Dear Coast family,

Here is an interesting presentation to a mixed group. Take a look!

The Difficult Doctrine of the Glory of the Cross

‘First, this issue is the most difficult of all the five points of Calvinism to understand and accept. Probably four out of five Calvinists will tell you that this is last of the five points they came to grips with. This is not an easy issue and we shouldn’t pretend that it is. But second, don’t imagine that there is just one view for the Limited Atonement position and another view for the Unlimited Atonement position. As if there are two polar opposites here and they compete against each other. This is not really an either/or position even among Calvinists. And in fact, historically, the most intense debates about Limited Atonement have come over the past 400 years, they’ve all been intramural debates between Calvinists, among Calvinists. There are at least three major divisions of Calvinists. There are the high Calvinists. They have one opinion about how the atonement is limited; they tend to try to say it’s limited in its sufficiency. You’ve got the moderate Calvinists and you’ve got the low Calvinists and they all have different views and there are many shades and degrees in between. In fact, I doubt if you could find any two Calvinists who agree completely with one another on every text and every nuance related to this verse. You may if you scoured the world find two somewhere but I bet if you could poll every Calvinist in this room you’d find that no two of us agree on every point and every particular related to this issue. There is not just one Calvinist position on limited atonement. There are many. And when you get into individual verses like Second Peter 2, verse 1, there is no such thing as THE Calvinist interpretation of that verse. There are at least six possible Calvinists’ interpretations of it and if we have time at the end I’m going to give you three of them. – Phil Johnson, The Nature of the Atonement

Gracious Calvinism


‘Many there are who cannot see these truths [the doctrines of God's sovereignty], who yet are in a state truly pleasing to God; yea many, at whose feet the best of us may be glad to be found in heaven. It is a great evil, when these doctrines are made a ground of separation one from another, and when the advocates of different systems anathematize each other. . . . In reference to truths which are involved in so much obscurity as those which relate to the sovereignty of God mutual kindness and concession are far better than vehement argumentation and uncharitable discussion. – Charles Simeon 

The Gospel We Preach

The Gospel We Preach

John 6:37; Coast Community Church; Pastor Earl Miles; 1/4/2015

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,

and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. – John 6:37

This verse had posed all kinds of problems for believers and yet the understanding of it is crucial to proclamation of the whole gospel. The kind of problem it poses is like scientists attempts to understand the operation of physical light.

Does light operate as a ‘wave’ or as a ‘particle’?

"It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory [wave theory of light] and sometimes the other [particle theory of light], while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do" – Albert Einstein, Wave-Particle Duality – Wikipedia.org

Some see in this verse simply this:

1. Jesus is not bothered by the people who clamor for physical bread and reject His offer of the true Bread from Heaven (Himself) because God is going to give a certain number of people to Jesus without fail.

2. Jesus and the Father are united in this giving and receiving of sinners so that Jesus will receive all those the Father gives.

This is certainly true and is part of what Jesus is saying. But the question is whether that is all that He is saying in this verse.

Puritans like Matthew Henry saw more and expressed it like this:

1. The first part of the verse is a prediction of the success of Jesus’ work and ministry.

2. The second part of the verse is a promise of welcome to all those who desire to come to Christ and be saved.

Spurgeon who was thoroughly read in the Puritans also saw it as both a prediction of success and a promise of welcome.

‘Mr. Spurgeon with all his strong attachment to truths which relate to divine sovereignty – and he has ever been bold and unflinching in his proclamation of them – has always presented the other side, the call of the gospel to all who hear it. … I remember the first sermon he preached in my chapel; it was from the text [John 6:37]. I can see the smiles that played over the faces of many, whose theology began and ended in the blessed declarations of Romans viii. Alas, how all was changed when he came to the latter part of the text! The honey was turned to gall and the smiles gave place to scowls.’ – Robert Shindler, 1892 quoted by Iain Murray, Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism

We know of at least 6 times that Charles Spurgeon preached from John 6:37 with these titles:

1. THE CERTAINTY AND FREENESS OF DIVINE GRACE. - NO. 599

2. HIGH DOCTRINE AND BROAD DOCTRINE - NO. 1762

3. ALL COMERS TO CHRIST WELCOMED. - NO. 2349

4. THE BIG GATES WIDE OPEN. - NO. 2954

5. COME AND WELCOME. - NO. 3000

6. THE LAST MESSAGE FOR THE YEAR. - NO. 3230

‘LET it be evermore remembered that the words of Jesus Christ are full of truth and grace; and that in each of these two sentences, whether we perceive the fact or not, there is the surest truth and the freest grace. There will be some, who from the peculiarity of their minds, will prize most the first sentence. They will say, as they read these words, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;” “Why! here is high doctrine; here is the security of the covenant, the purpose of God effectually carried out; herein is the truth which we love and the grace in which we glory.” Other brethren, overlooking the first sentence, lest it should raise questions too hard to be answered, will rather grasp at the second sentence, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” “Why!” say they, “here is universality of description; here is a freeness of invitation; here is a gracious overflow of liberality: this is good free gospel indeed;” and they will therefore fall to proclaiming the second sentence to the neglect of the first. But, brethren, let us not sin by setting one Scripture over against another, or attempting to divide the living child of revelation. It is one, and it is alike glorious in all its parts. You who love to hear the gospel preached to sinners, do not be afraid of the doctrines of sovereign grace; and you who love sovereign grace. and cannot well hear doctrine too high for your taste, do not be afraid of the free invitations of the gospel, and the wide door which Jesus opens for needy sinners in many passages of Scripture. Let us receive all truth, and let us be willing to learn every lesson which the Lord has written, remembering that if we cannot as yet reconcile truths, yet there is the promise: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” If we could know everything, we should be gods; being mortals, some things must be unknown to us; let us know our ignorance, and despair of becoming infallible, thus shall we be in the path to true wisdom; whereas, if we boast of our wisdom, we shall be on the high road to great folly. – Charles Spurgeon, The Certainty and Freeness of  Divine Grace on John 6:37

I start this way to make the point that the good news of Jesus Christ is both the promise of welcome and the prediction/promise of success.

It is both the truth that Jesus is an able and willing Savior for each person we meet and that God is at work to cause many to be born again so that they will repent and believe in Jesus.

The question is why are both of these things part of the good news?

This is where an explanation of the good news comes in.

The truth of the gospel revolves around these historical categories:

Creation

Fall

Redemption

Restoration

(Response to all this)

The truth of the gospel also revolves around these personal categories:

God

Man

Jesus

Faith

I. God and Creation: Why is there something and not nothing?

I often drive along the road (especially on vacations) and see an old abandoned building, maybe out in the middle of a field or along the roadway and wonder, ‘When was that built? Who built it? Why was it built? What was it like when it was new and filled with people and activity?’

It’s very existence raises questions of its past and purpose.

If you were to walk along the beach and find a pair of flip flops, what would you think? ‘Someone was here at some point wearing these flip flops which they had bought at some store which had acquired them from some distributor who had gotten them from some manufacturer.’ It other words you would think there was a reason why the flip flops were there. There was a story behind their existence that involved purposeful action and intent.

• God created us to look to Him for our help and happiness.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27

For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. – 1 Timothy 2:13

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; - 1 Timothy 4:4

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. – James 1:17

Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” – Isaiah 43:7

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. – Colossians 1:16

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” – Revelation 4:11

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11

II. Man and the Fall: Why is the good world God created now filled with evil and suffering?

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent [desiring harm and doing harm from the heart – hatred or ill-will that produces harm]. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" — 'the Epicurean paradox', Epicurus (3^rd century BC), The Problem of Evil -   Wikipedia.org

• We have looked to creation instead and disobeyed the perfect law of love and deserve God’s just punishment.

²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. – Romans 1:21-25

For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. – Jeremiah 2:13

¹⁰ as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; ¹¹ There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; ¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” – Romans 3:10-12

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23

²¹ “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. – Matthew 5:21-22

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. – Matthew 5:27-30

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:43-48

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:8

• We cannot save ourselves and we will not come to God for mercy.

¹⁰ “None is righteous, no, not one; ¹¹  no one understands; no one seeks for God. ¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” …  ²⁰ For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes know-ledge of sin. …  ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Romans 3:10-12, 20, 23

Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. – John 5:40

¹⁹ This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. – John 3:19-20

¹ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. – Ephesians 2:1-3

III. Jesus and the Rescue: What has God done in light of all the evil and suffering in the world?

‘In the midst of the movie The Hiding Place there is a scene set in the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. Corrie ten Boom and her sister, Betsy, are there, along with ten thousand other women in horrible, degrading, hideous conditions. They are gathered with some of the women in the barracks in the midst of the beds, cold and hungry and lice-ridden and Betsy is leading a Bible class. One of the other women calls out derisively from her bunk and mocks their worship of God. They fall into conversation and this woman says what so frequently is flung at Christians: ‘If your God is such a good God, why does He allow this kind of suffering?’ Dramatically she tears off the bandages and old rags that bind her hands, displaying her broken, mangled fingers and says ‘I’m the first violinist of the symphony orchestra. Did your God will this?’ For a moment no one answers. Then Corrie ten Boom steps to the side of her sister and says ‘We can’t answer that question. All we know is that our God came to this earth and became one of us and he suffered with us and was crucified and died. And that He did it for love.’ (IBP)

• God sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us from our sin.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. – John 3:17

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” – Luke 19:10

If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. – John 12:47

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. – 1 Timothy 1:15

• Jesus lived the life we could never live (a perfect life of love to God and man).

³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” – John 8:29

¹⁷ For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. – Romans 5:17-19 

• Jesus died the death we deserve to die (the wrath of God on the cross).

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. – Romans 5:6

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, - 1 Peter 3:18

• Jesus rose from the dead as the only Savior and Lord.

³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. … ³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” – Acts 2:32, 36

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

IV. Jesus and the Restoration: What is God doing now? What will He do in the future?

            At Corrie ten Boom’s house in Holland (Ten Boom Museum)

In the dining room, where the signal clock sat in the window, the tour guide turned our attention to the back side of a tapestry that Corrie often used as an illustration.

It’s just a big mess of strings, all different colors wadded up in no pattern or form. Then he read a poem that she herself would read when showing the tapestry. I think it’s this one that I found online:

Life is But a Weaving

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me.

I cannot choose the colors

He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I the underside.

Not ‘til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas

And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him.

Then he had someone flip it around to the front side:

A crown of life.

• Jesus will return one day to judge all men and to restore a perfect world.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. – John 14:3

On that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. – Romans 2:16

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. – 2 Peter 3:11-13

• Jesus offers Himself as an able and willing Savior for all.

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. – Revelation 22:17

Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:4

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” – John 4:10

Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? – Ezekiel 18:23

Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ – Ezekiel 33:11

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. – Matthew 23:37

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. – John 6:37

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. – Isaiah 55:1

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28

³⁷ Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” – John 7:37-38

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. – Hebrews 7:25

How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? – Hebrews 10:29

But as for Israel He says, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” – Romans 10:21

• God graciously works to make many willing to repent and believe in Jesus by causing them to be born again.

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” – John 6:29

⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:7-8

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. – John 6:37

⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. – Ephesians 2:4-10

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, - 1 Peter 1:3

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. – Acts 13:48

³ As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴ and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶ but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” – Acts 9:3-6

¹⁴ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. – Romans 9:14-16

²⁸ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ³⁰ and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. – Romans 8:28-30

V. Response of Repentance and Faith: What must we do to be saved from sin and satisfied in God? what does it mean to repent and believe?

‘We live before God by trusting a promise, depending on a Person, accepting a sacrifice, wearing a righteousness, and surrendering ourselves up to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Implicit trust in Jesus, our Lord, is the way of life and every other way leads to death.’ – Charles Spurgeon, Saved Through Faith in Advice For Seekers

• Ask God to rescue you from your sin (the penalty for it and the power of it over your life).

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:13

• Believe that Jesus is an able and willing Savior for you.

In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:14

²⁹ And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” – Acts 16:29-31

And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, - Hebrews 5:9

• Commit your life to follow Jesus as Lord.

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9

¹ Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:1-2

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. – Matthew 10:39

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. – Matthew 16:25

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. – Mark 8:35

• Devote yourself to the Word of God and the People of God through many trials.

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20

²⁰ So then, you will know them by their fruits. ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ – Matthew 7:21-23

⁴ Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: – 1 John 2:4-5

¹⁴ We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. … ¹⁶ By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  – 1 John 3:14, 16

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. – Galatians 5:6

⁵ Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. – 2 John 1:5-6

Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” – Acts 14:22

You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. – Matthew 10:22

Do you see this verse as ‘good news’? all of it?

What is the implication of this verse for the gospel we preach?  

The Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus offers Himself as an able and willing Savior for you and me and God works in His Sovereign grace to make many willing to believe in His Son by causing them to be born again!

‘We ought, each of us who are entrusted with the ministry, to seek to preach all truth. I know it may be impossible to tell you all of it. That high hill of truth hath mists upon its summit. No mortal eye can see its pinnacle; nor hath the foot of man ever trodden it. But yet let us paint the mist, if we cannot paint the summit. Let us depict the difficulty itself if we cannot unravel it. Let us not hide anything, but if the mountain of truth be cloudy at the top, let us say, "Clouds and darkness are around him," Let us not deny it; and let us not think of cutting down the mountain to our own standard, because we cannot see its summit or cannot reach its pinnacle. He who would preach the gospel must preach all the gospel. He who would have it said he is a faithful minister, must not keep back any part of revelation.’ – Charles Spurgeon, Preach the Gospel on 1 Corinthians 9:16

‘The greatest missionaries that have ever lived have believed in God’s choice of them and instead of this doctrine leading to inaction, it has ever been an irresistible motive power and it will be so again. … Side by side with the blood of Christ it is the world’s hope.’ – Charles Spurgeon quoted by Iain Murray in The Forgotten Spurgeon