The last sermon George Whitefield preached in the
open air took place in Exeter, New Hampshire
in the fall of 1770.
I have visited this exact site where the
mighty Whitefield preached to 4,000 hearers in
the open air as he stood atop two
barrels for more than two hours preaching his
heart out before he died the next morning.
There is a stone marker which marks the
spot of Whitefield's sermon, and in that sermon,
friends, he preached from 2 Corinthians, examine yourselves
whether ye be in the faith.
And Whitefield preached on the foolishness of attempting
to reach heaven any other way than by
faith in Christ Jesus.
Whitefield cried out, works, works, a man get
to heaven by works.
I would as soon think of climbing to
the moon on a rope of sand.
What Whitefield was saying was that many there
are who hope to climb up to heaven
some other way by their own merits that
Christ said, he that entereth not by the
door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some
other way, the same as a thief and
a robber.
George Whitefield's allusion to a rope of sand
was a good illustration, friends, of climbing to
heaven by any other means than faith in
Christ.
And it was like trying to climb to
heaven on a rope of sand that would
dissolve with the wind because it was a
false foundation made of sand.
I want us to keep that thought in
mind, friends, as we explore the ways that
men try to reach heaven.
The title of my message this evening, friends,
is Climbing to Heaven on a Rope of
Sand.
And my text can be found in Matthew's
Gospel in Chapter 7.
You can turn in your Bibles there now,
friends.
We will be in verses 21 through 27.
I know when I witness to folks, I
hear all kinds of reasons why they think
they will go to heaven.
I'm sure you have heard some of these
yourselves.
Things like, I've never done anything bad enough
to go to hell.
I'm good enough to get into heaven.
Why, I have served my church faithfully for
20 years.
I have done this and I have done
that.
And it is because of all the good
that I've done that I will go to
heaven.
And then there is the classic response, my
God wouldn't send anybody to hell.
Well, all of these are other ways and
not the narrow way through the straight gate,
which is Christ Jesus.
Let me read us our text, friends.
And it is my prayer that if someone
here in this sermon is not born again,
then may the spirit of the Lord attend
the reading of God's word and conviction and
power.
Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
But he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have I not taught Sunday school
these last 10 years?
Lord, Lord, have I not sung in the
choir even when I didn't feel like it?
Lord, Lord, have I not been the chairman
of the at the biggest church in my
denomination?
Look at all the wonderful works I have
done, Lord.
In other words, friends, man tries to climb
his way up to heaven by his works.
But listen now to what the old King
James has to say.
And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you depart from me, ye that
work iniquity.
Then Jesus goes on to describe how one
who claims to know him can be deceived
by resting on a false foundation of good
works and a good opinion of themselves as
they try to climb up to heaven on
a foundation of sand.
Listen to his words, friends, seen in verse
24.
Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man which built his house upon a
rock and the rain descended and the floods
came and the winds blew and beat upon
that house and it fell not for it
was founded upon a rock.
And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine
and doeth them not should be likened unto
a foolish man which built his house upon
the sand and the rain descended and the
floods came and the winds blew and beat
upon that house and it fell and great
was the fall of it.
That, friends, is a description of a false
professor who attempts to climb up to heaven
some other way.
And when times of testing come and adversity
sets in, then that person will fall into
apostasy and die in their sins because their
hope of heaven was no more than a
rope of sand.
Now, friends, I want to leave you with
the verse of scripture that George Whitefield took
for his text that day out in Exeter,
New Hampshire, in his final sermon, where he
spoke of a false hope being like a
rope of sand.
It's from 2 Corinthians 13 5.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.
Prove your own selves.
Know ye not your own selves?
How that Jesus Christ is in you, except
ye be reprobates.
Let me ask you, friend, is Jesus Christ
in you?
Is he?
Are you washed in his blood?
And are you born from above?
Or are you trying to climb up to
heaven on a rope of sand?
Let us pray.