First things First - Chambers, Oswald
The absoluteness of Christ (Philippians 2:8)
As a preacher, allow no quarter to anyone who pretends he can give any other explanation of Jesus Christ than he gives of himself. Jesus Christ calls himself the son of man, i. E. , representative man. Never make the absoluteness of Christ mean the absoluteness of god; they are not the same. The holiness of god almighty is absolute, it knows no Development by antagonism; the holiness exhibited by the son of man expresses itself by means of antagonism. The words our lord uses of himself show that his obedience was of a moral nature, it was not a mechanical obedience. We must look upon Christ as a real historic figure, a real man, not a magical prodigy. He shared in the life of limited man, the life of his age and the life of his land. The limitation of his consciousness was no limi- tation of his moral power but its exercise. In presenting Jesus Christ never present him as a miraculous being who came down from heaven and worked miracles and who was not related to life as we are; that is not the gospel Christ. The gospel Christ is the being who came down to earth and lived our life and was possessed of a frame like ours. He became man in order to show the relationship man was to hold to god, and by his death and res- urrection he can put any man into that relationship. Jesus Christ is the last word in human nature.
The absoluteness of the new testament (1 peter 1:1621)
The doctrines of the new testament as applied to personal life are moral doctrines, that is, they are under- stood by a pure heart, not by the intellect. I want to know gods will in this matter, you say, and your next step is into a fog! Because the only way to understand the will of god is to obey from the heart, it is a moral discernment (see Romans 12:2). My spiritual character determines the revelation of god to me. In the new testament we deal not with the shrewd guesses of able men, but with a supernatural revelation, and only as we transact business on that revelation do the moral consequences result in us. The danger is to preach a subjective theology, i. E. That something wells up on the inside. The gospel of the new testament is based on the absoluteness of revelation, we cannot get at it by our common sense. If a man is to be saved it must be from outside, god never pumps up any- thing from within. As a preacher, base on nothing less than revelation, and the authenticity of the revelation depends on the character of the one who brings it. Our lord Jesus Christ put his impress on every revelation from genesis to revelation.
The absoluteness of immorality and holiness (revelation 21:78) Immorality and holiness are absolute, you cannot get behind them. When our lord talks about the radical evil of the human heart (e. G. Mark 7:2122), it is a rev- elation we know nothing of; it comes to the shores of our lives in immorality and holiness. Immorality has its seat in every one of us, not in some of us. If a man is not holy, he is immoral, no matter how good he may seem. Immorality is at the basis of the whole thing; if it does not show itself outwardly, it will show itself before god. The new testament teaches that no man or woman is safe apart from Jesus Christ because there is treachery on the inside. Out of the heart of men, proceed. . . . The majority of us are grossly ignorant about the possibilities of evil in the heart. Never trust your common sense when the statements of Jesus contradict it, and when you preach see that you base your preaching on the revelation of Jesus Christ, not on the sweet innocence of human nature. When you hear a man cry out, like the publican of old, god be merciful to me a sinner, you have the problem of the whole universe. That man has reached the realisation of himself at last, he knows that he is a guilty, immoral type of man and needs saving. Never take anyone to be good, and above all never take yourself to be good. Natural goodness will always break, always disappoint, why? Because the bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Never trust any- thing in yourself that god has not placed there through the regeneration of our lord Jesus Christ; and never trust anything saving that in anyone else.
That is the stern platform you have to stand on when you present the truth of god, and it will resolve you on to a lonely platform, because your message will be craved for but its way of being presented will be resented. The gospel of Jesus Christ awakens an intense craving and an equally intense resentment. Base on personal love for the lord, not on personal love for men. Personal love for men will make you call immoral- ity a weakness, and holiness a mere aspiration; personal love for the lord will make you call immorality devilish, and holiness the only thing that can stand in the light of god. The only safety for the preacher is to face his soul not with his people, or even with his message, but to face his soul with his saviour all the time.