Man can"t save himself. He has been wrecked by sin, and his only safety lies in taking Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Easy, and Yet Difficult
It is the easiest thing in the world to become a Christian, and it is also the most difficult. You say: "That is a contradiction, a paradox." I will ill.u.s.trate what I mean.
A little nephew of mine, a few years ago, took my Bible and threw it down on the floor. His mother said,
"Charlie, pick up uncle"s Bible."
The little fellow said he would not.
"Charlie, do you know what that word means?"
She soon found out that he did, and that he was not going to pick up the Book. His will had come right up against his mother"s will.
I began to be quite interested in the struggle: I knew if she did not break his will, he would some day break her heart.
She repeated, "Charlie, go and pick up uncle"s Bible, and put it on the table."
The little fellow said he could not do it.
"I will punish you if you do not."
He saw a strange look in her eye, and the matter began to get serious.
He did not want to be punished, and he knew his mother would punish him if he did not lift the Bible. So he straightened every bone and muscle in him, and he said _he could not do it_. I really believe the little fellow had reasoned himself into the belief that he could not do it.
His mother knew he was only deceiving himself, so she kept him right to the point. At last he went down, put both his arms around the Bible, and tugged away at it; but he still said he could not do it.
The truth was--he did not want to. He got up again without lifting it.
The mother said, "Charlie, I am not going to talk to you any more.
This matter has to be settled; pick up that Bible, or I will punish you."
At last she broke his will, and then he found it as easy as it is for me to turn my hand. He picked up the Bible, and laid it on the table.
So it is with the sinner; if you are really willing to take the Water of Life, YOU CAN DO IT.
No Difference
During the war, when enlisting was going on, sometimes a man would come up with a nice silk hat on, patent-leather boots, kid gloves, and a fine suit of clothes; perhaps the next man who came along would be a hod-carrier, dressed in the poorest kind of clothes. Both had to strip alike and put on the regimental uniform.
When you come and say you are not fit, haven"t got good clothes, haven"t got righteousness enough to be a Christian, remember that Christ will furnish you with the uniform of heaven, and you will be set down at the marriage feast of the Lamb. I don"t care how black and vile your heart may be, only accept the invitation of Jesus Christ, and He will make you fit to sit down with the rest at that feast.
Drawing a Comparison
When I was in California I went into a Sunday-school and asked:
"Have you got some one who can write a plain hand?"
"Yes."
We got up the blackboard, and the lesson upon it proved to be the text, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
I said, "Suppose we write upon that board some of the earthly treasures? We will begin with "gold.""
The teacher readily put down "gold," and they all comprehended it, for all had run to that country in hope of finding it.
"Well, we will put down "houses" next and then "land." Next we will put down "fast horses.""
They all understood what fast horses were--they knew a good deal more about fast horses than they knew about the kingdom of G.o.d. Some of them, I think, actually made fast horses serve as G.o.ds.
"Next we will put down "tobacco."" The teacher seemed to shrink at this. "Put it down," said I; "many a man thinks more of tobacco than he does of G.o.d. Well, then we will put down "rum.""
He objected to this--didn"t like to put it down at all.
"Down with it! Many a man will sell his reputation, his home, his wife, his children, everything he has, for rum. It is the G.o.d of some men. Many here are ready to sell their present and their eternal welfare for it. Put it down," and down it went.
"Now," said I, "suppose we put down some of the heavenly treasures.
Put down "Jesus" to head the list, then "heaven," then "River of Life," then "Crown of Glory"," and went on until the column was filled, and then just drew a line and showed the heavenly and the earthly things in contrast.
My friends, they could not stand comparison. If a man does that, he cannot but see the superiority of the heavenly over the earthly treasures.
It turned out that this teacher was not a Christian. He had gone to California on the usual hunt--gold; and when he saw the two columns placed side by side, the excellence of the one over the other was irresistible, and he was the first soul G.o.d gave me on that Pacific coast. He accepted Christ, and that man came to the station when I was coming away and blessed me for coming to that place.
A Legend about Doves
There is a beautiful legend about a conference held by the doves to decide where they should make their abode. One suggested that they should go to the woods; but the objection was made that there they would be in danger from hawks; another mentioned the cities, but boys would stone them there, and drive them away or kill them. Presently some dove suggested that they go and hide in the clefts of the rocks, and there they were safe. "O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole"s mouth."
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.
Look to Christ!
A leading surgeon I heard of, when he has a bad wound to dress, or a broken limb to set, tells the patient:
"Now, look at the wound, see just how it looks, and then look at me!"
So when you have seen the state your heart is in, look up to Christ, and nowhere else.
Paying Attention to the Preacher
There was an architect in Chicago who was converted. In giving his testimony, he said he had been in the habit of attending church for a great many years, but he could not say that he had really heard a sermon all the time. He said that when the minister gave out the text and began to preach, he used to settle himself in the corner of the pew and work out the plans of some building. He could not tell how many plans he had prepared while the minister was preaching. He was the architect for one or two companies; and he used to do all his planning in that way.
You see, Satan came in between him and the preacher, and caught away the good seed of the Word. I have often preached to people, and have been perfectly amazed to find they could hardly tell one solitary word of the sermon; even the text had completely gone from them.