Well now let's turn to the word
of God and we pray he may bless us this morning as we meditate
in it. Let's turn to the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
and the seventh chapter and we'll read the three verses 29, 30,
and 31. The first epistle of Paul to
the Corinthians, chapter seven, and reading verses 29, 30, and
31. But this I say, brethren, the
time is short. It remaineth that both they that
have wives be as though they had none, and they that weep
as though they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they
rejoiced not, and they that buy as though they possessed not,
and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion
of this world passeth away. I'm sure as we read together
this seventh chapter in the Corinthians, we noticed that it was the advice
that the Apostle under the influence of the Spirit of God, desires
to give to men and women, husbands and wives, those who are married,
and those who are unmarried. And it's good for us to always
consider this position that each of us are in, whether we're married
or unmarried, and to be concerned that whatever state that may
be, that it doesn't take overtake or rule in our lives. That's
really the thrust of the Apostle as he sets before us these words
of Avias. Because it is of course very
easy to be more concerned about pleasing husbands or wives, or
perhaps prospective husbands and wives, and to be more concerned
about pleasing them rather than pleasing God. And the great need
we have is to be found first with a desire to please and to
do God's will and to put everything else and give everything else
a right perspective. I suppose in the day and age
in which we live, a pretty immoral day, there is so much laid upon
those things which are not really convenient don't bring honor
and glory to God and people are so perhaps sexually minded these
days that it seems to overtake all their thought and life and
time well it's very important to realize as we have here that
these things will all fade and all pass away but what we know
is that we have a soul that lives forever. And that's why, surely,
the Apostle here comes down and he deals with this very fully,
as I'm sure we read in the 7th chapter, doesn't really leave
any condition or any stone unturned, so that we can't say, well that
doesn't fit me, that doesn't suit my situation. We find it
does fit us in one way or another. But we come down to this 29th
verse, When the Apostle tells us, but
this I say, having gone through in some detail the married and
the unmarried condition and how we should react, he then tells
us this, the time is short. Now, we need to be reminded of
it, don't we? How important that you and I
are reminded that our life, time for us, is short. However long, however old we
may be when we die, our time is short. And eternity has no
time. It is forever. And so we would
pray that we give right and due diligence. You know, it's a phrase
which is used very much today, especially in the business world,
to give due diligence. to this and to that. And it's
an onerous position that businesses are to have due diligence. But it's more important, really,
when we think of our souls, to give due diligence to the condition
of our souls. We may give due diligence to
many things in our lives. in the things we deal with day
by day in our homes and everything else and we may be very concerned
that we get everything right and everything in a correct order
and make it as positive and as safe as we can and there's nothing
wrong in that per se but there is if we give too much diligence
to such things and neglect the due diligence necessary for our
soul. And so here we have the Apostle
speaking in this way. The time is short. It's only four words. It's not
difficult to remember, is it? You may think, well, I can't
remember long texts. Well, you may not be able to. Surely we
can all remember just four words, even you young children. can
remember just four words, that time is short. And what a blessing if those
four words influence us, not just today, but every day of
our life. So that we are able to put everything
in its right place and not allow the things of this world to dominate
our lives so that the things of eternity are pushed into the
background, perhaps almost forgotten. The devil is very wily, very
wily, and he will endeavour to put the things of God, the vital
things, out of our minds. He does that by bringing other
things before us, other things to our attention. And how easily
our minds are distracted, either by our eyes or by our ears. We are distracted very easily
from the things of God. And the problem is, because our
old nature is sinful, Therefore our old nature goes after the
things of time. And yet let us remind ourselves
again and again this great truth, the time is short. And so let us not therefore leave
ourselves to be involved with the things of time overmuch,
however lawful and right they may be. Because the Apostle is
really making this point here. It's right and proper for people
to be married and to be husbands and wives. It's not proper to
live together without being married. That's something which is perhaps
glossed over today, but that's not right at all. The Word of
God is very clear. that if a man and women live
together they are only to do that in the married state and
it's a good thing when therefore there are those who recognize
this and the truth of it and walk in accordance with the Word
of God but if we are in that condition in the married state
or perhaps looking forward to that position of the married
state we are to not allow that condition to dominate our lives
We should be thankful for it, but may it be in a right place,
in a right perspective, and may the things of God dominate our
lives because they are not dependent upon time. They are eternal issues. They are the things which will
exist when we've been dead, perhaps many years, when all things in
this world have been burnt up, our souls will remain and of
course when that occurs our bodies will be reunited with our souls
and that forever in the eternal state of either in glory or in
hell. Now the devil doesn't want you
and me to think about these things. And the devil will say, well,
that's a bit morbid. You enjoy life. God's provided this for
you and this to enjoy. Well, he has. But you see, we're
not to give it the wrong precedence. We are not to put too much emphasis
on it. We are to be thankful for that
which God has provided for us. But we need to be very concerned
that the things of God are the things that we really are concerned
about. And so we should be thankful
that the Lord in his goodness has given us such guidance as
he does in this chapter. I suppose it's a chapter that's
not read very often. I suppose people don't want to
read it and don't like to read it. But it is there and it's
in the Word of God and it's good when we do read it and we understand
what it means and what it says because it speaks to our heart. The last words in these three
verses, which we read, speak to us very powerfully, for the
fashion of this world passeth away. Well, doesn't it? You just think back in your minds,
even in the history of our country. You go back 500 years to the
Reformation, when that commenced, and that wonderful day in October,
when that thesis was nailed to that church door. You think how
people were dressed in those days. You think of the fashion
in those days. Well, that's passed away, hasn't
it? That's gone, hasn't it? That doesn't exist now. And so
we've moved on, years have moved on, and fashions have changed.
And now, of course, we find ourselves in the current age with fashions
which exist, and again, how we need to be very careful and very
circumspect in the way that we operate, in those fashions that
we may try to emulate, and it's very difficult sometimes to stand
out against current fashions. Perhaps we might consider it,
it looks a bit old-fashioned and we look a bit odd. Well,
we don't have to look a bit odd and we don't have to look a bit
old-fashioned, but we should not. go to the extreme of trying
keeping up to date with the fashion of this poor world. Because what
do people desire? You know what they desire? To
be attracted by their fashion. That's what they do. You and
I need to be very careful of that, that we don't organize
our lives so that people are attracted by the fashion that
you and I operate. And so we should remember that. these things, they pass away,
they're gone. And so our lives pass away and
it's gone. So we should be thankful that
we have the Word of God which speaks to us very positively
and very wonderfully and very graciously and very lovingly
to direct us so that we may, by the grace of God, walk our
lives in accordance with the Word of God. And we read, of
course, in this chapter, in the 23rd verse, a very significant
statement. And you know, if you and I read
that statement and take it to heart, it would influence, and
it will influence, all the things that we do and say and the way
we operate. And it's this. Ye are bought with a price. And if you and I have been bought, go back to perhaps the slave
trade, and you know people were bought. And in that condition
they were bought by somebody and therefore they were owned
by that person. That person owned them and that
person expected the person they bought to serve them and to do
exactly what they asked them to do. Well, in a very similar
way, the Church of God has been bought. They've been bought,
they've been paid for. And the price that has been paid
has been very high. And it's not a price that is
in a natural currency. It's a price which is superior
to that. And that price is the price of
blood. That is the price of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the price. that has been
paid therefore for our freedom from sin, but what it means is
that we are therefore owned by the blessed Saviour. And we are
therefore bought to serve him. We're not bought to therefore
serve ourselves. We're not bought, therefore,
to obey the fashions and the passions of this world. We are
being bought with a price. Now, it would be a blessing if
the Holy Spirit gives us what the Word of God describes as
a tender conscience. That means blessed with the conscience
to do the things that the Lord would have us to do, which will
be for his honour and for his glory. And when you think that
the Lord Jesus Christ has paid to give us freedom, and we were bought and it was
paid because what we had earned ourselves, what we paid for,
was death in hell. I know that's a strange expression
but it really means that we will live in hell. That's what our
sins have earned and all of us therefore have earned a reward
for our sins of eternity in hell. And that's a terrible thought,
isn't it? That's a terrible thought. And that's all of us. Because
of our sins, we have earned, because of that, eternity in
hell. And how, how can we free ourselves
from that position? The fact is, we can't free ourselves. We can't free ourselves. But there is one way that we
can be freed, and that is through the wonderful, sin-atoning death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because his death was so valuable,
and it was currency with Almighty God to satisfy the demands of
the law of God. And the currency required to
free us, to deliver our souls from that which we had earned,
was the death and the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now that is the price was paid. And so here we have this simple
statement, and let us never forget it, that we are bought with a
price. It says therefore, be not ye
the servants of men. And we are not to serve the devil. How easily we find ourselves
serving the devil. And what does it do? It hardens
our heart. What does it do? It takes us
further away from God. Indeed, what do the fashions
of this world do? Do they draw us nearer to God? Well, you can answer that question
yourself very easily, can't you? We all can, can't we? Do the
fashions of this world bring us nearer to God? The fashions
of this world are produced by the devil himself, because he
wants to distract us from the things of God. It's so easy,
you know. Put very bluntly, in this way
perhaps, I don't see it quite the same way, but when I was
young I used to see the ladies all standing in front of the
mirrors and seeing how good they looked before they went off to
chapel. Well, that wasn't a very good thing, was it? It would
be much better if they had been on their knees, praying to God. I'm not speaking only about women,
of course. Men are the same. Yes, do we all dress up to look
good? Or are we praying that God will bless us? That's the
real thing, isn't it? If we come there for realizing
the great cost, and because of the cost which has been paid,
The result is that we therefore really owe a debt. A debt that's been paid on our
behalf. And you know that's a debt that
you and I can never repay. We can never repay because we don't
have the currency which is equivalent to pay that debt. And therefore, we are, as the
hymn writer says very aptly, a debtor to mercy. A debtor to
the Lord Jesus Christ. A debtor to him. We fail, don't we, so often,
to realise the great debt that we owe. Because if that price
hadn't been paid, for our salvation for our redemption we would remain
in that condition which we had earned for ourselves and find
ourselves at last in eternal hell what a terrible what a terrible
thing what a terrible state and so here we have this warning
this morning really to all of us but this I say brethren The
time is short. And that means that we should
be concerned. What about our life? What people think of us? Our
homes? Our cars? Should we be thinking
about that? We should be so concerned about
where we will spend eternity. Where we will spend Eternity
I often think of the illustration which I've spoken to you about
before but it's it's worth repeating Robert Murray McShane Back in
the early 1800s was an eminent minister in the Church of Scotland
And he was only 29 years when he died But he lived very near
to the Lord and his ministry was Wonderfully blessed. Wonderfully blessed to thousands.
And not only in Dundee where he had his church, but also in
many other places. But he had erected, I'm not sure
if it was a stone that you walked over, or a stone that hit your
eyes as you came to go into the church, there on this stone. was engraved one word, and that
word was eternity. Now, if we had that word, perhaps,
engraved outside this chapel, so that we couldn't avoid it
when we came in, eternity, Would that put us in perhaps
a different frame, frame of mind? Will we forget then all the things
that we were planning tomorrow, or perhaps all the things that
we'd been doing in the week past, and that we then were concerned
about the condition of our soul? That clearly was a desire of
Robert Murray McShane, that the people might be concerned as
they came together for worship, not just to satisfy an objective
and say, well, I came to church this morning and therefore they
were able to tick the box and think they've done something
well. No, it was far deeper than that. It was to make them concerned
about their eternal state. And so, may we be concerned,
not only today, but indeed every day, be concerned about our Eternal
state and so we have these simple words here this morning but this
I say brethren the time is short and It is I mean none of us know
do we who is going to die next? None of us know the word of God
tells us We know the the old must die But the young may And we don't know who next amongst
us will be called from this earth. But one thing we do know is that
all of us will be called from this earth. And for all of us,
whether it's a hundred years, it is a short time. A short time
as we compare it with eternity. The time, our time, your time,
my time, is short. And Paul goes on to continue
his illustration really between the relationship of the husband
and wife and he tells us just to elucidate the situation. He
says, it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though
they have none. And then, and they that weep,
as though they wept not. And they that rejoice, as though
they rejoiced not. You see, these things, weeping
times, they come, they go, don't they? Joyous times, they come,
they go. They pass away so quickly. And they that buy, as though they possess not. We
go and buy things. You may have bought things at
the shops yesterday. You may have bought things last week.
You may have bought things that perhaps you've been saving up
for. And you've been looking forward to possess. And you may
have set it up. Be careful it doesn't become
an idol. It's very easy to buy things and they become an idol.
And here we have these words. And they that buy as though they
possess not. Because the time is short and
they'll soon disappear. I know that moth and rust corrupt
and thieves break through and steal, but apart from that, they
disappear. And you and I will have to leave
everything, won't we? Perhaps we might use the phrase,
our dearest possessions. There may be things that you
treasure and you wouldn't like it to be broken, you wouldn't
like it to be destroyed, would you? Well it's a good thing to
hold the things of this life with a light hand. I remember
a few years ago, my dear friend Clement Wood speaking to me.
And as you know he lost his wife rather tragically and he was
living by himself and he probably had a few things which were perhaps
his treasures or important to him or of some value. And he
said to me, he said, I've given everything of any value away.
So he said, if my house is burgled, there's nothing worth anything
that people would want, or if they take, it wouldn't matter.
Well, that was a good testimony, wasn't it? That was a good example. And surely it really epitomized
this truth here. And they that buy as though they
possessed not. Yeah, it didn't matter whether
it was lost, it didn't matter whether it was stolen, it didn't
matter whether it was broken. No, because in any event, we
have to come back to this great truth that time is short. And they that use this world
as not abusing it for the fashion of this world pass it away. clear statements, isn't it, from
the Word of God. And it's a good thing, isn't
it, that we have these statements which are illustrated for our
blessing and for our understanding. And the Apostle Peter, many glorious
words aren't there in his epistles and very much encouragement. And we read a couple of very
salient Verses which speak to our hearts with regards to this
and in the fourth chapter he tells us These words but the end of all
things is at hand Now he wrote this of course some 2,000 years
ago But it was in relative to eternity at hand But the end
of all things is at hand. Be therefore sober and watch
unto prayer." We are to be sober and we are to watch unto prayer. It's a good thing then if we
follow such advice. And then he comes and tells us
in the third chapter of the second epistle, he says, He says, for
this they willingly are ignorant of. By the word of God, the heavens
were old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water,
whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished.
You see, people today are willingly ignorant of the flood that occurred
upon the earth. They are willingly ignorant and
they don't want to accept the truth of it. And you know why?
Because the alternative is to believe there was a God who brought
the flood. That's why people don't want to believe in the
flood today. And yet the evidence is all around us and what a good
thing that is. And so they are willingly ignorant. By the word of God the heavens
were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.
Whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished.
But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word
are kept in store, reserved unto fire against their day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men." Well, you don't need an explanation
for that, do you? It speaks very clearly of that
which is to come, yes? Like the flood came, so will
this occur, the end of the world. And then he tells us, but beloved,
Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise. That means he doesn't forget
what he said. We might forget sometimes what
we say. The Lord doesn't. As some man counts slackness,
but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. Now the great truth is that every
one of us need to be brought to that place to repent of our
sins and to turn to the Lord, to be given living faith, to
believe the truth of God's word and how necessary it is therefore
that we are amongst those who who do repent, that means that
we are really sorry for our sins, we are really sorry for offending
God, and we really desire to be one of those who are found
serving the Lord, remembering this great truth that we are
bought with a price, and remembering that indeed the time short and
so he Goes on to say and it's just worthy worth reading these
this verse, but the day of the Lord Will come as a thief in
the night He won't be able to say well tomorrow God's coming The Lord Jesus was asked and
he said it's a day only known to his father The day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night and in the which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein
shall be burned up." And there's a statement which will come to
pass. And that's a truth which you
and I should not try and get round. We should stand and realise
this is coming. Will it come tomorrow? Will it
come in my lifetime? And we see today, don't we? We see in the world today an
indication that the world is hastening on to this date. We see the devastation occurring
through the hurricanes and earthquakes. And we see the immorality which
exists in the world. We see the evil of Islam and
Hinduism and indeed the Roman Catholic false Christian. We
see the many, the vast majority of mankind not serving the true
God. Everything moving towards the
end of all things. So here we have this statement. Let us not forget the Lord has
spoken. He's not slack. The day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. So, how are you and I to act? What are you and I to do? Thankfully,
the Word of God tells us. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, What manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness? That's what we should be. That's
what the Word of God directs us to. Looking for and hasting unto
the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. nevertheless we according to
his promise look for new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such
things be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without
spot and blameless now you and i will not be found like that
in ourselves It's only as we realise that the Lord Jesus Christ
has died to atone for our sins. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
clothed us with his righteousness, not our righteousness, which
is as filthy rags. As the Apostle tells us, in me
that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. And that's a hard
thing to take on board, isn't it? To think of that in our flesh. dwelleth no good thing. But you
know, if you and I sit before the Lord, and it's good to do
that, just like David did. He came and sat before the Lord
to see the truth of such things. Analyse your heart very carefully,
and you find that in everything there's something which is not
good. There's some little secret, there's some little bit of pride.
Oh, you see, sin, sin, sin. And what a mercy, therefore,
if you and I are directed to recognise that, bad as we are,
there is hope. There is hope. They that call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved. O then, that you and I may be
given that grace, to call upon the name of the Lord in the day
when he may be found, Yes, it may be against our nature because
we have to come like this with nothing. We have to come helpless
and bankrupt and yet we are encouraged to come just as we are. Just
as we are. The hymn writer tells us beautiful
words, nothing. In my hand I bring, simply to
thy cross I cling. And there must be our hope in
what Christ has done in his great and glorious work completed upon
the cross at Calvary. When those wonderful words were
spoken, it is finished. The whole plan of salvation was
complete. May you and I today have hope,
a good hope, that the Saviour died that we might have life. And therefore, we are possessors
of that freedom. And the words that the Lord Jesus
spoke, if therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed. You see, the blessing is, if
Christ has freed us from the bondage, from the burden of sin,
because of his dying for us, Then, as he stood in our place
and freed us from the curse of sin, we are eternally free. Oh, what a blessing it is for
the living Church of God, for the Church of God who are made
free through the death of the Saviour. May we know that we
are amongst those who have a glorious eternity to look forward to,
when we shall be with Christ, which is far better. when all
the things of this world have forever passed away. And so remember
these words this morning. You young people, four words. Don't forget them. The time is
short. And that means that eternity
is before us. And may we therefore all be concerned
that we have a good hope, through grace, that it is well with our
souls because we have the evidence in our hearts that a blessed
Saviour has died to take away our sins and that we are indeed
redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Nothing less than
this will do. Amen.