Today's encouragement comes from Luke 16:31, where we see these words, spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ:
"But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' "No one was ever turned to Christianity on the basis of beholding miracles—even the great one of Jesus' bodily resurrection. Instead, all those who are converted are so on the basis of *the* great miracle of regeneration (or new birth). No one really believes what the Bible teaches, either, until or unless the Holy Spirit gives them Christ's righteousness (and the subsequent new nature in Him).
Therefore, let us not be surprised at the recalcitrant blindness and rebellion of many people—even passionately religious ones—who simply *will* not be-lieve in the gospel. The truth is they *cannot* believe it, until God sovereignly calls them. Let us earnestly ask the Lord to do this for all our lost friends.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Now Christ and the church are all one. They make but one mystical body. The church is the queen, and Christ is the King."
—Richard Sibbes, in, "Glorious Freedom"]
