The preaching of sovereign grace is not an enemy of true evangelism contrary to what some falsely argue. On the other hand the preaching of sovereign grace is the deadly enemy to the message and methods of present-day evangelism! I believe that the false message and method must be totally destroyed before the true message and method can become effective. We further believe that the only way this can be done is by the preaching of the truth about God, the truth about man, and the truth about Christ, who died and lives; that God might be just and the justifier of sinners! These lines will appeal to no one who is happy with the results of today’s evangelism. Should you be one of many who grieve with me, you will join the task of raising up again the standard of sovereign grace! A sovereign Christ is almost unheard of in church circles today—a Christ into whose hands all things have been given, who has all authority, who gives life and quickens whom He will, who decides the destinies of all men, who is Lord over all flesh. Present-day evangelism, for the most part, poses no question, “What will the sovereign Christ do with me?” Present-day evangelism says to men, you can believe, that faith is inherent.” The one makes the new birth depend on an act of man, the other an act of God. Present-day evangelism takes for granted God’s mercy and grace, rather than marveling at them in adoration and worship. Hear Paul say, “I obtained mercy.” Hear Peter say, “To all who have obtained like precious faith.” How I long to hear this note in the churches today. A Sovereign Christ has to be the object of faith in our churches today and for sinners seeking that faith. If you would be saved let your faith behold Christ in his perfect righteousness. See Him keeping the law without blemish, obeying His Father without error, preserving His integrity without flaw. All this you are to consider as being done on your behalf by a Sovereign Christ. You could not keep the law; He kept it for you. You could not obey God perfectly; His obedience stands in the stead of your obedience—by it you are saved. Your faith has nothing to do with anything within yourself. The object of faith is nothing within you, but something without you. Believe on Him, who, on that tree, with nailed hands and feet, poured out His life for sinners. There is the object of faith for justification. Behold Christ as rising from the dead. See Him—He has borne the curse, and now He receives the justification. He dies to pay the debt. He rises that He may nail the handwriting of that discharged debt to the cross. See Him ascending up on high, and behold Him this day pleading before the Father’s throne. He is there pleading for His people, offering up today His authoritative petition for all that come to God by Him. He as God, as man, as living, as dying, as rising, and as reigning above—He, and He alone is to be the object of your faith for the pardon of sin, a Sovereign Christ through Sovereign Grace!
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