Tonight, we continue our talks on the Pilgrim's
Progress, and we shall follow the adventures of
the Pilgrim as he leaves the gate, makes
his way through the Interpreter's House, and then
comes to that wonderful place where he sees
a sight that causes his heart to warm
within him, and the burden which all his
prayers and tears and good works had failed
to dislodge rolls off his shoulders, and he
sees it again, no more forever.
Let us pay good heed to all we
see and hear tonight, for this is the
most important part of the Pilgrim's Progress.
Last night, we saw Graceless coming to the
gate, over which were written the words, Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you.
In response to his knock, a voice inquired,
Who is there?
Graceless answered, I am a poor burdened sinner
from the city of destruction.
My name is Graceless.
The clothes of my own righteousnesses are of
silty rag.
I have a great burden on my back,
and I have been sent by evangelists who
told me you would give me instructions as
to how to get rid of this dreadful
burden of my guilt.
May I come in?
And you will recall that a man named
Goodwill came to the gate, and with a
smile of welcome on his face, held out
his hand and said, Welcome, Graceless, in the
name of the Lord Jesus, him that cometh
unto me I will in no wise cast
out.
And as Graceless took Goodwill's hand in his,
and was about to cross the threshold of
that gate, you recall Goodwill jerked him in,
which caused Graceless to inquire, Why did you
pull me in like that?
And Goodwill told him that Satan had built
a castle within bowshot of this gate, and
whenever he saw a poor pilgrim about to
escape from his clutches by crossing the threshold
of this gate, he would send his evil
servants to the top of that castle with
their bows and arrows, if perchance they might
kill the pilgrim before he could take that
step and be delivered from their power.
And you recall that Graceless thanked God for
his wonderful escape.
We pointed out last night the three arrows
that the devil uses to keep people from
putting their trust in Christ.
The first arrow was the arrow of laughter.
And oh, how many have lost their souls
because they were afraid that if they came
to Christ and trusted him as their Savior
and confessed Christ as the Lord of their
lives, their friends would laugh at them, and
they'd lose their place in society, lose their
popularity with the old gang.
And oh, how many have lived eternally to
regret that dreadful decision.
The second arrow was the arrow of pleasure,
a favorite arrow of the devil, who tries
to make out that when a person becomes
a Christian, he loses all the pleasure, all
the joy of life.
Don't you ever believe it.
For Christians have joy and pleasure.
No unsaved person can possibly understand.
Godliness is profitable, having the promise of the
life that now is, and the life that
is to come.
Don't allow the devil to cheat you out
of your soul by suggesting that if you
become a Christian, you won't have any more
fun or pleasure, that life will be a
miserable thing, nothing of the kind.
And that third arrow, the arrow of plenty
of time.
The devil will allow you to take your
place as a lost and guilty sinner, allow
you to believe that God loves you and
that Christ died for you, but will assure
you there's plenty of time to get saved.
And so he will try to get you
to put off the matter of your soul
salvation to a more convenient season, which very
often never arrives.
And the soul dies in his sin and
is lost forever.
Post not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest
what a day may bring forth.
Today is God's time of salvation.
Do what graces did.
Take goodwill's hand in yours.
Step through that threshold and be delivered from
these devil's arrows.
And now goodwill pointed out the way that
led before him.
He said, this is the way, walk ye
in it.
You will notice, said goodwill, that the way
is straight and narrow.
It turns neither to the left nor to
the right, but goes right on.
This is the path that your savior spoke
of when he said, enter ye in at
the straight gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leadeth unto destruction, and many
there be which go in there at.
But straight is the gate and narrow is
the way that leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it.
And continued goodwill, as you walk along this
pathway, you will come to a great castle
owned by the interpreter.
Knock at his door.
Tell him who you are and why you
have come.
And he will take of the faith of
Christ and reveal them unto you.
Pay good heed to all you see and
all you hear in the interpreter's house, for
those sights will stand you in good stead
for the remainder of your journey to the
celestial city.
But what about the burden of my sin?
Inquired graceless.
Goodwill with a smile replied, be content to
bear it until you will come to a
place where, after seeing a wonderful sight, your
burden will fall from your shoulders and you'll
never see it again.
In the meanwhile, pay particular attention to all
the interpreter shows you in his wonderful castle.
Then goodwill bade him good Godspeed and graceless
went on his way.
Presently, ahead of him, he saw the lovely
castle that goodwill had spoken about.
This castle had many doors.
Going to one of these doors, graceless knocked.
A voice inquired, who is there?
Graceless answered, my name is graceless.
I'm a sinner from the city of destruction,
the place of all evil.
I was sent from thence by evangelists to
the gate and from the gate by goodwill,
who told me, sir, you would take of
the things of Christ and reveal them unto
me.
May I come in?
The door opened and the interpreter himself appeared,
smiled a welcome and said, come in, thou
blessed of the Lord.
I have no greater delight than to take
of the things of Christ and reveal them
unto pilgrims such as you.
Come in.
And graceless entered the interpreter's house.
Before we enter with him, let us explain
of whom the interpreter is a picture.
The interpreter is a picture of the Holy
Spirit of God, whom our Lord Jesus said
he would send after he had returned back
to heaven.
Answered our Lord concerning the Holy Spirit, when
he has come, he will convince the world
of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
Of sin because they believe not on me,
of righteousness because I go to my father,
of judgment because the prince of this world
is judged.
He shall take of mine and shall show
it unto you.
He shall glorify me.
And so on the day of Pentecost, the
Holy Spirit, the third person in the divine
trinity, equal with the father and with the
son, came into this world.
What to do?
To show to unsaved people their true condition
in the sight of God.
To convince them of their sin and need.
To show them that apart from God's redeeming
grace, they are helpless, hopeless, hell-deserving sinners.
And then, to point them to Christ, who
loved them, who bore their sin, whose death
upon the cross has satisfied all the claims
of divine justice, and whose resurrection and high
priestly ministry makes it possible for every sinner
trusting Christ that moment to be saved eternally.
And then when a sinner trusts in Christ,
the Holy Spirit indwells that believer, heals him
unto the day of redemption, imparts to him
a divine nature in the strength of which
he can live to the glory of God
and do those things that are pleasing to
him.
He loves to take of the word of
God, and from that word make it clear
and living and powerful in our experience.
And so, as we go through the Interpreter's
house, let us ever remember of whom the
Interpreter is a picture and pay good heed
to all this holy heavenly guest seeks to
impress upon our hearts and upon our minds.
The first thing the Interpreter did was to
take Jesus into a room where there was
a picture.
A veil was across this picture.
The Interpreter ordered one of his servants to
light a candle and remove the veil.
And as that veil was removed from the
picture, Jesus was asked to describe what he
saw.
Jesus answered, I see a man standing with
his eyes to heaven.
The world is behind his back.
The best of books, the Bible, is clasped
fondly to his bosom.
He stands as though he pled with men,
and a crown is above his head.
You have correctly described the picture, said the
Interpreter.
Then Gracious said, Sir, will you please tell
me what this means?
Yes, said the Interpreter, I will.
This is a picture of a true Christian,
and you can always tell whether a person
is a that you have seen in that
picture.
Inasmuch as you see that man's eyes toward
heaven, so a true Christian is distinguished by
the fact he is heavenly minded.
He is more interested in spiritual and heavenly
realities than he is in the things of
earth.
Sexual affection on things above, not on the
things on the earth.
Inasmuch as you see that the world is
behind his back, so each child of God
has turned his back upon the world that
crucified his Lord.
I can say with the Apostle Paul, God
forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
the world is crucified unto me, and I
unto the world.
Inasmuch as the Bible, the best of all
books, is clasped fondly to his bosom, so
every Christian is distinguished by the fact he
loves the word of God.
He can say with David, O how love
I thy law!
It is better unto me than thousands of
gold and silver.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my pathway.
Inasmuch as he stands as though he pled
with men, so the greatest delight of the
child of God is to witness to the
saving and keeping power of his Lord and
Savior, and to lead other souls to put
their trust in him.
That crown of gold over his head signifies
that every child of God is looking forward
with eager anticipation to the coming of the
Lord Jesus, who promised, if I go away
and prepare a place for you, I will
come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am there ye may be also.
And every faithful child of God is looking
forward with glad anticipation to that day when
he shall receive a crown of righteousness that
the Lord shall give to all who love
him, who serve him, and who wait for
his appeal.
Now as we look at this picture, let
us ask ourselves the question, does this picture
represent me?
Am I a true child of God, interested
in heavenly reality, having turned my back upon
the world and its folly, its pomp, its
popularity, and its power?
Do I love the word of God, love
to study its pages, and seek to obey
its precepts?
Do I love to witness to my Lord
and Master, and seek to win souls for
him?
Am I looking forward to the coming of
the Lord Jesus?
You will recall that the interpreter caused a
candle to be lighted.
That candle, of course, illustrates the word of
God, which the Spirit of God himself inspired
holy men to write.
The Spirit of God only uses the word
of God to impress upon our hearts the
lessons he would have us learn.
These are the days when men and women
are rising up and saying they have a
new revelation from God.
But remember what the Bible says, to the
law and the testimony, if they speak not
according to this word, there is no light
in them.
The Holy Spirit will never contradict himself.
The Holy Spirit only uses what he has
already caused to be divinely inspired and written
in the word of God, to teach the
people of God the lessons that they must
learn.
The interpreter then took Gracious into a room,
the filthiest room Gracious had ever seen.
Dirt lay inches thick on the floor, so
much so that Gracious wrinkled his nose in
disgust and said, my, what a filthy room
this is.
And no wonder, replied the interpreter, from the
time this room was built, it has never
been cleansed.
Can it not be cleansed?
Look, said Gracious, there is a man standing
with a broom in his hand, whose name
is Law.
Could he not cleanse this room?
We will see, replied the interpreter.
So he called to this man and said,
Law, come in with your broom and see
if you can clean this room.
In came Mr. Law, and immediately he began
to sweep violently up and down that filthy
room with that large broom of his.
Did he clean it?
Of course not.
All he did was to cause the dirt
that lay inches thick on the floor to
rise in great big clouds, so that Gracious
was almost choked by reason of the dust
raised by that man's violent sweeping.
Please tell that man to stop sweeping, urged
Gracious.
I'll be choked in this dust.
The interpreter, with a smile, said to the
man, stop sweeping.
And presently the dust subsided to the floor,
and the room was just as filthy as
it had been before.
Only Gracious had been made to realize how
exceedingly filthy that room was because of the
violent sweeping of Mr. Law's broom.
He then inquired, is there no other way
of cleaning the room than this?
The interpreter answered, that way, that method, could
never clean this room.
There's only one way by which this room
can be cleaned.
And then he called a woman whose name
was Grace.
She had a bowl of water in her
arm.
He said, will you come and clean this
room?
In came Grace.
First thing she did was to sprinkle with
the water the floor of that room, and
then she took a broom, and she was
able to clean that room so that not
one spot or speck remained.
It became a fit habitation for the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And when the room had been perfectly swept
and perfectly clean, Gracious inquired, sir, will you
tell me what does all this mean?
Yes to the interpreter, I will.
This room is a picture of the heart
of every unsaved person.
And all that dirt illustrates the sins which
that person has committed, which has made his
heart exceedingly wicked and sinful and filthy.
Inasmuch as this room was never cleansed from
the day it was built, so man's heart
is not cleansed from birth, and it is
cleansed by the gospel of the grace of
God.
The man with a broom illustrates the Ten
Commandments or the law.
And all the law can do is to
stir up the dirt that is within.
And through the law makes sin exceedingly sinful.
Many a person, in a vain effort to
cleanse his own life, tries to keep the
Ten Commandments.
But the more he tries to keep those
Ten Commandments, the more he realizes how lost
and guilty and helpless he is to cleanse
himself.
Paul said, I had not known sin except
the Lord said thou shalt not covet.
So that the law made sin exceedingly sinful
to me.
It stirred up within me all those latent
evil lusts and desires.
And the more I tried to keep the
law, the more I realized how utterly impossible
it was that God demanded what I could
not possibly give.
That's what the Bible means when it says,
by the law is the knowledge of sin.
No person could ever be saved by keeping
the law.
For in the first place, not one of
us has ever kept the law.
And the breaking of that law makes us
sinners and criminals in the sight of God.
And all our future good conduct can never
atone for the many, many times in which
we have broken the holy law of God.
But said the interpreter, the woman with the
water illustrates the gospel of the grace of
God.
For the good news that God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten
son, that whosoever believed in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
And when a poor, lost, and guilty sinner
believes the good news that Christ on that
cross, the holy, sinless Son of God, bore
his sins and took his place and died
in his stead, and received him by faith
as his Savior, that moment his heart is
cleansed from sin and becomes the fit habitation
for the Lord of life and glory, who
now dwells in the heart by faith.
Thus, in this picture we see the difference
between law and grace.
The law came by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ.
The law can never save any man, however
hard he tries, however good he may imagine
himself to be.
But any poor, lost, and guilty sinner, believing
the good news of God's salvation, and trusting
Christ as Savior, and resting in his finished
work, is saved by God's grace.
For by grace are you saved through faith,
not of works, lest any man should boast.
The law came by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ.
The law makes nothing perfect, but when the
soul receives the Son of God, that moment
his sins are gone.
He is at peace with God.
He is the possessor of eternal life, not
on the basis of his own good works,
but on the basis of God's infinite, marvelous
grace.
And now, graces was taken into a room.
In this room there were two boys, one
named Passion, the other named Patience.
Passion was discontented, restless, grumbling.
Every now and then he would say, petulantly,
give me mine now.
I don't want to wait till next year.
I want my treasure now.
Give it to me now.
Patience, on the contrary, sat quite quietly and
contentedly.
Graces inquired of the interpreter, why is that
boy so restless and discontented, and the other
boy so quiet and so content?
The interpreter replied, the master of the house
has promised each of those two boys a
wonderful treasure next year.
But Passion doesn't want to wait for his
treasure next year.
He wants his now.
That's why he's discontented.
That's why he's so grumbling.
But Patience is content to wait until the
good pleasure of the master of the house.
As Graces watched, he saw three men staggering
under the weight of sacks which they held
on their shoulders.
When they came to where Passion was seated,
they poured out at his feet the contents
of these sacks.
Gold, silver, precious stones, popularity, power, all those
things which the natural man imagines will give
him complete satisfaction.
And as Passion saw all this display of
wealth, he clapped his hands with joy, picked
up the silver coins and the golden coins,
allowed them to fall from his hands.
Every now and then he would sneer at
Patience and say, why don't you get while
the getting's good?
A short life and a merry one, that's
my motto.
Make hay while the sun shines, never eat,
drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
But Patience replied, I'm quite content to wait
until the good pleasure of the master of
this house.
And then a strange thing happened.
As Graces watched, in a moment, without any
warning whatever, all this treasure that so delighted
the heart of Passion turned into a great
heap of rust and dust and rags and
ashes.
And as Graces watched, he saw angels were
comforting Patience and assuring him of treasure in
heaven that would never fade away.
Graces inquired, oh sir, will you tell me
what this means?
The interpreter answered, these two boys illustrate two
kinds of men and women that live on
the world today.
Passion illustrates that person who has no time
for God, no time for Christ, no time
for the Holy Spirit, no time for the
Word of God, no time for thought about
his soul's salvation.
All he wants is a good time, the
pleasures of this world, its pomp and popularity
and power, and all its wealth.
He gives no thought to death and to
eternity.
All he's concerned with is enjoying to the
full extent all the evil desires of his
own heart of rebellion against God.
Inasmuch as you saw that in a moment
of time, all those riches turned to rust
and dust and rags and ashes, so when
death comes in, the man of the world
will have to leave it all behind.
All that which he lived for will turn
into a heap of worthless junk.
He'll go out into a Christless eternity to
weep and wail and gnash his teeth for
his abysmal folly.
He gained the world, but he lost his
own soul.
Patience, however, illustrates a child of God who,
having trusted Christ as his savior and owned
him as the Lord of his life, seeks
to lay up for himself pleasure in heaven,
where the moth and the rust do not
corrupt and where the thief does not break
through and steal.
And while the man of the world is
in a lost eternity, the child of God
is in the presence of the Lord Jesus,
which is far better.
Enjoying the riches of God's grace, enjoying the
presence of the Savior who loved him and
gave himself for him.
Now, look at those two boys and be
honest with yourself.
Ask yourself the question, which of those two
boys represents me?
Am I like passion, living only for the
things of this life?
The best definition of a fool I ever
heard was this.
A fool is a person whose plans all
end in this life.
If all your plans for your life end
at death, you are very foolish indeed.
But if your plans for your life link
you with Christ in heaven for all eternity,
then you are wise.
If thou shalt be wise, thou shalt be
wise for thyself.
If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
What shall it profit a man if he
gain the whole world and lose his own
soul?
Make sure that you are like patience, that
you put your faith and trust in the
Lord Jesus and that you are saved by
God's grace, kept by God's power, in the
enjoyment of all those spiritual pleasures that belong
to the child of God.
And then you can look forward with glad
anticipation to the coming of the Lord Jesus
or at death to going to be with
Christ, which is very far better.
Now, Gracious was taken into a room and
in that room there was a fire burning
against the wall.
A man was standing alongside of that fire
pouring bucket after bucket of water on it
with a view to putting it out.
But the strange thing was, instead of that
fire being put out by those buckets of
water, the fire rose higher and higher and
became hotter and hotter.
This moved Gracious to inquire, Sir, how is
it that fire is not put out in
spite of the attempts of that man to
do so with those buckets of water?
Come with me, answered the interpreter, and I'll
show you the reason why.
And now the interpreter showed Gracious that that
fire went right through the wall.
And on the other side of that wall,
unseen to him at first, he saw a
man standing with a pitcher of oil.
And from that pitcher there flowed a continual
flow of oil, which not only prevented that
fire from going out, but which kept that
fire rising higher and higher and becoming hotter
and hotter.
Gracious inquired, please tell me what this means.
The interpreter replied, that fire is the fire
of salvation, which God kindles in the heart
of each sinner the moment he trusts Christ
as his Savior.
But no sooner is that fire kindled, than
along comes this man, who represents the devil,
being put out by those buckets of water.
The fire rose higher and higher and became
hotter and hotter.
This moved Gracious to inquire, Sir, how is
it that fire is not put out in
spite of the attempts of that man to
do so with those buckets of water?
Come with me, answered the interpreter, and I'll
show you the reason why.
And now the interpreter showed Gracious that that
fire went right through the wall.
And on the other side of that wall,
unseen to him at first, he saw a
man standing with a pitcher of oil.
And from that pitcher there flowed a continual
flow of oil, which not only prevented that
fire from going out, but which kept that
fire rising higher and higher and becoming hotter
and hotter.
Gracious inquired, please tell me what this means.
The interpreter replied, that fire is the fire
of salvation, which God kindles in the heart
of each sinner the moment he trusts Christ
as his Savior.
But no sooner is that fire kindled, than
along comes this man, who represents the devil.
Ah, said the devil, I'll put out that
fire of salvation in that child of God's
heart.
I'll pour a bucketful of difficulties on that
child of God and make the Christian life
so difficult for him, he'll only be too
glad to give it up and come back
again and become my servant.
And so he pours bucket after bucket of
difficulties on the life of that child of
God.
Does that put out the fire of salvation?
No indeed.
I'll try a bucketful of temptations, says the
devil.
And so he pours bucket after bucket of
temptations on the life of that child of
God.
Does that put out the fire?
No indeed.
I'll try a bucketful of doubts.
And so he tries to becloud the child
of God with doubts.
Doubt of the word of God, doubt of
the deity of Christ, doubt of the love
of God, and so on.
Does that put out the fire of salvation?
No.
Why not?
Because, said the interpreter, that man on the
other side of the wall, unseen to you
at first, illustrates the work that the Lord
Jesus is doing behind the veil of heaven,
on behalf of all those who put their
faith and their trust in him.
Behind the veil of heaven, the Lord Jesus
ceaselessly intercedes on behalf of all who know
him as their savior.
Can a child of God sin?
Yes, alas.
What happens when a child of God sins?
Is he lost again?
Does he have to be saved all over
again?
No.
The Bible says if any man sins, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous.
The Lord Jesus is our advocate.
He takes our part.
And by his ceaseless intercession in heaven, maintains
the work he has begun.
He that has begun a good work in
you, will continue it, will perform it, will
complete it in the day of Christ.
This illustrates that glorious truth of the eternal
security of every believer in the Lord Jesus.
That fire of salvation will never be put
out, because we read, wherefore he, Christ, is
able to save them to the uttermost, that
cometh to God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them.
And so through the ceaseless intercession of the
Lord Jesus, at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, every child of God is
kept by the power of God, through faith,
unto that salvation which shall one day be
revealed, when our Lord Jesus Christ himself shall
come, or the believer goes to be with
Christ, which is very far better.
Let this picture encourage any here, who are
afraid that if they trust Christ as their
savior, they won't be able to hold on.
And by and by they'll give him up,
and become worse than they were before.
Remember, when you trust Christ as your savior,
he lights that fire, and never allows that
fire of salvation to die down.
So take courage from this, and remember that
Christ is not only able to save, but
is able to keep, able to go on,
able to keep the child of God growing
in his grace, and in his knowledge, until
traveling days are done.
And now, Graces was brought into a dark
room.
In that dark room there was a cage.
In that cage was a man, upon whose
face despair had indelibly imprinted itself.
As Graces saw him, he shrank back in
horror, and then inquired, Who are you?
And what are you doing in that iron
cage of despair?
The man replied in hollow tones, I am
now, what I once was not.
Why, what were you, and what are you
now?
And how do you come to be in
that cage?
And the man answered, I was, once was
a fair and flourishing professor of religion, both
in my own eyes, and in the eyes
of my neighbors.
But when through the faithful preaching of the
gospel, I discovered I was nothing but a
poor, guilty, lost sinner, needing to be born
again, instead of owning that fact, instead of
coming as a sinner, and putting my faith
and trust in Christ, my proud heart refused
to bend.
I would not take my place as lost
and guilty in the sight of God.
I would not receive Christ as my Savior,
and rely wholly and entirely upon what Christ
did upon that cross, when he bore our
sins, and took our place, and died in
our stead.
I hardened my heart against the Holy Spirit's
convicting power.
And as the years went on, through my
hardening of heart, through my rejection of Christ,
my heart became harder, and harder, and harder,
until now it seems I cannot repent.
Here I am, shut up in this iron
cage of despair.
And then the poor man groaned, wrung his
hands in despair, and cried bitterly, O eternity,
eternity, how shall I grapple with the miseries
that I must meet with in eternity?
Oh, if I only had trusted Christ when
I had my opportunity.
But now my heart is cold and silent.
The Savior's pleadings have ceased, and I am
doomed, doomed to enter into that dreadful blackness
of darkness forever, to weep and wail in
torment.
Christian said, O my friend, it is not
too late.
Christ, the Son of God, is merciful.
If you call upon Him, He will save
you.
No, said the man, it's too late, it's
too late.
It might have been once, but now it's
too late, too late.
And graceless, I can leave that man in
the iron cage of despair.
What does this mean?
Just this, the Holy Spirit of God, through
the preaching of the gospel, will convince those
who hear of their need of God's saving
grace, their need of the new birth, their
need of being saved.
But if a person continually and willfully hardened
his heart against the appeals of the Spirit
of God, then through sin, his heart will
be hardened, and by and by, he will
no longer hear the knock of the Savior
at his heart's door saying, Behold, I stand
at the door and knock.
If any man hear my voice and open
the door, I will come into him and
sup with him, and he with me.
Slowly as the years go by, his heart
becomes harder and colder and more silent, and
it seems as though this person has gone
beyond the pale of God's salvation.
The same sun that shines upon ice and
melts it, shines upon clay and hardens it.
The same heart, when young and tender, will
respond and be moved by the Savior's appeal
as he tenderly and lovingly knocks at the
door of our heart, will, if resisted continually,
cause our hearts to be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin.
Oh, do not reject, do not despise, do
not neglect this matter of your soul's salvation,
for how shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation?
Beware lest this man's doom be yours.
Just now, your doubtings give o'er.
Just now, reject Christ no more.
Just now, open the door and let Jesus
come into your heart.
And now, Graces was taken into a room.
A man was rising from his bed, his
hands shaking like an aspen leaf, his face
betoken in terror, so much so that Graces
inquired, What's the matter?
Why are you so afraid?
The man replied, I've just awakened from a
dreadful dream.
What did you dream?
I dreamed the last day had come.
I was on earth, and the clouds were
moving to and fro in a most peculiar
manner.
As I watched, I saw those clouds opening,
and through the opening I saw a cloud
of glory, and which was seated the Lord
Jesus, accompanied by all his holy angels.
As I watched, I saw those angels take
trumpets.
I saw them blow upon those trumpets, and
this was the sound I heard, Arise ye
dead, and come to judgment.
As I watched, I saw the graves opening.
I saw the dead who had died without
Christ, who had died in their sins, rising
from those graves with bodies fitted for eternal
destruction.
As I watched, I saw the sea opening
up its depths, and those who had died
in the sea came forth.
As I watched, I saw the Lord Jesus
take his seat upon a great white throne,
and I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before that great white throne to be
judged for their sins.
I saw the angels bringing out books.
In those books were the records of all
the thoughts and the words and the deeds
of those who stood before the great tribunal.
As I watched, I heard them say, Rocks,
hills, fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him who sits upon the
throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
But no rocks, no hills moved.
I saw the dead judged according to the
record found in those books, and I heard
the voice of him who sat upon that
throne saying, Be gone from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire.
Prepare for the devil and his angels.
And as I watched, the eyes of the
Son of God came in my direction.
I tried to hide, but I couldn't.
Those eyes pierced me to my inmost soul,
and all my sins, long forgotten, crowded back
again into my memory, and then they became
a chain that bound me hand and foot.
And then at my feet, a great pit
opened up, and I fell into that pit,
down, down, down to the dreadful eternity I
knew I deserved to be in.
And then, thank God, I awakened and discovered
it was but a dream.
But what made you afraid?
urged Graceless.
Note the man's reply.
He said, What made me afraid was this.
I knew when I faced the Lord Jesus
on that great white throne, I faced him
not as my Savior, but as my Judge.
Mark this.
Those who die in their sins must meet
Christ.
Christ is the unescapable Son of God.
And those that refuse to face him on
earth, refuse to come and own their need
to him, and trust him as their Savior,
and rest in his finished work, must, if
they despise, or reject, or neglect him, face
him in the coming eternity, when the day
of mercy is over forever.
And everyone will be judged then according to
their works, and all those sins will receive
in full the wages due to them.
Don't let that day find you unprepared.
Come to Christ now.
Listen to his voice as he says, Come
unto me, all ye that labor and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
Flee to those loving arms that were pierced
for you upon the cross.
Say to him, Jesus, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly, while the
nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is
high.
Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to
thy cross I cling.
Naked come to thee for dress, helpless look
to thee for grace.
Foul I to the fountain fly, wash me,
Savior, or I die.
And Christ will then save you, pardon you,
cleanse you, and relieve you.
He will become your Savior, your Lord, your
friend, your guide, and your satisfying portion.
And you'll never have to stand before that
great white throne.
For Jesus himself said, He that heareth my
word, and believeth him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment,
but is passed out of death unto life.
Be warned by this man's dream, which will
be the awful reality of those who die
in their sins.
And now graceless began to be concerned himself,
and he turned to the interpreter and said,
Sir, I realize now as never before how
much I need to be delivered from this
burden by guilt.
Can you tell me how I can get
rid of this burden?
Yes, said the interpreter with a smile, as
he took him to one of the other
doors of the castle.
And opening that door, he pointed out to
graceless the straight and the narrow path that
led right from that door, and said, Walk
along that narrow path until you come to
a place where that burden will fall off
your shoulders, and you'll see it again no
more forever.
What have you learned as I've taken you
through this castle?
Graceless answered, I have learned, O interpreter, there
is only one thing worth living for in
this life, and that is to be ready
for eternity that is to come.
That's a lesson that I trust each one
will learn who has been with graceless through
the interpreter's house.
And now graceless made his way from the
interpreter's house down that narrow path until presently
ahead of him he saw a hill, a
hill lone and gray, and on that hill
he saw a cross.
Ah, thought graceless, this must be the place
where they crucified the Lord of Glory.
This must be the place where they led
him as a lamb to the slaughter, and
as a sheep before his shearer is done,
so he opened not his mouth.
This is where they crucified the holy, sinless
Son of God.
I wonder why Jesus allowed himself to be
taken by wicked men and nailed to that
cross, and thinking about these things he presently
found himself at the foot of that cross,
and as he looked up by faith, not
by his natural eyes, but by the eye
of faith guided by the Word of God,
he saw the Lord Jesus hanging on that
cross in agony and blood, rejected by men
and forsaken of his God, and as he
looked he saw something on the Son of
God that made his own heart warm within
him, and what do you think it was?
He saw that Christ was bearing on that
cross.
Graceless saw that the Lord Jesus was bearing
his burden of sin, and that when Christ,
the sinless Son of God, went to that
cross he knew all about graceless, and in
wonderful love allowed God to take all graceless
sins and put them on him, knowing that
when he did this he must pay the
penalty for the sins of graceless, he must
die, he must shed his precious blood in
order that graceless might be free, and when
graceless realized that fact he said, Lord Jesus,
I see it now.
All my tears, all my prayers, all my
good works, all my own good resolutions, my
own efforts to rid myself of this burden
have been in vain.
I see now that on that cross thou
didst bear my sins, in thine own body
on that tree, and thou didst shed thy
blood for my redemption.
I see, Lord Jesus, thou didst love me,
thou didst give thyself for me.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for bearing my sins.
Thank you for taking my place.
Thank you for dying in my stead.
Thank you for paying my debt.
Thank you for doing all the work needed
for my salvation.
There's nothing left for me to do now
but to trust you as my Savior, and,
Lord Jesus, right here and now I trust
you as my Savior.
I rest in thy finished work for me.
And what happened?
Why, that burden that all his good works
had failed to remove, rolled from his shoulders,
rolled down that hill into an open grave,
where he saw them again no more.
That's how he lost the burden of his
sin, and that's how you may lose tonight
the burden of your sins, by believing the
good news of the gospel, that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures, that
he was buried and rose again, and that
the work of Christ, which he accomplished on
that cross, satisfied every claim of a holy
God against sin and the sinner.
And God is now prepared, because his Son
died and rose again, to save each believing
sinner who will rest in Christ's finished work,
and trust him as his Savior, and hold
him as the Lord of his life.
Will you do that?
Do it right now.
From your heart say, Lord Jesus, just as
I am without one plea, for that thy
blood was shed for me, and that thou
bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of
God, I come.
As he stood there, tears of joy rolling
down his cheeks, three shining ones appeared to
him.
The first shining one said to him, Son,
thy sins are all forgiven thee.
That's the first blessing a person gets when
he comes to Christ.
All his sins are forgiven.
Why?
Because Christ bore them in his own body
on that tree.
Be it known unto you men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins, and by him all
that believe are justified from all things.
The second shining one stripped graceless of the
filthy garments of his own self-righteousness, and
clothed him with a garment of spotless purity,
even the garments of righteousness and salvation.
So that he could say now with Isaiah,
I will greatly rejoice with the Lord before
the Lord.
My soul shall be joyful in my God,
for he hath clothed me with the garments
of salvation, he hath covered me with a
robe of righteousness.
The third shining one put a seal upon
his forehead, an invisible seal, that marked him
out as now belonging to Christ, which speaks,
of course, of the sealing of the Spirit
of God, by which every believer on receiving
Christ as Savior is made and marked as
the property of the Lord Jesus.
The third shining one also gave him a
robe, picture of the joy and the assurance
of his salvation.
And then his name was changed.
What is his name now?
Christian.
No longer is his name graceless.
He is now Christian.
What made him a Christian?
Was he doing the best he could?
No.
Saying his prayers?
No.
Reading his Bible?
No.
Attending divine service?
No.
Resolving to live a better life in the
future?
No.
His good works?
No.
Baptism?
No.
Confirmation?
No.
Church membership?
No.
What made him a Christian?
Receiving the Lord Jesus as his own personal
Savior and relying on Christ's work for him
on Calvary made him a Christian.
And that's the only way to become a
Christian.
No person is a Christian that has not
had a dealing with the Lord Jesus for
himself or herself.
Oh that that day may dawn for you
right here and right now.
Do what graceless did.
Own yourself to be a poor, guilty, helpless,
hell-deserving sinner and then rely on the
work that Christ did for you on that
cross as the alone foundation of your hopes
of eternal blessedness.
Trust him as your Savior and confess Christ
as your Lord and then you'll be a
Christian.
Heaven-born, heaven-bound, and heaven-bent.
Here is the sinner's perfect plea.
Here's a man who has found out what
graceless discovered.
He discovered himself to be what God had
declared he was.
A sinner lost and guilty.
Unable to do one thing to deserve God's
mercy, pit only for eternal banishment from God's
presence.
But this man has a perfect plea as
he comes to God through Christ.
And what is that plea?
Just as I am.
Without one plea, Lord Jesus, but that thy
blood was shed for me and that thou
bidst me or invitest me to come to
thee, O Lamb of God, I come.
Will God save this man?
Forgive him?
Bestow upon him eternal life?
Will he be born again?
Yes indeed.
Soon as my all I ventured on Christ's
atoning blood, God's Holy Spirit entered and I
was born of God.
Here is a decision, my decision.
No one can make this decision for you.
You must make it for yourself.
Note the wording of this petition and under
many of these words you'll see a scriptural
quotation which backs home the truth of what
is stated above.
Owning myself, not the other person, but myself,
to be a guilty, lost, helpless, and hell
-deserving sinner.
But believing that the Lord Jesus Christ on
Calvary's cross, there or carried my sins, took
my place and died for me.
Believing that, I now in simple faith receive
him to be my own personal Savior and
shall confess him as my Lord before the
world.
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus
as Lord and shall believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
Come to Christ now.
Believe on him now.
Trust him now.
Then confess him before others as the Lord
of your life.
Henceforth to live for the honor and the
praise and the glory of that one who
loved you, who died for you, and rose
again.
Then you'll be a Christian.
Then as a pilgrim you can make progress
on heaven's highway until the celestial city is
reached.
May God grant it for his name's sake.
Amen.