THERE is but one barrier between man and God, one thing that stands in the way of the enjoyment of His presence and that is SIN.
It is very important to know that the only thing that debars from His smile is sin.
Had He hated us; had He closed the door against us on account of our ignorance or weakness; had He made heaven dependent on our efforts; had He failed to furnish means, full and ample, for our welcome, ―then our prospect were dark indeed.
But, blessed be His name, there is on the side of His grace no lack nor deficiency; nor has He made the way difficult for us. All is plain and simple. On His side there is no difficulty, and on ours only one! Granted that one is large, larger, indeed than we think, yet there is but one.
Now, the word “Sin” covers much ground, and lies at the root of our every sorrow. Sin has completely transformed man, and changed him from his “upright” original into a moral deformity He is corrupted and ruined in every spring of life and thought, and feeling. He is “alienated from the life of God.”
What is sin? Is it merely the violation of conscience, or the transgression of the law? Is it only the infringement of social order or domestic tranquility? Is it no more than what may affect my relations with my fellows? Nay; it is all that, but much, very much, more!
Sin makes me a law-breaker, and an enemy to public and private peace, injurious to others and fatal as to myself. But it does more; it places me in direct antagonism with God! Therein lies its chief and most bitter sting.
What is sin? It is the movement of a heart opposed to God! It is therefore much more than the transgression of the law―an act that is outward and ostensible―more than the commission of crime, no matter how flagrant! Its source is in the bosom; its fountain-head in the very heart of man; and its outflow and results are in his thoughts, and words, and ways. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
We little realize the nature of sin. We may see it around in forms hideous and revolting. We may hear it in the long weary groans of an agonized creation. We may witness it in the tears of childhood, or in the pangs of maternity; but withal we take in but feebly the far-reaching malignancy of sin. It is, therefore, no small barrier, no insignificant chasm, which may be easily removed by us. Do you think that reformation of conduct from drunkenness to sobriety, from debauchery to chastity, from dishonesty to fair-dealing, from falsehood to truth―important as they are―can remove the barrier between God and man? Never!
The lopping off the leaf does not touch the root; and man can do no more. He may reform his ways, but how can he remove sin; how can he relieve his heart of that which is its very nature, or creation of that which is its plague? Impossible.
But what man cannot do God can, and, through grace, He has done! Hearken, surrender, to this ever-blessed statement, ― “The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). That precious blood is the provision God has made for the complete removal of the one tremendous barrier between Himself and us― “sin.” “All sin” is cleansed by the blood of His Son, so that what the sinner never could do is affected by God for him. See the awful chasm filled up by this God-made provision!
What now stands in the way? Clearly nothing on God’s part, and to learn this is to place the soul far on the road to peace.
“But my unbelief,” says the anxious one, or “my coldness,” or “my want of love,” or “my doubts and fears.” Well, what of all that? Unbelief, coldness, &c. &c., are fully comprehended by that immense word sin; and assuredly sin is not cleansed by your faith, or love, or aught else, but by the blood of Jesus.
Hence when you accept the value of that blood, as declared by God, you will rest upon it as your only and perfect foundation. It is all-availing. Now, dear reader, “behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world;” and, as you behold Him, remember that He is God’s provision and our perfect Saviour. J. W. S.