“The lord god omnipotent reigneth” - Chambers, Oswald
Lecture : October 30, 1914
O believe that the lord god omnipotent reigneth and redeemeth is the end of all possible panic, moral, intellectual or spiritual. We say we believe god, and give the lie to it with every breath we draw. For a man to believe in the redemption means that no crime nor terror nor anguish can discourage him, no matter where he is placed. God is not saving the world; it is done, our business is to get men and women to realise it, and we cannot do it unless we realise it ourselves.
1. Redemptive sanctuary ( jeremiah 17:12)
What needs doing is all less than has been done. What has to be done for the world is already done in god.
Dr. Forsyth27
We can do nothing for the redemption of the world; we have to do in the world that which proves we believe it is redeemed; all our activities are based on that unshakeable knowledge, therefore we are never
Distressed out of that sanctuary. God makes us go a solitary way until we get there, but through one life that is there, comes all the force of the redemption. The thing that makes our hearts fall is the profound disbelief on the part of christian workers that god has done anything, and the wearing out of life to do what is already done. All the fuss and energy and work that goes on if we are not believing in jesus christ and his redemption, has not a touch of the almighty power of god about it; it is a panic of unbe- lief veneered over with christian phrases. As long as we pretend to be believers in jesus christ and are not, we produce humbugs, and people say, do you call that christianity? There is nothing in it! ; or what is worse, we produce frauds, and the worst type of fraud is the religious fraud. The greatest type of reality is the christian believerone who has been totally readjusted on the basis of his belief. When you come across a believer in jesus, his very pres- ence alters your outlook. It is not that you have come to someone with amazing intelligence, but that you have come into a sanctuary which is based on a real knowledge of the redemption. When once a man really believes that the world is redeemed, his belief will manifest itself in every detail, and that is what constitutes the heroism of a believer in jesus christ. Our scepticism arises from the fact that we have no experimental knowledge of redemption.
2. Redemptive secret (philippians 3:1314)
Our christian destiny is to fulfil the high calling of god in christ jesus. When a soul comes face to face with god, the eternal redemption of the lord jesus is concentrated in that little microcosm of an indi- vidual life, and through the pinhole of that one life other people can see the whole landscape of gods purpose. The point is, am i realising the redemp- tion in my home circle, amongst my friends, in the pecuniary circumstances i am in? It is not heroism that makes us sacrifice ourselves, but cowardice; we cant stand being considered cads for not sacrificing ourselves. That is the basis of much of the sacrifice made in the world. The believer is one who bases all on jesus christs sacrifice, and is so identified with him that he is made broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of his lord. Witnesses unto me, a satisfaction to jesus christ wherever we are placed. When once we get to the right centre of energy, the omnipotence of god is at work all the time.
3. Redemptive satisfaction ( john 3:16)
We reason in this way: god is so loving that i know he will forgive me. God is so holy that it is much more likely he will say i must be damned. Unless god can alter me he dare not forgive me; if he did i should have a keener sense of justice and right than he has. The realisation of the nature of gods love produces in me the convulsions of repentance, and repentance fully worked out means holiness, a radical adjustment of the life. Do i know god has saved me? Have i the satisfaction of that salvation? I can easily know whether the redemption has been made efficacious in me by the holy spirit by the fact that i am at one with god. The redemption is worked out in an atonement with god, in every calculation he is the one who dominates everything.
The assurance of faith is a certainty more certain than certainty, and it always comes with an experimental knowledge of the redemption. Belief in the redemption is difficult because it needs surrender first. I never can believe until i have surrendered myself to god. If any man willeth to do his will (rv )what is his will? That ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
