No, no, reader; it is a fatal mistake to imagine that the world is improving. It is stained with the murder of the Son of G.o.d; and it proves its consent to the deed in every stage of its history, in every phase of its condition. The world is under judgment. Its sentence is pa.s.sed; the awful day of its execution is rapidly approaching. The world is simply a deep, dark, rapid stream rushing onward to the lake of fire. Nothing but the sword of judgment can ever settle the heavy question pending between the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and that world which murdered His Son.
Thus it is, if Scripture is to be our guide. Judgment is coming. It is at the very door. Eighteen hundred years ago, the inspired apostle penned the solemn sentence, that "G.o.d is _ready_ to judge." If He was ready then, surely He is ready now. And why tarries He? In long-suffering mercy, not willing that _any_ should perish, but that _all_ should come to repentance. Precious words! Words of exquisite tenderness and matchless grace! Words that tell out the large, loving, gracious heart of our G.o.d, and His intense desire for man"s salvation.
But judgment is coming. The awful day of vengeance is at hand; and, meanwhile, the voice of Jesus, sounding through the lips of His dear amba.s.sadors, may be heard on every side calling men to flee out of the terrible vortex, and make their escape to the stronghold of G.o.d"s salvation.
2. But this leads us, in the second place, to look at the cross as the expression of G.o.d"s heart toward man. If on the cross of our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we read, in characters deep, broad, and unmistakable, the true state of man"s heart G.o.dward; in the selfsame cross, we may read, with no less clearness surely, the state of G.o.d"s heart toward man. The cross is the divinely perfect measure of both.
"The very spear that pierced Thy side, Drew forth the blood to save."
We behold, at the cross, the marvellous meeting of enmity and love--sin and grace. Man displayed at Calvary, the very height of his enmity against G.o.d. G.o.d, blessed for ever be His name, displayed the height of His love. Hatred and love met; but love proved victorious.
G.o.d and sin met; G.o.d triumphed, sin was put away, and now, at the resurrection side of the cross, the eternal Spirit announces the glad tidings, that grace reigns through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. At the cross, the battle was fought and the victory won; and now the liberal hand of sovereign grace is scattering far and wide the spoils of victory.
Reader, do you really desire to know what the heart of G.o.d is toward man? If so, go and gaze on that centre cross to which Jesus Christ was nailed, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of G.o.d. True it is, as we have already seen, man did, with wicked hands, crucify and slay the blessed One. This is the dark side of this question. But there is a bright side also, for G.o.d is seen in it. No doubt, man fully let himself out at the cross; but G.o.d was above him. Yes, above all the powers of earth and h.e.l.l which were there ranged in their terrible array.
As it was, in the case of Joseph and his brethren; they told out the enmity of their hearts in flinging him into the pit, and selling him to the Ishmaelites. Here was the dark side. But then, mark these words of Joseph: "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for G.o.d did send me before you to preserve life."
Here was the bright side. But to whom were these wondrous words of grace addressed? To broken hearts and penitent spirits, and convicted consciences. To men who had learnt to say, "We are verily guilty." It is only such that can at all enter into the line of truth which is now before us. Those who have taken their true place, who have accepted the judgment of G.o.d against themselves, who truly own that the cross is the measure of their guilt--they can appreciate the cross as the expression of G.o.d"s heart of love toward them; they can enter into the glorious truth that the selfsame cross which demonstrates man"s hatred of G.o.d sets forth also G.o.d"s love to man. The two things ever go together. It is when we see and own our guilt, as proved in the cross, that we learn the purifying and peace-speaking power of that precious blood which cleanseth us from all sin.
Yes, beloved reader; it is only a broken heart and a contrite spirit that can truly enter into the marvellous love of G.o.d as set forth in the cross of Christ. How could Joseph ever have said, "Be not grieved with yourselves," if he had not seen his brethren broken down in his presence? Impossible. And how can an unbroken heart, an unreached conscience, an impenitent soul enter into the value of the atoning blood of Christ, or taste the sweetness of the love of G.o.d? Utterly impossible. Joseph "spake roughly" to his brethren at the first, but the very moment those accents emanated from their broken hearts, "We are verily guilty," they were in a condition to understand and value the words, "Be not grieved with yourselves." It is when we are completely broken down in the presence of the cross, seeing it as the perfect measure of our own deep personal guilt, that we are prepared to see it as the glorious display of G.o.d"s love towards us.
And then and there we escape from a guilty world. Then and there we are rescued completely from that dark and rapid current of which we have spoken, and brought within the hallowed and peaceful circle of G.o.d"s salvation, where we can walk up and down in the very sunlight of a Father"s countenance and breathe the pure air of the new creation.
"Thanks be to G.o.d for His unspeakable gift!"
3. And now, one word, ere closing this branch of our subject on the cross as displaying the heart of Christ toward G.o.d. We can do little more than indicate this point, leaving the reader to prove its suggestive power, under the immediate ministry of the Holy Ghost.
It is an unspeakable comfort to the heart, in the midst of such a world as this, to remember that G.o.d has been perfectly glorified by One, at least. There has been One on this earth whose meat and drink was to do the will of G.o.d, to glorify Him, and finish His work. In life and death, Jesus perfectly glorified G.o.d. From the manger to the cross, His heart was perfectly devoted to _the_ one great object, namely, to accomplish the will of G.o.d, whatever that will might be.
"Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O G.o.d." In the roll of Scripture it was written of the Son that, in due time, He should come into this world, according to G.o.d"s eternal counsels, and accomplish the will of the G.o.dhead. To this He dedicated Himself with all the energies of His perfect being. From this He never swerved a hair"s breadth from first to last; and when we gaze on that centre cross which is now engaging our attention, we behold the perfect consummation of that which had filled the heart of Jesus from the very beginning, even the accomplishment of the will of G.o.d.
All this is blessedly unfolded to us in that charming pa.s.sage in Philippians ii. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of G.o.d, thought it not robbery to be equal with G.o.d; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Vers. 5-8).
How wonderful is all this! What profound depths there are in the mystery of the cross! What lines of truth converge in it! What rays of light emanate from it! What unfoldings of heart there! The heart of man to G.o.dward--the heart of G.o.d to manward--the heart of Christ to G.o.d! All this we have in the cross. We can gaze on that One who hung there between two thieves, a spectacle to heaven, earth, and h.e.l.l, and see the perfect measure of every one and everything in the whole universe of G.o.d. Would we know the measure of the heart of G.o.d--His love to us--His hatred of sin? we must look at the cross. Would we know the measure of the heart of man, his real condition, his hatred of all that is divinely good, his innate love of all that is thoroughly bad? we must look at the cross. Would we know what the world is--what sin is--what Satan is? we must look at the cross.
a.s.suredly, then, there is nothing like the cross. Well may we ponder it. It shall be our theme throughout the everlasting ages. May it be, more and more, our theme now! May the Holy Ghost so lead our souls into the living depths of the cross, that we may be absorbed with the One who was nailed thereto, and thus weaned from the world that placed Him there. May the real utterance of our hearts, beloved reader, ever be, "G.o.d forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." G.o.d grant it, for Jesus Christ"s sake!
Having dwelt, for a little, on that marvellous centre cross to which the Lord of glory was nailed, for our redemption, we shall now turn to the other two, and seek to learn some solemn and weighty lessons from the inspired record concerning the men who hung thereon. We shall find in these two men samples of the two great cla.s.ses into which the human family is divided, from the beginning to the end of time, namely the receivers and the rejecters of the Christ of G.o.d--those who believe in Jesus, and those who believe not.
In the first place, it is of the utmost importance to see that there was no essential difference between those two men. In nature, in their recorded history, in their circ.u.mstances, they were one. Some have labored to establish a distinction between them; but for what object it is difficult to say, unless it be to dim the l.u.s.tre of the grace that shines forth in the narrative of the penitent thief. It is maintained that there must have been some event in his previous history to account for his marvellous end--some redeeming feature--some hopeful circ.u.mstance on account of which his prayer was heard at the last.
But Scripture is totally silent as to aught of this kind. And not only is it silent as to any redeeming or qualifying circ.u.mstance, but it actually gives us the testimony of two inspired witnesses to prove that, up to the very moment in which Luke introduces him to our notice, he, like his fellow on the other side, was engaged in the terrible work of railing on the Son of G.o.d. In Matthew xxvii. 44, we read that "The _thieves_ also, which were crucified with Him, cast the same in His teeth." So also in Mark xv. 32, "_They_ that were crucified with Him reviled Him."
Now, this is divinely conclusive. It proves, beyond all question, that there was no difference between the two thieves. They were both condemned malefactors; and not only so, but when actually on the very confines of the eternal world, they were both occupied in the awful sin of reviling the blessed Son of G.o.d.
It is utterly vain, therefore, for any one to seek to establish a distinction between these two men, inasmuch as they were alike in their nature, in their guilt, in their criminality, and in their profane wickedness. There was no difference up to the moment in which the arrow of conviction entered the soul of him whom we call the penitent thief. The more clearly this is seen, the more the sovereign grace of G.o.d shines out in all its blessed brightness. "There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of G.o.d."
And, on the other hand, "There is no difference, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him" (Compare Rom. iii. 22, 23, with chapter x. 12).
The only standard by which men are to be measured is "the glory of G.o.d;" and inasmuch as all have come short of that--the best as well as the worst of men--there is no difference. Were it merely a question of conscience, or of human righteousness, there might be some difference. Were the standard of measurement merely human, then indeed some shades of distinction might easily be established. But it is not so. All must be ruled by the glory of G.o.d; and, thus ruled, all are alike deficient. "There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of G.o.d."
But, blessed be G.o.d, there is another side to this great question.
"The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." The riches of the grace of G.o.d are such as to reach down to the very deepest depths of human ruin, guilt and misery. If the light of divine glory reveals--as nothing else could reveal--man"s utter ruin; the riches of divine grace, as displayed in the person and work of Christ, have perfectly met that ruin, and provided a remedy in every way adequate to meet the claims of the divine glory.
But let us see how all this is ill.u.s.trated in the striking and beautiful narrative of the penitent thief.
It is very evident that the Spirit of G.o.d, in the evangelist Luke, takes up this interesting case at that special point in the which a divine work had really begun. Matthew and Mark present him as a blaspheming malefactor. We can hardly conceive a deeper shade of moral turpitude than that which he, according to their inspired record, exhibits to our view! There is not so much as a single relieving tint. All is dark as midnight--dark almost as h.e.l.l; yet not too dark to be reached by the light that was shining straight down from heaven through the mysterious medium of that centre cross.
It is well to get a very profound sense of our true condition by nature. We cannot possibly go too deep in this line. The ruin of nature is complete--of nature in all its phases and in all its stages.
If all have not gone to the same length as the thief on the cross--if all have not brought forth the same fruit--if all have not clothed themselves in forms equally hideous, it is no thanks to their nature.
The human heart is a seed plot in which may be found the seed of every crime that has ever stained the page of human history. If the seed has not germinated and fructified, it is not owing to a difference in the soul, but a difference in surrounding circ.u.mstances and influences.
The testimony of Scripture on this great question, is distinct and conclusive, "There is no difference." Men do not like this. It is too leveling for them. Self-righteousness is cut out by the roots by this sweeping statement of inspiration. Man likes to establish distinctions. He cannot bear to be placed in the same category with the Magdalenes and the Samaritans, and such like. But it cannot be otherwise. Grace levels all distinctions now; and judgment will level them all by-and-by. If we are saved, it is in company with Magdalenes and Samaritans; and if we are lost, it will be in company with such likewise. There will, no doubt, be degrees of glory; as there will be degrees of punishment; but as to the real nature and character of the human heart, "there is no difference." "The _heart_ is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." What heart? Man"s heart--the heart of the writer and the reader of these lines. "For out of _the heart_ proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Out of what heart? Man"s heart--the heart of the writer and the reader of these lines. These things could not come out of the heart if they were not there; and if they do not come out in action, it is not because they are not there, but that circ.u.mstances have operated to prevent.
Such is the clear and unvarying testimony of Holy Scripture; and whenever the Spirit of G.o.d begins to operate on the heart and conscience of a man He produces the deep sense and full confession of the truth of this testimony. Every divinely convicted soul is ready to adopt as his own these words, "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good." Every truly contrite spirit owns the fact of his total ruin.
All wisdom"s children justify G.o.d and condemn themselves--there is no exception. All who are really brought under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit will, without any reserve, set their seal--the seal of their whole moral being to the inspired statement, "there is no difference."
Any who hesitate to own this have yet to learn themselves, in the light of the holiness of G.o.d. The most refined, polished and cultivated person, if enlightened by the Spirit of G.o.d, will readily take his place with the thief on the cross, inasmuch as the divine light shining in upon him, reveals the hidden springs of his being, leads him to see the profound depths of his nature--the roots and sources of things. Thus while relatives, friends and acquaintances--mere onlookers, judging from the surface, may think very highly of his character, he himself, knowing better, because of divine light, can only exclaim, "O wretched man that I am"--"Behold I am vile"--"Woe is me, I am undone"--"I am a sinful man, O Lord."
These are the proper utterances of a divinely convicted soul; and it is only when we can thus truly and heartily express ourselves that we are really prepared to appreciate the riches of the grace of G.o.d as unfolded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grace takes up real sinners.
"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost;" and the more fully I realize my lost estate, my hopeless ruin, my utter wretchedness, the more fully I can enter into the fulness and freeness of G.o.d"s salvation--a salvation purchased by the blood of the cross.
Hence we see how brightly grace shines in the salvation of the thief on the cross. There can be no possible mistake as to him. Clearly he had no good works to trust in. He had performed no deeds of charity.
Of baptism and the Lord"s Supper he knew nothing. The rites, ceremonies, and ordinances of religion had done--could do nothing for him. In a word, his case was a thoroughly hopeless one, so far as _he_ was concerned. For what could _he_ do? Whither could he turn? His hands and his feet were nailed fast to a malefactor"s cross. It was useless to talk to him about doing or going. His hands, while he had the use of them, had been stretched forth in deeds of violence; and now they were nailed to the tree, and could do nothing. His feet, while he had the use of them, had trodden the terrible path of the transgressor; and now they were nailed to the tree, and could not carry him anywhere.
But, reader, note this. Although the poor thief no longer had the use of his hands and his feet--so indispensable to a religion of works--his heart and his tongue were free; and these are the very things that are called into exercise in a religion of faith, as we read in that lovely tenth of Romans, "With the _heart_ man believeth unto righteousness; and with the _mouth_ confession is made unto salvation."
Precious words! How suited to the thief on the cross! How suited and seasonable for _every_ poor helpless, hopeless, self-destroyed sinner!
And we must all be saved in like manner as the thief on the cross.
There are no two ways to heaven. There is not one way for the religionist, the moralist, the Pharisee, and another way for the malefactor. There is but one way, and that way is marked from the very throne of G.o.d down to where the guilty sinner lies, dead in trespa.s.ses and sins, with the footprints of redeeming love; and from thence back to the throne by the precious atoning blood of Christ.
This is the way to heaven--a way paved with love, sprinkled with blood, and trodden by a happy holy band of redeemed worshipers gathered from all the ends of the earth, to chant the heavenly anthem, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."
We have said that the heart of the thief was free; yes, free under the mighty action of the Holy Ghost, to turn toward that blessed One who hung beside him--that One whom he had just been reviling, but on whom he could now fix his repentant gaze, and to whom he could now bear the n.o.blest testimony ever uttered by men or angels.
But it is most instructive and interesting to mark the progress of the work of G.o.d in the soul of the dying thief. Indeed the work of G.o.d in any soul is ever of the deepest possible interest. The operations of the Holy Spirit _in us_ must never be separated from the work of Christ _for us_; and, we may add, both the one and the other are founded upon, and inseparably linked with the eternal counsels of G.o.d with respect to us. This is what makes it all so real, so solid, so entirely divine. It is not of man. It is all of G.o.d, from first to last--from the first dawning of conviction in the soul until it is introduced into the full-orbed light of the glorious gospel of the grace of G.o.d. The Lord be praised that it is so! Were it otherwise--were there a single atom of the creature in it, from beginning to end, that one atom would neutralize and destroy the whole, and render it not worth having.
Now in the case of the penitent thief, we discern the first touch of the Eternal Spirit--the very earliest fruit of His sanctifying work, in the words addressed to his fellow, "Dost thou not fear G.o.d?" He does not say, "Dost thou not fear punishment?" The sanctification of the Spirit, in every case, is evidenced by the fear of the Lord, and a holy abhorrence of evil for its own sake. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." There may be a fear of judgment, a fear of h.e.l.l, a fear of the consequences of sin, without the smallest particle of hatred of sin itself. But where the Spirit of G.o.d is really at work in the heart, He produces the real sense of sin and the judgment thereof in the sight of G.o.d.
This is repentance; let the reader ponder it deeply. It is a grand reality; an essential element, in every case. "G.o.d commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent" (Acts xvii. 30). There is no getting over this--no setting it aside. Some may seek to do away with man"s responsibility on the plea of his inability to do anything right or good. They may seek to persuade us that it is useless, yea unsound, to call upon men to repent and believe, seeing that men can do nothing of themselves. But the question is, what is the meaning of the words which we have just culled from the apostle"s address at Athens? Did Paul preach the truth? Was he sound in the faith? Was he sufficiently high in doctrine? Well then Paul declares, in the clearest and most emphatic manner, that "G.o.d commandeth _all_ men, _everywhere_, to repent." Will any turn round and say they cannot? Will any venture to deny man"s responsibility to obey a divine command? If so, where are they? On very dangerous ground. If G.o.d commands all men to repent, woe be to those who refuse to do so; and woe be to those who teach that they are not responsible to do so.
But let us devote a few moments to the examination of this great practical question in the light of the New Testament. Let us see whether our Lord and His apostles called upon men--"all men, everywhere, to repent."
In the third chapter of Matthew"s Gospel, we read, "In these days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
It will, perhaps, be said that John addressed himself specially to Israel--a people in recognized relationship with Jehovah--and hence this pa.s.sage cannot be adduced in proof of the universal and abiding necessity of repentance. Well, we merely quote it here in order to shew that man, whether Jew or Gentile, is responsible to repent, and that the very first voice which falls upon the ear, in the time of the New Testament, is heard calling sinners to repentance. Was the Baptist right or wrong? Was he trespa.s.sing upon the domain of sound doctrine when he summoned men to repent? Would some of our modern theologians have called him aside, after he was done preaching, and taken him to task for deceiving men by leading them to suppose that they could repent? We should like to have heard the Baptist"s reply.
But we have the example of a greater than John the Baptist, as our warrant for preaching repentance, for in Matthew iv. we read, "From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Dare any one turn round and say to the divine Preacher, "We cannot repent. We have no power. We are not responsible!" Ah, no! men may argue and reason, and talk theology; but there stands the living record before us--Jesus called upon men to repent, and that, too, without entering, in any way, upon the question of man"s ability here or there. He addressed man as a responsible being, as one who was imperatively called to judge himself and his ways, to confess his sins, and repent in dust and ashes. The only true place for a sinner is the place of repentance; and if he refuses to take that place in the presence of divine grace, he will be compelled to take it in the presence of divine judgment, when repentance will be too late. "G.o.d commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent."
Pa.s.sing on to the opening of the Acts of the Apostles, we are privileged to hearken to Peter"s address on the day of Pentecost--the most fruitful sermon ever preached in this world--crowned with the glorious result of three thousand souls! And what did Peter preach? He preached Christ, and he called upon men to repent. Yes, the great apostle of the circ.u.mcision insisted upon repentance--self-judgment--true contrition of heart before G.o.d. "Then said Peter unto them, Repent, and be baptized _every one of you_ in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts ii. 38). And, again, "Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Chap. iii. 19).
Was Peter right in calling upon men to repent and be converted? Would any one be justified in saying to him, at the close of his preaching, "How can men repent? How can they be converted? They can do nothing."