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The sermon presents humanity as alienated from God through sin and unable to restore fellowship through nature, sincerity, penitence, prayer, or good works. Christ alone provides access to God as the God-man Mediator, and His crucifixion is sufficient to bear judgment and secure acceptance. Both the beginning and continuation of the Christian life depend on Christ’s blood and righteousness rather than human merit. The sermon culminates in an urgent, compassionate call for sinners to repent, believe, and come to Christ now.
Theological center: Jesus Christ is the sole Mediator between God and humanity, and sinners are accepted by God only through His atoning blood and righteousness.
Applications: Come to God through Christ · Come boldly to the cross · Believe on Christ now · Turn from evil ways
Primary texts: John 14:6 · Hebrews 2:3 · Ezekiel 33:11
“No man comes unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6. THERE are many men in this world who so far from coming to God are going as far as they can from Him. Nothing would delight such men as much as to be clean rid of His presence and to be entirely escaped from the bounds of His dominions. They would be content to make their bed in hell if they could thus find a satisfactory answer to the question, “Where shall I go from Your Spirit, or where shall I flee from Your presence?” Their hearts are at enmity with God. They hate His Words and His ways. They know that God is angry with them and they, in return, are angry with God! There is another class who are but very little in advance of these. It cannot be said of them, with the same emphatic meaning, that they actually hate God, but nevertheless they run from Him. Perhaps they would indignantly repel a charge of abhorring God, but nevertheless it is true of them, that they live in utter disregard of Him. They say in their hearts, “No God.” God is not in all their thoughts. They may have sublime thoughts of nature, but few yearnings after Him who made nature. They think much of time and sense and of the things that are below, but as to eternity and its substantial realities—the things that are unseen and everlasting—these they scarcely can think upon. “Beware, you that forget God,” for your state is no better than the state of those I first described! “The wicked shall be turned into hell.” Those who hate God shall feel His torment, but so shall their companions, for thus runs the text—“The wicked shall be cast into hell with all the nations that forget God.” It is not necessary that you should hate God—only that you should go to war with Him in order to destroy yourself! The simple neglect of Him is enough to ruin you. Thus has the apostle put it, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” You need not fly upon the thick points of Jehovah’s buckler. You need not rush upon the point of his glittering spear. Stand still and do nothing! Regard Him not—shut your eyes to His existence and engross yourself with the groveling toys of earth and you have as surely destroyed yourselves as if you had defied Him to His face! Neglect of God is the open gate of damnation! To forget God is to ensure a portion in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone! There is to be found, however, upon the face of the earth a third class of men who would not like to be classed among the enemies of God and who can truly say that they are not utterly indifferent with regard to His favor. They would prefer to be numbered…