The End.

“THE end of all things is at hand” (1 Pet. 4:77But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (1 Peter 4:7)). God means what He says. When? “No man knoweth the day nor the hour” (Mark 13:32-3732But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:32‑37)). The end is at hand; the end of all things. What have you to say to that? Immersed, may be, in pleasure or business, the moment rapidly approaches when all will come to an abrupt stop; and what will happen to you? Your end here is coming too, and then no end to either your bliss or woe. Eternal bliss or eternal woe is your sure portion. All depends on what you think of Christ.
“The end of all flesh” has already come once before God (Gen. 6:1313And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:13)); in a sense, twice, for the cross of Christ is the end of all hope of man in the flesh before Him. The world of today is full of its remedies for man radically bad; but God has given him up long ago. Man in his blindness and folly thinks he can make something of himself and his neighbor after all. Vain delusion! God tried every means, and spared no time or pains, but man signed his own death-warrant when he condemned and crucified Christ. You belong to the world that did that, and that world is under the judgment of God. Grace only stays the pouring out of His wrath. “Behold the Judge standeth before the door” (James 5:99Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. (James 5:9)).
Now if grace ceased to flow this moment, and the Judge entered upon His work, how would it fare with you? Have you weighed the matter? “Oh that men were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end” (Deut. 32:2929O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! (Deuteronomy 32:29)). Alas, it is the last thing they do. They consider their health, their families, their houses, their business, their prospects, but forget their soul. Your soul is defiled by sin; your heart, mind, thoughts, your moral self all defiled; you are irremediably bad. To go on in your sins is to expose yourself to the sure judgment of God. “The end of these things is death” (Rom. 6:2121What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. (Romans 6:21)). And after death, the judgment; and judgment is eternal, the second death (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)).
Or you may have been aroused to your state before God, and your conscience awakened to your need. But have you found the right remedy? “There is a way, which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)). Tens of thousands in these lands of Bibles and tracts, and Gospel preaching, have learned somewhat of the importance of divine things. But, alas, blinded by Satan and their own deceitful lusts, how many devise their own remedy instead of receiving God’s. Millions pursue the pathway of morality and religion, and hope all will be right in the end. This is the way above all others that seemeth right, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
We think we hear the alarmed professor saying “How so; what more can I do?” What more? Already you have done far too much, if that is the ground on which you seek to stand before God. Has He said, “Whosoever is moral or religious shall be saved”? Is that the gospel? Nay, pool sinner, you need a Saviour outside yourself. True, your morality and religion are far better than wickedness and blasphemy, both in this world and in the day of judgment (Rev. 20:1313And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Revelation 20:13)); but no: sinner (and all are sinners) ever did, or ever will, enter the glory of God on that ground. You need Christ. You need a personal Saviour, and the putting away of all your sins. Morality cannot remove them, nor religion; nothing but the blood of Christ. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission” (Heb. 9:2222And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)).
To trust in yourself, or in ought you do, is accepting Satan’s lie. It is God’s truth you need. It alone can meet the sinner’s case―your case. “To this end was I born,” said the Lord; “and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth, my voice” (John 18:3737Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. (John 18:37)). And He did bear witness. He was the faithful and true witness, and suffered even unto death, on account of His witness. The truth has never been palatable in this poor world, and hence Christ, who is the truth itself, and who bore witness to it, was rejected and crucified. By His death, the sinner who believes is free. Not by your fleshly religiousness, but by faith in His blood―His precious blood― and His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 5:9, 4:24). All else is utterly vain. “It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” And the truth shall set you free (John 8:3232And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)). Do you trust therein? And have you heard His voice? Yes? Then you are of the truth; for he that is of it heareth His voice, and he that heareth His voice has eternal life (John 10:27, 2827My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27‑28)).
“Trusting in that precious blood,
There is perfect peace with God;
Saved for glory, wondrous story,
Saved through Jesus’ precious blood.”
“To this end Christ both died and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Rom. 14:99For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. (Romans 14:9)). Have you bowed to Him? “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him froth the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)). What could be plainer? Forsake, then, your own deluded thoughts, and submit to Him. A Saviour you need, and a Saviour you must have; and Jesus, the Lord in glory, is that Saviour. The very death which set you and your miserable doings all aside, as utterly worthless before God, is the very same death which has met all God’s claims, and on the ground of which, God, having raised and exalted Christ to glory, puts away all the sins of every one that believeth. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, confess Him as your Lord, believe God’s testimony concerning Him: that His finished work is enough, and that He raised Him, and thou shalt be saved. Saved now from everlasting wrath; saved now from Satan’s power, sin, and the world; saved now for everlasting glory with Christ. Now is the day of salvation.
By the death, blood-shedding, and resurrection of Christ alone you are saved. Trusting solely therein, your sins are gone—put away forever from before God; and not only so, but if you further accept, in simple faith, God’s full testimony to the value of His death and resurrection, not only for your sins, but for sin itself, the Spirit working effectually in you to deliverance from its thralldom and power, you can enter into the language of the apostle, who says, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life; for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:22, 2322But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:22‑23)). In the flesh dwelleth no good thing (Rom. 7:1818For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (Romans 7:18)); and it is impossible in the flesh to please God (Rom. 8:88So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:8)). But saved, and delivered by grace from sin’s power, you can now bring forth fruit unto God, and it is acceptable in His sight. The end, the glorious end, is everlasting life, enjoyed without let, in all its wondrous fullness. Possessed of this blessed gift now, as we read of the believer in John 5:24,24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) we have it in the Son, and shall enjoy it with Him in everlasting glory.
“But what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:1717For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)). Ah! what indeed? “Unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon, every soul of man, that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile” (Rom. 2:8, 98But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; (Romans 2:8‑9)). “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Heb. 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3).) “The fearful, and unbelieving, and sinners, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21:88But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)).
Reader, we beseech you by the mercies of God, look this matter in the face. Wake up while you may to the awful realities of eternity! Super-abounding grace still lingers over a lost world. But take care. You have trifled far too long already with these deeply solemn truths. Flee now to the only refuge, the blessed Saviour of God’s providing, the gift of His great love. Flee while you may, lest the grace of God should cease to flow, and you should find yourself caught by the awful judgments of God, a sinner in your sins! All will shortly end here, but eternity has no end. Where will you spend it?
“Where will you spend eternity?
This question comes to you and me!
Tell me, what shall your answer be―
Where will you spend eternity?
Eternity! Eternity!
Where will you spend eternity!”
E. H. C.