And now, reader — you, who know that you are not prepared for Eternity — you, who assume the derisive smile, act the stoic, or play the fool — you, who tell the preacher he labors in vain, that you are proof against his remonstrances and his appeals, that you are neither to be moved nor melted, that you will abide the issue, that you will brave the peril; we tremble, we shudder, we weep for you; and, under a most distressing sense of the failure of our honest effort to arouse you from your dreadful lethargy, we turn to God, and pour forth our sorrow and our prayer —
“My God! I feel the mournful scene;
My bowels yearn o’er dying men;
And fain my pity would reclaim,
And snatch the firebrands from the flame.
“But feeble my compassion proves,
And can but weep where most it loves:
Thine own all-saving arm employ,
And turn these drops of grief to joy.”
“Why will you die?” It is true that you are tottering on the precipice, overhanging the fiery lake, but the arm of omnipotent love is outstretched to save you, and you are commanded to grasp it, to “lay hold on eternal life.” Again, we say — Pause a moment!
There is one voice, if you would only hear it — there is one object, if you would only look at it — which would reverse the whole scene — dispel its darkness, and illume your future destiny with everlasting glory. That object is Christ crucified; that voice, the voice of His dying love. Look, then, to Calvary, and there behold Him, who laid aside His glory and clothed Himself with humanity, that, by His expiatory death, He might deliver us from the condemnation which we so justly deserve. By that death, infinite in its worth, not only has divine justice been satisfied, and the evil of Adam’s transgression met, but divine holiness has been so magnified and honored by the judgment of sin in the Person of Christ, that God is more glorified in the salvation of the sinner, than if Adam had remained innocent or unfallen to the present day.
Oh, listen, then, to the voice that sounds from Calvary —that tells you that such reparation for sin has been made to the divine majesty by Him who died, “the just for the unjust,” that now the portals of heaven are wide open to every sinner that will accept salvation in the name of Jesus. How great and terrible, then, must be the pride and hardness of heart, that would turn its back on such stupendous grace!
Oh, dear reader, believe in Jesus; accept Him as your Surety and your Savior. The moment you do so, every charge of sin is remitted; for the moment you believe in Jesus all the virtue and all the results of His accomplished redemption are yours. You have not to make yourself fit for glory; His atoning blood makes you fit as soon as you believe God’s testimony about its sufficiency to make you fit. Believe in Jesus, and immediately the momentous word “Eternity” will become to you a note of joy. Believe in Jesus, and ere long the bright day of eternity will burst in boundless blessings on your happy spirit. Believe in Jesus, and the holy companionship, honor, joys, and triumphs of eternity will be yours, all that is included in that wondrous expression, “ETERNAL LIFE!”
Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Most likely this text has not been proofread. Any suggestions for spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.