I know that with God all things are possible. The
Lord our God can do anything that pleases him. Were he pleased to do so, he
could save men without the use of means. But it has not been his pleasure to do
so. "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe" (I Cor.
1. IT
IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO CALL UPON CHRIST UNTIL THEY BELIEVE IN CHRIST.
"How then shall they call on him in whom they
have not believed?" Before anyone can call upon Christ in saving faith,
they must know who he is, what he has done, and where he is now. There is
no salvation apart from a knowledge of
Christ, as he is revealed in Holy Scripture.
2. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO BELIEVE ON CHRIST
UNTIL THEY HEAR THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.
"How shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard?" No man can savingly believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ until he hears THE GOSPEL of God's grace and glory in
Christ, the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace, the gospel of effectual,
substitutionary redemption.
3. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO HEAR THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST WITHOUT A PREACHER.
"How shall they hear without a preacher?"
If God ever speaks to a man, it will be through the voice of a preacher. There
are no exceptions to that general rule - (Read Acts
4. IT
IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A MAN TO PREACH THE GOSPEL IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
UNLESS HE IS SENT BY GOD.
5.
"How shall they
preach except they be sent?" Unless a man is called and sent by God to
preach the gospel, his labors will be vain and useless. But if God sends a man,
those people are blessed to whom he is sent.