A New Heart
Command: “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Ezek. 18:31.
Promise: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.” Ezek. 36:26.
Be Righteous As Christ Is Righteous
Command: “Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.” Isaiah 60:21.
Promise: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. Command: “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” 1 John 3:7. Promise: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Tit. 2:11, 12.
Be Ye Holy
Command: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Pet. 1:15, 16.
Promise: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Heb. 10:19.
Command: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” Eph. 1:4. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14.
Promise: “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for your profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” Heb. 12:10. “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches.” Rom. 11:16.
Entire Sanctification
Command: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” 1 Pet. 3:15.
Promise: “And for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:19. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” Hebrews 13:12.
Command: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.” 1 Thess. 4:3.
Promise: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1 Thess. 5:23, 24.
Command: “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” 2 Thess. 2:13.
Promise: “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:16.
Be Ye Perfect
Command: “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.” Deut. 18:13.
Promise: “It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect.” Psa. 18:32.
Command: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48.
Promise: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Heb. 13:20, 21.
Walk Even As He Walked
Command: “Walk before me and be thou perfect.” Genesis 17:1.
Promise: “Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.” Psa. 85:13.
Command: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21.
Promise: “The law of God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” Psa. 37:31.
Command: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.” 1 John 2:6.
Promise: “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16. Several years ago it occurred to our mind to prepare and preach the Word, thus placing in a balance the commands and promises of God. An abridgement of the lesson we then used found its way into the Bible Readings published by Brothers Kilpatrick and Speck, not, however, to their blame. We speak of this that the reader may know we have not stolen the labors and credit of another. This is a thing we detest, likewise doth God.
Now, beloved reader, what can you say to these scriptures? How can you justify yourself in being less than perfect in all the moral attributes of God, since you are commanded thus to be, and every requirement is backed by the promised grace of God to fulfill it in you? Should a mother say, “My child, go and wash your dirty face:” were there no water, or any other cleansing element provided, nor attainable, the little one might truthfully say, “Mother, I can’t.” But when the mother places before it a bowl of good soft water, soap, wash rag and towel, and demands of it to wash, all must admit it will be without excuse if still unclean. And just so, there is a fountain open to the house of David, for sin and for uncleanness. Zech. 13:1. And pointing to this, God speaks to all sinners, filthy professors, and unsanctified believers, saying, “Wash you, make you clean.” “Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double minded.” And yet men are foolish enough to think they have a cloak for their sins and excuse for their filthiness. Yea, they say, God commands us to be holy, perfect and pure, but we cannot wash and remain clean in this world. Thus they contradict the Word of God and make him a liar, and shall utterly perish in their unbelief and uncleanness. Reader, as God is true, salvation is perfect, and will make you perfect, and keep you blameless in God’s sight, to the coming of the Lord. And if you neglect so GREAT SALVATION you will stand before God in your iniquity, speechless and without a cloak to cover your shame.
Salvation Adapted To Every Need And Condition Of The Soul
The infinite wisdom and actual divinity of the Holy Bible is wonderfully demonstrated in this fact. No other book on earth is both instructive, interesting, and never exhausted; both by ignorant and learned, by youth or mature minds. To such as love God and the truth; and especially to such as have been conformed to the image of his Son, be they profound and cultured, or the most illiterate and simple, the inspired volume is ever precious, unfolding new and rich mines of golden thought at every reading, even down to old age.
How marvelously the inspired volume is adapted to the wants of mankind as a Book of Salvation.
Throughout the whole world it has been a fact in human experience, that a sacrifice was needed to atone for the sins of our race. Everywhere the impression rests upon the human heart that God’s wrath has been provoked by sin in this world. And in nearly all heathen lands, when the torch of heaven’s truth was lifted there, it found men inflicting tortures of some kind upon themselves, or sacrificing in cruel death their own offspring, with a hope of satisfying offended justice. Oh reader, is not the gospel of God’s salvation glad tidings of great joy to all this sin-stricken world? Does it not exactly meet that deeply and universally felt want in the human breast, of a sacrifice for our sins? How gracious the words of Him who knows and bears the sins and griefs of all our race! How wonderfully they anticipate our inward condition, and announce relief to the oppressed and struggling soul! “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt. 11:28, 29.
Look at all this unhappy world. Are not the hearts of the children of men like the ever restless waters of the sea? Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away our sins; the Prince of peace who calms the sea of inward fear and guilt. And the infinite wisdom of God has placed this great salvation in reach of all. The wise of heart and understanding, if only humble minded, may enter there and find, not only a perfect redemption, but also the wonderful stores of wisdom for which he thirsts. The most simple and unlearned find no difficulty in grasping and appropriating the saving grace of God as soon as they become willing to learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart.
The wonderful fact in the plan of redemption is this: it heals the malady of sin from the inmost core of our nature. It enters and changes the whole bent of our moral being. It purifies the very fountain of thought and action. It lifts up a perfect standard of holiness, and conforms our affections to the same. It demands a life of absolute freedom from sin, and creates that life in us. “The law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did.” “The blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh”—rendered persons outwardly and legally pure. But, “How much more shall—yea, doth—the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Heb. 9:13, 14. Namely, the blood of the new covenant purges our very nature, and produces an inward consciousness of purity and moral soundness.
Such a salvation was needed by our fallen race. After King David had been led by the tempter to tarnish his beautiful life with one dark spot of sin, in his humiliation he was led to deeply scrutinize the human heart, and the hidden causes of those outcroppings of sin, that are so opposite to the general character and principles of righteousness. And, behold! he discovered that he “was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did his mother conceive him.” By the sin of our first parents a vein of evil nature has been transmitted down through all our race. This he felt the need of having removed. “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” To insure a pure stream the fountain must be cleansed. And he through the Spirit predicted such a thorough cure for sin in the following prayer: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psa. 51:5–10.
Time moves on. The Son of God appears to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; and in response to the heart of man that longs for inward purity we hear him say, “I will, be thou clean,” “and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” and “all unrighteousness” which includes inbred unrighteousness.
Some ancient philosophers discovered and taught very pure and perfect ethics. But they confessed themselves unable to live up to their own standard, much less impart an ability to their pupils to do so. Jesus our Lord and Savior so far exceeded all other moral philosophers, that he taught the only perfect law ever delivered to man, exemplified it in his life, and has power to raise all his disciples to the same standard. Enabling us not only to walk in a perfect way before God, but to do it easily and naturally. Outward holiness is just as spontaneous in the life, where perfect holiness reigns within, as good fruit naturally adorns a good tree. Oh how shall we thank God for this new creating salvation in Jesus our Lord! Let the vilest come to him and realize an entire revolution from sin unto holiness.
Another beautiful fact in the adaptation of salvation to our needs is this: It does not only impart that grace and fortitude by which men can readily resist all temptations to evil, but its own inward happiness utterly weans the mind and heart from all sinful indulgences. The ransomed soul is so perfectly satiated with its own heavenly feast of love and holy delight, that the allurements of this world become utterly distasteful. All evil is repelled by the surpassing delight of that which is holy and good. How can the base mud-cakes of sinful pleasure, “the bread of wickedness,” excite desire in a soul that is accustomed to eat “angel’s food”? Thus did Nehemiah testify: “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” 8:10. The joys of salvation invest the soul with boldness to reject all offered pleasures of sin. Behold the presence of God is with his people. And, “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” Psa. 16:11. “Therefore everlasting joy shall be unto them.” Isa. 61:7. The human heart, it is true, was created for and ardently thirsts after happiness. Salvation fills that desire, and abundantly satiates that thirst. FULL SALVATION, and nothing else will do it. “And in this mountain [of his holiness] shall the LORD of hosts make upon all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” “For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest.” Isa. 25:6, 10.
Oh, if poor sinners but knew that the love of God imparts a “fullness of joy,” a perfect delight in all the will of God; and raises us above all relish for the miserable pleasures they are acquainted with in the life of sin, then would they gladly exchange sin for salvation, and the drudgery of Satan for the peaceful service of God.
Again, salvation is adapted to the wants of the human soul in its perfect keeping power. The death of Christ atones for our transgressions, his resurrection gives us victory over death, and his life is a pledge of our preservation in him. “Because he liveth, we shall live also.”
Hence the apostle Jude had the pleasure of writing a letter “to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ; and called.” And Peter testifies that we “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:5.
Many poor souls hesitate to give themselves to God for fear they will not be able to endure unto the end. Oh cast such fears to the winds! God’s salvation provides for our eternal preservation from sin, and no child of God ever needs to have the sad experience of a backslider. The cure of sin is both a thorough and a permanent success.
In fact the “salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory,” fully and forever provides for every want of the human soul, creating us every whit whole, satisfying all our desires, and preserving us triumphant over sin, and blameless in the sight of God. And the great remedy is so miraculously adapted to man that the most feeble in mind can appreciate its blessings as well as the wise. All responsible men and women, of all nations, and under all circumstances, may come to Christ and be saved, and everlastingly preserved in him, if they will hear his voice and obey.
Salvation Provides For The Healing Of The Body
Jesus, the Lamb of God, who bore the sin of the world, also, “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Isa. 51:4, 5. Matt. 8:16, 17. He is, therefore, a complete Savior of the body from sickness, as well as the soul from sin. “And he healed all that were sick.”
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Matt. 4:23.
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Matt. 9:35.
What a wonderful benefactor to poor suffering humanity! Nor has his love and sympathy grown less by the lapse of centuries, nor his power and willingness to save and heal diminished. In fact, he is “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and to day and for ever.” Heb. 13:8. The same gracious power of God that was manifest in healing the sick in the morning of this last dispensation, was designed to bless the church of the living God to the end of time. Hence it was couched in the final commission and sent “into all the world,” and “to the ends of the world.” Matt. 28:19, 20. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe … They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” Mark 16:17, 18.
These signs did follow the apostles, as the inspired history shows; and the same miracle-healing continued to be manifest through the second and third centuries, and gradually died away in the loss of spirituality through the apostasy. But with the reformation of Bible holiness it also revived, and in these last days thousands are being healed of all manner of diseases. And thousands of poor sinners who are oppressed with afflictions, and contracting doctor bills they are scarcely able to pay, would be made every whit whole without money and without price, and also without medicine; if they would give their hearts to God, and their case in the hands of the Great Physician, who came to seek and to save the lost, and to heal the afflicted. He is the living ever present Physician in all the families of the saints. And he invites all to cast their burdens upon him. Oh how great in every way, the blessedness of having such a Friend, such a Savior, such a salvation of soul and body!
Salvation Reasonable
Under this head an extensive field of thought is opened up. Every minutia of the system of divine truth might be examined and found in harmony with pure reason. But we can only take space to call attention to a few points.
1. The Incarnation and Suffering of Christ. This exhibition of divine wisdom men and angels could never have conceived. Angels desired to look into the plan by which God would redeem our race (1 Pet. 1:10, 11), but it appears they could not comprehend it until Christ was born in Bethlehem. Then they understood, and with joyful strains sounded the news to earth. Luke 2:9–11. Though human reason could never have given birth to such a plan, it is nevertheless perfectly philosophical.
The laws of a just and unchangeable God had been broken. Death—natural, and spiritual, or separation from God—was the penalty. Both the justice and immutability of God demand the penalty must be executed, either upon the violator of the law, or some one in his stead. Who can offer his life as a ransom for man? God, being a spirit, cannot die. A creature sacrifice would necessarily elicit all the glory: hence would leave man still unrestored to his original object, namely, to glorify God his Maker. How, then, could man be redeemed? Who but the Infinite could have devised a plan? When a creature sacrifice was insufficient, and the Creator, as a spirit, could not die, the Deity clothes himself with a suffering nature in the person of his Son; put on a mortal body, that he might die on our behalf. “God was manifest in the flesh.” 1 Tim. 3:16. Oh, how beautiful! Thus we have a Savior who, “By the grace of God, tasted death for every man.” Heb. 2:9. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” 2 Pet. 3:18. “And that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God. In short, we have a Savior who came into the physical conditions of man, that we might be well assured of his sympathy and love for us; and who could die in our stead, and thus satisfy the demands of the law and of justice; and yet divine; one with the Father, so that we can render all praise and honor and glory to his name without detracting from the glory of the Father. Oh the wonders of redeeming wisdom and love!
2. Salvation is perfectly reasonable in its conditions.
First, it is free. It is God, and “God is love.” And “if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be condemned. Songs 8:7. Salvation can no more be bought than can love. It is purely the gift of divine love and mercy. And who can find fault with such an overflow of divine goodness? Thousands would purchase salvation at most any price if it could thus be obtained. But that would be incompatible with the Divine Goodness, and also rob him of the glory. It would also leave man an occasion to boast in self, and so be a detriment to him. But salvation is free. So it is available for all men, and God gets all the glory; and justice and reason approve the wondrous plan.
As it cannot be bought by money, so likewise, it is “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5, 6. Good works are excluded from having any part in obtaining salvation, for the same good reasons that money is no consideration.
Repentance is the first condition of salvation. It means a godly sorrow for sin, confessing and forever forsaking sin. To repent is to cease from all sinning in the future. “Repentance is unto life.” Acts 11:18. “Unto salvation.” 2 Cor. 7:10. It is sure to bring the soul to the point where faith grasps the boom of eternal life. It is the gift of God, to the Jew first, Acts 5:3, also to the Gentile, Acts 11:18.
The necessity of repentance arises from man’s wrong attitude toward the Creator, and his God-dishonoring deeds of sin. The rebellion of the wicked against the government of God justly provokes his wrath. And man is wholly to blame for the deplorable alienation between him and his Maker. For, though he has striven against the Almighty, blasphemed his holy name, and trampled upon his righteous laws; “Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Acts 14:17.
Therefore it is reasonable that men should repent of their sins. Yea, “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Rom. 2:4. Shame on the man or woman who can breathe the breath God opens his hand of love to give you (Isa. 42:12, Job 12:10), walk about upon his beautiful footstool, enjoy the sunbeams that he has created, and live upon his bounties, and yet live in open sin in his sight! Oh the awful presumption of sin, the shameful ingratitude of the sinner! Be astonished, O heavens, at the wickedness of earth!
A thousand reasons demand repentance of rebellious mankind. First, the Almighty commands it. John began the good news of the kingdom of heaven on earth with the cry, “Repent.” And “After that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, Thy time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14, 15. Yea, “Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3, 5. And when he commissioned his disciples, “They went out, and preached that men should repent.” Mark 6:12. Alluding to the ignorance and darkness that enveloped the earth prior to the coming of Christ, the faithful apostle to the Gentile said, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:30, 31.
God knows that no sinner can stand before his holy presence. Hence, in view of the awful judgment day, he commands all men to repent. And what reason under heaven can men give for not obeying the voice of love and mercy, that only seeks the happiness of mankind?
Again, faith is the great condition upon which salvation is suspended. In every way it may be viewed it is perfectly just and reasonable. Man lost the image and favor of God by doubting his word; hence he can only be re-instated by believing the same. Salvation by faith in Christ Jesus is reasonable also, because his truth endureth forever, and it is impossible for him to lie. Can it be said in truth that there is anything difficult or unreasonable of truth? Is it hard to credit the words of a man who never has lied? Surely not.
Then “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Salvation in all its principles, provisions, conditions and operations, is indeed consonant with the highest claims of reason. Why, then, O sinner, are you not saved?
Salvation Now
“Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee.” Isa. 49:8. Here is a special day of salvation spoken of, an acceptable time. The most propitious season of God’s grace to man. Now where shall we locate this glorious time of deliverance and preservation? Though spoken of in the present tense, it is very evident that it is not to be located in the time of the prophet, which was under the law. Because the entire Old Testament pointed forward to a more gracious dispensation of divine love and mercy in the last days. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law.” Gal. 2:16. The law day was not the day of salvation.
Shall we then look for it in a future time? By some it is referred to an age to come. But the scriptures leave no room for such vague suppositions. Let us look for a positive location of the above prophecy. Read the apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 6:1, 2. He beseeches the brethren, “That ye receive not the grace of God in vain, For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in a day of salvation have I succoured thee.” Here the apostle quotes the very thing announced in Isa. 49:8. And now hear his application of the same. He proceeds, “Behold, now is the accepted time; BEHOLD, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION.” How absolutely clear and conclusive! The great day of salvation is now. Now in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. This one declaration of divine truth perfectly refutes every theory of a more propitious age to come. If, as age-to-come advocates say, a more glorious day of salvation is yet pending, then it is not true that now is pre-eminently the day of salvation. But, on the other hand, if the apostle testified to the truth, then all teachers of a more perfect salvation in a millennial age to come are false prophets, deceived of the devil, and deceiving all who believe their vain imaginations. But the apostle spake by inspiration of God. See 1 Cor. 14:37. Therefore, it is settled by the voice of Jehovah, “Behold, now is the day of salvation,” now the special time singled out in the plan of the Almighty to save all who hear and obey the gospel.
<“Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Heb. 3:7, 8. Here again the special time of salvation is defined as today, and when ye hear the voice of God. That is, all through this gospel era, whenever a soul hears the “Spirit and the bride say, Come,” that is the propitious time to escape from sin. And to reject the great book is to harden the heart.
The above words in Heb. 3:7, 8, are quoted from Psa. 95:7–9. But mark what the apostle puts in. “Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, today,” etc. So the Holy Spirit through him applies the today salvation of the psalmist to the present time. He repeats the quotation in Heb. 3:15; 4:7. Now, today, TODAY, is held out by the divine hand of love and mercy the only hope of this lost world, the last offer of salvation.
When Jesus expired upon the cross, he said, “It is finished.” The price of our redemption was fully paid. He went down into the grave and conquered death, “and was raised again for our justification.” Rom. 4:25. He ascended to heaven in triumph, sent the Holy Spirit to awaken, quicken, and sanctify; and thus execute the perfect salvation he had purchased upon the cross. He commissioned a perpetual living ministry to publish his salvation to “every creature,” in all nations to the end of the world. “To declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Rom. 3:26.
Nor did he leave a hint in their commission, or anywhere else in his Word, that lays a foundation for any other day of salvation but the present. But through his ministry he gives all men this promise and fair warning: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:16. Thus no opportunity of salvation was ever to be extended to Adam’s race beyond the present gospel of Christ.
Accordingly it is a fact clearly recorded that men received salvation now and here. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:11–13. This is very plain. The grace of God brings salvation now and here, resulting in a holy life in this present world. While we are only to look for the coming of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ in the future, which will be the hour of the resurrection. “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.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. The same also will be the day of judgment. See Jude 14, 15.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5.
“Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2 Tim. 1:9.
“By grace ye are saved.” Eph. 2:5.
“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:22.
In all these texts we see that salvation had been already attained. So it is a fact that God saves us now. Hence now is the day of salvation in deed and in truth.
Salvation Now Or Never
With this great truth stamped upon the hearts of the apostles and early ministers, they made all speed to carry the glad tidings of a perfect free, and present salvation to all men. And as to the future it cannot be denied that, with one voice, they pointed to it as only having in store the resurrection of all men, the reward of the righteous, and the banishment of the wicked to hell. All of which was to transpire on the last day of this last dispensation. Thus they followed their Master in holding forth salvation now, and only judgment and eternity to come. Peter testifies that, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls,” we “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Pet. 1:5, 9. And furthermore declares that “The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer.” 1 Pet. 3:7. This language is too plain to be misunderstood. A perfect salvation has prepared us, and does preserve us in condition to be revealed in the last time; and the end of all things is at hand, next to appear. This must include the end of time, the end of probation, the end of the world, the end of the redemptive reign of Christ. As Paul says, “He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” And, speaking of the resurrection of them “that are Christ’s at his coming,” he adds, “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom of God, even the Father.” 1 Cor. 15:23–25. “Cometh” is not in the text. “Then, the end,” is the correct rendering. Christ’s reign is upon a mediatorial throne. The instant he leaves that throne, the world will be without an advocate, without a Savior, or further opportunity of salvation. Yea, “The end of all things is at hand,” and salvation is now or never.
But we will hear Peter a little further. Read his loud blasts of warning in 2 Pet. 3. “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Ver. 7. That day of fire which shall consume this world, “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” will be the day of the Lord’s second advent. See verse 4. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens—[atmosphere] shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.” Ver. 10. So we see clearly that the end of all things does not mean a renovation of this earth; but an utter consuming, and melting of the same into the same chaotic state its matter existed before the six days of creation. In this chapter the coming of Christ, the day of judgment, and utter destruction of the earth and its works, are all pointed forward to as the events of one great and last “day of God, wherein the heavens—the atmosphere—being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements—that compose the earth—shall melt with fervent heat.” Ver. 12.
Now let us see if any offers of salvation to our race will extend beyond that awful day. Owing to the long pending of Christ’s second advent, it was foreseen that “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” Wherefore the Lord, by this inspired writer, explains the reason of his delay. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Ver. 9.
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” Ver. 15. Surely this is all very plain. The long pending of Christ’s second advent, we are told, is not because of any slackness on the part of the Lord to fulfill his promise, but because he is not willing that poor sinners should be cut off from all hope and eternally perish. We are therefore, taught to count the longsuffering, the prolonged delay of the Lord, and day of judgment, “as salvation.” So let all men take warning that “salvation” is now, and only now; is all on this side of the coming of the Lord. Is it not one of the most astonishing things that devils ever invented on earth, that men—such for instance as Russell, the age-to-come heretic (later called Jehovah’s Witnesses)—can be so subverted as to teach that now is not the time of salvation and healing, but that glorious work is “deferred until after Christ’s second advent, in the millennial age?” How dare men teach such shocking lies in the face of God’s Word? Truth declares that now is the day of salvation, and that the present day of grace is drawn out by the mercy of God, to enable more lost sinners to be saved; and that when Christ comes salvation work will forever cease, the judgment and perdition of all the wicked take place, and this earth perish. Whereas, Russell asserts that now is not yet the day of salvation, but it will be ushered in by the second advent. Oh reader, “let God be true and every man a liar,” who wickedly disputes His Word!
Let us now listen to some further testimony from the apostle Paul. “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:9–11.
How solemn this declaration! God has from the beginning meted out and fixed the time of this planet’s end. One long age has succeeded another, until we have entered the “last days” of this world’s career. Upon us, in the present dispensation, the ends of the world have fallen. And we have approached eighteen hundred years nearer that final end than the apostle lived; and here we stand upon the very verge of eternity. Just a small step before us has fallen the end of the world. Oh how much more weighty the exhortation of Peter falls upon us than upon the church when first written! “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Pet. 3:11, 14.
Eternal happiness or woe turns upon the condition in which death, or the coming of Christ finds us.
“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” Acts 2:16, 17.
The last days of this world began with the present Holy Spirit dispensation. “And it shall come to pass [in these last days] that whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved” Ver. 21. The last time is here, and salvation is now or never.
“But now, once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Heb. 9:26. Thus it is rendered in Young’s translation: “Now once, at the full end of the ages.” So the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world was at the beginning of the last dispensation, the full end of the ages; and nothing more but eternity is before us. Thus, the Emphatic Diaglott renders, “But now once for all, at the completion of the ages.” So the present gospel age is the consummation of all time, the completion of all the ages allotted to this world. Hence, the supposed millennium age is a delusion of the adversary of souls. But now is the day of salvation, now or never.
The same fact is announced in 1 Pet. 1:20: “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
Here again we must conclude that if these be the “last times,” there will be no time for any future salvation. But time and salvation will end with the present gospel era.
We conclude with a very positive testimony of John.
“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” 1 John 2:17, 18.
As probation ends with time, and salvation with probation; and the inspired apostle positively declared that he knew this is the last time; it follows, as an absolute certainty, that right now, under the abounding grace of God, our race is enjoying its last chance of salvation; and this world is moving through its last epoch of time. Therefore, behold, now, yea, now, is the day of salvation. Now, O lost sinner, be saved. It must be NOW OR NEVER.
[ The End ]