(011)
AN
OVERTURNED TRUCK
One
morning some years ago as I traveled on the Connecticut Turnpike I passed an
overturned truck blocking all three lanes on the opposite side of the highway.
In a little while I passed the long lines of stationery vehicles stopped by
the accident, and began to meet speeding traffic, the drivers unaware that in a few
minutes they too would be brought to a standstill.
That
highway scene reminded me of the roadway of life, and God's warning, "Boast not
thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth," Pro.27:1.
I've often wondered how many of the thousands affected by that accident saw it
as a reminder that, "God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man percieveth it
not," Job 33:14.
This
may be read by someone who has had the experience of having his normal way of life
suddenly interrupted by accident or illness, the death of a loved one, loss of a job,
etc. Have you viewed it with irritable
impatience as thousands of drivers viewed that accident?
Have you seen it simply as an unwelcome interruption of your normal lifestyle?
Has it occurred to you that it might be God's way of trying to get your
attention, so that you might consider His question, "What shall it profit a man,
if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mk.8:36; His way of
trying to get you to listen to the warning, "Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God," Jn.3:3?
Listen
to what is written in Job 33:14-24, "For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man
perceiveth it not....That He may withdraw man from his purpose....He keepeth back his
soul from the pit, and his life from perishing....Yea, his soul draweth near unto the
grave, and his life to the destroyers." But
to the man who does hear God's voice in the adverse circumstances,
and who trusts Christ as the Savior Who died in his guilty place,
comes God's assurance, "Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have
found a ransom."
As
I passed that accident I was reminded of others I'd seen,
some of which had brought an abrupt unexpected end to the life of one or more
drivers - a wrecked car marking the end, not only of a journey on the turnpike, but
of the journey of life itself.
Suppose
one of those events that so unexpectedly spoiled your plans, had instead ended your
life, where would your soul be now? God
warns, "Ye MUST be born again."
Have you? If not, When?
"Behold NOW is the accepted time; NOW is the day of
salvation," 2 Cor.6:2. Trust in
Christ NOW, "For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
It could bring death, ending for ever your opportunity to save your soul.
******
(012)
HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE
"...if we
neglect so great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).
To neglect God's offer of salvation
is as deadly as to reject it. Multitudes now in hell meant to be saved,
but neglected to accept the gift of life, and now it's too late.
To receive
this priceless gift which saves men from hell and fits them for heaven,
(1) admit
that you're a sinner without any righteousness
(2)
believe that when Christ died on the cross it was in your place for your sins
(3)
believe that in response to that faith God pardons your sins, and will receive
you into heaven.
But the offer doesn't extend
indefinitely. God warns, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of
salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow may be too late!
*******
(013)
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
While
few are ignorant of the meaning of the expression "good Samaritan" many are
unaware of the origin of the term. It is
derived from the response of Christ to the question of a Jewish lawyer, "What
shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Luke
10:25-37. It is one of the most
instructive illustrations of man's spiritually ruined state, and of God's remedy.
The
narrative begins, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell
among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed,
leaving him half dead." The
traveler is representative of all men, for we too are on a journey - the journey of
life, going from time to eternity; and like him, we are going spiritually from
"Jerusalem" to "Jericho," for as the man is a representative, so
are the cities. Jerusalem, the city of
God, is synonymous with the presence of God; while Jericho is synonymous with the
curse of God, Josh.6:17. All men are
born on "the broad way" Mt.7:13, with our backs toward God and our faces
toward eternal destruction.
It
is significant also that Jericho lies northeast of Jerusalem, for in Scripture the
north is associated with reason or intelligence; and the east, with sin and departure
from God. The Bible warns that
"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death," Pro.16:25.
The
thieves represent Satan and the unseen forces of evil; while clothing is the Biblical
symbol of righteousness. As the traveler
was stripped literally, so have men been "stripped" spiritually; for when
Satan seduced Adam he stripped him, and all his descendants, of righteousness, so
that "There is none righteous, no, not one," Ro. 3:10.
As to the man's having been "wounded", the state of humanity is
sufficient comment.
"...leaving
him half dead." There could be no
more accurate portrait of the human race, for until a man by faith accepts God's gift
of eternal life, he is half dead, the only life he possesses being physical, for
earthly existence; but what he lacks is spiritual life essential for the eternal
state that succeeds the earthly, Eph.2:1.
"And
by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed
by on the other side," verse 31. The
priest too is representative. He was the
mediator between God and men, and his failure to minister to the dying traveler's
needs warns us that, "None...can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to
God a ransom for him," Ps.49:7. No
matter how high his religious rank, no minister or priest can secure the salvation of
a soul, for each man must personally repent and accept Christ as Savior and Lord.
The
priest was followed by a Levite who, "...came and looked on him, and passed by
on the other side," verse 32. The
Levites were appointed to minister in connection with the presentation of the
sacrifices appointed under the law, so that his failure to help the wounded man
declares the solemn warning, "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in His sight," Ro.3:20. Eternal
life is not to be found in trying to keep the ten commandments.
"But
a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had
compassion on him," verse 33. The
Samaritan is a type of Christ Who fulfilled the type when He came to earth, the place
where men lay dying in their sins - and He looked with compassion upon them.
"And
went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own
beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him," verse 34.
The type is fulfilled when a man trusts Christ as Savior, for that believing
faith enables Him to bind up the wounds of sin, to pour in the oil (type of the Holy
Spirit), and the wine (type of joy), which accompanies the knowledge of sins
forgiven.
It
cost the good Samaritan something to provide the things with which he ministered to
the traveler's needs. It cost the Lord
Jesus Christ His life to provide what dying men need.
"But,"
someone objects, "I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to hold on, I wouldn't be able
to live the right kind of life." Learn
the lesson of the traveler's being carried to the inn on the animal provided by the
Samaritan. He didn't have take one step
on his own, nor does the believer. Christ
Himself has guaranteed to bring the believer safe to heaven, "My sheep hear My
voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them ETERNAL life;
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand,"
Jn.10:27-28.
"And
brought him to an inn." The inn is
a symbol of a local church, and in the traveler's being brought there to be cared for
we learn the lesson that the believer isn't left to walk a lonely road to heaven.
It is God's intention that believers should enjoy in a local church the
equivalents of the shelter, food, and fellowship available to travelers in the inns
of those days.
"And
on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and
said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come
again, I will repay thee," verse 35. A
penny was a day's pay, so the clear implication is that the good Samaritan expected
to return in two days. Like the
Samaritan, Christ also has "departed," but He has promised to come again,
"I go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go ...I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am there ye
may be also," Jn.14:2-3. By human
reckoning it is two thousand years since Christ "departed"; but by God's
reckoning it is only two days, for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day" 2 Pe.3:8.
World conditions point to the fact that the "two days" are almost
ended. The Lord's return is near.
It could be today.
In
the Samaritan's leaving with the host sufficient for the care of the traveler, we
learn the lesson that the Lord has made similar provision for the care of His own in
the churches until His return. He has
bestowed spiritual gifts to be used for the care of believers, "As every man
hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of
the manifold grace of God," 1 Pe.4:10.
******
(014)
A SECOND OPINION
A young
man I know developed a cough for which his doctor prescribed medicine. The
cough persisted in spite of a second stronger medicine, and eventually an x-ray
was done, revealing a shadowy spot on one lung. And the doctor's diagnosis?
Scar tissue!
The
cough, accompanied by night sweats and weakness, persisted, leading him to seek
a second opinion. It was cancer. Now, after a bone marrow transplant, he
appears to be cured, after having almost died as a result of the wrong diagnosis
of a doctor he trusted implicitly.
Millions
have equally firm, but misplaced trust in their spiritual advisors, and
tragically, only a very few discover their mistake in time.
A
sophisticated society which scrutinizes carefully the qualifications of its
doctors, insisting often on a second opinion, relative to a body which one day
must die anyway, displays almost total indifference relative to the
qualifications of those who minister to the needs of the soul that will exist
for ever.
That
indifference is the more inexplicable because society possesses the text book
upon which the spiritual advisor claims to base his opinion - AND IN MANY CASES
IT CONTRADICTS HIM.
For
example, does your minister or priest guarantee heaven to all who are church
members, moral, kind, generous, his explanation being that God is too loving to
send anyone to hell; or that, in fact, there is a heaven, but not a hell?
Then let
me quote from the text book, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God," John 3:3. "By grace are ye saved through faith ... not of
works, lest any man should boast," Ephesians 2:8-9. "Fear him (God) who is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell," Matthew 10:28.
The only
way to be saved from hell and fitted for heaven is to
(1) admit that you have no
righteousness, and
(2) believe that when Jesus
Christ died on the cross it was in your stead, as your Representative, for your
sins.
You may
be religious, moral, kind, etc., but apart from confession of total
unrighteousness, and faith in Christ as your personal Savior, you are on the
road to hell, no matter what assurances your spiritual mentor gives to the
contrary.
What if
like my young friend's doctor, your mentor should be wrong? It is your soul
that will be first in hell, and then eternally in torment in the lake of fire.
******
(015)
WHOSE CHILD?
Repetition
tends to make fiction fact, e.g., "We're all God's children."
Christ said that unbelievers are Satan's children, Jn 8:41-44.
Only a new birth makes men God's sons, "As many as received Him
(Christ) to them gave He power to become the sons of God," only
born-again believers being assured, "NOW are we the sons of God" 1
Jn 3:2.
That
essential new birth occurs when I admit that I'm a sinner, Ro 3:23, and believe (1)
that Christ died in my place for my sins, and (2) that in response to that faith God
pardons all my sin and will receive me into heaven, Jn ch 3.
The record of that new birth is recorded in the "book of life" Rev
20:12-15, and a terrible eternity awaits those whose names aren't in that book, as it
is written, "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into
the lake of fire." Is your name in
that book?
******
(016)
WHEN?
In
the days when they made house calls a doctor visited an elderly man who had been his
patient for many years. The doctor was a
Christian, and had often spoken to John (the patient) about the need to prepare for
eternity; but John, though agreeing with what the doctor said, had always evaded
accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior.
His
present ailment was just a bad cold, for which the doctor wrote a prescription, and
asked John's wife to have it filled. In
response to her inquiry as to when her husband should begin taking the medicine, the
doctor turned to the patient and said, "Well, let's see, you're not seriously
ill, so why don't you begin a month from now?"
Doubting
what they had heard, husband and wife exclaimed, "In a month!"
"Yes,"
replied the doctor, "Is that too soon?"
"Too
soon?" retorted John, "Doctor, in a month I could be dead!"
"That's
true. Well, suppose you begin a week
from now?" replied the doctor.
"But
doctor I might not live a week," responded the incredulous patient.
"That's
possible," admitted the doctor, "So perhaps you should have the
prescription filled today, so that you'll have the medicine in the house, and can
begin taking it when you feel worse."
"Doctor,"
pleaded John, "Why can't I begin taking it today?"
"John,"
answered the Doctor, "Of course I want you to begin taking it today.
Can't you see that I'm trying to make you understand the need to believe the
Gospel, and to believe it today? You could
die before taking this medicine; but what if you die before having taken God's remedy
for sin; before accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Think where your soul will be."
It
is madness not to think of where your soul will be if you should die before
having accepted God's pardon for your sins. He
warns, "Behold, NOW is the accepted time...NOW is the day of salvation," 2
Cor.6:2. "He that believeth on Him
(Jesus Christ) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God," John
3:18.
********
(017)
LOST
D.L.
Moody, the famous evangelist, had a way of saying things with a bluntness that
couldn't be misunderstood. Once he said,
"A man must believe he is lost before he can be saved. One reason why many are not saved is because they do not believe
they are lost. They fold their
self-righteousness about them, instead of acknowledging that they are sinners."
Many
popular religions today don't teach that men are lost (that's why they're popular).
They tell men that they need Jesus Christ, not as a Savior, but as One through
Whom they can have a better relationship with God; not to save them from hell, but to
enable them to realize their potential, to be successful, to have better family
relationships, to enjoy better health, etc., - the list is endless. But the one
essential is missing. Men need Jesus
Christ, not to improve their earthly, but their eternal state; to fit them for heaven
and save them from hell. (Hell is
another word that has disappeared from the vocabulary of today's popular preacher,
but it is Christ Who declares the existence of hell, and Who warns men to save
themselves from going there, see, e.g., Matthew 5:27-30, and Matthew 18:8-11,
"...it is better for thee to enter into (eternal) life... maimed, rather than
having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire ... better ... to enter
into (eternal) life with one eye ... than having two eyes to be cast into hell
fire.... The Son of man is come to save those who are lost."
"Sin"
is another word avoided by the popular preachers.
They prefer to speak of "affairs" or "mistakes," or
"anti-social acts." They
question whether there really is any such thing as sin; but the Bible declares it to
be a tragic fact, having terrible results here on earth, and still more terrible
consequences in eternity. For example,
the Bible says, "All have sinned," Romans 3:23; "If we say we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,"
1 John 1:8.
"So
what?" someone responds, "Since all have sinned, I'm no worse than anyone
else. But the Bible warns, "The
soul that sinneth, it shall die," Ezekiel 18:4, "For the wages of sin is
death," Romans 6:23.
And it is a mistake to conclude that "death" is simply the decease
of the body, for the Bible also warns that the death referred to is something more
terrible: the passing of body, soul, and spirit into a place of eternal torment - the
lake of fire, see Revelation 20:11-15. This
is what it means to perish in the Biblical sense - not cessation of existence, but
eternal existence in a state of torment.
But,
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," 1 Timothy 1:15;
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.... He that believeth
on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already," John
3:16-18,36.
******
(018)
ALMOST
PERSUADED
"Then
Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Ac 26:28),
but sadly it isn't recorded that this almost persuaded king ever believed the Gospel.
Are you
too one of the almost persuaded? What if
you should be also one of the many almost persuaded who die unsaved?
That is unimaginable tragedy, to be within a step of heaven, yet to enter
instead, first hell, and then the eternal torment of the lake of fire (Rev 20).
To
escape hell and enter heaven (1) confess that you are a sinner without a particle of
righteousness, (2) believe that Christ died for your sins, and (3) believe that that
faith brings you God's pardon and gift of eternal life, as it is written, "He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Jn 3:36).
******
(019)
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
Christ said that it would be better for Tyre and Sidon and Sodom in the day of
judgment than for those He addressed, Matthew 11:22-24, and this prompts the
question, What is the day of judgment?
The Bible speaks of several such days, but the one referred to above is that of
the Great White Throne, Revelation 20:11.
Those arraigned will be the unbelieving dead of the years between Adam and the
end of the world - at least 1,007 years future. Its purpose will be, not to
determine fitness for heaven, but the degree of eternal torment to be endured in
the lake of fire.
The only way to escape that judgment is to have your name in "the book of life,"
Revelation 20:15, accomplished the moment you…
(1) admit that you are a sinner without one shred of righteousness,
(2) believe that Christ has willingly died in your stead for your sins,
(3) believe that in response to that faith, God pardons all your sin, and will
receive you into heaven.
******
(020)
42,000
DIED....
...
because they hadn't the password needed to cross the Jordan, Judges 12.
One day
we too must "cross Jordan," - go from time into eternity, but without the password
that crossing will be to hell, not heaven. The
password is to be able to say Yes to the question, Have you been born again?
for Christ warns, "Ye must be born again," for "Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," John 3:7,3.
To be
born again admit that you're a sinner without any righteousness, believe that Christ
died in your place for your sins, and that in response to that faith God will pardon
you, and receive you into heaven, John 3:16.
"Have
you been born again?" is a question that evokes the laughter of many today.
There will be no laughter at that instant when it is discovered that the
eternal fate of the soul depends on being able to answer YES.
