Borrowed Truths

Nothing to Offer

nothing to offer jpg1
Picture of Borrowed Truths

Nothing to Offer

It does not matter what your educational level is, what your intellectual capabilities are, what area you may excel in is of no consequence, whether you are considered smart or not, the word of God is clear, the man who can read, can hear, even the ones who can do neither can completely and wholly understand the word of God, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight.)” (2 Cor. 5:7) It is not our own intellect, our deductive reasoning skills that brings the Scriptures into our hearts, it is the Holy Spirit of God, we cannot rightly divide the words of truth without Him, it is impossible, not just difficult or hard, it is totally impossible. (2 Tim. 2:15)

This is why at times you may meet a distinguished professor from a major university who cannot comprehend God’s word one day, and the next day meet a simple man of physical labors that can expound on the truths better than many that stand behind the pulpit. We are totally inadequate to understand even one simple sentence in the Scriptures without the power of the Holy Spirit. The verse is true, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) The born-again believer who searches for the truths of the word of God daily will be shown them, he will not come to this wisdom and knowledge of his own accord, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (Prov.8:17)

We all came to the same place for salvation, the same place that all must come to, the foot of the cross, “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,” (John 14:6) but that my friends is not where wisdom awaits, that is where the greatest gift any man could receive is found, that is the first place we call Jesus Lord, that is where we go to die to self. (Gal. 2:20) Before that moment, we were lost, we were as the majority of all mankind has been throughout the centuries, unable to comprehend the true pattern of what man’s life is to be. The invisible things were invisible, (Rom. 1:20) the preaching of the cross was foolishness, (1 Cor. 1:18) and every struggle and pleasure was solely for our own lusts. The wisdom of the wise of this world will be cast down, it will be shown by our Lord for what it truly is, foolishness, (1 Cor. 3:19) whether it be in the mind of the intellectual giant, or the vagrant on the sidewalk, the way they believe to be truth will be shown to them as the lie that it is.

It is a difficult barrier to break through, the wisdom of this world, this perceived notion that we are the masters of our own destiny, that what we can comprehend with our five senses is all there is. There are many religious organizations that know this well, and have played on it for all it is worth, using superstition and tradition to fill in that gap, as it were, to coerce those who believe there is more into thinking that their path is the only true path to the spiritual realm, the path to whatever god they have concocted as their leader. I would like you to notice something here, these organizations always have strict rules that must be adhered to if one desires to be in the presence of their supposed god, and the main one is generally that the potential inductee must bring something with them, they must become an active participant in their own supposed salvation, in other words, a work must be performed by them that will assist in their salvation. It can be more than a little difficult to help these individuals to understand, whether they be learned or not, that all that was necessary for them to enter into an eternity in the presence of Christ was accomplished at the cross, we have absolutely nothing to offer, nothing.

This can be the most difficult thing for anyone to believe, that our salvation has been accomplished for us, all we must do is come to Christ with the firm knowledge that we have nothing to offer Him, that we are vile and wretched, and He still loves us, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Righteous, holy works are impossible for the unrepentant man to accomplish, they are not within us, only He who hung on the cross was righteous, only Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice that God would accept, we assisted in no way in our salvation. You do not need four or more years of seminary training to know this, you do not need row after row of books on theology on your walls, you need only to come to Him in faith, “For he that cometh to God must believe that He is.” (Heb. 11:6) The intellectual man must come to Him as a little child, (Matt. 18:3) in the same amount of faith and belief that a small child would accept Him, recognizing that we have absolutely nothing to offer to the Lord.

Are you beginning to grasp a more powerful meaning of Eph. 2:8 here my friends, that it is by grace that we are saved, and that not of ourselves, that it is a gift. The gift of salvation is offered not because of anything we have done, but because of what Christ has already done, you weren’t there at the cross, He is not still hanging on it either physically or spiritually waiting for you to do some work so that your salvation can be completed, He stands now at the door of your heart, waiting for you to accept the greatest gift that you could ever receive, there is nothing that you can offer for a price that has already been paid. This is what the world cannot comprehend, this is what the lost see as foolishness, for unless they put forth some form of effort, no matter what it is they are doing, they can find no reward for themselves, if effort is not extended, they see no worth in themselves.

To find Christ as Lord is to find no value in ourselves, to recognize the price in full has been paid gives us no opportunity to offer anything. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:18) You getting baptized, you counting some beads, you feeding the poor, you doing anything you can adds nothing to the saving grace of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord, you can do nothing but fall on your face at the foot of the cross and plead for His mercy, and then He will raise you up as a son of God, heir to the kingdom. Far too many fight for self, for the right to add something, anything to the cross, and those who continue to think on these lines will die in their sins, sins they could have been forgiven of if they would have seen the Lamb of God as the only sacrifice that was pleasing to God, the only One who was worthy to do so.

Throw all your worldly wisdom away, toss all your religious ideologies into the trash can, fall on your face at the foot of the cross, bring absolutely nothing with you, offer nothing, and you will receive all that Christ has to offer you, freely, for the price was paid in full a long time ago.

Share this post

Search

Archives

Categories:

There are several items I would ask you to consider before you click on the Donate button.

1.    Please pray carefully about donating; “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2nd Cor. 9:7)

2.    Your first responsibility is to the Lord; “Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase”: (Prov. 3:9)

3.    You must consider your family after your first responsibility; “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” (1st Tim. 5:8)

4.    If you determine that you have been blessed by this ministry and decide to donate, please know this, your donations will be accepted with great thanks, and all the glory will go to God.