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Gold, Silver, Precious Stones
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"My Grace is Sufficient for Thee," a sermon published in The Gospel Messenger (1881)"
YEA, EVEN IF ONE WERE POSSESSED of a legion of devils, they were not too many for our blessed Saviour to deal with, but enough to furnish an unanswerable argument in favor of the irresistible call of the divine Spirit, and beautifully illustrate the blessed truth declared in our text, viz: that God’s grace alone is sufficient for salvation without the works of men.
Not, however without repentance and faith, though some have been so full of folly, as to affirm that if sinners are saved upon the principles we maintain, then repentance and faith are needless things. Whereas, needful and indispensable as these appear in the christian system, they could never appear at all apart from such principles. The inexcusable mistake of our opponents is, they imagine that men must repent and believe, and thus secure God’s love and grace. Whereas, none ever have, or will repent and believe, evangelically, except under the influence of special grace applied to them. See Eph. Ii; 4, 5, – “But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.” Don’t you see? If words mean any thing, this quotation signifies that the first special grace the Ephesians received, was the grace of quickening, which signifies to make alive, and most clearly implies that, before, they were dead, and hence not in a condition to obtain life by repenting, believing or aught of their works beside. Thus indeed, grace appears sufficient, yea, sufficient to call from death unto life, otherwise it could not be sufficient at all. Herein consists the insufficiency of all other schemes, they suggest that men should repent, and obtain life, whereas grace gives life and the recipient repents as a consequence, and when he has, he is convinced that repentance merely, will not justify him, then he turns as an humble penitent to Christ and prays for mercy, when the grace of faith is given, through which every recipient does now in a measure, and shall ultimately fully triumph over sin, death, and the Devil. |
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