Today if you hear His Voice

Remember you are either one or the other; you are either condemned or forgiven. Do not stand between the two. Let it be decided, and remember if you are condemned to-day, yet you are not in hell. There is hope yet. Blessed be God, still is Christ lifted up, and whosover believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. The gate of glory is not closed; the proclamation of mercy is not hushed; the Spirit of God still goeth forth to open blind eyes and to unstop deaf ears, and still is it preached to you, to every creature under heaven — Whosoever believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that be believeth not shall be damned. Believe. God help you to believe. Trust Jesus; trust him now; and may the Lord grant that your name may be written among the some that believe, and not among the some that believe not.

From a sermon entitled "The Minister's Stocktaking." Flickr photo by mike138; some rights reserved.

He shall throw down every foe

The dragon’s head shall be so completely broken, that he can do nothing but bite his iron bonds and growl out his confession that God is stronger than he. The hosts of hell shall have been so utterly routed, that the deep groans of dismay and shrieks of terror shall be the confession that Omnipotence rules their terrible doom. As for Death, when he shall see his captives all loosed before his eyes; as for the grave, when the key shall be rent from her grip, and all her treasures plucked from her grasp — death and the grave shall both acknowledge that their victory is gone for ever; Christ has been the conqueror, the Son of God who in our nature has already taken away the sting.

There may be to-day some who write their names down as Atheists; there may be others who openly avow that they are the adversaries of God; and throughout the universe there are never wanting those who are hopeful that the issue will turn out as they wish — they are hopeful that wrong will master right; that evil shall drive out good, and darkness extinguish light. But there shall not be one such being left on that great day of victory; it shall be acknowledged even by the lip of despair that the Lord God, “with his own right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.” Blazoned across the sky in lightnings such as the eye of terror has never beheld before; thundered out with trumpet louder than even that which startled the sleeping dead, every tongue in earth and hell shall confess, because every ear hath heard, that the Lord reigneth, and is king for ever and ever.

From a sermon entitled "The New Song," delivered December 28, 1862. Flickr photo by Tom Woodward; some rights reserved.

Preaching the wrath to come

The Lord Jesus, though the most loving of spirits, was the most awful¹ of preachers; and in his sermons, while there is everything that could melt and woo, there is no lack of the great and terrible thunderbolt, and the sounding forth of wrath to come, and the judgment which must await the impenitent. But again, you will say to me, wherefore speak you thus? Why not dwell upon more pleasant themes? Because, as the Lord my God liveth, before whom I stand, I would be free of the blood of all men.

¹ - in the old-fashioned sense of awe-inspiring or terrifying

From a sermon entitled "The Portion Of The Ungodly," delivered April 13, 1862. Flickr photo by Joe; some rights reserved.

Lord, have mercy

If it were a hard way of salvation, man would like it; but because it is so easy we cannot bear it. We are so proud, that to be saved on charity; to come to Christ and trust him to save us; to have done with saving ourselves, and to let him do it all - Oh, this is so humbling. It will just suit you then, poor soul, for you have said in the words of my text, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Come thou before God and say, “Lord, by his agony and bloody sweat, by his cross and passion, by his precious death and burial, have mercy upon me,” and he will answer thee when thou makest mention of the blood, and he will say - “Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee.”

Oh! There is hope yet, lost soul; there is hope yet! To the very gates of hell let my voice ring this morning - lost soul, there is hope yet. If thou hast passed those gates there is no hope; but this side the gate of hell there is hope for thee. Not in thyself but in Jesus is thy help found. Look to him; he dies; one look will save you. Look to him; he lives; he pleads before the Father’s throne. Faith in the living Savior will make you a living soul. May God in his mercy empty you of self, and then faith is easy, but until you are brought there, faith is impossible.

From a sermon entitled "A Sight Of Self" delivered March 2, 1862. Flickr photo by Sharon Mollerus; some rights reserved.

It is finished!

If you and I had been constrained to make satisfaction to God’s justice by being sent to hell we never could have said, “It is finished.” Christ has paid the debt which all the torments of eternity could not have paid. Lost souls, ye suffer today as ye have suffered for ages past, but God’s justice is not satisfied, his law is not fully magnified. And when time shall fail, and eternity shall have been flying on, still forever; forever, the uttermost never having been paid, the chastisement for sin must fall upon unpardoned sinners. But Christ has done what all the flames of the pit could not do in all eternity; he has magnified the law and made it honorable, and now from the cross he cries — “It is finished.”

From a sermon entitled "It Is Finished," delivered December 1, 1861. Flickr photo by Per Ola Wiberg; some rights reserved.

The Last Census

Personal matters alone will come into the great census paper of eternity. There is no truth which we need more frequently to hold up before the eyes of our people than the truth that nothing but personal godliness will ever avail. If you could trace your pedigree through a line of saints up to the apostles, nay, up to Mary herself, the mother of the Savior, yet, unless you did yourself believe in Christ and had yourself been the subject of the personal change, which is called regeneration you should in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. No connections, however admirable; no relations, however desirable, no proxies, however excellent, shall ever avail for any dying man. We must ourselves stand before God, each man for himself to be acquitted, or to be condemned to hear, “Come, thou blessed,” or “Depart, thou cursed one.”

There may be and there always must be, when we take men in the mass, (and God often in his providence deals with men in the mass) there may be innocent persons who suffer in the common calamity. There are likewise wicked men who rejoice in common mercies. But at the last the evil shall be unto the evil, and the good shall be unto the good. The wheat shall be unmixed with chaff; the wine shall no more be mingled with the water, the gold shall not become dimmed through alloy. God’s people, each of them personally accepted, and the wicked, each of them personally condemned, shall meet their final doom. See to it, sire, each one of you, that you personally have an interest in the blood of the Lamb.

From a sermon entitled "The Last Census," delivered April 14, 1861. Flickr photo by Louise Docker; some rights reserved.

The Day of the Lord

You must confess, my dear hearers, that Jesus Christ was the most tender-hearted of men; never was there one of so sympathetic a disposition; but not all the prophets put together — though some of them be stern as Elijah, though many of them seemed commissioned expressly to dwell upon terrible things in righteousness — not all of them put together can equal in thunder-shocks the sound of that still voice of him, who albeit he did not cry nor lift up his voice in the street, spoke more of hell and the wrath to come than any that preceded him. The loving lips of Jesus have furnished us with the greatest revelations of God’s vengeance against iniquity. None ever spoke with such terrible emphasis, no preacher ever used figures of such glaring horror, as did Jesus Christ the Son of Man, the friend of publicans and sinners. Let me remind you, that the wrath of God and the judgment of the day of the Lord cannot be a trifling matter. How emphatically are we told in Scripture, that it is “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Upon such a subject we cannot afford to trifle.

From a sermon entitled "Tender Words of Terrible Apprehension," delivered November 4, 1860. Flickr photo by Jared Smith; some rights reserved.

Jesus the Gracious Savior

There is no difference between the glorified in heaven and the doomed in hell, except the difference that God made of his own sovereign grace. Whatever difference there may be between Saul the apostle and Elymas the sorcerer, has been made by infinite sovereignty and undeserved love. Paul might still have remained Saul of Tarsus, and might have become a damned fiend in the bottomless pit, had it not been for free sovereign grace which came out to snatch him as a brand from the burning. Oh, sinner, thou sayest “There is no reason in me why God should save me,” but there is no reason in any man. Thou hast no good point, nor hath any man. There is nothing in any man to commend him to God. We are all such sinners, that hell is our deserved portion; and if any of us be saved from going down into the pit, it is God’s undeserved sovereign bounty that doth it, and not any merits of ours. Jesus Christ is a most gracious Savior.

From a sermon entitled "The High Priest Standing Between The Dead And The Living," delivered October 21, 1860. Flickr photo by Tony Hisgett; some rights reserved.

Boundless love

Oh! I know my sins reach from the east even to the west — that aiming at the eternal skies they rise like pointed mountains towards hearer. But then, blessed be the name of God, the blood of Christ is wider than my sin. That shoreless flood of Jesus’ merit is deeper than the heights of mine iniquities. My sin may be great, but his merit is greater still. I cannot conceive my own guilt, much less express it, but the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s dear Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Infinite guilt, but infinite pardon. Boundless iniquities, but boundless merits to cover all.

What if thy sins were greater than heaven’s breadth, yet Christ is greater than heaven. The heaven of heavens cannot contain him. If thy sins were deeper than the bottomless hell, yet Christ’s atonement is deeper still, for he descended deeper than ever man himself as yet hath dived — even damned men in all the horror of their agony, for Christ went to the end of punishment, and deeper thy sins can never plunge. Oh! boundless love, that covers all my faults.

My poor hearer, believe on Christ now. God help thee to believe. May the Spirit now enable thee to trust in Jesus. Thou canst not save thyself. All hopes of selfsalvation are delusive. Now give up, have done with self, and take Christ. Just as thou art, drop into his arms. He will take thee; he will save thee. He died to do it, and he lives to accomplish it. He will not lose the spirit that casts itself into his hands and makes him his all in all.

From a sermon entitled "Sin Immeasurable," delivered February 12, 1860. Flickr photo by Laszlo Ilyes; some rights reserved.

Conquerors in Christ

Satan came against Christ; he had in his hand a sharp sword called the Law, dipped in the poison of sin, so that every wound which the law inflicted was deadly. Christ dashed this sword out of Satan's hand, and there stood the prince of darkness unarmed. His helmet was cleft in twain, and his head was crushed as with a rod of iron. Death rose against Christ. The Savior snatched his quiver from him, emptied out all his darts, cut them in two, gave Death back the feather end, but kept the poisoned barbs from him, that he might never destroy the ransomed. Sin came against Christ, but sin was utterly cut in pieces. It had been Satan's armor bearer, but its shield was cast away, and it lay dead upon the plain.

Is it not a noble picture to behold all the enemies of Christ? — nay, my brethren, all your enemies, and mine, totally disarmed? Satan has nothing left him, now wherewith he may attack us. He may attempt to injure us, but wound us he never can, among the Romans, after the enemy has been overcome, it was the custom to take away all their weapons and ammunition; afterwards they were stripped of their armor and their garments, their hands were tied behind their backs, and they were made to pass under the yoke. Now, even so hath Christ done with sin, death, and hell; he hath taken their armor, spoiled them of all their weapons, and made them all to pass under the yoke; so that now they are our slaves, and we in Christ are conquerors of them who were mightier than we.

From a sermon entitled "Christ Triumphant," delivered September 4, 1859. Flickr photo by Angelo Juan Ramos; some rights reserved.

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer

“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundations of the world.” John 17:24.

In our Saviour’s prayer heaven’s greatest privilege is also included. Mark, we are not only to be with Christ and to behold his glory, but we are to be like Christ and to be glorified with him. Is he bright? So shall you be. Is he enthroned? So shall you be. Does he wear a crown? So shall you. Is he a priest? So shall you be a priest and a king to offer acceptable sacrifices for ever. Mark, that in all Christ has, a believer has a share. This seems to me to be the sum total, and the crowning of it all — to reign with Christ, to ride in his triumphal chariot, and have a portion of his joy; to be honored with him, to be accepted in him, to be glorified with him. This is heaven, this is heaven indeed.

And now, how many of you are there here who have any hope that this shall be your lot? Well said Chrysostom, “The pains of hell are not the greatest part of hell; the loss of heaven is the weightiest woe of hell;” to lose the sight of Christ, the company of Christ, to lose the beholding of his glories, this must be the greatest part of the damnation of the lost. Oh, you that have not this bright hope, how is it that you can live? You are going through a dark world, to a darker eternity. I beseech you stop and pause. Consider for a moment whether it is worth while to lose heaven for this poor earth. What! Pawn eternal glories for the pitiful pence of a few moments of the world’s enjoyments! No, stop I beseech you; weigh the bargain before you accept it. What shall it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul, and lose such a heaven as this?

From a sermon entitled "The Redeemer's Prayer," delivered April 18, 1858.

Flickr photo by Eric Hill; some rights reserved.

The false Gospel... and the true

I have heard that an Englishman has professed himself a Mahometan because he is charmed by the polygamy which the Arabian prophet allows his followers. No doubt the prospect of four wives would win converts who would not be attracted by spiritual considerations. If you preach a gospel which makes allowances for human nature, and treats sin as if it were a mistake rather than a crime, you will find willing hearers. If you can provide absolution at small cost, and can ease conscience by a little self-denial, it will not be wonderful if your religion becomes fashionable. But our gospel declares that the wages of sin is death, and that we can only have eternal life as the gift of God; and that this gift always brings with it sorrow for sin, a hatred towards it, and an avoidance of it. Our gospel tells a man that he must be born again, and that without the new birth he will be lost eternally, while with it he will obtain everlasting salvation. Our gospel offers no excuse or cloak for sin, but condemns it utterly. It presents no pardon except through the great Atonement, and it will give that man no security who tries to harbor any sin in his bosom. Christ died for sin; and we must die to sin, or die eternally. If we preach the gospel faithfully, we must preach the law.

You cannot fully preach salvation by Christ without setting Sinai at the back of the picture, and Calvary in the front. Men must be made to feel the evil of sin before they will prize the great Sacrifice which is the head and front of our gospel. This is not to the taste of this or any other age; and therefore I am sure man did not invent it.

From a sermon entitled "Our Manifesto," delivered April 25, 1890.

Photo by j.anne4; some rights reserved.

You must be born again

Perhaps someone here says, “I have given up drunkenness....” “Well,” says another, “I am very different from what I was twelve months ago. I am glad of it, I say again, as glad as when I read that this blind man’s eyes were opened. But, my dear friend, that is not the main point. “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” Morality is excellent as far as it goes, but without holiness no man shall see the Lord, and holiness far exceeds mere morality. Holiness can only be produced by a real change of heart, and that real change of heart can only come through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit which manifests itself through faith in Jesus Christ. Moral changes are commendable, and we would be the last to say a word against them; but just as silver is not gold, so morality is not holiness, and the message we have still to deliver is this, “Ye must be born again.”

So we press the question of the text home upon the conscience of everyone here because it concerns the vital point of faith in Christ. I am convinced that this question, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” is the most important question that a man can ever have to answer; this is vitally and overwhelmingly important. “I am a Churchman,” says one. “I am a Nonconformist,” says another. “I am a Calvinist,” says one. “I am an Arminian,” says another. Well now, I am not going to ask you anything about your belief on any of these points, though I know what I think is the right view concerning all of them. But I can tell you that you may go to heaven or you may go to hell either as a Churchman or as a Nonconformist, as a Calvinist or as an Arminian; but if you believe on Jesus Christ, you shall never perish, neither shall any pluck you out of his hands. It is believing on him that is the all-important point, so I still urge each one of you to answer the question, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”

From a sermon entitled, "A Question For Thee," delivered August 9, 1874.

Photo by Peter Emmett. Some rights reserved.

We must all get rid of our pride

I have heard of a lady who was visited by a minister on her deathbed, and she said to him, “I want to ask you one question, now I am about to die.” “Well,” said the minister, “what is it?”; Oh!” said she, in a very affected way “I want to know if there are two places in heaven, because I could not bear that Betsy in the kitchen should be in heaven along with me, she is so unrefined?” The minister turned round and said, “O, don’t trouble yourself about that, madam. There is no fear of that, for until you get rid of your accursed pride, you will never enter heaven at all.”

We must all get rid of our pride. We must come down and stand on an equality in the sight of God, and see in every man a brother, before we can hope to be found in glory. Ay, we bless God, we thank him that will set down no separate table for one and for another. The Jew and the Gentile will sit down together. The great and the small shall feed in the same pasture, and we shall “sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” But my text hath a yet greater depth of sweetness, for it says, that “many shall come and shall sit down.” Some narrow-minded bigots think that heaven will be a very small place, where there will be a very few people, who went to their chapel or their church. I confess, I have no wish for a very small heaven, and love to read in the Scriptures that there are many mansions in my Father’s house.

From a sermon entitled "Heaven and Hell," delivered September 4, 1855.