32 26. Non-conversion Or Why You Are Not Saved
26. Non-conversion Or Why You Are Not Saved
Non-conversion Or Why You Are Not Saved
INTRODUCTION
We come now to the last lesson in this series, and it shall be devoted to a talk to every reader or student who has thus far followed us who is not a Christian. Two great desires have been on our heart all the way through these lessons: (1) We have desired to show those who are not saved how to be saved; (2) we have desired to strengthen and confirm the faith of those who are already saved. Part II of "Scripture Studies," which we hope you will obtain and study, is devoted to the life we must live in Christ. Some who read these lessons in Part I doubtless will not be Christians. We are giving this lesson exclusively for them. We want you to be saved—to become a child of God; then study Part II that is devoted to the Christian’s life. With Paul we say: "Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Corinthians 5:11.) It is not enough to know what God says for us to do to be saved; we must do it. Christ "became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation." (Hebrews 5:9.) We want you to obey Christ. Christ himself asks the question: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46.) Heed the admonition: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah." (Isaiah 1:18.) We want you to think now about doing what you have learned in these lessons; and if you do not become a Christian, we want you to know just where the responsibility lies.
It is true that some try to be neutral—neither for nor against Christ. But this ground cannot be found. You are either for Christ or against him. "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (Matthew 12:20. This settles the question of neutrality. You cannot find such ground on which to stand. Even a desire or an effort to be neutral places you definitely against Christ. Satan does not want you to obey the gospel. In refusing to be saved, you take a stand where Satan wants you to stand; and Paul says we are the servants of the one we obey. "Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Romans 6:16.) "No man can serve two masters," says Christ in Matthew 6:24. So just know that all who have followed us in these studies can be classed in only one of two classes—viz., the saved and the unsaved—those who are for Jesus and those who are against him, those who now take Christ as their Master to obey or those who choose to still cling to Satan’s wishes.
THE RESPONSIBILITY DEFINITELY PLACED In ascertaining, without doubt, who is responsible for your not being a Christian, we will do what we call "clearing the question" by approaching it negatively—first learning who are not responsible for your going on in your sins.
God is not responsible. He "is long-suffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9.) If you have not repented of your sins, it is no fault of God’s; he wants you to repent. "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." ( l Tim. 2:3, 4.) "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23.) Honestly, would you say: "1 am unsaved, and it is all because God is withholding from me some influence that is indispensable to my conversion and salvation"? Certainly you know you cannot say this. "Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, o house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live." (Ezekiel 18:31-32.) And he calls on his ministers to "say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." (Ezekiel 33 : l 1.) No, sinner friend, God is calling, begging, and waiting. He so loved you as to send his only Son to die that you might live. (John 3:16.) Any doctrine that makes you think that your being unsaved is due to some unwillingness on his part, or to his withholding some influence from your heart that is necessary to your conversion, is one of the doctrines of the devil. Paul tells us, in 1 Timothy 4:1, that some would "fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons." To teach that God is withholding some influence necessary to your conversion would be one of the doctrines of the devil. In Luke 8:11-12 you will kind that it is Satan who steals God’s good word out of your heart lest you believe and be saved. God wants you saved. He is waiting and begging. Do not let Satan take this good doctrine from your heart by believing God is withholding from you some influence needful to your conversion.
Christ is not responsible.You cannot say: " 1 am not saved, and it is all due to Christ’s unwillingness—to his withholding from me some influence necessary to my conversion." He says: "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." (Matthew 11:28-29.) And hear him again: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37.) Luke says: "And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it." (Luke 19:41.) Who would say: "1 am not saved, and Jesus is to be blamed for it"? Certainly you cannot say this. Jesus is begging and waiting to save. He died that you might live. He has given you the law of pardon and begs you to accept it. The Holy Spirit is not responsible. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17.) "Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, Today if ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Hebrews 3:7.) The Holy Spirit is begging you to come to Christ, and he says, "Today"; and nowhere can it be found where the Holy Spirit or God or his Son ever said, "Tomorrow, come." Their call is now. It is left with you, sinner friend, to surrender to Christ and be saved now. If you refuse to surrender, you go against the pleading words of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The angels are not to be blamed. "Even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance. . . . Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." (Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10 : Angels are more interested in you right now than they are in the saved. This is true of the most humble and the poorest person on earth. "See that ye despise not one of these little ones: for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 18:10 : This has reference to a little one who believes on Jesus. It means little in importance so far as the world evaluates persons. (See verse 6.) The fault is not to be found in the gospel. "The gospel . . . is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Romans 1:16.) This gospel was preached unto us by the Holy Spirit that was sent down from heaven. (1 Peter 1:12.) Its entrance brings light and understanding. (Psalms 119:130; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.) It is perfect for the conversion of the soul. (Psalms 19:7.) "Wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein." (Isaiah 35:8.) We are plainly told just what we must do to be saved, as you have learned in the lessons we have studied. But if the gospel were inadequate— difficult to understand—the responsibility for its so being would fall back on God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, for they gave us the gospel.
THEN WHERE IS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE PLACED? At your feet.You cannot even begin to justify yourself in trying to place it anywhere else. Where did Jesus definitely place the responsibility for the souls he left unsaved? Did he not place it at their own feet? Hear him speak: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37.) Where is the blame placed here? To ask the question is to answer it. In Matthew 13:15 he speaks to those he left unconverted, and here is what he says: "For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them." I know you must think this language is too strong to apply to you; but I want you to answer this question: Can you go on unsaved without stopping your ears, closing your eyes, and hardening your hearts against the pleading words of Christ, his Father, the Holy Spirit, and even keep the angels looking in vain to see you let Christ save you? Tell me how you can remain unsaved and not go against the wishes of God. Satan is the one who wants you to remain unsaved. It is heaven’s will that you give your heart to Jesus now in a whole-hearted acceptance of his conditions of salvation. Is this an exception? I have found a number of souls in my ministry who said they wanted to be saved, but that they were seekers, some of them having been seeking for fifteen years; that they wanted to be saved, but that they were waiting on God to send his Spirit and give them a new heart, or effect some miraculous change in their soul. I say I have met with a number who gave this as their reason for not being saved, and I am not questioning their sincerity. But were they not being led by blind guides? (See Matthew 15:9-14.) Certainly in placing the responsibility of such as these not being saved we have to put a large part of it at the feet of these false teachers who had been-teaching them that they had to wait on God. But are we not taught to read after preachers and see whether or not the things they teach are true? (See again Acts 17:10-11.) But it matters not how much you have heard such teaching, you know better now; hence, the responsibility of your going on in your sins we must leave at your feet. CAN YOU BE HONEST AND REMAIN UNSAVED? In concluding this lesson I want to impress upon your heart that you cannot be an honest man or woman, boy or girl, and remain unsaved. This is based on the threefold application of the word duty.
You cannot be honest with God.Duty to God’ his Son, who died that you might live, forbids your saying: "Lord, I know you died for me, but I have other things I love better than I do the life you offer; so excuse me from submitting to your appeals." Have you read: "And they all with one consent began to make excuse"? (See Luke 14:16-24.) The feast is now ready. It cost Christ his life to prepare it. You are invited. Tell me how you can be honest with God and his Son and turn this invitation down. Is it unjust for him to say, if you persist in so doing, that "none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper"?
Youcannot be honest with society, with your friends and loved ones.You certainly owe it to society to ever let your influence over it be the best you are capable of making it—the uplifting of all and the pulling down of no one. Can this be done and you remain unsaved? How can others pattern after you without doing it to their own damnation? You have loved ones, and the time of separation must come. If they go first, will they be worrying about your condition? If you go first, will you leave in them that great hope of your everlasting salvation? Tell me not that you owe it not to mother, father, and all of your loved ones to leave not one doubt in their mind about your eternal safety. I have seen mothers bury their wayward sons and wring their hands and say: "oh, if I only had one ray of hope for my boy!" Are sons honest when they so die? Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, says something about our loved ones who go to sleep in Jesus. He tells us not to sorrow as others who have no hope, for just as certain as Jesus died and rose again, we may rest assured that our loved ones he will bring with him when he comes again. Tell me how any son or daughter can be honest with his or her parents and give them not this hope.
Youcannot be honest with yourself.You owe it to yourself to be the best man or woman that God’s grace can make of you. How can you be honest with yourself and let your soul stand in jeopardy? If you had an eternity in which to try it, you could not even begin to show that you can be an honest father or mother, son or daughter, and knowingly live in an unsaved state. May I beseech you, therefore, to surrender your heart to Jesus now in loving obedience to what he tells you to do to be saved—viz., by believing in him as the Christ, repenting of your sins, confessing him before men, and being buried with him in baptism and raised to walk in the new life. Then "live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. and purify unto himself a people for his own possession zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14.)
HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER Do you wish the world were better?
Let me tell you what to do:
Set a watch upon your actions, Keep them always straight and true;
Rid your mind of selfish motives, Let your thoughts be clean and high.
You can make a little Eden Of the sphere you occupy. Do you wish the world were wiser?
Well, suppose you make a start By accumulating wisdom In the scrapbook of your heart. Do not waste one page on folly;
Live to learn and learn to live.
If you want to give men knowledge, You must get it ere you give. Do you wish the world were happy?
Then remember day by day Just to scatter seeds of kindness As you pass along the way; For the pleasures of the many May be oft-times traced to one, As the hand that plants an acorn Shelters armies from the sun.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.