Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday afternoon's sermon in the 1689 Confession series.
For the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).
The
revelation of the gospel to sinners…is merely of the sovereign will and good pleasure
of God; not being annexed by virtue of any promise to the due improvement of
men's natural abilities, by virtue of common light received without it, which
none ever made, or can do so…. (Second London Baptist Confession [1689]
20:3).
The reformed theologian John Gerstner once told a
seminary class about a time when he preached a sermon in a Baltimore church.
The sermon was on man’s depravity and his desperate need for divine grace.
After the service, a woman approached Gerstner
and, pinching her thumb and forefinger close together so as to leave only a
small space between them, said, “That sermon made me feel this big!”
To which Gerstner responded, “That’s too big!” (adapted
from Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Kings, p. 42).
Our problem is not that we tend to think too
little of ourselves, but too much. This section of our confession (20:3)
reminds us of the sovereignty and grace of God in the revelation of the gospel
to sinners.
Grace and
peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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