Under Holy Ghost Conviction

Men live foolishly in the world, pursuing it and its pleasures. They foolishly believe God ignores their sins, or at least condones them. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Man, in his natural condition, is full of sin. He does not fear God and hates all things high and holy. He lives in rebellion to a sovereign.

He breaks that sovereign's laws recklessly and selfishly, and he cannot see his danger. For a man also knoweth not his time, as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare. So are the sons of men, snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

A lost sinful man does not realize his peril of dying in his sins and being brought to judgment before a holy God. But it is not so for the man whom God has awakened to his lost condition through conviction of sin. A man under holy ghost conviction sees himself living on the very verge of hell.

He knows full well that his heart is rotten in its best form. His best work are mere filthy rags to be discarded. He has an overwhelming sense of a heaviness that he should die this instant.

He knows he should sink down to hell. He sees now through an enlightened understanding that any endeavoring to work out a righteousness of his own is madness at best and dangerous at worst. He now sees that gospel salvation and Christ Jesus is a finished work.

Man needs no recommendations to God, but his task is to submit entirely to the righteousness of God through Christ. Indeed, that the offer of gospel salvation is an offer of something to be accepted, that it is full and complete, and what is necessary of man for it is to give his consent to give up his sins and give himself entirely to Christ. That salvation is not a thing to be wrought out by his own works, but rather it is a thing to be found entirely in the Lord Jesus Christ who reveals himself and presents himself to be accepted as Savior and Lord.

That to have all of Christ is to give all to Him in submission and surrender and yielding and receiving Him for who He is. That to get to Christ savingly man has to get alone with God and pour out his heart and prayer to God for grace and mercy. That all pride and fear of man must dissolve into trusting the Lord to save him.

That man must give his heart to God for God to do as fit as He pleases. That once man's heart is surrendered to God, there is no turning back to the world. That God demands repentance and God desires entire submission to His will.

And He will not accept a divided heart or a halfway commitment to Him. It is all or nothing at all, for Christ gave His all at Calvary, suffering and dying there. How can man hold anything back from Him? That man hits a crisis in his life where he finally sees eternity before him and hell below him and heaven above him.

And it's time to get serious with Almighty God in the salvation of his soul. He trembles at the thought of hell for he knows that he deserves to go there. It seems he sees the red flashing glow as he peers down into that bottomless pit of darkness and he can almost smell the sulfur of the black billowing smoke as he rises up from that burning furnace of fire.

He's so near the verge of hell itself. He thinks he hears the shrieks and cries of the damned all around him. Oh, how he must get to Christ.

Oh, how he feels the urgency of fleeing to Christ's righteousness for refuge from God's pursuing wrath. That he must get to Christ savingly and get his sins washed in His blood or be dragged down to hell for certain when he dies. That his case is hopeless without Christ.

That Christ has suddenly become lovely to him as a thing of great value to be had. He sees the glimmer of the righteousness on the pearl of great price as a thing of inestimable value and worthy of all acceptance. He sees Christ on the cross as a bloodstained savior for sin beckoning him to come to Him and believe on Him.

That his only hope is when Christ's life is laid down and applied to Him the dying and bleeding Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. That the claims of Christ are pressed upon him and he can no longer resist Him. That he now has the determination to give himself up to God and to give himself up wholly and supremely to Him.

That the nails in Christ's innocent hands and feet were driven there by his filthy rotten sins. And he cannot stand in his own merits before a just and holy God. But he must stand in the merits of another the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinner's substitute.

That the time has come to do business with God to get serious with Him and give himself entirely to Him placing his life in His nail-pierced hands to do with Him what every place is His will over my will His life for my life His blood for my sins. He hears God say Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord Though your sins be as scarlet they should be as white as snow Though they be red like crimson they should be as wool Jesus, the bleeding and dying Christ calls out Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else That God has made a great supper and invited many Come, says He for all things are now ready This is the grace of God toward men that He has prepared a great feast and He invites poor sinners to come and partake of His rich provision He says Oh, everyone thirsteth come ye to the water and he that hath no money come ye, buy and eat Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price It was absolutely necessary that some provision be made to remove people's sins for God cannot have any sin in His presence In order to do this He sent His only beloved Son into this world for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life Jesus was taken outside of Jerusalem and nailed to a cross in a place called Calvary He was despised and rejected of men and in those three hours of darkness on that cross He was made a sacrifice for sin so God could offer forgiveness of sin to every repentant sinner for He was wounded for our transgression He was bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him Look at that blessed man on the cross, friend See him there in agony as he suffers under the weight of sin Come to Him and believe on Him The duty required is to come God gets serious with those who get serious with Him Seek ye the Lord while He may be found Call ye upon Him while He is near Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon Salvation is Christ Jesus is the Pearl of Great Price We're selling all for and losing all for so He may be gained Come to this blessed Savior now, friend and own Him as your Savior and Lord and the Spirit and the Bride say, Come and let Him that hears say, Come and let Him that is a thirst Come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely