THE cholera was threatening our shores in its march westward. With leaded type the newspapers were drawing attention to its ravages and progress.
In a busy office a short conversation took place between the intervals of work.
“How do you account for the fact that the last time the cholera visited England the Roman Catholic priests were more attentive than the ministers of the different Protestant denominations in visiting any of their flock stricken down by the disease?”
“That is easily accounted for. The Roman Catholics believe that unless a dying man is confessed, and has extreme unction administered to him, he will pass, not merely to purgatory, but to an eternal hell. Protestants, on the other hand, believe that no extra preparation at the hour of death is needed—that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, is enough. ‘Justification by faith’ was Luther’s watchword and battle-cry.”
“Ah! I don’t believe in an eternal hell,” said the first speaker, drifting away from the original topic. “I could not believe that God could put people into an eternal hell.”
“What is your ground for disbelief on that head?”
Imagine the surprise of the questioner when, instead of hearing his friend’s belief being based upon God’s word, or at least an attempt to construe Scripture to support his theory, he heard him answer, “Oh! a voice within me tells me God could not put people into an eternal hell.”
Quick as lightning the thought passed through my mind, The voice within us incites to murder, theft, lying, anger— “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:99The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)).
“Well,” said I, “at any rate the Bible is plain enough in its statements. It speaks of ‘a great gulf fixed,’ and no possible passage from hell to heaven—of the place ‘where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched’; of ‘the blackness of darkness Forever.’”
“Come, come, that is your explanation. Someone else will explain that differently.”
“It is no question of explanation. It is what the Bible plainly states. Besides which there is no necessity for you to go to an eternal hell, or even to a purgatory, if such existed. If you read your Bible you can learn the way to heaven.”
A third young man now broke in and said, as the conversation was brought to a close, “What if it’s true after all?”
Evidently neither of my business friends were easy about the matter. “The voice within” was not sufficient for the one; the vague thought of its being all too “true after all” disturbed the other. Thank God, the third had trusted the Saviour, and for him sudden death would be sudden glory.
“What if it’s true after all?” Ah! what? The vast empty profession, that has leavened the Church, cannot tolerate a doctrine which makes them uneasy. They will shut their eyes and stop their ears, and strive to believe that these things are not true after all.
How awful, when the dark shadows of an endless night gather round the dying bed, fox the deceived soul to pass away into eternity, to find he has willingly practiced upon himself the most cruel of all deceptions.
But, though such vast numbers are deceived by Satan, and preach that God is love, ignoring the truth that He is also light, the word of God knows NO change on that solemn subject. Above the strife and babel of tongues the silent page of Scripture speaks unfalteringly here. Man may change his doctrines, but the letter of Scripture knows no change. From the busy printing presses of Oxford, Cambridge, London, are issued copies of the word of God. Not one word is altered. They still tell that God is love; that He gave His Son to die on the accursed tree; that the vilest sinner who believes on Him, is saved; but, on the other hand, they still tell that “he that believeth not shall be damned”; that on the last great day, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”; that it “burneth with fire and brimstone.”
God has spoken. Shall fallen, sinful man dare to impose his strictures upon the living God From end to end of God’s blessed Book the note of warning is struck again and again.
Writing of the fact of so many believing in an eternal heaven, whilst denying an eternal hell, a celebrated infidel says, “For our part we believe in neither; if we believed in either, we should believe in both. If one is true the other is as inseparable from it as the Siamese twins. If true, they must be eternal correlatives of each other.” So an infidel writes. The logic is plain and to the point. There is nothing between taking the Bible as it stands, or refusing it altogether. Oh! the folly of taking what merely pleases oneself and leaving the rest.
Friend, I have sought briefly to lay eternal realities before you, let me leave you with one word. You must be saved in this world, or damned in the next. Take your choice, but let me pray of you to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). Amidst the brooding darkness of Calvary, by bitter shame and agony, death and blood-shedding, the blessed Son of God has proved His deep compassion and love to poor sinners like you and me. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Heb. 2). The work is done. Atonement has been made. All that remains for you is to accept Christ as your personal Saviour. Do so before you lay this paper down.
A. J. P.