Grace Gems

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Afterwards!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

How happy are tried Christians, afterwards. There is no calm more deep than that which follows a storm. Who has not rejoiced in clear shinings after rain? Victorious banquets are for well-exercised soldiers.

After killing the lion--we eat the honey;
after climbing the Hill Difficulty--we sit down in the arbor to rest;
after traversing the Valley of Humiliation, after fighting with Apollyon, the shining one appears, with the healing branch from the tree of life.

Our sorrows, like the passing keels of the vessels upon the sea, leave a silver line of holy light behind them "afterwards." It is peace, sweet, deep peace--which follows the horrible turmoil which once reigned in our tormented, guilty souls.

See, then, the happy estate of a Christian! He has his best things last, and he therefore in this world receives his worst things first. But even his worst things are "afterwards" good things--harsh ploughings--yielding joyful harvests. Even now . . .
  he grows rich by his losses,
  he rises by his falls,
  he lives by dying, and
  he becomes full by being emptied.

If, then, his grievous afflictions yield him so much peaceable fruit in this life--what shall be the full vintage of joy "afterwards" in Heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world's days--what shall his days be? If even his starlight is more splendid than the sun--what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a dungeon--how sweetly will he sing in Heaven! If he can praise the Lord in the fires--how will he extol Him before the eternal throne! If evil is good to him now--what will the overflowing goodness of God be to him then?

Oh, blessed "afterwards!" Who would not be a Christian? Who would not bear the present cross--for the crown which comes afterwards?

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There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"All who believe are justified." Acts 13:39

The believer in Christ receives a present justification. Faith does not produce this fruit by-and-by, but now. So far as justification is the result of faith, it is given to the soul in the moment when it believes in Christ, and receives Him as its all in all.

Are those who stand before the throne of God justified now? So are we--as truly and as clearly justified as those who walk in white and sing melodious praises to celestial harps!

The thief upon the cross was justified the moment that he turned the eye of faith to Jesus; and Paul, the aged, after years of service, was not more justified than was that thief with no service at all.

We are . . .
  today accepted in the Beloved,
  today absolved from sin,
  today acquitted at the bar of God.
Oh! soul-transporting thought!

There are some clusters of Eshcol's vine, which we shall not be able to gather until we enter Heaven; but this is a bough which runs over the wall. This is not as the grain of the heavenly Canaan, which we can never eat until we cross the Jordan; but this is part of the manna in the wilderness, a portion of our daily nutriment with which God supplies us in our journeying in this poor world.

We are now--even now pardoned;
even now are our sins put away;
even now we stand in the sight of God accepted--as though we had never been guilty!
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

There is not a sin in the Book of God, even now, against one of His people. Who dares to lay anything to their charge? It is God who justifies! There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing remaining upon any believer in the matter of justification in the sight of the Judge of all the earth.

Let present privilege awaken us to present duty--and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus!

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!" Romans 5:1

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A riddle in providence!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"I have seen slaves on horseback--while princes go on foot like slaves." Ecclesiastes 10:7

Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places--while the truly great pine in obscurity. This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day gladden the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact, that none of us should murmur if it should fall to our own lot.

When our Lord was upon earth, although He is the King of the kings of the earth--yet He walked the footpath of weariness and service as the Servant of servants. What wonder is it if His followers, who are princes of royal blood, should also be looked down upon as inferior and contemptible people?

The world is upside down, and therefore, the first are often last--and the last are often first. See how the servile sons of Satan rule in the earth! What a high horse they ride! How they lift up their horn on high!
Haman is in the court, while Mordecai sits in the gate.
David wanders on the mountains, while Saul reigns in state.
Elijah is complaining in the cave, while Jezebel is boasting in the palace.
Yet who would wish to take the places of the proud rebels?
And who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints?

When the wheel turns--those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink.

Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time!

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Matthew 20:16

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We are not to expect that God will give us everything we choose to ask for!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"He prayed that he might die!" 1 Kings 19:4

It was a remarkable thing that the man who was never to die, for whom God had ordained an infinitely better lot, the man who would be carried to Heaven in a chariot of fire, and be translated that he should not see death--should thus pray, "Let me die! I am no better than my fathers."

We have here a memorable proof that God does not always answer prayer in kind, though He always does in effect. He gave Elijah something better than that which he asked for, and thus really heard and answered him.

Strange was it that the lion-hearted Elijah should be so depressed by Jezebel's threat as to ask to die--and blessedly kind was it on the part of our heavenly Father, that He did not give His desponding servant what he prayed for.

There is a limit to prayer. We are not to expect that God will give us everything we choose to ask for. We know that we sometimes ask, and do not receive, because we ask amiss.

If we ask for that which is not promised,
if we run counter to the spirit which the Lord would have us cultivate,
if we ask contrary to His will, or to the decrees of His providence,
if we ask merely for the gratification of our own ease,
if we ask without an eye to His glory,
--then we must not expect that we shall receive what we pray for.

Yet, if we do not receive the precise thing asked for, we shall receive an equivalent, and more than an equivalent, for it. As one remarks, "If the Lord does not pay in silver, He will in gold; and if He does not pay in gold, He will in diamonds!" If He does not give you precisely what you ask for, He will give you that which is tantamount to it, and that which you will greatly rejoice to receive in lieu thereof.

Be then, dear reader, much in prayer--but take heed what you ask for!

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From such folly deliver us, O Lord!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways." Psalm 119:15

There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We would be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering spiritual strength for labor in His service through meditation on His Word. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment for our souls out of them.

Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it--we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down repeatedly upon the grapes, or else the juice will not flow and much of the precious liquid will be wasted.

So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom.

Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscles, and the nerves, and the sinews, and the bones--is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the food becomes assimilated with the inner life.

In the same way, our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inward digesting to complete their usefulness--and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it.

Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life?
Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word.

They love the wheat, but they do not grind it;
they would have the grain, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it;
the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it;
the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it.
From such folly deliver us, O Lord!

May this be our daily resolve, "I will meditate in your precepts."

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night." Psalm 1:2

"Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long." Psalm 119:97

"I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes." Psalm 119:99

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it." Joshua 1:8

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The brain and spinal cord of Christianity!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us--so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God!" 2 Corinthians 5:21

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us!" Galatians 3:13

What could be better than the divine plan of substitutionary atonement? God must punish sin--He could not be God unless He did. It is a necessity of His nature, that He should hate sin with an infinite hatred, and He must punish it! Yet, as He had loved His people with an everlasting love, how could He better show His love to them, and His hatred of sin--than by giving up His well-beloved Son to die in place of them! This seems to me to be the most beautiful thing I ever heard of, and it delights my soul to preach it!

The false doctrine of universal redemption--that Christ died for the damned in Hell, and that He suffered the torment of those who afterwards are tormented forever--seems to me to be . . .
  detestable,
  subversive of the whole Gospel, and
  destructive of the only pillar upon which our hopes can be built!

Christ stood in the place of His elect; for them He made a full Atonement; for them He so suffered, that not a sin of theirs shall ever be laid at their door. As the Father's love embraced them--so the death of His Son reconciled them.

Christ's atonement gives such an exhibition of the guilt of sin, as is not to be seen anywhere else--no, not even in the flames of Hell!

The heart of the gospel is redemption--and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ. Those who preach this truth--preach the gospel. But those who do not preach the atonement, whatever else they declare--have missed the soul and substance of the divine message. To deny the great doctrine of substitutionary atonement by the blood of Jesus Christ--is to hamstring the gospel, and to cut the throat of Christianity!

What the sun is to the heavens--that the doctrine of a vicarious satisfaction is to theology. Substitutionary atonement is the brain and spinal cord of Christianity! Take away the cleansing blood, and what hope is left for the guilty? Deny the substitutionary work of Jesus--and you have denied all that is precious in the New Testament!

He who understands the mystery of Christ's substitutionary atonement for His people, is a master in Scriptural theology!

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God is all mercy and love!

(J.C. Ryle, "Heirs of God" 1878)

There is a school of theology rising up in this day, which appears to me most eminently calculated . . .
  to promote infidelity,
  to help the devil,
  and to ruin souls!
It comes to us like Joab to Amasa--with the highest professions of love and liberality. (2 Samuel 20:9-10)

"God is all mercy and love!" according to this theology.
God's holiness and justice are completely left out of sight!
Hell is never spoken of in this theology--its talk is all of Heaven!
Damnation is never mentioned--it is treated as an impossible thing.
All men and women are to be saved!

"Everybody is right! Nobody is wrong! Nobody is to blame for any action he may commit! It is the result of his circumstances! He is not accountable for his views, any more than for the color of his skin! He must be what he is! God is so entirely a God of mercy and love--that He never does, and never will punish sin."

Of all this theology I warn men solemnly to beware. In spite of big swelling words about "liberality and love," and "broad views," and "new light," and "freedom from bigotry," and so forth--I do believe it to be a theology that leads to Hell!

Imagine a Heaven which would contain all mankind! Imagine a Heaven in which holy and unholy, pure and impure, good and evil--would be all gathered together in one confused mass!

Surely the mind revolts from the idea of a Heaven in which there would be no distinction . . .
  between the righteous and the wicked,
  between Pharaoh and Moses,
  between Abraham and the Sodomites,
  between Paul and Nero,
  between the loving John and Judas Iscariot!
Surely an eternity in such a miserably confused crowd, would be worse than annihilation itself! Surely, such a Heaven would be no better than Hell!

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But he must leave his riotous living, his wine-cup, his debauchery in the far country!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." 2 Timothy 2:19

Returning to God, includes turning from sin. Do you think that when the prodigal came back to his father, he brought his dice in one hand and some other implement of sin in the other? He may come wretched through hunger and famine, but he must leave his riotous living, his wine-cup, his debauchery in the far country. These cannot be tolerated in his father's house!

"He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:14

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We have need to use this prayer at all times!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Do not forsake me, O Lord! Do not be far from me, O my God!" Psalm 38:21

Frequently we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation--but we too much forget that we have need to use this prayer at all times. There is no moment of our life, however holy--in which we can do without His constant upholding. Whether in light or in darkness, in communion or in temptation--we alike need the prayer, "Do not forsake me, O Lord!" "Hold me up--and I shall be safe!"

A little child, while learning to walk--always needs the parent's aid.
The ship left by the navigator--drifts at once from her course.
We cannot do without continuous aid from God!

Let this be your prayer every day:
"Do not forsake me, O Lord! Do not be far from me, O my God!
 Father, do not forsake Your child--lest he fall by the hand of the enemy.
 Shepherd, do not forsake Your lamb--lest he wander from the safety of the fold.
 Great Gardener, do not forsake Your tender plant--lest it wither and die!
 Do not forsake me now, O Lord! And do not forsake me at any moment of my life.
 Do not forsake me in my joys--lest they absorb my heart.
 Do not forsake me not in my sorrows--lest I murmur against You.
 Do not forsake me--for without You I am weak, but with You I am strong.
 Do not forsake me--for my path is dangerous and full of snares.
 Do not forsake me--for I cannot travel without Your guidance.
 The hen does not forsake her chicks. O Lord, give me refuge under Your wings.
 Do not be far from me, O Lord, for trouble is near--and there is none to help.
 Do not forsake me, O Lord! Do not be far from me, O God of my salvation!"

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Such a dead dog as me!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Mephibosheth bowed down and said: What is your servant, that you take an interest in such a dead dog as me!" 2 Samuel 9:8

If Mephibosheth was thus humbled by David's kindness--then what should we be in the presence of our gracious Lord?

The more grace we have--the less we shall think of ourselves; for grace, like light, reveals our sinfulness.

Eminent saints have scarcely known what to compare themselves to, as their sense of unworthiness has been so clear and keen. "I am," says holy Rutherford, "a dry and withered branch, a piece of dead carcass, dry bones." In another place he writes, "I am essentially no different than Judas and Cain."

The basest objects in nature appear to the eminent Christian, to be better than himself, because they have never contracted sin. A dog may be greedy, fierce or filthy--but it has no conscience to violate and no Holy Spirit to resist. A dog may be a worthless animal, and yet by a little kindness it is soon won to love its master, and is faithful unto death. But we often forget the goodness of the Lord, and follow Him poorly.

The term "dead dog" is the most expressive of all terms of contempt--but it is none too strong to express the self-abhorrence of eminent believers. They do not affect mock modesty; they mean what they say; they have weighed themselves in the balances of the sanctuary, and found out the vanity and depravity of their hearts.

At best, we are but clay, animated dust, mere walking dirt!
But viewed as sinners--we are monsters indeed!

Let it be published in Heaven as a wonder, that the Lord Jesus should set His heart's love upon such as we are! Dust and ashes though we are, we must and will magnify the exceeding greatness of His grace.

Could not His heart find rest in Heaven? Must He needs come to these black tents of Kedar for a spouse, and choose such an unlovely bride? O heavens and earth, break forth into a song, and give all glory to our sweet Lord Jesus!

    ~ ~ ~ ~

Abraham acknowledged, "I am dust and ashes!" Genesis 18:27
Job said of himself, "Behold, I am vile!" Job 40:4
David admitted, "I am a worm!" Psalm 22:6
Isaiah confessed, "Woe is me! I am ruined!" Isaiah 6:5
Peter affirmed, "I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Luke 5:8
Paul considered himself, "The chief of sinners!"
He clearly stated, "What a wretched man I am!"

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Catch the foxes!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Catch the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vines--for our vines have tender grapes." Song of Solomon 2:15

A little thorn may cause much suffering.
A little cloud may hide the sun.
Little foxes spoil the vines.
And little sins do much harm to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ--that He will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us.

A great sin cannot destroy a Christian--but a little sin can make him miserable!

Jesus will not walk with His people unless they drive out every known sin. He says, "If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." Some Christians very seldom enjoy their Savior's presence. How is this? Surely it must be an affliction for a tender child to be separated from his loving father. Are you a child of God--and yet satisfied to go on without seeing your Father's face? What! you the spouse of Christ--and yet content without His company! Surely, you have fallen into a sad state, for the chaste spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate, when He has left her.

Ask, then, the question: What has driven Christ from you? He hides His face behind the wall of your sins. That wall may be built up of little pebbles, as easily as of great stones. The sea is made of drops; the rocks are made of grains--and the sea which divides you from Christ may be filled with the drops of your little sins. The rock which has well near wrecked your barque, may have been made by the daily working of the coral insects of your little sins. If you would live with Christ, and walk with Christ, and have fellowship with Christ--take heed of "little foxes that ruin the vines--for our vines have tender grapes." Jesus invites you to go with Him and catch them. He will surely, like Samson, catch the foxes at once and easily. Go with Him to the hunting!

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Some annoying interruption!

(Hannah More, "Practical Piety")

We must trace the hand of our Heavenly Father in those daily little disappointments and the hourly vexations which occur even in the most prosperous circumstances, and which are inseparable from the condition of fallen humanity.

We must trace that same beneficent hand, secretly at work for our purification and our correction in the imperfections and unpleasantness of those around us, and in those interruptions which break in upon our favorite engagements.

We are perhaps too much addicted to our innocent delights, or we are too fond of our leisure. A check then becomes necessary, but it is given in a most imperceptible way. The hand that gives it is unseen and unsuspected--yet it is the same gracious hand which directs the more important events of life!

Some annoying interruption breaks in on our projected privacy, and calls us to a sacrifice of our inclination and to a renunciation of our own will.

Let us cheerfully bear and diligently receive these smaller trials which God prepares for us. Submission . . .
  to a cross which He inflicts,
  to a disappointment which He sends,
  to a contradiction of our self love which He appoints,
is a far better exercise than great penances of our own choosing.

Perpetual conquests over impatience, ill temper and self will, indicate a better spirit than any self imposed mortifications.

By these incessant tests of our temper, God cultivates the more difficult virtues of . . .
  humility,
  submission,
  and patience.

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Engaged in the most menial part of the Lord's work

(Charles Spurgeon)

"These were potters, and those who dwelt among plants and hedges. They lived there in the service of the King." 1 Chronicles 4:23

Potters were not the very highest grade of workers--but "the King" needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service, although the material upon which they worked was nothing but clay. We, too, may be engaged in the most menial part of the Lord's work--but it is a great privilege to do anything for "the King".

The text tells us of those who dwelt among plants and hedges, having rough hedging and ditching work to do. They may have desired to live in the city, amid its life, society, and refinement--but they kept their appointed places, for they also were doing the King's work. In the same way, the place of our habitation is fixed by God, and we are not to remove from it out of whim and caprice--but seek to serve the Lord in it, by being a blessing to those among whom we reside.

These potters and gardeners had royal company, for they "lived there in the service of the King." Just so, no lawful place, or gracious occupation, however lowly, can debar us from communion with our divine Lord. In visiting hovels, swarming lodging-houses, workhouses, or jails--we may go with the King. In all works of faith we may count upon Jesus' fellowship. It is when we are in His work, that we may reckon upon His smile.

You unknown workers who are occupied for your Lord amid the dirt and wretchedness of the lowest of the low--be of good cheer, for . . .
  precious jewels have been found in such lowly places,
  earthen pots have been filled with heavenly treasure, and
  noxious weeds have been transformed into precious flowers!

Dwell with the King doing His work--and when He writes His chronicles, your name shall be recorded!

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Pride cannot live beneath the cross!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"He humbled Himself." Philippians 2:8

Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. We need daily to learn of Him.

See the Master taking a basin and towel to wash His disciples feet!
Follower of Christ, will you not humble yourself?
See Him as the Servant of servants--and surely you cannot be proud!

Surely this sentence is the compendium of His biography: "He humbled Himself!"

While on earth, He was always stripping off first one robe of honor and then another--until He was fastened to the bloody tree. And there He emptied out His inmost self, pouring out His life-blood, giving up His all for us--until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave!

How low was our dear Redeemer brought! How then can we be proud?

Stand at the foot of the cruel cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed of your infinite sins! See the thorn-crown; mark His scourged shoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills. See His hands and feet given up to the rough iron, and His whole self to mockery and scorn. See the bitterness, and the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in His outward frame. Hear the horrid shriek: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me!"

If you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross--you have never seen it!
If you are not humbled in the presence of the dying Jesus--you do not know Him.

You were so lost that nothing could save you--but the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son.
Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you--bow yourself in lowliness at His feet.

A sense of Christ's amazing love to us--has a greater tendency to humble us than even a consciousness of our own guilt!

May the Lord bring us in contemplation, to Calvary--and then we will no longer think of ourselves with pompous pride. We shall then take the humble place of one who loves much, because much has been forgiven. Pride cannot live beneath the cross! Let us sit there and learn our lesson--and then rise and carry it into practice.

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There are more lies told at funerals!

(Curtis Knapp, 2012)

Have you ever noticed that no matter how wicked a person was in his life, he becomes a saint at his funeral?

In reality, he was a bad father, but at his funeral he becomes a great father in the eulogy given by his estranged children. In reality, he was a bad husband, but suddenly, he is a great husband. In reality he was a very bad person, but suddenly everyone talks about what a good person he was.

He was never in church, but suddenly he is a great Christian man. The minister strains awkwardly to speak glowingly about the man he didn't know and hardly ever saw. In life, he was primarily noted for his wicked works, but suddenly upon his death he is known as a man of many good works.

In short, they lie! There are more lies told at funerals than perhaps at any other occasion, and that's the way people want it. If the minister did anything other than lie, the family and friends would be outraged!

God is the only one worthy of a eulogy at a funeral, but no one offers a eulogy to God. Instead, they offer lying eulogies for the sinner who is most likely in Hell at that moment. Think about that. The sinner has already arrived at his permanent dwelling place in Hell. He is weeping and gnashing his teeth and writhing in agony in the flames. He is begging for just one drop of cool water for his tongue, but receives no mercy.

God is not impressed with this wicked man. God sees no good in him.

The inhabitants of Hell are not impressed with him. They don't care about the time he helped an old lady across the street, and the time he gave money to a charitable organization. They don't think he is or ever was a good person. They don't like him and want nothing to do with him.

And yet at this very moment, on earth, in a church or funeral home somewhere--the man's family and the minister are talking about what a wonderful person he was and how he has gone to a better place!

Have you ever noticed how no one goes to Hell--at least no one you know? When have you been at a funeral at which the minister and family did not conspire together to convince themselves and everyone else that the departed sinner was in Heaven?

Jesus taught us that the road to Heaven was narrow, and said that few find it. Conversely, He taught that the road to destruction was broad, and that many were on it. Yet, according to our funerals, Jesus was wrong. No one is in Hell--everyone is in Heaven! Have you ever noticed that all you have to do to get to Heaven is to die? Instead of believing in justification by faith alone, most people believe in justification by death alone. Death is all that is necessary to be transformed miraculously from a depraved wretch into a shining angel.

Why do we do this? Why do we lie? Ministers often do it because they are afraid not to. Many lie because they are false prophets who deceive people, and a funeral is the perfect opportunity to say "Peace, peace!" when there is no peace.

Some family members lie because they are grasping for some piece of comfort in their loss. But consider: Is grasping at a lie truly comforting?

I suspect that most people play this game of falsehood for selfish reasons. If they eulogize the deceased, then they will also feel better about the state of their own souls. If the departed sinner went to Heaven--then they will surely go to Heaven when they die as well. If everyone is a good person and going to Heaven--then we don't have to worry about our own spiritual condition.

We hate death. We hate to be reminded of our weakness and our fleeting time here. We don't like to think about what happens after death. We don't want to consider that there might be a Hell, and we certainly don't want to hear that most people go there. We don't want to ponder those realities, but funerals force us to do so. So we fight back against death and reality by laboring hard to convince ourselves that everyone who dies goes to Heaven.

What does it accomplish? Nothing!
Is God deceived? No!
Will our lies change God's mind? No!
Will our lies get us to Heaven? No!

I am not saying that I think ministers should stand up at funerals and declare with certainty that the departed person is in Hell. But, when the person's life gives us little confidence that he or she is in Heaven, it would be far better to remain silent about the eternal destiny of the lost one than to boldly declare that the person is in Heaven. Oh for some honesty in our days!

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14