Many Shall Come
J. C. Ryle
"Many shall come from the east and west—and shall sit
down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 8:11
The words of Scripture which head this page were spoken
by our Lord Jesus Christ. You may take them either as a prophecy or as a
promise. In either point of view they are deeply interesting, and contain
much food for thought. Take the words as a prophecy, and remember
that they are sure to be fulfilled. The Bible contains many predictions of
things most unlikely and improbable, which have yet proved true. Was it not
said of Ishmael, the father of the Arabian race, that he was to be "a wild
man, his hand against every man, and every man's hand against him?" (Gen.
16:12). We see the fulfillment of those words at this very day, when we look
at the tribes in the Sudan, or observe the ways of the Bedouins. Was it not
said of Egypt that it was finally to become "the basest of kingdoms," and
its inhabitants a people who could neither govern themselves nor be
governed? (Ezek. 29:15). We see the fulfillment of those words at this very
day along the whole valley of the Nile, and every statesman in Europe knows
it to his sorrow. It will be just the same with the prophecy before our
eyes. "Many shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven."
Take the words as a promise. It was spoken for the
encouragement of the Apostles, and of all Christian ministers and teachers
down to the present day. We are often tempted to think that preaching, and
teaching, and visiting, and trying to bring souls to Christ does no good,
and that our labor is all thrown away. But here is the promise of One who
"cannot lie," and never failed to keep His word. He cheers us with a
gracious sentence. He would have us not faint or give way to despair.
Whatever we may think, and however little success we may see, there is a
Scripture before us which cannot be broken, "Many shall sit down in the
kingdom of heaven."
I. We have first in these words, the number of those who
shall be saved.
Our Lord Jesus Christ declares that they shall be
"many."
How strange that word "many" sounds! Will any be saved
who are not born again, washed in Christ's blood, and sanctified by the Holy
Spirit? Will any be saved who have not repented of sin, believed on the Lord
Jesus for forgiveness, and been made holy in heart? None, none, certainly
none. If men and women can be saved without repentance, faith and
holiness—we may as well throw the Bible away, and give up Christianity
altogether!
But are there many people of this kind to be seen in the
world? Alas! there are very few. The believers whom we see and know are "a
little flock." "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto
life; and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). Few are to be seen in
towns, and few in country parishes! Few among the rich, and few among the
poor! Few among the old, and few among the young! Few among the learned, and
few among the unlearned! Few in palaces, and few in cottages! It is an
abiding sorrow with all true Christians, that they meet so few with whom
they can pray, and praise, and read the Bible, and talk of spiritual things.
They often feel to stand alone. Many are the people who never go to any
place of worship from the first day of January to the last day of December,
and seem to live without God in the world. Few are the men and women who do
anything for the cause of Christ upon earth, or appear to care whether those
around them are lost or saved. Can any one deny these things? Impossible!
Yet here is our Lord Jesus Christ saying, "Many shall sit down in the
kingdom of heaven."
Now, why did our Lord say so? He never made a mistake,
and all that He says is true. Let me try to throw some light on this
question.
(a) There shall be "many" when all are gathered together
who have died in the Lord, from Abel, the first saint, down to the last who
is found alive when the trumpet sounds, and the resurrection takes place.
They shall be a "multitude, which no man can number" (Rev. 7. 9).
(b) There shall be "many" when all the believers of every
name, and nation, and people, and tongue—the Old Testament saints, like
Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and David,
and the Prophets—the saints of the New Testament, like the Apostles—the
saints among the primitive Christians, and the Reformers—when all these are
brought together, they will be "a multitude which no man can number."
(c) There will be "many" when the true Christians are
gathered together, who are now scattered over the face of the globe, and not
known either by the Church or the world. There are not a few who belong to
no congregation, and are not numbered in any list of communicants, though
their names are in the Lamb's book of life. Some of them live and die in
great neglected parishes unknown and unvisited. Some of them get hold of the
truth by hearing the Gospel preached by missionaries at home or abroad; but
the preacher has never known them, and they have never been formally
enrolled in the list of converts. Some of them are soldiers and sailors, who
stand alone in regiments and on board ship, and are not understood by their
companions. There are myriads of such persons, I believe, who live the life
of faith, and love Christ, and are known to the Lord, though not known by
men. These also will make a large addition to the "multitude which no man
can number."
The plain truth is, that the family of God will be found
at last much larger than most of us suppose it is. We look at the things we
see with our own eyes, and we forget how much there is going on in the
world, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, which our eyes never see at
all. The inner life of the vast majority of all around us is a hidden thing,
of which we know nothing. We do not think of the ages that are past, and the
countless millions who are now "dust and ashes," though each in his turn
fell asleep in Christ and was carried to heaven. No doubt it is perfectly
true that "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" (Matt. 7:13). It is
fearful to think what an immense majority of all around us appear dead in
sin, and utterly unprepared to meet God. But, for all that, we must not
underrate the number of God's children. Even supposing they are in a
minority, when judged by human estimate, they will still prove at last to be
very many in the kingdom of glory, an enormous company, "a multitude which
no man can number."
Is any reader of these pages disposed to laugh at
religion, because those who profess it decidedly are few in number? Are you
secretly inclined to despise those who read their Bibles, and make a
conscience of keeping their Sundays holy, and trying to walk closely with
God? Are you afraid of making a profession yourself, because you think there
will be so few with you and so many against you, and you do not like to be
singular, and stand alone? Alas! there have always been many like you! When
Noah built the ark, there were few with him, and many mocked at him—but he
was found to be in the right at last. When the Jews were rebuilding the wall
of Jerusalem after the return from Babylon, Sanballat and Tobiah scoffed at
them, and said, "What do these feeble Jews?" When the Lord Jesus Christ left
the world, only a hundred and twenty disciples met together in the upper
chamber in Jerusalem, while the friends of the unbelieving Pharisees, and
scribes, and priests were numbered by tens of thousands. But the disciples
were right, and their enemies were wrong. When bloody Mary sat on the
throne, and Latimer and Ridley were burnt at the stake, the friends of the
Gospel seemed very few, and their enemies were a great majority. Yet the
Reformers were right, and their enemies were wrong.
Take care of what you are doing! Beware of judging vital
Christianity by the small number of those who seem to profess it. You may
have the crowd with you now, and the laugh may be on your side—but a day is
coming when you will open your eyes with amazement, and find out, perhaps
too late, that the very people whom you despised were not few, but many, a
vast company, "a multitude which no man can number."
Is any reader of this paper disposed to be cast down and
discouraged, because he loves Christ, and tries to serve Him, but finds
himself almost entirely alone? Does your heart sometimes fail you, and your
hands hang down, and your knees wax faint, because you so seldom meet anyone
whom you can pray with, and praise with, and read with, and talk with about
Christ, and open your heart to without fear? Do you ever mourn in secret for
lack of company? Well, you are only drinking the cup which many have drunk
before you. Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and
Samuel, and David, and the Prophets, and Paul, and John, and the Apostles
were all people who stood very much alone. Do you expect to fare better than
them?
Take comfort, and have faith. There is more grace in the
world than you can see, and more Christians traveling towards heaven than
you are aware of. Elijah thought he stood alone, when there were "seven
thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal." Take comfort, and
look forward. Your good time is coming. You will have plenty of company
by-and-by. You will find many and not few in the kingdom of heaven—many to
welcome you—many to rejoice and praise with—many with whom you will spend a
blessed eternity. How pleasant it is to meet a single saint now for a few
short hours! How it cheers and refreshes us, like snow in summer or sunshine
after clouds! What, then, will it be when we shall see an enormous company
of saints, without a single unconverted sinner to spoil the harmony; all men
and women of faith, and none unbelievers; all wheat and no chaff; "a
multitude which no man can number!" Surely the "many" we shall see in heaven
will make ample amends for the "few" that we now see upon earth.
II. We have, secondly, in our Lord Jesus Christ's words,
the dwellings and position of those who shall be finally saved. It is
written "that they shall come from the east and the west."
There can be little doubt that this expression is a
proverbial one. It must not be taken literally, as if the saved were not to
come from the north and south, but only from the rising and setting of the
sun. We find the same expression in the 103rd Psalm, where it is said, "As
far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions
from us." The meaning is simply this: The saved shall come from different
places—from distant places—and from places where you would have thought it
most unlikely they would be found.
(a) They will not all have belonged to one church.
There will be Episcopalians, and Presbyterians, and Independents, and
Baptists, and Methodists, and Plymouth Brethren, and many other kinds of
Christians whom I have neither space nor time to name. However much they may
disagree and dispute now, they will have to agree at last. They will find to
their amazement that the points upon which they were of one mind were a vast
quantity, and the points on which they differed were very few. They will all
be able to say with one heart, "Hallelujah! praise to Him who loved us, and
washed us from our sins in His own blood!" And they will all be able to
reply with one voice, "Amen, amen!" The anthem in heaven, said good George
Whitefield, will be to all eternity, "What has God wrought!" The points of
earthly disagreement will have dropped off, and melted like snow in spring.
The common teaching of the Holy Spirit will stand out clear and plain before
every eye in heaven. At length there will be one real Church, without spot
or blemish or any such thing, without quarreling, controversy, or
dissension, all wheat and no tares, all sound members and none unsound.
(b) They will come from various countries in every
part of the globe, from Greenland's icy mountains, and the scorching regions
of the tropics, from India and Australia, from America and from China, from
New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, from Africa and from
Mexico. Some will have laid their bones in solitary graves like Henry Martyn
in Persia, with none to do them honor in their death. Some will have been
buried at sea with a sailor's funeral. Some will have died the death of
martyrs, and been burnt to ashes like our own Reformers. Some will have
fallen victims to malignant climates, or heathen violence at missionary
stations. And some will have died like Moses, in places where no human eye
saw them. But they shall all come together, and meet again in the kingdom of
heaven. It matters little where we are buried, and how we are buried, and in
what kind of a grave. China is just as near to heaven as England is, and the
sea shall give up her dead at the same moment as the land. Our coffin, and
our funeral, and the burial service, and the long procession of mourners,
are all matters of very secondary importance. The one point we should aim to
make sure, from whatever place we may come, is to be among those who "shall
sit down in the kingdom of heaven."
(c) They shall come from utterly different ranks,
classes, and professions. Heaven will be a place for servants as well as
masters, for maids as well as mistresses, for poor as well as rich, for the
unlearned as well as the learned, for tenants as well as landlords, for
subjects as well as rulers, for the pauper as well as the queen. There is no
royal road to heaven, and there will be no class distinctions when we get
there. At length there will be perfect equality, perfect fraternity, and
perfect freedom. It will matter nothing whether we had much money on earth,
or none at all. The only question will be whether we have really repented of
our sins, really believed on the Lord Jesus, and were really converted and
sanctified people. There will be no preference given to those who have come
from monasteries, nunneries, or hermits' caves.
It is very likely that those who have done their duty in
that state of life to which God called them, and have carried Christ's cross
in the Army or the Navy, in Parliament or at the Bar, in the bank or the
merchant's office, behind the counter or at the bottom of a coal-pit, will
be found in the first rank in the kingdom of heaven. It is not necessary to
wear a peculiar dress, or to put on an austere countenance, and to retire
from the world, in order to sit down in the kingdom of heaven.
(d) They shall come from most unlikely places, and from
positions in which you would have thought the seed of eternal life
could never have grown up in a soul. Saul, the young Pharisee, came from the
feet of Gamaliel, and from persecuting Christians, and rose to be the great
Apostle of the Gentiles, who turned the world upside down. Daniel lived in
Babylon, and served God faithfully in the midst of idolatry and heathenism.
Peter was once a fisherman on the sea of Galilee. Matthew was a public
tax-gatherer, who spent his days in receiving custom. Luther and Latimer
began life as devoted Papists, and ended life as devoted Christians. John
Bunyan, the author of "Pilgrim's Progress," was once a careless,
thoughtless, swearing, young man in a country village. George Whitefield
served in a public house at Gloucester, and spent his early days in cleaning
pots and carrying out beer. John Newton, the author of well-known hymns and
letters, was once the captain of a slave-ship on the coasts of Africa, and
saw no harm in buying and selling human flesh and blood. All these truly
"came from east and west," and seemed at one time in their lives the most
unlikely people in the world to come to Christ, and "sit down in the kingdom
of heaven." But they did come unmistakably, and they are an everlasting
proof that our Lord Jesus Christ's words are strictly true. Men and women
may "come from the east and west," and yet be found at last in the kingdom
of eternal happiness and glory.
Let us learn never to despair of the salvation of anyone,
as long as he lives. Fathers ought never to despair of prodigal sons.
Mothers ought never to despair of self-willed, headstrong daughters.
Husbands should never despair of wives, nor wives of husbands. There is
nothing impossible with God. The arm of grace is very long, and can
reach those who seem very far off. The Holy Spirit can change any heart. The
blood of Christ can cleanse away any sin. Let us pray on, and hope on, for
others, however unlikely their salvation may appear to be at present. We
shall see many in heaven whom we never expected to see there. The last may
yet prove first, and the first last. The famous Grimshaw of Yorkshire, when
he died, left his only son unconverted, careless, thoughtless, and
indifferent to true religion. The day came when the young man's heart was
changed, and he walked in the steps of his father. And when he lay upon his
deathbed, one of his last words was, "What will my old father say when he
sees me in heaven!" "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save!"
Isaiah 59:1
Let us learn not to sorrow "as those who have no hope,"
when we part from friends who are true Christians, and part, perhaps,
forever. The separations and goodbyes of this world are probably some of its
most painful things. When the family circle is broken up, when the old nest
begins to lose its inhabitants, when the young man sets sail for Australia,
New Zealand, or the Fiji Islands, with no hope of returning for ten or
twelve years—when these things take place, it is a sore trial to flesh and
blood. I have witnessed scenes on the landing-stage at Liverpool, when the
great steamships are about to start for America, which might bring tears to
the eyes of the most cold-hearted stranger. The partings of this world are
terrible things; but true faith in Christ and the resurrection to eternal
life through Him, takes the sting out of the worst of partings. It enables a
believer to look beyond the things seen to the things unseen, to the coming
of the Savior, and our gathering together unto Him. Yes, it is a pleasant
thing to remember, as the great ship moves away, and we wave our last
adieux, "it is but a little time, and we shall see them all again to part no
more." God's people shall come together from east and west, and we shall all
meet at last "in the kingdom of heaven," and go out no more.
III. We have, thirdly, in our Lord Jesus Christ's words,
the future portion and reward of those who shall be finally saved.
It is written, "they shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven."
That expression, "sit down," is a very pleasant and
comfortable one to my mind. Let us sift it, and examine it, and see what it
contains. In the judgement day believers shall STAND with boldness at the
right hand of Christ, and say, "Who will bring any charge against those whom
God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ
Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right
hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:33, 34). But when the
judgement is passed and over, and the eternal kingdom begins, they shall
"SIT DOWN."
(a) Sitting down implies a sense of CONFIDENCE and being
at home.
If we were in the presence of a stern judge, or of a
king clothed in awful majesty, we should not dare to sit down. But there
will be nothing to make believers afraid in the kingdom of heaven. The sins
of their past lives will not make them tremble and feel alarmed. However
many, however great, and however black, they will all have been washed away
in Christ's precious blood, and not one spot will remain. Completely
justified, completely absolved, completely forgiven, completely "accepted in
the Beloved," they will be counted righteous before God for the sake of Him
who was made sin for us, though He knew no sin (2 Cor. v. 21).
Though the sins of their lives "were as scarlet, they
shall be made white as snow; and though red like crimson, they shall be as
wool." Their sins will be "remembered no more;" "sought for, and not found;"
"blotted out as a thick cloud;" "cast behind God's back;" "plunged in the
depths of the sea." Believers will need no purgatory after they die.
It is ignorance and unbelief to think so. Once joined to Christ by faith,
they are complete in the sight of God the Father, and even the perfect
angels shall see no spot in them. Surely they may well sit down; and feel at
home! They may remember all the sins of their past lives, and be humbled at
the recollection of them. But those sins will not make them afraid.
The sense of daily failure, weakness, imperfection, and
inward conflict, will no longer mar their peace. At last their
sanctification will be completed. The war within shall come to a perfect
end. Their old besetting sins and infirmities will have dropped off, and
melted away. At length they shall be able to serve God without weariness,
and attend on Him without distraction, and not be obliged to cry
continually, "Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of
this death?" (Romans 7:24). Who can tell the blessedness of all this while
we are yet in the body? Here in this world we do not realize the
completeness of our justification, and "groan, being burdened" by reason of
our imperfect sanctification. Our best endeavors after holiness are
accompanied by a sorrowful consciousness of daily failure. But when "the old
man" is at last entirely dead, and the flesh no longer lusts against the
spirit—when there is an end of indwelling sin, and the world and the devil
can no longer tempt us, then at last we shall understand what God has
prepared for them that love Him. We shall "sit down in the kingdom of
heaven." But this is not all.
(b) Sitting down implies REST
, and a complete
cessation of work, and toil, and conflict. There is a rest which remains for
the people of God. Here in this life we are never still. The Word of God
tells us that the Christian must "walk," and "run," and "work," and "labor,"
and "fight," and "groan," and "carry the cross," and wear the "armor," and
stand like a sentinel on guard in an enemy's land. It is not until we enter
the kingdom of heaven that we must expect to "sit down."
Work for Christ, no doubt, is pleasant, and even in this
life brings a rich reward—the reward of a happy conscience, a reward which
the mere politician, or merchant, or man of pleasure, can never reap,
because they only seek a corruptible crown. "They who drink of these waters
shall thirst again." But even the Christian's work is exhausting to flesh
and blood; and so long as we dwell in a mortal body, work and weariness will
go together. The very sight of sin in others, which we cannot check, is a
daily trial to our souls. No doubt the fight of faith is a "good fight,"
but there never can be fighting without wounds, and pain, and fatigue. The
very armor the Christian is bid to put on is heavy. The helmet
and the breastplate, the shield and the sword, without which we cannot
overcome the devil, can never be worn without constant exertion. Surely it
will be a blessed time when our enemies will all be slain, and we can lay
aside our armor in safety, and "sit down in the kingdom of heaven."
In the meantime let us never forget that the time is
short. Even the devil knows that, and has great wrath because he has but a
short time (Rev. 12:12). Let us work on, and fight on—in full assurance of
hope, with the blessed recollection that it shall not be forever. When the
great battle of Waterloo was raging, and the outcome of the day seemed to
tremble in the balance, it is said that the Duke of Wellington kept calmly
turning his eyes to the left, in the confident expectation that in a little
time his Prussian allies would appear, and his victory would be sure. Let
this kind of hope animate our souls when we are bearing the labor and heat
of the day. Our King is soon coming, and when he comes we shall "sit down,"
and toil and fight no more!
IV. The fourth and last thing which the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ contain is, the COMPANY which those who are finally saved shall
enjoy forever.
Now, company is one great secret of happiness. Man is by
nature a social being. It is a rare exception indeed to find anyone who
likes to be always alone. A palace filled with untold wealth and luxuries,
would at last be little better than a prison—if we lived in it entirely
alone. A cottage with congenial companions is a happier dwelling-place than
a royal castle with—no one to speak to, no one to listen to, no one to
exchange mind with, no one to converse with, but one's own poor heart. We
all need someone to live with and love. Even the solitary dweller on a
island, like Robinson Crusoe, is never satisfied to dwell alone.
Our blessed Lord, who formed man out of the dust of the
earth, and made him what he is, knows that perfectly well. When, therefore,
it describes the future portion of His believing people, He takes care to
tell us what kind of company they shall have in the kingdom of heaven. He
says that the saved shall "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" in the
world to come.
Now, what does that expression mean? Let us look at it,
analyze it, and see what it contains.
The companions of the saved in the eternal world, shall
be all the believers who have ever lived on earth from the beginning to the
end. The old soldiers, the old pilgrims, the old servants of Christ, the old
members of Christ's family—all, in a word, who have lived by faith and
served Christ, and walked with God, these shall form the company in which
the saved shall spend an endless existence.
They shall see all the old worthies of whom they read in
the Old Testament, the Patriarchs, the Prophets, and the holy kings, who
looked forward to the coming of Christ, but died without seeing Him. They
shall see the New Testament saints, the Apostles, and the holy men and women
who saw Christ face to face. They shall see the early fathers who died for
the truth, and were thrown to the lions, or beheaded under the persecution
of the Roman emperors. They shall see the gallant Reformers who revived the
Gospel out of the dust on the Continent, and unstopped the wells of living
water which Rome had filled up with rubbish.
They shall see the blessed martyrs of our own land, who
brought about the glorious Protestant Reformation, and gave the Bible to our
countrymen in the English tongue, and cheerfully died at the stake for the
cause of the Gospel. They shall see the holy men of the eighteenth century,
Whitefield, and Wesley, Romaine, and their companions, who, in the face of
bitter opposition, revived religion in the Church of England. Above all,
they shall see their own friends who fell asleep in Christ, and whom they
once followed to their graves with many tears, and see them with the
comfortable thought that they shall part no more. Surely the thought of such
companionship as this should cheer us as we travel on the narrow way! It is
a good thing yet to come.
There is little happiness in company—unless there is
entire sympathy and congeniality of taste. It is one of the heaviest
trials of a true Christian upon earth—that he meets so few people who are
entirely of one mind with him about religion. How often in society he finds
himself obliged to hold his tongue and say nothing, and to hear and see many
things which make his heart ache, and send him back to his own home heavy
and depressed! It is a rare privilege to meet two or three occasionally to
whom he can open his heart, and with whom he can speak freely, without fear
of giving offence or being misunderstood. But there will be an end of this
state of things, in the kingdom of heaven. Those who are saved will find
none there—who have not been led by the same Spirit, and gone through the
same experience as themselves.
There will not be a man or woman there—who has not felt
deeply the burden of sin, mourned over it, confessed it, fought with it, and
tried to crucify it. There will not be a man or woman there—who has not fled
to Christ by faith, cast the whole weight of his soul upon Him, and rejoiced
in Him as his Redeemer. There will not be a man or woman there—who has not
delighted in the Word of God, poured out his soul in prayer at the throne of
grace, and striven to live a holy life. In a word, there will be none
there—who have not known something of repentance toward God, faith toward
our Lord Jesus Christ, and holiness of life and conversation. It is pleasant
to meet a few people of this kind on earth as we travel along the narrow way
which leads to heaven. It refreshes us like a brook by the way, and is like
a little peep within the veil. But what will it be when we see "a multitude,
which no man can number," of saints completely delivered from all sin, and
not one single unconverted person among them to mar the harmony!
What shall it be when we shall meet our own believing
friends once more, at last made perfect, and find that their
besetting sins, and our own besetting sins, have all passed away, and
there is nothing left in us—but grace without corruption! Yet all this is to
come when we pass within the veil. The inhabitants are not to be a mixed
multitude unable to understand one another. They are all to be of one
heart and of one mind. We are not to sit down amidst ignorant, godless, and
unconverted people, but "with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven." Heaven itself would be no heaven if all sorts of characters got
there—as some people falsely teach. There could be no order and no happiness
in such a heaven. There must be fitness for "the inheritance of the
saints in light" (Col. 1. 12).
(1)
And now, reader, before you lay down this
paper, ask yourself whether you shall be found among the many who shall "sit
down in the kingdom of heaven." The question demands an answer. I
charge you to give your soul no rest until you can answer it in a
satisfactory way. Time is passing quickly away, and the world is growing
old. The signs of the times ought to set us all thinking. "The distress of
nations with perplexity" seems to increase every year. The wisdom of
statesmen seems utterly unable to prevent wars and confusion in every
direction. The progress of art, and science, and civilization appear
entirely powerless to prevent the existence of enormous moral evils. Nothing
will ever cure the diseases of human nature—but the return of the Great
Physician, the Prince of Peace, the second coming of Jesus Christ Himself.
And when He comes, shall you be found among the "many" who shall "sit down
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven?"
Why should you not be found among the many? I know
no reason except your own indolence and laziness, or your own determined
love of sin and the world. An open door is before you! Why not enter into
it? The Lord Jesus Christ is able and ready to save you—why not commit your
soul to Him, and lay hold on the hand which He holds out from heaven? I
repeat that I know no reason why you should not be found among the "many" at
the last day.
You imagine that there is time enough, and no need of
hurry or immediate decision. You had better take care what you are saying.
It is not given to all men and women to live to eighty years, and then die
quietly in their beds. The notice to leave this mortal body sometimes comes
very suddenly, and men and women are summoned to go forth in a moment
into the unseen world! You had better use time while you have it, and not
make shipwreck on that miserable rock, "a convenient season."
Are you afraid that people will laugh at you, and mock
you—if you begin to care for your soul, and to seek a place in the kingdom
of heaven? Cast the cowardly feeling behind your back, and resolve never to
be ashamed of religion. Alas! Where are too many who will find at last that
they were laughed out of heaven—and laughed into hell! Fear not the
reproach of man, who at most can only injure your body. Fear Him who is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell. Lay hold boldly on Christ—and He will
give you the victory over all that you now fear. He who enabled the Apostle
Peter, who once ran away and denied his Master, to stand firm as a rock
before the Jewish council, and at length to die for the Gospel, the Lord I
say is still living at the right hand of God, and is able to save to the
uttermost all who come to God by Him, and to make you more than conqueror!
Do you think that you will not be happy if you seek to
have your soul saved, and to sit down in the kingdom of heaven? Cast aside
the unworthy thought as a lying suggestion of the devil. There are no people
so truly happy as true Christians. Whatever a sneering world may please to
say—believers have food to eat which the world knows not, and inward
comforts which the world cannot understand. There is no gloominess in true
religion, and no true religion in looking gloomy, sour, or austere. In spite
of cross and conflict, the true Christian has an inward peace compared to
which the world has nothing to give; for it is a peace which trouble,
bereavement, sickness, and death itself cannot take away! The words of the
Master are strictly true, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you:
not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid" (John 14. 27). If men and women want to be truly
happy, they should strive to be among those who "shall sit down in the
kingdom of heaven."
(2)
Last, but not least, let me wind up all by
offering a word of exhortation and encouragement to those who
have reason to hope that they are among the many who shall sit down in the
kingdom of heaven.
Would you have much joy and peace in believing? Try to do
all the good you can in the world. There is always much to be done, and few
to do it. There are always many living and dying in ignorance and sin—and no
one goes near them, and tries to save their souls. We live in days when
there is little real Christian work done to mend the evils of the times! If
all the Christians in all our churches laid themselves out to go among those
who are without God in the world, with the Bible in their hands, and
Christ-like loving sympathy in their hearts—they would soon be far happier
than they are now—and the face of society would soon be changed. Idleness is
one great cause of the low spirits of which so many complain. Too many, far
too many Christians, seem quite content to go to heaven alone, and to care
nothing about bringing others into the kingdom of God.
If you try to do good in the right way—you never need
doubt that good will be done. Many a Sunday school teacher comes home on
Sunday night with a heavy heart, and imagines that his or her labor is all
in vain. Many a home visitor returns from his rounds, and thinks he is
producing no effect. Many a minister comes down from his pulpit desponding
and cast down, imagining that his preaching is to no purpose. But all this
is disgraceful unbelief. There is often far more going on in hearts and
consciences than we see.
He who "goes on his way weeping, bearing forth the seed;
he shall come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6).
There are more being converted and saved than we suppose. "Many shall
sit down in the kingdom of heaven" whom we never expected to see there. Let
us read on, and pray on, and visit on, and speak on, and tell of Christ to
everyone whom we can get at. If we are only "steadfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord," we shall find, to our amazement, that
our labor was not in vain in the Lord. (1 Cor. 15:58).
But if we try to do good, we must always cultivate
patience. We cannot have two heavens—a heaven here in this world—and a
heaven hereafter. The battle is not yet over. The harvest-time is not yet
come. The devil is not yet bound. The time when our Lord's promise shall be
fulfilled, is not yet arrived. But it will arrive before long!
When the late Queen Victoria at the end of the Crimean
war came forward, and with her own royal hands gave the Victoria Cross to
the gallant soldiers who had earned it, that public honor made rich amends
for all that those soldiers had gone through. The hardships of the trenches
were all forgotten for the time, and seemed comparatively small things.
What, then, will be the joy when the Captain of our salvation shall gather
His faithful soldiers around Him, and give to each one a crown of glory
which never fades away! Surely we may well wait in patience for that day. It
is coming, and will surely come at last. Remembering that day, let us cast
behind us doubts and unbelief, and set our faces steadily towards the new
Jerusalem. "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand." Not one word of
the blessed promise before us shall fail! "Many shall come from the east and
west—and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven!"