livingwaters IF YOU WANT TO REACH THOSE YOU LOVE WITH THE GOSPEL, READ THIS... Now and then Im criticized because I preach to those who have hard hearts. This, they say, is casting pearls before swine. Pigs place no value on pearls. They are just self-indulgent animals whose only thought is for food. So the self-indulgent sin-loving sinner sees no value in the precious pearl of the gospel. It has no benefit to him. A millionaire is sitting on a small plane working on a new money-making angle. Under his seat is a parachute. He shows no interest in it. All that interests him is making more money. Suddenly the plane begins to go down and he’s filled with fear. How much will he now value that parachute? He would give all he owns to possess it, because without it he will lose his life. So it is with the Savior. Christ crucified for the sin of the world is of no interest to the sinner. It is irrelevant. But there is something that will change his mind about its value. It is the moral Law. It will show him that his life is in terrible danger, and when he has that realization, the gospel will make sense and will be greatly valued. Here now is why there is contention from the “You are casting pearls before swine” folks. The modern preacher sees no difference between the Law and the gospel. In fact, to him the preaching of the Law (as Jesus, Paul, and the Apostles did—Mark 10:17, Romans 2:20, etc.) has no basis in scripture. He doesnt know that its God-given function is to show the sinner his danger (Romans 3:19,20, 7:7, 7:13). The moral Law diagnoses the disease of sin, while the gospel is the cure. So when Im preaching to a hard-hearted sinner I know that hes not even slightly interested in the gospel. I know that he needs the Law to make the gospel make sense, while the modern preacher solely preaches the gospel (which the sinner sees as irrelevant), and so the preacher moves on--not wanting to cast his pearls before swine. Again, the hardened sinner doesnt need to hear the gospel, he needs to hear the Law to bring the knowledge of in and his impending danger. It will help him see the value of the precious pearl of the gospel. For further teaching on this subject, listen to HellsBestKeptSecret and then “True and False Conversion.”
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:00:00 +0000
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