Lost Without JESUS - (Salvation)

[AvgJoe]

Mark 1:14-15(AMP)
14) Now after John was arrested and put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God, 15) And saying, The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled (completed), and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent (have a change of mind which issues in regret for past sins and in change of conduct for the better) and believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to) the good news (the Gospel).

Romans 10:9-10,13(AMP)
9) Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10) For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

13) For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.

[nChrist]

The Gospel

(Octavius Winslow, "Morning Thoughts")

The gospel is the master-work of Jehovah,
presenting the greatest display of His manifold
wisdom, and the most costly exhibition of the
riches of His grace. In constructing it He would
seem to have summoned to His aid all the
resources of His own infinity . . .
   His fathomless wisdom,
   His boundless love,
   His illimitable grace,
   His infinite power,
   His spotless holiness,
all contributed their glory, and conspired
to present it to the universe as the most
consummate piece of Divine workmanship!

The revelations it makes,
the facts it records,
the doctrines it propounds,
the effects is produces,
proclaim it to be the "glorious
gospel of the blessed God."

We live encircled by shadows . . .
  our friends are shadows,
  our comforts are shadows,
  our supports are shadows,
  our pursuits are shadows, and
  we ourselves are shadows passing away.

But in the precious gospel we have substance,
we have reality, we have that which remains
with us when all other things disappear, leaving
the soul desolate, the heart bleeding, and the
spirit bowed in sorrow to the dust.

But the gospel . . .
   guides our perplexities,
   mitigates our griefs,
   sanctifies our sorrows,
   heals our wounds,
   dries our tears,
because it leads us to . . .
   the love,
   the tenderness,
   the sympathy,
   the grace of Jesus.

The gospel . . .
   reveals Jesus,
   speaks mainly of Jesus,
   leads simply to Jesus,
and this makes it "glad tidings of great joy," to
a poor, lost, ruined, tried, and tempted sinner!

[nChrist]

CHRIST IN YOU?

From Spurgeon's book, "Gleanings Among the Sheaves"

What is it to have "Christ in you?"

The Romanist hangs the cross on his bosom.

The true Christian carries the cross in his heart;
and a cross inside the heart is one of the
sweetest cures for a cross on the back.

If you have a cross in your heart -- Christ crucified in you,
the hope of glory, the cross of this world's troubles will seem
to you light enough, and you will easily be able to sustain it.

Christ in the heart means Christ believed in, Christ loved,
Christ trusted, Christ espoused, Christ communed with,
Christ as our daily food, and ourselves as the temple
and palace wherein Jesus Christ daily walks.

Ah! there are many who are total strangers to the meaning of
this phrase. They do not know what it is to have Jesus Christ
'in them'. Though they know a little about Christ on Calvary,
they know nothing about Christ in the heart.

Now, remember, that Christ on Calvary will save no man,
unless Christ is in the heart.

The Son of Mary, born in the manger, will not save you,
unless He is born also in your heart and lives there
-- your joy, your strength, and your consolation.

[nChrist]

The very remedy for all the maladies
which we groan under!

(J. C. Philpot, "The Spiritual Chase" 1843)

Grace only suits those who are altogether
guilty and filthy. Grace is completely opposed
to works in all its shapes and bearings.

Thus no one can really desire to taste the
sweetness and enjoy the preciousness of grace,
who has not "seen an end of all perfection" in
the creature, and is brought to know and feel
in the conscience, that his good works would
damn him as equally with his bad works.

When grace is thus opened up to the soul,
it sees that grace flows only through the
Savior's blood—and that grace . . .
  superabounds over all the aboundings of sin,
  heals all backslidings,
  covers all transgressions,
  lifts up out of darkness,
  pardons iniquity,
and is just the very remedy for all the
maladies which we groan under!

[nChrist]

Those are charming bells indeed!

"A Song Concerning Loving-kindnesses" #1126,
delivered on August 10th, 1873 by C. H. Spurgeon

"By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Cor. 15:10

All that we have received has come to us by the way
of free grace! If our sense of our own unworthiness
is clear, if we know what worse than nothings we are,
what a mass of sin and corruption we are by nature,
we shall never think that we receive anything from
God by the way of merit.

Still our proud hearts need to be told over and over
again that all the blessings we enjoy come to us by
the free and sovereign grace of God!

The bread on your table is flavored with grace.

Your meat has mercy for its sauce.

Every drop of water which cools your tongue tastes of mercy.

Charity clothes you.

Infinite love feeds you.

And as for your spiritual blessings, where are your
streams found, whence do they gush--but from the
inexhaustible fountain of eternal love?

God forbid that we should glory save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ--and in the love which shone
from that cross to such poor, unworthy ones as we
are!

Those are charming bells indeed--free grace
and dying love! Through the ivory gate of grace,
all mercies come to sinners.

"By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Cor. 15:10

[nChrist]

He beholds the idol in its natural deformity.

from Thomas Reade's, "On Conversion"

The converted sinner daily feeds upon Christ
by faith, and daily derives strength from this
gracious source of blessedness.

He feels his own weakness, and experiences the
power of Jesus. He loathes himself and truly loves
his Savior, in whose righteousness he appears all
lovely in the eyes of his heavenly Father.

As a pilgrim, he journeys onwards under the
guidance of that Holy Spirit who dwells in him
as in a temple, and who has promised to keep
him by his mighty power through faith unto
salvation.

The world fascinates no longer. The mask
falls from its face, and he beholds the idol
in its natural deformity.

He sees....
  the emptiness of human applause;
  the madness of ambition;
  the deceitfulness of riches;
  the folly of extravagance.

Every thing beneath the sun assumes its true
character while he views it through the medium
of God's holy Word.

The converted sinner lives by faith; he longs
for heaven; he desires to be daily conformed
to Jesus, and to glorify him more, whether it
be by life or death.

To him, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Such is the character of the converted sinner.

Oh, how precious, how divine, how rare a character!

[nChrist]

The very thought is appalling!

(J. C. Philpot, "Alienation and Reconciliation")

"Once you were alienated from God and were
 His enemies, separated from Him by your
 evil thoughts and actions." Colossians 1:21

All man's sins, comparatively speaking, are but
'motes in the sunbeam' compared with this giant
sin of enmity against God. A man may be given
up to fleshly indulgences; he may sin against his
fellow creature—may rob, plunder, oppress, even
kill his fellow man. But viewed in a spiritual light,
what are they compared with the dreadful, the
damnable sin of enmity against the great and
glorious Majesty of heaven?

This is a sin that lives beyond the grave!

Many sins, though not their consequences, die
with man's body, because they are bodily sins.

But this is a sin that goes into eternity with him,
and flares up like a mighty volcano from the very
depths of the bottomless pit! Yes, it is the very
sin of devils, which therefore binds guilty man
down with them in the same eternal chains, and
consigns him to the same place of torment!

O the unutterable enmity of the heart against
the living God! The very thought is appalling!

How utterly ruined, then, how wholly lost must
that man's state and case be, who lives and
dies as he comes into the world . . .
  unchanged,
  unrenewed,
  unregenerated!

I will not dwell longer upon this gloomy subject,
on this sad exhibition of human wickedness and
misery, though it is needful we should know it for
ourselves, that we should have a taste of this bitter
cup in our own most painful experience, that we may
know the sweetness of the cup of salvation when
presented to our lips by free and sovereign grace.

Nothing but the mighty power of God Himself
can ever turn this enemy into a friend!

"Once you were alienated from God and were
 His enemies, separated from Him by your
 evil thoughts and actions, yet now He has
 brought you back as His friends. He has done
 this through His death on the cross in His own
 human body. As a result, He has brought you
 into the very presence of God, and you are holy
 and blameless as you stand before Him without
 a single fault." Colossians 1:21-22

[nChrist]

All-sufficient salvation!

The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon,
"WITHHOLDING CORN" No. 642

Christ's salvation is an all-sufficient salvation!

However great your sins, Christ’s
blood can take them all away.

However deep your needs, Christ can supply them.

You cannot be so big a sinner as he is a Savior.
You may be the worst sinner out of hell, but your
sins are not too great for him to remove.
He can carry elephantine sinners upon his shoulders,
and bear gigantic mountains of guilt upon his head
into the wilderness of forgetfulness.

He has enough grace for you however deep your necessity.

Your biggest sins shall no longer trouble you, your
blackest iniquities shall no longer haunt you.

Believing in Jesus, every sin you have of thought
and word and deed shall be cast into the depths
of the sea and never shall he mentioned against
you any more for ever!

[nChrist]

THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION - Page 1
by Archibald Alexander

In comparison with salvation, all other subjects are trivial. To waste
time in the pursuit of wealth, or in the chase of sensual pleasure, while
our salvation is not secure, is more than folly—it is madness. What,
would you agree to dwell in the dark dungeon of despair forever and ever,
for the sake of living a few years upon earth in a sumptuous house? Would
you consent to endure the sting of the never-dying worm, and the torment
of unquenchable fire, to all eternity, for the sake of gratifying your
appetites and senses for a moment? No man would deliberately make such a
determination; yet such is the language which many speak by their
conduct. The world is pursued daily, at the risk of eternal damnation.

The resolution of attending to the concerns of the soul at a later time,
answers no other purpose than to lull the conscience asleep. Where have
we known a person, by virtue of these flattering resolutions, change his
conduct? The next day is like the one that preceded it. Every succeeding
year passes by, like those that went before. No convenient time for
repentance and reformation ever comes. Youth soon runs out in the giddy
circle of pleasure and amusement. Middle age is completely occupied with
cares and business; and old age, if it ever arrives, finds the heart
hardened, the habits fixed, and the conscience seared. Death overtakes
the unfortunate wretch. He dies as he lived, either goaded by guilt, or
benumbed with stupidity. He dies, and sinks to hell, where there are no
amusements to entertain, no business to engage, no error to becloud the
mind. To fall into the hands of the living God, as an avenging Judge, is
dreadful beyond conception! To be eternally miserable, overwhelms the
thoughts, and we turn away from it with instinctive horror!

Can you reconcile yourself to such sufferings? Can you dwell with
everlasting burnings? Only try the torment of fire for a moment, and you
will soon be convinced that the pains of hell are not to be supported
with patience; but they are worse. Remorse and despair are worse than
Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, heated seven times. No flames are equal to the
raging of unrepented sin; no strokes of any enemy like the taunts of
infernal spirits. If you had to endure this punishment only for a limited
time, the hope of deliverance might help you to bear up under the
dreadful weight of sorrow; but although many support themselves by such a
hope here on earth, the miserable in hell have no such alleviation. The
darkness which surrounds them is thick and horrible. No ray of light ever
penetrates it. No gleam of hope ever mitigates the raging anguish of the
lost soul.

Consider also, that although your sins may not be openly flagrant, yet,
as you have heard the gospel, and enjoyed many calls and warnings, and
also many strivings of the Spirit—these will exceedingly aggravate your
misery, and make your hell hotter than that of the miserable inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah. The more comfortable you are in your worldly
circumstances, the more miserable will your condition be. To be cast out
from among affectionate friends, to keep company with monsters of
depravity! To be cast out from fine houses, pleasant gardens, fertile
farms, and downy beds, to be cast into a lake of fire! To be cast out
from well-furnished tables, and generous wines and cordials, to be
eternally famished with burning thirst, and no gratification ever
obtained—no, not so much as a drop of water to cool the tongue! This is
hell indeed!

Suppose you were doomed to suffer the torment which a sinner in hell must
eternally endure, for one hour in this world, would not the prospect of
this doleful hour mar all your pleasures? In the midst of mirth, would it
not make your heart sad; and would it not be ever present in your
thoughts? You would be unable to compose yourself to sleep, or to betake
yourself to your necessary business. You would consider yourself as an
unfortunate wretch, and would perhaps regret that you had ever been born.
Your friends would sympathize with you, and all around would look upon
you with pity.

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[nChrist]

THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION - Page 2
by Archibald Alexander

But if, from an hour, the term of your punishment should be enlarged to a
year, what would you do; how would you feel? Suppose you could endure the
pain of a fiery furnace for a year without dying or losing your
sensibility, and you knew that this was your certain doom—could you be at
ease; could you contain yourself? Would you not disregard all pursuits
and enjoyments which the world could propose; and would you not take up a
continual lamentation over your unhappy case? Would you not call upon all
to pity you, as the most miserable wretch that ever was born? And would
you consider the wealth of a prince, the honor of a conqueror, or the
pleasure of an epicure, any compensation for such dreadful sufferings?
Would you not despise all these things, and say, "The more I enjoy these
earthly delights, and the more I forget the misery which is coming upon
me, the more intolerable will be my anguish when it arrives?"

Should we be thus affected with an hour's or year's continuation of such
sufferings as must be endured in hell, and shall we be indifferent to
these same torments when their duration will be WITHOUT END? O God, what
kind of infatuated beings are we? Surely man, of all creatures, is the
most stupid in those things which relate to his salvation. ETERNAL
PUNISHMENT! ETERNAL FIRE! EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION! What awful sounds are
these! Who can fully understand their import?

I extend my views forward to the day of judgment; but this great
day, instead of bringing these sufferings to an end, is the date of their
beginning in all their terror. What shall be endured before, is nothing
to what comes after. The fire will then be kindled around both soul
and body, which will never cease to burn. The sufferings of
the soul in a separate state, will be like the anticipations of a
criminal who is conscious of guilt, while confined in a prison before the
day of trial. They shall then go away into everlasting punishment. Only
put yourself for a moment in the place of one of those who are commanded
by the omnipotent Judge to depart, under the vengeance of an everlasting
curse. The feeling mind recoils from such suppositions with such
repulsive violence, that it is almost impossible to induce men to fix
their thoughts steadily on such subjects. But try, for once, the
experiment. Overcome your natural reluctance, and imagine yourself to be
in the company that will be driven off, by the command of the Judge, from
the awful tribunal, into outer darkness, where there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth. May I venture to suggest a few reflections which would
probably arise in your mind in such a situation.

"Well, the scene is ended—I now know, I feel the misery of my situation!
Hope, my last comforter, is eternally fled. Despair has full possession;
all is lost, eternally lost! All that I now have is a miserable, accursed
existence! O that I could sink into nothing, and thus escape the wrath of
my avenging enemy! But I wish in vain; exist I must. Hell is my portion!
I already feel its overwhelming horrors! I am tortured with agonies, and
torn with pangs which no words can describe. All passions assist in
increasing my misery. I see others glorious and happy, but the sight
greatly enhances my woe. I feel my envy and malice raging against them,
and against their God and Savior; but my wrath is impotent; it recoils
upon myself, and inflicts new wounds on my tormented soul. Was this
the price at which I purchased the world and its pleasures? O wretch
and fool that I was! Ah, where can I go? Is there any secure or even
obscure retreat for me? No, no! I sink in flames. I go into everlasting
misery! I go to be companions of devils! I plunge into the dark abyss,
never to rise again! And my body, my old companion in sin, must be also
tormented. My body is everlasting—to bear its part in the unquenchable
fire!"

But we cannot describe the anguish and despair of a lost sinner. The mere
possibility of falling into such a state of indescribable anguish ought
to fill us with trembling; and so it would, were not our minds blinded by
the god of this world. Now reader, do you feel no concern about your
salvation; or have you some method of easing your mind under these
thoughts? I beseech you to consider well what the nature of that resource
is.

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[nChrist]

THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION - Page 3
by Archibald Alexander

The first thought which occurs, by way of relief to your mind, is,
perhaps, that these things cannot be so—that such torments will never
be inflicted by a good and merciful God. This ground appears to many
very plausible, and they rest upon it with the greater confidence,
because it has the appearance of honoring the character of God, at the
same time that it promises safety to themselves. But before you lean on
this prop, look well, I beseech you, to its foundation. Consider, that
before you can derive any rational comfort from this consideration, you
must be able to demonstrate that the tremendous denunciations of God's
word against sinners are false, or that he will forfeit his veracity, and
never execute his own threatenings. Wretched indeed is that
subterfuge—the safety of which depends on proving the God of truth a
liar! No, sinner, God will not deny himself for the sake of your ease! He
will not allow his word to fall to the ground to enable you to realize
your vain and impious hopes. "He will by no means clear the guilty.
Surely, O God, you will slay the wicked. The wicked shall be turned into
hell, and all the nations that forget God. Upon the wicked he shall rain
snares, fire and brimstone; this shall be the portion of their cup!"

If you have imbibed the pernicious heresy of those false teachers who
tell you that there is no future punishment for transgressors, even if
they should die in the commission of the most atrocious crimes; if you
believe these men who dare contradict the plain declarations of God's
word, your delusion will afford you only a temporary relief. It will be
like shutting your eyes when borne by an irresistible torrent towards a
frightful cataract. Your own conscience, if it has not lost all
sensibility, will intimate to you, too plainly to be misunderstood, that
there is punishment reserved for the wicked in the world to come. Lean
not, then, I beseech you, on this broken reed, which will not only fail
to support you, but will pierce you to the heart!

But it is more probable that you seek relief from the apprehension of the
wrath to come, in a vague hope of the mercy of God, of which so
much is said in Scripture. The mercy of God is indeed a sure refuge for
sinners, but it is never extended to the impenitent, who refuse to
forsake their evil ways. If you will repent and believe the gospel, then
will the Lord most graciously and freely forgive all your sins; but if
you depend on the mercy of God to save you from hell—without being
saved from sin—you trust in that which has no existence. God will
not show mercy to obstinate rebels. The whole tenor of his word assures
us of the certainty of this truth.

But perhaps you expect and intend to turn from your sinful ways
hereafter, and thus bring yourself within the influence of God's
pardoning mercy. Well, if you should become a true penitent, and humble
believer in Jesus, you will be saved. But before you cry 'peace' to
yourself from this expectation, I beg you to consider that your
continuance on earth is uncertain. What is your life? It is a vapor. We
have visible demonstration that death comes upon many very unexpectedly;
and although they had entertained the same hope of future repentance, we
have solemn reason to fear that it was never realized. They died as they
lived, and went to meet their Judge with the guilt of all their heinous
sins upon their heads. And very often men are taken suddenly away, and
have not a moment allowed for that last vain hope of the sinner—a
death-bed repentance. And in other cases, reason is bewildered, and the
feelings are stupefied; so that the person who lived carelessly has no
concern about eternal realities. And when it is otherwise, and alarm
seizes the guilty person, no help or comfort can be obtained, and he dies
in fearful horror and despair.

But if you should live for scores of years, you will never see the day
when there will be fewer obstructions to your turning to God as there are
now, and fewer inducements to cleave to the present world. Do you see men
commonly forsaking the courses to which they have long been habituated?
Or do you observe in the ungodly, that inclination to piety becomes
greater by increase of years? You may live to be old and gray-headed, and
yet remain unconverted, and go down to hell with a double curse on your
head! There is no greater nor more dangerous delusion among men, than the
procrastination of their conversion! While thousands lose their souls in
consequence of it, not one ever puts his resolution into practice, unless
some other influence than his own former purposes operates on him.

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[nChrist]

THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION - Page 4
by Archibald Alexander

Reader, awake! Eternity is just before you! Heaven or hell will soon be
your everlasting abode! For heaven, you know you are not prepared. If you
were admitted to that holy place, the exercises and employments of the
inhabitants would be no way in accordance with the state of your heart.
You have no love for the service and worship of God here on earth—and
death will make no reformation in the sinner's heart. Then you must be
excluded from heaven by the necessity of the case, unless you acquire new
principles and a new taste. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God." "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

What you intend to do, do quickly, for the time is short. While
you are halting between two opinions, the door of mercy may be shut
forever. Seize the present moment; break off your sins by repentance;
renounce all confidence in your own good deeds or righteousness, and
trust alone in the atoning sacrifice of Christ! "Whoever believes in him
shall not be ashamed." Cry mightily to him for mercy, and for the Holy
Spirit to sanctify you and aid you in every duty.

Search the Scriptures daily. Attend on the preaching of the word. Be one
among the company who surround the throne of grace in social prayer.
Avoid ensnaring company and dissipating amusements. Forsake all known
sin, and see that you perform those external duties which have hitherto
been neglected. If you have wronged or injured any, make restitution, or
make amends, as far as is in your power. Abandon all quarrels and strife
with your neighbors, and promote piety and good order in your own house,
by reading the Scriptures, and calling upon God.

But never think that external duties, or attendance on means and
ordinances, however exact, is an evidence that your soul is saved. Never
rest satisfied with your spiritual state, until you have evidence in a
heart-felt sense of the burden of your sins, that you have in truth fled
for refuge to the hope set before you in the gospel. The Lord Jesus
Christ, apprehended and received by faith, is the only safe sanctuary for
a soul pursued by the demands of a broken law!

O man, flee to this dear refuge, before the storm, which is black and
lowering, overtakes you. "Lay hold on eternal life!" "Now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation." See, the door of
reconciliation is open. Jesus invites you to come to him for rest, and
promises that he will not cast you out; yes, complains that you will not
come unto him, that you may have life. Others are entering in at the
strait gate—why do you delay? Instead of losing by coming to Jesus, even
in this world, you will gain a hundred-fold. Godliness with contentment
is great gain!

[nChrist]

                                 THE CROSS



                          by Archibald Alexander


Whence came the tree from which the cross was made? What has become of
the particles of which it was composed? What hands were employed in
preparing this instrument of a cruel death? To such questions no answer
can be given--and none is needed. The cross was a common mode of
punishment among several nations, and among the Romans was reserved for
the punishment of slaves and the vilest malefactors. It was never made
use of by the Jews. If they had had the power of execution in their hands
when Christ suffered, the punishment for the offence alleged against him
would have been stoning. But by the ordering of divine Providence, our
Lord was put to death in that way which was accursed, according to the
Jewish law; for it was written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."

The death of Christ on the cross may well be reckoned mysterious, for it
was at the same time a cursed and a blessed death. Christ was
"made a curse for us," that he might deliver us from the curse of the
law. And yet Christ's death on the cross is the most blessed event which
ever occurred in the world; for on the cross the price of our redemption
was paid. Christ "bore our sins in his own body on the tree." He died,
"the just for the unjust," to bring us unto God. This led Paul to say,
"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ."

The cross is a center in which many lines of truth meet. The cross is an
incomprehensible mystery. That God should be manifest in the flesh, is
the great "mystery of godliness." That the Prince of life should be
crucified, was an event which caused the angels to stoop from their
celestial thrones, that they might gaze in amazement upon it. The
prophets who predicted these events were perplexed at their own
prophecies, "They inquired into what time or what circumstances the
Spirit of Christ within them was indicating, when He testified in advance
to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow."

The truths which are exhibited in a clear and strong light by the
crucifixion of Christ, are such as these:

1. The infinite evil of sin, which in order to its pardon required such a
sacrifice.

2. The holiness and justice of God, which would not allow sin to pass
without full evidence of the divine disapprobation, and his inflexible
purpose to visit it with deserved punishment.

3. The wisdom of God, in contriving a method of salvation by which his
own glory would be promoted in the eternal salvation of hell-deserving
sinners. This wisdom is chiefly manifest in the incarnation of the Son of
God, by which the divine and human natures are united in one person.

4. But the most wonderful exhibition of the cross is the mercy of God,
the love of God to sinners—such love as never could have been conceived
of, had it not been manifest by the gift of his own Son! "God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."

[nChrist]

                                 YOU FOOL!



                          by Archibald Alexander


"You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you!" What
harsh language, some will be ready to say. But it is true; and the
occasion requires all earnestness. If you see your neighbor's house on
fire, while he is sound asleep in his bed, you do not hesitate to alarm
him with the most penetrating cry that you can utter. The reason in both
cases is of the same nature, but much stronger in the latter, because the
loss of the soul is infinitely greater than that of the body; the fires
of hell are much more to be dreaded than any material fire, which can
only destroy property, or at most, shorten life.

But why is this man called a fool? Surely he was not such in the world's
estimation. He evidently possessed the wisdom of this world. He knew how
to manage his farm successfully. If there was any defect in this respect,
it was in not building his barns large enough at first. Often
enterprising, industrious men run far before their own anticipations.
Wealth flows in upon them, so that they have more than heart could wish.
This man, no doubt, had labored hard, but now thinks of taking his rest,
and entering on the enjoyment of his rich possessions. He said to his
soul, "Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!" No cloud appeared
in all his horizon to darken his prospects. His expectation was, not only
rest from labor, and ease from trouble; but actual enjoyment in feasting,
and unceasing mirth.

The course of this farmer and his success are the very objects at which
thousands are constantly aiming. They look no higher; they ask no more
than he possessed. How then was he a fool? Will not the epithet apply as
truly to most of the people in the world? If this present world were our
only state of existence, it would be hard to prove the folly of such a
course and such sentiments. Then men might with some show of reason say,
"Let us eat and drink--for tomorrow we die." If this were all of man, and
death the end of existence, the scene will so soon be over, and all joys
and sorrows so soon buried in eternal oblivion. If there were no
hereafter, of what account would it now be, whether the thousands of
millions who have inhabited this globe were sad or merry while they lived?

The utter folly of this worldling, and of thousands like him, consisted
in this--that being the creature of a supreme Being, he neglected to
serve him, and took no pains to secure his favor, or to arrest his wrath.
The folly of this he must have felt when God spoke to him and said, "This
night your soul shall be required of you!" Oh, what a sudden interruption
to his plans of future pleasure. What! Must he give up all his
possessions—his fields loaded with ripe harvests, the fruit of his
anxious toil? In a moment his fond dream of feasting and mirth is
terminated. God, his Maker, calls for him, and none can resist his
command. "And who knows the power of his anger?" His soul is required.
His account, whether prepared or unprepared, must be rendered. "Give an
account of your stewardship." Show in what manner you have improved the
talents committed to you. What good use have you made of the riches
conferred on you?

Poor, wretched man; what can he say for himself? What justification can
he offer for a life of disobedience and forgetfulness of God? Where now
can he turn? Where can he flee for refuge from his angry Judge? Alas,
there is no escape! His riches cannot profit him now. The whole world
could not redeem his soul from destruction; and while his heirs are
striving about his great wealth, his soul is writhing in unending
anguish! Careless reader, take heed lest this be your case! You are in
the same condemnation!

[nChrist]

SALVATION
by John C. O'Hair

The most wonderful and most important matter that has ever been presented to the human race to consider and experience is “SALVATION.” Salvation has to do with the never ending eternity, as well as with man’s spiritual existence on earth. Like all other spiritual matters, the truth concerning eternal salvation is not primarily what man thinks and decides about it; but what God’s Bible says about it. Down through the generations the people on this earth have heard the message, which the Holy Spirit led the wise man of old to write, “There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12). Another very wise man of God, more than one thousand years later, was led to write: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God; neither can be.” (I Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:7)

Seeming right and being right are not the same. Neither is a man right in his thinking and decisions, because he is sincere. It is possible to be sincerely wrong, as the natural man generally is, concerning spiritual matters.

If there is anything clearly taught in the Bible, anything that should be self-evident to man, if his heart were not deceitful and if he were not deceived by Satan, it is the truth that man cannot save himself; that salvation is God’s work. There is an awful penalty that will be received by those who do not receive salvation. This is called “the wrath of God,” “perdition,” “the second death,” “the judgment of God,” “the dam­nation of hell.” There is another aspect or phase of salvation. After a person is saved in God’s way from the penalty of sin then God offers to that saved person salvation from the power and control of sin in this life.

There is no more wonderful, startling and glorious news that any person can hear, there is no one truth more vital and important that every individual should receive at full face value and believe with heart, mind and soul, than the truth found in God’s Bible, that salvation from the wrath of God, the damnation of hell, is not by what man does, or can do, for God, but what God does for man. Pause long enough to take this in; and to believe that when God forgives and redeems the believing sinner, it is according to the riches of His grace, which no human philosopher can begin to measure. (Ephesians 1:6 and 7). With this great truth, hear this great question, “how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1 to 3). Remember that the GOSPEL OF CHRIST is the power of God unto SALVATION to every one that believeth. (Romans 1:16).

“All things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.” “When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.” (II Corinthians 5:18 and Romans 5:10). One planteth and another watereth, “But God that giveth the in­crease.” (I Corinthians 3:7). “A man can receive no­thing except it be given him from above.” (John 3:27). “According to God’s mercy, He saved us.” (Titus 3:5 to 8 ). “God, Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS, but according to His own purpose and grace.” (II Timothy 1:9).

In II Thessalonians 2:13 and 14 we read one of the clearest and most definite statements of the way of salvation to be found in all of the Bible. Hear it: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to SALVATION through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” . . . ”Whereunto He called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God, by the Holy Spirit, saves the individual who believes the truth of Christ and Calvary.

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain SALVATION by our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thessalonians 5:9). “He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36). “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). In Hebrews 5:9 we read concerning Christ: “He became the Author of ETERNAL SALVATION unto all them that obey Him.” In Hebrews 9:12 we read that Christ, by His own blood, entered into heaven, “having obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION for us.” SALVATION is ETERNAL LIFE, which cannot be earned by good works or religious endeavors. God surely desires and expects faithful, obedient service, spiritual worship and practical Christian living from all who have been redeemed by His infinite grace and by faith in the shed blood of His only begotten Son. But here is God’s order: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS lest any man should boast. For we are His (GOD’S) WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus, UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8 to 10).

There is a great difference between SALVATION “not OF good works” and SALVATION by grace “UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians. 2:8 to 10).

There is a great difference between SALVATION “not OF good works” and rewards and crowns for good works. To those who have been saved, without good works, God’s Bible has this admonition: “Be careful to maintain good works.” (Titus 3:8 ).

Now, if you are willing to be saved with God’s Salvation, if you will let God save you in His way, God will accept you (grace you) in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and freely forgive every sin you have ever committed in all of your days of sin; and God will, by His grace, make you His child in Christ Jesus, and give you eternal life, the guarantee of everlasting glory. God will give you the Holy Spirit as an earnest. “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (I Timothy 1:15). Will you let Him save you? He died on the cross, The Just for the unjust to bring us to God. (I Peter 3:18 ). Christ died for our sins, was buried and raised again. This is the good news by which believing sinners are saved. (I Corinthians 15:1 to 4). But Christ is alive forevermore. Because in God’s presence in heaven Christ appears, and ever lives to make intercession for all who are redeemed by His precious shed blood, He is able to save unto the uttermost (all the way to the end) all who come unto God through Him. (Hebrews 9:24; Philippians 1:6; John 13:1 and Hebrews 7:25).

So in your own personal salvation you must consider and answer aright the question of Pilate, “what then shall I do with Jesus Which is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22).

(My Note:  Pastor O'Hair takes great pains to explain that Salvation is NOT obtained by good works or anything else that a man can do. Christians do good works after they have been Saved out of hearts of love and appreciation for what JESUS CHRIST did for us on the CROSS. It is also important to note that good works do NOT maintain Salvation, rather GOD considers them for rewards other than Salvation if they are done solely out of hearts of love. Man can do absolutely NOTHING to earn or maintain Salvation.)