Are You Asleep?
J. C. Ryle
"Awake, you who sleep." Ephesians 5:14
I put before you now a simple question. Look through the
pages of this paper and you will soon see why I ask it. "Are you asleep
about your soul?"
There are many who have the name of Christians—but
not the character which should go with the name. God is not King of
their hearts. "They mind earthly things."
Such people are often quick and clever about the affairs
of this life. They are, many of them, good men of business, good at their
daily work, good masters, good servants, good neighbors, good subjects of
the Queen—all this I fully allow. But it is the eternal part of them
which I speak of; it is their never dying souls. And about that, if a man
may judge by the little they do for it—they are careless, thoughtless,
reckless, and unconcerned. They are asleep.
I do not say that God and salvation are subjects which
never come across their minds—but this I say—they have not the uppermost
place there. Neither do I say that they are all alike in their lives; some
of them doubtless go further in sin than others; but this I say—they have
all turned every one to his own way, and that way is not God's. I know no
rule by which to judge of a man's estate—but the Bible. Now when I look at
the Bible I can come to only one conclusion about these people—they are
asleep about their souls.
These people do not see the sinfulness of
sin, and their own lost condition by
nature. They appear to make light of breaking God's commandments, and to
care little whether they live according to His law or not. Yet God says that
sin is the transgression of the law—that His commandment is exceeding
broad—that every imagination of the natural heart is evil—that sin is the
thing He cannot bear, He hates it—that the wages of sin is death, and the
soul that sins shall die. Surely they are asleep.
Is this the state of your soul? Remember my question. ARE
YOU ASLEEP?
These people do not see their need of a
Savior. They appear to think it an easy
matter to get to heaven, and that God will of course be merciful to them at
last, some way or other, though they do not exactly know how. Yet God says
that He is just and holy, and never changes—that Christ is the only way, and
none can come unto the Father but by Him—that without His blood there can be
no forgiveness of sin—that a man without Christ is a man without hope—that
those who would be saved must believe on Jesus and come to Him, and that he
who believes not shall he damned. Surely they are asleep!
Once more I say, is this the state of your soul? Remember
my question. ARE YOU ASLEEP?
These people do not see the necessity of
holiness. They appear to think it quite
enough to go on as others do, and live like their neighbors. And as for
praying and Bible-reading, making conscience of words and actions, studying
truthfulness and gentleness, humility and charity, and keeping separate from
the world—they are things they do not seem to value at all. Yet God says
that without holiness no man shall see the Lord—that there shall enter into
heaven nothing which defiles—that His people must be a separated people,
zealous of good works. Surely they are asleep!
Once more I say, is this the state of your soul? Remember
my question. ARE YOU ASLEEP?
Worst of all, these people do not appear to feel their
danger. They walk on with their eyes
shut, and seem not to know, that the end of their path is hell! Some
dreamers imagine that they are rich—when they are poor, or full—when they
are hungry, or well—when they are sick, and awake to find it all a mistake!
And this is the way that many dream about their souls. They flatter
themselves they will have peace—and there will be no peace; they imagine
that they are all right—and in truth they will find that they are all wrong.
Surely they are asleep!
Once more I say, is this the state of your soul? Remember
my question. ARE YOU ASLEEP?
If conscience pricks you, and tells you you are yet
asleep, what can I say to arouse you? Your soul is in awful peril. Without a
mighty change it will be lost. When shall that change once be?
You are dying, and not ready to depart—you are going to
be judged, and not prepared to meet God—your sins are not forgiven—your
person is not justified—your heart is not renewed. Heaven itself would be no
happiness to you if you got there, for the Lord of heaven is not your
friend. What pleases Him does not please you; what He dislikes gives you no
pain. His word is not your Counselor; His way is not your delight; His law
is not your guide. You care little for hearing of Him—you know nothing of
speaking with Him. To be forever in His company would be a thing you could
not endure; and the society of saints and angels would he a weariness, and
not a joy. At the rate you live at, the Bible might never have been written,
and Christ might never have died, the Apostles were foolish, the New
Testament Christians madmen, and the salvation of the Gospel a needless
thing. Oh, awake! and sleep no more.
Think not to say you cannot believe your case is so bad,
or the danger so great, or God so particular. I answer—the devil has been
putting this lying delusion into people's hearts for nearly six thousand
years. It has been his grand snare ever since the day he said to Eve, "You
shall not surely die." Do not be so weak as to be taken in by it. God never
failed yet to punish sin, and He never will—He never failed to make His word
good, and you will find this to your cost, one day, except you repent.
Reader, awake—awake!
Think not to say you are a member of Christ's visible
church, and therefore feel no doubt you are as good a Christian as others. I
answer—this will only make your case worse, if you have nothing else to
plead. You may he written down and registered in the church roll—you may be
reckoned in the number of saints; you may sit for years under the sound of
the Gospel; you may use holy forms and even come to the Lord's table at
regular seasons; and still, with all this, unless sin is hateful, and
Christ precious, and your heart a temple of the Holy Spirit—you will
prove in the end no better than a lost soul! Church membership will never
save an unholy man. Reader, awake—awake!
Think not to say you have been baptized, and so feel
confident you are born of God, and have His grace within you. I answer—you
have none of the marks which John has told us, in his first epistle, which
distinguish such a person. I do not see you confessing that Jesus is the
Christ, overcoming the world—not practicing sin—loving your brother—doing
righteousness—keeping yourself from the wicked one. How then can I believe
that you are born of God? If God were your Father, you would love Christ; if
you were God's son, you would be led by His Spirit. I want stronger
evidences. Show me some repentance and faith; show me a life
hidden with Christ in God; show me a spiritual and sanctified life—these are
the fruits I want to see, if I am to believe you have the root of the matter
in you, and are a living branch of the true vine. But without these—your
baptism will only add to your condemnation! Reader, awake—awake!
I speak strongly, because I feel deeply. Time is too
short, life is too uncertain, to allow of relying on religious ceremonies.
At the risk of offending, I use great plainness of speech. I cannot bear the
thought of hearing you condemned in the great day of judgment; of seeing
your face in the crowd on God's left hand, among those who are helpless,
hopeless, and beyond the reach of mercy. I cannot bear such thoughts—they
grieve me to the heart. Before the day of grace is past, and the day of
vengeance begins, I call upon you to open your eyes and repent. Oh, consider
your ways and be wise. Awake—awake! Why will you die!
This day, as the ambassador of Christ, I beg you to be
reconciled to God. The Lord Jesus who came into the world to save
sinners—Jesus the appointed Mediator between God and man—Jesus who loved us
and gave Himself for us—Jesus sends you a message of peace—He says, "Come
unto Me!"
"Come is a precious word indeed, and ought to draw you.
You have sinned against heaven—heaven has not sinned against you. Yet see
how the first step towards peace is on heaven's side. It is the Lord's
message—"Come unto Me."
"Come" is a word of merciful invitation. Does not the
Lord Jesus seem to say, "Sinner, I am waiting for you—I am not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. As I live, I have
no pleasure in the death of him who dies in sin. I would have all men saved
and come to the knowledge of the truth. Judgment is my strange work—I
delight in mercy. I offer the water of life to everyone who will take it. I
stand at the door of your heart and knock. For long time I have spread out
my hands to you. I wait to be gracious. There is yet room in my Father's
house. My long-suffering waits for more to come to the mercy-seat before the
last trumpet is blown—for more wanderers to return before the door is closed
forever. Oh, sinner, come to Me!"
"Come" is a word of promise and encouragement. Does not
the Lord Jesus seem to say, "Sinner, I have gifts ready for you—I have
something of everlasting importance to bestow upon your soul. I have
received gifts for men, even for the rebellious. I have a free pardon for
the most ungodly—a full fountain for the most unclean—a white garment for
the most defiled—a new heart for the most hardened—healing for the
broken-hearted—rest for the heavy-laden, joy for those who mourn. Oh,
sinner, it is not for nothing that I invite you! All things are ready.
Come—come unto Me."
Hear the voice of the Son of God. See that you refuse not
Him who speaks. Come away from sin, which can never give you real
pleasure, and will be bitter at the last! Come out from a world which
will never satisfy you—come unto Christ! Come, with all your sins, however
many and however great—however far you may have gone from God, and however
provoking your conduct may have been. Come as you are—unfit, unfit,
unprepared as you may think yourself—you will gain no fitness by delay. Come
at once—come to the Lord Jesus Christ!
How indeed shall you escape if you neglect so great
salvation? Where will you appear if you make light of the blood of Christ,
and despise the Spirit of grace? It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God, but never so fearful as when men fall from under
the Gospel. The saddest road to hell is that which runs under the
pulpit, past the Bible, and through the midst of warnings and invitations.
Oh, beware, lest like Israel at Kadesh, you mourn over your mistake when it
is too late; or, like Judas Iscariot, find out your sin when there is no
space for repentance!
Arise, and call upon the Lord. Be not like Esau—sell not
eternal blessings for worldly vanities. Surely the time past may suffice you
to have been careless and prayerless, Godless and Christless, worldly and
earthly-minded. Surely the time to come may be given to your soul.
Pray, I beseech you, that you may be enabled to put off
the old ways and the old habits, and that you may become a new man. I yield
to none in wishes for your happiness, and my best wish is that you may be
made a new creature in Christ Jesus. This is a better thing than riches, or
health, or honor, or learning. A man may get to heaven without these—but he
cannot get there without conversion. Verily if you die without having been
born again—you had far better never have been born at all. No man really
lives until he lives unto God.
I leave my question with you. The Lord grant that it may
prove a word in season to your soul. My heart's desire and prayer to God is
that you may be saved. Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give you light. Arise, O sleeper and call upon God. There is
yet hope. Forsake not your mercies. Do not lose your own soul!