Now thanks be
unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the
savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour
of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are
the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.
And who is sufficient for these things? (II Cor. 2:14-15 KJV)
(I)
Rev. Herman Hoeksema
[Source:
A Power of
God Unto Salvation, Or, Grace Not an Offer, pp. 35-36]
The apostle [in this passage] is speaking of
himself and of his co-workers as ministers of the Gospel of Christ. By this
ministry of the Gospel, the apostle writes, they are a savour of Christ. And
they are always a sweet savour of Christ unto God; that is, a savour that is
pleasing to God both in those who perish and in those who are saved. The
ministers are still a sweet savour of Christ also when some perish through the
preaching of the Word, for this is according to His good pleasure and hereby
God is glorified and justified in those who perish.
That is how it is.
A preacher may, from a human aspect, want to save
and take along to heaven all who hear his word. He certainly will not desire,
nor can he or may he desire to be a savour of death unto death. It is his
calling to be a sweet savour of Christ and faithfully to preach the Word. When
he does that he has done his duty, and he leaves the outcome to the Lord.
However, let him beware that he does not present God as a beggar, who stands
and knocks helplessly at the heart of the hardened sinner, waiting if per
chance the sinner might be pleased to open the door for Him. Let him beware of
the contention that grace and salvation are an offer of God that the sinner can
accept or reject. That is no Gospel. But let him preach the full glory of God
in Christ Jesus, the completely helpless and dead sinner, and the almighty and
efficacious grace of God, whereby He saves His chosen people. And let him
prepare himself, that he may be willing to be a savour of death unto death as
well as a savour of life unto life. For that is according to God’s will. And
only thereby is he always the victor.
If anyone is not willing to serve that divine
purpose, if he thinks he must set his goal upon saving the whole world, then he
cannot be a minister of the Gospel simply because he does not desire which God
has determined according to the clear revelation of God’s Word.
Then one of two things happens.
Either he becomes discouraged and gives up because
as he continues to preach there are so many who do not embrace the Gospel.
Or, and this happens very often in our day, the
preacher goes through all sorts of antics, makes the Gospel the cheapest
article on sale in the public market, corrupts God’s truth, maintains that he
has converted many souls, and deceives many who have never experienced the
efficacious grace of God in their hearts.
Woe to those preachers!
They drag the name of the Most High God and of His
Christ through the mud when on the public market they bring it up for grabs.
And they deceive thousands for eternity. But in any
case it must be evident that from God’s viewpoint the preaching of the Gospel
is no general offer of grace and salvation to all who hear it; but that also by
the preaching God always shows mercy to whom He will show mercy, and hardens
whom He will.
We always [come] to the same conclusion: the
preaching is definitely no offer of grace.
--------------------------------------------------
(II)
Joshua Engelsma
[Source:
Protestant
Reformed Theological Journal, vol. 45, no. 2, p. 89]
Paul is writing here about himself and
all other preachers of the gospel. Those who faithfully proclaim the gospel are
“unto God a sweet savour of Christ.” They are a sweet savour to God in those
that repent, believe the gospel, and are saved. But they are also a sweet savour
in those who reject the Word, refuse to repent, and perish in their unbelief.
Both are according to God’s good purpose. The minister must understand that God
uses him to be a savour of death unto death to some and a savour of life unto
life to others. Through a man’s preaching, God saves His people and hardens the
unbelievers. In both cases a man is a sweet savour to God.
--------------------------------------------------
(III)
More to come! (DV)
No comments:
Post a Comment