327. LUK 16:31. THE SUFFICIENCY OF REVELATION
Luk_16:31. The Sufficiency Of Revelation
"And he said unto them, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."’97Luk_16:31.
Scripture generally details matter of fact. Doctrines demanding our faith, or duties requiring our practical regard; hence, the events of past ages lie unfolded before us. Hence too, the truths and laws of God are made known; and thus, a luminous pathway is opened to the realms of eternal glory. There is not much written respecting the eternal world; enough indeed to excite the warmest desires and hopes for heaven, and to produce the greatest fears respecting the wrath to come. The text, however, draws aside the curtain of futurity; brings us into close contact with heaven and hell, and permits us to hear the conversation between two of the disembodied spirits, the one glorified, and the other lost. Now, all this is not to excite our curiosity, but to instruct our minds, and we would not have selected this passage, had it not contained a solemn and weighty truth, that if men are not convinced by the word of God, "neither would they be persuaded," &c. Here, the writings of Moses and the prophets are described as being every way sufficient to persuade men to repent; if so, how much more the gospels and the epistles of the New Testament. Now, we have the completed will of God; the meridian light of revelation. Let us endeavor to prove and illustrate the proposition of the text.
I. A Messenger from the Dead would be required to prove the Divinity of his Mission.
If he did this, so have Moses and the prophets, Christ and the apostles. Did a messenger from the dead appear, you would require to know from whence and whom he came; how would you know that he was not a deceiving, lying spirit; did he convince you that God sent him, then you might hear and believe him; but what evidence could he give you, which the Scriptures do not furnish that they have come from God? Let me just advert,
1. To the grand and sublime truths of revelation.
2. To the fulfilment of their predictions.
3. To their power over the heart and life of man.
How they have civilized, moralized, made men holy, and useful in the world, blessings to society; converted men from being like demons, to resemble angels, &c.
II. A Messenger from the Dead could not deliver more important Truths than are revealed in the Scriptures.
What could he tell us of God, &c.; of creation; of man; his original state; the fell, &c.; of sin, its evil effects, &c.; of redemption; love of God; substitution of Christ &c.; freeness of Divine mercy, &c., of the way of salvation; repentance faith in Jesus, &c.; of eternity; the joys of heaven; or the woes of hell, &c. "Therefore, if they hear not," &c.
III. A Messenger from the Dead could not use stronger Arguments, or urge more powerful Motives than the Scriptures furnish.
Should he exhibit the dire effects of sin; have we not read, and do we not see these in the word of God? Should he speak of the shortness of life, the uncertainty of every thing on earth; are we not aware of it? Of he solemnity of death; who denies it? Of the terrors of the judgment-day; could his descriptions exceed those in the Scriptures, &c.? Of the horrors of hell, or the joys of heaven, &c.; "yet all these motives are addressed to us already, so that if they hear not," &c.
IV. A Messenger from the Dead could not remove the Impediments to the Sinner’s salvation.
Men are not so much indisposed to religion, because they do not think it true, as because they do not like its principles. Some few profess to reject it for want of evidence, but the great mass never reflect upon its evidences at all. That ambitious man dislikes religion because it enjoins humility and selfabasement; that pleasure-taker, because it urges self-denial; that miser, because it urges goodness and liberality; that revengeful man, because it urges mercy and forgiveness; in short, that sinful man, because it requires holiness of heart and life, &c. Now, a messenger from the dead could not remove these impediments; the heart would still be carnal, &c., despite any message that could be delivered. Let us try to conceive of the effects which a messenger from the dead would produce. Suppose, at midnight, a spirit, arrayed in the habiliments of the eternal world, should draw aside your curtain, and address you in sepulchral sounds; tell you of God, of heaven, of hell, of eternity, of time’s brevity, death’s approach, &c., and should then say, "Repent and believe the gospel," what effect would it have? Alarm, confusion, dread; that night might be sleepless, &c.; a few days, &c., and all the effects would be erased. Well, then, you say, let the messenger appear again, but in this way, all the effects would cease, and familiarity would produce total indifference and neglect.
V. Men have been totally uninfluenced by the most astonishing Miracles.
See Pharaoh, and the miracles of Egypt; see the Israelites, and the miracles at the Red Sea, &c., at the foot of Sinai; see the Jews and Christ’s miracles, lepers cleansed, blind receive sight, devils dispossessed, miracles at Christ’s death, yet only one of the immense multitude was convinced, &c. What do we learn from this? that if ordinary means fail, so also will means the most extraordinary.
VI Persons have come from the Dead, and yet Men have not been convinced.
Centurion’s daughter is dead, Christ brings her to life, but the Jews still reject Christ; widow’s son is being borne to burial, Christ stops the bier, and says, "Young man, arise," and he sits up, &c.; we do not read that any were convinced; Lazarus is brought back after he had been sepulchred, yet the Jews were more prejudiced against Christ than ever, and sought to kill Lazarus; then, last of all, Christ raised himself, the soldiers fell as dead men to the ground, &c.; now, surely, these would be at once his disciples; no, they take a bribe, and flatly deny his resurrection, &c.
VII. The Word of God has proved its Sufficiency in every Age and Country in the World.
Observe, Peter’s first sermon, see Acts 3; "three thousand souls," &c.; so wherever the apostles went; so now, how were you converted? by miracle, no, by the word of God, and God’s word is his own power, &c.; oh yes, and this word shall be preached as a witness, &c. The word of the Lord shall run and be glorified.
Application
Learn, the preciousness of the gospel of Christ. To have a chart so plain, so full, so efficient. Do not expect God to adopt any other means for your salvation; you have Moses and the prophets, Christ and the apostles. Do not expect supernatural impulse; do not wait for extraordinary signs, &c. "For if the word spoken by angels," &c., Heb_2:2, Heb_2:3. And if it were afforded, "If ye hear not Moses and the prophets," &c.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS