{"id":753,"date":"2018-10-22T08:18:42","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T13:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/?p=753"},"modified":"2018-10-22T08:18:42","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T13:18:42","slug":"there-is-nothing-left-for-you-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/2018\/10\/22\/there-is-nothing-left-for-you-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"There Is Nothing Left for You to Do"},"content":{"rendered":"M<\/span>any years ago Nicholas\"\" was raised in religion, but he was notorious for his pursuit of pleasure. However, like you and me, he had both a memory and a conscience.<\/p>\n

Nicholas began to remember the many wicked things he had done and the warnings he had received. His conscience convicted him. He thought, \u201cIt may be true that there is an eternal punishment for sinners!\u201d He had heard of the \u201clake of fire\u201d and thought, \u201cIf anyone is ever likely to be there, it is myself\u2005\u2014\u2005for I have never seen or heard of anyone who has sinned as I have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

His sins lost their pleasure. The horrors of hell haunted him\u2005\u2014\u2005he longed for deliverance from his past, from his guilt\u2005\u2014\u2005from himself! He despaired of ever discovering a way for sinners to be saved. He feared that a long life of penance and a thousand years in purgatory would not be enough to find the favor of a holy God. What could he do?<\/p>\n

He had heard of a monastery whose rules and restrictions were the most severe of any, and he decided to go there to seek his soul\u2019s salvation, if possible. He would become a monk and endure all of the harsh discipline demanded, if only he could be sure of pardon.<\/p>\n

That monastery was about 1,500 miles from his home, and he walked the whole way because he thought that the long, hot journey might count as a part of his penance. Finally, faint and fearful, he reached the old building and rang the bell. An old monk slowly opened the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the aged monk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be saved,\u201d replied Nicholas.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me what you mean,\u201d said the old man.<\/p>\n

Nicholas answered, \u201cI have been a far greater sinner than anyone I ever heard of. I do not think it is possible that I can be saved. But I am willing to do whatever may be done, if only I may have a faint hope of escaping eternal punishment. If it must be by spending all of the rest of my life in penance, the harder it is, the more I shall be thankful. Only tell me what to do, and I will gladly do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Surprising Answer<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cIf you are ready to do what I tell you,\u201d replied the old monk, \u201cyou will go back to Germany. There was One down here who has done the whole work in your place before you came\u2005\u2014\u2005and He has finished it. He did it instead of you, so there is nothing left for you to do! It is all done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho has done it?\u201d asked a stunned Nicholas.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you never hear of the Lord Jesus Christ?\u201d replied the old man.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course I have heard of Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know where He is?\u201d enquired the old man.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course I know. He is in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut tell me,\u201d said the old man, \u201cdo you know why He is in heaven?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, except that He is always in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was not always in heaven,\u201d replied the old man. \u201cHe came down here to do the work you want to do yourself. He came down here to bear the punishment of your sin. He is in heaven now because the work is done. If it were not so, He would still be here. He came down to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself!<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you not know what He said on the cross? \u2018It is finished.\u2019 What was finished? The work you want to begin!<\/em> And now, if you want to do something worse than all you have ever done\u2005\u2014\u2005you may cast contempt on the blessed and perfect work of the Son of God by trying to do what only He could do and has finished. It would be as if you said, \u2018Christ has not done enough. I must add to the work which He has declared is finished.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI stay here where Christ is insulted because I am old and can only walk to the gate. But you can go, and I urge you to go back to your friends and to tell them what the Lord has done for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Nicholas, \u201cI stayed three days, and the old man told me much more of the work of the Lord Jesus\u2005\u2014\u2005not only what His death had done for me, but also how He had risen again to give me eternal life and how He had won a place for me in heaven, above the angels, where He is waiting for me and for all who believe in Him. Now I tell any who will listen the wonderful news of the perfect work of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChrist also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God<\/strong>\u201d (1 Peter 3:18).<\/p>\n

\u201cNow once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself<\/strong>\u201d (Hebrews 9:26).<\/p>\n

Friend, do you rest in Christ and in His work?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

any years ago Nicholas was raised in religion, but he was notorious for his pursuit of pleasure. However, like you and me, he had both a memory and a conscience. Nicholas began to remember the many wicked things he had done and the warnings he had received. His conscience convicted him. He thought, \u201cIt may … <\/p>\n

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