The Gospel Invitation by William Ings

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 19, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 44.

The Gospel Invitation.

By William Ings

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30.

THIS invitation is extended to all the human race, from the fall of Adam to the close of probation. It is an invitation to the sinner, who needs pardon. Sin has brought upon him a heavy load. Paul, in Hebrews 12:1, speaks of sins as weights, and calls upon the sinner to lay these weights aside, and thus free himself from this burden.

Paul knew from a sad experience the burden of sin. He was led to cry out in the agony of his soul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. We learn that the psalmist had a similar experience; but he was not left in despair. "This poor man cried," he says, "and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." Ps. 34:6.

Mercy's door is still open to all; and the words of our Saviour are still in force. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17. This is a general invitation, which is accompanied by the operation of the Spirit of God upon the heart, showing us our need of a Saviour. Then commences the work of disposing of our burden of guilt, which separates us from God.

Our first inquiry is, What is sin? We go to the word, and find that "sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. The law shows us our true condition. It was through the law that the apostle Paul became convicted of sin, as we learn from the following: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7. And when perfect submission to the law of God was wrought in him, he could say: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1. The carnal mind had been brought into subjection to the will of God; "because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7.

Thus we learn that in coming to Christ, we must lay down our rebellion against the law of our Creator. We must follow the example of our Saviour, who came, not to do his own will, but the will of Him that sent him. John 6:38. And in his own words we are told what the will of the Father is: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." John 15:10.

Our love must be supreme, as we learn from the following text: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Deut. 6:5. A partial service will not answer the demands; we must be doers of the word. Says the apostle James: "If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." James 1:23-25.

From this testimony we learn that we must constantly look into the law of liberty; and if we do so, and obey it, we shall be Christlike. Obedience to this law is what constitutes righteousness. "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us." Deut. 6:25.

When we are in harmony with the law of God, then we are in harmony with Christ; and this harmony will bring rest to our souls. Nevertheless, it will involve a cross because of the separation from the world which is required. The new birth has taken place. Old things have passed away, and our steps have been directed into the narrow path. Temptation will assail us on every hand; but we do not have to battle in our own strength, for Christ is our help in every time of need. We are now brought into the school of Christ, and are admonished to learn of him, our perfect Pattern. His chief characteristic is meekness, which consists in perfect submission to the will of God. This is verified by his own statement: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." John 4:34. And again he says: "I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." John 5:30.

We here learn what constitutes true meekness. Christ has set us an example; and we are admonished by the text to learn of him. In order to be followers of Christ, we must do as Christ did; hence it stands us in hand to study his character, imitate his example, and walk in his footsteps. We cannot do this in our own strength, but help is promised. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13. And our experience will teach us that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. WM. INGS.