A young man of considerable intelligence, but not a Christian, was persuaded to go and hear an address from a faithful preacher of the gospel. Like many other young men, he believed the Bible to be true, though he seldom read it, and thought little on its statements regarding his position as an unsaved sinner under the wrath of God. Now and again eternal concerns were pressed upon his consideration, but he studiously avoided thinking of them, putting them off until a more “convenient season.”
The preacher to whom he listened on this occasion was endeavoring to prove to his hearers the utter impossibility of being saved by works of law. The “doing the best you can” theory was completely demolished, and salvation by simple faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ was enforced, explained and illustrated.
In the course of his address, he made a statement which awakened the young man’s curiosity, and riveted his attention. It was to this effect:
“If God offered salvation to any of you that are unconverted, on condition that you could point to one good work in the whole of your past lives, not one of you could be saved.” At once he thought:
“If I were to be saved on such terms, I am quite sure of salvation.”
The preacher proceeded to prove his assertion by saying that the character of an action depended on the motive from which it flowed; that if not from love to God, it cannot be acceptable in His sight; that if flowing from selfishness, it must be sinful. He was completely taken by surprise by what he heard, and resolved, at whatever cost, to test the statement for himself.
On reaching his room, he closed his door, and commenced to review his past life, in order to recall to his mind the best actions he had done. One by one they were put down on paper, and the test was applied:
“Was this done from love to God?” Conscience answered, “No,” and he drew his pen across it.
Another was written, and the same question asked, but conscience gave the same disappointing answer. Every conceivable deed which he thought would come under the category of “good works” was taken into account – Bible reading, prayers, church-attendance, deeds of charity and kindness; but the inexorable monitor told him that they would not stand the test not one of them proceeded from supreme love to God.
He was now fully convinced that if salvation were offered him on this condition, it was utterly beyond his reach. The preacher’s statements took possession of his soul, and stood out in bold relief as a stern and awful reality. His whole past life appeared to him one continued sin, and on this account he saw that he was righteously condemned by a holy and sin-hating God, and eagerly and anxiously asked the all- important question:
“What must I do to be saved?”
At this point, a part of the address which he had heard forcibly recurred to his mind and greatly increased his anxiety. It was to this effect:
“Not only is it impossible in the past to find anything to merit acceptance, it is equally impossible now to do anything which can secure your acquittal at God’s bar. You have sinned, and present obedience could never atone for the past.
“The law of God condemns you for the evil you have already done, and you have no power to undo it. If you sin more, you increase the burden of your guilt; could you sin no more, you would not diminish it. Your tears, your prayers, your struggles, can never take away one jot of it; and were Jehovah to set aside His law, and offer to save you if you did one good work, you must inevitably perish; for no work can be regarded by Him as good unless it proceed from love; and so long as you are unconverted, you do nothing from love to God.”
On thinking over this, dismay seized hold of his soul; for the last prop on which he was resting was taken from him. He had thought that though he had done nothing good in the past, he might yet be able to secure God’s favor and forgiveness by obedience to the law in the future. But on comparing the preacher’s remark with the Word of God, he found that –
“The law that shows the sinner’s guilt condemns him to his face.”
A mountain-load of guilt oppressed his conscience. The Word of God rang in his ears:
The dark thunder-clouds of God’s wrath appeared to him about to burst on his spirit, and he was helpless and unable to avert the awful consequences.
“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?” was the cry of his heart.
He perceived that all hope of salvation by his own works, prayers, or reformation, was entirely out of the question, and he eagerly studied the Scriptures to learn how safety was to be obtained. He saw from them that the law demanded satisfaction for the sins he had committed, and unless a “ransom” were found, he must perish eternally.
With joy and wonder he read such passages of Scripture as the following:
This was what he was eagerly wanting. What was the “ransom” provided by God? Was it adequate to meet his wants? in awe and astonishment he read these wonderful words:
“Gave Himself a ransom for all.” “Himself!” O, what love! “A ransom for all.” therefore for me!
The Spirit of God pressed home the truth to his heart, and he was filled with unutterable joy and gratitude. The whole plan of redemption came up before him like a flash of lightning, and he could not refrain giving vent to his joy.
He could not now help loving God, as he saw Him thus revealed in the gift and death of Jesus. Now, there was no reason to fear Him, as He was his best and truest Friend “a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” He could now say, with an overflowing heart –
“Death and the curse were in my cup,
O Christ, ‘twas full for Thee!
But Thou hast drained the last dark drop –
‘Tis empty now for me.
That bitter cup, love drank it up
Left but the love for me.”
Unsaved reader, you expect to be saved and go to heaven, don’t you? What is the reason of your hope? Peter, in his first Epistle, says: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (reverence).” (1 Peter 3:1515But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: (1 Peter 3:15)).
Does it spring from the thought that though you may have “slipped sometimes,” you are as good as your neighbors? If so, I say, Never mind your neighbors at present. You admit that you have ‘slipped sometimes” – that means, that you have committed sin, and are therefore guilty in the sight of God – and, according to His Word, you are on the way to hell.
If you had committed only one sin, that sin would constitute you a sinner; and the word of the living God has gone forth.
Take a retrospective view of the past. Think once again! Don’t you remember sins committed by you in the past – even from your boyhood or girlhood? There is a time coming when they shall be exhibited to view before an assembled universe.
Do you think that your good actions will counterbalance your bad ones? If so, follow the young man’s example of whom I have written. Write all your supposed good deeds on paper, and apply the test, “Was this done from love to God?” and you will find that not one of them was performed with such a motive.
Do not cling to the hope-which the young man clung to-that you can do anything to merit the favor of God. The law has been broken by you. It brings you in guilty. YOU ARE CONDEMNED ALREADY. Sentence has already been passed upon you.
O, dear unsaved reader, what an awful doom lies before you! The One who has condemned you, though “long-suffering and slow to anger,” will “by no means clear the guilty.”
But is there no way of escape for you, O fellow-sinner? Must the awful sentence, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,” be passed upon you? Must you be forever banished from peace, joy, and happiness? Must your eternal destiny be one of unutterable woe and anguish?
If so, there would be no use in penning these lines; it would only be aggravating your misery and intensifying your anguish. But, thank God! A way of escape has been opened, and you may be saved even as you read this book.
“Jesus, the just, has died
Died for the sinner’s sin;
Justice is satisfied,
Hasten and enter in.”
All barriers are now removed. Sin has been judged. The ransom has been paid. The penalty has been borne, and God invites you to take eternal life as a free gift, and to rejoice in the truth of God to thee.