difficulties that seemed insuperable. Sarah had a son when she was past
bearing; the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt and planted in
the promised land; the Jews were redeemed from the captivity of Babylon,
after seventy years, and enabled once more to build the temple; the Lord
Jesus was born of a pure virgin, lived, ministered, was betrayed, and
cut off, precisely as Scripture foretold. The Word of God was pledged in
all these cases, that it should be. _And so it was._
The predictions of _judgments_ on cities and nations have come to pass,
though at the time they were first spoken they seemed incredible. Egypt
is the basest of kingdoms; Edom is a wilderness; Tyre is a rock for
drying nets; Nineveh, that "exceeding great city," is laid waste, and
become a desolation; Babylon is a dry land and a wilderness,--her broad
walls are utterly broken down; the Jews are scattered over the whole
earth as a separate people. In all these cases the Word of God foretold
that it should be so. _And so it was._
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ which I press on your attention
this day, shall be fulfilled in like manner. Not one word of it shall
fail when the time of its accomplishment is due. "Many will seek to
enter in, and shall not be able."
There is a time coming when seeking God shall be useless. Oh, that men
would remember that! Too many seem to fancy that the hour will never
arrive when they shall seek and not find: but they are sadly mistaken.
They will discover their mistake one day to their own confusion, except
they repent. When Christ comes "many shall seek to enter in, and _not be
able_."
There is a time coming when many shall be shut out from heaven for ever.
It shall not be the lot of a few, but of a great multitude; it shall not
happen to one or two in this parish, and one or two in that: it shall be
the miserable end of a vast crowd. "_Many_ will seek to enter in, and
shall not be able."
Knowledge shall come to many too late. They shall see at last the value
of an immortal soul, and the happiness of having it saved. They shall
understand at last their own sinfulness and God's holiness, and the
glorious fitness of the Gospel of Christ. They shall comprehend at last
why ministers seemed so anxious, and preached so long, and entreated
them so earnestly to be converted. But, alas, they shall know all this
_too late_!
Repentance shall come to many too late. They shall discover their own
exceeding wickedness and be thoroughly ashamed of their past folly. They
shall be full of bitter regret and unavailing lamentations, of keen
convictions and of piercing sorrows. They shall weep, and wail, and
mourn, when they reflect on their sins. The remembrance of their lives
will be grievous to them; the burden of their guilt will seem
intolerable. But, alas, like Judas Iscariot, they will repent _too
late_!
Faith shall come to many too late. They will no longer be able to deny
that there is a God, and a devil, a heaven, and a hell. Deism, and
scepticism, and infidelity shall be laid aside for ever; scoffing, and
jesting, and free-thinking shall cease. They will see with their own
eyes, and feel in their own bodies, that the things of which ministers
spoke were not cunningly devised fables, but great real truths. They
will find out to their cost that evangelical religion was not cant,
extravagance, fanaticism, and enthusiasm: they will discover that it was
the one thing needful, and that for want of it they are lost for ever.
Like the devil, they will at length believe and tremble, but _too late_!
A desire of salvation shall come to many too late. They shall long after
pardon, and peace, and the favour of God, when they can no more be had.
They will wish they might have one more Sunday over again, have one more
offer of forgiveness, have one more call to prayer. But it will matter
nothing what they think, or feel, or desire then: the day of grace will
be over; the gate of salvation will be bolted and barred. It will be
_too late_!
I often think what a change there will be one day in the price and
estimation at which things are valued. I look round this world in which
my lot is cast; I mark the current price of everything this world
contains; I look forward to the coming of Christ, and the great day of
God. I think of the new order of things, which that day will bring in; I
read the words of the Lord Jesus, when He describes the master of the
house rising up and shutting the door; and as I read, I say to myself,
"There will be a great change soon."
What are the _dear things_ now? Gold, silver, precious stones, bank
notes, mines, ships, lands, houses, horses, carriages, furniture, meat,
drink, clothes, and the like. These are the things that are thought
valuable; these are the things that command a ready market; these are
the things which you can never get below a certain price. He that has
much of these things is counted a wealthy man. Such is the world!
And what are the _cheap things_ now? The knowledge of God, the free
salvation of the Gospel, the favour of Christ, the grace of the Holy
Ghost, the privilege of being God's son, the title to eternal life, the
right to the tree of life, the reversion of a mansion in heaven, the
promises of an incorruptible inheritance, the offer of a crown of glory
that fadeth not away. These are the things that no man hardly cares for.
They are offered to the sons of men without money and without price:
they may be had for nothing,--freely and gratuitously. Whosoever will
may take his portion. But, alas, there is no demand for these things!
They go a begging. They are scarcely looked at. They are offered in
vain. Such is the world!
But a day is coming upon us all when the value of everything shall be
altered. A day is coming when bank-notes shall be as useless as rags,
and gold shall be as worthless as the dust of the earth. A day is coming
when thousands shall care nothing for the things for which they once
lived, and shall desire nothing so much as the things which they once
despised. The halls and palaces will be forgotten in the desire of a
"house not made with hands." The favour of the rich and great will be no
more remembered, in the longing for the favour of the King of kings. The
silks, and satins, and velvets, and laces, will be lost sight of in the
anxious want of the robe of Christ's righteousness. All shall be
altered, all shall be changed in the great day of the Lord's return.
"Many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
It was a weighty saying of some wise man, that "hell is truth known too
late." I fear that thousands of professing Christians in this day will
find this out by experience. They will discover the value of their
souls when it is too late to obtain mercy, and see the beauty of the
Gospel when they can derive no benefit from it. Oh, that men would be
wise betimes! I often think there are few passages of Scripture more
awful than that in the first chapter of Proverbs,--"Because I have
called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man
regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my
reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear
cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh
as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall
they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but
they shall not find Me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not
choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel; they
despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their
own way, and be filled with their own devices." (Prov. i. 24-31.)
Some reader of this paper may be one of those who neither like the faith
nor practice which the Gospel of Christ requires. You think us extreme
when we beseech you to repent and be converted. You think we ask too
much when we urge you to come out from the world, and take up the cross,
and follow Christ. But take notice that you will one day confess _that
we were right_. Sooner or later, in this world or the next, you will
acknowledge that you were wrong. Yes! it is a melancholy consideration
for the faithful minister of the Gospel, that all who hear him will one
day allow that his counsel was good. Mocked, despised, scorned,
neglected as his testimony may be on earth, a day is coming which shall
prove effectually that truth was on his side. The rich man who hears us
and yet makes a god of this world,--the tradesman who hears us and yet
makes his ledger his Bible,--the farmer who hears us and yet remains
cold as the clay on his land,--the labourer who hears us and feels no
more for his soul than a stone,--all, all will at length acknowledge
before the world that they were wrong. All will at length desire
earnestly that very mercy which we now set before them in vain. "They
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
Some reader of this paper may be one of those who love the Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity. Such an one may well take comfort when he looks
forward. You often suffer persecution now for your religion's sake. You
have to bear hard words and unkind insinuations. Your motives are often
misrepresented, and your conduct slandered. The reproach of the cross
has not ceased. But you may well take courage when you look forward and
think of the Lord's second coming. That day shall make amends for all.
You will see those who now laugh at you because you read the Bible, and
pray, and love Christ, in a very different state of mind. They will come
to you as the foolish virgins came to the wise, saying, "Give us of your
oil, because our lamps are gone out." (Matt. xxv. 8.) You will see those
who now hate you and call you fools because, like Caleb and Joshua, you
bring up a good report of Christ's service, altered, changed, and no
longer like the same men. They will say, "Oh, that we had taken part
with you! You have been the truly wise, and we the foolish." Then fear
not the reproach of men. Confess Christ boldly before the world. Show
your colours, and be not ashamed of your Master. Time is short: eternity
hastens on. The cross is only for a little season: the crown is for
ever. Make sure work about that crown: leave nothing uncertain. "Many
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
And now let me offer to every one who reads this paper a few parting
words, in order to apply the whole subject to his soul. You have heard
the words of the Lord Jesus unfolded and expounded. You have seen the
picture of the way of salvation: it is a strait gate.--You have heard
the command of the King: "Strive to enter in."--You have been told of
His solemn warning: "Many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be
able."--Bear with me a little longer while I try to impress the whole
matter on your conscience. I have yet something to say on God's behalf.
(1) For one thing, I will ask you a plain question. _Have you entered in
at the strait gate or not?_ Old or young, rich or poor, churchman or
dissenter, I repeat my question, Have you entered in at the strait gate?
I ask not whether you have heard of it, and believe there is a gate. I
ask not whether you have looked at it, and admired it, and hope one day
to go in. I ask whether you have gone up to it, knocked at it, been
admitted, and _are now inside_?
If you are not inside, what good have you got from your religion? You
are not pardoned and forgiven. You are not reconciled to God. You are
not born again, sanctified, and meet for heaven. If you die as you are,
the devil will have you for ever, and your soul will be eternally
miserable.
Oh, think, think what a state this is to live in! Think, think above all
things, what a state this is to die in! Your life is but a vapour. A few
more years at most and you are gone: your place in the world will soon
be filled up; your house will be occupied by another. The sun will go on
shining; the grass and daises will soon grow thick over your grave; your
body will be food for worms, and your soul will be lost to all eternity.
And all this time there stands open before you a gate of salvation. God
invites you. Jesus Christ offers to save you. All things are ready for
your deliverance. One thing only is wanting, and that is that you should
be willing to be saved.
Oh think of these things, and be wise!
(2) For another thing, I will give plain advice to all who are not yet
inside the strait gate. That advice is simply this: _to enter in without
a day's delay_.
Tell me, if you can, of any one who ever reached heaven excepting
through "the strait gate." I know of none. From Abel, the first who
died, down to the end of the list of Bible names, I see none saved by
any way but that of faith in Christ.
Tell me, if you can, of any one who ever entered in at the strait gate
without "striving." I know of none excepting those who die in infancy.
He that would win heaven must be content to fight for it.
Tell me, if you can, of any one who ever strove earnestly to enter, and
failed to succeed. I know of none. I believe that however weak and
ignorant men may be, they never seek life heartily and conscientiously,
at the right door, and are left without an answer of peace.
Tell me, if you can, of any one who ever entered in at the strait gate,
and was afterwards sorry. I know of none. I believe the footsteps on the
threshold of that gate are all one way. All have found it a good thing
to serve Christ, and have never regretted taking up His cross.
If these things are so, seek Christ without delay, and enter in at the
gate of life while you can! Make a beginning this very day. Go to that
merciful and mighty Saviour in prayer, and pour out your heart before
Him. Confess to Him your guilt and wickedness and sin. Unbosom yourself
freely to Him: keep nothing back. Tell Him that you cast yourself and
all your soul's affairs wholly on His hands, and ask Him to save you
according to His promise, and put His Holy Spirit within you.
There is everything _to encourage you to do this_. Thousands as bad as
you have applied to Christ in this way, and not one of them has been
sent away and refused. They have found a peace of conscience they never
knew before, and have gone on their way rejoicing. They have found
strength for all the trials of life, and none of them have been allowed
to perish in the wilderness. Why should not you also seek Christ?
There is everything to encourage you to do what I tell you _at once_. I
know no reason why your repentance and conversion should not be as
immediate as that of others before you. The Samaritan woman came to the
well an ignorant sinner, and returned to her home a new creature. The
Philippian jailor turned from darkness to light, and became a professed
disciple of Christ in a single day. And why should not others do the
same? Why should not you give up your sins, and lay hold on Christ this
very day?
I know that the advice I have given you is good. The grand question is,
Will you take it?
(3) The last thing I have to say shall be a request to all who have
really entered in at the strait gate. That request is, that you will
_tell others_ of the blessings which you have found.
I want all converted people to be missionaries. I do not want them all
to go out to foreign lands, and preach to the heathen; but I do want all
to be of a missionary spirit, and to strive to do good at home. I want
them to testify to all around them that the strait gate is the way to
happiness, and to persuade them to enter in by it.
When Andrew was converted he found his brother Peter, and said to him,
"We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And
he brought him to Jesus." (John i. 41, 42.) When Philip was converted he
found Nathaniel, and said to him, "We have found Him, of whom Moses in
the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Joseph. And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there any good thing come out
of Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come and see." (John i. 45, 46.) When
the Samaritan woman was converted, she "left her waterpot, and went into
the city, and said to the men, Come, see a man which told me all things
that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (John iv. 28, 29.) When Saul
the Pharisee was converted, "Straightway he preached Christ in the
synagogues, that He is the son of God." (Acts ix. 20.)
I long to see this kind of spirit among Christians in the present day. I
long to see more zeal to commend the strait gate to all who are yet
outside, and more desire to persuade them to enter in and be saved.
Happy indeed is that Church whose members not only desire to reach
heaven themselves, but desire also to take others with them!
The great gate of salvation is yet ready to open, but the hour draws
near when it will be closed for ever. Let us work while it is called
to-day, for "the night cometh when no man can work." (John ix. 4.) Let
us tell our relatives and friends, that we have proved the way of life
and found it pleasant, that we have tasted the bread of life and found
it good.
I have heard it calculated that if every believer in the world were to
bring one soul to Christ each year, the whole human race would be
converted in less than twenty years. I make no comment on such a
calculation. Whether such a thing might be or not, one thing is sure:
that thing is, that many more _souls might probably be converted to God,
if Christians were more zealous to do good_.
This, at least, we may remember, that God is "not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Pet. iii. 9.)
He that endeavours to show his neighbour the strait gate is doing a work
which God approves. He is doing a work which angels regard with
interest, and with which the building of a pyramid will not compare in
importance. What saith the Scripture? "He which converteth a sinner from
the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a
multitude of sins." (James v. 20.)
Let us all awaken to a deeper sense of our responsibility in this
matter. Let us look round the circle of those among whom we live, and
consider their state before God. Are there not many of them yet outside
the gate, unforgiven, unsanctified, and unfit to die? Let us watch for
opportunities of speaking to them. Let us tell them of the strait gate,
and entreat them to "strive to enter in."
Who can tell what "a word spoken in due season" may do? Who can tell
what it may do when spoken in faith and prayer? It may be the
turning-point in some man's history. It may be the beginning of thought,
prayer, and eternal life. Oh, for more love and boldness among
believers! Think what a blessing to be allowed to speak one converting
word!
I know not what the feelings of my readers may be on this subject. My
heart's desire and prayer is that you may daily remember Christ's solemn
words,--"Many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Keep these
words in mind, and then be careless about the souls of others, if you
can.
III
REALITY
"_Reprobate silver._"--Jer. vi. 30.
"_Nothing but leaves._"--Mark xi. 13.
"_Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and
in truth._"--1 John iii. 18. "_Thou hast a name that thou
livest, and art dead._"--Rev. iii. 1.
If we profess to have any religion at all, let us take care that it is
real. I say it emphatically, and I repeat the saying: Let us mind that
our religion is real.
What do I mean when I use the word "real." I mean that which is genuine,
and sincere, and honest, and thorough. I mean that which is not base,
and hollow, and formal, and false, and counterfeit, and sham, and
nominal. "Real" religion is not mere show, and pretence, and skin-deep
feeling, and temporary profession, and outside work. It is something
inward, solid, substantial, intrinsic, living, lasting. We know the
difference between base coin and good money,--between solid gold and
tinsel,--between plated metal and silver,--between real stone and
plaster imitation. Let us think of these things as we consider the
subject of this paper. What is the character of our religion? Is it
real? It may be weak, and feeble, and mingled with many infirmities.
That is not the point before us to-day. Is our religion real? Is it
true?
The times in which we live demand attention to this subject. A want of
reality is a striking feature of a vast amount of religion in the
present day. Poets have sometimes told us that the world has passed
through four different states or conditions. We have had a golden age,
and a silver age, a brazen age, and an iron age. How far this is true, I
do not stop to inquire. But I fear there is little doubt as to the
character of the age in which we live. It is universally an age of base
metal and alloy. If we measure the religion of the age by its apparent
quantity, there is much of it. But if we measure it by its quality,
there is very little indeed. On every side we want MORE REALITY.
I ask attention, while I try to bring home to men's consciences the
question of this paper. There are two things which I propose to do:--
I. In the first place, I will show the _importance of reality in
religion_.
II. In the second place, I will supply _some tests by which we may
prove whether our own religion is real._
Has any reader of this paper the least desire to go to heaven when he
dies? Do you wish to have a religion which will comfort you in life,
give you good hope in death, and abide the judgment of God at the last
day? Then, do not turn away from the subject before you. Sit down, and
consider calmly, whether your Christianity is real and true, or base and
hollow.
I. I have to show _the importance of reality in religion._
The point is one which, at first sight, may seem to require very few
remarks to establish it. All men, I shall be told, are fully convinced
of the importance of reality.
But is this true? Can it be said indeed that reality is rightly esteemed
among Christians? I deny it entirely. The greater part of people who
profess to admire reality, seem to think that every one possesses
it!--They tell us "that all have got good hearts at bottom,"--that all
are sincere and true in the main, though they may make mistakes. They
call us uncharitable, and harsh, and censorious, if we doubt anybody's
goodness of heart. In short, they destroy the value of reality, by
regarding it as a thing which almost every one has.
This wide-spread delusion is precisely one of the causes why I take up
this subject. I want men to understand that _reality_ is a far more rare
and uncommon thing than is commonly supposed. I want men to see that
_unreality_ is one of the great dangers of which Christians ought to
beware.
What saith the Scripture? This is the only judge that can try the
subject. Let us turn to our Bibles, and examine them fairly, and then
deny, if we can, the importance of reality in religion, and the danger
of not being real.
(1) Let us look then, for one thing, at the parables spoken by our Lord
Jesus Christ. Observe how many of them are intended to put in strong
contrast the true believer and the mere nominal disciple. The parables
of the sower, of the wheat and tares, of the draw-net, of the two sons,
of the wedding garment, of the ten virgins, of the talents, of the great
supper, of the pounds, of the two builders, have all one great point in
common. They all bring out in striking colours the difference between
reality and unreality in religion. They all show the uselessness and
danger of any Christianity which is not real, thorough, and true.
(2) Let us look, for another thing, at the language of our Lord Jesus
Christ about the scribes and the Pharisees. Eight times over in one
chapter we find Him denouncing them as "hypocrites," in words of almost
fearful severity.--"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers," He says, "How
can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Matt. xxiii. 33.) What may we
learn from these tremendously strong expressions? How is it that our
gracious and merciful Saviour used such cutting words about people who
at any rate were more moral and decent than the publicans and harlots?
It is meant to teach us the exceeding abominableness of false profession
and mere outward religion in God's sight. Open profligacy and wilful
obedience to fleshly lusts are no doubt ruinous sins, if not given up.
But there seems nothing which is so displeasing to Christ as hypocrisy
and unreality.
(3) Let us look, for another thing, at the startling fact, that there is
hardly a grace in the character of a true Christian of which you will
not find a counterfeit described in the Word of God. There is not a
feature in a believer's countenance of which there is not an imitation.
Give me your attention, and I will show you this in a few particulars.
Is there not an unreal _repentance_? Beyond doubt there is. Saul and
Ahab, and Herod, and Judas Iscariot had many feelings of sorrow about
sin. But they never really repented unto salvation.