Final Words to Saints and Sinners
Final Words to Saints and Sinners
I will now conclude by addressing a few words, first to believers, and then to sinners.
To those of you who are believers, I say:
First, strive to obtain and maintain a continuous relationship and fellowship with Jesus Christ, which means continually drawing fresh grace from Him by faith and making a suitable return of exercising grace and holy obedience. Be cautious of creating a divide between Christ and your soul. If it has already happened, which appears to be the case with many today, make every effort to remove it. Many people in the world disregard Christ, even though you must not. Many who seemed destined for heaven have turned away from Him. The warmth of outward peace and prosperity has caused some to abandon their faith, even though they clung to it when the wind of hardship was blowing upon them. "Do you want to go away too?" (John 6:67). By slighting communion with Christ, you show the basest ingratitude, as Jeremiah 2:31 attests, "Have I been a desert to Israel, a land of darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’?" Beloved, is this how you treat your friend? It is inappropriate for any wife to disregard conversation with her husband, but especially for you, who was taken from a prison or a dunghill by your Lord. This is not the time for you to be outside your chambers (Isaiah 26:20). Those who are closest to God now may have a hard time standing when the trial comes, so how difficult will it be for others who are caught off guard by troubles while guilt remains unremoved from their conscience? It is a terrifying trial to be awakened from a deep sleep and thrown into a raging sea like Jonah. Feeling the trouble before we see it coming, and being past hope before we experience any fear, is a sad situation. Therefore, tear down your idols of jealousy, put to death those lusts, unruly appetites, and desires that have stolen your hearts away, leaving you like Samson without his hair, and say, "I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than it is now" (Hosea 2:7).
Secondly, walk in a manner that befits your union with Christ. Demonstrate your connection with Him by "walking as He also walked," 1 John 2:6. If you have been delivered from the power of darkness, let your light shine before others. "Shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life," just as a lantern holds a candle, which then shines through it, Philippians 2:15-16. Now that you profess Christ to be in you, let His image shine through your actions. Remember that the purpose of your life is to prove, by practical evidence, what you profess.
Strive to bring forth much fruit. A branch that is well-laden with fruit is the glory of the vine and the husbandman. Jesus said in John 15:8, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." A barren tree is safer in a forest than in an orchard. Branches in Christ that do not bear fruit will be taken away and cast into the fire.
Keep your mind focused on heavenly things and have contempt for the world. You are united to Christ, who is your head and husband and is in heaven. Therefore, your hearts should be there also. Colossians 3:1 says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Let the descendants of the serpent continue to crawl on their bellies and eat the dust of the earth, but let the members of Christ be ashamed to bow down and feed with them.
Live and act with dependence on Jesus Christ. That which grows on its own root is a tree, not a branch. It is the nature of a branch to depend on the stock for everything and to derive all its sap from there. Depend on Jesus for life, light, strength, and all spiritual benefits. Galatians 2:20 says, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I live now in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God." In the mystical union, strength is united to weakness, so that death and earth may mount up on borrowed wings. Depend on Him for temporal benefits also; Matthew 6:11 says, "Give us this day our daily bread." If we have trusted Him with our eternal concerns, we should be ashamed to distrust Him in the matter of our provision in the world.
Man is born naked: he comes naked into this world, as if God designed him for the picture of peace. And surely, when he is born again, he does not come into the new world of grace with claws to tear, a sword to wound, and fire in his hand to burn up his fellow members in Christ, because they cannot see with his light. It is sad to see Christ's lilies as thorns in one another's sides, Christ's lambs devouring one another like lions, and God's diamonds cutting one another. Sin is not a proper cement for the members of Christ, though Herod and Pontius Pilate may be made friends that way. The apostle's rule is plain, Heb. 12:14, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness." Pursue peace not only to the extent of your own interests and preferences, but beyond them if it conforms to the Divine will. Do not pursue peace beyond holiness, which is conformity to the Divine will. Peace is precious, but it may be bought too dearly. Therefore, it is better to lack peace than to obtain it at the expense of truth or holiness. Otherwise, it cannot be bought too dearly, and it will always be precious in the eyes of the sons of peace.
And now to sinners, (those who are not yet in the state of grace), what can I say? I have shown you some of the privileges that belong to those who are united to Christ, but unfortunately, they are not yours because you are not His. The sinfulness of an unregenerate state belongs to you, as well as the misery that comes with it. You do not share in the righteousness of Christ, and therefore, there is no true peace for you - no peace with God or peace of conscience. You are not a part of God's family, and you do not have the adoption that was spoken of earlier. The Spirit of sanctification is not within you, and, in short, you have no inheritance among the sanctified.
All I can say to you is that the situation is not hopeless. You can still have a share in these privileges. As it says in Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and be with me." Heaven is still offering a union with earth; the Potter is still making a plea to His own clay, and the gates of the city of refuge are still open. Oh, if only we could compel you to come in! This concludes what I have to say about the state of grace.
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