NEARLY nineteen centuries have rolled away since the above momentous words fell from the lips of Jesus the Son of God. There they stand in the Word of God, the imperishable record of the stupendous fact. Infidels refuse them; mockers mock at them; evil servants push them into an indistinct future (2 Pet. 3:3-43Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:3‑4); Luke 12:45, 4645But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:45‑46)); thousands wrest them to their own destruction; yet there they stand, shortly to be fulfilled, with all their momentous results. Dear reader, Jesus, the Son of God, has said it, “I will come again”
All the prophets of old gave witness to Him, and that He should come into the world. He came. Prophets, evangelists, and apostles alike testify that He will come again; come He will. His first advent was in weakness, to witness for God, to suffer, and to die. His second advent will be in power and in glory. Yes, the Lord Himself shall come. It is the long-suffering mercy of God alone that stays off the day of His return, and keeps Him seated, a gracious Saviour, at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. God presents Him there to man as the object of faith. On earth He died; upon the cross He bore the judgment of God against sin. There the awful stroke of Divine justice fell once for all upon Calvary’s victim, the Holy Lamb of God, (Matt. 27:4646And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)). There was solved once for all the greatest problem that ever exercised the hearts and consciences of men, how God could save, yet righteous be. Jesus died. It is all embraced in those two short words. The vacated cross, the empty tomb, the man Christ Jesus exalted on the throne of God, are His witness to the fact that His glory was vindicated in His death. And now, from that bright scene of unsullied light and perfect love, in the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, proceeds the blessed testimony of the Gospel of the grace of God. Grace, incomparable grace, grace without limit or bound, flows from the throne of God to a guilty and lost world. And the grace of God bringeth salvation. Who will accept the blessed otter of God? Who will say, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord”? (Ps. 116:13.)
The grace of God from glory flows
And brings salvation free;
Oh! blessed news, Christ died for all!
Poor lost one, ‘tis for thee.
Beloved reader, lost thou believe on Him, ―Jesus, the Son of God, the exalted Man in the glory of God? “To him give all the prophets witness, that, through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:4343To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43)). And “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). Has the light from the glory streamed into your soul, ―God’s marvelous light? Or does darkness still reign there supreme? Mark the contrast between two classes in 2 Cor. 4., those who are still in the darkness of nature, and those who have been delivered from it through faith in God’s Son. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel (or the gospel of the glory) of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:44In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:4)). And, “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:66For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)). Which class are you found amongst?
And now, if found among the latter, what joyful news for you from your Saviour’s lips, “I will come again.” But, oh! what deeply solemn words for all in darkness. Many unceremoniously get rid of the thought of His return, by trying to make it mean something else, often death, which at least they think will not come upon them yet. Ah! poor sinner, it is a vain subterfuge. Death, it is true, will come for the sinner, sooner perhaps for you than you think. But this is not the Lord’s coming. Come He will, for He has said it; when, is known alone to God. No man knoweth the day nor the hour. But ah says one triumphantly, there is a great deal to be fulfilled first. Nay, nay. Plenty indeed to take place, before the Son of man is revealed in power and glory to judge and reign, but nothing to be fulfilled before He shall come in the air (1 Thess. 4:15-1815For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑18)).
Yes, dear reader, at any moment the Lord may return. Without warning, signal, or sign of any kind whatever, the Lord Himself may descend from the throne of God with a shout, to call His loved ones on high. Are you one? Blessed wondrous moment for the redeemed; but awful moment for poor guilty sinners in their sins. Glorious moment for the true confessors of Christ’s name, possessors of eternal life in Him; but fearful moment for all poor Christless professors. Moment of all moments for all who are washed in His most precious blood; but the eternal death knell of the poor formalist, who has nothing more than a name to live, and yet dead. Yes, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Lord will come, and in that same moment the whole of the saved ones, whether in the grave or alive on the earth, will be caught up. They meet Him in the air. But that same moment the door of grace will be closed, closed finally, once and forever, upon all Christ-less professors. Woe to those who are shut out: Reader, if He were to come this moment, and come He may, would you be shut out, or shut in? It must be the one or the other.
Nothing can be plainer than the 25th of Matthew. The state of all where the name of Christ is professed, and that is where you are found, is there illustrated in the most graphic manner by the Lord. Two classes only are named, the wise and the foolish. What is the great difference between the two? Outwardly there was none. All were virgins with lamps, and all had light, for the foolish say, “Our lamps are gone (or going) out.” A casual observer would not have discerned the difference. In what then did the wisdom of the one company and the folly of the other, consist? Note it well, dear reader; let the Word of God speak to your conscience. “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” The former took their lamps. The lamp was first; the laity was everything, in fact, to them. But they took no oil. Here was the lack. The latter took oil. With them it is the first thing, the all-important. Of what use were their lamps without? “The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” What are we to learn therefrom? Why, the absolute necessity of possessing that of which oil throughout Scripture is the figure, the “Holy Ghost.”
The lamp would denote a person who professes to have light for himself and for others. This is what characterizes every professing Christian. “We are not heathen,” say they, with an air oftentimes of the greatest superiority. Ah men boast of their lamp; but how about the oil? You may have the Bible as a lamp to your feet, you may be trained in Scripture knowledge and theology, but if this is all, where are you but in the ranks of the foolish virgins? If you have not the oil; if you have never learned your own folly in the presence of God, and become wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:1515And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)), and received the gift of the Holy Ghost; if, in short, you are a mere professor, sad indeed will your portion surely be at the coming of the Lord.
When the bridegroom came, in the passage to which we are referring (Matt. 25:1010And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. (Matthew 25:10)), we read, “they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” They that were ready; note this also well. None but those who were ready went in, no, not one. Their readiness consisted not in their watchfulness, but in the possession of the oil. Christ may come to―night this moment; are you ready? Have you believed on the Son of God? Are you wise? Have you the Spirit of God? Do you reply, I always believed about Him from a child, and I always attend a place of worship regularly, &c. Ah! I fear you have no part nor lot in the matter. Have you been born again? And is your body the temple of the Holy Ghost? Does the thought run through your mind, ―I don’t like such close questioning; that’s my business; and so on. Ah! my friend, it is only too plain, you have nothing but a lamp. If you were among the saved, you would rejoice at plain dealing. But you shrink from it. Why? Because all is not right. You are without a vessel filled with oil. Your lamp may be ornamented, bright, and attractive; but without Christ and without the Holy Ghost, your profession is nothing worth. And the same door that shuts the wise within, will shut you out amongst the foolish.
And once the door is shut, woe, woe, woe to Christless professors! (Rev. 8:1313And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Revelation 8:13).) Once it is shut, it will be shut fast, shut close, and shut forever. Tens of thousands will knock in vain for admittance at that closed door. Lord, Lord, open unto us! Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, open unto us! will be the bitter bitter cry. Oh! what an agonizing moment! The Lord has come, and taken His saved ones home, and I, who meant to be saved, am left behind. “I never knew you, I never knew you,” is the only reply.
And whose fault will it be, my reader? Have you never been warned? A thousand times, may be, you have heard that Christ will come; a thousand times you have read the solemn words that tell of it; a thousand times you have resolved to be ready. But on you have gone; the world, its follies, its vanities, its Christless religion, have allured you. Week after week, month after month, year after year, rolled by. In childhood, may be, you put it off to youth; in youth, to manhood or womanhood; or then again to old age. But whatever you thought or did, you went on, without decision for Christ; you were content with an oil less lamp, a religion of form, a dead faith, a sham salvation. You never knew God; you never came back to the Father; you never accepted Christ; you never received the Holy Ghost. Very likely baptized and confirmed, and a regular communicant, yet all an outward observance only. You had the shell, but not the kernel. To sum it up, you professed to be a Christian, but after all you were only a poor imitation of one. Every true Christian round about you knew it well enough, but these were the people of all others you disliked, and had as little to do with as possible. You don’t quite like it put in that way, because it is only too true, and the poor deceived natural heart does not like the plain truth.
Oh! sinner, sinner, wake up! The Lord is at hand. Christ is coming. A moment more, and His mighty assembling shout may ring in the air, and the trump of God summons His loved ones home. Would you go? They that were ready went in. Are you? We entreat you, by the mercies of God, ere it be too late, come to Jesus. None can come in vain. A moment more may be too late. Come to Jesus now. Just as you are, without one plea. He is waiting, He is willing, will you come? Do you hesitate? Do you linger? Oh that we could force you to come at once.
How simple it all is! You, a poor Christless professor; Jesus, a precious and a present Saviour. He wants you. And do you want Him? Yes? Well, if so, then where is the difficulty? Come at once; come now. Come. Do you reply, “O Lamb of God, I come.” Do you? Yes? Yes. Then you are ready. And they that were ready went in. Went in with Him. With Him. And so to be forever, yes, forever, with the Lord.
E. H. C.