Feeling most deeply and truly the solemnity of the present moment, and at this the commencement of another year, in which, or even within the next moment of time, we know not what may come to pass, I would earnestly, and most solemnly and prayerfully, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, ask you to inquire and see if you are ready, come what may, to appear before the Lord? Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Were I to die at this moment, what would become of my immortal and never-dying soul? Am I saved? Or would my portion be with those who will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth?”
If you have not asked yourself these questions, do so now. There is not one moment to be lost. And if you can answer, “I am saved,” most blessed and happy is your lot. But if not, oh! do not, I entreat you, rest till you have settled the question. It is an awfully important one. Words can but very poorly express the importance of it.
I would now try, in a few words, the Lord helping me, to show you the way to be saved; the way to have your portion among the redeemed of the Lord. If you will try, for one moment, to think of the limitlessness of eternity, you will then see what a blessed or hapless lot is yours.
I need hardly attempt to prove to you that we are all by nature born “dead in trespasses and sins,” and that there is none righteous, no not one. It is the fruit of the fall of our common parents. If you do not know and feel this, and are resting on any single particle of self-righteousness, you are in a fearful state, out of which may God in His great grace awaken you, and convince you of the truth of the above statement! But if you do, and have felt the burden and weight of your guilt, and long to be relieved of it, then, blessed be God! it was for such that our most blessed Lord Jesus Christ came and died and bled on Calvary’s cross. He said in His own precious word, that He “came to seek and to save that which was lost;” that He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The only requisite title to possess Christ is to know that you are a sinner—it may be, one steeped in many sins, or it may be, having lived an outwardly moral life, you have not been mixed up with much outward sin; but whichever describes you, there is but one way in which a Righteous and Holy God can look on you—as “ dead in trespasses and sins.” Blessed be His name! the gospel holds out a full, free, and unconditional pardon to all who will but trust Him. It says that the Son of Man must be lifted up, that is, crucified, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Mark the words, “whosoever” and “have.” The first proclaims this eternal life to all who will believe; the second shows that salvation is eternal and present. Most true and blessedly certain, and worthy indeed of Him who planned and perfected the scheme of man’s redemption.
Then again, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life:” the same words occur with as great distinctness and force, and I would ask you to meditate on the words of this passage. What wonderfully unfathomable and perfect love the love of God is! Well may it be said, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins;” “and not for ours only, but for the whole world.” It is a wondrous love.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” You will see here again that the subject is made as clear and distinct as God can make it. The word “hath” is as forcible as in the former quotations, proving and showing that the salvation of those who believe is sure, positive, and present, and to be enjoyed by them as such, and you will also see the reverse is as positive as the former. The condemnation of God is pronounced as surely on those who do not believe, as the life everlasting and eternal is assured to those who do believe. Oh, the blessed, happy, wondrous place in which the blood of Jesus Christ places the believer! No matter how weak he may be in faith, still if he has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His death and blood-shedding, he is not only saved eternally and without doubt, but has the same life as Christ; he is looked upon by God as one with Christ; standing in Him in righteousness; sanctified in His sanctification, and seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; this to be enjoyed even here by faith.
Let me, then, entreat and pray you to trust alone and solely to Him who “was dead and is alive again,” who came and dwelt on this earth for our sakes, who met the curse of a broken law—who knew that without shedding of blood is no remission, and therefore became Himself that perfect sacrifice and made that atonement which alone could satisfy the claims of a righteous and holy God—who “bore our sins in his own body on the tree,” and gave His own most precious blood to wash us clean.
That blood now speaks in one of two ways to your soul—either as a witness against you, if still refusing to acknowledge its preciousness and all-saving power; or as a witness before God, whose all-seeing eye forever rests on it, that you have been made whiter than snow in His sight.
I would in conclusion wish to call your attention to the beauty of the type of that precious blood as in the 12Th chapter of Exodus. In it the Israelites—God’s people—were told to take a lamb, precious emblem of the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,” to kill it, and take of the blood and strike it on the two side-posts and on the door-post of the houses. This was to be the sign that when the destroying angel passed through that land lie should pass by and leave untouched all those who were in the house on which the blood had been sprinkled, for God had said, “When I see the blood I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you.” Had the Israelite a shadow of doubt in his mind as to what God had said being done? No; he went into his house after sprinkling the blood on the door and sat down quietly to eat the passover while the fearful plague of destruction was going on around, knowing well that what God had said was true, “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” And thus it is now, not the type, but the blessed reality. “The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin,” and this blood has been sprinkled on the mercy-seat of God; His eye rests on it, and sees all who trust to it as sheltered from the destroying angel, “Sin.” Why not trust to this precious blood, and take God at His word as did the Israelites of old? Mark, it was not said to the Israelite, “when you see the blood I will pass over you.” No; but “when I see” it.
Trust it, and you will never be disappointed. Look not for anything in yourself; suppose not that you do not value that precious blood enough. God values it as priceless, and sees you as white as snow by it, and under its shelter, if you will but rest with simple, childlike faith, and believe what God says about it.
Again, I would prayerfully entreat you not to let the present moment pass. You know well the uncertainty of time, and none of us may ever see another year, or even month or day of this year. God is now working all around in His wondrous and perfect grace, convincing of sin and converting sinners to Himself, by the working of His Holy Spirit. Do think what a dreadful thing it will be should you let this time of grace pass unheeded.
The Church of God is fast being perfected, and who knows how soon the last soul may be called in? Do ponder on the state of your soul before God, and again I say, rest not till you have the “assurance of salvation” in your own soul—enjoy that perfect joy and peace in believing which a merciful and loving God intends His own to possess in this present time.
May God, in His mercy, bless these few words to your soul for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and His own glory. Amen!
The late G. S. P.