Sermon # 9
John 6:37 "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
How tenderly compassionate is the dear Friend of poor lost sinners! How anxious does He appear to remove every objection out of the way of the inquiring soul, that is made willing to be saved on Gospel terms, "by grace through faith" (Eph. 2:8). Lest such should be discouraged, how graciously does He describe their character and feelings, inviting them, with all the eloquence of God-like pity, to come unto Him! Hear His words, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Are you weary of the slavery of sin, and the bondage of Satan and the world? Are you heavy laden with guilt on your conscience, and fear in your heart? Behold, the loving Saviour stands with open arms to receive you; and these are the gracious words which proceed out of His mouth, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." "He is faithful that hath promised" (Heb. 10:23), and cannot deceive you. "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips" (Psalm 89:34). Make the experiment; come to Him. He is able to save, and He is willing to save; wherefore should you doubt?
But you say, "I am a great sinner." Be it known unto you, that Jesus Christ is an Almighty Saviour. You say further, "I have continued long in open rebellion against Him; I have been many years sinning against Him with a high hand." Be it so, you are not out of reach of mercy, nor is your case too desperate for the skill and power of the great Physician. Do you still object, "I am a sinner of no common kind; of sinners I am chief." Even unto you is the word of this salvation sent. The blood of Jesus is the blood of God (Acts 20:28), and therefore "cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God (Rom. 3:22), and therefore is sufficient to justify the most ungodly. Do not despair; for thus saith thy Saviour, the lover of thy poor lost soul, "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). He makes no exceptions: being "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
But you say, "Must I not mend my heart and reform my life before I venture to approach Him?" If you wait till you have effected this in your own strength, you will, after all, die in your sins. This He must do for you; and this He will effectually do for you, when you come to His Cross, confessing your sins, and trusting in His blood as your atonement. You must come to Him just as you are, a poor, vile sinner, to be washed in His blood, to be clothed in His righteousness, sanctified by His Spirit, and fitted for His glory. Why do you object to receive what He is so ready to give; and that freely, "without money and without price" (Isa. 55:1), even pardon, holiness, and heaven? He professedly receiveth sinners (Luke 15:2), that He may save them; and has solemnly declared, "him that cometh to me," be the person who or what he may, "I will in no wise cast out."
Sermon # 8
1 Timothy 1:15 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
This is the sum of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is God: He made the world, and all that therein is (Col. 1:16): but we His creatures broke His laws, and rebelled against Him. He might justly have cast us all into hell, the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. But, O wondrous love! "God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16), was born into the world. For what purpose? To save sinners. How did He save them? By dying for them upon the Cross, "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24), and washing them from their sins in His own blood. Did I ever consider this wonderful love of God? I am a sinner, born in sin, and as such liable to eternal punishment. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," even such as I am. Have I ever earnestly entreated Him to save me? Do I believe that I am a miserable sinner? Do I feel it, and lament it? And am I sensible, that unless Christ saves me, I must be a damned soul forever? Alas, how many never go to Jesus Christ to save them! How many are careless and unconcerned about what Jesus Christ has done for sinners! But do I lay it to heart? Are all my hopes built upon this faithful saying, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"? O what a comfortable saying it is, that though I am a sinner, the chief of sinners, yet I may be saved from the sins I have committed, and the hell I have deserved, if, under a penitential sense of my wickedness, I look up to Jesus Christ, and trust in Him! O may the Holy Spirit enable me thus to look unto Jesus. Oh what should I, a poor, wretched, helpless sinner do, if there were no Jesus to save me? How eagerly should I welcome such glad tidings! Surely the message is "worthy of all acceptation," and ought to be received by all, since all have sinned, and stand in need of being saved; and since all who feel their lost estate, may come to HIM who is able to save them.
O Lord, the Holy Ghost, enable me to believe to the saving of my soul.
Sermon # 11
1 Peter 2:7 "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious."
The Apostle is speaking of Jesus Christ, the dear dying friend of poor lost sinners, who pitied us when we had no pity on ourselves; and died for us when otherwise we must have been cast into hell. Now, if you believe this, that your sins would have damned you if Christ had not taken them on Himself; and that you must have been cursed forever, if Christ had not been made a curse for you: if you feel in your hearts a humble assurance of pardon purchased by his blood; and if you can consider Him as saying to you in the Gospel, what He said to the poor sinful woman, "Go in peace, thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48, 50); then Christ is precious to you; you love Him above all things. You love to think of Him, you love to hear of Him, you love to talk of Him; whatever He has commanded, you desire to do; and what He has forbidden, you will not willingly do, to gain the whole world. You are now become a new creature. You cannot live as you once lived. You are born again. Old things are passed away, and all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17). The things which you once hated, such as prayer, praise, hearing and reading God's Word, you now love; and the things you once loved, such as vain, sinful conversation, and trifling amusements, you now hate. You cannot now go to bed at night without thanking your precious and adorable Jesus for the mercies of the day; or without committing yourself to His protection for the night, and trusting your soul in His hands, that if you die before morning, He may receive you unto Himself: and when you rise in the morning, you cannot go out into the world about your lawful business, without begging Him to keep you from the snares of the world and the temptations of Satan. Your one object is to please your beloved Saviour, and above all things you fear to offend Him. You desire, that "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). "The love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Cor. 5:14).
Sermon # 13
Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
This is the happy privilege of the believer in Jesus, to be looking for the second appearance of his Lord. Jesus has promised that He will come again; that He will "come quickly" (Rev. 22:20). He has declared that His coming will be sudden, like that of "a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). The believer is a man who is expecting it, waiting for it, and preparing to welcome it. He knows that though "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" yet that another end of His coming is, that He may "be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe" (2 Thess. 1: 7-10). Therefore he looks for that blessed hope. He has peace with God through Jesus Christ. Guilt, the cause of fear, is taken away. He believes that the Judge is his friend, therefore he looks forward with a comfortable expectation. He feels that his present state is not his rest; for though the guilt of sin is taken out of his conscience, and the love and power of it out of his heart; he painfully feels that sin yet dwelleth in him; and therefore longs for the coming of Christ, that He may totally destroy it. The hope he has, is a blessed hope, because the things hoped for are inestimable in value, eternal in duration, and certain to the man who looks for them in faith and hope. "We that are in this tabernacle, (of flesh and blood) do groan, being burdened" (2 Cor. 5:4), with sin, affliction, and temptation; but at the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:4).
Sermon # 14
Luke 11:13 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
In these words, our gracious Father who is in heaven, permits us to decide an important point by the conviction of our own consciences. He appeals to our feelings as parents, in order to encourage our hope, and enliven our confidence. "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?" (Luke 11:11). If a hungry child come to a father, saying, "Father, I am starving for want, give me bread to eat;" would the father (unless he were worse than a brute) give his child a stone, to mock him? "Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion," to destroy him? Certainly not. "How much more shall your heavenly Father," whose affection for His poor sinful children is so infinitely superior to yours for the offspring of your bodies, "give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
I am a poor, ignorant sinner. I want to know myself as a sinner before God, and as exposed to His just indignation. I want to know Jesus Christ as a Saviour to my poor soul; for to know Him is life eternal. But this saving knowledge I can only derive from divine teaching. God has promised His Holy Spirit, to lead the poor ignorant sinner, that feels his ignorance (for that is the point), into all truth necessary for his comfort and salvation. "O Lord, let Thy Holy Spirit be my teacher."
I am a poor helpless sinner. I find I have no power to believe on the Son of God. Yet faith in Him is essential to salvation. My conscience is distressed on account of my sins. I want to "know him, and the power of his resurrection" (Philippians 3:10). But I can no more believe, by any mere exertion of my own powers, than I can make a world. God has promised His Holy Spirit, to create faith in the heart of every humble suppliant. "O Lord, help me to believe, to the peace of my conscience, the joy of my heart, the sanctification of my nature, the salvation of my soul, and the eternal glory of Thy Name."
God giveth His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. We can do no good, we can do nothing but sin, and so destroy ourselves, without His special assistance. Do you feel you want it? And do want and absolute necessity drive you to a throne of grace for this comprehensive blessing? Do you ask as a hungry child asks his father for bread? Are you sensible of your ignorance, so as earnestly to seek His divine teaching; and of your helpless state, so as to ask help of God? "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7). Consider, God cannot break His Word. If you have asked without receiving, it is because you did not ask in earnest. You do not feel your want. Ask of God to give you to feel your wants, and then He will supply them; ask Him to teach you to pray. Come to Him as a poor, ignorant, helpless child, for "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3). "Lord, give unto us this childlike spirit."
Sermon # 9
John 6:37 "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
How tenderly compassionate is the dear Friend of poor lost sinners! How anxious does He appear to remove every objection out of the way of the inquiring soul, that is made willing to be saved on Gospel terms, "by grace through faith" (Eph. 2:8). Lest such should be discouraged, how graciously does He describe their character and feelings, inviting them, with all the eloquence of God-like pity, to come unto Him! Hear His words, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Are you weary of the slavery of sin, and the bondage of Satan and the world? Are you heavy laden with guilt on your conscience, and fear in your heart? Behold, the loving Saviour stands with open arms to receive you; and these are the gracious words which proceed out of His mouth, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." "He is faithful that hath promised" (Heb. 10:23), and cannot deceive you. "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips" (Psalm 89:34). Make the experiment; come to Him. He is able to save, and He is willing to save; wherefore should you doubt?
But you say, "I am a great sinner." Be it known unto you, that Jesus Christ is an Almighty Saviour. You say further, "I have continued long in open rebellion against Him; I have been many years sinning against Him with a high hand." Be it so, you are not out of reach of mercy, nor is your case too desperate for the skill and power of the great Physician. Do you still object, "I am a sinner of no common kind; of sinners I am chief." Even unto you is the word of this salvation sent. The blood of Jesus is the blood of God (Acts 20:28), and therefore "cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God (Rom. 3:22), and therefore is sufficient to justify the most ungodly. Do not despair; for thus saith thy Saviour, the lover of thy poor lost soul, "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). He makes no exceptions: being "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
But you say, "Must I not mend my heart and reform my life before I venture to approach Him?" If you wait till you have effected this in your own strength, you will, after all, die in your sins. This He must do for you; and this He will effectually do for you, when you come to His Cross, confessing your sins, and trusting in His blood as your atonement. You must come to Him just as you are, a poor, vile sinner, to be washed in His blood, to be clothed in His righteousness, sanctified by His Spirit, and fitted for His glory. Why do you object to receive what He is so ready to give; and that freely, "without money and without price" (Isa. 55:1), even pardon, holiness, and heaven? He professedly receiveth sinners (Luke 15:2), that He may save them; and has solemnly declared, "him that cometh to me," be the person who or what he may, "I will in no wise cast out."
Sermon # 15
Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
You and I are dying creatures. We have seen many of our friends and relatives laid in the grave; many as young as ourselves, and apparently as likely to live. Some we have seen carried off by long and lingering diseases, and some cut down suddenly without warning. God only knows when we are to follow them into the eternal world. "I know not the day of my death" (Gen. 27:2). "My times are in thy hand" (Ps. 31:15). It may be tonight. We are certain it can be at no great distance; but we know not how near. Now if these things are true, what madness it is to put off the necessary work of repentance to a future day! We are not certain of seeing tomorrow; and as repentance is "the gift of God," if we neglect to ask for it today, and refuse to hear His warning voice, He may say to us, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 1:24-29). After death comes the judgment. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to give account of the things done in the body, whether they be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). Who must appear there? All, young and old, rich and poor, without distinction or exception. You and I must meet there. But for what purpose? To give an account of what? Of all our secret thoughts, known only to ourselves; of all our secret actions, which no eye saw but the all-seeing eye of the omniscient Judge. He keeps a book of remembrance in which every evil thought, word and work is registered; every one of which will be then brought forth to our eternal confusion, unless they are washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read (in Rev. 6:16) that some, in that day, will call to the rocks and the mountains, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." God grant it may not be your case, or mine. But in order to avoid this dreadful state, we must "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6,7).
This is the day of grace. But it will be too late to seek for mercy when the day of judgment comes. If you die without an interest in Christ, it had been good for you if you had never been born (Mark 14:21); for it would be better to have had no existence at all, than have a miserable existence in hell forever. This must be the portion of every unpardoned, unconverted sinner. God hath said it, who cannot lie.
Sermon # 16
Hebrews 2:3 "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?"
A salvation great indeed, beyond description, or conception, contrived by the wisdom and love of God for my poor lost soul! A salvation, procured by the death of the only begotten Son of God. How near was I to the brink of hell! How deeply was I fallen! How many and great my sins, to make such a salvation necessary! How dangerous must it be to neglect it! God has no other Son to give. If you are unconcerned about it; if you take no pains to secure it; if you are unaffected with your danger and with the salvation that is proposed to you; how can you escape? It is impossible. You reject the only Saviour, and therefore commit the greatest sin: you spurn at God's free mercy in Christ. Are you not shocked at such a thought? Be assured that every careless sinner is guilty of this. There is no relief provided for those who finally reject Christ. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins" (Heb. 10:26). Their ruin is certain, is near, and will be eternal and intolerable. Remember, this is the accepted time, and this day is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). If you die without Christ, you can never see the face of God with comfort. You must hear the Judge pronounce your sentence, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). God forbid!
Once more I entreat you, my fellow sinner, before you close the book, stop and think. Nay, go upon your knees, and pray to God to awaken your conscience, and give you the knowledge of Christ. My poor prayers are offered for your salvation. I have no motive in putting this into your hands, but your eternal good. I close with this prayer:
"O God, may this little book be productive of good to the reader's soul, in time and eternity. Follow it with Thy blessing, and may the precious truths, therein set forth, be 'the savour of life unto life' and not 'of death unto death' (2 Cor. 2:16). Grant it, O Lord, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen."
Sermon # 7
Mark 1:15 "Repent ye, and believe the Gospel."
These are the words of our blessed Saviour, addressed to poor guilty sinners like you and me. But what is repentance? It is a work of the Spirit of God upon the heart, producing such an inward sense of the evil and guilt of sin, as makes a man wonder that he is out of hell; such a hatred of sin as causes a man to forsake it; and such an apprehension of the consequences of sin, as makes a man willing to be saved wholly and solely through what Jesus Christ has done and suffered for lost souls. The penitent sinner is convinced that sin deserves punishment; that he himself, as a sinner, is liable to the wrath of God; that sin must be pardoned or punished; that he can make no amends for the least of his transgressions; and consequently that his salvation must be all of grace. The man thus humbled, is prepared to welcome the news of a Saviour who came to seek and to save that which was lost (Matt. 18:11). Such is the Gospel. It is glad tidings to a lost, guilty world. The sum and substance of it is this, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). He died to make satisfaction for their sins; and being God and man in one Saviour, "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him" (Heb. 7:25). His blood being the blood of God incarnate (Acts 20:28), was infinitely meritorious; and it was shed for this very purpose, to take away sin; so that if your sins, poor self-condemned sinner, are more in number than the hairs of your head, or the sand on the sea shore; if they are great and aggravated, and red like scarlet, yet there is hope. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth (hath virtue to cleanse) us from all sin" (1John 1:7). But how am I to become interested in this, and get comfort of it? "Believe the Gospel:" rely on what the Word of God says about Jesus Christ, and His willingness and power to save sinners. But may I without presumption believe that Jesus Christ came to save such a wretch as I am? Yes, "this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ" (1John 3:23). There can be no presumption in doing what God has commanded, and taking God at His Word.
Sermon # 6
"What must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30
This is the anxious inquiry of an awakened sinner. By an awakened sinner, I mean the man who knows what sin is, and who painfully feels that he is a sinner; and as such, under the curse of God, and in danger of hell fire. Are you an awakened sinner? Alas! all men are naturally asleep, insensible of their danger; and so they continue till they are roused up out of their carnal slumbers by the Word and Spirit of God. They cry peace, peace to themselves, when there is no peace; for God hath said, "There is no peace to the wicked" (Isa. 48:22). They live on, day after day, keeping death, judgment, and eternity, out of their thoughts; never reading the Bible with a sincere desire to know what their state is, and never praying to God from the bottom of their hearts, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). If you can live without earnest prayer to God for mercy, habitually neglecting it, you give as full proof that you are alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in you, as if you were living in the grossest immoralities. But when it pleases God to fasten conviction on the heart of a man, and to awaken his conscience, then he starts up as one out of sleep. He sees, what he never discovered before, that it is an evil and bitter thing to sin against God. He reads in the word of truth, that the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17); and he trembles as he reads. He acknowledges, "I have forgotten God and sinned against Him;" and being convinced that the wages of sin is death, he asks, "how shall I escape the damnation of hell?" Such a man is deeply in earnest when he makes the inquiry, "What must I do to be saved?" He feels that his all for eternity is at stake. The world with all its pleasures, profits, and honors, becomes tasteless and insipid; it cannot give ease to his aching heart, nor heal his wounded conscience. He now begins to pray. His prayer is now the real language of his heart, not the formal, unmeaning service it was before. A sense of his danger drives him to the throne of grace. The Word of God he now reads as the decision of eternal truth; and he reads it as having an interest in every line. Sinner, has this inquiry ever been yours, "What must I do to be saved?"
Sermon # 3
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
All, and therefore you, my dear Reader, and myself. We have sinned; that is, we have broken God's law; for 'There is none righteous, no, not one' (Rom. 3:10). There is none that has kept the law of God. We have transgressed every precept of His moral law, either in act, word, or evil desire. The charge is heavy, but the verdict is true. Let us consider the case, earnestly entreating God to enlighten our minds. Take the ten commandments into your hand, and read. We have broken the first commandment, by trusting in and loving other things more than God. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" (Matt. 22:37). In this we have come short. The second respects the manner in which God is to be worshiped, not with outward form and ceremony, but in spirit and truth. Alas! how deficient have we been in that serious attention, that inward reverence, and that devout affection, which His worship required! God is a jealous God. You say you have never been guilty of profane cursing and swearing, and so think you have kept the third; but have you never in prayer, and in reading the sacred Scriptures, suffered the holy name of God to pass through your lips without an awful sense of what you were doing, or even without thought? "the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7). Have you always employed the whole Sabbath in those religious exercises which the fourth commandment enjoins; and performed those exercises in such a devout manner, that the law has nothing to charge you with, in thought, word, or deed? Sinner, lay your hand upon your mouth, and plead guilty. Need I go through the second table? Dost thou love thy neighbor as thyself? Hast thou done unto all men as thou wouldst they should do unto thee? Have you never been guilty of disobedience to your parents? Know ye not that every rising of causless anger is murder? (Matt. 5:22) that every unchaste desire is adultery? (Matt. 5:28) that every secret fraud and neglect of affording that succour to the poor which is in your power, is theft? That every uncharitable thought is a breach of the ninth, and every covetous wish a transgression of the tenth commandment? Surely all have sinned, in doing that which the law forbids, and in not doing that which the law commands. What have I then done; and what have I not done? All have sinned. What is my state? A state of sinfulness and misery. Why have I not felt it till now? Because sin hath blinded my eyes against the light of truth.
Sermon # 2
1 John 3:4 "Sin is the transgression of the law."
Sinner, did you ever inquire what sin is? Did you ever study the Word of God, that you might have proper views of this greatest of all evils? If you have never made the inquiry, your state is bad, dreadfully bad. Your salvation is at stake. Look seriously into the text. Lift up your heart to God, and say, "Lord, give me proper views of sin." "Sin is the transgression of the law." What law? The law of the most holy God. Where is this law to be found? It is contained in the ten commandments. Did you ever read them with a trembling heart and a faltering voice, asking, "Have I transgressed this or that part of God's holy law? Did I ever consider that the law may be broken by thought, as well as by word or deed? Did I ever reflect that the law is spiritual, reaching to the thoughts, purposes, and intentions of the heart; that every irregular thought is a transgression of the law; that every unholy desire is sin; that 'every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment,' (Matt. 12:36) - that awful day, when the heart-searching God shall judge the secrets of our hearts? Alas! How many idle thoughts have passed through my mind, without the proper conviction attending each of them, that this is sin! See Genesis 6:5. How many idle words have I every day spoken, without reflecting, that for every one of these I must give an account! Matthew 12:36. When did the evil of my thoughts and words extort an anxious cry from my heart, 'God be merciful to me a sinner?' if sin be the transgression of the law; that is, if falling short of the perfection which the law requires, in thought, word, or deed, be sin, as well as doing that which the law forbids; how much have I to answer for, that perhaps I have never before thought of? Yet I have often confessed, 'We have done what we ought not to have done, and have left undone what we ought to have done, and there is no health in us.' Alas! I have mocked God, by confessing with my lips what I did not feel in my heart."
Let my conscience, O Lord, now be awakened to feel what sin is.
Sermon # 4
"Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Galatians 3:10
What means that awful word, "Cursed"? The curse of God is the declaration of His just anger and wrath against sin and the sinner. Who can stand in His sight, if He is angry? Psalm 76:7. But who is cursed? Every one, whether young or old, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, that continueth not throughout the whole period of life, without any intermission, failure, or defect whatever, in all things, in thought, word, and deed, doing perfectly what the law requires, and keeping himself absolutely free from what the law condemns, 'in all things, that are written in the book of the law, to do them;' the law being understood in its spiritual and most exalted sense and interpretation. And remember that it is further said, (James 2:10) that whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Now consider, has there been a day, an hour, a moment, in which your state has been such as the law requires? The curse is pronounced on every transgressor for every transgression: not only for profaneness, murder, adultery, and such like gross acts of sin; but for every sinful thought, and for every moment in which you have failed to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. O, how many curses, then, has the law denounced against you and me! It has been revealing the wrath of God against us every moment of our lives; for every moment of our lives we have been sinning against God. Are these things so? Can you from Scripture prove them to be false? What! Is every sinner cursed for every sin, and have I been perpetually sinning all my life? Is it true, that I have never, from a sincere regard for God, made conscience of one thought, word, or action; never performed one duty, or abstained from one sin, from a right motive, love to God? Has my whole life been one uninterrupted course of evil? Is my state, then, a state of condemnation? How astonishing it is! What a proof of the darkness of my mind, and the hardness of my heart, that I can live one hour at ease under the curse of God; that I can lie down or rise up without trembling, since the curse of God must plunge the impenitent into hell!
Even the very worst can be saved at the very last moment.
Sometimes we hear people make fun of “death-bed” conversions, as if such things never happen. Well, let me tell you that they do happen. And why not? If a man knows that he is dying, is he not likely to think about the hereafter and where he will spend eternity?
I do not mean to suggest that anyone should wait until the last moment to be saved. Far less do I intend to suggest that anyone should live a profligate life with the intention of coming to Christ just before he dies. People who live that way aren’t serious about salvation. I have a friend who spends his days ministering to the dying. When I asked him about death-bed conversions, he said, “People die the way they have lived.” I’m sure that’s true in most cases. No one should think they can laugh at Christ for years and then at the last second repent and be saved. To be sure, such a thing could happen, and it sometimes does happen, but it is not the usual course of events.
People who live that way aren’t serious about salvation
As far as we can tell, the thief who believed in Jesus had no prior knowledge of him, which makes his conversion all the more remarkable. Let no one use this example as a reason to delay coming to Christ.
Do not put off until tomorrow what you should do today. I’m sure if we could speak to this thief who was crucified with Jesus, he would say, “Don’t delay. Don’t wait. Give your heart to Jesus now.”
Remember that two thieves were crucified with Jesus that day, but only one believed. As J. C. Ryle put it:
One thief on the cross was saved, that none should despair; but only one, that none should presume.
The fact remains that this man who was a very bad man was indeed saved at the very last moment. Thank God it is so. He had lived an absolutely rotten life, yet he died a Christian death. It happened by the grace of Jesus Christ.
He was pardoned before he lived a single rightoeous day
I know that some people feel that they are too far gone in sin to ever be forgiven. Some feel so enslaved by their habits that they despair of ever being set free. Many people would do anything to be forgiven but they think that forgiveness is impossible.
Let me put the matter plainly. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been sleeping. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been drinking. It doesn’t matter who you’ve been hanging around with. It doesn’t matter what sins you’ve committed. It doesn’t even matter if you’ve broken the Ten Commandments—all of them, one by one—this week. It just doesn’t matter. You can be saved right now.
If this man can be saved, anyone can be saved. If there’s hope for him, there’s hope for you. If he can make it to heaven, so can you. If Jesus would take him, he’ll certainly take you.
Sometimes we hear people make fun of “death-bed” conversions, as if such things never happen. Well, let me tell you that they do happen. And why not? If a man knows that he is dying, is he not likely to think about the hereafter and where he will spend eternity?
I do not mean to suggest that anyone should wait until the last moment to be saved. Far less do I intend to suggest that anyone should live a profligate life with the intention of coming to Christ just before he dies. People who live that way aren’t serious about salvation. I have a friend who spends his days ministering to the dying. When I asked him about death-bed conversions, he said, “People die the way they have lived.” I’m sure that’s true in most cases. No one should think they can laugh at Christ for years and then at the last second repent and be saved. To be sure, such a thing could happen, and it sometimes does happen, but it is not the usual course of events.
People who live that way aren’t serious about salvation
As far as we can tell, the thief who believed in Jesus had no prior knowledge of him, which makes his conversion all the more remarkable. Let no one use this example as a reason to delay coming to Christ.
Do not put off until tomorrow what you should do today. I’m sure if we could speak to this thief who was crucified with Jesus, he would say, “Don’t delay. Don’t wait. Give your heart to Jesus now.”
Remember that two thieves were crucified with Jesus that day, but only one believed. As J. C. Ryle put it:
One thief on the cross was saved, that none should despair; but only one, that none should presume.
The fact remains that this man who was a very bad man was indeed saved at the very last moment. Thank God it is so. He had lived an absolutely rotten life, yet he died a Christian death. It happened by the grace of Jesus Christ.
He was pardoned before he lived a single rightoeous day
I know that some people feel that they are too far gone in sin to ever be forgiven. Some feel so enslaved by their habits that they despair of ever being set free. Many people would do anything to be forgiven but they think that forgiveness is impossible.
Let me put the matter plainly. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been sleeping. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been drinking. It doesn’t matter who you’ve been hanging around with. It doesn’t matter what sins you’ve committed. It doesn’t even matter if you’ve broken the Ten Commandments—all of them, one by one—this week. It just doesn’t matter. You can be saved right now.
If this man can be saved, anyone can be saved. If there’s hope for him, there’s hope for you. If he can make it to heaven, so can you. If Jesus would take him, he’ll certainly take you.
Sermon # 1
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
How little attention does this infinitely important subject gain in the world! How few consider the salvation of their precious souls, as the great business of life! You who are reading these lines, did you ever consider it? Did you ever lay it to heart, and are you acting accordingly? If this is the case, the following language will express your heart-felt convictions:
" I have a soul as well as a body. My soul must live for ever in happiness or misery. It is capable of pain or pleasure inconceivably greater than my body. It is a matter of comparitively little importance whether I am in abject poverty or the greatest affluence, during the few years I am to continue in the present world; whether I am respected or despised by my fellow mortals; whether my body is sickly or healthy, painful or at ease. These are matters of small consequence; death is certain, is near. 'Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust,' must soon be pronounced over my lifeless body. In a dying moment, if I could call the whole world my own, what good would it do me? What comfort could it afford me?
But whether my soul is to be happy or miserable; the companion of angels and saints made perfect around the throne of God, or doomed to weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, with devils and damned spirits in hell, where the worm never dieth and where the fire never will be quenched; this is the momentous inquiry I ought to make. To escape from the wrath to come, and secure an inheritance among the saints in light, ought to be my great concern. Is it so? Which world is most in my thoughts, this or the next? What am I most anxious about? Am I not often inquiring, what shall I eat, what shall I drink, or wherewithal shall I be clothed? But when did I seriously inquire, 'What shall I do to be saved?' If I have no prevailing concern about my soul, I may be certain my state is bad, and its danger awfully great."
Luke 23:13-46
JUST FOR YOU!
Intro: When we read the account of the death of Jesus on the cross, there is always a question that forms in my mind: that question is, Why? Why did Jesus leave Heaven to be born in Bethlehem? Why did the Creator come in the image of the creature, live in poverty, be rejected by those He came to save and then die a cruel death on the cross? Why?
Well, Jesus Himself answered that question the night before He died. If there had ever been any doubt as to why He came to this world, it was dispelled forever as He and His disciples observed the Passover together in the upper room. Look in Luke 22:19-20. There we find two small, seemingly insignificant words that solve the riddle as to why He came to die. Those words are: "for you". Jesus came for you. Jesus died for you and Jesus rose again for you. That is why He did what He did: just for you!
With that in mind, let's look into our text today and consider what He did just for you.
I. 23:13-24, 34-43 LOOK AT HIS CONDEMNATION - JUST FOR YOU
A. V. 18-23 See Him Rejected - (Ill. John 19:4-7; 34-43) The very people He came to redeem and deliver from their sin and bondage were the ones who turned their backs upon Him, fully and finally, John 1:11.
B. V. 35-39 See Him Ridiculed - (Matt. 27: 39-44) With one accord, His enemies mocked and ridiculed the King of Kings. Yet, He did not revile them! He endured their cruel mockeries because that was part of the price He was destined to pay for you and me, 1 Pet. 2:23; Isa. 53:7. (Note: It is interesting to recall what the Lord said about those who sinned against Him, Psa. 2:4; Pro. 1:26. The Lord promised to mock and laugh at those who sided with sin against Him. However, as part of the plan to redeem the lost, Jesus became a laughing stock before those He came to redeem! What irony! What utter depravity that would laugh at the Creator as He died for the creature.)
C. V. 34, 40-43 See Him Respond - When the Lord did open His mouth on the cross, it was not to condemn or to revile His enemies. When He spoke, He did so with compassion and love. He opened His mouth to pray for His attackers. He opened His mouth to salvation to a lost soul. He spoke to give comfort to a tormented mother. He spoke to give peace to fallen me. (Note: One word from His lips had brought light into being. One word from that cross could have abolished every molecule in the universe from existence. Yet, He responded in love! What grace! Grace that continues to this very day, Rom. 5:20!)
II. 23:33 LOOK AT HIS CRUCIFIXION - JUST FOR YOU
A. See His Crown - (Matt. 27:27-31) Never did a King wear such a cruel crown of mockery and infamy! Yet, He allowed Himself to be crowned as an amusement to the soldiers, because He was in fact a King! A King Who one day would wear many crowns upon His lovely head, Rev. 19:12. (Note: Those thorns were emblems of the curse that had come upon this world because of sin. As such they were symbolic of that for which He was dying on the cross. He died to remove the curse of sin from man and from the entire universe. He wore that thorny crown that day so that He might wear a royal crown in the future. He wore that crown for you and for me!)
B. See His Cross - (John 19:16-17) Never did a King occupy such a gruesome throne as He occupied that day! To die on the cross was to die the death of One cursed, Gal. 3:13. It was to die the most painful of deaths. It was to writhe in agony one a rough piece of wood, after having been beaten with a scourge, after having been tried and convicted, after having been beaten by the soldiers, after having been mocked and made to bear your cross to the place of your execution. It was a horrible death! Yet, it was this death that He was destined to die. Isaiah the prophet wrote of His death, Isa. 53:4-6. David the Psalmist wrote of His death, Psa. 22:1-18. It was a death reserved for Him before the world was ever framed together, Rev. 13:8. It was a death that He went to willingly, humbly and expectantly, John 18:37; Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:5-8. He occupied that throne for you!
C. See His Cause - (Luke 22:19-20; Rom. 5:8) Never did a King have such a noble cause as did Jesus when He set out on His crusade against sin. He went to the cross for others! Not people like, but for sinners! Not people who could repay Him, but for those to whom He could offer salvation freely, Isa. 55:1; Rev. 22:17. Not for the righteous, but for the dregs of humanity, Luke 5:32. He did what He did for people who were His sworn enemies! He did what He did for you and for me! He did what He did so that we might be able to come to an old-fashioned altar, fall on our knees, confess and repent of our sins and receive Him into our lives as our Savior. He died to open the door of salvation wide for you and for me.
III. 23:44-46 LOOK AT HIS CONQUEST - JUST FOR YOU
A. See Him Redeeming - Matt. 27:45-46 As Jesus hung on the cross, something mysterious and divine took place. The sky was darkened and the precious Lamb of God literally became the sin of the entire world, 2 Cor. 5:21. He did not just take our sins upon Himself, He literally became our sin on that cross! God judged Jesus as if He were the literal sins that you and I were born in and commit day after day. God saw His Son as if He were my wretched sins and He was subjected to the wrath of God on the cross. His work on the cross opened the way to God, Matt. 27:51, (Ill. The veil in the Temple had stood as a barrier between God and man for centuries, Heb. 9:7, Lev. 16:2. Jesus removed all the barriers!) His work on the cross extinguished the wrath of God toward the sins of the elect and now those who are in Jesus are forever free from the threat and dread of an eternity in Hell fire! All because He won our victory on the cross.
B. See Him Rejoicing - John 19 30 You might not think of the cross as a place of rejoicing, but if you had been there that day, you would have listened as Jesus made seven utterances from the cross. Each time He moved His parched lips and breathed out the words He endured pain and deepened His agony. However, near the end of His time of the cross, when He knew that the way to God had been opened by the payment of the redemption price, He opened His mouth and spoke three simple words that still echo throughout the halls of eternity. He said: "It is finished!" As I have mentioned before, this was not the cry of a defeated Man! He did not say "I am finished!" This was not the cry of One Who had given up short of His goal of redeeming the human race. He did not say, "You are finished!" This was the cry of One Who had achieved true victory! He said, "It is finished!" When He did, it was the cry of a Champion! Just as a mighty lion will roar after he has made a kill, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah roared His great cry of victory so that you and I might know that there is hope! (Note: I have shared with you what this word means in the original and how it was used. But, if you will allow me, I want to share it again, because it is so precious and rich in its meaning to all believers.
1. A Servant's Word - Used when a task had been completed.
2. A Priest's Word - Used when a sacrificial animal was found to be worthy.
3. A Farmer's Word - Used when a perfect specimen had been born into the flock.
4. An Artist's Word - Used when the final touches had been applied to a masterpiece.
5. A Merchant's Word - Used when a deal had been struck and all the haggling had ended. Its usage meant that both parties were satisfied.
You see, the cross for Jesus wasn't a time of defeat and doom. It was a time of joy and anticipation, Heb. 12:2. He rejoiced when the battle was won, let us never be ashamed of what He accomplished on the cross! Let us rather glory in the cross of Jesus and bless His holy Name that He loved sinners to that depth and degree, Gal. 6:14.)
C. See Him Resurrecting - Matt. 28:1-6 Thank God His story does not end with Him hanging dead on a cross! No, three days after His death, He arose from the dead to become the first fruits, 1 Cor. 15:20, from the dead for you and me. He is the promise of eternal life for all who trust in Him.
D. See His Reigning - After He arose, He ascended back to Heaven and sat down at the right hand of His Father in glory, Acts 1:9-11; Heb. 10:12. There He lives today as out Intercessor with the Father, Heb. 7:25. From there, He will return some day to receive His bride unto Himself and take her home to Heaven, John 14:1-3. From there, He will return to establish His kingdom upon this earth, Rev. 19:11-21. (Note: What I am trying to say is that the same Jesus Who came from Heaven to this earth to die on the cross, is the same Jesus Who sits in Heaven today awaiting that moment when He will return to claim His people. He is the same One Who offers salvation to all who will come to Him by faith. He is the One Who died for you and if you will come to Him, He will save you by His grace and give you eternal life in Heaven!)
Conc: Just for you! That is why the King of Glory left Heaven, was born in Bethlehem, lived in poverty, died in shame and agony and arose in victory. He did it just for you! He did all that He did so that you might simply call on Him by faith and be saved by His grace. He did what He did just for you so that you might miss Hell and enter Heaven.
In fact, what He did provided the only way that anyone has or ever will be saved. What He did for you open an exclusive way into a saving relationship with God, John 14:6; Acts 4:12.
He did all that He did just for you. What have you done about in your own life? Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? If not, you can by coming to Him by faith right now. If you have, then how long has it been since you said "Thank You!"?
A Visit to the Cemetery
That’s James’ whole point. The rich man fades away. He vanishes, and his riches vanish with him. If you doubt my words, go to any cemetery in the world. Walk among the tombstones, read the inscriptions, study the epitaphs. Ponder the fate of those who are buried there. If you want to really see how this works, go to one of those old New England cemeteries where they have graves dating back to the 1600s. Some of the inscriptions are so weather-worn that you can hardly read them.
Are any rich people buried there? Yes.
Are any poor people buried there? Yes.
Now answer this question: What do the rich dead and the poor dead have in common? They are both dead. Actually, that question needs to be rephrased. There is no such thing as “rich dead” or “poor dead.” The dead exist as one complete category. The temporal distinctions we make don’t matter. A millionaire is just as dead as a pauper.
That’s the point James wants us to remember.
A millionaire is just as dead as a pauper
But in what sense should the rich “boast” about these facts? I think the answer goes like this. It is not wrong for a Christian to be rich. In this world some people will always have more money and some will always have less. The mere fact of wealth isn’t wrong, and it’s certainly not a sin to be rich. It’s what you do with your money that matters. Over the centuries wealthy Christians have built hospitals and orphanages and clinics in remote regions of the world. They have sponsored missionaries, founded schools, built colleges, endowed scholarships, and funded vast Kingdom enterprises. I thank God for wealthy Christians who have a generous spirit and a heart for the cause of Christ. Where would we be without them?
We need the folks who can give $100 a month, and we also need the folks who can write a check for $5 million. Both are serving the Lord in their own way.
So should the rich Christians boast in their wealth? No, because God gave it to them. Should they boast in their giving? As a rule, giving is best kept private except when our good example can motivate others to give generously. Should they boast in their houses and lands? No, because that will soon be gone anyway.
That’s James’ whole point. The rich man fades away. He vanishes, and his riches vanish with him. If you doubt my words, go to any cemetery in the world. Walk among the tombstones, read the inscriptions, study the epitaphs. Ponder the fate of those who are buried there. If you want to really see how this works, go to one of those old New England cemeteries where they have graves dating back to the 1600s. Some of the inscriptions are so weather-worn that you can hardly read them.
Are any rich people buried there? Yes.
Are any poor people buried there? Yes.
Now answer this question: What do the rich dead and the poor dead have in common? They are both dead. Actually, that question needs to be rephrased. There is no such thing as “rich dead” or “poor dead.” The dead exist as one complete category. The temporal distinctions we make don’t matter. A millionaire is just as dead as a pauper.
That’s the point James wants us to remember.
A millionaire is just as dead as a pauper
But in what sense should the rich “boast” about these facts? I think the answer goes like this. It is not wrong for a Christian to be rich. In this world some people will always have more money and some will always have less. The mere fact of wealth isn’t wrong, and it’s certainly not a sin to be rich. It’s what you do with your money that matters. Over the centuries wealthy Christians have built hospitals and orphanages and clinics in remote regions of the world. They have sponsored missionaries, founded schools, built colleges, endowed scholarships, and funded vast Kingdom enterprises. I thank God for wealthy Christians who have a generous spirit and a heart for the cause of Christ. Where would we be without them?
We need the folks who can give $100 a month, and we also need the folks who can write a check for $5 million. Both are serving the Lord in their own way.
So should the rich Christians boast in their wealth? No, because God gave it to them. Should they boast in their giving? As a rule, giving is best kept private except when our good example can motivate others to give generously. Should they boast in their houses and lands? No, because that will soon be gone anyway.