{"id":1282,"date":"2011-09-09T10:27:34","date_gmt":"2011-09-09T10:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=1282"},"modified":"2011-09-09T10:27:34","modified_gmt":"2011-09-09T10:27:34","slug":"the-brief-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=1282","title":{"rendered":"THE BRIEF GOSPEL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>THE BRIEF GOSPEL<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRemember\u00a0<em>the words of the Lord Jesus<\/em>, how He said,\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cOnly believe!\u201d<\/em> \u2014\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/kjv1900\/Mark%205.36\">Mark 5:36<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>briefest <\/em>of the \u201cwords of Jesus,\u201d but one of the most\u00a0<em>comforting<\/em>. They contain the essence and epitome of all saving truth.<\/p>\n<p>Reader, is\u00a0<em>Satan<\/em> assailing you with tormenting fears? Is the thought of your sins \u2014 the guilty past \u2014 coming up in terrible memorial before you, almost tempting you to give way to hopeless despondency? Fear not! A gentle voice whispers in your ear<em>, \u201cOnly believe.<\/em> <em>Your sins <\/em>are great \u2014 but\u00a0<em>My grace <\/em>and merits are greater! \u2018Only believe\u2019 that I\u00a0<em>died <\/em>for you \u2014 that I am\u00a0<em>living <\/em>for you and\u00a0<em>pleading <\/em>for you, and that \u2018the faithful saying\u2019 is as \u2018faithful\u2019 as ever, and as \u2018worthy of all acceptance\u2019 as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Are you a\u00a0<em>backslider?<\/em> Did you once run well? Has your own guilty backsliding alienated and estranged you from that\u00a0<em>face <\/em>which was once all love, and that\u00a0<em>service <\/em>which was once all delight? Are you breathing in broken-hearted sorrow over the holy memories of a close walk with God, \u201cOh that it were with me as in months past, when the candle of the Lord shone on me!\u201d\u00a0<em>\u201cOnly believe.\u201d<\/em> Take this your mournful soliloquy, and convert it into a prayer. \u201cOnly believe\u201d Him whose ways are not as man\u2019s ways, \u201cReturn O backsliding children \u2014 and I will heal your backsliding!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Are you beaten down with some\u00a0<em>heavy trial?<\/em> Have your\u00a0<em>fondest schemes <\/em>been blown upon \u2014 your\u00a0<em>fairest blossoms <\/em>been withered in the bud? Has wave after wave of trouble been rolling upon you? Has the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Hear the \u201cword of Jesus\u201d resounding amid the thickest midnight of gloom \u2014 penetrating even through the vaults of the dead, \u201cBelieve,<em>only believe<\/em>.\u201d There is an infinite\u00a0<em>reason<\/em> for the trial \u2014 some lurking\u00a0<em>thorn<\/em> that required removal \u2014 or some gracious\u00a0<em>lesson<\/em> that required teaching. The dreadful severing blow \u2014 was dealt in love! God will be glorified in it, and your own soul made the better for it. Patiently wait until the\u00a0<em>light of immortality <\/em>is reflected on a receding world. Here you must take\u00a0<em>His dealings <\/em>on trust. The word of Jesus to you now is,\u00a0<em>\u201cOnly believe.\u201d<\/em> The word of Jesus in eternity (every inner meaning and purpose being unfolded), \u201cDid I not tell you \u2014 that you will see God\u2019s glory if you believe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Are you fearful and agitated in\u00a0<em>the prospect of death?<\/em> Through fear of the last enemy, have you been all your lifetime subject to bondage?<em> \u201cOnly believe.\u201d<\/em> \u201cAs your day is \u2014 so shall your strength be.\u201d Dying\u00a0<em>grace <\/em>will be given \u2014 when a dying\u00a0<em>hour <\/em>comes! In the dark river, a<em>sustaining arm <\/em>will be underneath you \u2014 deeper than the deepest and darkest wave. Before you know it, the darkness will be past, the true Light shining \u2014 the whisper of faith in the nether valley. \u201cBelieve! Believe!\u201d will be exchanged for angel-voices exclaiming, as you enter the portals of glory, \u201cNo longer through a glass darkly \u2014 but now face to face!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yes! Jesus Himself had no higher remedy for\u00a0<em>sin<\/em>, for\u00a0<em>sorrow<\/em>, and for\u00a0<em>suffering<\/em> \u2014 than those two words convey. At the utmost extremity of His own distress, and of His disciples\u2019 wretchedness, He could only say \u201cLet not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me.\u201d Believe \u2014 only believe.\u00a0<strong>\u201cLord, I believe \u2014 help my unbelief.\u201d <\/strong>John MacDuff, 1858.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE BRIEF GOSPEL \u201cRemember\u00a0the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said,\u201d \u201cOnly believe!\u201d \u2014\u00a0Mark 5:36 The\u00a0briefest of the \u201cwords of Jesus,\u201d but one of the most\u00a0comforting. They contain the essence and epitome of all saving truth. Reader, is\u00a0Satan assailing you with tormenting fears? Is the thought of your sins \u2014 the guilty past \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,61,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-john-macduff","category-believers-assurance","category-believers-rule-of-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1282"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1283,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282\/revisions\/1283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}