God's preachers are sent to preach the Gospel. They are not sent to preach vain, worthless issues. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). Every message should define and distinguish the good news, that single message which is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). Most everyone who claims to preach the Gospel will recognize the existence and growth of false gospels. The New Testament speaks of this (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6). Much is said concerning people worshipping false gods and following after counterfeit messiahs. This being the case, is it not binding upon true preachers to preach the Gospel in such a way so as to distinguish it from all false gospels, to distinguish the true and living God of the Bible from all false gods, and to distinguish the true Christ from all counterfeits? Should not our Gospel distinguish the real difference between the true ground of salvation as opposed to all false refuges, and the true difference between grace and works?

The Gospel, when preached aright, reveals the true and exposes the false. The Gospel can be defined and distinguished. It is not an arbitrary message left to the subjective whims of men. It is not a different message for each man. It is the same message for all men. The Gospel itself does not emphasize one point of doctrine one time and another point of doctrine another time. There are many implications and particulars which are derived from this simple message, but the basic kernel, the very heart, of the Gospel is a specific revelation from God. The Gospel is a promise from God. It is the product of an eternal covenant of grace, which is a covenant of promise (Gal. 3:14-29). The Gospel is the preaching of the particulars and terms of that covenant, therefore, IT IS GOD'S PROMISE OF ETERNAL SALVATION AND FINAL GLORY CONDITIONED ON JESUS CHRIST ALONE. It proclaims to helpless, depraved, condemned sinners that God will save sinners for Christ's sake alone.

The preaching of the Gospel involves all the particulars of man's condition by nature, as a totally depraved sinner, alienated from God, and in need of a righteousness he cannot produce. The Gospel exposes both our condemnation in Adam, and the wickedness of our best efforts at removing God's wrath and gaining God's favor (John 3:18-19). The Gospel involves all the particulars and implications of the Person, offices, and redemptive accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ, who perfectly satisfied God's law and justice on behalf of a multitude of guilty, hell-deserving sinners which no man can number. The Gospel is the promise of righteousness through Christ as it reveals the righteousness of God, the only ground of salvation. This is the imputed righteousness of Christ. Any man who claims to be sent of God to preach the Gospel should ask himself, "Am I truly preaching and emphasizing the promise of salvation conditioned on Christ alone, based on His righteousness alone?"

The message of the Gospel reveals and distinguishes the true God as a JUST GOD AND SAVIOR, one who justifies the ungodly based on the imputed righteousness of Christ. It reveals and distinguishes the true Christ as the one sent of the Father to fulfill all the conditions of the salvation of His sheep. It reveals how He, by His obedience and death as the Representative and Substitute of His sheep, established an everlasting righteousness of infinite value whereby God the Father could be just and justify sinners. It commands, as well as gives every reason for, sinners to believe God's promise of salvation by Christ and to repent of former idolatry and dead works (all works and efforts before faith aimed at the ground of salvation).

The Gospel, in defining and distinguishing the truths mentioned above, aims at JUSTIFYING FAITH and true REPENTANCE. The promise must be preached in order for these goals to be realized in the power of the Spirit of God. The Apostle Paul described his ministry to the Ephesian elders in this way - "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21)

This proves that the very first response to the preaching of the Gospel is "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Faith and repentance are inseparable. Repentance toward God is the goal of preaching the Gospel -

2 Peter 3:9- The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Saving faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ is the means to attain that goal -

Ephesians 2:8-9 - {8} For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The Gospel Promise and Justifying Faith

Faith is the foundation grace, and repentance is the first evidence of faith. Both are gifts of God, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the promise of the Gospel.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 - {13} But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: {14} Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saving faith is believing God's promise of eternal salvation and final glory in heaven conditioned on Christ alone, based on His righteousness freely imputed and received by faith, according to God's promise. Repentance, which always accompanies saving faith begins with a change of mind concerning who God is and what it takes to appease Him. In saving faith we see that nothing but Christ's righteousness imputed could remove God's wrath and gain God's favor. We see that God can only justify sinners based on Christ's righteousness. In true repentance we see that all our efforts at religion, morality, penance, reformation, were nothing more than self-righteous attempts at trying to establish a righteousness of our own. We see that they were wicked attempts at removing God's wrath and gaining God's favor. We see that they were dead works, fruit unto death and evil deeds, because they were all done in unbelief, all aimed at the ground of salvation. We even see that the god who accepted such works is an idol, and, therefore, we were idolaters. Both faith and repentance, then, are directly related to the preaching and believing of the promise of the Gospel.

To illustrate the nature and necessity of faith and repentance, as they are related to the promise, the Scriptures identify Abraham more than any other justified sinner as the example. Abraham is the archetype of believing sinners. After having defined God's way of salvation, based on the merits of the righteousness of Christ freely imputed and received by faith, according to God's promise, the Apostle Paul illustrates this salvation in Romans 4 by using Abraham.

Romans 4:20-22 - {20} He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; {21} And being fully persuaded what He (God) had promised, He (God) was able also to perform. {22} And therefore it was imputed to him (Abraham) for righteousness.

What did God promise Abraham? Read Romans 4:18-19.

Romans 4:18-19 - {18} Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. {19} And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

We see here that it was specifically related to the promise that Abraham and Sarah, his wife, who were way past the child-bearing years, would have a child, given of God. This child was to be Isaac, the child of promise. Abraham believed that the sovereign God of the universe would be faithful and that He was able to fulfil what He had promised. This glorified God. Abraham attributed unto God all the qualities of character that belonged to God, especially God's faithfulness. But if we look at the context of Romans 4, we must see that the promise involved much more than the birth of Isaac. The promise ultimately involved God's way of saving guilty sinners. This is proven by several verses beginning with Romans 4:1-5.

Romans 4:1-5 - {1} What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? {2} For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath <whereof> to glory; but not before God. {3} For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted him for righteousness. {4} Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. {5} But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto righteousness.

The Apostle Paul was dealing with the question of Abraham's eternal justification before God, and how Abraham was declared righteous before God. Was it by works, conditioned on Abraham, or was it by grace, conditioned on Abraham's Substitute? Paul proves that it was most certainly by grace. He had already in Romans 1-3 shown the impossibility of any sinner being justified by deeds of law (Rom. 3:19-20).

God's promises to Abraham, recorded in Genesis 12 and 15, were both temporal and eternal. From the very beginning God made a distinction between Abraham's natural seed and Abraham's spiritual seed. There was to be a temporal accomplishment of those promises to Abraham's natural seed here on earth. More importantly, there was, and is, to be an eternal realization of the promises for Abraham's spiritual seed, all the "heirs of promise" (Gal. 3:29). The "heirs of promise" are made up of Jew and Gentile, a multitude of guilty sinners, chosen by God before the foundation of the world. They are redeemed by Christ, and called to faith and repentance by the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel, God's promise of eternal salvation and final glory conditioned on Christ alone.

We begin to see the vital connection of all this when we realize that it was through Isaac, the child of promise, that the Messiah (Christ, the woman's seed) was to come according to the flesh. Everything God did in fulfilling His promises to Abraham's natural seed, the children of Israel, was ultimately to prove His faithfulness to fulfil His promises to Abraham's spiritual seed, the whole election of grace, all who would believe God's Gospel, His promise of salvation through Christ.

We see the promises, both temporal and eternal, were, and are, limited. The temporal promises were limited to the natural seed of Abraham, the children of Israel. It was to them, through Abraham, that all the temporal promises were made. In the same way, the eternal promises are limited to the spiritual seed of Abraham. God has never promised to save all without exception. God did not send Christ into the world to redeem all without exception. The doctrines of universal redemption and indefinite atonement are not Scriptural, and they are opposed to the Gospel, the promise. They reduce God's love and Christ's obedience and death to nothing, having no real value, in and of themselves, to save any sinner. They exalt man's will and man's efforts, making salvation conditioned on the sinner's faith, repentance, and/or perseverance, which is salvation by works. God does promise to save any sinner who comes to Him by faith in Christ, believing the promise of salvation conditioned on Christ alone, based on His righteousness alone. But faith is not the cause nor the ground of their salvation. Faith receives Christ and His righteousness imputed as the only ground of salvation. This is revealed in the promise, and all who refuse to believe this promise shall perish. Read Galatians 3:16.

Galatians 3:16 - Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

The promises were made to ONE, a representative. Abraham represented the natural seed, the children of Israel. But it goes beyond the temporal realm and into the eternal. "And to thy seed, which is CHRIST. Christ represents the spiritual seed, all the heirs of promise. The important truths of representation and imputation are very much in force as we see them brought out in the Gospel. The eternal promises were placed in the hands of a Mediator and Surety (Christ). All the conditions of the promises were placed upon Him. He is the one who represents many, the Head representing the body which is His church. All the merit of His whole work of redemption was imputed to Abraham as the only ground of Abraham's salvation.

This gives us some insight as to what Paul wrote in Romans 4:22. Considering the nature of the promise given to Abraham, the pronoun "it" refers not to Abraham's faith, but to the entire merit of Christ's whole work of redemption. Faith is a God-given grace applied by the Holy Spirit. It is subjective and cannot be imputed. Only the merit or demerit of a work can be imputed. Just as the demerit of Adam's sin was imputed to all whom he represented, the merit of Christ's obedience and death is imputed to all whom He represented (Rom. 5:18-19). Therefore, "it" refers to the righteousness of Christ freely imputed to Abraham, and which Abraham received by faith. The nature of God's covenant with Abraham was grace, absolute and unconditional promise. God conditioned all of Abraham's salvation on the promised Messiah, Christ, Abraham's Substitute! Christ's righteousness, His perfect satisfaction to God's law and justice, was imputed to Abraham as the only ground of Abraham's salvation.

When the Scripture states that Abraham believed God, it is referring to these promises mainly in Abraham's eternal salvation conditioned on Christ alone. All the other promises, including the promise of Isaac, were subordinate to this. Did Abraham see and understand all this? There were many things that Abraham did not know and understand concerning the particulars of the coming Messiah. Many things had not yet been revealed. But Abraham knew and understood that he was a sinner in need of a righteousness he himself could not produce. He knew and understood that God was holy and just and could not justify any man based on character and conduct. He knew and understood that God had made a promise of eternal salvation and final glory conditioned on a coming Messiah who would be both God and man, who would, by His obedience and death, establish an everlasting righteousness whereby God could be just to justify the ungodly. Therefore, Abraham believed "on him that justifieth the ungodly" (Rom. 4:5). Abraham knew the ground of salvation, the righteousness of Christ freely imputed and received by faith.

In John 8:56 our Lord stated, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." Abraham fully expected God to fulfill His promise of eternal salvation based on the righteousness of the coming Messiah. Abraham believed all the other promises, including the temporal ones, that were connected with this main promise. So, again, when Romans 4:5 states that "his faith is counted for righteousness," it is not saying that faith itself was imputed to Abraham as righteousness. Faith is imparted, not imputed. Robert Haldane, in his commentary on Romans, pointed out that the Greek word translated "for" in this expression here and in verse 3 should be properly translated "unto" as in Romans 10:10. The meaning then is this: "His faith is counted unto the receiving of righteousness."

Faith itself is not the ground of salvation, nor does faith make up any part of the ground of salvation. Faith does not remove God's wrath or gain God's favor. This is the fatal error of multitudes of professing Christians who in reality believe a cleverly disguised system of works which they call grace. Righteousness removes God's wrath and gains God's favor because it is perfect satisfaction to God's law and justice. Righteousness is what we must have in order to be justified. Faith is the means through which we receive this righteousness. It has already been made clear in Romans 1:17 that righteousness and faith are two distinct things, brought in for two different purposes and always found in those who are justified.

Romans 4:23-25 - {23} Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; {24} But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; {25} Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

In Romans 4:23-25, the apostle tells us that God promises to impute this same righteousness to the account of all who believe the same promise as Abraham. Again, this refers to the promise of eternal salvation conditioned on Christ alone. God must act in strict righteousness and truth. He must remain holy and just in all His dealings. He cannot give any sinner the inheritance of eternal life at the expense of His holiness, law, and justice. So the eternal blessedness of all the heirs of promise, Abraham's spiritual seed, depends upon Christ satisfying the conditions of the Covenant of Grace, which is a covenant of promise. Christ satisfying all the conditions enables God to be just and holy when He justifies the ungodly. Anyone who has the same kind of faith that Abraham had, anyone who does the works of Abraham (John 8:39), will plead Christ's righteousness as the only ground of salvation and repent of former idolatry and dead works. Where righteousness is imputed, faith is always immediately given to receive it. We cannot separate the imputation of righteousness and justifying faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). This word is the Gospel, the way of salvation by Christ alone, according to God's promise.

This proves that God has promised to save a particular number of sinners and that He is faithful and able to do so. Christ came to save His people from their sins by making an effectual atonement for their sins. His obedience and death as their Representative and Substitute demands their justification, sanctification, and their final glory. Does the fact that God promises salvation to a particular number of sinners and the fact of Christ's definite atonement shut any sinner who hears the promise of the Gospel and who desires to be saved by grace out of the kingdom of Heaven? Does it shut anyone out who truly desires to know and please God in a salvation that glorifies every attribute of God's holy character, exalts Christ in His mediatorial accomplishment, and excludes all grounds of boasting in sinners? NO! There will be no sinners in Hell who will be able to say that they sought after God, according to God's promise, and could not find Him because God shut them out. On the other hand, there will be no saved sinners in Heaven who will be able to say that they are there by virtue of certain conditions they met. It is the righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel that entitles sinners to the whole inheritance of grace.

All sinners who hear this promise are commanded, directed, and invited to receive freely God's grace, to rest in God's way of salvation, and to reject every false way. If any sinner is shut out of Heaven, it is due to his own self-righteousness, self-love, and religious pride in insisting that salvation be conditioned on the sinner in opposition to the promise.

Mark 16:15-16 - {15} And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. {16} He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Christ commissions His disciples to preach the Gospel. The Gospel is the preaching of God's promise of eternal salvation conditioned on Christ alone. It is to be preached to all without exception. God assures, according to his faithfulness, that all who believe this specific promise, shall be saved. Baptism is the outward sign and confession that a convinced sinner has already been regenerated and converted, believing, receiving, and submitting to God's way of salvation in Christ. All who believe shall be saved. This salvation is the product of an absolute and unconditional covenant of promise. The Gospel then is the preaching of that promise. If this promise is preached aright, sinners who believe it ought to come unto the Father, not timidly nor in doubt, but fully expecting God, who is faithful, to fulfill His promise. Too many present salvation as if it is an arbitrary whim of God as to whether or not He will save sinners. Too many think that they are exalting God's sovereignty when they tell their hearers, "Come to Christ. I don't know if God will save you or not." This is opposed to the promise of God, and it is opposed to God's sovereignty and faithfulness engaged to save sinners based on the righteousness of Christ.

Isaiah 46:9-13 - {9} Remember the former things of old: for I <am> God, and <there is> none else; <I am> God, and <there is> none like me, {10} Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times <the things> that are not <yet> done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: {11} Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken <it>, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed <it>, I will also do it. {12} Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that <are> far from righteousness: {13} I bring near my righteousness: it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

God reveals that He has engaged every attribute of His sovereign, holy character to save sinners based on the imputed righteousness of Christ. God is faithful to save any sinner who comes to Him expecting salvation based upon this one ground. We cannot tell all men without exception that God loves them and Christ died for them. That would be the same as telling all men without exception that their eternal salvation is sure and certain no matter what. We can and we should tell all men without exception that they are "far from righteousness," void of a righteousness that answers the demands of God's law and justice and unable to produce one.

We can and we should tell all men without exception that God brings near His righteousness by sending Christ into the world as the Substitute for sinners to establish the only righteousness by which God will save us. We can and we should tell all men without exception that God's "salvation shall not tarry," that now is the day of salvation and to wait for the sinner to meet certain conditions or qualifications for salvation is deadly. We can and we should tell sinners that God "will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory," that God has engaged Himself to save all the objects of His love and all for whom Christ lived and died. We can and we should tell all men without exception that God will save sinners, any sinner who seeks this salvation, for Christ's sake alone. We know that any sinner who seeks this salvation, God has sought him first.

The Gospel Promise and True Repentance

We have seen how the first evidence of salvation is belief of the Gospel, the promise. This is justifying faith, which is the gift of God, and which comes by the power of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. The next evidence of salvation is also directly related to this promise. It is repentance. All true believers know from God's testimony that by nature we are in a state of idolatry as Abraham was before God saved him. This state is described in the Bible in various ways: "ungodly," "enemies of God," "alienated from God," "in the flesh," "under the power of darkness," "under the law," "servants of sin," etc. All of these terms describe all men and women without exception in a state of nature, born in Adam, before salvation. These phrases describe the religious, moral person, as well as the irreligious and immoral person. The Bible teaches in the law and the Gospel that before salvation our persons are condemned and all of our efforts at religion and morality are evil deeds, wicked works, and dead works (John 3:18-19). These efforts at religion and morality are not wicked due to immorality or even lack of sincerity. Many before salvation are very sincere in their religious efforts. These efforts are wicked because they are performed by a person who is in a state of condemnation, a state of idolatry, and one who is ignorant of the true holiness of God. This person is ignorant of the only ground of salvation, therefore, all his efforts at religion and morality are aimed at removing God's wrath and gaining God's favor, to some degree. This is opposed to the glory of God in salvation. It is opposed to the preeminence of Christ in salvation. It is opposed to God's promise of salvation by grace.

As indicated, among those who are in this state of idolatry, there are many different personalities, races and cultures. It includes both men and women, moral and immoral, religious and irreligious. There are many differences amongst these, but there is one thing common to all. They are all in a state of condemnation, all void of a saving knowledge of the true and living God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent, all void of a righteousness that answers the demands of God's holiness. They all seek after salvation and God's favor in ways that are dishonoring to God, shameful to Christ, and ways which leave the sinner room to boast (Rom. 3:10-12). To say that any one individual in this state is not an open idolater, no matter what his/her claim, is to deny God's explicit testimony. God says, "He that hath the Son hath life," and none of us, by nature or by practice, have the Son. By nature we have neither the Father nor the Son. By nature and by practice we have neither the righteousness God requires nor the ability to produce such a righteousness. By nature we are ignorant of God, and, therefore, in a state of idolatry, just like Abraham when he was in Ur of the Chaldees.

These are the issues of true repentance. This is the substance about which God commands every sinner who hears the Gospel promise to change his mind. To believe the Gospel, to follow Christ, and to turn to God, is to break the bonds of the old life, to admit of our idolatry and wicked efforts before hearing and believing the promise of salvation based on the righteousness of Christ alone. This is the most difficult thing for sinners to do. It is impossible apart from the Spirit of God in power bringing us to be born again. But any who believe the Gospel, who truly fear God and love Christ, and who desire to see sinners saved, need to recognize that in order for these issues to be known, the Gospel must be defined in clear, unmistakable terms, not allowing sinners to put their own definitions upon God's promise. God draws all the conclusions for us, because we by nature will draw the wrong conclusions. Sinners must be told the particulars concerning true repentance, and they must see that unless they repent, they will perish.

It is the preaching of the promise of the Gospel that brings forth these issues. By nature we know nothing of a righteousness imputed. All we know by nature is "do and live; disobey and die." In our natural state we know that sin is the cause of our dilemma with God, and we sincerely believe that our attempts at goodness and morality will set the situation aright. It is these very thoughts of which we must repent. We must, by faith in Christ, change our minds concerning who God is and the only ground upon which He will save us, keep us, and bring us to heaven. We must change our minds concerning who we are and see the utter impossibility of God saving any of us based on our best efforts at religion and morality. We must change our minds concerning who Christ is and see that He is the successful Savior who fulfilled all the conditions of our salvation and secured our final glory by His righteousness alone.

By preaching the clear promise of salvation conditioned on Christ alone, we can insist on the sinner's responsibility to believe the Gospel, to repent of idolatry and wicked works, and to persevere in the faith. It has been charged by some that to insist that sinners know these things, and to insist that sinners must believe and repent, is legal. What these people cannot or will not understand is that the promise itself, the Gospel message itself, removes all notions of legalism and salvation conditioned on the sinner. Faith is necessary for salvation, not as a condition to earn or merit salvation, but as a means of receiving and uniting with Christ. Faith believes God's promise of salvation conditioned on Christ alone! Knowledge is necessary because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). The knowledge which is necessary is the Gospel promise. Repentance is necessary in the same way, and this is a change of mind concerning salvation. We are to repent of ever thinking that salvation was conditioned on ourselves. Perseverance is necessary in the same way. We are to persevere, continue, believing that our final glory certain, not because of conditions we meet, but based solely upon the imputed righteousness of Christ.

This initial repentance from former idolatry and dead works in conversion is where all continual repentance begins. All repentance which came before this is legal, natural-conscience conviction (2 Cor. 7:9-10). As we grow in grace and knowledge of God, we do not continually change our minds concerning who God is, concerning who Christ is, and concerning the only ground of salvation. We are continually struggling with sin, with legal fear and doubts, and we do continue to repent of these things as we see more of our own sinfulness and more of God's holiness and love. This is a continual aspect of repentance which can be defined as Godly sorrow over sin. It is an ashamedness over sin without fear of punishment knowing that God's wrath has been forever removed by the blood of Christ. We have some great examples of this in the lives of Job and King David (cf. Job 42:5-6; 2 Sam. 12:1-16; Ps. 51; Ps. 130:3-4).

This is evidence that a sinner truly fears God. This is that reverence and respect for the honor of God's character revealed in His promise to save sinners by Christ alone. This is what brings about true love to God and true love for the brethren in any degree. We who believe know that our love falls way short of what it ought to be. But we recognize that we now have a love that we did not have before. It is love that springs from saving faith and true repentance. We now love our brethren in Christ, not perfectly as we ought, nor as we desire, nor in any way which would make us proud of our love. But we have a principle of love within. It is the product of the Spirit of God, and it causes us to desire to be loyal to the honor of God's character, to the preeminence of Christ, and to our brethren in opposition to the world and its religion. This is what causes us to take sides with our brethren against any system of doctrine that dishonors God, devalues the Person and work of Christ, and leaves sinners room to boast. This is what causes us to refuse to speak peace to sinners who do not believe the Gospel.

Conclusion

How amazing it is that we see the glory and wisdom of God in such a simple message! In the preaching of the promise of the Gospel, God removes all legal and mercenary notions and establishes the nature and the place of everything He requires for salvation. One of the most deadly errors of our day is that faith itself, not Christ alone, that makes the difference between heaven and hell. Most who claim to believe the Gospel have never even heard the promise of the Gospel, or they would not even imagine that faith forms any part of the ground of salvation. They would see that it is impossible for God to be glorified if salvation is conditioned on the sinner, even the sinner's faith, repentance, or perseverance. They would see that the only ground of salvation, of peace with God, is the imputed righteousness of Christ. Sinners are commanded to believe that Christ made all the difference by establishing this righteousness according to God's promise. This is the lesson of Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Christ is to have all the preeminence in salvation.

The preaching of the promise also establishes the blessed fact that all exhortations given to believers to persevere, to obey, to live soberly and righteously in this present world, are motivated by the certainty of final glory conditioned on Christ, based on His righteousness. Believers are to obey God, not to earn or merit God's favors and blessings, not even to insure their final glory, but in response to God's love and grace in Christ. In true obedience, believers are to rest in Christ, realizing that they are sure for heaven's glory based on the righteousness of Christ, according to God's promise. This is the essence of the "spirit of adoption."

We see, then, that the preaching of the promise of the Gospel is to be the central issue and emphasis of our messages. It should be the basis of all teaching, of all growth in grace, and of all motivations to obedience. This promise is not all that we are commanded to preach, but we are commanded to preach all things in the light of this promise. We are to move on into other areas, not leaving the Gospel behind, but building upon its central message for the salvation of sinners and the edification of God's people. This is what it is to preach Christ crucified!