The Unchangeable Christ

The Unchangeable Christ

(No. 2358)

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S DAY, APRIL 29, 1894.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING,
FEBRUARY 23, 1888.

"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever." Hebrews
13:8.

LET me read to you the verse that comes before our text. It is always a
good habit to look at texts in their connection. It is wrong, I think,
to lay hold of small portions of God's Word and take them out of their
connection as you might pluck feathers from a bird. It is an injury to
the Word of God and, sometimes, a passage of Scripture loses much of
its beauty, its true teaching and its real meaning, by being taken from
the context. Nobody would think of mutilating Milton's poems by taking
a few lines out of Paradise Lost, and then imagining that he could
really get at the heart of the poet's power. So, always look at texts
in the connection in which they stand. The verse before our text is
this, "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto
you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their
conversation: Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and
forever."

Observe, then, that God's people are a thoughtful people. If they are
what they ought to be, they do a great deal of remembering and
considering–that is the gist of this verse. If they are to remember
and to consider their earthly leaders, much more are they to remember
that Great Leader, the Lord Jesus, and all those matchless Truths which
fell from His blessed lips. I wish, in these days, that professing
Christians remembered and considered a great deal more, but we live in
such a flurry, hurry and worry, that we do not give time for thought.
Our noble forefathers of the Puritan sort were men with backbone, men
of solid tread, independent and self-contained men who could hold their
own in the day of conflict. And the reason was because they took time
to meditate, time to keep a diary of their daily experiences, time to
commune with God in secret. Take the hint and try and do a little more
thinking–in this busy London and in these trying days–remember and
consider.

My next remark is that God's people are an imitative people, for we are
told, here, that they are to remember them who are their leaders, those
who have spoken to them the Word of God, "whose faith follow,
considering the end of their conversation." There is an itching,
nowadays, after originality, striking out a path for yourself! When
sheep do that, they are bad sheep. Sheep follow the shepherd and, in a
measure, they follow one another when they are all together following
the shepherd. Our Great Master never aimed at originality–He said that
He did not even speak His own Words, but the Words that He had heard of
His Father. He was docile and teachable. As the Son of God and the
Servant of God, His ears were open to hear the instructions of the
Father and He could say, "I do always those things that please Him."

Now, that is the true path for a Christian to take, to follow Jesus
and, in consequence, to follow all such true saints as may be worthy of
being followed, imitating the godly so far as they imitate Christ! The
Apostle puts it, "whose faith follow." Many young Christians, if they
were to pretend to strike out a path for themselves, must infallibly
fall into many sorrows. Whereas, by taking some note of the way in
which more experienced and more instructed Christians have gone, they
will keep by the way of the footsteps of the flock and they will also
follow the footprints of the Shepherd. God's people are a thoughtful
people and they are an imitative and humble people, willing to be
instructed and willing to follow holy and godly examples.

One good reason, however, for imitating saints is given in our text–it
is because our Lord and His faith are always the same–"Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, and today, and forever." You see, if the old
foundation shifted, if our faith was always changing, then we could not
follow any of the saints who have gone before us. If we have a religion
especially for the 19th Century, it is ridiculous for us to imitate the
men of the 1st Century–and Paul and the Apostles are just old

fogies who are left behind in the far distant ages. If we are to go on
improving from century to century, I cannot point you to any of the
Reformers, or the confessors, or the saints in the brave days of old,
and say to you, "Learn from their example," because, if religion has
altogether changed and improved, it is a curious thing to say, but we
ought to set an example to our ancestors! Of course, they cannot follow
it because they have gone from the earth, but as we know so much better
than our fathers, we cannot think of learning anything from them! As we
have left the Apostles all behind, and gone in for something quite new,
it is a pity that we should not forget what they did, what they
suffered and think that they were just a set of simpletons who acted up
to their own light, but then they had not the light we have in this
wonderful 19th Century!

O Beloved, it almost makes my lips blister to talk after the present
evil fashion, for grosser falsehood never could be uttered than the
insinuation that we have shifted the everlasting foundations of our
faith! Verily, if these foundations were removed, we might ask in many
senses, "What shall the righteous do? Whom shall they copy? Whom shall
they follow? The landmarks having gone, what remains to us of the holy
treasury of example with which the Lord enriches those who follow
Christ?"

I. Coming to our text, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today,
and forever," my first observation is that JESUS CHRIST, HIMSELF, IS
ALWAYS THE SAME. He is, was, and will always be the same!

Changes of position and of circumstances there have been in our Lord,
but He is always the same in His great love to His people, whom He
loved before the earth was. Before the first star was kindled, before
the first living creature began to sing the praise of its Creator, He
loved His Church with an everlasting love! He spied her in the glass of
predestination, pictured her by His Divine foreknowledge and loved her
with all His heart. And it was for this cause that He left His Father
and became one with her, that He might redeem her. It was for this
cause that He went with her through all this vale of tears, discharged
her debts and bore her sins in His own body on the Cross. For her sake
He slept in the tomb and with the same love that brought Him down, He
has gone up, again, and with the same heart beating true to the same
blessed betrothal, He has gone into Glory, waiting for the marriage day
when He shall come, again, to receive His perfected spouse who shall
have made herself ready by His Grace! Never for a moment, whether as
God over all, blessed forever, or as God and Man in one Divine Person,
or as dead and buried, or as risen and ascended–never has He changed
in the love He bears to His chosen! He is "Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever."

Therefore, Beloved Brothers and Sisters, He has never changed in His
Divine purpose towards His beloved Church. He resolved in eternity to
become One with her, that she might become one with Him and, having
determined upon this, when the fullness of time had come, He was born
of a woman and made under the Law. He took upon Him the likeness of
sinful flesh, "and being found in fashion as a Man, He humbled Himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross." Yet He
never abandoned His purpose–He set His face like a flint to go up to
Jerusalem–even when the bitter cup was put to His lips and He seemed
to stagger for a moment. He returned to it with a strong resolve,
saying to His Father, "If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as You will." That purpose is strong
upon Him, now, for Zion's sake He will not hold His peace and for
Jerusalem's sake He will not rest until her righteousness goes forth as
brightness and her salvation as a lamp that burns!

Jesus is still pressing on with His great work and He will not fail nor
be discouraged in it. He will never be content till all whom He has
bought with His blood shall become glorified by His power. He will
gather all His sheep in the heavenly fold and they shall pass, again,
under the hands of Him that counts them–every one of them being
brought there by the Great Shepherd who laid down His life for them!
Beloved, He cannot turn from His purpose–it is not according to His
Nature that He should, for He is, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
and today, and forever."

He is also "the same yesterday, and today, and forever," in the holding
of His offices for the carrying out of His purpose and giving effect to
His love. He is still a Prophet. Men try to set Him on one side.
Science, falsely so-called, comes forward and bids Him hold His tongue,
but, "the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice; and a stranger
will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the
voice of strangers." The teachings of the New Testament are as sound
and true today as they were 1800 years ago–they have lost none of
their value, none of their absolute certainty– they stand fast like
the everlasting hills! Jesus Christ was a Prophet and He is "the same
yesterday, and today, and forever."

He is the same, too, as a Priest. Some now sneer at His precious
blood–alas, that it should be so! But, to His elect, His blood is
still their purchase price–by this they overcome, through the blood of
the Lamb they win the victory–and they know that they shall praise it
in Heaven when they have washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb! They never turn away from this great Priest of
theirs and His wondrous Sacrifice, once offered for the sins of men and
perpetually efficacious for all the blood-bought race! They glory in
His everlasting Priesthood before the Father's Throne. In this we
rejoice, yes, and will rejoice, that Jesus Christ is our Priest, "the
same yesterday, and today, and forever."

And as King He is always the same. He is supreme in the Church. Before
You, O Jesus, all Your loyal subjects bow! All the sheaves make
obeisance to Your sheaf–the sun and moon and all the stars obey and
serve You, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! You are Head over all
things to Your Church, which is Your body. Beloved, if there is any
other office which our Lord has assumed for the accomplishment of His
Divine purposes, we may say of Him, concerning every position, that He
is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever."

So also, once more, He is the same in His relationship to all His
people. I like to think that, as Jesus was the Husband of His Church
ages ago, He is still her Husband, for He hates divorce. As He was the
Brother born for adversity to His first disciples, He is still our
faithful Brother. As He was a Friend that sticks closer than a brother
to those who were sorely tried in the medieval times, He is equally a
Friend to us upon whom the ends of the earth have come. There is no
difference, whatever, in the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ to
His people at any time! He is just as ready to comfort us tonight as He
was to comfort those with whom He dwelt when here below! Sister Mary,
He is as willing to come down to your Bethany and help you in your
sorrow about Lazarus, as He was when He came to Martha and Mary whom He
loved! Jesus Christ is just as ready to wash your feet, my Brother,
after another day's weary travel through the foul ways of this world.
He is as willing to take the basin and the towel, and to give us a
loving cleansing, as He was when He washed His disciples' feet! Just
what He was to them, He is to us! Happy is it if you and I can truly
say, "What He was to Peter, what He was to John, what He was to the
Magdalene, that is Jesus Christ to me–the same yesterday, and today,
and forever."

Beloved, I have seen men change–oh, how they change! A little frost
turns the green forest to bronze and every leaf forsakes its hold and
yields to it's winter's blast. So fade our friends and the most
attached adherents drop away from us in the time of trial. But Jesus is
to us what He always was. When we get old and gray-headed and others
shut the door on men who have lost their former strength, and can serve
their turn no longer, then will He say, "Even to hoar hairs will I
carry you: I have made and I will bear; even I will carry, and will
deliver you," for He is "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today,
and forever." Thus much, Beloved, with regard to Jesus, Himself–He is
always the same!

II. Now let us go a step farther. JESUS CHRIST IS ALWAYS THE SAME IN
HIS DOCTRINE.

This text must refer to the Doctrine of Christ, since it is connected
with imitating the saints' faith–"Whose faith follow, considering the
end of their conversation: Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today,
and forever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.
For it is a good thing that the heart is established with Grace." From
the connection it is evident that our text refers to the teaching of
Christ, who is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever." This is
not according to the "development" folly. Theology, like every other
science, is to grow, watered by the splendid wisdom of this enlightened
age, fostered by the superlative ability of the gentlemen of light and
leading of the present time, so much superior to all who came before
them!

We think not so, Brothers and Sisters, for the Lord Jesus Christ was
the perfect Revelation of God. He was the express image of the Father's
Person and the brightness of His Glory. In previous ages, God had
spoken to us by His Prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to
us by His Son. Now as to that which was a complete Revelation, it is
blasphemous to suppose that there can be any more revealed than has
been made known in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
He is God's ultimatum–last of all, He sends His Son. If you can
conceive a brighter display of God than is to be seen in the
Only-Begotten, I thank God that I am unable to follow you in any such
imagination! To me, He is the last, the highest, the grandest
Revelation of God! And as He shuts up the Book that contains the
written Revelation, He bids you never dare to take from it, lest He
should take your name out of the Book of Life! And never dare to add to
it, lest He should add unto you the plagues that are written in this
Book!

At this time, the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ is the same as it
was in all ages. Jesus Christ still saves sinners from the guilt, the
power, the punishment and the defilement of sin. Still, "there is none
other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."
Jesus Christ still makes all things new. He creates new hearts and
right spirits in the sons of men and engraves His Law upon the tablets
which once were stone, but which He has turned into flesh. There is no
new salvation! Some may talk as if there were, but there is not!
Salvation means to you, today, just what it meant to Saul of Tarsus on
the way to Damascus. If you think it has another meaning, you have
missed it altogether!

And, again, salvation by Jesus Christ comes to men in the same way as
it always did. They have to receive it, now, by faith. In Paul's day,
men were saved by faith, and they are not now saved by works. They
began in the Spirit in the Apostolic age, and we are not now to begin
in the flesh. There is no indication in the Book and there is no
indication in the experience of God's children, that there is ever to
be any alteration as to the way in which we receive Christ! All live by
Him. "By Grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God"–the gift of God, today, as much as
it ever was, for Jesus Christ–"is the same yesterday, and today, and
forever."

Once more, this salvation is just the same as to the persons to whom it
is sent. It is to be preached, now, as always, to every creature under
Heaven. But it appeals with a peculiar power to those who are guilty
and who, by God's Grace, confess their guilt. It appeals to hearts that
are broken, to men who are weary and heavy laden. It is to these that
the Gospel comes with great sweetness. I have quoted to you, before,
those strange words of Joseph Hart–

"A sinner is a sacred thing The Holy Spirit has made him so." He
is–the Savior is only for sinners! He did not come to save the
righteous. He came to seek and to save the lost and still, "to you is
the word of this salvation sent," and this declaration still stands
true, "This Man receives sinners, and eats with them." There is no
change in this statement, "the poor have the Gospel preached to them,"
and it comes to those who are farthest off from God and hope–and
inspires them with Divine power and energy!

Beloved, I can bear witness that the Gospel is the same in its effects
upon the hearts of men. Still it breaks and still it makes whole! Still
it wounds and still it heals! Still it kills and still it quickens!
Still it seems to hurl man down to Hell in their terrible experience of
the evil of sin, but still it lifts them up into an ecstatic joy till
they are exalted almost to Heaven when they lay hold upon it and feel
its power in their souls! The Gospel that was a Gospel of births and
deaths, of killing and making alive, in the days of John Bunyan, has
the same effect upon our hearts to this day when it comes with the
power that God has put into it by His Spirit! It produces the same
results and has the same sanctifying influence as it ever had.

Looking beyond the narrow stream of death, we can say that the eternal
results produced by the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ are the same as
they always were. The promise is this day fulfilled to those who
receive Him as much as to any who went before. Life eternal is their
inheritance. They shall sit with Him upon His throne and, on the other
hand, the threat is equally sure of fulfillment–"These shall go away
into everlasting punishment." "He that believes not shall be damned."
Christ has made no change in His words of promise or of threat, nor
will His followers dare to do so, for His doctrine is "the same
yesterday, and today, and forever."

If you were to try to think over this matter and imagine for a minute
that the Gospel really did shift and change with the times, it would be
very extraordinary. Look, here is the Gospel for the 1st Century–make
a mark and note how far it goes. Then there is a Gospel for the 2nd
Century–make another mark, but then remember that you must change the
color to another shade! Either these people must have altered, or else
a very different effect must have been produced in the same kind of
minds. In eternity, when they all get to Heaven by these 19 gospels in
the 19 centuries, there will be 19 sets of people and they will sing 19
different songs, depend upon it, and their music will not blend! Some
will sing of "Free Grace and dying love," while others will sing of
"evolution." What a discord it would be and what a Heaven it would be,
too! I should decline to be a candidate for such a place!

No, let me go where they praise Jesus Christ and Him, alone, singing,
"Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." That is what the
1st Century saints sing–yes, and it is what the saints of every
century will sing, without any exception! And there will be no change
in this song forever. The same results will flow from the same Gospel
till Heaven and earth shall pass away, for Jesus Christ is "the same
yesterday, and today, and forever."

III. We may sound the same note, again, for a moment, because JESUS
CHRIST IS THE SAME AS TO HIS MODES OF WORKING–"Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever."

How did Jesus Christ save souls in olden times? "It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe." And if you will
look down through Church history, you will find that, wherever there
has been a great revival of religion, it has been linked with the
preaching of the Gospel! When the Methodists began to do so much good,
what did they call the men who made such a stir? "Methodist preachers,"
did they not say? That was always the name, "Here comes a Methodist
preacher." Ah, my dear Friends, the world will never be saved by
Methodist doctors, or by Baptist doctors, or anything of the sort! But
multitudes will be saved, by God's Grace, through preachers! It is the
preacher to whom God has entrusted this great work! Jesus said, "Preach
the Gospel to every creature."

But men are getting tired of the Divine Plan–they are going to be
saved by the priest, going to be saved by the music, going to be saved
by theatricals and who knows what! Well, they may try these things as
long as they like, but nothing can ever come of the whole thing but
utter disappointment and confusion–God dishonored, the Gospel
travestied, hypocrites manufactured by thousands and the Church dragged
down to the level of the world! Stand to your guns, Brothers, and go on
preaching and teaching nothing but the Word of God, for it still
pleases God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that
believe! And this test still stands true, "Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever."

But remember that there must always be the prayers of the saints with
the preaching of the Gospel. You must have often noticed that passage
in the Acts concerning the new converts on the day of Pentecost, "They
continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine"–they thought a great
deal about doctrine in those days. "And fellowship"–they thought a
good deal of being in Church fellowship in those days. "And in breaking
of bread"–they did not neglect the blessed ordinance of the Lord's
Supper in those days. "In breaking of bread." And then what follows?
"And in prayers." Some say, nowadays, that Prayer Meetings are
religious expedients pretty well worn out. Ah, dear me! What a
religious expedient that was that brought about Pentecost, when they
were all assembled with one accord in one place, and when the whole
Church prayed and suddenly the place was shaken, and they heard the
sound as of a rushing mighty wind, that betokened the Presence of the
Holy Spirit!

Well, you may try to do without Prayer Meetings if you like, but my
solemn conviction is that, as these decline, the Spirit of God will
depart from you and the preaching of the Gospel will be of small
account. The Lord will have the prayers of His people to go with the
proclamation of His Gospel if it is to be the power of God unto
salvation–and there is no change in this matter since Paul's day!
Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever." God is
still to be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them–and
He still grants blessings in answer to believing prayer.

Remember, too, that the Lord Jesus Christ has always been inclined to
work by the spiritual power of His servants. Nothing comes out of a man
that is not first in him. You will not find God's servants doing great
things for Him unless God works mightily in them, as well as by them.
You must first be endued with power from on high, or else the power
will not manifest itself in what you do. Beloved, we need our Church
members to be better men and better women. We need baby-Christians to
become grownup-Christians and we need the grownup-Christians among us
to be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." God will
work by His servants when they are adapted to His service–and He will
make His instruments fit for His work. It is not in themselves that
they have any strength–their weakness becomes the reason why His
strength is seen in them! Still, there is an adaptation, there is a
fitness for His service, there is a cleanness that God puts upon His
instruments before He works mighty things by them and Jesus Christ is
"the same yesterday, and today, and forever," in this matter, too.

All the good that is ever done in the world is worked by the Holy
Spirit and, as the Holy Spirit honors Jesus Christ, so He puts great
honor upon the Holy Spirit. If you and I try, either as a Church or as
individuals, to do without the Holy Spirit, God will soon do without
us. Unless we reverently worship Him and believingly trust in Him, we
shall find that we shall be like Samson when his locks were shorn. He
shook himself as he had done before, but when the Philistines were upon
him, he could do nothing against them. Our prayer must always be, "Holy
Spirit, dwell with me! Holy Spirit, dwell with Your servants!" We know
that we are utterly dependent upon Him. Such is the teaching of our
Master and Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, and today, and
forever."

IV. I do not want to weary you, my dear Brothers and Sisters, but may I
be helped, just for a few moments, to speak on a fourth point! JESUS
CHRIST HAS ALWAYS THE SAME RESOURCES, for He is "the same yesterday,
and today, and forever."

I will repeat what I said–Jesus Christ has always the same resources.
We sit down, sometimes, very sorrowful, and we say, "The times are very
dark." I do not think that we can very well exaggerate their darkness
and they are full of threatening omens. And I do not think that any of
us can really exaggerate those omens, they are so terrible. But still
is it true, "The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock."

Does the Church feel her need of faithful men? The Lord can send us as
many as ever! When the Pope ruled everywhere, nobody thought, I should
imagine, that the first man to speak out for the old faith would be a
monk–they thought they had taken stock of all the men that God had at
His command and they certainly did not think that He had one of the
leaders of the Reformation in a monastery! But there was Martin Luther,
"the monk that shook the world," and though men dreamed not what he
would do, God knew all about him. There was Calvin, also, writing that
famous book of his Institutes. He was a man full of disease–I think he
had 60 diseases at once in his body, and he suffered greatly. Look at
his portrait–pale and wan. And as a young man he was very timid. He
went to Geneva and he thought he was called to write books, but Farel
said to him, "You are called to lead us in preaching the Gospel here in
Geneva." "No," said Calvin, for he shrank from the task. But Farel
said, "The blast of the Almighty God will rest upon you unless you come
out and take your proper place."

Beneath the threat of that brave old man, John Calvin took his place,
prompt and sincere in the work of God, in life and in death never
faltering! Then there was Zwingli over there at Zurich. He had come
out, too, and Oecolampadius, and Melancthon and their fellows–who ever
expected them to do what they did? Nobody! "The Lord gave the Word,
great was the company of them that published it." And so, today, He has
only to give the Word and you shall see starting up all over the world
earnest preachers of the everlasting Gospel, for He has the same
resources as always! He is "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and
today, and forever."

He has also the same resources of Grace. The Holy Spirit is quite as
able to convert men, to quicken, enlighten, sanctify and instruct.
There is nothing which He has done which He cannot do again! The
treasuries of God are as full and as running over, now, as they were in
the beginning of the Christian age! If we do not see such great things,
where lies the restraining force? It is in our unbelief. "If you
believe, all things are possible to him that believes." Before this
year has gone, God can make a wave of revival break over England,
Scotland and Ireland–from one end to the other! Yes, and He can deluge
the whole world with the Gospel if we will but cry to Him for it! And
He wills to do it, for He is "the same yesterday, and today, and
forever," in the resources of His Grace.

V. So I close my sermon with this fifth head, on which I will be very
short, indeed. JESUS CHRIST IS ALWAYS

THE SAME TO ME–"yesterday, and today, and forever." I will not talk
about myself except to help you to think about yourselves. How long
have you known the Lord Jesus Christ? Perhaps only a short time.
Possibly many years. Do you remember when you first knew Him? Can you
point out the spot of ground where Jesus met you? Now, what was He to
you at first? I will tell you what He was to me.

Jesus was to me, at first, my only trust. I leaned on Him very hard,
then, for I had such a load to carry. I laid myself and my load down at
His feet. He was All in All to me. I had not a shred of hope outside of
Him, nor any trust beyond Himself, crucified and risen for me. Now,
dear Brothers and Sisters, have you got any further than that? I hope
not! I know that I have not. I have not a shadow of a shade of
confidence anywhere but in Christ's blood and righteousness! I leaned
on Him very hard at the first, but I lean harder now! Sometimes, I
faint away into His arms. I have died into His life. I am lost in His
fullness! He is all my salvation and all my desire. I am speaking for
myself, but I think that I am speaking for many of you, too, when I say
that Jesus Christ is to me, "the same yesterday, and today, and
forever." His Cross, before my failing eyes, shall be my dying comfort
as it is my living strength.

What was Jesus Christ to me at the first? He was the object of my
warmest love. Was it not so with you? Was He not chief among ten
thousand and altogether lovely? What charms, what beauties were there
in that dear face of His! And what a freshness, what a novelty, what a
delight which set all our passions on fire! It was so in those early
days when we went after Him into the wilderness. Though all the world
around was barren, He was All in All to us. Very well, what is He
today? He is fairer to us, now, than He ever was! He is the one gem
that we possess–our other jewels have all turned

out to be but glass and we have flung them from the chest–but He is
the Kohinoor that our soul delights in! He is all perfections joined
together to make one absolute perfection! He is all the Graces adorning
Him and overflowing to us! Is not that what we say of Him? "Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever."

What was Jesus Christ to me at the first? Well, He was my highest joy.
In my young days, how my heart did dance at the sound of His name! Was
it not so with many of you? We may be huskier in voice, heavier in body
and slower in moving our limbs, but His name has as much charm for us
as it ever had! There was a trumpet that nobody could blow but one who
was the true heir–and there is nobody who can ever fetch the true
music out of us but our Lord to whom we belong! When He sets me to His
lips, you would think that I was one of the trumpets of the seven
angels! And there is no one else who can make me sound like that! I
cannot produce such music as that by myself and there is no theme that
can ravish my heart, there is no subject that can stir my soul until I
get to Him! I think it is with me as it was with Rutherford when the
Duke of Argyle called out, as he began to preach about Christ, "Now,
Man, you are on the right string, keep to that!" The Lord Jesus Christ
knows every key in our souls and He can wake up our whole being to
harmonies of music which shall set the world ringing with His praises!
Yes, He is our joy, our everything, "the same yesterday, and today, and
forever."

Let us go forward, then, to the unchanging Savior, through the changing
things of time and sense, and we shall meet Him soon in Glory, and He
will be unchanged even there, as compassionate and loving to us when we
shall get Home to Him and see Him in His splendor, as He was to His
poor disciples when He had not where to lay His head and was a Sufferer
among them.

Oh, do you know Him? Do you know Him? Do you know Him? If not, may He,
this night, reveal Himself to you, for His sweet mercy's sake! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: HEBREWS13.

Verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. It is supposed to already be
there–let it continue, not only love of a common kind, such as we are
to have to all men, but that special "brotherly love" which Christians
bear to one another as members of one family. "Let brotherly love
continue."

2. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares. Abraham did and Lot did. They thought they
were entertaining ordinary strangers and they washed their feet and
prepared their food but it turned out that they had entertained angels!
Some people will never entertain angels unawares, for they never
entertain anybody. May we be given to hospitality, for that should be
part of the character of saints.

3. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them. Christian
people who have got into trouble through being Christians and persons
who have been shut up in prison for righteousness' sake–there were
many such in Paul's day. Sympathize with them, says the Apostle, "as
bound with them."

3. And them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves, also, in the
body. So that, if you are not, now, in adversity, you may be before
long. Therefore, have a fellow feeling for those who are in trouble. If
you are not, yourself, distressed, you are not out of the reach of such
a thing–therefore be tender towards your afflicted Brothers and
Sisters.

4, 5. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be
without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for
He has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. There is a
fortune for you. There is a pension to fall back upon. You may very
well be content to leave your temporal concerns in the hands of God,
for He has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Why, if you
believe that one promise of God, He will be better to you than ten
thousand friends who promise to provide for you! The Provider in Heaven
is better than any provider on earth! A beautiful motto is that of the
old house of Chester, "God's Providence is my inheritance."

6, 7. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not
fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over
you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow,
considering the end of their conversation. It seems that there were
special persons who were leaders in the Church of God, who were to be
remembered and thought upon, and considered. They were set apart for
this world–"them which have the rule over you, who have

spoken unto you the Word of God." They were leaders among the saints
and Paul would have the rank and file imitate them in their confident
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ–"whose faith follow, considering the
end of their conversation."

8, 9. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Be not
carried about with divers and strange doctrines. Do not believe one
thing, today, and another thing, tomorrow. Be not carried about like
the thistledown in the wind. Have a faith of your own–know what you
believe and stand firmly to it.

9, 10. For it is a good thing that the heart is established with Grace;
not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied
therein. We have an altar. Yes, true religion cannot exist without an
altar, but what kind of altar is it? Is it a material altar? Far from
it! But "we have an altar"–

10, Whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. They
have nothing to do with it, for they are still under the old ceremonial
Law and those whose religion consists in outward rites and ceremonies
can never eat of the spiritual altar whereat spiritual men eat, for
they do not understand the Scripture and they still serve the Mosaic
tabernacle.

11-13. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the
sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
Therefore Jesus, also, that He might sanctify the people with His own
blood, suffered outside the gate. Let us go forth, therefore, unto Him
outside the camp, bearing His reproach. Outside the gate was the place
of Christ's atoning death. "Outside the camp," is the place where His
servants will find themselves most at home.

14. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. We
cannot stop in the condemned city–we must be outside its walls. Our
Lord went out of the city to die and we must go outside the camp to
live!

15, 16. By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.
But to do good and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased. Christian people should be always doing good. As
God is always doing good, so we can never say we have done all we ought
to do and will do no more–"To do good and to communicate," that is, to
communicate of your substance and of your charitable help, "forget
not."

17-19. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves:
for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that
they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable
for you. Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all
things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do
this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. The movements of God's
servants may be controlled by prayer. You cannot tell how much of
blessing will come to your own souls through the ministry if you are in
the habit of praying about it! The man who comes up to God's House,
having prayed for God to bless the preacher, is not likely to go away
unprofited.

20-25. Now the God of peace, that brought, again, from the dead, our
Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
Everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good work to do His
will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. And I beseech
you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a
letter unto you in few words. Know you that our brother, Timothy, is
set at liberty; with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. Salute
all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy
salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen. Does not that blessing seem to
come across the centuries as fresh as if we heard the Apostle speak it
with his living lips? Oh, to feel it true tonight! "Grace be with you
all. Amen."