Genuine Faith 4

I deserve to die in my sins, but Christ bore my sins in His own body, and then He died in my sins and paid the penalty due to all my sins, that is, divine justice and wrath fell on Jesus for my sake. Because of our sins, we are in debt, but Jesus paid the entire debt for us with His own sinless blood. The human heart is so deceitful and desperately evil, that God Himself had to become a man, bear our sins, and shed His own innocent blood to ransom us from sin's tyrannical rule. Christ offered a perfect Atonement for my sins. Most men today are religion-ated by man, but not Regenerated by the Holy Ghost. There's no hope for me but the atoning Blood of Jesus Christ. Noah was right, and the whole world was wrong. The Gospel is right, the whole Christ-rejecting world today is wrong. God said, "This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him."

In the garden of Eden, man betrayed his Maker. Adam wanted his own way; he didn't like God ruling him, he invited evil into his heart; he was false to his Creator; he tried to hide from God and blame his sins on someone else, just like you. You have often betrayed Christ by neglecting and rejecting Him. You have been tempted, and deliberately chose the evil and knowingly forsook the good. The ransom price for human sin was all paid by Christ Himself. Go directly to Jesus Christ, the Substitute Himself. Christ came to save sinners, I am a sinner, therefore He came to save me. Jesus is God, He is man, He suffered, bled, died, and offered a complete Atonement. Jesus is willing to save you freely. If you want live your own life, you'll wake up in Hell one day.

Jesus offered an Atonement once for all. Jesus offered Himself as an innocent Victim. Heartily trust your soul with Christ. The process of Justification by faith is plain - Christ bore my sins and stood in my place before God. I was a sinner doomed to die, but Christ took my place, He suffered for my sake. I cannot be punished for my offenses that have been punished already in the person of the sinless Substitute. God demands that I keep His law perfectly, but I cannot do it, so Christ did it for me. Whosoever believeth in Christ shall be saved. I believe in Christ, therefore I am saved. He that believeth on Jesus is not condemned. Take Him, trust Him at once. Human nature cannot tolerate the simple pure gospel of Christ. Faith is believing what God says, and then acting upon His words.

Rest perfectly at ease on Christ's bloody sacrifice. Accept His Atonement. Sin can only be taken away by Precious Blood. Priest, altar, sacrifice, victim, Christ was all of these in one Person. Great Atonement, Finished Righteousness. Jesus Christ offered a full Atonement to divine wrath on my behalf. I am trusting only to the Great Atonement which God made in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Only trust to the Savior's work and merit. The essence of genuine faith is this - to rest yourself for eternal salvation upon the Atonement and Righteousness of Jesus Christ. Have done once and for all with your doings and trust in Jesus Christ, and what He did for your salvation. Rely only on the Mediator's Atonement.

The Holy Spirit must apply the truth of the Atonement to the heart and conscience of the guilty sinner. Do not begin to make excuse for your sins. Come to Christ at once. If you are guilty, trust to His Precious Blood. Trust to His power, wisdom, and heart. The heinousness of human guilt is pardoned through faith in His Precious Blood. The matchless Sacrifice of Calvary was for human sin. Christ died in my sins, so I can live in His Righteousness. Whosoever comes to Christ, He will in no wise cast out. There is life in a look at the crucified Savior. Abel chose blood as his way of forgiveness. Cain was too proud to offer a blood atonement for his sins. He preferred his own way of sacrifice, self-sacrifice. Cain hated the obedience of faith. Never boast of your own merits. Rebellious conceit, evil pride, vain glory, self-righteousness, and hatred of the Cross will damn you. An unruly, defiant, trifling, stubborn, froward spirit leads to destruction. Your brief life will soon be over; prepare to meet God by trusting to Christ's Blood.

Cast your anchor in the Atonement. Obedience is faith in action. An ounce of faith is better than a ton of learning. It is better to be Christ's student and patient than a doctor of divinity. Faith is the hand that lays hold on Christ and the mouth that drinks and eats Him. Faith is begotten by the words of God. *Romans 10:17* Faith is trusting in Jesus Christ. Faith is not just believing gospel truths, but genuine faith is resting on Him, depending on Him, lying with all your weight on Christ as your foundation. God is so good, my cup runneth over.

Faith is to take freely what God gives freely. God gives Christ, we take Him. Take the water, put it to your lips, and actually drink. The water is allowed to flow into the mouth, down the throat, and so it is drunk. Take Christ just the same way. Take Christ into the lip and mouth of the mind, the throat of the will, into the stomach of the soul, and then out into body and members of daily life. Faith is the soul's eye by which it sees the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is the soul's ear by which we hear the Lord speak. Faith is the soul's hand which grasps the things which are not seen. Faith is the soul's nostrils which perceives the savor of the Savior. Faith is also the soul's tongue by which we taste the sweetness of Christ Jesus and enjoy Him for ourselves. Faith perseveres in seeking and cleaving to the Lord. Trust only to the Mediator's Blood. Stop ducking, deflecting, and dodging Gospel truth. Beware of yourself, trust to the Mediator's Blood.

Faith sees light in the thickest darkness. Hold fast to Christ and to the Cross. Put sin down, lift Christ up. Tell out the atoning sacrifice in the power of the Holy Spirit. True faith always has trials and temptations. Love and prize Christ as the most precious thing in earth or heaven. Believe on the Son of God, be obedient to Christ. Loathe sin, sin becomes bitter. Holiness becomes sweet. Follow after righteousness and purity. Pine after purity. Rest upon Christ. Love God, love His people. Love God's words, delight in His worship. Heart bent toward Christ's rule and way. Walk with God even when it is getting darker and darker in this world. Bow in patience before God's chastening rod. Thy will be done. The haughty go to Hell.

Resort to Jesus for divine aid. Go directly to Jesus for more faith. Faith must first learn who Christ is, what He has done, then faith believes in Him as the Son of God who was the Sin-Bearer. Faith which is the conduit of grace always lives on the truth of the Gospel in the Scriptures. Faith which begins and ends with Jesus Christ is genuine faith. Ask the Holy Spirit for real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Make sure of this - trust to Jesus' forgiving blood. Childlike, clear, simple faith makes Christ dear. Lively childlike faith in the Son of God. Trust Christ's promises, not your feelings. Pardon through the Precious Blood of the great Sacrifice. Hang your soul upon the sure nail of Christ's Finished Work. Follow and obey Christ practically in daily life. Aim at purity of heart, and peace of spirit. Cheerful self-denial and separation from the world. True faith leads to obedience and the forsaking of sins.

Jesus took our sins upon Himself by His sinless Substitution. God took sin from off sinners and laid it on His innocent Son. God can now freely forgive and yet not injure His justice. Trust your immortal soul with Jesus. You can only come to Christ by trusting His Precious Blood. Turn your eye to the Cross, trust your soul wholly with Christ. Flee now to Christ for refuge from the wrath to come. Hasten to His blood. A dreadful doom will fall on every soul who dies rejecting Christ. Only the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit enables us to worship with the spirit, that is the main thing, the only important thing.

You are grossly guilty in God's sight - idle, proud, forgetting God, living without love to Christ, lascivious, unthankful, untruthful, and profane. Trust in the atoning sacrifice alone and entirely. Human nature proudly rebels against free salvation by Christ alone. Human nature will not hear of imputed righteousness, its own righteousness is what it loves. Own yourself a sinner - lost, ruined, condemned. The truth of imputed righteousness cannot by endured by the religionist. The Righteousness of God saves you, not your own righteousness. There is no such thing as human righteousness, those two words are a contradiction. A sinner cannot do any good thing in God's sight, as long as he is rejecting God's Son. You have no personal merit, you must be justified by imputed righteousness.

Forgive others freely, continually. To go first to Jesus is to save time. Go straight to Jesus for all your soul's needs. It is vain to trust in man. The way of deliverance lies alone in reliance upon God, immediately and alone. First, believe God's words, believe Jesus to be true, believe Him to be sent of God for your salvation, and then put yourself into His hands. Let your whole life be affected by His truth - mind, thought, desire, speech, and conversation. Genuine faith is the relinquishment of all trust in self, once for all, and the trusting in Jesus forever. Justification by faith is the opposite of human merit.

The first marks of practical obedience is the obedience of the mind, understanding, heart by believing the teaching of Christ, trusting to His work, resting in His Atonement. Deal directly and immediately with the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith alone takes hold of God's divine strength. Faith is the essential point of holiness. Seek faith first to pray. Faith is needed to overcome sins. Believe on Christ Jesus for yourself. Let God be true and every man a liar. Thorough, entire, childlike faith in the Mediator. Christ is All.

A Good Soldier 6

Our highest wisdom is to keep cautiously behind Christ, never running before Him, never forcing His hand, never tempting Him. Holy, humble obedience to the will of God for Jesus' sake. Whatsoever Jesus saith unto you, do it. The Christian says, "Thy will be done," and the atheist says, "My will be done." Whatever God wants for Jesus' sake is the right motive. The highest title a Christian can attain is a servant of Jesus Christ. The very highest note of the praise of heaven is, "Thou hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation. Our highest honor is to serve, worship and adore the Lord Jesus Christ. The highest holiness for us is to be like Christ in daily life. The very noblest way to live is to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, in obedience to God, in love to man, in self-sacrifice, in humility, in gentleness and love. The mentioning of Sin, the Cross, and the Blood will bring upon you scrutiny and it will disturb your lifestyle.

The highest honor is to be allowed to be a servant of the Savior. The saved sinner has inward conflicts with his sins, the new man seeks to get victory over his old corrupt nature. Let's Christ pleasure be your pleasure. Fear God, and give glory to Him. The holy awe of God, the consciousness of His presence, the dread of doing anything contrary to His will. "But so did not I, because of the fear of God." *Nehemiah 5:15* Within the child of God, there is a holy fear which keeps him from doing the vile things he use to do. A Christian is not held back from sinning by a dread of punishment, but by a loving dread of offending so good and gracious a God as he has. Sin is food to the worldling, but poison to the Christian. When you do not fear God, you will have a great fear of men.

Our one object in life is God's glory, endeavoring to please Him, this is true worship. The fear of God keeps us from evil things that entice us. We must judge our conduct by thinking how it will appear in the sight of God. God says to fear Him - *Deuteronomy 4:19; 5:28; Jeremiah 32:39; Zephaniah 3:7*. The fear of God is true godliness. Endeavor to be the means of saving the souls of men. Do something personally for Christ. Endeavor to win souls for Christ. There is nothing like personally speaking to people about Christ, look them in the eye, talking of your own personal conversion, pleading with them turn from sin and to flee to Christ for refuge. Nearer communion to Christ. If you bear witness for the truth, you will be met with losses and crosses.

A good soldier of Jesus Christ will be brought under suspicion and misrepresented. You will lose friends and gain some better enemies. Keep your mouth around wicked, for they will surely misunderstand you. Jests and ridicule are poured upon Jesus' dear name. He that ridicules and persecutes the children of God, sticks his finger in God's eye. Have an eye to the truth amid all oppositions, controversies and contentions. Expect opposition of the most cruel kind. Have a quick ear, an obedient spirit, make haste to avow your allegiance to Christ. For the truth's sake, we will lose friendships, we must bear contempt, expect to be misunderstood, but Jesus is worth it all.

This is the very spirit of Christianity - to be able to bear and forbear, to be gentle, not to be selfish and self-seeking, or angry and malicious, but full of lowliness and meekness. Do not seek the highest place, choose the lowest place. If you go down, you shall ascend. Let your moderation - your gentleness, deference, forbearance - be known to all men. The wisest thing is to be guided by the directions of the Holy Ghost and God's words. Endeavor to glorify Christ. The best thing a man can ask for is God's mercy. The best preparation for the future is a prepared heart. Your best friends in this evil world are a good conscience, the Holy Bible, and the Holy Ghost. Nothing else but God's will, whatever God wants.

The very best kind of prayer is a silent panting, longing, sighing after Christ Himself, that cannot be expressed in words. Many people live only to win the esteem of their buddies. There's someone you look up to, and if you have that person's smile, you think all is well. You will be misjudged and unjustly condemned. You are not called to give an account to men, but God. Be little in your own esteem. Whenever you get one inch above the ground, you are inch too high. The world will point the finger at you, and laugh you to scorn. You have sinned, change your mind in reference to that sin; you have sinned, quit the sin, mourn over it, ask forgiveness for it. Mourn about yourself, but rejoice in Christ Jesus. The best and safest path is the path to Calvary. Really love Jesus, endeavor to be like Him in mind, heart, and daily walk.

The blood of Jesus is the best of all medicines for your sins. The cure for care is to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. Piety at home, uprightness in business. The best of all is this, God is with us. It is a horrible ting to sin against a kind and loving God. The very best sweetener for your troubles is to meditate upon Christ Jesus Himself. The life of an unsaved atheist, at its best, is horrible life, a breathing death. The highest privilege of this life is to be a part of God's family. Human nature is afraid of opposition, persecution, public opinion of their little circle, afraid of smart remarks that will be made if they stand up for Jesus, afraid of the cold shoulder, innuendoes, dark hints, afraid to be thought to be one of those backward vulgar people who believe on and follow Jesus Christ.

Men fear the censure of public opinion. Be not at all surprised when the world abuses, misrepresents and slanders you. You will have our motives misjudged. The Lord of glory was mocked, set at nought, made an object of ridicule, the jeer of sarcasm, and the target of scorn. Be faithful to God and your own conscience. As to the approval of the unsaved multitude, or worldly professors, do not care a flip about it. Most all men are slaves to their admirers. The love of worldly approval is the lost man's deadly bondage. Be not cowards, be not neutrals. Show your colors, don't fear opposition. Avow your faith in the atoning blood. Never get an inch beyond the Cross. Make the Cross your dwelling place until you die. Do more than your duty; keep moving for the Gospel and the Cross. Not for self, but for Christ. Hold High the Torch for Jesus.

A Good Soldier 5

If you are a good soldier of Jesus Christ, you will have to endure hardness, you will be despised and ridiculed for Jesus' sake. The reproach of believers is really the reproach of Him in whom they believe and love. Be not sensitive to jests, sneers, and gibes from the world's crowd. Aspire after this - A pure, gracious, useful life for the glory of God. Seek to do that which is right in the sight of God. Be willing to bear ridicule for Jesus' sake. Stand patiently the test of poverty, sickness, scandal, scorn. Christians must face the test of high-minded sarcasm and learned contempt. Pass the test of sickness of body, depression of spirit, and the common trials of life. Get ready for bitter sneers, biting sarcasm, and cruel actions. What God loves, I should love; what God hates, I should hate. If there is any idol set up in my heart that is contrary to God, I should desire to have it thrown down.

Care much about what God thinks, not what man prefers. Remain steadfast and enthusiastic in God's service under slander, reproach, and misrepresentation of every kind. Publish the Gospel more than ever. Be faithful in rough weather, and bear up under opposition. Christ's disciples must endure the sneers and cutting remarks of lost men. In the service of God, you may encounter much ridicule, endure losses, and bear hardships. Bear the ridicule and sneer of the proud, and the cavil of the doubter. They that are really of Christ must expect to be misunderstood and misrepresented. The hard times put the shine into the diamond.  If you are a genuine Christian, the world will not have much to do with you, they will throw you on the trash heap.  Be a God pleaser, not a man pleaser.  Pleasing God will bring this world's ridicule and persecution upon you.  

If you're definitely and thoroughly a Christian, you will have the world's dogs barking at you all the time. Worldlings will see every little flaw in your character and will report it and magnify it. The world expects you to run with them, and when you don't, it condemns their vile behavior, and they don't like that. Unfurl your Gospel colors before the world. A clear decision for Christ and true holiness will save you from many dangers, and ward off many temptations. A public witness before others is a sin and fool repellent. Never blush in the service of the Lord. Be ashamed of shame. Explicitly declare that you are on the Lord's side.

Believe implicitly and explicitly on the Lord Jesus Christ. Aspire to walk with God and love Jesus. Make a very explicit avowal of your faith in Jesus. Be unmoved by the world's sarcasm and ridicule. My God will hear me. Be calm and faithful through pain, bereavement, slander, and ridicule. My heart is fixed trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Get ready for blasphemy, persecution, criticism, and skepticism. If you speak up for Jesus, you will be the object of ridicule and the target of reproach. Do you prefer the world's reverence or its ridicule? Trust Jesus' Blood while others despise it with disdain. Endure the sting of ridicule, the stab of slander, and the spit of scorn, daily affliction, bodily pain, opposition and reproach. Suffer without murmuring; be silent under the shears. Ask God for grace to enable you to meekly and joyfully bear sarcasm, ridicule, misrepresentation, and the loss of this world's goods for Jesus' sake.

I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody who died for me. The world knew Jesus not, therefore the world knoweth us not. If you witness for Jesus regularly, be ready to be misunderstood, misrepresented, belied, ridiculed, and receive evil treatment. To abide in the fear of the Lord is to dwell safely. Nobody regards "off and on" Christians. Consistency and constancy is the proof of sincerity. Follow the narrow way, keep close to Christ, and the crimson way of the Precious Blood, defy all ridicule. Follow after Jesus and holiness. Keep to the narrow way of secret prayer and fellowship with God. Quit the fellowship of worldly religions. Be conscientious and scrupulous. Regard not the fear of men, dread not ridicule and sarcasm.

The world hates the Gospel, because it condemns their evil. The world despises the Gospel, because it makes them despise themselves. A faithful witness of the Cross will receive coarse jokes and mockings. You will be prodded and provoked by unbelievers. Grow up in the fear of the Lord and serve Him loyally. Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. Hearty submission, sacred awe, holy reverence, loving obedience, childlike trust, tender submission, lowly adoration, sincere devotion, godly fear. Love of human approval is directly opposite of the fear of the Lord. Keep to the simplicity of your first faith, practice great watchfulness, grow in dependence upon God, be thorough, be scrupulous. This is the way - Safe and careful walking with the Lord daily.

Many people have to weep for months and years, because they didn't watch for minutes. An inward faith and the public avowal of the Gospel, must never be divided. Practical and pure service for Jesus. High thoughts of self always go with low thoughts of Christ. As we decrease, Christ increases. Do not desire the approval of your fellow men. The carnal mind says, "I must do this or that in order to please my company." Don't stand in awe of human censure. The love of human commendation and the fear of disapproval ought not to rule a Christian's conduct. Christ's glory is to be your one aim. The love of Christ constraineth me.

The Unspeakable Loser

Matthew Henry said that the man who loses his soul by rejecting Christ is an unspeakable loser. From the time we are born until we grow old, life is filled with troubles. Many terrible things can happen in this life: for instance, cancer; AIDS; death of a child, spouse, or parent; car accident; paralysis; loss of limb; house burn down; divorce; lose your job, heart attack, stroke. But the ‘worst’ thing, without exception, that could ever happen to anyone in this life is to live and die without Jesus Christ as their Savior and then lose their soul. When you turn down Jesus Christ, you stir up the wrath of God towards you. You'll pay for having your way instead of God's way. You won't get away with treating God the way you have all your life. God gave you life, food, air, clothing, and He also gave His Son to die for you. God is good and kind to the unthankful and to the evil, even though they take His blessings for granted and hate Him on top of that. *Luke 6:35* You may smirk and laugh about the Gospel now, but you will weep and howl and wail in the last day at the great White Throne Judgment. *Revelation 20:11-15*

This is the biography of a lost sinner who rejects Christ when he is 10, 15, 20, 35, 45, 60, 70 years old, and then he dies in his sins and goes to Hell. Your religion isn't going to get you anywhere if you live and die without Jesus Christ. If you live and die without Jesus Christ, you're going to lose your soul, you're going to lose all you've got. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? *Deuteronomy 32:29* Consider your latter end. If you reject Christ and live without him, your sinfulness will make you harder and harder, slowly day by day. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of Salvation. Stop putting off and avoiding Jesus Christ. Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Sin will take you so low, you'll have to reach up to kick bottom.

Please take a few minutes and read this story of a man who neglected to choose Jesus as his Savior: The Lord began dealing with him when he was just a young boy. JESUS knocks at his heart’s door for the first time as a youngster and says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. Please open your heart to Me.” Boy: “Who are you?” JESUS: “I am JESUS that died for your sins, and was buried, and rose again the third day, so you could be forgiven and go to heaven when you die.” Boy: “Well, my Mom says I’m not old enough to be saved, she says I’m a good boy anyway, and I’ve got plenty of time to worry about religion. I will get saved later, I need to go play my video game.” The heart of man is tender when he is young, but sin begins to harden him, and the devil begins to deceive and distract him.

The little boy gets older and older and now he is a Teenager. And, he hears a knock at his heart’s door again. Teenager: “Who’s that? Is that you again Jesus?” JESUS: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. How about it?” Teenager: “Well, I just got baptized, confirmed, and I also joined the church.” JESUS: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, ye must be born again.” Teenager: “When I got baptized, they told me I was born again. What would my friends at church and school think about me if I get saved? Let me study religion some more, I’m not quite ready yet to be saved.” Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Jesus while He is near (Isaiah 55:6).

Time goes by, the young man graduates from high school and goes off to college. When it comes to sin, he starts learning the tricks of the trade. He is partying, he has a reputation with the guys, and is experiencing peer pressure. And then in tender mercy, there’s a knock at his heart’s door again. Young man: “Is that you again Jesus?” JESUS: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. Please let Me in.” Young man: “Well, I’m having a pretty good time now. I’ve got me a car, a girlfriend, nice clothes, I’m on my own, I’m a big man on campus, I have some good buddies, I’m enjoying myself. I’m going to get saved one of these days, but I’m not quite ready yet. I need to finish college first, this is not a good time, maybe later.” JESUS: “Remember, now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. My precious blood was shed for your sins, please don’t turn Me away, I loved you to death, I laid My life for you.” Young man: “Well, I know you’re right, I’m going to get saved sooner or later. I need some more time to think it over. I’m doing the best I can. What would the guys at the fraternity think, if I get religion? I couldn't party any more and they would throw me out of the frat house. I want to live my life my way right now, while I’m still young. I’m going to wait until I can live it.”

And time marches on, and one day the man hears a knock at his heart, but it’s not quite as clear as it used to be. Not quite as loud, the knock is getting kind of muffled now. Young man: “What is that? Who’s there, is that you again Jesus?” JESUS: “Yes, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Please let Me in before it’s too late.” Young man: “Well, Jesus. I’ll tell you how it is: I’ve graduated from college now, I have my degree, I know all about physics, trigonometry, psychology, science, and the philosophies and religions of the world. I have a new girlfriend living with me. I used to believe that Bible, but I don’t believe it any more. Going to church, Sunday school, and preaching is for little kids and old folks. But I’m a man now, I don’t believe in that stuff anymore.” JESUS: “He that believeth not shall be damned, Ye must be born again, Fools make a mock at sin, Now is the day of salvation, Repent and believe the Gospel.” Young man: “I don’t believe that, the Bible was written by man anyway, and its full of contradictions. I know my heart is empty, but I’m going to sow my wild oats. I’ll get saved one day, when the time is right, I’m having too much fun right now.” JESUS: “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the LORD, and JESUS will have mercy upon him; and our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Have you counted the cost if your soul should be lost forever? God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

And time passes on, and the young man gets older and older. He is trying to hide his age now with fancy clothes, diet, exercise, and sporty cars. He is trying to make a name for himself, keep up with the Joneses, so people will respect him for his accomplishments. It just seems like yesterday he was in high school. Here today, gone tomorrow. Time and sin has run its plow across his face and left many crow’s feet, scars, spots, and wrinkles. His sin is starting to find him out: sin is deceiving him and hardening his heart, and the devil is blinding and distracting him.

One day, years later, there is a gentle knock at his heart’s door again. Middle-aged man: “Who’s there? Is that you again Jesus?” JESUS: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. How about it?” Middle-aged man: “I have a career now, I’m a big shot, I have a fine house, cars, boat, investments, wife and kids. I’ll have my pension soon. I want to retire comfortably. I might get out to church soon. I’m really busy right now, I’m trying to make a living, prepare for retirement, maybe I’ll get saved a little later. JESUS: “You don’t need to retire rich, you need to die rich. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all this these things shall be added unto you. My Spirit will not always strive with you. Behold, now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation. How shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation? Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” There is a terrible danger in neglecting and turning down the invitation of the Son of God to be saved from the Lake of Fire. You’re going to cut your own throat, if you don’t watch it. You’re not getting any younger, time is going to catch up with you. Here today, gone tomorrow.

And time goes on, and the man gets older and older. Man is born of few days and full of troubles. One night while tossing on his bed, there’s a knock at the door of his heart. Old man: “Who’s that? Jesus, is that you again?” JESUS: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Soon death will be knocking. Please open up to Me.” Old man: “Oh Jesus, I’ve done something so awful, I don’t know how I got into this mess. God knows I didn’t mean to do it. I’ve done something so terrible, it’s so bad I don’t even think I can be saved anymore.” JESUS: “Come now, and let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. How about it?” Old man: “OK Jesus, you’re right. I’ve got my mind made up, you’re right. I’m going turn over a new leaf. I’ve been fooling around with this long enough, I’ve got my mind made up, I’m going to get saved – Tomorrow.” But tomorrow never comes, just more excuses and more resistance. One more night with the frogs. *Exodus 8:9-11*

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. -William Shakespeare (MacBeth)

Time goes on, and the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit is getting quieter and quieter, he is having trouble hearing the Spirit’s call. His hair is getting grayer now, his face is starting to wrinkle, and his health is failing. He wakes up one morning, and the knock at his heart’s door is just a faint tap. Old man: “Is that you again, Jesus?” JESUS: “Yes, I will not force myself upon you; I want you to voluntarily open your heart's door to Me. Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Old man: “Oh Jesus, I’m just so tired of life, I’m so wore out and tired of living in this world, my family and friends are gone, my wife left me, kids have nothing to do with me, the doctors and lawyers are after my money all the time, bills here and bills there, people are always trying to mess me up and taking me for all I’ve got, everybody’s a crook and after me for a buck, I’m sick all the time now, my aches and pains are killing me, the doctors are always giving me bad news, I don’t enjoy my sins anymore, my body aches, my memories haunt me, the devil has messed up my bank account and my family, and I’m so lonely and miserable. The doctors and lawyers are cleaning me out. Everyone is taking me for all I got. I’m so fed up with myself, I just feel like it isn’t worth it all, I feel like just going somewhere and taking a gun or something, and just ending it all.”

JESUS: “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Why don’t you trust Me right now?” Old man: “Alright Jesus, you have me cornered now, you’re right, I know you’re right. I should’ve got saved a long time ago. I’ve been a fool, I’ve thrown my life away and lived like the devil, I’ve put you off for years. But not tonight. What would my old buddies think about me now if I got religion? They would laugh me out of the bar and what would they think down at the office. I have played the fool. I’ve got my mind made up, I’m going to do better, I’m going to get saved, but not today. I need to tie up some loose ends.” JESUS: “Your time is running out, soon all hope will be gone, and doom you’ll face, please don’t turn Me away.” Your face is stamped with broken commandments, and marked with all your secret sins. Be sure your sin will find you out, and your sin will definitely find you out in your face. Are you ready to have your secrets judged by your Maker before the whole universe? *Ecclesiastes 12:14*

And months pass by, and one day before the old man goes into major surgery, he hears another indistinct tap at his heart’s door. Old man: “Oh, Jesus, is that you?” JESUS: “There is way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Please open up to Me before it’s everlasting too late. Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” Old man: If you just get me through this tight spot, I will get saved and turn my life around.” But, after the surgery, the old man never remembers the whisper of Jesus’ voice about his need for salvation. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. There is no fear of God before his eyes.

Time marches on and on, and one day the old man wakes up, there’s no knock at the door that is discernible. God dealt with him all through his life, and his heart has gotten so hard, that the old man can’t hear and respond to the Lord’s call anymore. The old man’s house [heart and soul] has settled and the door of his heart has jammed shut. It's winter time in his heart and the ground is frozen solid, hard as a rock. But JESUS still calls to him: “Whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely.” Aged man: “What’s the use, religion can’t help me now. I know what those people are like down there at the church, they are a bunch of hypocrites, I am not going to be like that.” The older he gets, the more self-righteous and stubborn he gets. He’s stiffnecked, and refuses to repent of his sins. The Holy Spirit’s pleading voice is now a thing of the past, and he is just waiting to die.

Now, you can see from this story that living and dying without JESUS CHRIST as your Savior is the ‘worst thing’ that could ever happen to you. To leave this life and go out into Eternity without God is the most foolish mistake a person could ever make. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

What about you, has JESUS been knocking at your heart’s door? Have you heard His voice speaking to you while you were reading this story? Have you answered and let Him in, or have you been neglecting and rejecting Him, making excuses and procrastinating? Why will you die without Christ? He is patiently waiting and willing to save you today. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. What is going to happen to you when you die? What is keeping you from trusting Jesus Christ right now?  All your life long the Lord Jesus has stretched forth His hands to you and has wanted to save you. Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Are you saved from the love of sin? Do you want to receive Jesus into your heart today? You are not promised another day, life is so short. Life is like a vapor, it appears for a short time and then it vanishes away. Do you see your soul’s deep need? You’ve wandered far away, do not risk another day. The worst thing that could every happen to someone on this earth, without exception, is to live and die without Jesus Christ. That is as bad as it gets, it doesn’t get any worse. Remember, religion without salvation is damnation. You’ll live a miserable, empty life and then die go out into the eternal Lake of Fire. Ye must be born again.

The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” There is none that doeth good [moral perfection], no, not one.” One sin against the law of God banishes us from Heaven and from the presence of God. Have you ever lied or stolen anything? If so, that’s makes you a liar and a thief. Have you ever taken God’s name in vain? If you have, then you’re a blasphemer. There is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good [moral perfection], and sinneth not.

Your self-righteousness (good works) will not save you from divine justice, the holy judgment of God. God demands ‘absolute sinless perfection’ to enter Heaven – this is impossible for sinful man to attain. So, the Lord Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life for you, and you must receive Him or else: you must receive Jesus Christ and His perfect Righteousness. When you die, you are going to need the God that made you, not the god you’ve made up in your thoughts or religion. You came from God, and you going back to God. If you were wise, you would prepare to meet God. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Jesus Christ shed His Precious Blood on Calvary’s Cross to wash away your sins. God made salvation easy, because He loved us. Love doesn’t make things hard.

Rejecting Christ is the worst sin you can commit – it is the damning sin. If you are lost today, you are under the power and sway of sin and Satan. The Bible says the wrath of God abides on you as a lost sinner. Life is short, death is sure, sin the curse, and Christ is the only cure. The best you can do, just won’t do in the sight of God. If you have ‘slightest inclination’ to receive Jesus Christ, you need to do it right now before the Holy Spirit departs, and you remain lost in your sins. Please don’t turn Jesus away. The tender knock of the Holy Spirit will some day turn into the thundering judgment of God. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Cry out to God at once: Dear God, I confess that I am a guilty Sinner. I repent of my sins and believe that JESUS took my sins and my sins' punishment upon Himself on the cross of Calvary when He died in my place. I believe He rose from the dead the Third Day for my soul. Please wash away my sin and guilt with the Precious Blood of Jesus.

Simple Gospel Truth

We must hang our hope all upon the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus Christ without measure and without reserve. Seek more grace from God to become an importunate pleader for others.The natural human mind is a factory that produces idols. By nature men are rebels against their Creator. Jesus is able to save any sinner who will come to Him. Come and appropriate the Savior personally, the sinner's Savior by confession. Lord, I am a sinner, I know it, I mourn over it. I have broken your righteous Law and rejected your dear Son. I need the Son of God to save me, I have sinned against His heavenly love. He who has a great Savior will know himself to be a great sinner. You would get upset if someone sent you back a gift you sent to them. Well, that's how God feels when you turn down His Son, the gift of God which is Eternal Life. You must choose between your sins and Christ.

A man filled with the Spirit will be mourning, pining, and sighing over his sins. I will sing unto the Lord. He is able to the uttermost. Salvation is not about the works of man, but the power and grace of God. Jesus is willing to take your sins away. He is able to blot out all the black record which is against you, let it all go to Him. Leave your case completely in the hands of the Advocate. Christ has a Righteousness, and our wisest course is to submit to it. Childlike trust, real faith in the Precious Blood.

The wise men in Matthew Chapter 2 brought the best news this world ever heard, and it troubled the people. The natural carnal mind will not receive the truth of God. The greatest, the best, the most acceptable work in all the world is that you come and trust Christ's Precious Blood. This saves the soul, nothing else will do. You cannot become righteous by doing your best. There is a new way of Righteousness. There is now a Righteousness which comes freely to the sinner by simple faith in Jesus Christ, not by doing, but by believing, a perfect Righteousness which is freely bestowed upon all them that believe. Every man at his best state is a guilty sinner. Remember that all your sins are offenses against God. Human nature abhors the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and passes by the Gospel with contempt and disgust.

The open gross sinner, the instructed religious sinner, the troubled seeker, the despondent sinner. Have you grossly sinned? Have you defiled your body with unhallowed abominable passions? Have you been dishonest to your fellow man? Have you grown hardened by long continuance in gross sins? Your soul is saturated through and through with iniquity. Have you been a gross, open sinner? Your life is teeming with sins of omission and commission. You have sinned against light and done despite to your conscience very often. Openly profane sinners love sin. Carnal men cringe when they hear the Gospel. You have done willful damage to your conscience, and become persistent in sinning. Men are slaves to evil company and vile habits dare not to do right for the life of them for fear of ridicule.

Many are too cultured to believe the common faith and the simple Gospel. The world by carnal earthly wisdom knows not the true God or His perfect Salvation. By personal faith lay hold on Jesus. Quietly and sincerely believe on the Lamb of God. Your repentance must be "toward God", for the actual wrongs you have committed are toward God Himself. You have defiantly disobeyed God. We misrepresent God by murmuring and complaining, we think there is pleasure in sinning, and weariness in divine service. Man is naturally at enmity with the truths of Gospel. When a man doesn't want to see, he cannot see. When he is determined not to learn, he twists the truth from its meaning.

Renounce all sinful pleasures and utterly despise them. Are you going to face death throes or death joys? If you deny and reject Christ's deity, Atoning Blood, imputed righteousness, salvation by faith in Him, you will damn your soul. Are you a trembler or a trifler? It is a fearful thing to speak ill of the Holy Spirit. The people who object to the Lord, their objections are not real. Their pretended difficulties are a red-herring, to turn the sent from their real reasons Christ rejection and Gospel opposition. Many cavil at Christ, because they do not want to give up their sin. They have some technical question or difficulty raised by geology or evolution, or something or other, they make a fuss over while the real trouble is that they are living a private unclean life, and do not want to give their vile companions and evil ways. The problem sometimes is that they are making money in a wrong way, and to be a Christian wouldn't be good on the pocket book. They would have to quit a bad trade or lose profit.

Jesus Christ, the Bible, the Gospel, Christians are all a protest against your evil condition and lifestyle. The Gospel disturbs and irritates the infidel, and vexes his heart. The ungodly speech of infidels are merely an attempt to conceal the unrest of his heart that they do not want to confess. The heart knoweth its own bitterness. You are at war with your Creator. Many sneer and are irate at the truth of Substitution, atoning Blood, justification by faith.

Be wise at once - cry to God to help you, cry for the Holy Spirit to enable you to lay hold on eternal life, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for immediate salvation. Trust Him, not yourself. I shall not save myself, Christ is the Savior, it is His business to save sinners all by Himself. Put your soul into the Savior's hands. To trust Jesus is most wise. It is wisest to do it at once. It is wisest and safest for you to appeal to the mercy of God through the atoning blood of Jesus. Sinners always need mercy.

Heaven's security cameras are always on. The most vital truth is simple. Know yourself a sinner, and Christ as the Savior. Quit your own self, and your own trusts. Simply rely upon the person and work of the Son of God. The safest truth is the simplest. You need the crucified Redeemer and His atoning Sacrifice. Men love a religion of show and spasms. We need an ordinary, common place, practical, everyday godliness. Love of man's commendation, and fear of disapproval. The pure Gospel agitates sinful human nature. Your sinful life cost Jesus His life. Jesus took my sin and died; I take His Righteousness and live. You are nothing and Christ is Everything.

Freely 2

Christ Jesus is Free. Repentance is Free. Wisdom from above is Free. The path to Paradise is Free. The Pardon of sin is free. Prayer is Free. The Water of Life is Free. Grace is Free. If you really need Christ, just take Him, He is yours for the asking. Jesus is a fountain open only to the thirsty. Only the Holy Spirit can create a thirst in your soul for Christ Himself. All the preparation you need to come to Christ is a burning thirst for His love and mercy. Come and drink, no one can keep you away from Jesus, but you. God's grace is as free as the air you breathe. The Precious Blood is Free. Salvation is free to all who will receive the living Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life on Calvary to rescue me. Never a greater friend the sinful race has had than the matchless Savior, Christ Jesus. I'm saved by His mercy; I'm redeemed by His grace. The work of the Holy Spirit is Free. Salvation is finished, all is of Christ, and all is free. My faith is in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. The Bread of Life is Free - if you are hungry down in your soul, come and freely eat at Christ's table. The moment a bankrupt sinner puts his trust in Christ's Precious Blood, he is freed (redeemed) from all condemnation - past, present, and to come. All my guilt has been taken away from me and put on Christ. Sin has been lifted off of me, and put upon the innocent Victim of Calvary. The Forgiveness of Sins is Free.

Jesus is free to every needy soul. Jesus is free to you too, He will receive you now. The Gospel is free favor from beginning to end. Mercy is Free. God asks nothing of you, before you come to Christ. Everything is free, bring nothing, just take everything from Christ freely. The will of the Lord be done. Jesus died for me and suffered untold agony. Divine love is Free. God Himself is Free. If you are thirsty and willing to have Christ, then you may have Him, for Christ is as free to every thirsty sinner as the drinking fountain on the street is free to every thirsty passer-by. Faith in God is Free. The Gospel is Free. My sins have been laid upon the Substitute, and I am freed from my sins. Prayer is free, it costs not a penny to have audience with the Almighty God. Salvation is absolutely free, gratis, for nothing. Adoption into God's family is Free. Eternal salvation through divine Love, through pure Mercy alone, not of human merit. Grace is given of God, because He delighteth in Mercy. Jesus Christ is free to sinners all the world over. Pardon and purity Jesus gives most freely. Nothing is freer than a gift.

Guilty sinners, come and welcome to the Cross of Mercy where God vindicated His Law and displayed His Love, and now for the vilest sinner there is free and full salvation to be had for nothing. Salvation is free to sinners, but it cost Jesus Christ everything. The Cross gives priceless blessings without price. Free pardon, free justification, free redemption. Sanctification is free; simply ask Jesus to make you pure within from day to day. The Gospel is free to all sinners who are willing to receive and trust Christ. The Remission of sins is Free. A river is free to every dog that is thirsty, they all may drink to the full. The river of life is free to ever sinner, stoop down thirsty sinner, drink freely and live forever. Heaven is Free. The Gospel must be swallowed, that is, received into your inward parts by Faith. The Righteousness of God is free. The Atonement is Free. You may have all that Christ has purchased for you with His own blood, have it for nothing, the free gift of God. By repenting of sin and believing in Jesus, you have it all. The bloody death of Christ is the death of your sins. The Righteousness of Christ is the death of your righteousness. The Cross is Free. Come boldly to the throne of grace.

Eternal life is Free. Jesus looks for no good thing in a sinner, for the sinner has none, but Jesus gives him every good thing freely. God looks for nothing you can do. Every converted soul is freed from the love of sin. There is nothing to pay when you come to Jesus. Jesus' Salvation is given freely to all sinners who are willing to receive Him freely without works. Whosoever believes in Jesus is free from Law, sin, death and Hell. Imputed Righteousness is Free. You must quit your doing, and give Christ your sins. The Lamb of God is Free, the gift of God's grace, but you must seek Him, you must call upon God, seek Him now, call upon Jesus now, He is ready to be found. Every sin-bitten soul may look to Jesus and live forever. *John 3:14* God's Mercy is free, full, rich and abundant. The road to the Cross is wide open, the road is free to all who trust to Jesus.

The shadow of a rock is free for all to enjoy in the blazing heat of the day, and no preparation is needed. The Savior is free. Christ's Hospital is free to all sick sinners, but there is a notion in human nature, that a sinner cannot enter Christ's Hospital, unless the sinner does something to help heal himself. Your sinfulness is what grants you the quickest access to Christ's emergency room. Reconciliation is Free. Christ is all or nothing. If you are relying upon self in part, and upon Christ in part, you will assuredly be damned, for Christ will never be a part Savior. When the do-gooder hears the Gospel, that he has sinned against God and condemned already, and he is to be saved from sin freely, it must be all of grace. The do-gooder is much too fine a fellow to believe free Gospel truth; he will not enter heaven like a criminal, or receive pardon like a convict. The will of God is free. No man can merit God or His Son. God's love is Free. The Gospel is only bestowed upon unworthy persons. Only no-gooders can be saved from divine justice. All do-gooders trust in themselves and go to Hell. No human goodness could ever merit Christ and His eternal life.

Rest in Christ's boundless mercy and matchless grace. God's Goodness is Free. Only Christ's power and blood can keep our vile tendencies, inward corruptions, and old habits in check. If you are conscious of your guilt, and understand the danger of your sin, come and hide at the foot of the Cross under Jesus' Precious Blood that puts away human sin forever. Faith in Jesus' Blood is Free. Salvation is completely by the good grace of God. There is no merit wanted from you, no previous goodness to qualify you for coming to Jesus. Christ died for the ungodly. The merit you must enter heaven with is the merit of Another, of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. The Holy Ghost is Free. Boundless compassion, infinite charity, changeless love, eternal mercy. Do nothing for Salvation, if you try to do part, you will die in your sins. Everything is free at the Cross, come to Jesus now.

Genuine Faith 3

What is Faith? Faith is believing the promises of God, taking God at His word, and then acting upon that belief by trusting in Jesus' precious blood alone. This is Faith - first receiving the truth of Christ, and then Christ Himself. First, knowing the Gospel of the Grace of God to be true, and then acting upon that belief by renouncing your own righteousness, and simply trusting to Jesus' Blood and Righteousness. Genuine faith in Jesus Christ makes a man henceforth hate his sins.

Genuine Faith has three parts:

1) Self-renunciation - a man confesses that he cannot trust in himself and forsakes self and all confidence in his own righteousness and good works.

2) Reliance - a man believes the promise of God, trusts and depends upon God, and leaves his guilty soul in the Savior's hands.

3) Appropriation - a man receives Christ into himself, he accepts the Christ presented in the Gospel, he appropriates Christ as his own Sin-Bearer, he feeds upon God's words, and enjoys the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Self-renunciation, reliance, and appropriation are the three parts to genuine saving faith. Lay hold upon Christ at once by faith in His blood.

Faith is the bucket by which the thirsty soul draws water out of Christ's well of Everlasting Life. Faith is the empty cup we hold under the flowing fountain of Christ's grace. Faith is both God's gift and man's act. Nothing else but faith in Jesus' blood will ever end the awful hunger of the soul of men. The Son of God removes guilt and guile. Trust your eternal destiny to Jesus Christ now. Jesus has died for sinners, He is willing to save, act upon your belief that He is able to save your soul, trust yourself to Him now, at once, this moment. Exercise a personal, voluntary, intentional act of Faith in the Son of God. Faith is a living act of trust in Jesus Himself.

Commit your soul to Jesus by an act of Faith. To flee away from self to the provided Refuge is the main act of faith. Appropriating Faith is needed. Human nature desperately tries to solve its sin problem without Jesus Christ, but it can't. Resign your soul into the hands of Christ. Give up your hold on everything but Christ, and simply fall upon Christ. As a little child runs to its mother with a cut finger. Leave it all to Jesus, voluntarily resign all to His will. Whosoever will, let him come. Now, to come to Christ means simply for a soul to draw near to Him by trusting His Blood and Righteousness. You are not asked to prepare or work for Christ. A simple reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the one essential for obtaining eternal life. Always mix faith with Bible reading, Bible study, Bible meditation, Bible memorization, Bible preaching. Come at once and believe in Jesus Christ alone for Everlasting Life. Christ Jesus Himself is all any sinner needs.

The essence of genuine faith is trust in Christ, childlike dependence, simple reliance upon Jesus Himself. It is a heart belief that Jesus is the Savior of the world, that He is the Atonement for human sin. Jesus Himself took our sins upon Himself by His sinless substitution. Faith is a trusting in the Finished Work of Jesus Christ to save you. Oh, poor lost soul, you are in a sad state indeed. If you desire Christ, you may have Him now. What is the price? Nothing at all. Receive Christ freely. Believe on Jesus Christ, trust yourself with Him. Then love Him for His free salvation. You cannot trust your self, and trust Christ too. Trust your soul with Christ now.

Here is the gist of the whole matter - Sin is the root of all your problems. God took all of human sin and placed it on His innocent Son. God laid your sins upon Christ. God can now freely forgive you, and yet not injure His divine justice. Trust your soul's eternal interests with Jesus Christ. Turn your soul's eye to the Cross, trust yourself wholly with Christ. You can only come to Christ by trusting Him and His Finished Work. Trust yourself with Him and He will save you. O God, have mercy upon me for Jesus' sake. Search the Scriptures, by reading cometh knowledge, by knowledge cometh faith, by faith cometh salvation.

Never trust yourself a single hour. Fix all your hope on Jesus. Put your immortal in His care and safekeeping. Leave all your cares and concerns in HIs hands. Simply look to God's bleeding, dying, risen, living Son. Your main business is to trust your soul on the fact that Christ died for sinners, that means you. Faith is trusting Christ, and having done with self. If you can point to any good thing in yourself that you can trust to, you are a lost man, there's no heaven for you. Never rely on anything you have done, or will do. Genuine faith in the atoning blood. Trust in the person of the Redeemer. The Cross is the short term in the New Testament Scriptures for the substitutionary suffering and Blood Atonement of God manifest in the flesh, Jesus Christ the Lord. Heartily trust to Jesus, the only Savior of sinners.