Our Glorious Gospel

Answers For Today ^ | Chuck Smith

[CCWoody]

Argh! Hate it when I can't spell.

[P-Marlowe]

If we are to make a "gospel is soap" analogy, then the Gospel itself is the soap. God brings man the soap and through his holy spirit he tells man that he is dirty and tells him that if he exercise a little faith and take the soap and lather up that he will be cleaned. He is asked to believe in the power of the soap to cleanse him. But men do not believe they are dirty. Even if men believe they are dirty, many refuse to use soap, thinking that they can get themselves clean without it. So they never take the soap and thus the soap is useless to them. Others may take the soap and rub it all over their body, but they still don't believe in the power of the soap and instead think that they must ritually rub soap all over themselves all the time in order to be cleaned and they never let God rinse it off and wash away the filth.

I think that ultimately it is irrelevant why someone will decide to pick up the soap and why they will lather up. The point is that unless a man picks up the soap, he will not be cleansed. God has placed the soap before you. It then becomes your responsibility to pick it up and to put the soap on your body. It is quite possible that many will actually pick up the soap, and may even pretend to put it all over their body, but they don't believe in the power of the soap, they believe in the power of themselves to get cleaned and the soap is just a step in the cleaning process and that they themselves must continually scrub themselves in order to be cleaned. Hence the soap itself just becomes additional dirt on their bodies.

But no, it is the power of the soap that brings you to the point where you can be cleaned and if you exercise a little faith and lather up believing in the power of the soap and allow God to wash you clean, then God will pour out his living water and wash you so that you will never get dirty again.

[CCWoody]

Hey, Marlowe, I bet you can find that user friendly Jesus in the Virtual Church of Benevolent Dieties, Inc. It's just a guess since I couldn't find your invention in the Bible.

Perhaps, if you act now, you can be the first to come out with the "Soap on a Rope Jesus" stocking stuffers for next Christmas. And, if you are clever, you can get with the Catholics and market a few free indulgences in the special Ecumenical sham-Protestant/ not Evangelical/ Catholic gift set.

Woody.

[xzins]

Do you remember the old cartoon short by Terry-toons (?), I think, where the automatic laundromat has the hand that reaches out, grabs the clothes, dunks them, sends them on down the line to a whole series of scrubbings, rinsings, and buffings?

I never realized that was a calvinist cartoon. :>)

[CCWoody]

Take a bath with the Lord! Clean your body and soul with the Jesus-on-A-Rope! Then, when you are done with Him, simply leave Him to hang and be about your business.

Act now, and for 3 easy payments of only $9.99, you too, can join the craze which helped spark the Reformation by indulging yourself the way your Papist spiritual fathers did.

---

The Makers of "Jesus-on-a-Rope" are not responsible for the misuse, lack of use, or the failure to get clean of any end user. You are solely responsible for doing the work of scrubbing yourself clean. Furthermore, should you soil yourself after you are clean, you will need to reapply. There are no warranties/ guarrantees/ or covenants, either expressed or implied. If you don't die clean, then don't come crying to Us.

[Gamecock]

An just look who is doing all the work, the sinner!

[jude24]

Its funny you post a simple gospel message and a lot of people just come unglued. Rather than look to the power of the gospel message itself, they look for heresies in every word nit picking every jot and tittle looking for something that they can point to as a hidden theological error and then miss the glorious picture that surrounds them.

My experience is that these sorts of objections always turn out this way.

I remember vehemently objecting to a praise/worship chorus we sang at Crusade, which contained the phrase, "My heart and flesh cry out for You, the Living God." That, I argued, flew in the face of "in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing" (Rom. 7:18). However... that phrase is almost an exact quote from Ps. 84:2. Oops....

What happened was my systematic theology had taken the place of Scripture in my mind. I believed, and still believe, in Total Depravity, so to suggest that the flesh (which I inadvertantly equated with the sinful nature -- and I'm certainly not alone) could desire God was unthinkable to me. Yet Scripture did so, and I got caught with my theological pants down.

As an aside, what can you tell me about Oklahoma's and Florida State's law schools?

[Ex-Wretch]

For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. (1 Tim. 4:10)

Preach it, Brethren. Press on.

[CCWoody]

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Do you suppose that if you took the soap and cleaned someone else, sorta like a proxy Baptism, that the person that you scrubbed would also be clean? In that sense, Mormonism, Arminianism, & Catholicism aren't really all that far apart.

Woody.

P.S. Look at that shinny "facade of righteousness" halo on the guy's head.

[connectthedots]

Unsaved men are captives to sin. As such, they CANNOT free themselves. That's why God must act first.

Then why does the Calvinist insist that before a man can be saved, that the man meditate on all his past sins prior to salvation. How is it, based on your reasoning that a man who is unsaved and cannot recognize his sins be able to meditate on them?

[Corin Stormhands]

What happened was my systematic theology had taken the place of Scripture in my mind. I believed, and still believe, in Total Depravity, so to suggest that the flesh (which I inadvertantly equated with the sinful nature -- and I'm certainly not alone) could desire God was unthinkable to me.

I believe that the flesh of every man, even in his sinful state cries out for God. But until we come into a relationship with Him, we do not understand What, or Who, we need.

"Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever." I believe that need to glorify God and enjoy him forever is within every man.

[CCWoody]

So, in the picture, would the Holy Spirit be better used represented by the water the guy is using or the brush the guy is using?

And, as a follow-up, is this soap too sacred to be used to clean between the cheeks, or do you rub "Jesus-on-a-Rope" all over your body?

Woody.

[jude24]

I don't agree -- Ps. 84:2 was clearly written by a regenerate believer. To extrapolate that to all men is a critical mistake.

Natural man cannot even reach out to God. ICo. 1-3 and Romans 8 makes that abundantly clear.

All I was trying to say is that, while man is totally depraved in that he cannot independantly even desire to follow God, he is not wholly ruined in that once God works in him, he cannot even with his body desire to serve God.

[CCWoody]

I believe that need to glorify God and enjoy him forever is within every man. ~ CS

Fortunately, we have the Bible to dispel such Pelagian crap:


• For I know, that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing:....
  (Rom 7:18 GB)

Woody.

P.S. Gamecock, do you suppose that "Jesus-on-a-Rope" is good for the Arminians to wash their mouth out with soap when they say heretical things?

[jude24]

the Calvinist insist that before a man can be saved, that the man meditate on all his past sins prior to salvation.

I've never heard that....

[Corin Stormhands]

Malachi liked the soap analogy.

Malachi 3:2
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

[jude24]

Incidentally, why do you use the Great Bible for all your quotes? It's a fairly obscure, archaic translation. Not that there's anything wrong with that....

[Corin Stormhands]

Fortunately, we have the Bible to dispel such Pelagian crap:

Perhaps I was not clear (perhaps I was, but you'd distort it anyway).

I do not mean to imply that sinful man seeks God. But I do believe sinful man is seeking fulfilment, seeking purpose.

The only thing that will grant that fulfilment, that purpose is God.

But sinful man doesn't know that. I believe sin in itself is seeking for fulfilment. Often defined in pleasures that fade away.

IOW - within every man there is need for something more. In a sinful state, we don't know what that is.

[P-Marlowe]

I think, where the automatic laundromat has the hand that reaches out, grabs the clothes, dunks them, sends them on down the line to a whole series of scrubbings, rinsings, and buffings?

That may be a calvinist cartoon depending on your a priori perspective, but the problem still lies in how do you get to the point where you are standing in front of the machine? You have to recognize that there is dirt that needs to be cleansed. You have to walk into the laundromat. After that it is indeed all automatic. Somehow, some way, you must take an active step. You have to believe that if you go into that laundromat your clothes will be cleaned. You have to recognize that your clothes are dirty. Nobody walks into the laundromat on their own. The laundromat owner calls them to the door and convinces them that their clothes are dirty and invites them in. If they walk away from the door, then they have no excuse for their situation. If they walk through the door, they will be cleaned.

Again, it is ultimately irrelevant why the person chooses to enter through the door. But enter they must.

[xzins]

And here I was thinking that YOU --- the king of animated links --- would be ABLE to link me to the cartoon itself!

N³

:>)