Multitudes of every generation perish in their
sins, and are lost for ever in hell, though they have been well instructed in
gospel truth. Some of you who are yet without Christ have been taught the
gospel from your youth up. You know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
You know that he is the only Mediator between God and men. You know that his
blood and righteousness is the only means by which you can be justified before
God. And you know that without him you must for ever perish in hell. Yet, you
refuse to bow to him; you refuse to trust him. Unless God intervenes and saves
you, you will go to hell. Why?
Since the day that our father Adam sinned against God
and plunged our race into spiritual death, bringing upon all men God's just
wrath, man has tried to excuse his sin and shift the responsibility of his
condemnation to some other than himself. He arrogantly attempts to lay the
blame for both his guilt and his damnation off on God. It cannot be done. If
you go to hell, you will be without excuse; it will be your own responsibility.
It will not be because your sins are so hideous that you could not be saved.
All manner of sin may be forgiven. You will not go to hell because of God's
eternal decree. Nowhere in the Bible is it written that God predestinated
anyone to go to hell. It will not be because of any lack of ability in Christ,
or any lack of willingness on his part, to save you. Christ is both able and
willing to save all who come to him by faith. And you will not go to hell
because you were never given a wide, free, sincere invitation to come to Christ
and be saved. Our Lord says to you, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He says, "I have called,
and ye refused." No; if you go to hell, the simple fact
is, you will go to hell because you were unwilling to come to Christ for life.
As he said, "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." Try as you may to shift the blame for
your lost and ruined condition, you cannot. You are lost, because you will not
be saved by Christ. J.C. Ryle was right when he wrote, "The loss of man's
soul is always attributed in Scripture to man's own want of will to be
saved." The axe must be laid to the root of the tree. If you are saved, it
will be entirely God's fault, the result of deliberate effort on his part. If
you go to hell it will be your own fault, the result of deliberate effort on
your part.