By the Editor.
I HAVE been exercised much of late at the terrible disregard of Christendom to the claims of Christ upon the world. He, the only begotten Son of God―the Saviour of the world―is scarcely mentioned, even in so-called Christian circles. People speak of God, but rarely of Jesus Christ. They will speak of the Father, but ignore the Son. The denial of the Father and the Son is the great sin of the world today. And yet God is speaking to the world by His Son. No blessing can come to man from God but through Christ, and no one can ever claim God as Father but through Him. “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,” are the words of the Son of God, and He came to reveal the Father. To neglect the Son is to court damnation. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” If this verse is true, and, it is true, no man or woman in the world will ever see life (eternal) if they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
An eternity without Christ means an eternity of darkness and woe. A man who was executed, as he was about to die, exclaimed in anguish of soul: Eternity! O how long! Yes, eternity will never end, and the punishment of Christ-rejectors will never end. Before you, unsaved sinner, as you read this, are the unmeasurable ages of eternity. Where will you spend that eternity?
How Christ-Rejectors Die
A preacher said: “I have seen men and women of fashion die, and I never saw one of them die well. The trappings off, there they lay on the tumbled pillow, and there were just two things that bothered them—a wasted life and a coming eternity. I could not pacify them, for body, mind and soul were exhausted in the worship of costume, and they could not appreciate the Gospel. When I knelt by their bedside they were mumbling out their regrets, and saying, ‘O God O God.’ Their garments hung up in the wardrobe, never again to be seen by them. They died without hope, and went into eternity unprepared.”
Oh! how solemn all this is. There is a blight over all the world because of its rejection of Christ. It is the eclipse of faith. Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God, and from that heaven He looks upon the world for which He died. His wounded hands seem to be outstretched towards mankind, and His tender invitations to a world of weary men and women is: “Come unto Me.... and I will give you rest.” And as they linger in their coming, the tender lament is given: “Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life.” And God has been saying to the world for two thousand years: “This is My beloved Son; hear Him.”
I had a dream a night or two ago. I was in a meeting of Christians who honored Christ, and one rose and said:
“Let us sing the hymn:
“Glory, glory, everlasting,
Be to Him who bore the Cross;
Who redeemed our souls by tasting
Death, the death deserved by us!
Spread His glory,
Who redeemed His people thus.”
My soul was filled with joy as the meeting rose to honor Christ. I woke with the glory of this recognition of Jesus filling my soul. And by-and-bye in the glory everlasting we shall be able to say with full hearts: ―
“Thou art the everlasting Word,
The Father’s only Son;
God manifest, God seen and heard,
The heaven’s beloved One;
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou,
That every knee to Thee should bow.”
Let us then, as Christians, during this month, and every month, seek to bring the sinner and the Saviour together, seek sinners in the highways and hedges and compel them to come to Christ. Give away His Word to all who need it. Write to me (see last page) for parcels of Testaments, etc., if you want to work for Christ. There is a great work to be done now, and if not done now it will never be done at all.