SUCH were the words which fell from the lips of one who was within a few hours of exchanging this weary scene of sorrow and suffering for the rest and joy of the presence of her Lord.
At such a time things are awfully real. That vast eternity, which stretches beyond this transitory scene, is felt to be a great reality then. Words from those who are about to pass from off the stage of time seem to have much power and weight about them. It was so in this case. The one who spoke them had a bright prospect before her. Six years before, she had made sure of eternity. She had given up a vague hope, for the blessed assurance that she was saved, not because of anything that she had done, but on account of what the blessed Son of God did on Calvary’s cross eighteen hundred years ago.
The one to whom these words were addressed was a neighbor, who came in to say good-bye. She took her seat by the bedside, and gazed in silence on the pale but peaceful face. Few were the words the sufferer could speak, and her visitor was one, who, like too many, had only a vague uncertainty about the things of God. When she rose to take leave, taking the hand of her dying friend she said, “Good-bye, I hope I shall meet you ill heaven.” “A hope will not do―make sure,” was the rejoinder. The neighbor seemed startled, and without saying more, left the room. A few hours after, the sufferer gently fell asleep in Jesus.
How many there are that have no certainty about their eternal destiny. They just float at random down the stream of time, like a ship without helm or compass, adrift on the treacherous waves of mere human opinions, without any certainty as to where they will land at last.
Oh, reader, wake up to the fallacy of a religion without Christ. You may, like the Pharisee of Luke 18:10,10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. (Luke 18:10) be buoying yourself up with the false idea that you are quite superior to many around you, but you have yet to learn that your religion has no Christ in it: it is but an empty form, a cloak for your sins. “Verily, I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matt. 21:3131Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. (Matthew 21:31)). These are the words of Jesus. You must justify God and condemn yourself, or you can never be saved. If you do not apply to yourself what the Word of God says about man, as fallen, corrupt, and vile, there is no Saviour for you.
Romans 3 shows very clearly the awful state of every unconverted sinner. The very springs of your moral being are polluted and depraved. You have not a single right thought about yourself, far less about God. You are an enemy of God, a child of disobedience, with your back toward heaven, and your face toward hell, “without God and without hope in the world.”
There is no mistake about it, you are a sinner. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psa. 51:55Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Psalm 51:5)).
This is what the blessed Lord taught Nicodemus in John 3: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Perhaps you say, If this is our condition the sooner we reform the better. Oh, no; that is just the great mistake people are making. No amount of reformation will do. Man in the flesh is a plant that cannot be cultivated. He cannot be made to bear fruit for God. A new creation is needed, new life from God. “Ye must be born again.” Ah, how worthless and futile are the efforts of those who are trying to improve that which God Himself has made an end of at the cross! “The end of all flesh is come before me” (Gen. 6:1313And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:13)), God has said.
Now, dear reader, do you accept these statements as being true of you? If you do, you will be sure to appreciate that which alone can meet your deep need.
God Himself has measured the full extent of man’s need, and has made provision for it in a way worthy of Himself. It has taken nothing less than the lifeblood of the spotless Son of God to atone for sin. There is no approach to God but by His blood. God is so infinitely holy that nothing less than the precious blood of that spotless Victim could open the way back to His presence.
That blessed One has been on the cross, and has there finished the mighty work of redemption. He has fully satisfied and glorified God about the question of sin, and as a proof of this He is now seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high― “Exalted a Prince and a Saviour.” And on the ground of this finished work, God can not only pardon, but justify the vilest sinner on the face of the earth. The efficacy of the blood of Christ is so great that it cleanses from all sin. Reader, do you know the value of this precious blood? Are you sheltered by it? If not, you are in awful danger. Before midnight the day of grace may be closed for you.
The moment you have faith in the work of Christ, you get the forgiveness of all your sins (Acts 13:38, 3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39)); eternal life is received (John 6:4747Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)); peace with God is known (Rom. 5:11Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)). These are all blessings to be known and enjoyed now. As to the future, we are “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.” We shall share with Him, in a little while, that inheritance which is “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.” Blessed prospect!
Dear reader, can you look forward with joy to all this? It is the privilege of every believer to be “rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.” May it be your happy portion to have the certainty that you are saved; and to be not only saved, but satisfied with that Blessed One who alone can fill the heart. How blessed it is to fall back on the unchanging Word of God, and there find something stable for weary sin-burdened souls to rest upon, even the finished work of redemption. “All other ground is sinking sand.”
G. S.