If They Do These Things in a Green Tree
If you die without trusting in Jesus, you will suffer the full force of God's wrath and judgment.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the dire consequences for sinners who reject Christ, drawing a stark comparison between the suffering of Jesus, the innocent substitute, and the fate awaiting the unrepentant sinner, referred to as the 'dry tree.' He warns that if God did not spare His own Son in the face of sin, He will certainly not spare those who remain in their unregenerate state. Spurgeon vividly illustrates the torment and despair that will befall those who are forsaken by God, urging listeners to trust in Jesus to escape the wrath to come. The sermon serves as a powerful call to repentance and faith in Christ, highlighting the urgency of turning to Him for salvation.
Text
Among other interpretations of this suggestive question, the following is full of teaching: "If the innocent substitute for sinners, suffer thus, what will be done when the sinner himself --the dry tree--shall fall into the hands of an angry God?" When God saw Jesus in the sinner's place, He did not spare Him; and when He finds the unregenerate without Christ, He will not spare them. O sinner, Jesus was led away by His enemies: so shall you be dragged away by fiends to the place appointed for you.
Jesus was deserted of God; and if He, who was only imputedly a sinner, was deserted, how much more shall you be? "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" what an awful shriek! But what shall be your cry when you shall say, "O God! O God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" and the answer shall come back, "Because ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh." If God spared not His own Son, how much less will He spare you!
What whips of burning wire will be yours when conscience shall smite you with all its terrors. Ye richest, ye merriest, ye most self-righteous sinners--who would stand in your place when God shall say, "Awake, O sword, against the man that rejected Me; smite him, and let him feel the smart for ever"? Jesus was spit upon: sinner, what shame will be yours! We cannot sum up in one word all the mass of sorrows which met upon the head of Jesus who died for us, therefore it is impossible for us to tell you what streams, what oceans of grief must roll over your spirit if you die as you now are. You may die so, you may die now. By the agonies of Christ, by His wounds and by His blood, do not bring upon yourselves the wrath to come! Trust in the Son of God, and you shall never die.
Sermon Outline
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The Severity of God's Judgment
- The innocent suffer for sinners
- The sinner will suffer more
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The Fate of the Unregenerate
- Jesus was led away by His enemies
- The unregenerate will be dragged away by fiends
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The Consequences of Rejecting God
- Desertion by God
- Terror of conscience
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The Severity of God's Wrath
- God spared not His own Son
- God will not spare the unregenerate
Key Quotes
“If God spared not His own Son, how much less will He spare you!” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” — C.H. Spurgeon
“O God! O God! why hast Thou forsaken me?” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- Trust in the Son of God to avoid the wrath to come.
- Recognize the severity of God's judgment and the consequences of rejecting Him.
- Do not bring upon yourselves the wrath to come by rejecting God's counsel and reproof.