For our fourth session and the second from our main speaker Jeffery Smith we went to the end of 2 Corinthians 5 and a consideration of the free offer of the gospel. If we follow the New Testament pattern we are to make a sincere and well meant offer and we are to plead with all to repent today. He quoted Joseph Alleine who wrote "The God that made you most graciously invites you. His most sweet and merciful nature invites you. O the kindness of God, His boundless compassion, His tender mercies!". Fear of decisionism must not hold us back from begging and pleading with sinners to act immediately. Sometimes our doctrine of total depravity holds us back. We know it is only God who can save. We are in danger in some cases of making conviction of sin a warrant for faith but the warrant is outside the sinner - in Christ. He also quoted Robert Traill who warned against the idea that a man can obey God too soon!
A fire alarm went off part way through the message but it didn't distract us much We all need to give ourselves sounding the alarm of the gospel in our day more urgently.
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