The Review and Herald
June 23, 1896
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
I love to speak of Jesus and his matchless love. I have not one doubt of the love of God. I know that he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto him. His precious love is a reality to me, and the doubts expressed by those who know not the Lord Jesus Christ, have no effect upon me. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Do you believe that Jesus is your Saviour, and that he has manifested his love for you in giving his precious life for your salvation? Take Jesus as your personal Saviour. Come to him just as you are; give yourself to him; grasp his promise by living faith, and he will be to you all that you desire. To every one inquiring, “What must I do to be saved?” I answer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Do not for one moment doubt that he will save you just as you are, if you will only come to him. He said to the Jews, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” Let not this be said of you. Jesus longs to save you, to give you peace and rest and assurance while you live, and to bestow upon you eternal life in his kingdom; but no one will be compelled to be saved. Jesus says, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” RH June 23, 1896, par. 1
Those who give their hearts to Christ will find rest in his love. We have a token of the magnitude of his love in his sufferings and death. Behold him dying upon the cross amid the deepest gloom; for the heavens are darkened and the earth convulsed. The rent rocks are but a feeble emblem of the state of his mind when he exclaimed, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But did the Father forsake his Son, whom he called his only begotten and his well-beloved? The reason that Jesus endured such agony was because he became the sinner's substitute and surety. He himself bore the penalty of the law which the sinner deserved, in order that the sinner might have another trial, another chance to prove his loyalty to God and his commandments. There are only two classes in the whole universe,—those who believe in Christ and whose faith leads them to keep God's commandments, and those who do not believe in him, and are disobedient. The sins of the world were laid upon Christ, and for this reason he was numbered with transgressors. He bore the curse and was treated as a transgressor, in order that the repentant sinner might be clothed with his righteousness. He was condemned for sin in which he had no share, in order that we might be justified by righteousness in which we had no part. Christ has manifested his love for us, and has become our representative, in order that our sin need not drown us in perdition. RH June 23, 1896, par. 2
Standing as man's representative at Pilate's bar, he suffered the cruel sentence of death to be passed upon him by unreasonable and wicked men, and answered not a word to their accusations. The Majesty of heaven was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. When the poor sinner inquired the way of life, Jesus did not remain silent; but when condemned to the most ignominious and cruel of deaths, he had not a word to say. He was not silent because he was guilty; for he was the embodiment of purity and holiness. He could have delivered himself from those who came to take him in the garden of Gethsemane. A few words from his lips sent the murderous throng reeling to the earth, as if smitten by a bolt of the wrath of God. But he suffered humiliation, agony, and death in silence, because he had given his life for the life of the world. He was not compelled to do it, but he volunteered to be man's substitute and surety, and “the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The wages of sin is death, and he freely offered himself as a propitiation for the sins of men. We have every reason to hope in his mercy, to believe in his love. You have every reason to believe that he can and will save you. Why? Because you are guiltless?—No; because you are a sinner, and Jesus says, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The call is addressed to you, and when Satan says to you that there is no hope, tell him you know there is; “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.” RH June 23, 1896, par. 3
Believe that Jesus means just what he says; take him at his word, and hang your helpless soul upon him. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Do not cast away such rich promises as these. The hand that was nailed to the cross for you is stretched out to save you. Believe that Jesus will hear your confession, receive your requests, forgive your sins, and make you a member of the royal family. You need the hope which Jesus will give to cheer you under every circumstance. RH June 23, 1896, par. 4
When we are tempted to place our affections on any earthly object that has a tendency to absorb our love, we must seek grace to turn from it, and not allow it to come between us and our God. We want to keep before the mind's eye the mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare for us. We must not allow our houses and lands, our business transactions and worldly enterprises, to come between us and our God. We should keep before us the rich promises that he has left on record. We should study the great waymarks that point out the times in which we are living. We know that we are very near the close of this earth's history, and everything of a worldly nature should be secondary to the service of God. We should now pray most earnestly that we may be prepared for the struggles of the great day of God's preparation. We should rejoice in the prospect of soon being with Jesus in the mansions he has gone to prepare for us. Jesus can supply your every need, if you will look to him and trust in him. As you behold him, you will be charmed with the riches of the glory of his divine love. The idolatrous love of things that are seen will be superseded by a higher and better love for things that are imperishable and precious. You may contemplate eternal riches until your affections are bound to things above, and you may be an instrument in directing others to set their affections on heavenly treasures. You can help them to see that money spent needlessly is wasted, and worse than wasted; for it might have been used in presenting the truth to souls who are ready to perish. If the spend-thrift is redeemed, it will be by having an object placed before him that will show him the sin of wasting his Lord's goods. The Lord requires his servants to trade upon the goods that he has put in their charge. The talents which he has given to them are to be improved by exercise. The money placed in their hands is to be put out to the exchangers. Souls for whom Christ died need light and truth, and it must be sent to them. We may be the means through which worthy objects may be presented before them in such a way as to win their affection for Christ and heavenly things; and we are responsible for the souls that we might help. Those who rightly value money are those who see its availability in bringing the truth before those who have never heard it, and by this means rescuing them from the power of the enemy. The soul who accepts the truth will find his love for earthly things dislodged. He sees the surpassing glory of heavenly things, and appreciates the excellency of that which relates to everlasting life. He is charmed with the unseen and eternal. His grasp loosens from earthly things; he fastens his eye with admiration upon the invisible glories of the heavenly world. He realizes that his trials are working out for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, and in comparison to the riches that are his to enjoy, he counts them light afflictions which are but for a moment. RH June 23, 1896, par. 5