“Unworthy of Eternal Life.”
By R. F. Cottrell
As it was in the days of the apostles, that some judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, so it is now. Those who are unwilling to hear and heed the word of the Lord will not come to Christ that they may have life. Professors of religion, of all denominations, who are not willing to have their faults and errors corrected by the testimonies of the Bible, are in the same condition in which were those Jewish professors to whom the apostles said, “Seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” Acts xiii, 46. It is a sad, a terrible thing, to be abandoned of God. Woe to that person of whom God shall say “Let him alone.” He has chosen his own way, “he is joined to his idols.” But if the consequences to the Jews who neglected and rejected the apostolic message were so disastrous, how much more so to those who received the light and tasted the heavenly gift—partook of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, and then fell away; having chosen and “loved this present world,” and for its lying vanities thrown away eternal life and unending bliss. How pitiable is the case of those in our own time, who have seen the light of the third angel's message, have rejoiced in the hope of immortality so soon to be realized, have felt as it were the resurrection power and by faith had a foretaste of an endless life, and then, with their eyes open have thrown themselves away, have not only given up the blessed hope and judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life, but have sold themselves to the Devil to fight with all their feeble, puny powers against God and his truth, and thus, for a moment's gratification of pride, self-will and sensual desires, have lost all that was worth living for, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. What would they give in the time of trouble and of fiery indignation, in exchange for their lives! But, alas! it is too late. They have trampled under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith they were sanctified, an unholy thing, and have done despite to the Spirit of grace. Nothing remains for them but the avenging vials and the fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. Oh, woful state! Oh, could they now be brought anew to repentance! But they have gone too far—the die is cast—they have resigned the only valid hope of eternal life, and God has accepted of their resignation. Brother, sister, shall it be so with you! shall it be so with me? Will ye too go away? Shall we thus undervalue eternal life, and judge ourselves unworthy of it? May God forbid! No, brethren, let us never forsake the cause of God and truth. Let us hold fast that which the Lord has given us, that no man take our crown. Let us never, for any consideration, judge ourselves unworthy of eternal life.