03.01. If Christ Had Not Come
IF CHRIST HAD NOT COME
Christ was discussing with His disciples their relationship to the world when He made the statement, "If I had not come" (John 15:22). I should like to lift this statement out of its setting, change it by substituting the Name "Christ" for the personal pronoun "I," and consider the negative aspect of the Gospel: "If Christ had not come."This opens a field of thought that gives us a greater vision and a deeper appreciation for the wonderful Christ and His glorious Gospel. The Old Testament
If Christ had not come the Bible would close with the last verse of Malachi: "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Its messages would be as difficult for us to grasp as it was for those who lived in the days when it was written.
Psalms 23:1-6 would be only a beautifully worded poem with much of its real meaning hidden from the hearts of men.
Isaiah 53:1-12 would be as hard for us to fathom as it was for the Ethiopian eunuch, and the world would be asking, "Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?" and "How can I [understand] except some man should guide me?" No New Testament
If Christ had not come we would have no New Testament, with its four Gospels portraying wonderful stories and incidents in the life of Christ; narratives, which present Him as Servant and King, Son of Man and Son of God. No Bethlehem
If Christ had not come the beautiful story of the Babe in Bethlehem, which for more than nineteen hundred years has been whispered in the ears of little children by godly mothers, would never have been told; the star in the east would have failed to shine; the angelic choir would have remained in heaven; the shepherds on the Judean hills would have heard no song; there would be no "peace on earth" and no "good will toward men. No Miracles If Christ had not come, there would have been no miracles. The palsied man of Capernaum would have spent his days upon his mattress for there would have been no "Great Physician" to whom his friends could carry him. The man at the pool of Bethesda, who had suffered thirty and eight years, would have continued to suffer while others pushed ahead of him into the healing stream. The ten lepers would have grown more desperate, more wretched, more loathsome, until at last, with faces of horror and bodies of rottenness and filth, they would have fallen into the grave. The blind men by the wayside would have continued to sit begging in darkness until death came and pulled them into eternity.The widowed mother in the city of Nain would have buried her son.
Mary and Martha would have continued to grieve for their brother, Lazarus, for there would have been no resurrection in Bethany. The tempest would have continued to rage, and the angry waves to dash at will, for there would have been no Master to say, "Peace, be still." The little boy with the five barley loaves and few fishes would never have known how great small things can become in the hands of God. No Parables If Christ had not come we would not have the thirty great parables.
We would never have heard of the sower, the stony ground, the wayside and the good soil. The lesson of forgiveness, as taught in the parable of the unmerciful servant, would not be known. The people of the world, like the wicked servant, would have continued to bury their talents and hide them in a napkin. The lesson on preparedness, as taught in the parable of the ten virgins, would never have been known. The Good Samaritan would have passed the wounded man as did the priest and the Levite. The prodigal son would never have found his way back home. No Conversions If Christ had not come there could have been no wonderful conversions.
John the Baptist could never have said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
We would never have heard of John, the tender, timid Disciple of Love.
Peter, the big-bodied, great-hearted, impetuous man, who was always blundering, yet always ready to apologize, who in one moment could thrash a fellow within an inch of his life, and the next moment weep over him, love him and bind up his wounds, would never have been saved.
We would have missed much if Peter had not been converted. In no other apostle do we so plainly see the weaknesses of humanity and the magnitude of the grace and power of God.Without Peter there would have been no climbing out of the boat and walking on the water.
There would have been no great sermon with five thousand conversions, and no epistles to bear his name. Who else could have so aptly worded the great confession, " Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God"?
If Christ had not come, Zacchaeus, the little publican of Jericho, would have continued to defraud the people. He would never have found a better way of life. The demoniac of Gadara would have remained untamed among the tombs, neither clothed nor in his right mind. The woman of Samaria would never have heard of the water of life, but would have continued to drink from the cup of iniquity until she had drained it to its dregs.
If He had not come, Saul, the little blood-thirsty Jew, would have seen no light on the road to Damascus; and the world would never have heard of the brilliant, kind-hearted Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. No Cross
If Christ had not come there would have been no Cross. Sinai with its law, fire, thunder and smoke would have been the world’s supreme monument of God’s greatest love and closest contact with man. All that sinners could do, would be to bring to a "man-made" altar the blood of bulls and goats, which has no power to take away sin. Only the priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and the veil of the Temple would have remained a solid curtain from top to bottom.
If He had not come we could never have sung:
"Down at the Cross where my Saviour died, Down where for cleansing from sin I cried;
Thereto my heart was the blood applied;
Glory’ to His Name!"
Cowper could not have written:
"There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains." My friend, George Bennard, would have to find a new theme for his song, because the world would not know what he meant by "The Old Rugged Cross."If Christ had not come we would be trembling with fear before Sinai, instead of weeping in love before Calvary. No Resurrection If Christ had not come there would have been no Resurrection.
Joseph’s tomb would have been occupied by himself or some member of his family. The stone would have been left before the door, and the seal would have remained unbroken.
If He had not come the women would have gone about their work as usual. The angel would have remained in glory, and there would have been no Easter with its flowers and song, happy hearts and shining faces.
Springtime with its budding life would lose much of its meaning. We would not have known that "that which is sown in weakness shall be raised in power."
Without the Resurrection we would bend over the couches of our dying loved ones and say, "Good-bye forever." Our hopes would terminate with the grave, and "if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all me most miserable." No Book Of Acts
If Christ had not come there would have bee no book of Acts, recording the Day of Pentecost, the launching of the Church, the death of Stephen, the conversion of Saul and Cornelius and the spreading of the Gospel to the Gentiles. No Epistles
If Christ had not come there would be no epistles to the Church, with their doctrines, ordinances, exhortations, and plans to spread the Gospel to the "uttermost part of the earth." No Book Of Revelation
If Christ had not come there would be no book of Revelation. There would be no warningof the tribulation that is to come, and no news of the final overthrow of Satan and death. We would have no description of the "city foursquare," the final abode of the saints.
Without the book of Revelation there would be no climax to the Bible, no "Come, Lord Jesus." No Church If Christ had not come there would not be a Church with its many blessings to humanity.
Martin Luther would never have discovered that "the just shall live by faith."Wesley would never have known that "men are justified before they are sanctified."
John Knox would never have cried, "Give me Scotland or I die."
Carey would have missed India.
Livingstone would have missed Africa.
Asbury would have missed America.
D. L. Moody would have remained a shoe salesman. No Great Passages Of Scripture
If Christ had not come we would not have the great passages from the New Testament to quote to those in need. The Sermon on the Mount, with its wonderful beatitudes, would never have been preached.
We could not say to the sinner, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
We could not say to the discouraged, "[Cast] all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
We could not say to the doubtful, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
We could not say to the needy, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
If He had not come we could not tell the sick and suffering of that day when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain."
If Christ had not come what a dismal, dark, miserable world we would have! Surely, W. O. Cushing was right in his poem:
Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour! No Rock, no Refuge nigh! When the dark days ’round thee gather, When the storms sweep o’er the sky!
Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour!
How lonely life would be!
Like a sailor, lost and driven, On a wide and shoreless sea.Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour! No hand to clasp my own!
Through the dark, dark vale of shadows, Just to press my way alone!
Oh, to have no hope in Jesus! No Friend, no Light in Jesus!
Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour!
How dark this world would be!
Christ Has Come!
I cannot close this message without reminding YOU of something you already know -- Christ has come! The Bible The Bible does not end with Malachi’s threatened curse. We have the New Testament, with its four Gospels; its twenty-one epistles; its book of Acts, recording Pentecost; the book of Revelation, which pictures the consummation of all things, and ends with "Come, Lord Jesus."
Christ has come, and His miracles stand out like stars in the firmament. The palsied man took up his bed and walked. The lame man at the pool was healed. The leper was cleansed. The blind received their sight.
Christ has come, and the widowed mother did not bury her son, for he lived again.
Lazarus was raised from the dead. The angry storm heard the voice of its Master and grew quiet. The lad with the loaves and fishes learned that a little in the hand of God would feed a multitude.
Conversions Christ has come, and many wonderful conversions have been recorded.
Simon Peter was saved, and thousands were won through his inistry.Zacchaeus climbed down from the sycamore tree to give half of his goods to the poor and restore fourfold to those he had wronged.
Christ has come, and the woman at the well believed and rushed back to her neighbors saying, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?’
Saul, the blasphemer, was saved and became Paul, the kind, the gentle, who cried, "Yea, I count all things but loss . . . that I may win Christ.’ The Cross
Christ has come, and we do not have to look away to Sinai with its law and fire, but we can look away to Calvary, the hill of grace, and sing, Down at the Cross where my Saviour died, for the world knows its meaning.
Christ has come and paid the price, so that the drunkard may become sober, the thief may become honest and the harlot may become pure. Salvation has been provided for the sinner and cleansing for the believer; for Christ has come to destroy the works of the Devil.
Christ has come, and William Cowper has written:
There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and we can understand.
George Bennard has written, On a hill far away stood an old rugged Cross, and the meaning is so evident that the world has proclaimed this the most popular sacred song. The Resurrection
Christ has come, and there was a Resurrection. The Roman seal was broken; the stone was rolled from the door; the tomb was empty, for our Lord arose from the grave.
We are not worshipping a dead Christ, but a living Saviour, who has become the first-fruits of them that slept, and we know that if He arose, we shall rise also.
Look not at the grave. He is not there! He is risen! Now the heart can sing, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"The Church
Christ has come, and we do not have to worship within the cold gray walls of some synagogue a God that is afar off. We have a church where we can meet, sing His praises, magnify His Name and worship Him according to the dictates of our own consciences. The Scripture Message Christ has come and left us the New Testament, with its beautiful passages which contain a message for every heart.
We can quote to the sinner, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
We can say to the doubting, "[He is] able to do exceeding abundantly above all that [you can] ask or think."
We can remind the tempted that in every temptation He has promised to make a way of escape. To the sick, the poor and the needy we can read His blessed words: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Christ has come, and to those in the valley of the shadow of death we can say, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
If there were no Christ, and had never been, To save the sinner from the throes of sin, What a dreadful place this world would be But there is Christ for you and me.
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