ON one occasion the late Lord Fisher was requested by a friend to secure an appointment in the Royal Navy for his son. The father, of course, said all that he could for the boy, pointing out that he was a very good lad, very affectionate, and a general favorite with his friends and relations.
After listening to this sort of thing for a while the patience of the Admiral became exhausted, and he replied somewhat tartly, "And what has that to do with it? what we want, sir, are sailors, sailors, not boys who are kind to their grannies.”
The only qualification, that carried any weight with him, was that the applicant had a passion for the sea, that he would be a sailor and nothing else, and that the breath of the sea was in his nostrils. Other qualifications were of no value.
Boys might be good and lovable, but that would not secure their admission to the Navy as long as Lord Fisher had anything to do with it.
Kindness to relatives has no relation to the ability required to weather the hurricanes of the tropics, or to bring a vessel safely off a lee shore, or to navigate her through fog, and shoal, and hidden rocks.
He who had been through every grade of the service knew the essential qualifications for success, and he rightly insisted on those conditions being fulfilled.
And does not every right-minded person agree with his attitude?
But when the matter of the soul's salvation is under consideration, men reason quite differently. They argue as if they thought that God's attention could be diverted from their sins by bringing forward issues that have no bearing on the question, just as a child, who is about to be punished for telling an untruth, might seek to draw his father's attention to the pictures on the wall.
Men have to account to a righteous and a holy God for their doings here, for their lives of sin and forgetfulness of Him, and for their indifference to His claims, and they seem to think that they can divert His holy eye from their iniquities by drawing attention to the fact that they are good citizens, or go to church, or are kind to their neighbors.
No! this is the wrong sort of qualification. It has nothing to do with the question of getting to heaven.
Be assured, that no mere goodness of heart, kindness of disposition or even religiousness will secure a title to heaven, any more than it would to the British navy.
What then are the terms on which one may enter heaven?
If it be the desire of God that men should be happy with Him forever, is it not to be expected that He would speak clearly on the subject?
Have His terms been left simply as a matter of opinion or of doubt?
If there be one who can both grant and refuse entrance, is there not some authoritative declaration on the subject?
And if there be, is it not the most elementary wisdom to attend to what He has to say?
You would do so in the common affairs of daily life, why not then when your eternal happiness is at stake?
It is a matter of deepest thankfulness that there is a thoroughly reliable authority, which speaks with absolute and perfect knowledge of the subject, viz., the inspired Word of God.
Thus it is evident from the Word of God, that the real question at stake, is one of SINS and not of good works.
It is sins that keep out the sinner, not good works that get him into heaven, and unless you can in some way get rid of those sins you will be forever separated from God and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Happily we have not far to seek for further instruction as to how sins can be, or rather have been satisfactorily dealt with.
From these and other scriptures it is clear that the only way in which sins can be dealt with is by the atoning work of God's Son, and that the only part of the sinner is to turn to Him and seek the forgiveness that is offered in His name. By so doing, you have the assurance by God Himself that they are blotted out as a thick cloud.
From the moment that you trust the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior you will know the favor of God, the smile of His face, and have the divine assurance that heaven and all its joys are yours. How clear are the Savior's own words:— "Verily, 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 5:2424Verily, 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)).
But the Word of God goes further. It gives us a glimpse of what goes on in heaven. Rev. 5:99And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9), records the song of those who are there. Note well every word of that celestial utterance. Addressing the Lord they sing, "Thou art worthy... for Thou vast slain... and halt redeemed us to God by Thy blood.”
Again, we read of a great company surrounding the Lamb in heaven, and when an angel is asked who they are, the answer is, "These are they which have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God." (Rev. 7:14, 1514And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. (Revelation 7:14‑15)).
There is thus no possibility of mistake. We have the threefold testimony of God Himself, of the Lord Himself, and of the heavenly saints.
Such as accept this, the only way of salvation know without stint the love of God, the delight of the companionship of the Lord Jesus, the continuous unfolding of the grace that led Him to die and suffer, that they might be with Him in His own house forever.
He is the theme of the songs of the redeemed, and all who are there will be content that He should have all the praise.
What they have done, or been, or suffered, will find no place there, for the song is what Christ is, has done, and has suffered, and they will be but too happy to do aught but to bask in the sunshine of His eternal love and favor.
Reader will you be there? That will be only if you take common ground with them? Do so now. Trust that only Savior.
S. SCOTT.