p. 5 | Hopeless Without Christ by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 26, 1906

Hopeless Without Christ

By C. M. S.

NOTWITHSTANDING the rapid advance of the ancient pagan idea of man's duty and ability to save himself; notwithstanding the flood of literature that is being poured from the presses of the land to belittle the work of Christ in our behalf, and undermine the faith of the multitude, the declaration of Jesus Christ remains true, “Without me ye can do nothing;” for “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Hopeless without Christ! Let it ring through the temple of the soul till every nook and niche of the entire edifice has heard the sound. There is no hope for man outside of Him.

When man, at Satan's prompting, took it upon himself to elevate himself to that place where he would “be as God,” his birthright slipped through his hands like a block of lead and sank into the sea of sin, beyond his reach forever. God provided a plan to redeem the lost estate. Its center and soul was—and still is—Jesus Christ. As God could provide no other, how worse than useless are all the devisings, the philosophies, the deep searchings, the wondrous eloquence of man in that direction! But every new theory breeds a tribe of its own, till the mazes of these wanderings are devious indeed, and marvelous in their windings.

When man was evicted from the garden of Eden, the reason for the eviction was plainly stated: “Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” That act was necessary if the disease of sin was ever to be checked and righteousness reign in its place. In fact, the gospel itself is prefigured in the very act of placing man where he could not partake of the tree of life. In the reason given for the act there is shown the purpose of God to cause sin to cease. He could not do it with safety to his realm by simply cutting off man any more than he could have done it by arbitrarily cutting off Satan in the beginning of his career of sin in heaven. There would always have remained the possibility of another outbreak. Man's expulsion, and God's denial of his right to partake of the tree of life, was a declaration of his purpose to conquer sin so effectually that nevermore, through all the cycles of eternity, would the hideous head of sin arise to plague, and blight, and destroy.

Once outside the garden, the cherubim, the eternal guardians of God's law, were appointed to prevent man's re-entering Eden. The record states that they were placed there with a flaming sword which “turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” As that sword “turned every way,” there was no possible way by which man at that time could evade the angels and come again to “the tree of life” to “eat, and live forever.” In other words, there was no possible way for man to gain eternal life save through the operation of God's own plan, as foreshadowed in God's declaration that “the seed of the woman” should “bruise” the serpent's head. Outside of that plan every soul in this world is lost. In and through that plan every soul in this world can be saved if he will.

To the stony-hearted Pharisees the Saviour said, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Again he declared, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Again, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. What Christ really told those self-righteous Pharisees was that, as they would not come to him for life, they could not have life. He had purchased life for the race, so that only he had the right or the power to give eternal life.

When there is only one stream at which to drink, and we turn our backs upon that, we can not drink. We may make all the beautiful theories we choose; but the longer we travel away from that stream, the drier we get, and the closer on our trail walks the angel of the second death.

The “higher critic,” the “Christian scientist,” the “Christian socialist,” the inventor of new and strange religions, will all admit that Jesus Christ was a great teacher; but what he taught was that they are all hopelessly lost unless they come to the Father through him; unless his sacrifice is allowed to atone for their sins; unless they exalt him in the place of self, and look no longer to their own deeds to bring them into possession of the usurped inheritance. Ever since the creation Satan has been putting into the mind of man the plausible theories that deceived angels and put a covering cherub under sentence of eternal death; and man, like the fallen angels, has taken the attractive bait, and lost eternal life—and all this in spite of the warnings and instructions and admonitions of a loving Father.

Whatever Christ has promised to be to you, that is his note, a sight-draft, made out in your favor. He expects you to cash it at its face value, for there is no bankruptcy in heaven. He has promised to be a help in every time of trouble—cash the note. He has promised to give rest to all those who labor and are heavy laden. Is your work laborious, and are your burdens heavy? You have but to present the note, and the promise is fulfilled. He declares that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” But “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You have sinned; but there is his sight-draft. What are you going to do with it? Have you longed for eternal life? “And this is the promise which he promised us, even the life eternal.” 1 John 2:25. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” John 10:28. Jesus Christ is the only one who has the right or power to give such a promissory note. None but his would heaven honor. But there it is, filled out for you. Are you going to cash it? or are you going to accept a human counterfeit which you can not pass? Hopeless without Christ, but in him, heir of all things! Which do you choose? Why not cash that note to-day if you have not already done so?

C. M. S.