To Those Who Are Angry With Their Godly Friends
(No. 1929)
DELIVERED BY
C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you angry? And why is your
countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if
you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And unto you shall be his
desire and you shall rule over him." Genesis 4:6, 7.
SINNERS are not all of the laughing sort–Cain's mind was angry and his
heart was heavy. The short life of the vicious is not always a merry
one. See, here you have a man who is utterly without God, but he is not
without sorrow. His countenance has fallen, his looks are sullen–he is
a miserable man. There are many ungodly people still in the world who
are not happy in the condition in which they find themselves. The
present does not content them and they have no future from which to
borrow the light of hope. The service of sin is hard to them and yet
they do not quit it for the service of the Lord. They are in danger of
having two Hells–one in this life and another in the world to come!
They have a religion of their own, even as Cain brought an offering of
the fruit of the ground, but it yields them no comfort, for God has no
respect to their offering and, therefore, they are displeased about it.
The things of God bring an increase to their inward wretchedness–it
was after a sacrifice that Cain's countenance fell. Many unrenewed
hearts quarrel with God at His own altar–quarrel by presenting what He
never commanded and then by growing angry because He rejects their
will-worship! They attend the means of Grace, but they are not saved
nor comforted, and they do not like it. They pray, after a fashion, but
they are not heard–and they feel indignant at the slight. They read
the Scriptures, but no cheering promise is ever applied to their
hearts–and they grow fierce at their failure. They see another
accepted, as Abel was, and this excites their jealousy and envy gnaws
at their heart. They are angry with God, with their fellow man and with
everything about them! Their countenance falls and they are in a morose
mood which fits them for any cruel word or deed. Can you not see their
sullen looks?
They would very much like to have the enjoyments of religion. They
would like to have peace of conscience. They would like to be uplifted
beyond all fear of death and they would like to be as happy as
Christian people are, but they do not want to pay the price, namely,
obedience to God by faith in Jesus Christ! They would willingly bring
an offering to God according to their own choice and taste, but they do
not care to come with "the Lamb" as their Sacrifice–they cannot accept
the Atonement made by our Lord's laying down His life for us. They wish
to have the reward of obedient faith while yet they have their own way!
They would reap the harvest without sowing the seed. They would gather
clusters without planting vines. They would win the wages without
serving the Master of the vineyard! But as this cannot be and never
will be, they are full of bitter feeling. Since sin and sorrow are sure
to be, sooner or later, married together– and since only by walking in
the ways of God can we hope to find peace and rest–they quarrel with
the Divine arrangement, grow inwardly miserable and show it by their
sullen looks and growling words.
They are in a bitter state of heart and it is fair to ask each one of
them, "Why are you angry?" Alas, they are not angry with themselves, as
they ought to be, but angry with God–and often they are angry with
God's chosen and envious of them–even as Cain was malicious and
vindictive towards Abel. "Why should my neighbor be saved, and not I?
Why should my brother rejoice because he has peace with God while I
cannot get it? Why should my own sister be converted and sing of Heaven
and I, who have gone to the same place of worship and have joined in
the same prayers and hymns, seem to be left out in the cold?" Such
questions might be useful to them, but instead of looking into their
own hearts to see what is wrong there–instead of judging themselves
and trying to get right with God–they inwardly blame the Lord or the
persons whom they think to be more favored than themselves! The
blessings of Grace are to be had by them, but they refuse to take them
and yet quarrel with those who accept them! They play the part of the
dog in the manger,
who could not eat the hay, himself, and would not let the horses do so.
They will not accept Christ and yet grumble because others have Him.
It is one of the sure signs of the seed of the serpent–that they will
always be at enmity with the Seed of the woman. This is one of the
marks of distinction between those who walk after the flesh and those
who walk after the spirit, for as Ishmael mocked Isaac, so the child of
the flesh mocks the child of promise even to this day! As soon as the
two sons born to Adam were grown up, the great division was seen–he
who was of the Wicked One slew the man who, by faith, offered a more
acceptable sacrifice. This division has never ceased and never will
cease while the race of man remains on earth under the reign of God's
long-suffering! By this shall you know to which seed you
belong–whether you are of those who hate the righteous, or of those
who are hated for Christ's sake.
Now, I want to call attention to a very gracious fact connected with
this text and that is, that although Cain was in such a bad temper that
he was very angry and his countenance fell, yet God, the infinitely
Gracious One, came and spoke with him and patiently reasoned with him.
It is wonderful that God should speak with man at all, considering
man's insignificance. Did not the Psalmist say, "When I consider Your
heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You
have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of
man, that You visit him?" But for the Lord to speak with sinful man is
a far greater marvel! And for Him to reason with such a man as Cain, a
murderer in heart and soon to be a murderer in deed–impenitent,
implacable, presumptuous, blasphemous–this is a miracle of mercy!
Shall the pure and holy God speak with such a wretch as Cain who was
angry with his brother without just cause? Why does He not, at once,
cut him off while yet his hate has not issued into murder–and thus at
the very beginning show His detestation of envy and malice? Truly His
mercy endures forever! Behold, the Lord comes to Cain with a question,
gives him an opportunity of speaking for himself and defending, if he
can, his state of mind. "Why are you angry? And why is your countenance
fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do
well, sin lies at the
door."
Yet this is no solitary instance of the condescension of God–it is the
way of our God to expostulate with sinners and to let them produce
their strong reasons and justify themselves if they can. It is His
fashion to say, "Turn you: turn you, why will you die, O house of
Israel?" for He wills not the death of any, but that they should turn
unto Him and live! He is greatly patient and waits to be gracious. God
gives none up until they fatally resolve to give themselves up–and
even then His good Spirit strives with them as long as it is possible
to do so, consistently with His holiness.
Often to the very gates of death and up to the very edge of the
bottomless Pit, His pity follows obstinate sinners, crying still, "Turn
you! Turn you! Turn you! Why will you die?" Yes, the angry sinner–the
Cain-ite sinner–the sinner whose face betrays the anger of his soul,
whose heart is hot with enmity against God and against His Christ, even
he is not left to die without Divine pleadings which may show him his
fault and folly. Still does the Lord handle conscience with skill and
awaken thought with fit enquiries–"Why are you angry? And why is your
countenance fallen?"
I pray God that He may speak to any among my congregation who may be in
this sad and evil condition. I have felt, lately, that I may have but
few more opportunities of preaching the Gospel and, therefore, I would
try and speak more solemnly every time I preach and endeavor to strike
right home at the heart and conscience, if, by any means, I may save
some. Oh how I long to bring men to Jesus! I could gladly lay down my
life to save my hearers. May the Holy Spirit make my words to be full
of force and holy fire–and may they meet the case of some here present
whom I have never seen before, but whose thoughts are as well known to
God as if they were printed in a book and laid open before His eyes! Oh
that I may be moved to speak a word which shall fit the case as a glove
fits the hand which wears it! May it not merely be the voice of man
that speaks to you, but may it be clear that God has commissioned His
servant to speak to your hearts and that by my sermon, God, Himself
expostulates with you even as He expostulated with Cain in those
ancient times!
Remember that the case is that of a man who is angry–angry mainly
because he cannot get the comforts of religion. He sees his brother
enjoying them and he grows angry with him for that reason. With him and
all like he, I would reason with kind words.
I shall take the last sentence of the text, first–"Unto you shall be
his desire and you shall rule over him." In these words God argues with
Cain and answers the charge of favoritism which was lurking in his
mind. He tells him, in effect, that NO DIFFERENCE IS MADE IN THE
ARRANGEMENT OF SOCIAL LIFE BECAUSE OF THE ARRANGEMENTS OF GRACE. Notice
that He says to him, "Unto you shall be his desire and you shall rule
over him"–which I
understand to mean just this, "Why are you so angry against Abel? It is
true that I have accepted his offering–it is true that he is a
righteous man and you are not, but, for all that, you are his elder
brother and he looks up to you. His desire is toward you and you shall
rule over him. He has not acted otherwise than as a younger brother
should act towards an elder brother, but he has admitted your seniority
and priority. He has not revolted from you. You rule over him–you are
his master. Why, then, are you so angry?"
Observe this, then–that if a man shall be angry with his wife because
she is a Christian, we may well argue with him–Why are you thus
provoked? Is she not a loving and obedient wife to you in all things
except in this matter touching her God? Is she not all the better for
her religion? I have known a husband meet his wife at the Tabernacle
door and call her foul names all the way home for no other reason than
because she joined in the worship of God! Yet she was all the more
loving, diligent and patient because of that worship. Here is your
child converted and you are angry. Are you not unreasonable in this?
You are his father and he yields obedience to you. God has not caused
religion to alter the natural position of things–your child, your
servant, your wife all recognize this–and remain in due subservience
to you. For what cause are you thus sullen and angry? Good Sir, this is
not like a reasonable man! Be persuaded to let better feelings sway
you.
Now, this is an important thing to note because, first of all, it takes
away from governments their excuse for persecution. In the early days
of Christianity, multitudes of Christians were tormented to death
because of their faith in Jesus. There was no excuse for it, for they
had done no harm to the State. Christianity does not come into a nation
to break up its arrangements, or to break down its fabric. All that is
good in human society it preserves and establishes. It snaps no ties of
the family; it dislocates no bonds of the body politic. There are
theories of socialism and the like which lead to anarchy and riot, but
it is not so with the mild and gentle teaching of Jesus Christ, whose
every word is love and patience. He says, "Resist not evil, but whoever
shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other, also." His
Apostle says–"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands:
husbands, love your wives; children, obey your parents in all things:
servants, obey in all things your masters, not with eye service as men
pleasers: masters, give unto your servants that which is just and
equal; knowing that you, also, have a Master in Heaven." Such precepts
as these are no injury to government.
Paul was no leader of sedition, no destroyer of the rights of property.
Caesar needed not to fear Christ. Jesus did not covet Caesar's purple
or Caesar's throne. Even Herod needed not to tremble for his princedom,
for the Child that was born at Bethlehem would not have hunted that fox
or disturbed his den. "My Kingdom is not of this world," said our Lord
Jesus, "otherwise would My servants fight, that I should not be
delivered to the Jews." Now, inasmuch as the religion of Jesus Christ
does no hurt any social order, teaches no one to be rebellious, takes
away from no man his rights, but guards the rights of all from the
meanest to the greatest, all excuse is taken away from any government
that dares to put out its hand to touch the Church of God! As to each
disciple of Jesus, the government may be satisfied that he is loyal.
"You shall rule over him" is certainly true. Christians will cheerfully
submit to all lawful rule and righteous authority. To them it is a
matter of joy if they are enabled to lead peaceable lives because the
magistrate is a terror to evildoers.
They are a non-resistant, peaceable, quiet people, who have, from the
beginning of the world until now, borne burdens and suffered and been
content to suffer so that they might but be true to their Master. They
hate tyranny, but they love order. They protest against oppression, but
they uphold law and justice. Why, then, should they be persecuted? They
ask nothing from the State by way of pay or patronage–they only ask to
be left alone and to be subject to no disability on account of their
religion. Let all who are in authority, whether as kings or petty
magistrates, beware of wantonly molesting a people who cause them no
trouble, lest they be found in this matter to be fighting against God!
That being so in the broad field of national life, it is just the same
if you bring it down to the little sphere of home. There is no reason
why Cain should be so angry with Abel because God loves him, for the
love of God to Abel does not take away from Cain his right as an elder
brother. It does not teach Abel to refuse to Cain the rights of his
position, nor lead him to act rudely and wrongfully toward him. No,
Abel's desire is unto Cain and Cain rules over him as his elder
brother. Why, then, should Cain be angry and his countenance fall?
My dear Friend, if you are angry, tonight, about the Sovereignty of the
Grace of God, as seen in the conversion of another, let me ask you what
hurt has the Grace of God in the heart of the person you envy done to
you? Is your eye evil because God's eye is good? Have you suffered in
any sense because that other one is saved? You cannot have your way if
you wish to coerce the envied one into giving up his faith–but have
you a right to your own way? Is it not the privilege of every man to
have his conscience left free to serve God alone? What right have you
as an Englishman to take away liberty from another? You say, "Why, I
think he is very stupid to believe as he does." Very likely you may
think so, but then your judgment is given you for yourself, not for
another, and you must not become a tyrant and domineer over others. I
thought you were a stickler for liberty! And yet you sneer at others
because they think for themselves, or at least do not think as you do!
If religion made men false in their dealings with others. If it made
the servant careless and indifferent. If it made the husband a tyrant.
If it made the wife a tattler and untidy and dirty. If it turned all
relationships upside-down–then there would be some little
reasonableness in the opposition which you offer to it! But if it does
nothing of the kind, why are you angry? And why is your countenance
fallen?
Why, to me it seems to be a great blessing to a man to have his friends
converted–a blessing to be desired and prized! Their conversion may do
you good, even if you are not converted, yourself. Laban learned by
experience that the Lord blessed him for Jacob's sake. Look at Joseph.
The Lord was with him and we find that wherever Joseph went, others
were the better because God blessed them through Joseph! A good man in
a house is good store to the family. A converted daughter, a praying
son, a holy husband, a gracious wife–why, these are the pillars, the
ornaments, the buttresses of the house! Godly people hedge the mansion
in with their prayers! Who can tell what blessings God gives to
unconverted men because of their converted relatives? I do not doubt
that, as sometimes the chaff is spared for the sake of the grain which
it covers and protects, so, often, the lives of ungodly men are spared
for the sake of the children whom they have to bring up–for the sake
of those who have to be cherished by them for a while. Had it not been
for the grief it would cause the mother whom you mock, the Lord might
have cut you down, young man, long ago! Pity for holy relatives may be
the motive for the Lord's long-suffering to many rebels. Therefore be
not angry with the righteous.
I could hope, my angry friend, that God means to still give a greater
blessing to you–that He means to entice you to Heaven by showing your
wife the way, or He means to lead you to Christ by that dear child of
yours. I have known parents brought to repentance by the deaths of
daughters or of sons who have died in the faith. I hope you will not
have to lose those you love that you may be brought to Jesus by their
dying words. But it may be so–it may be so. It will be better for you
to yield to their gentle example while yet they are spared, than for
you to be smitten to the heart by their sickness and death. Oh that the
persecuted one may live to have the great joy of going to the House of
God with his Father, or walking with brother in the ways of godliness,
or bringing the thoughtless sister to seek and find the Savior! Why
should it not be so? Let us hope for it!
At any rate, I do not see any cause to be angry because Grace has
visited your family. To say the very least about it, a man who is angry
with another for enjoying a religion which he, himself, does not care
for, is a poor specimen of good nature! Surely he may allow others to
enjoy what he does not, himself, desire. If you do not wish for
salvation, why worry yourself because others possess it? If you do not
mean to serve Christ, at least stand out of the way and let other
people serve Him. There cannot be any gain to you in kicking against
the pricks, by resisting the power of Divine Grace! You will find it
hard work in the long run, for the Lord has said that if any shall
offend one of the least of His little ones, it were better for him that
a millstone were hung about his neck and that he were cast into the
midst of the sea! For prudence's sake, for your own sake, for reason's
sake, for freedom's sake, I pray you be no longer angry and let not
your countenance fall! If we cannot agree in matters of religion, let
us not persecute or think contemptuously of one another.
II. Now let us advance farther into the text. There is no room for
being angry, for THOUGH THE DIFFERENCE LIES FIRST WITH THE GRACE OF
GOD, YET IT LIES, ALSO, WITH THE MAN'S OWN SELF. "If you do well, will
you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door."
First, then, if you are not accepted and you are angry because you are
not accepted, is there not a just cause for it? If you do not enjoy the
comforts of religion and you grow envious because you do not, you
should cool your wrathfulness by considering this question–"If you do
well, will you not be accepted?" That is to say, will you not be
accepted on the same terms as Abel? You will be accepted in the same
way as your brother, your sister, your child. How is it that the one
you envy is full of peace? It is because he has come to Jesus and
confessed his sin and trusted his Redeemer. If you do this, shall not
you, also, be accepted? Has not the Lord said, "Him that comes to Me I
will in no wise cast out"? If you, too, come and confess your sin and
trust the Savior, you are as certain to be accepted as your friend. You
are envious because another is full of joy. Where did that joy come
from but from this–that he came according to the Divine command and
rested himself upon the finished work of Christ and gave himself up to
be Christ's servant–and asked for the Holy Spirit to renew him and
lead him into the way of righteousness?
That has been done according to the faithful promise of God which is
sure to all who obey the Gospel command. If you come in the same way
and rest on the same Savior and yield yourself up to be renewed by the
same Spirit, the Lord will not refuse you! Put it to the test and see.
Try Him. Try Him and if He refuses you, let me know, for I am telling
everybody that Jesus never casts out any that come to Him–and I must
not do so any more if I find out that He does reject you or anyone
else! Come to Jesus confessing your sin and trusting in Him and if He
does not save you, let me know, and I will publish it to the four winds
of Heaven! We shall be bound to make it known that Christ has broken
His Word and that His Gospel has become of no effect, for we must, on
no account, cry up a falsehood and lead our fellow men to believe that
which is not true! Try the Lord Jesus, I beseech you, and I know what
the result will be! You shall find that the gate of mercy stands wide
open for you and that you will be received as well as others. There is
no difference in this mat-ter–whoever calls upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved! Whoever will, may take of the Water of Life freely!
Now, is it not much wiser for a man, instead of being angry with
another's enjoying the comforts of religion, to seek to enjoy them
himself? Am I hungry–and angry with another because he has eaten a
good meal when the same bread stands before me? Then I am foolish and
cross-grained! Do I see another refreshed at the fountain and do I
stand at the freely flowing stream and complain? Do I bitterly demand
why his lips are moistened while my mouth is dried up like an oven?
What is the use of being angry with the neighbor who has quenched his
thirst when the same fountain is free to me? O murmuring Friend, why do
you not, yourself, believe? Stoop and drink as your friend has done and
you shall be refreshed as he has been!
If you do well–that is, if you are obedient to the precious Word of
the Gospel–will you not be accepted? "No," says one, "I am afraid that
I shall not be." Who told you so? Your fear is without scriptural
foundation. "But perhaps my name is not written in the Book of Life."
Who told you so? Who has climbed up to the secret chamber of God to
read the mystic roll? Who dares to tell you that your name is not
there? Who knows anything about the secret purposes of God? I venture
to tell you this–that if you believe in Jesus Christ, be you who you
may, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life! "Him that comes
to Me," He says, "I will in no wise cast out." Any "him" that comes in
all the world, while time shall last, if he does but come to Christ,
Christ has said that He cannot and will not cast him out! Therefore,
come, and you shall find Grace in His sight! Instead of being angry
with another for believing and rejoicing, taste, for yourself, the joys
which faith secures. May infinite Grace lead you to do so now!
God's second word with Cain was, however, "If you do not do well, sin
lies at the door." That is to say, "If religion does not yield you joy
as it does your brother, what is the reason? Surely sin blocks the
entrance, as a stone blocking the doorway. If you cannot gain an
entrance to mercy, it is because sin, like a huge stone, has been
rolled against it, and remains there. If the way to God and salvation
is, indeed, blocked up, it is only blocked up by your own sin! The door
is not locked by a Divine decree, nor nailed up by any necessity of
circumstances, nor barred by any peculiarity of your case. No, there is
neither block, nor bar, nor lock except your sin. Your sin lies at the
door and makes you a prisoner, where, otherwise, you might be free as
air! I desire to press this point home upon any unconverted persons who
are somewhat anxious, but yet cannot get peace. A secret something is
keeping you from being accepted as Abel was accepted. I am sure it is
sin in one shape or another. I entreat you to see what that sin is!
Is it unbelief? In most cases unbelief is the damning sin. You will not
believe God's Word. You reject the testimony of God concerning His Son
Jesus and thus you put away from you eternal life. You say, "I cannot
believe." But that will not do, for you know that God is true and if
God is true, how dare you say that you cannot believe Him? If, when I
stated solemnly a fact, you told me, "I cannot believe you," I should
understand you to mean that I am a liar. And when you say, "I cannot
believe God," do you not know that the English of such an expression is
this–you make God a liar by refusing to believe on His Son? This
unbelief is sin enough–sin enough to destroy you forever! What higher
offense can there be against any man, much more against God, than to
accuse Him of a lie? Every person here who does not now believe in
Jesus Christ is guilty of the high profanity and infinite blasphemy of
making the Almighty God a liar! This is the huge stone which lies at
the door. May God help you to roll it away, by saying, "I will believe;
I must believe. God must be true; the blood of His dear Son must be
able to wash away sin. I will trust in it now!"
Possibly, however, another form of the same stone of sin lies at your
door and keeps you back. Is it impenitence? Are you hardened about your
sin? Do you refuse to quit it? Is there no sorrow in your heart to
think that you have broken the Divine Law and have lived forgetful of
your God? A hard heart is a great stone to lie in a man's way, for he
who will not acknowledge his sin and forsake it is wedded to his own
destruction! May God soften your heart and help you, at once, to repent
of sin!
Or, is it pride? Are you too big a man to become a Christian? Are you
too respectable, too wealthy, too polite? Are you too deep a thinker?
Do you know too much? You could not go and sit down with the humble
people who, like little children, believe what God tells them. No,
no–you have too much brain for that, have you? Now be honest and admit
it. You read the reviews and you like a little dash of skepticism in
your literature. You could not possibly listen to Jesus when He says,
"Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." You do not care for such
old-fashioned doctrine, for you are too much of a philosopher! Well, I
have heard of a Spanish monarch who perished through etiquette–there
was too much fire in the grate and it was not according to state for
His Majesty to pull his chair back from the fire. And so he became
over-heated and died in consequence. I would not care to lose my soul
to gratify my loftiness! Would you? One's pride may carry him far if he
is a great fool, but let him not suffer his pride to carry him into
Hell, for it certainly will never carry him out, again!
Alas, there are some who have another sin, a hidden sin. I cannot
mention it. It is a shame, even, to speak of the things which are done
by them in secret. I have been frequently puzzled to know why certain
persons cannot attain peace. Do what we may with them, they appear to
have a tide of disquiet forever ebbing and flowing and casting up mire
and dirt. They have seemed to be in a fair way to salvation and yet
they have never reached it–they have been one day near and the next
far off! In one or two instances I have not discovered the reason why
the Gospel never succeeded with them till they were dead. When they
were gone, the sad truth was revealed which accounted for all their
uneasiness–but I will not tell you what it was. There was a secret
which, if it had been known, would have made their character abhorrent
to those who, in ignorance, respected them!
Does any man here carry about with him a guilty secret? Does he
persevere in shameful acts which he labors to conceal? How can a man
hope for peace while he wars with the laws of morality? What rest can
there be while solemn vows are broken and the purest of relationships
are treated with despite? No, while there is any uncleanness about a
man, or about a woman, there cannot be peace with God–such sins must
be given up or there cannot be acceptance with the Most High. Would
you, for a moment, insinuate that the Lord Jesus died to allow you to
sin and yet escape its penalty?
We have known persons practice dishonesty in business and this has shut
them out from acceptance. Not that they actually pilfer, but they have
ways and means of calling things by wrong names and taking fraudulent
advantage. Cheating is called, "custom of trade," and so on. I could
not tell why the Lord did not accept certain people when they appeared
to be seeking mercy. I understand it now. How can the Lord be gracious
to one who continues in dishonesty? Will He choose thieves to be His
friends? If He will take thieves and make them honest–they shall enter
His kingdom–but if we abide in transgression of any sort when it is
known to us, we cannot expect to be accepted! My Brothers and Sisters,
to be very plain with you, an honest heart and an honest hand must be
found in every man who is to be justified at the Last Great Day.
Some cannot get peace because they neglect prayer. They do not ask, or
seek or knock–and so they do not receive, they cannot find and the
door of Grace is not opened to them. Oh, how can you think that God
accepts you when you live day after day without prayer?
Not a few harbor enmity in their hearts towards their brother or
neighbor. O angry Hearer, God cannot accept your sacrifice until you
are at peace with your brother! It cannot be. He might as well have
pressed Cain to His bosom as you, for he that hates his brother abides
in death! "You know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
Go home and be reconciled. Go home and forgive your fellow servant, for
if you do not so forgive your little debts, the great Lord will not
forgive you all your great debt! Before you can hope to have peace with
God, you must be at peace with those who have offended you.
Then there are some who keep evil company. They like to come to the
Tabernacle, or to some other place where the Gospel is preached, and
they hope that they may find Christ–but then they also like a
lascivious song. They relish those silly, coarse, loathsome ditties
which have a touch of "smut" about them. These are disgraceful things
and yet certain
people roll them out as choice morsels! While that is the case, can a
man hope that God will accept him? No! It is of no use pretending
anything of the kind! You and your sins must part, or God and you
cannot be friends. God will accept us and receive us as penitent
sinners, but not so long as we open the back door for the devil and
enthrone him in our heart of hearts. If you are not accepted, sin lies
at the door and shuts you out of present rest and peace, even as it
will ultimately shut you out of Heaven!
I think this word of Divine expostulation bears another meaning. "If
you do not do well, sin lies at the door." That is to say, not only as
a stone to block your way, but as a lion to pounce upon you. It is true
that sin is hindering you from peace, but it is also true that a
greater sin is lurking at the door ready to spring upon you. What a
warning this word ought to have been to Cain! If you are doing evil and
God is not accepting you– and that fact is making you angry– there is
a worse sin lying like a lion ready to devour you! It was so with Cain.
Perhaps at that moment he had not seriously thought of killing his
brother. He was angry, but he was not yet implacable and malicious. But
God said, "There is a sin lying at your door that will come upon you to
your destruction." May it not be the same with you, my Hearer? What if
I were to look steadily in the face of some undecided person here,
tonight, and say, "Friend, are you not accepted by God and are you
angry? A sin is lying at your door which will be your ruin. You will go
on from being a sinner to become a criminal." Is Hazael here? Shall I,
like the Prophet, look you in the face till my tears begin to flow at
the sight of you, and say, "I know what you will do. You will be a
terror to all around you"? You would probably answer me as Hazael
did–"Is your servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?"
Many a man would be horrified to be told what yet will be the fact in
his case. Dreadful to tell, men that have been melted by a sermon have
afterwards grown hard enough to perpetrate crimes that have brought
them before the courts of their country! Almost converted, almost
persuaded, it looked as if a vista opened up before them leading to
endless glory and happiness–but in one sad hour they turned the other
way. Like Felix, they waited for a more convenient season and their
life was, from that day on, down, down, deeper and deeper and
deeper–till it ended in the lowest Hell. Oh, my dear Hearers, I am
always fearful about those who are so near salvation and yet are not
decided! Judas, who can preach the Gospel. Judas, who is an Apostle.
Judas, who can say, "Lord, is it I?"–He is the man that at the last
sells his Master! Though an Apostle in appearance, he was in heart a
traitor and a son of perdition! The raw material for a devil is an
angel! The raw material for the son of perdition was an Apostle–and
the raw material for the most horrible of apostates is one who is
almost a saint!
I say no more than I mean and than history can prove. There have
usually been splendid traits of character about men who have been unfit
to live. The question has been in their minds, "Which shall have the
mastery?" and, for a while, the result has trembled in the balance! But
when they have decided for evil, it has been decision with a vengeance.
God gave Cain the clearest warning. He did as good as say–"Why are you
angry? And why is your countenance fallen? There is an opportunity for
you. If you do well, shall not you, even you, O Cain, be accepted? And
if you do evil, sin lies at the door to spring upon you and drag you
down." Oh that he had been capable of taking the warning and escaping
the evil! Be you warned, O man or woman to whom these words shall come,
lest your last end be worse than the first!
But there is yet another meaning which I must bring out, here, and that
is one which is held by many critics, though it is questioned by
others. I am content to go with a considerable following, especially of
the old divines, who say that the word here used may be rendered, "If
you do evil, a sin offering lies at the door." And what a sweet meaning
this gives us! God graciously declares to angry Cain, "You can bring a
sin offering, as Abel has done, and all will be well. You can present a
bleeding sacrifice, typical of the great Atonement–a sin offering lies
at the door." This should be an encouraging assurance to anyone who is
anxious and, at the same time, greatly afraid that pardon is not
possible. My dear Friend, why need you grow despondent because another
enters Heaven? A sin offering lies at your door, also! You can have
your sin forgiven even as his has been forgiven–come and try for
yourself!
"Where can I find Christ?" asks one. He stands at the door! He waits
for you! The offering is not far to seek. You have not to climb to
Heaven to bring Him down. He has descended! You have not to dive into
the depths to fetch Him up. He has risen from the dead! "The Word is
near you, even in your mouth," so says Paul. What then? If you would
have it for your own and know its virtue, receive it into your soul.
"Alas!" cries one, "I am dying! Where is the elixir which will restore
me?" In your mouth! Swallow it, by God's Grace! You have not even to
open the box to get out the pill. It is in your mouth! Receive it into
your inward parts. Jesus crucified is freely presented to you. All the
merit of His death is
here at this moment. Accept it. It is yours. A sin offering lies at the
door! That is to say, the sufferings of Christ, the Atonement of Christ
and the righteousness of Christ are available at this moment! You may
have all that Jesus has pur-chased–have it for nothing, the free gift
of God! Repenting of sin and believing in Jesus, you have it all!
Eternal salvation is yours if the Holy Spirit has made you willing to
have it. "He that believes on Him is not condemned." Only trust Him and
the death of Christ is death for you and the righteousness of Christ is
your righteousness! A sin offering lies at the door. God does, as it
were, say, "Bring it, I will receive it and I will receive you, for its
sake."
Do but take Christ by faith and bring Him before God. Say unto God "My
Father, I have no good works to trust in, but I trust Your Son. I
desire to be rid of my sin and I trust in You to purify me. I pine to
become a new creature and I trust in Your Spirit to new-create me.
Behold the bloody Sacrifice offered upon Calvary. I present it to You.
For Jesus' sake accept me." He will do it, dear Friend! He will do it!
I do not know that I can say any more. I wish that I could have said it
better. I would speak right into your heart. May the Spirit of God so
speak! Do not be angry because another is saved, but turn your anger on
yourself because you have not accepted salvation. Remember, if you do
what other sinners have done, namely, simply come to Christ, you shall
be accepted as they have been! And if you are not accepted, it is your
sin that is preventing it. A sin offering is waiting to take away that
sin. Oh, reject not the priceless gift! Trifle not with your soul and
with your Savior! Do not incur an eternity of misery! Do not lose an
eternity of bliss! "Turn you, turn you; why will you die, O house of
Israel?"
If I never should occupy this pulpit again, what should I wish to have
preached? Nothing but the Gospel which I have now preached for so many
years. I wish I had spoken better, but I do not know that I could have
said more. If these kind pleadings do not touch angry hearts, neither
would they be affected though martyrs rose from the dead.