DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 30, 1880,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And He commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it
is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of the quick and the
dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever
believes in Him shall receive remission of sins." Acts 10:42,43.
THESE two verses are an extract from a very remarkable sermon, a sermon
preached by Peter in the house of Cornelius upon the occasion of the
Gentile Pentecost. I think we are entitled to call the event by that
name, for then the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the
Gentiles. Peter preached at the first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit
fell upon the company of Jewish Believers and it is remarkable that he
should be the preacher at the second Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit
descended upon those of the uncircumcision while they were listening to
the Gospel. Philip was at Caesarea and might have been called in, but
God had determined that the strict Peter, the minister of the
circumcision, should himself open the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Paul was, at that time, converted and it might have seemed to be more
appropriate to have used him in enlightening this Italian officer, but
the Lord thought not so–He would send the Spirit upon the Gentiles in
connection with the same person who preached when this visitation
blessed the converts of Israel. Peter preached, as it were, upon the
ruins of the middle wall of partition which once divided the sons of
men. The occasion was very special and hence the sermon is the more
worthy of our earnest consideration. What kind of discourse is that
which is likely to be sealed by the Holy Spirit? We may learn something
upon that point from the instance before us.
Notice that it was a sermon "preached by request." I have seen those
words printed upon the title page of very poor sermons–as a sort of
apology for their being printed. I have wondered who it was that
requested them and whether the requesters were pleased with what they
got by their petition. I should think that they would hardly have asked
that the same words should be spoken to them again. But this request
was a very honest and hearty one, for Cornelius sent many miles to
fetch the preacher and the preacher came a long day's journey in order
to deliver his discourse. It were devoutly to be wished that many such
sermons would both be preached and published by request. When men are
anxious to hear such discourses and count the preacher to be their
benefactor, there is every hope that the Truth of God will work their
salvation.
This discourse was delivered to a model congregation. One might be
satisfied to preach in the middle of the night to such an assembly, for
a devout family had come together at the earnest request of a leading
kinsman to have the Gospel preached to them. To that assembly not a
single person came in late–everyone was there before the speaker
arrived. Late attendance frequently means heartless worship,
disturbance and distraction. "Now, therefore," said Cornelius before
Peter began, "we are all here present before God." This was well–O
that all hearers were punctual, that all worship might be undisturbed!
Better, still, would it be if all our audiences felt that they were
"before God"–this would create a solemn feeling and ensure devout
attention.
The hearers were all in a waiting and expectant mood and all in a
receptive condition, desiring, as Cornelius said, "to hear all things
that are commanded you of God." Never was the ground better plowed, nor
in a finer condition for receiving the living Seed. Peter gave them a
very plain and simple sermon–you cannot find a flourish in it, nor a
metaphor, nor even the least attempt at oratory as, indeed, you do not
find in the sermons of Inspired men. Those gentlemen who preach
grandiloquently are uninspired, you may depend upon that, or else they
would not attempt their high and mighty style. The Inspiration which
the Holy Spirit gives, leads men to use great plainness of speech. Not
in words, only,
was Peter plain, but the Truths of God which he taught were the first
principles of the faith and it is generally by these that men are
saved–points of difficult theology are not often the means of
conversion.
What have we to do with the fireworks of rhetoric, or the playthings of
controversy when men are anxious to know the way of salvation? Simple
as the discourse was, it was a very powerful one. So powerful, indeed,
that all that heard it were converted! I do not see any intimation that
one of them remained unconvinced, for the 44th verse says, "The Holy
Spirit fell on all them which heard the Word." What a very remarkable
occasion was this, when all who heard the Truth of God felt the power
of the Holy Spirit! What would I not give to be enabled to preach after
that fashion and to see such a result! Peter's sermon, however, was
never finished–it remains forever a homiletical fragment, a broken
column of the temple of wisdom, a discourse of which we shall never
know the conclusion intended by its author.
I am sure that Peter felt full of matter that day, for so a minister
usually feels when he knows that he is sent by the Lord, Himself, with
a special commission and sees a people with open hearts receiving all
that he utters. He then feels like a vessel needing vent, his heart is
inditing a good matter, his tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Yet
the sermon was never finished, but closed abruptly. Oh that our sermons
were incomplete for the same cause that Peter's was, for the Holy
Spirit, who speaks better by Himself than by the most earnest voice,
caused a divinely joyful interruption–"The Holy Spirit fell on all
them which heard the Word."
The sermon was stopped while they heard the converts speak with tongues
and magnify God and the preacher did not return to his sermon but,
together with his converts, attended to Baptism and then enjoyed holy
fellowship. Oh that the Spirit of God would, in the same manner,
interrupt us! We have too much talk and too little of those blessed
silences which He is sure to cause. It were better for our lips to be
sealed by the hour than for us to speak except as He opens our mouth to
show forth the praises of the Lord. A sacred irregularity would be far
better in our public services than the prim monotony of death. For all
these reasons I think I have a claim upon your very earnest attention
while we look at Peter's sermon more intently–surely a sermon produced
under such circumstances–leading up to such results and interrupted so
Divinely deserves to be reverently studied!
What was the subject? What was Peter preaching upon? He was preaching
Christ and Him Crucified! No other subject ever produces such effects
as this. The Spirit of God bears no witness to Christless sermons!
Leave Jesus out of your preaching and the Holy Spirit will never come
upon you. Why should He? Has He not come on purpose that He may testify
of Christ? Did not Jesus say, "He shall glorify Me: for He shall
receive of Me and shall show it unto you"? Yes, the subject was Christ
and nothing but Christ and such is the teaching which the Spirit of God
will acknowledge. Be it ours never to wander from this central point!
May we determine to know nothing among men but Christ and His Cross.
I think there were six heads in the sermon, though he spoke only of one
Subject, that is, Christ. The Apostle spoke of the Lord's Person. I
will not enlarge, but simply give you his words. He said, "Preaching
peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all." He did not teach the
Socinian Gospel, which sets forth a Christ who is not God. We love "the
Man Christ Jesus," but we cannot endure the doctrine that He is no more
than Man! How could He save us? Could a mere man redeem us? "He is Lord
of all" and because He is thus supreme, we feel we can trust Him with
the salvation of our souls. Peter is very clear upon the Sovereign
Godhead of Jesus. His Words are few, but they are exceedingly explicit.
Having spoken of His Person, he then spoke of His life and what a pithy
summary it is–"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
and with power." There was the spring of His life's power–His
anointing from the Holy Spirit, who bore witness of Him in Jordan and
at other times. He says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the
Lord has anointed Me." The tenor of His life is set out in the next
sentence, "Who went about doing good." That one stroke gives a full
portrait of Christ! You have summed up, in that sentence, the biography
of Jesus as He lived among men! He was an itinerant Missionary, a
traveling Preacher, a general Benefactor and "He went about doing
good."
Then Peter passed on to his third point, which was the Savior's death,
of which he says, "Whom they slew and hanged on a tree." He does not
take away the offense of the Cross, nor put it in smooth language, as
some would have done. He confesses that they hanged Him on a tree.
Hanging or crucifixion was an accursed and shameful death in the
judgment of all mankind and Peter confesses that His Lord thus
died–there is no concealing, or even veiling of the matter–he
acknowledges that He died by hanging upon a tree. I rejoice in this
bold telling of the Doctrine of the Cross in what some may call its
boldness, but in what we will regard as its sublime simplicity. In
Christ's death the shame is honor
and the disgrace renown–to deck the Cross with flowers and make
crucifixion honorable is to rob the august transaction of its leading
element, namely, the endurance of shame because of man's shameful sin.
Then Peter passed on to our Lord's Resurrection, for that is an
essential part of the Gospel and the Gospel is not preached where a
risen Christ is forgotten. "Him God raised up the third day and showed
Him openly." It was no fiction! He was openly shown on many occasions
to those best able to recognize Him. The risen Christ was seen and seen
clearly. Yes, and spoken with and touched with fingers and hands by His
disciples. He was not shown to all the people, for He was not to be
exhibited to gratify curiosity, but to secure faith. The evidence of
500 persons is quite sufficient to the establishment of an historical
fact and perhaps better for the purpose than the witness of unnumbered
crowds. If you suppose those 500 to have been deceived, you would just
as readily believe that a whole nation was mistaken.
Had the nation of the Jews received the truth of Christ's resurrection
they could not have given us better evidence than we have, already,
that Christ is risen! It would have been said–"This is all an
Israelite fable! The Jewish nation, prejudiced in their own favor, have
banded together to maintain the fiction of a risen Messiah in order to
add to their own national reputation." There is something far more
convincing in the testimony of men who, themselves, were persecuted and
put to death for bearing such witness and died adhering unanimously to
the truth of their common testimony. God gave to the whole world
sufficient evidence to establish the Resurrection of Christ, for many
did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead.
Then Peter came to the last two points of his sermon, which were the
judgment, which he felt it necessary to preach–declaring that Jesus
Christ who died and rose again is now designated the Judge of all
mankind. And lastly, as the gem of all, Peter preached salvation by the
Lord Jesus most fully and graciously when he said, "Through His name
whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins." This was what
he was driving at and when he had reached this point, enough Truth of
God had been taught to save a soul and God, the Holy Spirit, at once
used it! I propose, this morning, to confine your attention to those
last two points of Peter's sermon, for I am sure that there is much
profitable matter in them. Not that I intend to bring out the meaning
of each of these verses separately so much as the connection of the
two, to show how Christ's being made Judge of all mankind has a
connection with His being the Savior of all those who believe in Him,
to whom He forgives their sins. May God bless the meditation to our
souls' profit.
I. OUR DIVINE MEDIATOR'S POSITION INVOLVES TWO OFFICES. We are not now
living under the immediate government of God, but under the reign of
Jesus Christ the Mediator, for God has committed all judgment unto the
Son. Jesus now reigns, according to the Word of the Psalmist, "You have
put all things in subjection under His feet." We are living under a
mediatorial dispensation in which all power is delivered unto Jesus in
Heaven and in earth. God shines upon us, now, through the Person of His
dear Son and not, therefore, with those fierce and strong beams which
in justice would have consumed us, but through the medium of the
accepted Person of Jesus–with mild, soft, genial radiance for our
comfort and our salvation.
Inasmuch as Christ has thus received mediatorial power in its fullness,
there are two offices in it. The first is that of Judge and the second
is that of Savior. First, Jesus Christ as Mediator has become our
Judge. "The Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto
the Son." "To this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that He
might be Lord both of the dead and the living, for we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ." Mark that–"of Christ." Jesus of
Nazareth has become "Judge of the quick and the dead." In this capacity
He has judicial authority over all mankind. Offenses now are offenses
against Him–transgressions against the royal Son of God. He has
authority over men and He will try all of us at the Last Day, as He is,
even now, sitting in judgment upon all our acts and thoughts and
intents.
We shall all have to stand before Him, "that everyone may receive the
things done in the body, according to that he has done, whether it is
good or bad." He will sum up the evidence and decide the doom of all.
We shall, each one, appear before His Great White Throne and He shall
divide the nations as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. If
any are condemned, His lips shall say, "Depart, you cursed!" If any are
glorified, from His lips shall proceed the sentence, "Come, you blessed
of My Father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world." Yes, He that hung upon the Cross sits now as
King upon the holy hill of Zion and He must reign till all His enemies
are made His footstool and He must come a second time without a
sin-offering unto the judgment of mankind.
That judgment of our Savior's will be authoritative and final and it
will concern all the race of Adam. It is of Divine appointing and can
never be questioned, for God "has appointed a day in the which He will
judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He has ordained;
whereof He has given assurance unto all men, in that He has raised Him
from the dead." The Lord Jesus is Judge of the quick, that is, of the
living and of the dead. All that will be alive at His coming, kings and
peasants, professing saints and avowed sinners must, alike, stand
before His Throne. And all the myriads whose moldering bodies have
turned the world into one huge graveyard must live again and all answer
to His trumpet summons.
The Jews that accused Him; the Romans that executed Him; the ancient
Gentiles that persecuted His Apostles; the scoffers of modern times who
ridicule His claims–all kings and patriarchs before the flood with all
the numerous host destroyed by the deluge and the myriads upon myriads
of all the nations that have come and gone since then and all that
shall come and shall yet go–all must, without exception, put in a
personal appearance before the bar of the Nazarene, who is also the Son
of God! This is part of His work as Mediator between God and man and
well will He discharge the solemn trust.
The second part of His office is to be a Savior, "that through His name
whoever believes in Him should receive remission of sins." He is a
Prince and a Savior! Power in Him attends His Grace. He has the
sovereign right of condemnation or justification–the final judgment is
with Him. He says, "Behold I come quickly and My reward is with Me to
give every man according as his work shall be." The powers of life and
death are entrusted to Jehovah Jesus, the Son of God. He has authority
to pass by transgression, iniquity and sin in His own name, as in the
name of the Eternal God. His Atonement has made it possible for Him to
do this in perfect consistency with His Character as Judge. He pardons
and when He pardons it is as just an act as when He condemns.
If this seem a paradox to you, read the New Testament and see how He
can be just and yet the Justifier of him that believes. See how it is
that in the atoning Sacrifice, "righteousness and peace have kissed
each other," and how God is severely just in all that He does and yet
abounds towards Believers in richness of Grace in passing by their sin.
It seems to me to be a very blessed thought that the same universality
which pervades the Mediator's dignified proceedings as Judge is to be
seen in His condescending operations as Savior, for it is not to the
Jews, alone, that He has come, though to them He is preached. Would God
they did receive Him, but He is come to the Gentiles, also, that
"whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins."
Now, there is neither black nor white, male nor female, rich nor poor
with Him–humanity is one great fallen family and out of it shall arise
a great restored family who come and trust the Savior! Jesus Christ is
able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by Him. As
well of the ages past was He the Savior of Believers and of this age
and of ages yet to come. He is mighty always to save–the anointed
Savior, yesterday, today and forever the same. See you then, because
Christ is the Interposer and has intervened between God and man and has
royal authority to so do, He therefore takes upon Himself the double
work of judging and of pardoning. Let the two works dwell together in
your minds–
"He is a just God and a Savior."
II. Kindly follow me in the next consideration–BOTH THESE OFFICES
REGARD MEN AS SINNERS. I am sick to death of hearing men talk about the
goodness which is latent in human nature. I read, the other day, an
instruction to missionaries that when they go to a foreign land they
should always believe that men are good, that there is a natural
religiousness in them, which, like sparks in the embers, only needs
blowing up a little and will certainly flame up into a wonderful fire
of true devotion and so on. Pooh! There is not a word of the Truth of
God in all this flattery! No doctrine could be more untrue to the very
existence of Christ! If natural religion would have sufficed, why need
a Divine Savior to have descended among us? The best that the light of
Nature can do falls short of righteousness.
The case of Cornelius in the chapter we have been reading makes it
evident that the best natural religion needs to be illuminated by
Revelation and instructed by the Doctrine of the Cross, for there is
Cornelius, a man worshipping the true God devoutly and living correctly
and yet what must be done for him? Is he to be saved without Christ? Is
he to find his own way to Eternal Life by the development of his good
qualities? No, but he must be told to fetch Peter to tell him about
Jesus, the Savior, and if no other means will answer, an angel must
descend to guide him to the appointed teacher! When he had gone as far
as he could go, it became essential that he should hear the Gospel of
Jesus Christ!
Now, it is clear as noonday that if for this best of cases the Gospel
was absolutely necessary, it must assuredly be required by the myriads
who are not so excellent. Brothers and Sisters, Jesus Christ comes to
judge mankind because there are sinners to be judged! If you find me a
nation which has no tribunals, no punishments, no courts of justice, no
judges–it must either be the scene of utter anarchy or else a nation
where all obey the law and such a thing as a criminal is unknown! The
setting up of the last great assize and the making of that assize to
have reference to all men, the quick and the dead and the appointment
of the most supreme Person in existence, even the Son of God, to
conduct that assize–all these facts imply guilt somewhere and
abundance of it! If it is not thereby proved that every one of the
quick and the dead have offended, it at least implies that they are all
under suspicion! But that they are all actually guilty we learn from
other portions of God's Word. The judgment held by the Mediator is
proof that the mediatorial office has reference to sin and deals with
men as transgressors of the Law of God.
The second part of our Lord's mediatorial office implies this most
certainly, for He comes as Savior and such an office would be needless
if there were no sin and ruin. It is idle to talk of saving those who
have never fallen. He comes to remit sin, but there can be no remission
of sins to those who have never transgressed. The largeness of the
promise here used that, "whoever believes in Him shall receive
remission of sins," goes to prove that there is sin in everybody.
However wide the, "whoever," is, it is wide, depend upon it. The remedy
measures the disease. Remission is promised upon belief in Jesus Christ
because fallen man needs to be pardoned. Putting the two things
together, the very fact that there is a Mediator at all regards man as
fallen.
God could have dealt with us immediately, without an Intercessor had we
been as the first Adam was before the Fall. It is by reason of sin's
influence upon the race, the Fall and corruption of the progeny of
Adam, that it became necessary there should be a "Daysman that might
lay His hand upon both" and deal with God in His Divine Person and yet
deal with fallen man in his humanity. Yes, Christ as Mediator deals
with sinners on God's behalf and the point I want you practically to
note is this–do not let us get away from the consciousness of being
sinners because we must then move away from Christ the Mediator! In
proportion as you set up any righteousness of your own, in that
proportion you become independent of the Savior and are divided from
Him.
If you deny that you are liable to be judged and condemned, you will
deny, also, the necessity of your being forgiven–and while denying
your guilt you never can be forgiven–for confession of guilt is a
necessary preliminary to pardon. "If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins." Put yourselves, then, with
broken hearts, beneath the cover of the Savior's wings! Come and stand
before His majestic Judgment Seat and plead guilty! Then and there cry,
"Remit my sin through Your great Sacrifice and precious blood." Do not
try to disprove the accusation or to extenuate the guilt, but plead
guilty and, as guilty, beg for a free pardon. Do not labor against your
conscience to deny your sin, but take the publican's place and cry,
"God, be merciful to me a sinner!"
That is the second point of the text and it is clear enough. May we be
wise enough to put it into practice. May the Holy Spirit work in us a
tender, humble and contrite spirit.
III. Notice a third consideration–THE QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY OUR
LORD AS MEDIATOR TO
FULFILL HIS FIRST OFFICE OF JUDGE MATERIALLY COMFORT US IN LOOKING AT
HIM UNDER HIS
SECOND OFFICE AS SAVIOR. Note, then, first, that as Judge, the Lord
Jesus has full authority. He is fully commissioned of God to acquit or
to condemn. Oh, then, if He gives me pardon through His blood, it is an
authorized pardon! It is a free pardon under the King's own hand and
seal! I rejoice to think of this. If Jesus the Judge had said, "Depart,
you cursed," I should be certain that it was true and sure though I
sank into unutterable despair forever.
And even so, when He says, "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your
transgressions and, as a cloud, your sins," I am equally certain that
His sentence is sure and fixed. Therefore, being justified by such a
Justifier, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord! The
pardon is as authorized as the condemnation would have been. Is not
this sweet to think about? Is not this a solid pillar for hope to rest
upon? In order that our Lord might be a competent Judge, He possesses
the amplest knowledge. A judge should be the most instructed among men,
or otherwise he is not fit to decide in matters of great difficulty and
importance. Jesus Christ as Judge is incomparably fit to judge men, for
He knows men thoroughly. He is, Himself, a Man and, therefore, He knows
our temptations and our weaknesses. In fact, He knows all about us by
experience as well as by observation. He carries a man's heart within
Him to the Judgment Seat and in man's Nature He sits there to weigh us
in the balances of the Truths of God. This fits Him to judge the world
with equity.
Next, He knows the Law. Has He not said, "Yes, Your Law is within My
heart"? No one knows the Law of God as Jesus did, for He kept it in
every point–He did not merely read it and learn it, but obeyed it to
the fullest. The Law is written out in living characters in His holy
life and obedient death. How qualified He is to judge, since He is
Master of every line in the royal statute book! Moreover, He knows what
sin is–not that He ever sinned–but He has lived among sinners as a
Physician and studied their complaints, making a specialty of the
disease of sin. Though He had no sin of His own, yet all sin was laid
on Him. "He was made sin for us, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him."
The Lord Jesus also knows the punishment of sin. A judge must know what
penalties to award. Jesus knows this well enough, for He, Himself, has
once suffered for sin, the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God. He
knows the deserved penalty of human guilt, for on His shoulders the
plowers made deep furrows and His very soul was crushed within Him in
the winepress of Divine Wrath. Pause here and think awhile. Inasmuch as
this knowledge qualifies Christ to be your Judge, O my Soul, it equally
qualifies Him to pardon you, for He knows you thoroughly and can
cleanse you thoroughly! He knows sin, dear Brothers and Sisters–your
sin and mine–so that when He gives pardon it will be for all our sin.
He will forgive all manner of transgressions, iniquities and crimes of
which all are open before Him.
He knows the Law and, therefore, He knows how legally to acquit, so
that no further question can be raised. He will make no mistake about
the matter, for He knows the ways of the courts of Heaven. Since He
knows the penalty–because He has borne it all–He will take care that
none of it shall ever fall on us. The pardon of Believers is not given
by a blind God, nor granted in error–there are no flaws in the Divine
Judgment–no schemes and quibbles by which to evade the meaning of the
statute in that case made and provided, but all is done in justice and
equity. The Lord does not keep to the ear that which is avoided in
fact, but all His judgments are done in truth. The Judge of all the
earth must do right. If You have pardoned me, my Lord, You have known
what You have done and You have done it thoroughly and well and wisely
and it will stand in the highest court against all gainsayers!
I shall not be condemned when I am judged, but shall be cleared and
justified even before the bar of God, for Jesus Christ, the Judge,
Himself, has put away my sin! See here the full remission granted to my
faith. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect since God
has justified? Do you see this? Do you not also see, dear Friends, that
all the personal qualifications of our Lord to act as Judge, remarkably
tend to make the pardon of His people the more blessedly clear for,
first of all, as a Judge He is very just. "You love righteousness and
hate wickedness, therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil
of gladness above Your fellows." "He is called Faithful and True and in
righteousness He does judge and make war."
He is impartial and unchanging and sitting on the Judgment Seat the
highest and noblest qualities of humanity and Deity are conspicuous in
Him. Well, then, when He forgives it must be just to forgive and when
He pardons us it must be consistent with the holiness of God for us to
be pardoned! Such an One as He whom God accounts worthy to judge the
sons of men at the Last Great Day, when He says, "your sins are
forgiven you," has not perverted judgment, nor turned aside from right.
Our pardon is affirmed and established by the Wisdom and Truth of the
Divine Judge and its authenticity and correctness are proven by the
same attributes. Who can dispute our acquittal since it comes from the
Judge Himself?
If you have caught my thought and seen the Truth of God, it must tend
to your comfort and delight–all the pomp of judgment, all the
authority of the Throne, all the justice of the statute book, all the
power of the mediatorial government and all the holiness of the Judge,
Himself, are engaged to maintain the verdict of His Grace and make it
as firm as the sentence of His wrath. Herein is ground for quiet
assurance.
IV. Let us next notice the fact that OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIRST OFFICE
OF THE MEDIATOR IS EXCEEDINGLY NECESSARY TO OUR ACCEPTANCE OF HIM IN
HIS SECOND CAPACITY. This was why Peter
preached it. This was why Paul before Felix reasoned concerning
righteousness, temperance and judgment to come. This is why the Holy
Spirit, Himself, convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of
judgment. Dear Hearer, if you do not believe in Christ as your Judge,
you will never accept Him as your Savior! Unless you set yourself
before that awful Throne, that Great White Throne, as John calls it,
and realize yourself as standing there to give an account of your sins,
you will not fly to the Savior for mercy!
I would have every unconverted person set before his mind the hour of
his death, the moment of the appearance of his naked spirit before the
tribunal of Christ and then the resurrection and the solemnities of
that great day for which all
other days are made, when Heaven and earth shall pass away and all
things melt like dreams and the only real thing shall be the man, his
deeds, his Judge, his future. Oh, think of this! Some of you are
unpardoned this morning and as sure as you live, unless you repent, you
will stand before God to receive nothing but condemnation–condemnation
irreversible and eternal! Let those who would bewitch you say what they
will, you will receive a condemnation which will thunder after you
throughout ages without end! It will wither all your hopes and dry up
the springs of comfort within your nature and leave you in eternal
desolation!
I cannot speak upon this topic at any length, the theme is too
dreadful. May none of you ever incur the doom of the Last Day. May it
never happen that one who sat in the Tabernacle while we tried to
preach the Gospel shall be driven by the whirlwind of Divine Justice
away from the Presence of God and the glory of His power! And yet it
will be so with some of you, I am afraid, for you do not turn to God.
You do not seek the Savior and you are as likely as not to die in your
sins and, if you do, "there remains no more sacrifice for sin, but a
fearful looking for of judgment and of fiery indignation" which must
devour you. Oh that you would feel this and now, under a sense of it,
come and trust in Jesus Christ the Savior!
He is never dear to any but to sinners. Christ is never valued by any
but the guilty. He came into the world to save sinners–it is well He
did, for no one else will have Him but those who feel their sin and
condemnation. Oh, come and take Him as your Savior and let that blessed
word, "Whoever believes in Him," be like a wide door to let you in!
"Whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins." Why should
you not, at this moment, obtain that full remission? Here are some
lines which I would have you think upon when you are in your own
chambers at home–may their concluding prayer be yours–
"That day of wrath, that dreadful day, When Hea ven and earth shall
pass away, What power shall be the sinner's stay! How shall he meet
that dreadful day, When, shriveling like a parched scroll, The flaming
heavens together roll? When louder yet and yet more dread, Swells the
high trumpet that wakes the dead? O, on that day, that wrathful day
When man to judgment wakes from clay, Be YOU the trembling sinner's
stay, Though Hea ven and earth shall pass away!" V. The last
Observation is that THE SAVING WORK OF CHRIST'S MEDIATORIAL OFFICE IS
THAT WHICH
CONCERNS US MOST AT THIS PRESENT TIME. What does Jesus do as Mediator?
He judges, but He also forgives.
Note the words, "Shall receive remission of sins." What is remission of
sin? Hear it and be astonished that it is possible! It is the causing
of sin to cease to be! Granted that you have sinned–lamented that you
have sinned. Granted, also, that your sin deserves the utmost
punishment, yet God, in wondrous mercy, is prepared to forget your sin,
to blot it out, to cast it behind His back, to cast it into the depths
of the sea! Many Scriptural expressions go to set forth that He will
put it quite away so that He will regard you as if you had never
offended at all.
Guilty man, do you hear this? You that are not guilty–you
self-righteous people–I do not care whether you hear it or not, for
Christ did not come to call you since the whole have no need of a
physician, but O, you guilty ones who know that you are guilty, listen
to this! There is remission and it is preached to you in Jesus Christ's
name! God is a God of mercy and He passes by iniquity, transgression
and sin and the guilty can be justly treated by Him as if they were
perfectly innocent! Note this grand fact and then observe that this is
to be done in Christ's name! There is no other name in which pardon can
be bestowed–but it can come in the name of Jesus! Without shedding of
blood there is no remission and this blood is the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's dear Son, which cleanses us from all sin.
It is in the name of Jesus, the Nazarene–despised and rejected of men,
who is also Lord of all–it is in His name that pardon is freely
presented to the most guilty of the human race! Be they where they may,
God is ready to kiss away their sins and to accept them through Jesus
Christ. According to the text this is to be had through faith, for the
text says, "He that believes on Him." The plan is very simple. Every
great discovery is very simple when it is complete. Did you ever
notice that when a machine is complicated you feel sure that it is only
in its infancy? The more perfect it becomes the more simple it becomes
till, at last, when there is no improvement to be made, you can see it
is so because all complications have been removed. Such is the Gospel.
It is not a science which needs to be learned at universities. It is
not a mysterious doctrine which needs the intellect of a doctor of
divinity to grasp it. It is just an A B C Gospel which babes often
receive when wise men miss it. It is–trust Jesus Christ–trust God in
Jesus Christ and you are reconciled to Him and your sins are blotted
out for Christ's sake!
Lastly, this blessed news has reference to everyone in the whole world
that will believe in Jesus. That great, comprehensive word, "whoever,"
is worthy of your devout notice. "Whoever believes in Him." This
excludes no race of men, neither the most degraded Hottentot, nor the
most intellectual Hindu. This shuts out no king and no beggar, no
moralist and no whoremonger, no adulterer, no swearer, no thief, no
murderer! Blessed be the God of all Grace, it does not shut out me! I
greatly rejoice in this. I am one of the "whoevers," for I believe in
Jesus with all my heart! I have no hope but in Him and, therefore, I
know that I have remission of my sins. I long for you all to have it,
too–not because of any merits of yours; not because of any feelings of
yours; not because of any works of yours–but for His dear sake who was
hanged on a tree you shall have remission if you believe in Him!
Oh, trust Him! Trust Him and you shall have pardon! My heart longs that
you should, at this moment, accept Jesus and live. Why not? Often, when
we have spoken like this, the Holy Spirit has cheered the hearts of men
and brought them to Christ and why should He not do it this morning?
Pray for it, Believers! This moment offer your intense prayers to
Heaven in silent cries. The Spirit of God is here in this assembly and
He will work in answer to our warm desires. I have preached the Gospel.
I know it is the very Gospel of the blessed God! Will He not bear
witness to His own Truth? Has He not pledged Himself to do it? I have
preached His Truth as well as I can, relying only upon His help and I
have earnestly avoided all tawdry speech of human wisdom. I have told
you in all simplicity the old, old story of my blessed Lord and
therefore I confidently expect to see the Word prosper.
The Holy Spirit must bless the preaching of the Cross–it is His
office, His Nature, His usual way to do so. He has not changed, nor
ceased to be what He used to be and, therefore, He will bless His
people and make His Gospel the power of God unto salvation! O my dear
Hearer, seize the blessing by an instant faith! God help you to do it,
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
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Unprofitable Servants