But what of our question, what is the Gospel to which the Apostle was not ashamed?

As we had previously stated, The true Gospel must show divine Wisdom and Power in full accord with divine Justice and Love: of any other we should be ashamed.

CONSIDER NOW THE TRUE GOSPEL.

The word “gospel” itself should be the clue— should save the intelligent Christian from being misled by the various theories of bad tidings of great misery for nearly all people, miscalled “gospel.”

He who thinks it good news that one out of a thousand of the human family is to be saved and the remaining 999 to be eternally tormented, is either not a Christian at all, or he is decidedly undeveloped in Christian character, in mercy, in love, in justice.

In our opinion he is at most only a “babe in Christ” who has need first of the milk of the Word and subsequently of the “strong meat” thereof, that he may grow up into Christ in all things, and be able to comprehend with all saints the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God which passes all understanding (Eph 3:18, 19).

When occasionally we come across some one who gives evidence of being a Christian, and who still entertains such horribly blasphemous views respecting the Heavenly Father’s character, we feel like quoting to him the Lord’s words through the Prophet, “My ways are not as your ways, nor my thoughts as your thoughts, for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my plans higher than your plans.” (Isa 55:8, 9) Our object here is to have those whose eyes are anointed of the Lord, that they may see spiritual things (Rev 3:18), discern some of the Lord’s higher ways and higher plans which he presents to us in his Word under the name “gospel“—good tidings.

DID CHRIST DIE FOR THE CHURCH ONLY?

But some one would perhaps say, Christ died only for the sins of the Church and not for the sins of the world, and consequently the sins of the world cannot be forgiven them. We answer, No; the Scriptural declaration most positively is that “Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man,” “to be testified in due time.” And, additionally, the Apostle says, “He is a propitiation [satisfaction] for our [the Church’s, the ELECT] sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world [the NON-ELECT].”(1 John 2:2)

What could be plainer than this? If the price for the sins of the whole world has been paid to Justice, we may rest well assured that Justice will furnish opportunity through the Redeemer whereby all these whose sins were atoned for may come to a knowledge of Christ, and to an opportunity of accepting divine grace through him.

This is well pointed out in 1 Tim 2:3, 4 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” This is VERY IMPORTANT take notice of the sequence, It DOES NOT say that they must come to the knowledge of the truth first, and then be saved, but rather the reverse, they must be saved first, that they might be brought to that knowledge.

But some one will say, why should God adopt a plan, which would necessitate a resurrection of the dead, and a post-resurrection trial for eternal life except for all the elect Church of this Gospel age?

We answer,

(1) The problem with most professing Christians is that they have their own ideas and plans FOR GOD rather than accepting the one the Lord is pleased to use. It is not for us to inquire why the Lord adopts certain plans which differ from those which our poor finite minds might arrange for him: rather it is for us to acknowledge that our wisdom is insufficient on such a subject and that we should come humbly to the Lord to hear from his Word whatever he may be pleased to inform us respecting his purposes.

(2) As a matter of fact only those who approach the question from this standpoint need expect to see the truth or to “comprehend with all saints the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God.”(Eph 3:18; 1 Cor 2:12)

God has been pleased, however, to reveal to us some of his reasons for arranging his plan as we see it. He assures us of his full wisdom and power to manage every feature of his own work according to his own good pleasure, assuring us that he knows the end from the beginning, and that the end will fully justify every step that he has taken.

His Word, no less than observation, shows us that during all these six thousand years the world has been getting a lesson respecting the exceeding sinfulness of sin and its wages of sorrow and death. His Word assures us also that during the next age, the Millennium, the whole world will be brought to a knowledge of the way of righteousness and love and peace, and will see the divine law in practical operation, and witness its beneficent results in all those who will come into harmony with the great Mediator. (Hab 2:14; Isa 26:9)

NOT UNIVERSAL SALVATION BUT A UNIVERSAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SALVATION.

The Apostle tells us that God preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, “beforehand” signifying before it was due to begin; for the Gospel did not begin with Abraham, but with our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Apostle again declares, this salvation “began to be declared by our Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” (Heb 2:3) All that ever went before our Lord’s preaching was not the Gospel, but merely types and promises which foreshadowed it.

Let us notice next what, according to the Apostle, constituted this fore-statement of the Gospel to Abraham: he says that it was couched in the words, “In thee and in thy seed shall all nations be blessed.” (Gal 3:16, 29) Note this carefully: it does not say, in thy seed shall one out of a thousand out of the families of the earth be blessed, and the remainder be doomed to an indescribably horrible eternity, but that the whole Gospel is a Gospel of blessing, applicable to all the families of the earth—through Christ, the true seed of Abraham.

When our Lord Jesus was born into the world, the Heavenly Father sent a message respecting him, and the angels who bore that message declared that it was a Gospel message. Let us hearken to what the angels said about the eternal torment of the vast majority of our race. They said to the shepherds,

“Behold we bring you good tidings [gospel] of great joy, which shall be unto ALL people.” (Luke 2:10)

Let it be distinctly noted that the Gospel of the angels, like the Gospel communicated to Abraham, contains no reference to the damnation and eternal misery of any of the Lord’s creatures, and that consequently those who preach damnation and call it the Gospel, are doing so in utter violation of the meaning of the word and of all the uses of that word throughout the Scriptures.

However well they may mean, they are in this certainly committing a wrong, a grievous wrong, and we long to see the light of the knowledge of the goodness of God shine into their hearts and relieve them of this blindness which comes not from God nor from his Word, but from the prince of darkness (2 Cor 4:4).

It will require ALL the Millennial Age (which is to follow this Gospel age in which we live) to bless all the families of the earth with the joyful knowledge of divine grace in Christ. Just so surely as the forty-seven thousand millions went down into death without ever hearing of the one name under the heavens whereby we might be saved, without coming to a clear knowledge of the truth, without the good tidings of great joy reaching their ears, –just so surely must they all come forth from the grave that this very Gospel message of “good tidings” may be declared to them, and that they may be tested thereby and either be accepted to eternal life or destroyed, as unworthy of life, in the Second Death. We say just so surely, for three reasons:

(1) The announcement of the Gospel to Abraham says, “In thy seed shall ALL the families of the earth be blessed,” and all of these forty-seven thousand millions belong to this very class specified, the families of the earth–and they have not yet been blessed with this knowledge of the only name wherein is the blessing (salvation).

(2) The same is true of the message by the angels, —the good tidings of great joy are for ALL people, and these forty-seven thousand millions of humanity are surely the great bulk of ALL people.

(3) We are sure that this testimony must be given to them in the future because the Scriptural declaration is that “Christ died for the ungodly;” “he tasted death for every man,” and as a consequence every man must have an opportunity granted him for benefiting by that death, and of availing himself of the privilege of eternal life which was secured by our Lord’s ransom sacrifice, “to be testified in due time”, for the world that time is in the Millennial age, for the Church that time is now.

Thus mankind learns the lesson of evil and its consequences first in the present life, and the lesson of righteousness and its blessed results under divine providence, in the Millennium; and when thus fully equipped with knowledge on both sides of the question and instructed by the Royal Priesthood, (the completed and glorified elect Gospel Church), mankind will be ready for the tests, that will be applied by the Lord Jesus, under which the obedient and faithful will be granted full perfection and eternal life, and the disobedient and incorrigible will “be destroyed from amongst the people.”(Acts 3:22, 23)

Continued with next post.