected Links for Christian Study page including Charles Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, James Boice, R.C. Sproul and Alistair Begg -- men of different denominations, they all deliver exceptional Reformation messages, essentially speaking with one voice pertaining to the life of Christ, the Word of God and how the Lord works in our lives. |