I'm Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ

I'm Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
By Warren E. Starnes

Worship and adoration are natural impulses in man. Man has always worshipped and adored something; if he does not worship the God of the Bible he fashions one according to his imagination or according- to his tradition, from semi-civilization back to savagery and barbarism, we come to no time when man was not wor-shipping something; and tradition itself takes us to no time so remote that man was not paying tribute to snake or river, animal or image, demon or divinity!

If man’s conception of that which he worships be lofty, his worship will be uplifting and ennobling; if his conception of that which he worships be low and base, his worship will be groveling and vicious! It would be difficult to overestimate the value of this point, for in worship, man assimilates to himself the character of that which he worships. The superiority of the nations which have worshipped the one true God are evidences of this fact. The worshippers of images and inanimate things, or even things alive which are beneath and below the true God, have never wrought either a life or a civilization which may be commended to the world. They cannot build character, and without character there can be no civilization. Character depends upon two things; they are quality and strength. The quality of character depends upon conscience. The strength of character depends upon will. Apart from the law of God man can have neither. The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple (Psalms 19:7).

Jehovah has two books; the book of Nature and the book of Revelation. He has written the book of Nature in things; He has written the book of Revelation in words. The presence and appearance of a house de-clares a builder; but does not declare who he is. Every house is builded by some one (Hebrews 3:4) but the builder of all things is God. The existence of the earth and the world as we see them; the marvelous handiwork of a power which transcends our imagination and goes beyond our comprehension presuppose both a plan and? i purpose but if death ends all of what avail is the plan and who will fulfil the purpose? Man does not have to have the revealed word of God to tell him to hope and long for another life after this life is over, for the savage who had his bow and arrow buried with him hoped and longed for another life and thought he would enjoy it in the “happy hunting grounds.” Man does not have to have the revealed word of God to tell him to desire the things above and beyond this life, for the Fiji Island savage, with a ring in his nose has that desire. But man does have to have the revealed word of ppGod to teach him what that great Spirit is that is above and beyond him and how to reach that home for which he longs and life for which he sighs.

Some years ago, some scientists who were skeptics, asserted that man had no need for a revelation from God, for the reason that Nature and the “light of rea-son” made provision for the satisfaction of every pas-sion and desire in the heart of man; yet they declared that death ends all, and that man shall not be called to account after this life. Now, if they told the truth, knew about what they were talking and meant what they said: what about this desire for another life ? If nature or science or anything else has made provision for the satisfaction of every other desire but this one she has blundered, and all this talk about her immutable laws is foolish.

I believe that the Creator of the heavens and the earth is the Creator of man; I believe the Author of creation is the Author of revelation; I believe the Creator of man’s body is the Father of man’s spirit; I believe the same Father who put it into his heart to live after this life is over; I believe the same Father who has provided for the satisfaction for the desires of the heart down here has also provided for the satisfaction of the desire to live again; I believe the light toward which the face of the Christian is now turned, is but a dim reflection of that fuller and brighter light which shall shine out in him when he, according to the gospel of the Lord Jesus, attains in life and in character, justification for the bestowment of its glory. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is God’s power to every one that believes, unto the accomplishment of this end—salvation of the soul both here and hereafter.

Through the centuries man’s body has shivered in the cold; but’ God who made that body, hid veins of coal in the earth and crowded all the forests full of fuel to keep it warm! Through the ages man has desired gold and silver, and needed gold and silver; and God who made that body threaded the foot of yonder hill and tangled the base of yonder mountain with shining metals. Through all the ages man has hungered for food and thirsted for water; but God who made that body which gets hungry and which thirsts, lifted His fountain high up in the mountains from which man might satiate his thirst and crowded all the harvests full of bread! Once man becomes conscious of his life, he desires to continue to live, and in the event his life ends he desires to live again. Now if when man’s body shivers in the cold there is provision in the forests to keep it warm; if when man thirsts there is a fountain to satisfy; if when man hungers there are harvests ripened unto bread; if when man’s hand is bruised and he suffers pain, a balm is hid under the bark of a tree, I cannot doubt that there is a balm in Gilead, and I believe there is a fountain filled with blood, and that when man dies if he has obeyed and lived the life of the gospel of Christ, he will have the desire of his heart fully satisfied. I am not ashamed of the gospel. Moreover man’s desire to worship is lifted to its highest possibilities by the gospel of Christ.

God is spirit and no image could represent Him; no likeness in the heavens above nor in the earth beneath could reveal Him. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth (Exodus 20:4). God being spirit must be subjective in the mind and heart of man, before He can be worshipped objectively. This was so under the Dispensation of the Patriarchs and Jewish fathers. God was the subject of worship and not the object of worship. He could not be worshipped objectively until His attributes, in their perfect power and fullness, were embodied in objective likeness and form; therefore, in the fullness of time, He sent forth his Son, who expressed the power, love and purity of God in all their fullness and perfection. Then it was that the subjective worship of the Patriarchs and Jewish Fathers was supplanted by the objective worship of the Holy Nation, Royal Priesthood, Peculiar People under Christ Jesus the Lord. They who worship Him today must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Jehovah is not “truth”. He is true and any expression of Himself is “truth.” When He expresses Himself in word, He being true, that word becomes truth. When He expressed himself in His Son that Son was truth. I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14 :). When Jehovah expresses His power, His power inheres in the expression which carries it'. When He sends forth His love, His love goes forth in the vehicle which conveys it; when He manifests His purity, His purity is evident in that which declares it. His power to create worlds went out in His word of creation, and His power to create souls anew goes out in His word of regeneration. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Christ Jesus and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). When we see bad men made good and good men made better we know that they have come under the influence of the gospel through this ministry of re-conciliation. Moreover men are never ashamed upward, the trend of shame is downward. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed (Jeremiah 2:26). Let none that wait on thee be ashamed (Psalms 25:3). Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the dumb shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert and and parched ground shall become a pool and thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way and it shall be called the way of holiness (Isaiah 35:5-9). I am not ashamed of that way for it is high and lifted up; and I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto me (John 12:32). Who can describe the difference between a man who is on this way and the one who is not?

Man can describe the difference between small potatoes and large ones in pounds and ounces; man can describe the difference between large beef cattle and small ones in pounds and hundredweights; man can describe the difference between garments and articles of merchandise and measure all these differences in dollars and cents; but who can describe the difference between a good man and a bad one? Who can describe the difference between a moral man and a vicious man? Let me bring it nearer home. Who can describe the difference between William Edward Hickman of California, Leopold and Loeb, formerly of Chicago, and three of the best boys in Abilene Christian College? Whether the difference be described or not, that difference could be obliterated if all would come under the influence of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. The powers of reason, to think, to act and execute plans and carry out purposes, are like the forces and powers of the elements, and of nature unless controlled by law and intelligence. For centuries the rivers of our continent plunged down the mountain sides and over rocks and shoals pushed their way on to the sea; but the energies and powers thus spent were not the power to turn spindles and pull belts and wheels and serve man until they were harnessed to machinery according to the law of physics and mechanics. But today we know that the fretting and foaming of those waters down the mountains was the language they employed to tell us of their willingness to serve! For centuries the winds and electric currents ran riot through the forests and across the waters, their powers and energies let loose and serving no purpose of utility. But at last man caught the secret of the strength and power of the wind in the trembling leaves and swinging boughs, and when he subdued it to the control of law intelligently harnessed to his mechanical devices it serves him and for his convenience pumps cool clear waters into his home from wells and springs. He likewise “metamorphosed” the lightning spark into a messenger boy to carry his words from one continent to another and wing his thoughts around the world. So it is with man. Unless he allows himself to be controlled by the law of the spirit of life in Christ, his powers to think, act, execute plans and carry out purposes run riot -and serve evil ends and purposes.

Some one has said that pig iron worth $20.00 a ton when made into horse shoes is worth $200.00 a ton and when made into watch springs worth $1000.00 a ton then asked the question: What is the difference between the raw material and the finished product? The answer is: When made into horse shoes the difference in dollars and cents is $180.00 and when made into watch springs the difference is $980.00. So this increase in value is raw material plus mind; raw material plus genius. Let us make a comparison. If the raw material in pig iron, when it has added to it the genius and ingenuity of man is raised in value from $20.00 to $1000.00, what do you think the raw material in a boy could be made to be worth, if he had added to it the wisdom of God? Take a boy who smokes cigarettes, takes the name of God in vain, who has no regard for the church, and tell me what he is worth if he could be reclaimed from such a life by the power of the gospel. The gospel is the only power to reclaim one from such a life, then let us not be ashamed to preach it. Not every one that sait.h unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21). Came unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt. 2:28-30), the language of Him from whose sovereign authority there is no appeal and beyond the verities of whose word, in truth, there is nothing.