Reader, you ought to face this tremendous fact. God is the God of judgment, and He will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Eccl. 12:1414For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)).
God has sworn that He will do it. “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear” (Isa. 45:2323I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (Isaiah 45:23)). No man can reverse the decree. The devils believe it, and tremble. As yet you do not believe it, and therefore do not tremble.
God is almighty, and what He has said He will bring to pass. Meet God you must; give an account to Him you must; confess to Him you must; be judged by Him you must. It is both inevitable and compulsory. No lies of the devil, no reasoning of infidels, no cavilling’s of men, no unbelief of yours will stop the judgment of God. Live as you are doing, die in your sins, and before God you will stand, and He will require that which is past. Sins of omission and commission, sins committed in the light and in the dark, sins against light and conscience, sins against your father and mother, sins against your body and soul―all will be brought to light, and judgment passed according to the inflexible justice of God.
“And we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth” (Rom. 2:22But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. (Romans 2:2)). You have not faced the truth yet; if you had, you would have inquired if there was not a way of escape from the judgment of God. But the lie of Satan is still operating in your soul; the opiate of hell is dulling your moral sensibilities; and you have never once stopped to inquire what the real truth is of your condition as a sinner before a thrice holy God.
Man, awake from your lethargy, and from your sinful indifference to the word and authority of God! But for His longsuffering you would be in hell already. There is but a step between you and the everlasting judgment of God. A prayer from hell reaches you to warn you of your danger (Luke 16:23, 2423And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. (Luke 16:23‑24)). Only the madness of unbelief can possibly carry you along as you are, in the face of all the warnings, urging, and entreaties of the Word of God.
The song of the redeemed in glory is wafted to you, to win you from the paths of sin and folly to the Saviour. By Him all are welcomed, and none are cast out.
“None cast out,” did I say? Yes, thank God, it is true. The Son of God said it, and would have you believe it, and act upon it. He says, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)).
But how came this, that such grace could reach us, even us! The cross is the divine answer. The Son of God “once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)). It was in death that He Himself bore sin’s heavy penalty. It was there his life blood was given up in atonement for our guilty souls. It was there the work was done that saves the soul now, and delivers from the wrath to come. And because of this, and in view of this, the Son of God said when here, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (more properly judgment); but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)).
He was our substitute then in death, and all that we had done was laid upon Him, and all that we were in our natures met its righteous judgment in His death, so that the believer’s past has been required of him, and his blessed present, and everlasting future are bound up in Christ, raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father. The true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who has by faith put His death between him and the judgment of God, like Abel of old, is accepted in the Beloved, in whom he has redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace (Eph. 1:6, 76To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:6‑7)).
But to reject Christ, and His atoning and cleansing blood, is to reject your own mercies, and secure for yourself the righteous and eternal judgment of God.
Friend, one word more with you before closing this article. Why not be saved? Why not be delivered by the pure and sovereign grace of God from the wrath to come? Why not let the love of God in the gift of His only begotten Son, and the infinite sufferings of the Saviour on the cross, melt, and win your heart to Himself just now? Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation. Say not no to God, and yes to the devil; but, by the grace of God, let your heart yield itself to Him who loved you so well, and died to save you, and be His now and forever.
“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:8, 108But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8)
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:10)).
E. A.