ANY man! How blessed to find that this term alone expresses the breadth of the invitations of the Gospel of God. We have it from the lips of the Son of God Himself. Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:3737In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37)).
Any man! Dear reader, whoever you are, that means you,. Jew or Gentile, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, European, Asiatic, African, American, Australasian, Englishman, Scotchman, Irishman, Frenchman, German, or any other man. King or peasant, noble or servant, high-born or low-born, all are included. Clergyman or layman, gentleman or boor, clever man or illiterate, rich man or poor, business man or man of leisure, old man or young, good, bad, or indifferent. God says any, and means what He says. "If any man." Not if some man, or some particular kind of many but any; whosoever, wheresoever, or whatsoever you may be.
Many are in such trouble to know whether the glad tidings are for them. For you! Yes, of course they are. Does any leave you out? “But I'm not worthy," said one. Worthy I No, indeed you are not, and never will be. Did Jesus say, If any worthy man thirst? Nay, if any man; any thirsty sinner anywhere. Are you thirsty? Ida you know what soul-thirst is? Whatever kind of man you are, we do not for a moment expect that you will come unless you are thirsty. But if you are thirsty, the wonder is that you can stay away.
Of course, as long as you are thirsting for the world, its wealth, its vanities, its pleasures, or any other of the devil's baits, your ear will be deaf to the precious and pressing invitations of Jesus.
But deeply as you may drink of the world's streams, it will only be to thirst again. But if any reader of these lines thirsts for something better, respond at once to His call, and you shall be surely satisfied. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Come, oh come to Jesus! come to Jesus just now! Then shall you drink of water that shall satisfy,—living water. Much more is added in the following verses, but we do not go into them here. But come now to the Blessed One who so freely invites you! Believe on Him, and you shall never, never thirst (John 6:33And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. (John 6:3)).
“Jesus the water of life will give,
Freely, freely, freely.
Jesus the water of life will give,
Freely to those who trust Him,”
"I will give," saith the Lord, in Rev. 21:66And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6), “unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." Again," 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)).
But oh, poor sinner, if you still delay, take care that you are not cut off in your sins to find yourself with the rich man in hell, where not one drop of water could be obtained to quench his endless thirst (Luke 16:1919There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (Luke 16:19)).
But there is more still in the blessed Gospel of God. In John 10, Jesus said, " I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." It is blessed to come to Jesus and have the thirst of our souls quenched; but here these are additional blessings.
He presents Himself as the door,—an open door, wide open,—wide as His own heart of love can throw it. No gate ajar, to be pushed open by the anxious soul; but ever kept open wide, till the last moment of the day of grace shall have come, and then forever closed on all poor Christless professors (Matt. 25:1-131Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And 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. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:1‑13)).
And note again the breadth of the invitation, “By me if any man enter in." How blessedly simple the Gospel is! By Me! Christ, Christ only. Not by works and Christ, or religion and Christ; or Christ and works, or Christ and religion; but by Christ, and Christ alone. "If any man enter in." “Any man " again. But you must enter in.
Oh, enter, enter now: “Tomorrow may be too late." Too late! too late! How sad the sound for anxious human ears! Only quite recently a young fisherman, clad with high leather boots, stepped on the side of his boat, when his foot slipped, and—he was gone. In a moment he passed from time into eternity. He meant to step into the boat, but he stepped into the sea, and was never seen again.
He only slipped, and that slip cost him his life, and, if not prepared (the Lord knoweth), his never dying soul! Oh, sinner, with earnest desire for your eternal welfare, we beseech you, be warned Have you, entered? What! you cannot say "yes"?
Do you say, "I hope so"? That's no good whatever, not a bit. If you are not beyond that, you are outside. You must enter. Come in, right inside, now, at once and forever! Will you come? Do you still linger at the door? Take care! The open door may be closed this moment. And, alas! how fearful the doom of all who are shut outside! Still the loving Savior pleads with you. Oh, enter while you may! “By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." Think of it. Saved! shall be saved! Saved from Satan, sin, death, judgment, hell; and saved for Christ, righteousness, life, glory, heaven! Which is it to be, salvation, or damnation? Christ or hell? God's full, free, present, great eternal salvation; or the great gulf fixed, the blackness of darkness, weeping, wailing, the never-dying worm, and the fire that never shall be quenched?
One or the other is the sure portion of all.
Moreover, the Lord added, “And shall go in and out, and find pasture." He delights to heap up the blessing. To go in and out, is to enjoy perfect liberty; and pasture sets forth the rich food which is the portion of the saved. Eternal salvation, perfect liberty, and ever-satisfying food, are the threefold blessed portions of any man who enters in.
And why not yours?
But some may say, "How about our works? Can we be saved by simply coming to Jesus without doing anything “Ah, dear friend, time enough to talk about doing when you have come. As long as you are on the ground of doing anything first, you are busy enough outside the door, and there you will remain forever if you fail to enter in.
You must come inside first, and then begin to do.
We have not to do or to serve to be saved; but, being saved, service then begins. We read of sinners who turned to God from idols to serve, &c.
Mark the order. We come to God through Christ.
What is that but entering the door? And we, so to speak, leave the idols outside, and begin to serve And what is true service? This is beautifully answered in the words of the Lord: “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be” (John 12:2626If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. (John 12:26)). Many fail to understand the force of this passage, and are busy enough seeking to serve, but forget that the path of true service is following Christ where He leads, tracing His steps, having Him as our example, walking as He walked. There is often a great deal of activity, which is simply the fruit of the restlessness of the flesh, the energy of mere nature and legality of spirit. Many, we fear, serve, more or less, as though their final arrival in glory partly depended upon it. Such service is not acceptable to Him. Christ saves, and sets the soul at perfect liberty first, and then constrains by His love. Having become His freedmen, His love constrains us to be His willing bondsmen. And the great qualification of a true servant is, to do as his Master bids him. And His word to His servant in this passage is, “If any man serve me, let him follow me." Following Him, He will use us for His own glory in His own way.
And to encourage our hearts, He adds, " and where I am, there shall also my servant be.”
Where I am! This is His new position, His place in the Father's house, having accomplished redemption. And it is there that every one of His servants shall be in the day nigh at hand. He is coming for His own. Nothing short of having them with Him there will satisfy His heart of love.
Blessed provision! May every reader of these lines who has drunk of the water of life, and has entered in by the open door, be found following His blessed steps, waiting His glory to share I Lastly, there is one more passage to which we would call the attention of our readers,—one of most solemn import: " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha" (1 Cor. 16:2222If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. (1 Corinthians 16:22)),—that is, " accursed at the coming of the Lord." Oh, sinner, think of this awful threat, and beware lest He come and find you outside the door in your sins, and the curse of God fall upon you! Already that curse has fallen upon the Christ of God on Calvary, for “cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree." Any man who loves Him who died, the Savior now in glory, shall never come under the curse of God.
But if any man love Him not, oh, awful doom “let him be," says the apostle by the Holy Ghost, “Anathema Maran-atha." Sinner, this is no idle threat. You can ill afford to despise or neglect it.
God will avenge Himself on all who make light of His Son. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," saith the Lord. At any moment the Lord Himself may come. Do you love Him? Is He precious to you?
Do you know the love of Christ in your own soul?
It is this that begets love. “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:1919We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)). And any man who loves Him, can invite His return, and rejoice in hope of seeing His face, and sharing the corning glories.
But if any man love Him not. Mark again, “any man." Are you one who loves Him not?
You may profess to serve Him; you may call yourself a Christian; you may be an estimable person in the eyes of all around; you may be dis-distinguished for your religious observances; but if any man love Him not. Do you love Him, Christ? Is He the delight of your heart? You cannot honestly say so? Then, sinner, once again and finally, we warn you, in love to your precious soul (knowing that it is not yet too late, but that another moment and it may be), if He came as you read these words, "Anathema Maran-atha" would be your sure and irrevocable doom.
E. H. C.