Dando a Luz un Sueño

Lucas 1:5-7 
En lo espiritual a veces nos encontramos en una condición estéril. No estamos dando a luz, no estamos dando frutos, no estamos avanzando. Nos encontramos estancado en nuestra vida espiritual. Queremos más de Dios, queremos que Dios nos use, sin embargo nos encontramos en un tiempo estéril. A veces si puede ser a raíz de pecados, cosas que nos estorban, pero a veces no es el caso, simplemente hemos llegado a una etapa de estancamiento.
Yo creo en mi corazón que Dios nos quiere llevar a un tiempo de frutos en abundancia; Un tiempo de dar a luz, a crecer como individual en nuestra relación con Dios y como congregación, estirándonos a tantos que no conocen al señor. Dios nos quiere embarazar para que demos a luz sus planes y propósitos.
Hay cuatro etapas para dar a luz en el mundo espiritual:

1ra etapa es la concepción.
Si alguien va a dar a luz obviamente comienza con la intimidad. Es igual en lo espiritual. Para quedar embarazado con la visión de Dios hay que tener intimidad con el a solas, en su presencia donde el siembra la semilla de los sueños para nosotros. Antes de salir corriendo y querer ayudar a Dios tenemos que meternos con el, pasar tiempo con nuestro Dios y pedirle dirección para asegúranos que es el plan de Dios por lo que estamos corriendo. Tenemos que ser impregnado de su presencia y propósitos. Como en ese momento que Marta y María estaban atendiendo a Jesús. Hay que asegurar que como María estamos a sus pies; escuchando lo que Dios nos quiere decir.
Juan 10:27
Nosotros somos sus ovejas, somos seguidores de Jesucristo y El nos dice que vamos aprender a oír su voz. Pero es difícil oír su voz si nunca estamos quietos en su presencia. Tenemos que meditar en su palabra. Jesús dependió de esta intimidad con el padre. Fíjense lo que dice en…
Lucas 6:12-13
Antes de escoger a los apóstoles y enviarlos, esto nació en intimidad entre Jesús y el Padre. Dios tiene grande planes para nuestras vida; no quiere que sigamos estancados, pero todo esto va a nacer en intimidad con el.
Hay tres cosas que Dios usa para dar a luz através de nosotros:
Habilidades, oportunidades, y autoridades.
1- Dios deposito en nuestra vida ciertos talentos, y el los puso ahí con un propósito, para ser útil en su reino. Tenemos que ver cuales son esas habilidades que Dios nos haz dado para que la usemos según el señor nos guíe.
2- Hay que ver que oportunidades se nos presentan y debemos aprovecharlas. Tenemos que ver que puertas se nos abren para servir al señor.
3- Dios pone autoridades en nuestra vida las cuales pueden ser una fuente excelente para confirmar los planes que Dios nos va poniendo en nuestro corazón.
Salmo 32:8-9
Dios dice yo los voy a ensenar, los voy a guiar, pero no seas como el caballo o como el mulo. El caballo que no ha sido domado tiene la tendencia de arrancar sin control y hay algunos así. Arrancan muy animados, antes de tomarse el tiempo en intimidad con Dios. Y van de aquí para allá levantando mucho polvo, pero no avanzan por que no han sido guiados por el espíritu santo de Dios. Antes de correr hay que escuchar la voz de Dios.
El mulo a lo contrario, le pueden dar una gran revelación, pero se queda quieto y no se mueve. Ni como caballos ni como mulos, tenemos que estar atento y alerta para oír lo que Dios nos quiere decir y luego ir y hacer aquello que el nos indica. Una actitud de siervos, porque el que es fiel en lo poco Dios lo pondrá en lo mucho. Algunos sienten que Dios los ha llamado para algo grande, y eso esta muy bien, pero quieren brincar de la nada a eso. Dios nos pasa por un proceso para llegar al cumplimiento de su propósito. Dios nos prueba en el camino.
2da etapa es el embarazo.
No se brinca de la concepción al alumbramiento. Hay una espera en medio que conocemos como el embarazo. El embarazo sirve para la preparación de la mujer que va a dar a luz. Su cuerpo empieza a cambiar para dar lugar al bebe que va creciendo en su vientre. Lo mismo pasa en lo espiritual, Dios nos pone la semilla de ese sueno, de ese propósito. Pero no se cumple al día siguiente. Dios nos va preparando para caminar en su propósito. No nos podemos poner muy cómodos. Tenemos que involucrarnos en la congregación. El tiempo de embarazo puede ser desesperante. Podemos perder el enfoque, la fe y esperanza. Tenemos que ser pacientes.

Eclesiastés 11:5
Aunque tengamos días difíciles tenemos que confiar que Dios esta obrando. Dios esta preparando ese bebe y el va a dar a luz através de aquellos que siguen fielmente confiando es su palabra. Aunque no entendamos lo que Dios esta haciendo tenemos que estar firme y esperar en el.
David recibió la promesa de ser el siguiente rey de Israel y tubo que andar escondiéndose por 10 anos. José recibió el sueno de ser un gran líder, pero luego de 13 anos de espera, de esclavitud y en la prisión, parecía tan perdido, pero Dios fue fiel y cumplió su palabra. Abraham tuvo 25 anos esperando un hijo, y luego Dios lo cumplió. Moisés 40 anos cuidando las ovejas de su suegro en el desierto, esperando ser el libertador de su pueblo. Tiempo de embarazo y preparación, pero se cumplió porque Dios es fiel.
　
　
Que debemos hacer durante el embarazo?
1- Una de las cosas que le dicen a la mujer es; elimina todo aquellos que te haga daño.
Lo mismo pasa en el mundo espiritual; tenemos que eliminar todo aquello que nos hace daño a nosotros y que va impedir dar a luz ese sueno, plan o propósito. Si quieres que Dios te use y bendiga y lleve al cumplimiento de sus planes en ti, elimina todo aquello que ofende a Dios en tu vida.
2- Le dicen a la mujer que cuide su dieta. También nosotros tenemos que dejar de alimentarnos con cosas carnales y negativas con las que nos alimentamos. Tenemos que tener cuidado con lo que vemos y escuchamos porque con eso estamos alimentando nuestra alma. No hay mejor alimento que la palabra de Dios.
3- Le dicen a la mujer que visite la clínica para que la estén revisando para ver como esta creciendo el bebe, y para asegurarse de que todo este bien. La casa de Dios es nuestro consultorio.
Galata 6:9
No te canses de hacer las cosas que Dios quiere, porque a su tiempo llegara la cosecha y podrá ver los frutos. Generalmente la duración del embarazo es proporcional al tamaño del bebe. Un ratón nace en veinte a treinta días de embarazo. Un elefante nace en aproximadamente 2 anos de embarazo. Cuando la espera es larga es porque Dios esta preparando algo muy grande para ti.
Isaías 54:1-2
Aunque has sentido que no has estado dando frutos, ensancha el sitio de tu tienda porque el señor esta preparando algo grande para cada uno de nosotros.  Es un tiempo de preparacion.  Dios te quiere usar, pero el no puede usar un instrumento que no sea util para la obra que necesita desempenar.  Por eso es que debemos de pagar el precio antes de poder recoger los frutos que el senor nos quiere dar.
3ra etapa es el parto o alumbramientoEl parto es algo maravilloso pero también implica mucho dolor y trabajo. En lo espiritual es igual. En la preparación y la espera es inevitable el que halla pruebas y dolores de parto. En esos momentos tenemos que enfocarnos más porque mientra mas cerca estamos de dar a luz al propósito de Dios, más se intensifican los dolores.

Juan 16:21-22
Nos dice que abra tiempo de angustia y de dolor, pero cuando llega ese bebe esperado, se olvida el dolor, por el gozo de ver ese bebe. Todo lo que podamos pasar nos va parecer muy poco comparado con la gloria de ver la obra de Dios en nuestra vida. Es importante que sigamos confiando y esperando que Dios haga su obra en nosotros.
Galata 4:19
Es parte del proceso de preparación de Dios el que tengamos que pasar por situaciones que nos causan dolor de parto. El dolor es señar de que se esta haciendo algo en el reino de Dios. No podemos detenernos por causa del dolor. A veces con la espera perdemos de vista la visión de Dios, y no debemos hacer eso.

Samuel 30:3-6
David se fortaleció en su relación con su Dios. Ahí es donde nos debemos de fortalecer. Tenemos que estar con el para que nos de fuerza en cada paso del camino. Nuestra confianza tiene que estar en la roca fuerte y firme, Jesús y su palabra.
　
　
　
4ta etapa es la cuarentenaYa el bebe nació, ahora hay que cuidarlo para que ese bebe pueda crecer y de frutos. Cuando Dios le dio a David el que sea el rey, entonces el tenia la responsabilidad de guiar a su gente. No podemos pensar que ya hemos logrado todo lo que podemos en el señor. Cada vez que el señor nos lleva al cumplimiento de una meta, en ese momento empieza otra. Siempre hay nuevos desafíos en el ministerio. Hay tantas cosas que podemos hacer.  Debemos de entender que no podemos darnos el lujo de tomarnos vacaciones espirituales. Estamos enlistado en el ejercito del senor. Porque no tenemos lucha contra sangre y carne, sino contra principados, contra potestades, contra los gobernadores de las tinieblas de este siglo, contra huestes espirituales de maldad en las regiones celestes. Filipense 3:13-14   Podemos haber ganada muchas batallas en el caminar con el senor, pero la guerra contra el enemigo de nuestra alma sera hasta que Cristo venga por su iglesia.  Debemos poner la mirada fija en Cristo y dejar que el dirija nuestros pasos.
Efesios 4:11-12
Nuestra tarea es de todos juntos hacer la obra del ministerio. Atrayendo a los perdidos y ayudarlos a crecer en el amor y el evangelio de nuestro señor Jesúcristo. Todos, no solo el pastor.
* Debemos fijar la vista en la meta. Podemos tener muchas distracciones en el camino, pero no podemos perder de vista al autor y consumador de la fe, nuestro señor Jesucristo.
Hebreos 12:1-2

Lucas 1:57
Se nos hace mas facil trabajar para Dios que confiar en su palabra y sus promesas.  Pero cuando la luz de la vision que Dios nos da es tan brillante que no podemos ver; entonces tenemos que esperar en el senor.  Dios quiere usar nuestra vida en el lugar donde estamos ahora.  Muchas vecez somos nosotros lo que hacemos que el plan de Dios para nuestra vida se demore.  Pensamos que no podemos ser util en la iglesia donde estamos.  Quizas si mi jefe fuera cristiano yo podria avanzar mas!  Si mi mujer no fuera como es, yo podria servir mejor al senor! 

En ese lugar y en esa situacion que tu estas ahora, ahi es donde yo te quiero.  Como cuando yo saque a mi pueblo de egipto y lo hice pasar por el desierto.  Asi yo hago contigo dice el senor, para probar lo que hay en tu corazon. 

El senor sabe nuestros mas intimos secretos, pero el necesita que nosotros podamos ver todo aquello que nos impide caminar en santidad.  Pero a su tiempo, el cumplira su promesa!

Que la paz del senor sea con cada uno de ustedes!

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EL VERDADERO ARREPENTIMIENTO

La Biblia dice que Dios miro que la maldad de los hombres era mucha en la tierra y que el se arrepintió de haber hecho hombres en la tierra. Génesis 6:5-8. Pero por otro lado dice que el no es hombre para mentir, ni hijo de hombre para arrepentirse. Números 23:19.

Si leemos esos versículos literalmente, parecería que se contradicen uno con el otro, pero debemos de entender cual es el significado de la palabra arrepentimiento antes de hacer cualquiera conclusión.
Arrepentimiento implica varias cosas: Cambiar la manera de pensar, cambiar de rumbo, cambiar de planes y dar la media vuelta.

Cuando el hombre se arrepiente, eso significa que el reconoce su maldad y entiende que tiene que cambiar el rumbo de su vida y la manera de pensar. Entonces debe de dar la media vuelta del mal que esta haciendo y volverse a Dios. En el otro lado el arrepentimiento de Dios significa cambiar de planes. Dios es justo y santo, por lo tanto el no puede volverse del mal al bien porque no hay pecado en el.

La paga del pecado es muerte. Romanos 6:23. Por lo tanto tenemos que entender que si pecamos estamos bajo la maldición de Dios. Pero el señor nos dice que si nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados, el se arrepentirá del mal que nos piensa hacer y que convertirá la maldición en bendición. Jeremias 26:2-3.

Ya que entendemos la diferencia entre el arrepentimiento de Dios y el del hombre, debemos de saber que arrepentimiento es un don de Dios y que no podemos planear arrepentirnos más tarde cuando le demos todo el gusto que podamos a nuestro cuerpo y ya estemos bien viejos. Isaías 55:6-7. No es cuando nosotros queramos. Es cuando Dios le habla a nuestro espíritu. Otra que podemos saber es que Dios no siempre va poder se hallado. Dios conoce nuestros pensamientos de nuestro corazón. No podemos engañar a Jehová. Nos engañamos nosotros mismo. Dios dice que si nos arrepentimos y nos volvemos de nuestro mal camino, y si nos volvemos a el con toda nuestra fuerza, con toda nuestra mente y con todo nuestro corazón, el será amplio en perdonar y tendrá misericordia de nosotros.

Si realmente estamos arrepentidos, es necesario dar frutos dignos de arrepentimiento. Una cosa es el arrepentimiento de una persona que peco y se vuelve del mal que estaba haciendo y ahora odia ese pecado con una pasión igual de intensa que el amor que siente por Dios. Otra cosa es una persona que siente remordimiento por que fue descubierto en su pecado y lo reconoce que si peco, pero no da la media vuelta y continua en el pecado a escondida de los hombres. A eso se le llama lágrimas de cocodrilos. Nunca hubo tal arrepentimiento.

Si Juan le es infiel a su esposa con su secretaria, y ella lo descubre y van con el pastor, y si Juan confiesa que si que realmente el estaba saliendo con su secretaria, y llora arrepentido y dice que quiere arreglar su matrimonio y que quiere que su esposa lo perdone. Pero pasa el tiempo y el todavía tiene a la misma secretaria trabajando en su ofician y no la ha despedido, Juan no esta realmente arrepentido. Hechos 26:19-20.

Hebreos 12:16-17.  Jesús dice que su palabra es vida y es espíritu. Y su palabra va dirigida al espíritu del hombre. Pero si endurecemos y no prestamos atención al llamado de Dios cuando el nos habla, aunque luego queramos arrepentirnos, su palabra dice que puede ser muy tarde. Podemos llorar, patalear y hacer todo tipo de morisqueta y no cambiaremos los planes de Dios, porque no es cuando nosotros queramos sino cuando Dios nos habla.

1ra Reyes 8:46-50.
Dios esta esperando todo el día que nos arrepintamos de nuestros mal caminos para perdonarnos. El esta atento a nosotros, pero su paciencia no durara para siempre.

Jeremias 31:19.Si nos arrepentimos Dios nos perdona, pero aun así debemos recoger el fruto de nuestro pecado. Pero el señor promete estar con nosotros y sostenernos en ese proceso.

Lucas 15:7.Hay tremendo gozo en el cielo por un pecador que se arrepiente.

Amados hermanos, Jesus dio su vida en la cruz del calvario por ustedes y por mi.  No podemos seguir jugando a la iglesia y vivir una vida llena de pecados.  El apostor dijo, "Con Cristo estoy juntamente crucificado, ya no vivo yo."  ?Que es lo que te impide y me impide vivir una vida santa y apartada para el senor?  Es tiempo de arrepentirno y volvernos a nuestro Dios, el cual es fiel y justo para perdonarnos nuestros pecados.  Pero debemos entender que Dios es santo y que el no puede morar junto con el pecado.

Que el amor y la misericordia de nuestro senor Jesucristo sea con cada uno de vosotros.
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Beware of Foxes

                                             by
                    Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)


Dear young friends who have recently found Christ, there are foxes all
around.  We try all we can to stop the gaps in the hedge, that we may keep
the foxes out; but they are very crafty, and they manage to get in
sometimes.  The foxes in the East are much smaller than ours, and they seem
to be even more cunning and more ferocious than those we have in this
country, and they do much mischief to the vines.

In the spiritual vineyard there are foxes of many kinds.  There is, first,
the censurer.  He will spoil the vines if he can, and especially the vines
that have tender grapes.  He finds fault with everything that he can see in
you who are but young believers.  You know that you are simply depending
upon Christ for salvation; but this censurer says, "You are no child of
God, for you are far from being perfect."  If God had no children but those
who are perfect, He would have none under heaven.  These faultfinding
people will find fault with this and that and the other in your life and
character, and you know well enough that you have all too many
imperfections, and if they look for them, they can soon spy them out. 
Then they say, "We do not believe that there is any grace at all in you,"
though you know that by the grace of God you are what you are.  It may be
that there is a fault in you which they have discovered, perhaps you were
taken by surprise, and suddenly overcome.  Possibly, they even set a trap
for you, and allured you into it, provoking you to anger, and then turning
on you, said, "You have made a profession, have you?  That is your
religion, is it?" and so on.  May God deliver you from these cruel foxes! 
He will often do so by enabling you not to pay attention to them.  After
all, this is the way in which all Christians have been tried, there is
nothing strange in your experience from these censurers; and they are not
your judges, you will not be condemned because they condemn you.  Go and do
your best in the service of your Lord; trust in Christ, and do not mind
what they say; and you will be delivered from that kind of fox.

A worse fox even than that one, however, is the flatterer.  He comes to you
smiling and grinning, and he begins to express his approval of your
religion, and very likely tells you what a fine person you are.  Indeed,
you are so good that he thinks you are rather too holy, you have gone a
little over the line!  He believes in religion, he says, fully; though, if
you watch his life, you will not think so; but he says that he does not
want people to be too righteous; he knows that there is a line to be drawn,
and he draws it.  I never could see where he drew it; but still he says he
does, and he thinks that you draw the line a little too near the cross. 

He says, "You might be a little bit more worldly, you cannot get through
life your way; if you get out of society, you might as well get out of the
world.  Why do you make yourself appear so separate?"  I know what he is
after; he wants to get you back among the ungodly.  Satan misses you, and
he wants to have you again, and he is sending Mr. Flatterer to coax you
back, if possible, into your former bondage to him.  Get away from that fox
at once.  The man who tells you that you are too rigid ought to be squarely
told that you do not want his company.  There never lived a man who was too
holy, and there will never live a man who will imitate Christ too closely,
or avoid sin too rigidly.

Whenever a man says that you are too strict, you may always smell one of
these foxes.  It would be better if we were all more strict and literal. 
Has not our Father said to us, "Be holy, because I am holy?"  Did not our
Lord Jesus say to His disciples, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly
Father is perfect?"

Then there comes another fox, Mr. Worldy-wiseman.  He says, "You are a
Christian, but do not be a fool.  Carry your religion as far as you can to
make it pay; but if it comes to losing anything because of it, well then,
don't you do it.  You see, this practice is the custom of the trade; it is
not right, I know, but still, other people do it, and you ought to do it. 
If you don't, then you will never get ahead."  Mr. Worldly-wiseman further
says, "Don't worry if you tell a lie or two, make your advertisements say
what is not true; everybody else does it, and why shouldn't you?  Try to
give your customer a little less here and there when he doesn't know it, it
is common practice in business; it is the way other people do it, and of
course you should do it too."

To all such talk I reply that there is another practice, a practice that
God has, of sending all liars to hell.  There is another practice that God
has--namely, that of exposing as hypocrites those who do not walk honestly
and uprightly towards their fellow-men.  The plea of "common practice" will
not stand for a moment at the judgement-seat of Christ; and it ought not to
stand with us here.  I know that there are many young people who, unless
they are watchful and careful at the very beginning of their spiritual
life, will become crippled, and never walk as they ought to do, because
this fox has bitten them.

There is another ugly fox walking about, and that is a doubting fox.  He
comes and says, "You seem very happy and very joyful; but is it true?  You
appear to be a different person from what you used to be; but is there,
after all, such a thing as conversion?"  This fox begins nibbling at every
doctrine, he even nibbles at your Bible, and tries to steal from you this
chapter and that verse.  God save you young people from all these foxes!

There are some foxes of "false doctrine," and they generally try to hurt
our young people.  No one ever tries to convert me from my belief; the
other day, when a man was arguing with another, I asked him, "Why don't you
try me?"  "Oh," he said, "I have given up on you as a lost cause, there is
no use trying to do anything with you."  This is the way it is when we get
to be thoroughly confirmed in our convictions of the truth; they give up,
and they generally say that we are such fools that we cannot learn their
wisdom, which really is quite correct. 

But with some of the younger folk, they have a different approach.  They
say, "Now you are a reasonable person who has an educated mind, you are a
man of culture; it is a shame that you should cling to those old-fashioned
beliefs, which really are not consistent with our modern age;" and the
foolish young fellow believes that he is an exceptional person and becomes
puffed up with conceit. 

When a man has to talk about his own culture, and to glory in his own
advancement, it is time that we suspected his belief in the truth.  When a
man can despise others who are doing vastly more good than he ever dreamed
of doing, and call such people antiquated and old-fashioned, it is time
that he should get rebuked for his rudeness, for that is what it really is. 
These clever men, as far as I know them, are simply covered with a little
learning, not a sixteenth-thousandth of an inch thick.  There is nothing in
the most of them but mere show and noise; but there are some who hold
firmly to the Old Gospel, who have read as much as they are ever likely to
do, and are fully their equals in learning, though they do not care to
boast of their accomplishments.

Do not any of you young people be carried away with the notion that all
scholarly men are heretics; it is largely the reverse, and it is the
misleading, empty philosopher who goes running after heresy.  Get out of
the way of that fox, or else he will do much damage to the tender grapes.

If you have any sign of spiritual life, if you have any tender grapes on
your branches, the devil and his foxes will be sure to be after you;
therefore, strive to get as close as you can to two persons who have been
emphasized in this text--namely, The King and His spouse.  First, keep
close to Christ, for this is your life; and, next, keep close to His
Church, for this is your comfort.  Get among elderly Christian people, seek
to get to know those who have long known the Lord, those who are farther
along on the heavenly road than you are.  Pilgrims should walk together on
their way to heaven, just like we are reminded in the book, "Pilgrims
Progress," by Paul Bunyan, where they get a Mr. Greatheart to lead the way,
it saves them from many a Giant Slaygood and many a Giant Grim, and they
have a safe and happy journey to the Celestial City rather than having been
attacked and worried.

Keep close to God's people, whoever they may be; they are the best company
for you young believers.  Some Christians may, like Bunyan's pilgrim, start
on the road to heaven alone; but they miss a lot of comfort that they might
of had with companions of a kindred spirit.  As for Chistiana and her
children, and the younger folk especially, they will do well to keep in
company with someone of the Lord's champions, and with the rest of the
army, carrying banners, who are marching towards the Celestial City.


Transcribed by:

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You Had Better Get Ready!

By Dr. Fred Barlow (1921–1983)
"In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live."—II Kings 20:1.Little did Jack Clauson realize as he was digging a grave in Clairton, Iowa that he was digging his own grave.
This sixty-year-old Evergreen Cemetery worker was shoveling dirt out of a grave into a box to be hauled away, when the side of the box collapsed. The dirt crashed back into the grave, burying
Clauson. Before he could be rescued, he died of suffocation. He literally had dug his own grave.
This fatal accident reemphasizes the warning of our text, "Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live." This was the warning of God to King Hezekiah.
Hezekiah had ruled his people long and well. Under God’s miraculous intervention, he had led them to a great victory over Assyria in one of Israel’s bloodiest wars. He had made great alliances with mighty foreign powers of his day. This great king had administered one of the
richest kingdoms in Israel’s history.
But there came to him the inevitable, inescapable call from God, "Thou shalt die." Although death was postponed, it was inevitable, and preparation was commanded.
God has given us the same warning.
I. Death Is Inevitable
You shall die! You had better get ready! Death is inevitable in its reach.
In America today (1960) over four thousand people will die! Over one hundred will be slaughtered on the highways. Fifty will commit suicide. Nearly one thousand will die of heart trouble. Over eight hundred will die of malignant diseases. Hypertension, tuberculosis, murder,
other diseases and accidents will usher others into eternity. Even as you read this sermon, over one hundred people will die.
The history of the human race is the history of a dying race. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12).
Thus God in one sweep of Scripture gives us the whys and wherefores of death—Adam’s disobedience to God’s Word brought the seeds of sin and death into the bloodstream of the whole human race.
Well did Moses sum up the history of the human race in the fifth chapter of Genesis: "…and he died." Yes, Adam lived 930 years, "and he DIED." His son Seth lived 912 years, "and he DIED." Enos lived 905 years, "and he DIED." Methuselah lived 969 years (longer than any other of
these, and longer than anyone since), "and he DIED."
When the Holy Spirit penned the biographies of the kings of Israel and Judah, He vividly used these or similar words in nearly every account: "And he slept with his fathers, and his son reigned in his stead."
Americans today say, "Two things are sure—death and taxes."

The Arabs have a proverb, "Death is a black camel that, soon or late, will come to kneel at every gate."
The Word of God preaches powerfully that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27).
Death is inevitable! You cannot, you will not, escape it.
You may be like Harry Cove, a Lansing, Michigan businessman, who could boast that he had cheated death 172 times. Harry Cove had earned the title of "the world’s most revived man," because the Lansing fire department’s inhalator squad had raced to his home and revived him 172 times following that number of heart attacks. But no longer will the fire department’s dispatcher sing out the familiar refrain, "It’s Harry again!" Mr. Cove is dead!
Yes, you may brush your teeth twice a day with a nationally known toothpaste; you may see your doctor twice a year; you may wear rubber boots when it rains; you may get eight hours of sleep every night; you may never smoke, drink or lose your temper; you may be set to live to
be one hundred; but "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death" (Eccles. 8:8).
God’s Word warns that you have an inevitable appointment with death, so you had better get ready.
II. Death Is
Unpredictable
You shall die! Get ready, for death is unpredictable in its time!
"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" were the wise words of the king in Proverbs 27:1. Who does know?
What men have learned in our generation is little short of miraculous. We have seen, either on television, in newspapers or magazines, what men of all the centuries had wished to see—the other side of the moon.
We know now how to stay the crippling, killing plague of polio. We know now how to photograph a program on one coast of our nation and show it in an instant on the other coast. We know now how to transplant organs of the dead into the living.
But we know no more than Job did centuries ago when, speaking of man, he cried out, "His days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass" (Job 14:5).
Like Job, we do not know the number of months, days or hours until God will summon us into death and eternity. But Job knew that you had better get ready: "Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke" (Job 36:18).
There is just the stroke of the clock between you and death. No man knows that hour. Surely Raymond Eastman didn’t.
This young Des Moines advertising man wrote a widely quoted article, "Ten Seconds to Live," an imaginary study of the thoughts of a motorist about to be killed in an accident.
Ironically, Eastman died in his car as it careened into a bridge, after "clipping" another car in an attempt to pass it. We can be sure he did not know when he stepped into his automobile that day that he was stepping into a hearse that would ride him into death and eternity.
No one knows what Mr. Eastman’s thoughts were in the last ten seconds of this life; but we would assume that, after writing such an article for motorists, he would have been prepared for violent and lurking death on the highways.
But what about you? Whether on the highway, in the office, at school, on your bed—who knows if you have ten conscious seconds left to get ready to die and meet God? Not only is there just a stroke between life and death, there is just a step between life and death.
David, the anointed king (but a fugitive from the relentless, tireless, murdering King Saul), knew this and reminded his good friend, Jonathan, "…but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death" (I Sam. 20:3).
David knew that death was lurking everywhere. On the starless night, in the darkened caverns, in the stillness of the forest, death was just a step away. Any step might bring him into the view
of a keen-eyed archer, into the range of a skilled swordsman, or into the enemy camp or trap, a snare of no escape.
Death is just a step away from you too. It may not be the same step David feared. And it may not be the step of a Flint, Michigan factory worker who was driven to work by his wife. As he alighted from the car, he reached through the open car window to give his wife a good-bye
kiss, and then stepped back one step into the path of a careening car—and death. But you are just a step away from death and eternity.
You could step toward life and Heaven by saying yes to Christ’s call: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20). By saying yes to Christ’s plea, "…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37), you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven.
But if you continue in your steps into the haunts of sin and away from the calling Saviour’s love, your steps will take you to death and Hell.
"For the lips of a strange woman [a type or picture of sin] drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell."—Prov. 5:3–5.You had better get ready, don’t you see?
III. Death Is Terrible
You shall die! You had better get ready because death is terrible in its visitation.
"Thou fool!" These were the midnight, silence-breaking words of the Lord to a man who was visited by death. This man had an overflowing harvest and bursting barns. He had mused to himself, "I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine
ease, eat, drink and be merry." But God said to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."
Fools! This is Bible language. Fools recorded in the Bible were not ignoramuses nor people with "upstairs apartments to rent," but individuals who did not exercise their God-given sense in the
light of eternal issues.
God charges the so-called atheist with being a fool: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. 14:1).
God declares you to be fools who mock (or laugh) at sin (Prov. 14:9).
Again we see the folly of fools—individuals who are "slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25).
We call the "Scripture slashers" and the "penknife preachers" and teachers and leaders who cannot believe God’s Word and cut out everything that is not "logical" and "reasonable" in their eyes, modernists. God calls them fools.
This man in Luke 12:16–21 was a fool. He had made plans to retire, rest and relax. He had worked hard. He had endured burning sun and drenching rains. He had made his fortune. He, no doubt, had insured his barns, his livestock, his home, his life and his family. But he had not insured his soul. He had gotten ready to live, but he had not made preparations to die. Now it was time to rest, he told his soul. But God said, "No, it is time to die."
That night the Angel of Death knocked at his door. That night the skirts of Death swished through the room. That night the icy fingers of Death cast a soul into eternity. The next morning the family found their loved one dead.
I trust this will not be your biography too. I have seen so many friends in my ministry visited by death this way. I pray you will give earnest heed to the things you have heard, and not let them slip. Oh, I pray that at some midnight hour, or on some blood-splattered highway, or in some hospital ward; or that in rejection of Christ, which well may be your very last, final and fatal rejection, you will not have to cry out with another death-doomed and Hell-bound soul, "I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly" (I Sam. 26:21).
IV. Death to the Unsaved Means Final
Separation
You shall die! You had better get ready because death to an unsaved soul is final in its separation. Death separates the unsaved from their loved ones forever.
In 1945 a distinguished woman died in Washington, D.C. She had been an authority on genealogy and had written books to trace the lineage of well-known persons through the centuries. She belonged to many exclusive groups, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Dames, Dames of Magna Charta, the Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Woman’s National Press Club, and others.

When the undertaker arrived at her home, twenty cats trailed him about the place, until, to his horror, he came upon a hidden niche with a casket in which reposed the remains of the distinguished woman’s dead mother. For thirty-three years this social figure had evaded a law
which requires burial of dead bodies, and had spent long hours gazing at the mummified remains of her mother through a small window in the hermetically sealed mahogany coffin, which had on the nameplate a death date—March 13, 1912. This socialite clubwoman, authoress and authority on genealogy was afraid of death’s separation.
How different is the story of F. B. Meyer, who just before his death wrote these words to his wife:

Dear, I have just learned, to my
surprise, that I have only a few days to live. It may be that before this
reaches you, I will have entered into the Palace. Don’t trouble to write. We
shall meet in the
morning.At his funeral in Christ Church Cathedral, Scriptures were read which spoke of the Christian’s hope of immortality, and Easter songs were sung. As the organ began to play the hymn at the conclusion of the service, to the surprise of the bowed-head congregation, instead of the funeral march, the organist swung into the triumphant notes of the "Hallelujah Chorus."
What could have been more fitting! A Christian with hope in Christ had gone Home to his Saviour.
Death’s separation to the Christian is only for a little season, for God’s Word promises us:
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with
these words."—I Thess. 4:16–18.What a day that will be!
Oh, you had better get ready, that you may have the same hope F. B. Meyer had, because without Christ, you face the mournful, baneful and eternal loss of loved ones, even as this Washington, D.C. celebrity.
Not only does death separate sinners from loved ones forever, but it separates sinners from God, in Hell forever. Sinners who die in their sins must go to Hell. Jesus said so in John 8:21,24:
"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come….I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."Jesus warned it is either Heaven with Him or Hell without Him. You can’t ever go to Heaven if
you die in your sins.
Again, God’s Word declares in Psalm 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell."
And again, God warns you through the lips of the Son of God:
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels….And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."—Matt. 25:41,46.In Revelation 20:14,15 we are warned of God’s "payday" to sinners when He says:
"Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."Yes, when you die in your sins, it is Hell for you, and it is Hell forever.
There is not a more detailed and graphic picture of a sinner’s death and doom in Hell than the message Jesus preached in Luke 16:19–31.
A dead man in Hell—oh, what a scene! Here is a man who cries, "I am tormented in this flame."
Here is a man who realizes he has an unforgettable memory of spurned invitations of a pleading Saviour. Here is a man who sees his wicked life’s influence is bringing brothers, loved ones, to this land of torments. Here is a man who hopes no more.
Proverbs 11:7 warns, "When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth."
Here is a man who found death to a sinner meant everlasting doom, everlasting death, everlasting Hell.
Well did Charles Spurgeon preach of Hell when he cried out:
On every chain is written: "Forever." Up above their heads they read, "Forever." Their eyes are galled, their hearts are pained with the thought that it is "forever." Oh, if I could tell you tonight
that Hell one day would be burned out and that those there might be saved, there would be a jubilee in Hell at the very thought of it! But it cannot be: it is "forever." They are cast into outer darkness. Hell is the graveyard where all hope is buried, never to be resurrected.
V. Hell Cannot Be Avoided Without
Preparation
You shall die! You had better get ready, because death in Hell is avoidable only with the right
preparation.
Our text warns us to get ready: "Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live." Get ready!
This was the theme of a soldier’s last letter. Dated June 21, 1953, Company Commander John R. Wasson wrote this letter to his men of Company "I" 65th Infantry Regiment:

MEN OF "I"
COMPANY:
In the midst of this situation, we are
concerned about having trenches, bunkers, weapons; but I have something that I
want to share with you that is more important than all of these and any others.
As thinking men, I challenge you to consider these facts
seriously:
(1) Life here on earth is very uncertain
and short. We have seen this to be true many times.
(2) Death seems to have no explanation or
solution when we face it so vividly and brutally.
God has shown me the solution to these
two puzzles in the promises of the Bible. I must share them with you, for they
must be personally understood and claimed to be yours.
First, God promises that we may have
everlasting life by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and receiving Him as
our Saviour from sin (John 3:16; 1:12).
Second, God assures us that Christ Jesus
has won the victory over death and the grave once and for all (I Cor. 15:54–57;
Rom. 8:38,39).
Now God does not lie. His Word is true. I
simply want to challenge you to seek to know Christ, for with Him there is
eternal life and joy, but without Him there is uncertainty and
sorrow….
"He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
If you know Him already, I challenge you
to live for Him daily.This last letter of the company commander to his men on the eve of a great battle warned them to get ready. It instructed them how to get ready to die. How many laughed it off; how many shrugged it off; how many believed it and prepared—only eternity will reveal.
God has a last message for you too—not that God will die and never speak again, but because this may well be your last opportunity to hear His message. God pleads with you:
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?"—Ezek. 33:11.God so loved you that He sent His Son, allowed Him to be maligned, hated without a cause, jeered, mocked, tried and sentenced unjustly and crucified that you might turn from your sins, confess them to Him and be saved and have everlasting life. Yes, I plead with you in God’s stead: get ready, get prepared to meet God, get saved.
God the Father does not want you to die in your sins and go to Hell. Neither does Jesus. No one can possibly know the suffering, the shame, the sum total of all the world’s sins He bore on that
awful rugged tree. He bore them for you. He bore yours. He calls you now to get ready, get saved, get right with God.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."—John 5:24.The Holy Spirit loves you too. He does not want you to perish in sin and go to Hell. Even now He
convicts you of the truth of this message; now He pleads with you to get saved; now He warns you, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:2).
Now He woos you with His last call in the very last chapter of the Bible to dying, Hell-bound sinners:
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely."—Rev.
22:17.
Are you ready?
How do you choose—Heaven or Hell? Life or death?
In the light of inevitable death, unpredictable death, terrible death, final death, but avoidable death, surely you will choose Christ who stands at your heart’s door and knocks, saying:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."—Rev. 3:20.

In the silent midnight
watches,
List, thy
bosom door!
How it
knocketh—knocketh—knocketh—
Knocketh evermore!
Say not ’tis thy pulse is beating;
’Tis thy heart of sin;
’Tis thy Saviour knocks and crieth,

"Rise and let Me in."

Death comes on with reckless
footsteps,
To the hall
and to the hut,
Think
you, Death will tarry knocking
Where the door is shut?
Jesus waiteth—waiteth—waiteth—

But the door is going
fast;
Grieved, away
the Saviour goeth;
Death breaks in at last.
jesuseslavidaeterna.blogspot.com

Revival in Soul Winning

by
Len G. Broughton
Soul winning is the work of the church. Jesus Himself said, "Follow me, and I
will make you fishers of men." The aim and object of every church authorized of
God is the salvation of the lost; and if we are not accomplishing this, we have
no right to claim to be, in any sense, performing our duty as the church of God.

Some time ago in an association I heard a church letter read something like this:
Members received, none. Dismissed, none. Died, none. Married, none. Given to missions during the year, nothing. Paid pastor, nothing. Brethren, pray for us that during the next year we may hold our own.
Can anybody dare say that such a church is the church of God? It makes no difference what its name
may be the church of Christ should be constantly leading souls from darkness into light. It is a band of believers, not keeping house for Christ, but multiplying in Christ.
The question now is: How can a church or an individual, powerless to win souls, be revived and set on fire with the soul-winning spirit? This is a big question and one we cannot begin to answer in short space; yet there are some fundamental principles which we may lay down and which, if studied carefully, may bring forth much fruit along this line.

A CLEAN HEART
A clean heart is necessary. David says in Psalm 66:18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"-not that He cannot hear. Many Christians have been praying for soul-winning power and all the time remaining powerless, wondering what was the matter, when God simply had His ears closed against their cries because of their unclean hearts. Sin harbored-just holding it fast and unwilling to surrender it-how contemptible in the sight of God!
My friends, this is the secret of failure in many of our efforts to lead souls to Christ in our churches.
Look at Israel. They had just won a great victory at the fall of Jericho. God had told them not to take any of the treasures of Jericho; and so far as they knew, this command had not been violated.
Shortly after this victory God sent Joshua and his men up to capture Ai. They had no anticipation of anything but victory. But to their astonishment they were totally defeated, and Joshua, returning,
fell down and began complaining. Then God came to him, saying, "Israel hath sinned." Joshua was ignorant of it, but God was not. Finally Achan confessed his sin, that he had disobeyed the commands of God not to take spoils of Jericho. Now the host of God is ready for service. Another attempt to conquer Ai, and victory is upon their banners!
Brother, would you be a soul winner? Look deep down in your heart. Are you clinging to sin, one sin, a little sin, even the smallest sin? Are you unwilling to surrender it? Then cease your praying, for the Almighty ear will not hear you. Would the church have soul-winning power, such power as God Himself is willing to give? Then let the church cleanse its membership and its methods. Is she clinging to unworthy men and women, afraid, perhaps, for social or financial reasons, to deal with them
fearlessly in the sight of God? Or is she clinging to methods or forms or ceremonies that are not strictly in keeping with the will of God? Is she unwilling to listen to the voice of God and the Holy Spirit? If so, she need not expect to get the ear of God, and without the ear of God, power for soul winning is impossible. Oh, that the church would heed at this point! Souls are perishing, and we are starving, yet God is ready to grant us the blessing.

THE JOY OF SALVATION
If we would be soul winners, there must be a joy in our hearts. David, in Psalm 51:12,13, prays: "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." He was not praying for salvation then-he had that; he was praying for the joy of salvation. It is no use talking to other people about religion unless we ourselves are rejoicing in Christ. The happy, cheerful face of the child of God
impresses the world with its need of a Saviour. Graveyard religion has no place in service.
Hear me, my friends. Christ Jesus never came into the world to bring any such religion. His is a religion of joy and happiness and peace. God help the church to realize this great truth, that it may lay aside its graveclothes and put on the garments of life.

SINNERS ARE LOST

The church or individual, to have power in soul winning, must have a realization of the fact that sinners are lost.  In John 3:18 Christ says, "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed"-not going to be lost then, but lost now. We all seem to have a kind of knowledge
concerning this sad fact, but knowledge is not sufficient. There must be a keen realization on our part of the fact.
Some years ago I received, very unexpectedly, a telegram that my mother was dead. I shall never forget how it struck me. I knew it must be true because Father had said it, yet somehow I could not realize it. All the way home I felt there must be some mistake about it. Upon arriving, I began to realize more and more what had happened. I entered the room of our house and met the loved ones who were weeping and sobbing. Then I entered the parlor where the coffin was. I took my stand by it
and looked down through the glass lid upon her dead face. Those lips that only awhile ago had kissed mine good-bye, were now white and cold. Those arms and hands that had only a short time ago encircled me, were now folded across her breast, as white and cold as marble. Those beautiful deep-blue eyes that had always sparkled with such joy and sweetness, were closed against me. As I stood there and looked for a moment, it all came to me: "Yes, Mother is dead!"

Oh, my friends, what the church needs today is to be so filled with the Spirit of the Master that its great heart will see with Him that the soul out of Christ is dead. May God grant that we may get a glimpse of all the lost souls away from Jesus; that we may be willing to sacrifice anything to rescue
them and bring them to Him.

BRING THEM TO CHRIST
We have the power to bring sinners to Jesus.  James 5:20 says, "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." What a great honor and privilege conferred upon us!
During the World's Fair thousands and thousands of people every day would crowd around that magnificent diamond of Tiffany's. It was the one great attraction, at least to the ladies. But oh, my friend, think of it. One soul rescued from sin is worth more than all the diamonds of the earth! We
will see this in eternity, when we wake up and see what we are saved from and what we are saved to. When we see some soul that we have rescued and brought to Christ, when that soul is rejoicing with us in the presence of God in Glory, then we shall know, as here we have never known, the value of an immortal soul.

Oh, let us be stimulated to the work of soul winning! Do it any way you can. Write a letter and pray the Holy Spirit to accompany it. I have known many souls saved as a result of such work. Pay a visit. Distribute tracts. Speak a word. Go and have prayer. Do not wait for people to come to church: go after them, and in every way possible try to impress lost souls with your interest and zeal in
rescuing them from sin and bringing them to Jesus. People often ask me to give them a rule for soul winning. I always say, "Make your own rules, after prayer and Bible study; then you will find that you will make them only to break them." No rule is the best rule in soul winning. Get filled with the Spirit,
and He will direct, for this is His work.

AN AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY

God holds us responsible if we fail to try. "When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."-Ezek. 3:18,19.
Oh, what an awful responsibility this is!
Dear Christian friends, have we been faithful? Have we done our part? Can we put our hand upon our heart today with these words ringing in our ears, look God in the face and not tremble? Suppose it costs us sacrifice to do the work. Think of the blessing upon us and upon those whom we may lead to salvation.

A farmer in North Carolina once drove with two high-mettled horses into town. Stopping in front of one of the stores, he was about to enter when his horses took fright. He sprang in front of them and heroically seized the reins. Maddened by strange noises, the horses dashed down the street, the man still clinging to the bridles. On they rushed, until the horses, wild with frenzy, rose on their haunches and leaping upon the man, all came with a crash to the earth. When people came and rescued the bleeding body of the man and found him in death's last agony, a friend, bending tenderly over him, asked, "Why did you sacrifice your life for horses and wagon?" He gasped with his breath, as his spirit departed, "Go and look in the wagon." They turned, and there, asleep in the straw, lay his little boy.
As they laid the mangled form of the hero in his grave, no one said, "The sacrifice is too great."
Some years ago in the Northwestern University near Chicago, a rescue crew was organized. Their purpose was the rescue of the drowning on the lake. One day the news came that a magnificent
vessel was wrecked just off shore. The young men hurried at once to the scene of the disaster and plunged into the angry waters to rescue those who were going down. Soon all returned but one. Finally he came in bringing one man with him. Immediately he returned and soon brought another, then another, and so on until he had rescued ten. During this time his mates had built a fire and
were warming themselves, all the time trying to persuade the young hero against his conviction of duty. By the time he had brought the tenth man, he was completely exhausted and had to rest for awhile. Regaining sufficient strength, he again plunged into the water and brought another man. Now he was completely overcome.
It was a sad scene around his bed that night. While friends stood around weeping and his fellow students were regretting that they had not forced him to do as they had, he called one of them to his bedside and said in a low, subdued tone, just before he died: "Did I do my best?" Instantly his friend
said, "Yes, I should think you did do your best. You saved eleven, but you have lost your life."
"But," said he, "did I do my best, my dead level best?"

"Yes, you did your dead level best." Then a smile seemed to come over his face as if to say, "Then I am satisfied to die." During the night he died from exposure.
O my friends, this will be something of our experience when we are in the presence of God in eternity: "Did I do my best, my dead level best?"

jesuseslavidaeterna.blogspot.com

Why So Many Commit Suicide

by Fred Brown
"And ye will not come to
me, that ye might have life."—John 5:40.


This world is a paradox. While exerting much energy to extend life, it is
concocting new ways of destroying itself. 

Doctors are burning midnight oil in researchlaboratories all over the world in search of cures for dread diseases and in an effort to discover new life-saving drugs in answer to man’s cry for a longer life.  Food fads, reducing diets and exercising routines are the rage, as man seeks to squeeze out a few
more months or years of life. 

At the same time all the above is going on, cigarettes are selling at a record clip, and distilleries are running full blast to supply men with the stuff that destroys life and health. A man tries to live longer by dieting, and then drinks himself to death.

We see the human race in the strange paradox of begging itself not to kill itself. Much time is given on radio and TV warning people not to drive too fast or not to drink and drive, but each year the automobile death toll remains staggeringly high. These warnings go out with such monotony that one wonders if it is worth the effort in the face of such flagrant disregard.

Man seems to be the softest and the hardest he has ever been. Man’s sympathy and softheartedness are annually put on display. Billions are raised in all kinds of drives for the alleviation of diseases and poverty.  A man will put a liberal check into a fund for heart disease, then get drunk, get behind the
wheel of his high-powered car and leave a trail of broken hearts and lives.

Man is not only destroying himself by his social activity, but politically
he is standing on the brink of world catastrophe. Men of science who understand
the potential of our engines of destruction are scared. One said to me the other
day, "Knowing what I know, I am glad I am saved." While man sings, drinks,
dances, gambles and plays his way through life, behind the scenes our manpower,
brain power and wealth are all dedicated to welding together certain and sure
disaster for the world.

There is no question as to whether this world will suffer untold
destruction and bloodshed. It is only a matter of when. In the sixth chapter of
Revelation alone, we are told that one-fourth of all earth’s inhabitants are to
be slain. The church is to be gone at that time, thank God! Then in Revelation,
chapter 9, one-third of all who are left are prophesied to be destroyed. That is
over half of the population of the world killed, and the worst is ahead. Do you
doubt that in the light of Scripture, the only true light, this world is
committing physical suicide?



Spiritual Suicide
This phase of the world’s madness doesn’t bother me as much as the spiritual suicide so evident on every hand.

In our text above (John 5:40), we have one of the saddest, most heart-searching statements that ever
fell from the lips of Christ. It ranks almost on a par with His cry from the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The Lord Jesus had tried in every way conceivable to man to prove His identity, that man might believe in Him and live. He lived, spoke and worked as no other person had or could. His perfect life, authoritative words and miraculous works were proof that His
credentials were real, that He actually was God in flesh.

Having addressed Himself to the crowd, He saw again the hardening of hearts and knew that they had rejected Him as Saviour. It was then, I believe with tear-stained face, I believe with a voice throbbing with the love that sent Him to earth to die, He held out His hands and cried, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."

That statement was a trumpet blast of condemnation. In that one short sentence Jesus Christ explained why every soul that perishes is lost. They are not lost because they have to be, neither because no provision has been made for them. They are not lost because life has not been proffered to them. Believe it or not, or illogical as it may seem to logical minds, the only reason souls are lost is that they reject life. In the full knowledge of the consequences, under circumstances conducive to accepting Christ, millions today are premeditatedly, deliberately, with callused hearts, turning from Christ as the giver of life and committing spiritual suicide.



Tragedy in Rejection of
Christ
At the close of a seven weeks’ meeting, I saw a doctor sitting in the balcony, a man for whom much
prayer had been made. He was young and talented, his fame was fast spreading, and he was rapidly becoming one of the most popular doctors in the city.

An usher on the bottom floor was interested in this doctor, and when the invitation was extended, he made his way to the balcony and invited his friend to accept Christ. After some conversation, the doctor pushed by the usher and walked down the stairs and out of the church.

Three years later I came back for a meeting, and a friend handed me a newspaper clipping telling of the doctor’s death. He had thrown himself under a fast-moving bus the day before I arrived. He had never been seen in church after that night three years before. He had taken to drink and dope and immoral practices that made his wife divorce him. In less than three years he was reduced from a promising physician to a pitiable bum.

My friend who handed me the clipping said, "Fred, he committed suicide yesterday."
I said, "No, he didn’t!"
He said, "He did. People saw him."
I said, "Yes, he committed suicide, but not yesterday. He committed spiritual suicide three years ago in the balcony of that church when he deliberately turned his back on the gospel invitation. He took the gun of sin and turned it upon his soul and committed spiritual suicide forever."

Every Christ-rejecter has some excuse for his action, no matter how flimsy it might be. I have seldom
found one, though, who will give me the real reason behind his rejection. As you no doubt know, there is a great difference between an excuse and a reason.  Someone has described an excuse as the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. It is like hurting in one place and grunting in another.

As I have dealt with people, I have come to the conclusion that the real reasons for rejecting Christ could be covered under four heads. These are not the excuses folk use, such as: 1. I am too big a sinner; 2. I have tried and failed; 3. I am afraid I couldn’t hold out; 4. There are too many hypocrites in the church; 5. I don’t believe the Bible; etc.

Those are all flimsy excuses that can easily be met by Scripture, each of which can be shown to be a reason for accepting Christ rather than an excuse not to do so. Let me name the four basic reasons people are rejecting Christ.



I. Ignorance of Their
Need
The most pessimistic reader of this message would be shocked to know how few people in this land have actually been born again. There is a vast difference in the number who think they are saved and the number who are actually saved! That means, of course, that millions are lost who think they are saved.

Many things have contributed to this condition. Low standards of church membership; the false security given by false preaching as to the genuine way of salvation; the easy believism being
propagated from so many pulpits; the idea that walking an aisle, being baptized, receiving communion, etc., is tantamount to salvation, along with many other things, have led millions to a false security.

Listen to the awful words of Christ to these deceived people:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."—Matt. 7:21–23.There is such a desire today to get decisions! They are the life-blood of so many preachers. They are almost the Hooper rating in the religious world. It is the number of decisions that recommends a man to his next church or next meeting. This mad scramble for numbers lets down the bars and leads to widened invitations and careless dealing with souls, and the blood of multitudes will be on the hands of earnest men who deceived with no intention to do so!
Let us not be as afraid of not getting decisions as getting wrong decisions! Satisfied sinners in America need to feel conviction. No one can be saved until he knows he is lost. Ask yourself the question, "Did you ever know you were a lost soul on the way to Hell?" If not, the possibility is that you are not now a saved soul on the way to Heaven!



II. Pride

"At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were
better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."—Matt. 18:1–6.Man is so unwilling to admit his need. He thinks it is a sign of weakness to go forward on an invitation to accept Christ, publicly admitting himself to be a sinner and in need of salvation.
Pride sits in the seat with every sinner and at invitation time stands by his side and whispers, "Look around you. Don’t you think you are as good as this crowd?" The sinner says, "Yes, I believe I am." Then Pride says, "Then are you going to go up there and make a spectacle of yourself in front of all these people?" Then the sinner will stiffen his old, stubborn knees and hold up his head and stalk out of the meeting to his doom, because he was too proud to admit his need.

As long as there is one vestige of human pride left in the heart of a man, it is impossible for him to be saved.

The Pharisee of Luke 18 was thanking God he wasn’t like others. While he was comparing himself favorably with others, he went to Hell, while the unfavorable ones were saved. The publican could find nothing to brag about. He simply said, ‘God, be merciful to me the sinner.’ As far as he was concerned, he was the only sinner, and certainly the worst.

There is one leveling place in this world, and that is at the foot of the cross. There all must come as empty-handed beggars, with nothing to recommend them to God, and receive salvation as a free gift, bestowed on all undeserving souls who come to Christ by faith. Great multitudes of proud, haughty, bigoted, self-righteous sinners are lost today and are refusing to accept life on Christ’s terms, because of pride.



III. Love of the World

"Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God."—II Tim. 3:4.It is astounding the small value some people put on their souls. The world is put on one side of the balance and Christ on the other, and to them the world outweighs Christ, so they reject Him for some
bauble of the world.
I want to make a shocking statement! I can prove it. Don’t jump to conclusions but read the rest of the paragraph carefully!

I know people who would rather dance and go to Hell, than to quit dancing and go to Heaven! I didn’t say you would go to Hell if you danced! I didn’t say you would go to Heaven if you didn’t! I know people who would rather dance and go to Hell, than not dance and go to Heaven. I know folk who would rather attend movies, drink whiskey, gamble, commit adultery, and go to Hell, than not do
those things and go to Heaven!

You say, "How do you know? Certainly no one ever told you that." Not in so many words, but inadvertently they tell me. Let me illustrate.

In a small Indiana town a beautiful young woman asked to talk to me after the service. She had won a "bathing beauty" contest and was worldly and proud. I knew God’s Spirit had dealt with her when she wanted to ask questions. Our conversation ran something like this:

She: "I am not going to quit dancing."
I: "That is all right with me."
She: "Aren’t you opposed to it?"
I: "Ordinarily, but in your case, it will be okay."
She: "I am not going to quit playing bridge either."
I: "That is all right too."
She: "I belong to six bridge clubs, and I am not going to quit a one of them."
I: "You ought to organize another one. You have a vacant day on your hands."
She: "I am not going to quit. I can’t be a Christian and do those things,
but I am not going to quit, because I don’t see any harm in them."
I: "Wait a minute, what you just said. You say you can’t be a Christian
and do those things?"
She: "That’s right."
I: "Because you can’t see any harm in them?"
She: "That’s right."
I: "Then you are a fool!"
She: "What do you mean?"
I: "I mean you are a fool! Don’t you see you are rejecting Christ in order
to play bridge and dance?"
She: "I am not going to quit."

There it is! A confession that a little whirl at this world’s empty, unsatisfying pleasure meant more to her than to be saved.

How many millions are lost because of love of pleasure? How foolish all pleasure-mad sinners will seem when God starts rocking this world in judgment, amidst the burning of everything above and the rocking of everything beneath.

Turn to Christ while there is time. Why commit suicide for it, and then lose it and your soul?



IV. Fear of Man

"The fear of man bringeth a snare."—Prov. 29:25. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."—Matt.10:28.If asked to name the category of sinners who head the list of those who will be in Hell, I imagine the average person would be a long time getting to the right one. Revelation 21:8 gives the list, and strangely, the "fearful" head the list.
Of what are people afraid? Men on jobs—afraid of being called names; young men—afraid to face the gang as a Christian; women—afraid to be cut off from the society of women in clubs, etc.; girls—afraid to be unpopular with boys; businessmen—afraid to try to compete with the world as a Christian!

Social pressures, such as the desire for job advancements and recognition, lay the cold hand of fear on thousands of hearts and cause men, women and young people to turn their backs on Christ.

I have seen many an emotional battle lost in a service, when one was on the verge of accepting Christ, because of cowardice! The knees turn to water, a yellow streak shows up, and men with courage to face enemy guns on the battlefield prove themselves not courageous enough to turn to Christ.

In our text, Jesus Christ takes the blood of the world off His hands and throws it upon the world’s own soul. "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." In John 6:37, He says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." He still holds out life! What will you choose—life in Him or death by your
rejection of Him? Accept Him now!

Credits: www.gotothebible.com
www.jesuseslavidaeterna.com

Authentic Religion

                                   by
                               J. C. Ryle
                               (1816-1900)

                    "Rejected silver" (Jeremiah 6:30)

                    "Nothing but leaves" (Mark 11:13)

  "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"
(1 John 3:18).

"You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Revelation 3:1)


If we profess to have any religion at all, let us be careful that it is
authentic.  I say it emphatically, and I repeat the saying: Let us be
careful that our religion is authentic.

What do I mean when I use the word "authentic."  I mean that which is
genuine, and sincere, and honest, and thorough.  I mean that which is not
inferior, and hollow, and formal, and false, and counterfeit, and sham,
and nominal.  "Authentic" religion is not mere show, and pretense, and
skin-deep feeling, and temporary profession, and works only on the
outside.  It is something inward, solid, substantial, intrinsic, living,
lasting.  We know the difference between counterfeit and authentic
money--between solid gold and tinsel--between plated metal and
silver--between authentic stone and plaster imitation.  Let us think of
these things as we consider the subject of this paper.  What is the
character of our religion?  Is it authentic?  It may be weak, and feeble,
and mingled with many defects.  That is not the point before us today. 
Is our religion authentic?  Is it true?

The times in which we live demand attention to this subject.  A want of
authenticity is a striking feature of a vast amount of religion in the
present day.  Poets have sometimes told us that the world has passed
through four different states or conditions.  We have had a golden age,
and a silver age, a brass age, and an iron age.  How far this is true, I
do not stop to inquire.  But I fear there is little doubt as to the
character of the age in which we live.  It is universally an age of cheap
metal and alloy.  If we measure the religion of the age by its apparent
quantity, there is much of it.  But if we measure it by its quality,
there is indeed very little.  On every side we want MORE AUTHENTICITY.

I ask your attention, while I try to bring home to men's consciences the
question of this paper.  There are two things which I propose to do:

I.  In the first place, I will show the "importance of authenticity in
religion."

II.  In the second place, I will supply "some tests by which we may prove
whether our own religion is authentic."

Does any reader of this paper have any desire to go to heaven when he
dies?  Do you wish to have a religion which will comfort you in life,
give you good hope in death, and survive the judgment of God at the last
day?  Then, do not turn away from the subject before you.  Sit down, and
consider calmly, whether your Christianity is authentic and true, or
counterfeit and hollow.

I.  I have to show "the importance of authenticity in religion."

The point is one which, at first sight, may seem to require very few
remarks to establish it.  All men, I am told, are fully convinced of the
importance of authenticity.  But is this true?  Can it indeed be said
that authenticity is rightly judged among Christians?  I deny it
entirely.  The greater part of people who profess to admire authenticity,
seem to think that everyone possesses it!  "They tell us that all have
got good hearts," and that all are sincere and true for the most part,
though they may make mistakes.  They call us unchristian, and harsh, and
censorious, if we doubt anybody's goodness of heart.  In short, they
destroy the value of authenticity by regarding it as a thing, which
almost every one has.

This widespread delusion is precisely one of the causes why I take up
this subject.  I want men to understand that "authenticity" is a far more
rare and uncommon thing than is commonly supposed.  I want men to see
that "unreality" is one of the great dangers of which Christians ought to
beware.

What does the Scripture say?  This is the only judge that can try the
subject.  Let us turn to our Bibles, and examine them fairly, and then
deny, if we can, the importance of authenticity in religion, and the
danger of not being authentic.

(1)  Let us look then, for one thing, at the parables spoken by our Lord
Jesus Christ.  Observe how many of them are intended to put in strong
contrast the true believer and the mere nominal disciple (in name only). 
The parables of the sower, of the weeds, of the net, of the two sons, of
the wedding garment, of the ten virgins, of the talents, of the great
banquet, of the ten minas, of the two builders, all have one great point
in common.  They all bring out in striking colors the difference between
authenticity and unreality in religion.  They all show the uselessness
and danger of any Christianity which is not authentic, thorough, and
true.

(2)  Let us look, for another thing, at the language of our Lord Jesus
Christ about the scribes and the Pharisees.  Eight times in one chapter
we find Him denouncing them as "hypocrites," in words of almost fearful
severity--"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being
condemned to hell?" (Matthew 23:33).  What can we learn from these
tremendously strong expressions?  How is it that our gracious and
merciful Savior used such cutting words about people who at any rate were
more moral and decent than the tax collectors and prostitutes?  It is
meant to teach us the exceeding detestableness of false profession and
mere outward religion in God's sight.  Open wickedness and willful
submission to fleshly lusts are no doubt ruinous sins, if not given up. 
But there seems nothing which is so displeasing to Christ as hypocrisy
and unreality.

(3)  Let us also look at the startling fact, that there is hardly a grace
in the character of a true Christian of which you will not find a
counterfeit described in the Word of God.  There is not a feature in a
believer's countenance of which there is not an imitation.  Give me your
attention, and I will show you this in a few examples.

Is there not a false "repentance?"  Without a doubt there is.  Saul and
Ahab, and Herod, and Judas Iscariot had many feelings of sorrow about
sin.  But they never really repented unto salvation.

Is there not a false "faith?"  Without a doubt there is.  It is written
of Simon Magus, at Samaria, that he "believed," and yet his heart was not
right in the sight of God.  It is even written of the devils that they
"believe and shudder" (Acts 8:13; James 2:19).

Is there not a false "holiness."  Without a doubt there is.  Joash, king
of Judah, appeared to everyone very holy and good, so long as Jehoiada
the priest lived.  But as soon as he died the religion of Joash died at
the same time (2 Chronicles 24:2).  Judas Iscariot's outward life was as
correct as that of any of the apostles up to the time that he betrayed
his Master.  There was nothing suspicious about him.  Yet in reality he
was "a thief" and a traitor (John 12:6).

Is there not a false "love and kindness?"  Without a doubt there is.  The
is a love which consists in words and tender expressions, and a great
show of affection, and calling other people "dear brethren," while the
heart does not love at all.  It is not for nothing that John says, "Let
us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 

It was not without cause that Paul said: "Love must be sincere." (1 John
3:18; Romans 12:19).

Is there not a false "humility?"  Without a doubt there is.  There is a
pretended meekness of demeanor, which often covers over a very proud
heart.  Paul warns us against a "forced humility," and speaks of "having
an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false
humility" (Colossians 2:18, 23).

Is there not a false "praying?"  Without a doubt there is.  Our Lord
denounces it as one of the special sins of the Pharisees--that for a
"show make lengthy prayers" (Matthew 23:14).  He does not charge them
with not praying, or with praying short prayers.  Their sin lay in this,
that their prayers were not authentic.

Is there not a false "worship?"  Without a doubt there is.  Our Lord said
of the Jews: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are
far from me" (Matthew 15:8).  They had plenty of formal services in their
temples and their synagogues.  But the fatal defect about them was want
of authenticity and heart.

Is there not a lot of false "talking" about religion?  Without a doubt
there is.  Ezekiel describes some professing Jews who talked and spoke
like God's people "but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain" (Ezekiel
33:31).  Paul tells us that we may "speak in the tongues of men and of
angels," and yet be no better than a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1).

What shall we say about these things?  To say the least they ought to set
us thinking.  To my own mind they seem to lead to only one conclusion. 
They show clearly the immense importance which Scripture attaches to
authenticity in religion.  They show clearly we need to be careful lest
our Christianity turn out to be merely nominal, formal, unreal, and
inferior.

The subject is of deep importance in every age.  There has never been a
time, since the Church of Jesus Christ was founded, when there has not
been a vast amount of trivial and mere nominal religion among professing
Christians.  I am sure it is the case in the present day.  Wherever I
turn my eyes I see abundant cause for the warning, "Beware of inferior
religion.  Be genuine.  Be thorough.  Be authentic.  Be true."

How much religion among some members of the Church consists of "nothing
but churchmanship!"  They belong to the Established Church.  They are
baptized in her baptistery, married in her sanctuary, preached to on
Sundays by her ministers.  But the great doctrines and truths preached
from her pulpits have no place in their hearts, and no influence on their
lives.  They neither think, nor feel, nor care, nor know anything about
them.  And is the religion of these people authentic Christianity?  It is
nothing of the kind.  It is a cheap imitation.  It is not the
Christianity of Peter, and James, and John, and Paul.  It is
"Churchianity," and no more.

How much religion among some Independents consists of "nothing but
disagreement!"  They pride themselves on having nothing to do with the
formal denomination church.  They rejoice in having no ritual, no forms,
no bishops.  They glory in the exercise of their private judgment, and
the absence of everything ceremonial in their public worship.  But all
this time they have neither grace, nor faith, nor repentance, nor
holiness, nor spirituality of conduct or conversation.  The experimental
and practical piety of the old Separatist is a thing of which they are
utterly destitute.  Their Christianity is as sapless and fruitless as a
dead tree, and as dry and marrowless as an old bone.  And is the
Christianity of these people authentic?  It is nothing of the kind.  It
is cheap imitation.  It is not the Christianity of the Reformers of the
past.  It is "Nonconformity" and nothing more.

How much Ritualistic religion is utterly false!  You will sometimes see
men boiling over with zeal about outward expressions of worship such as
church music and order of service, while their hearts are manifestly in
the world.  Of the inward work of the Holy Spirit--of living faith in the
Lord Jesus--of delight in the Bible and religious conversation--of
separation from worldly silliness and entertainment--of zeal for the
conversion of souls to Christ--of all these things they are profoundly
ignorant.  And is this kind of Christianity authentic?  It is nothing of
the kind.  It is a mere name.

How much Evangelical religion is completely make believe?  You will
sometimes see men professing great affection for the pure "Gospel," while
they are, practically speaking, inflicting on it the greatest injury. 
They will talk loudly of soundness in the faith, and have a keen nose for
heresy.  They will run eagerly after popular preachers, and applaud
evangelical speakers at public meetings.  They are familiar with all the
phrases of evangelical religion, and can converse fluently about its
leading doctrines.  To see their faces at public meetings, or in church,
you would think they were eminently godly.  To hear them talk you would
suppose their lives were tied up all kinds of religious activity.  And
yet these people in private will sometimes do things of which even some
heathens would be ashamed.  They are neither truthful, nor sincere, nor
honest, nor just, nor good-tempered, nor unselfish, nor merciful, nor
humble, nor kind!  And is such Christianity as this authentic?  It is
not.  It is a worthless fake, a wretched cheat and farce.

How much Revivalist religion in the present day is utterly false!  You
will find a crowd of false believers bringing discredit on the work of
God wherever the Holy Spirit is poured out.  How many people today will
profess to be suddenly convinced of sin, to find peace in Jesus--to be
overwhelmed with joys and ecstasies of soul--while in authenticity of
religion they have no grace at all.  Like the "rocky-soil" hearers, they
endure but for a short time.  "In the time of testing they fall away"
(Luke 8:13).  As soon as the first excitement has passed, they return to
their old ways, and resume their former sins.  Their religion is like
Jonah's gourd, which came up in a night and perished in a night.  They
have neither root nor vitality.  They only injure God's cause and give
occasion to God's enemies to blaspheme.  And is Christianity like this
authentic?  It is nothing of the kind.  It is a cheap imitation from the
devil's mint, and is worthless in God's sight.

I write these things with sorrow.  I have no desire to bring any section
of the Church of Christ into contempt.  I have no wish to cast any slur
on any movement which begins with the Spirit of God.  But the times
demand very plain speaking about some points in the prevailing
Christianity of our day.  And one point, I am quite sure demands
attention, is the abounding lack of authenticity which is to be seen on
every side.

No reader, at any rate, can deny that the subject of the paper before him
is of vast importance.

II.  I pass on now to the second thing which I propose to do.  "I will
supply some tests by which we may try the reality of our religion." 

In approaching this part of my subject, I ask every reader of this paper
to deal fairly, honestly, and reasonably with his soul.  Dismiss from
your mind the common idea--that of course all is right if you go to
church.  Cast away such vain notions forever.  You must look further,
higher, and deeper than this, if you would find out the truth.  Listen to
me, and I will give you a few hints.  Believe me, it is no light matter. 
It is your life.

(1)  If you want to know whether your religion is authentic, try it by
"the place it occupies" in your inner man. 

It is not enough that it is in your "head."  You may know the truth, and
assent to the truth, and believe the truth, and yet be wrong in God's
sight.  It is not enough that it is on your "lips."  You may say "Amen"
to public prayer in church, and yet have nothing more than an outward
religion.  It is not enough that it is in your "feelings."  You may weep
under preaching one day, and be lifted to the third heaven by joyous
excitement another day, and yet be dead to God.  Your religion, if it is
authentic, and given by the Holy Spirit, must be in your heart.  It must
hold the reins.  It must sway the affections.  It must lead the will.  It
must direct the tastes.  It must influence the choices and decisions.  It
must fill the deepest, lowest, inmost seat in your soul.  Is this your
religion?  If not, you may have good reason to doubt whether it is
"authentic" and true. (Acts 8:21; Romans 10:10)

(2)  If you want to know whether your religion is authentic, try it by
the "feelings towards sin" which it produces.

The Christianity which is from the Holy Spirit will always have a very
deep view of the sinfulness of sin.  It will not merely regard sin as a
blemish and misfortune, which makes men and women objects of pity, and
compassion.  It will see in sin the abominable thing which God hates, the
thing which makes man guilty and lost in his Maker's sight, the thing
which deserves God's wrath and condemnation.  It will look on sin as the
cause of all sorrow and unhappiness, of strife and wars, of quarrels and
contentions, of sickness and death--the curse which cursed God's
beautiful creation, the cursed thing which makes the whole earth groan
and struggle in pain.  Above all, it will see in sin the thing which will
ruin us eternally, unless we can find a ransom,--lead us captive, except
we can get its chains broken,--and destroy our happiness, both here and
hereafter, except we fight against it, even unto death.  Is this your
religion?  Are these your feelings about sin?  If not, you should doubt
whether your religion is "authentic."

(3)  If you want to know whether your religion is authentic, try it by
the "feelings toward Christ" which it produces.

Nominal religion may believe that such a person as Christ existed, and
was a great helper to mankind.  It may show Him some external respect,
attend the celebration of the Lord's Supper, and bow the head at His
name.  But it will go no further.  Authentic religion will make a man
glory in Christ, as the Redeemer, the Deliverer, the Priest, the Friend,
without whom he would have no hope at all.  It will produce confidence in
Him, love towards Him delight in Him, comfort in Him, as the mediator,
the food, the light, the life, the peace of the soul.  Is this your
religion?  Do you know anything of feelings like these toward Jesus
Christ?  If not, you have every reason to doubt whether your religion is
"authentic."

(4)  If you want to know whether your religion is authentic, try it by
"the fruit it bears in your heart and life."

The Christianity which is from above will always be known by its fruits. 
It will produce in the man who has it repentance, faith, hope, love,
humility, spirituality, kindness, self-denial, unselfishness, forgiving
spirit, moderation, truthfulness, hospitality, and patience.
The degree in which these various graces appear may vary in different
believers.  The germ and seeds of them will be found in all who are the
children of God.  By their fruits they will be known.  Is this your
religion?  If not, you should doubt whether it is "authentic."

(5)  If you want to know whether your religion is authentic, try it by
"your feelings and habits about means of grace."

Prove it by the Sunday.  Is that day a time of fatigue and pressure, or a
delight and refreshment, and a sweet anticipation of the rest to come in
heaven?  Prove it by the public means of grace.  What are your feelings
about public prayer and public praise, about the public preaching of
God's Word, and the administration of the Lord's Supper?  Are they things
to which you give a cold assent, and tolerate them as proper and correct? 
Or, are they things in which you take pleasure, and without which you
could not be happy?  Prove it, finally, by your feelings about private
means of grace.  Do you find it essential to your comfort to read the
Bible regularly in private, and to speak to God in prayer?  Or, do you
find these practices boring, and either slight them, or neglect them
altogether?  These questions deserve your attention.  If means of grace,
whether public or private, are not as necessary to your soul as food and
drink are to your body, you may well doubt whether your religion is
"authentic."

I press on the attention of all my readers the five points which I have
just named.  There is nothing like coming to particulars about these
matters.  If you want to know whether your religion is "authentic,"
genuine, and true, measure it by the five particulars which I have now
named.  Measure it fairly: test it honestly.  If your heart is right in
the sight of God, you have no cause to flinch from examination.  If it is
wrong, the sooner you find it out the better.

And now I have done what I proposed to do.  I have shown from Scripture
the unspeakable importance of authenticity in religion, and the danger in
which many stand of being lost forever, for want of it.  I have given
five plain tests, by which a man may find out whether his Christianity is
authentic.  I will conclude all by a direct application of the whole
subject to the souls of all who read this paper.  I will draw my bow and
trust that God will bring an arrow home to the hearts and consciences of
many.

(1)  My first word of application will be "a question." 

Is you own religion authentic or false? genuine or fake?  I do not ask
what you think about others.  Perhaps you may see many hypocrites around
you.  You may be able to point to many who have no "authenticity" at all. 
This is not the question.  You may be right in your opinion about others. 
But I want to know about yourself.  Is your own Christianity authentic
and true? or nominal and counterfeit?

If you love life, do not turn away from the question which is now before
you.  The time must come when the whole truth will be known.  The
judgment day will reveal every man's religion, of what sort it is.  The
parable of the wedding-clothes will receive an awful fulfillment.  Surely
it is a thousand times better to find out "now" your condition, and to
repent, than to find it out too late in the next world, when there will
be no opportunity for repentance.  If you have common sense, reason, and
judgment, consider what I say.  Sit down quietly this day, and examine
yourself.  Find out the authentic character of your religion.  With the
Bible in your hand, and honesty in your heart, the thing may be known. 
Then resolve to find out.

(2)  My second word of application will be a "warning."

I address it to all who know, in their own consciences, that their
religion is not authentic.  I ask them to remember the greatness of their
danger, and their exceeding guilt in the sight of God.

A false Christianity is especially offensive to that Great God with whom
we have to deal.  He is continually spoken of in Scripture as the God of
Truth.  Truth is absolutely one of His attributes.  Can you doubt for a
moment that He detests everything that is not genuine and true?  Better,
I firmly believe it is better to be found an ignorant heathen at the last
day, than to be found with nothing better than a nominal religion.  If
your religion is of this sort, beware!

A false Christianity is sure to fail a man in the end.  It will wear out;
it will break down; it will leave its possessor like a wreck on a
sandbank, high and dry and forsaken by the tide; it will supply no
comfort in the hour when comfort is most needed--in the time of
affliction, and on the bed of death.  If you want a religion to be of any
use to your soul, beware of false Christianity!  If you want to avoid
being comfortless in death, and hopeless in the judgment day, be genuine,
be authentic, be true.
                     
(3)  My third word of application will be "advice."

I offer it to all who feel pricked in their conscience by the subject of
this paper.  I advise them to cease from all dawdling and playing with
religion, and to become honest, wholehearted followers of the Lord Jesus
Christ.

Cry out without delay to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to become your
Savior, your Physician, your Priest, and your Friend.  Let not the
thought of your unworthiness keep you away: do not let the remembrance of
your sins prevent your petition.  Never, never forget that Christ can
cleanse you from any quantity of sins, if you only commit your soul to
Him.  But one thing He does ask of those who come to Him: He asks them to
be authentic, honest, and true.

Let authenticity be one great mark of your approach to Christ, and there
is everything to give you hope.  Your repentance may be feeble, but let
it be authentic; your faith may be weak, but let it be authentic; your
desires after holiness may be mingled with much weakness, but let them be
authentic.  Let there be nothing of coldness, of double-dealing, of
dishonesty, of sham, of counterfeit, in your Christianity.  Never be
content to wear a cloak of religion.  Be all that you profess.  Though
you may sin, be authentic.  Though you may stumble, be true.  Keep
this principle continually before your eyes, and it will be well with
your soul throughout your journey from grace to glory.

(4)  My last word of application will be "encouragement."

I address it to all who have courageously taken up the cross, and are
honestly following Christ.  I exhort them to persevere, and not to be
moved by difficulties and opposition.

You may often find few with you, and many against you.  You may often
hear cruel things said of you.  You may often be told that you go too
far, and that you are extreme.  Don't listen to it.  Turn a deaf ear to
remarks of this kind.  Press on.

If there is anything which a man ought to do thoroughly, authentically,
truly, honestly, and with all of his heart, it is the business of his
soul.  If there is any work which he ought never to slight, and do in a
careless fashion, it is the great work of "working out his own
salvation" (Philippians 2:12).  Believer in Christ, remember this! 
Whatever you do in religion, do it well.  Be authentic.  Be thorough.  Be
honest.  Be true.

If there is anything in the world of which a man need not be ashamed, it
is the service to Jesus Christ.  Of sin, of worldliness, of flippancy, of
frivolousness, of time-wasting, of pleasure-seeking, of bad temper, of
pride, of making an idol of money, clothes, hunting, sports, card-
playing, novel-reading, and the like--of all this a man should be
ashamed.  Living after this fashion he makes the angels sorrow, and the
devils rejoice.  But of living for his soul--caring for his
soul--thinking of his soul--providing for his soul--making his soul's
salvation the principal and chief thing in his daily life--of all this a
man has no cause to be ashamed at all.  Believer in Christ, remember
this!  Remember it in your Bible-reading, and your private praying. 
Remember it on Sundays.  Remember it in your worship of God.  In all
these things never be ashamed of being wholehearted, authentic, thorough,
and true.

The years of our life are fast passing away.  Who knows but this year may
be the last in his life?  Who can tell but that he may be called this
very year to meet his God?  If you would be found ready, be an authentic
and true Christian.  Do not be cheap imitation.

The time is fast coming when nothing but authenticity will stand the
fire.  Authentic repentance towards God--authentic faith towards our Lord
Jesus Christ--authentic holiness of heart and life--these, these are the
things which will alone stand the judgment at the last day.  It is a
solemn saying of our Lord Jesus Christ, "Many will say to me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I
never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

Transcribed and Updated by
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Internet: www.biblebb.com
Box 314
Columbus, NJ 08022
....online since 1986
www.jesuseslavidaeterna.blogspot.com