All men think that all men are mortal and guilty but themselves. Men are apt to judge other's faults. The punishment which is due to sin men think is surely impending upon others, but men scarcely believe that eternal punishment will ever fall upon themselves. Vain men think they are safe from God's wrath. You think lightly of the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of your Maker. Fear the LORD and His goodness. Despise not the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering. Behold the goodness and severity of God. The goodness of God endureth continually. The Lord God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
You have a conscience. When you do wrong, you know it, and are troubled by it, unless you have already seared your conscience. You have yielded to temptations and your guilt has given you sleepless nights. You have felt the miserable feeling of shame and unrest that sinning brings. You try to stifle the inward alarm of conscience, and you have resisted the Spirit of God. Your road to Hell is very difficult, but you mean to follow it all costs, and go over the barrier and wall of God's wooings and warnings right off into Hell. The way of transgressors is hard. Evolution is a damnable delusion, and darwinism leads every atheist into a final and fatal self-delusion.
You have offended God and He still withholds the punishment that is due to you. You have been invited to mercy, but have refused it, and yet God continues to stretch out His pierced hands to you, and invite you to come on to the Cross. You continue on in your sin with suicidal determination. You are desperately set on self-inflicted misery, your soul's own ruin, and nothing can save you. You are given over to perdition, for you will not be warned. You long after vice and love filthiness and sinful pleasure. The poison of sin spreads and burns in your veins every day. But God is still showing His forbearance with you.
You have grievously done despite to God's word, and laughed at those that love the Lord Jesus Christ. You are nearing the brink of death, but you still stubbornly reject Christ. God's mercy gives you a reprieve every day. The Savior now sits upon the Throne of Grace, but He will soon sit upon the White Throne of Judgment. Hasten now to the Throne of Grace; seek Christ's free grace and undying love.
God is the Great King; you have publicly insulted Him days without number. Your sins have provoked God and defied Him to His face. There will soon be a limit to God's longsuffering. God has spared you, He has spared your spouse and children, He has raised you up from the bed of sickness, He has filled your pantry, and filled your closet, yet you still disobey Him. Why do you treat the Good Lord so cruelly? For which of His kind deeds do you hate and provoke Him? Every day God causes the sun to rise and He gives you eyes to see it; He sends His rain upon the ground to bring forth bread to feed you, and He gives you strength and life to eat that bread. Is this why you revolt against Him? Every day your life is gladdened and sustained by the tender kindness of God. Your sin is terribly offensive to God every day, but He still shows you His kindness, love, and forbearance. Your base ingratitude toward God is amazingly heinous.
God knows all the sins of every man. Every sin is committed in the very presence of God. "Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in THY SIGHT." All sins are committed in the sight of God, from whose eyes nothing is hidden. The Lord can never forget your sins, all the sins of your past are before Him now. But He is still slow to anger, and waits to be gracious unto you.
The Lord God is great in power. If He willed it, you would be swept off into Hell today. Your flippant tongue and lustful heart hates God, but He still patiently bears with you. Things that men call little sins are great and grievous evils to the Holy One of Israel. O do not the abominable thing which God hates. God's Spirit is grieved with every idle word and every impure thought of yours. You have indulged in your sins and abused God's mercy.
You have forgotten your Creator altogether, this is a great crime. You wouldn't keep a dog if it never followed and obeyed, and only snarled at you continually. But you have been of no service to your Maker, not even a thought of serving Him has crossed your mind. He has spared you all these years, and His forbearance has never occurred to you. You've never given a half an hour of thought towards your relation to God. You never consider your conduct towards Him. It is too much trouble for you to even think of your Creator.
You imagine that because judgment is delayed that it will never come at all. You joke and play on the brink of death and hell. God's forbearance will not last forever. God knows your secret thoughts. You think you have a long time and flatter yourself that you have plenty of life to think about eternal things. You continue to live on in jeopardy in risk of eternal doom. Be wise now - Decide for God, for Christ, and for heaven.
You have offended God and know it is an evil thing to do so. You knowingly and willfully reject Christ. None are so blind who will not see, and hate the light. The atheist has eyes and light, but he still refuses to see. God's patience with you is meant to lead you to repentance, that you might turn from your sin to God. Repentance is radical change in your view of all things, especially sin. Repentance is a change of mind in your estimate of eternal matters, a change in your purposes, a change in your thoughts and in your private and public conduct. Every year you are out of Christ you sin more deeply and provoke the Lord more terribly. When your child rebels against you, you give them only a few minutes to repent. But God has given you years to repent, but you still remain careless and disobedient and hateful.
Every morning when an atheist wakes up still impenitent, and finds himself still out of hell, the sunlight seems to say, “I shine on you yet another day, as that in this day you may repent.” When your bed receives you at night it seems to say, “I will give you another night’s rest, that you may live to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus Christ.” Every plateful of food that comes to your table says, “I will support your body so you can still have space for repentance.” Every time you open the Bible's pages it says, “We speak with you that you may look to Christ and live.” Every time you hear a Gospel sermon, it pleads with you to turn unto the Merciful Maker and be saved from sin. Come along now to the Cross, poor guilty sinner, there is still room for you at the feet of the Savior.
If you were in God's place, could you bear to be treated as you have treated Him and His Son? Would you be so patient with someone who blasphemed you and your son so cruelly? Repent of your sin, Look unto Jesus Christ and live; Believe on the Crucified and Risen Savior now, and then begin to abhor and struggle against your inward evil and vile passions.
