There is no subject of such importance to a sinner as that of salvation—the salvation of his own soul. Compared with this, all others dwindle into utter insignificance. Indeed, were he truly alive to his condition as such, he could think of no other, feel interested in no other, occupy himself with no other, until he knew that this all-important one was really settled on a solid basis. He would seek first to have this secure, whatever else was left in uncertainty.
The unsaved sinner is like a person on the brink of an awful precipice, up to the very edge of which, an enemy has decoyed him, and then, with fiendish subtlety, watching for an opportunity to give him the fatal push, that would plunge him headlong down the fearful abyss, Now, what should we think of a person, in such a condition, who could remain unconcerned, if he knew his danger? who, though faithfully warned of his position, and of the enemy who was seeking his destruction, nevertheless, gave no heed to the warning, manifested no desire to flee from the danger, or to escape from the hands of his crafty, cruel fee? We should justly conclude that he was an insane person, one who was alike insensible to the dangers of his situation, the kindness of his friend, and the treachery of his enemy.
Well, such, and worse than such, is the condition, and the conduct, of every unpardoned sinner who neglects God’s “great salvation”—who despises, or trifles with, the faithful warnings, and the affectionate invitations of the gospel. He is on the very brink of the slippery precipice of the lake of fire. He is every moment exposed to the yawning gulf beneath. Another step, and his doom may be sealed forever—for who can tell what a moment may bring forth? Yet, strange to say, he professes to know his danger, and dares to make light of it. Awful delusion! but he believes the lie of Satan rather than the truth of God, and shuts his eyes to the danger he is in. Such, indeed, is the awful condition, the imminent danger, of every one who neglects the “great salvation.” He may be kind, loving, gentle, moral, amiable. He may not openly despise, or avowedly reject salvation, but in heart he neglects it—treats it with carelessness—and the only termination of such a course, if persisted in, is eternal condemnation. “How shall we escape if we NEGLECT so great salvation? And oh! what immense numbers there are of this class. Many of the most moral, and well conducted amongst men, are living in the utter “neglect” of God’s “great salvation.” Oh! fearful condition! fatal delusion! And the great enemy of souls and salvation, is doing his very utmost to hide from the view of his poor deluded victims the reality of their position, until it be too late. Moreover, while the sinner’s ear continues shut to the voice of God, and his heart closed to the love of God, he is in the hands of Satan, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” He is led on by him as his prince, and energized by his spirit. He may think he has an independent will of his own, and can think and judge for himself, yet all the while he is the merest dupe of Satan, and led “captive by him at his will.” (2 Tim. 2:2626And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (2 Timothy 2:26).)
Some he leads on very gently, getting them to believe that God’s time for their conversion is not yet come, and that they must wait His time, He only can change the heart. But, in the meantime, they may take their enjoyment, such as the world offers, in a rational way, honestly confessing they are not christians yet, so that they are quite consistent. Such, alas! are as surely, though quietly and orderly, on the broad road, as ever they can he. This is a subtle, but most successful snare of the enemy. It well suits those, who have a measure of light, but at the same time a real love for the world. Some who have less light, and less conscience, he pushes along more roughly; while others he drives furiously, and their race is soon run. But at whatever speed, and in whatever character they go, his only terminus is the burning lake, where there is weeping, and gnashing of teeth. But, blessed be the God of all grace, so long as the soul is in the land of the living, it is in the place of hope. God is above Satan; He is above all, He keeps the door of mercy wide open, night and day, for the chief of sinners. “And let him that is athirst come: and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:1717And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17).) The first look of faith, to Jesus is immediate deliverance. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none else.” (Is. 45:22.) Many have been rescued by the Saviour-God, when on the very brink of hell, and plucked as a brand out of the fire. He only can do it, and we must look to Him. We have many examples recorded in Scripture, and set up as finger posts, pointing out to us the way of escape, and the way of eternal life. Such are the dying thief on the cross, Saul of Tarsus, and the Philippian jailor. Let us look for a moment at the latter. When, by Satan, driven to the very point of despair, “He drew out his sword and would have killed himself.” But the voice of love from “the inner prison,” that cried aloud, “Do thyself no harm; for we are all here,” stayed his hand, and rescued him from the snare of the enemy. He was just about to strike the fatal blow, and rush headlong into the gulf of hell. For a moment, he stood quivering on its slippery edge, and Satan eager to push him in; when the sweet accents of love and mercy from the heart of God, fell upon his car, arrested his attention, and turned his thoughts to the voice that spake. Those kind words, “Do thyself no harm,” broke the poor jailer’s heart, and he fell a captive, not to the malice of Satan, blessed be God, but to the victorious love of Jesus. The prey was taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive delivered from the terrible one. (Is. 49:24.) “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas. And brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.... And he rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16:22, 3422And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. (Acts 16:22)
34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Acts 16:34).) Oh! that my dear reader may be led to pause, and listen to the voice of love. It is Jesus that speaks, and words of perfect grace fall from his lips. I am come, He says, “to seek and to save that which was lost.” Oh! then, turn to Him, ere you take another step. As a lost one turn to Him. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” (Psa. 2:1212Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2:12).) Reader, think of this. All who are not in the arms of Jesus, are in the grasp of Satan. There is no middle place.
That which may, alas, he treated with neglect, thought little of, and cared little for, is, nevertheless, God’s “great salvation.” Hence, the solemn warning, appeal, and exhortation, in the word before us. “THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” These truly solemn words were first spoken to the Ηebrews who had made a profession of Christianity, but were in danger of slipping back into Judaism. Still, they are equally true and applicable to us, and to all, who, at any time, or on any ground, are found neglecting this salvation. The subject is one of universal, and individual importance, and cannot be overlooked or disregarded by any without incurring God’s sore displeasure. “Salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:99But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. (Jonah 2:9).) It is of His providing and preparing. “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my failings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage.” (Matt. 22:44Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. (Matthew 22:4).) It is divinely suited to man’s condition. It is ready now, ready for the acceptance of all who will receive it. It is full and free—free to the most unworthy. “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money, and without price.” (Isa. 55:11Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1)).
It is emphatically called the “great salvation.” And that for several reasons. We will notice some of them.
1. Because of the greatness, and authority of Him by whom it was published. “Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord.” “God....hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” (Heb. 1) The law was spoken by angels. The Jews “received the law by the disposition of angels. (Acts 7) But God hath spoken to us, by His own beloved Son, who is, essentially and officially, above angels. “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?” What a messenger! oh! what importance must be attached to the message which He brings! “THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.”
2. Because of the greatness and glory of Him by whom it was accomplished. When Christ, “by Himself,” had “purged our sins,” He “sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.” He who, in perfect grace to us, when working out our salvation, went down to “the lowest parts of the earth,” is now in the highest place in heaven. The cross has been exchanged for the throne, and the reed of mockery for the Royal Scepter of universal dominion. “ But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, Ο God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.” Oh! what a workman! What must His work be!
3. Because of the greatness of the ruin, and wretchedness, from which it saves. How few know their real condition in the sight of God, though it is written on every page of Scripture. Vain man’s thoughts of himself, and God’s true statement of his condition, are widely different. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,” By nature, he is a child of wrath; because of unbelief, “condemned already.” Yet out of all this sad, sad condition, God’s “great salvation,” effectually, and immediately, delivers. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which HATH made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who HATH delivered us from the power of darkness, and HATH translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we HAVE redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Rev. 3:1717Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Revelation 3:17) Col. 1:12, 13, 1412Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:12‑14).)
4. Because of the greatness of that blessedness into which it introduces. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” We can never get higher, or better than this. To be brought to God, is to be brought to the knowledge of God-into fellowship with God—full conformity to God and the eternal enjoyment of God. This is perfect blessedness! “We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Oh! what a place to be brought into! “The midst of the paradise of God.” This is rest-God’s own rest; a higher, a holier, a happier, can never be found. And to feed on Christ there, as “the tree of life.” No “tree of the knowledge of good and evil there. How different from man’s paradise. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (1 Pet. 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). Rom. 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11). Rev. 2:77He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7).)
Well may the grand theme of the Gospel testimony be called the “great salvation.” Oh! how great—how good —how glorious! It is salvation from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven; from “the wrath to come,” to an “eternal weight of glory.” And is this—is this really—what so many are neglecting? Is this what so many are despising and rejecting? Few will say, in plain terms, that they are doing the latter, but many will confess to the former. Many will acknowledge that they are neglecting the “one thing needful.” Well, my dear reader, be assured that the former comes to the same thing as the latter in the end. “How shall we escape if we NEGLECT so great salvation?” Escape from eternal woe is utterly impossible, if we persist in neglecting Christ, in whom alone salvation is to be found. “How shall we escape?” is the deeply solemn and unchangeable word of God.
May you be led, my dear reader, to realize its full weight on your heart and conscience now. May you be kept from trifling with a matter of such immediate, unspeakable, and eternal importance to your own soul. Can anything compensate for the loss of your precious soul? “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” No amount of pleasure, gain, or gratification, in this world, can ever make up for eternal misery in the world to come. Why, then, oh! why should you be so thoughtless, careless, and negligent about salvation, “which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory?” Oh! receive Him by faith, as your Saviour, and then you receive salvation “with eternal glory.” Then you possess, as your present, and everlasting portion, “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” All is open and free to faith. “Only believe.” Salvation is by faith alone. Faith in Jesus. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” But oh! believe on Him now. His word can never be truer, His salvation can never be freer, and you can never be more welcome. Why not come now? He is waiting for you. It will be joy to His loving heart to embrace you. It will be joy to all heaven to receive you. Can you delay? Surely not! Flee to the arms of his mercy—flee at once. Tomorrow may be too late. “Behold, NOW is the accepted time. Behold, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION.” (2 Cor. 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2).)
Salvation! oh, thou bleeding Lamb,
To thee the praise belongs;
Salvation shall inspire our hearts,
And dwell upon our tongues.