A FEW weeks ago, in company with a friend, I went to a neighboring village to preach the Gospel. Having some time at our disposal before the hour appointed for the meeting, we resolved to have a walk along one of the country roads, in hope that the Lord would give us a message to some of those we might happen to meet, and we bad not gone far until we came up to an old man of threescore years and ten, sitting by the wayside, who looked the picture of health and contentment; but, alas! as the sequel proved, he was without Christ, and in his sins. We felt greatly interested in him, and offered him a Gospel book, which he thankfully accepted.
“You appear to be very old,” I remarked, “and must soon pass into eternity.”
“Yes,” he very gravely replied, “it won’t be long.”
“Where do you hope to spend it?” I inquired. Looking still more grave, and fixing his eyes upon me, he said, “In heaven, I hope.”
“But have you a title to go there, or how do you expect to get to heaven?”
“I never did any harm, I have always paid my way, and I am doing the best I can,” was his reply.
“But will God accept that from you, and take you to heaven on account of what you have done? Is that a sufficient reason why you should get there when you leave this world?”
Poor old man, he seemed confused at being questioned so closely, and said he was afraid it was not. “For,” said he, “the scripture says, ‘Except a man be born’ again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“Have you been born again?”
He hung down his head, and felt he could not say so. I quoted the following passages, which forever closed the door on his expectation of reaching heaven by his own doings: ―
I thus sought to show him how impossible it was to be justified before God on the ground of works, remarking that even such a godly man as David had said, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified”; and reminded him that if the prophet Isaiah confessed himself; and those with whom he was associated, to be unclean, and their best doings but filthy rags, how could he expect a holy God to accept his bundle of filthy rags as a reason why he should be justified and taken to heaven? We urged upon him the necessity of being honest with himself before that God with whom we all have to do, either in grace now, or in judgment hereafter, and not to cover up his true condition, seeing it is written, “Whoso covereth his sins shall not prosper, but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prow. 28:13). After pressing upon him the need of owning he was a lost sinner, and that being such he could not meet God, we parted company.
I could not help looking to God to open the old man’s eyes to see himself as he was in His sight, and to deliver him from the power of Satan, the god of this world, who “blindeth the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon 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)).
Reader, are you self-deceived, like this old man, and deluded by the thought that you have never done any harm, have always paid your way, are doing the best you can, and hoping God will take you to heaven on this ground? If so, may you be awakened to see the rottenness of such a foundation; to see that you are not only undeserving of anything from His hand, but, on the contrary, if He gave you what your sins deserve, you would be banished forever from His presence.
I earnestly urge upon you to own what you are; be like the publican, who would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me the sinner,” as if there were not another but himself in the world.
Oh! be like Job, who had been trying to justify himself; but who, when brought consciously into God’s presence, exclaimed, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seed thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5, 65I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5‑6)).
What a place of self-judgment! Nothing good to say of himself, or anything he had ever done.
Oh! reader, may you thus discover yourself and thus abhor yourself before God, owning that you are the sinner. This is what God is looking for.
If you are not saved or delivered, the reason is you have not been honest; you have not owned, as true of you, what God says is true of all, that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)).
If you try to save yourself, you will find that all human efforts are unavailing. But hear the blessed news: “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)).
Do you say, “I have no strength; I have tried to save myself, and have given up in despair of ever being saved?” Then you are just the person for whom Christ died—one who has no strength, and is ungodly.
But perhaps you shrink from the word “ungodly”? You may not think yourself just as bad as that. Then you have no warrant for saying that Christ died for you.
That all are ungodly, however, there is no doubt, for “the scripture hath concluded all under sin.”
How then can God, who is so holy that He cannot look upon sin but with the greatest abhorrence, and so righteous that He can “by no means clear the guilty,” have anything to say to such as you?
Blessed answer, ―He “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” that He might die for our sins, and that we might be brought to God.
Bless His holy name! God is just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (Rom: 3:26).
Whoever you are, black or white, high or low, moral or immoral, religious or irreligious, swearer or drunkard, whatever grade or caste you may be, on the ground of what Jesus has done God can freely forgive you; for, “by him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38, 3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39)).
Mark, it is not all that feel; no, “all that believe,” ―believing first, feeling after.
But you say, “I would like first to feel saved.” That would be impossible; you must believe a thing before it can affect you.
Let me give you an illustration. Suppose you owed your landlord £20 for backgone rent, and you had not a farthing in the house to pay him, would you not feel very unhappy?
“Yes,” you say, “I surely would.”
But suppose your landlord threatens to sue you for this backgone rent, would you not feel still more unhappy?
“Yes,” you say, “I would be miserable.”
But suppose a kind friend, who knew your circumstances, went to your landlord and settled for all the backgone rent, paying down the £20 in cash, and in return the landlord gives him a receipt for the money, and your friend brings you the written receipt, whereby you see that your £20 debt has been fully settled by your kind friend, how would you feel?
“Oh! you say,” I would feel very happy.”
But do you not see you must have the receipt before you can be happy? and the more simply and unhesitatingly you rely on it the more peaceful you will be. You did not see your friend pay down the £20, but you believe he did so when you see your landlord’s name attached to the receipt. But suppose a neighbor comes in, who knows the whole case, and seeing you so happy, asks if you are not deceived after all. “What!” you say, “deceived? I cannot be deceived; I have got the receipt in the landlord’s own handwriting, and he must be satisfied or he would never have given a receipt.” But another comes and asks, “Do you really feel that your landlord is satisfied?” “Well,” you say, “here is the receipt in which he declares he is, and I feel very happy; not because I feel he is satisfied, for that would be impossible, but because I know from the receipt that my debt has been discharged, and he is satisfied.”
Now, so it is, my reader, with what you owe to God. You cannot feel the debt is paid, but God’s Word says, “Christ was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification”; and His death on the cross was a sufficient payment or answer to God for all our sins from beginning to end.
But He is not on the cross now―He is risen. He was once there for our sins and offenses, but now He is on the throne of God, and let me ask you. Could God in righteousness put Christ on His throne if He had not perfectly satisfied Him on account of sins, even all our sins? Surely not. But, having satisfied God fully and forever, yea glorified Him in all His holy nature in reference to sin, God has now in perfect righteousness put Him in the highest place in heavenly glory; and the believer looks no longer to see Him on a cross, but can say, “We see Jesus, crowned with glory and honor.” He sat down, having accomplished redemption’s work, and fully glorified God in the doing of it; and He waits there until God shall make His enemies His footstool (Heb. 10:12, 1412But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10:12)
14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)).
When once He rises up from off the throne, and the door is shut (Luke 13:2525When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: (Luke 13:25)), if you are found still in your sins your doom will be sealed forever.
May God, then, give you, my reader, to be amongst those that are “ready” when Christ comes.
P. W.
GREAT is God’s joy in man’s salvation. That is the burden of Luke 15. The Trinity is in joyful activity for man’s blessing. The Shepherd―the Son―seeks, finds, and rejoices over the lost sheep. The woman with lit candle―the Holy Spirit―sweeps for, finds, and then rejoices over the piece of silver, dead, but precious. The Father, when the wanderer has returned; and been so lovingly received, says, “Let us eat, and be merry, for this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found.” This is grace indeed! This is God! To have back His own, “safe and sound,” fills His heart with joy. It may well fill ours. W. T. P. W.