May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we meditate upon his word. Let's turn to
the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 7, and
we'll read verses 29, 30 and 31. The first epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians, chapter 7, 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. As we read the Word of God, and
as we read the writings, the letters of the Apostle Paul,
one thing is very clear, that the Apostle desires that people
may understand the necessity of being blessed in their souls. And this being far more relevant
and far more important than everything else which we contend with and
evolve with in our natural life. And we should be thankful that
the Spirit of God spoke through Paul to this end to keep us aware
of the shortness of our life, because the devil's aim is to
make us think that in theory we should live forever, and therefore
not give any attention to the things of God, but to give more
attention to all the things that we are involved with day by day
in our life. The devil is very cunning, and
he's very clever, and he's more than a match for you and me.
Don't think you will be able to fight the devil, because the
devil is very strong. And don't let us find ourselves
going over onto the devil's ground, because that is a fatal situation
to do. We want to stand away from it,
and we need to be to be blessed as we read the Word of God which
instructs us and warns us of the many situations which can
envelop us. Now, Paul steps aside, as it
were, in this chapter and devotes quite a lot of time to speaking
about husbands and wives and those who are unmarried. And
the thrust apart from the natural element, which is very important,
The thrust also is to consider that good and right as all these
things are, the tendency is to distract us from the things of
God and to make natural things more important in our lives so
that spiritual things take a back place and don't therefore occupy
our lives as they should. And it's good for us to be reminded
because we are all human beings, we're all sinful human beings,
we all have a nature which is sinful and we all go after those
things which are of the world. But it's a great blessing if
we possess that new life within which speaks to our heart and
perhaps corrects us and perhaps brings us back to the important
and true things of God which of course relates to the condition
of our never-dying soul. We know that we live on this
earth and we have a life to live, but that natural life will soon
perish, will soon cease. And it will be good for us if
we are able to consider and compare our life, the magnitude, the
length of it, with eternity. In reality, of course, We can't
really compare it because we can't evaluate eternity. It goes on forever and ever and
ever. But bless God if he has given
you and me some appreciation of eternity and to compare it
with our little life on this earth. And if we really, really
had a right appreciation of eternity, we would be spending far more
of our time in the things of God than we do at the present
time. And therefore it's good if the
Spirit of God comes and speaks to us with regards to the eternal
state of our never-dying soul. Now, the Apostle Paul is concerned
about this, essentially concerned about it, and he points it out
and he says, but this I say brethren, the time is short. And it is
short. However long our life may be,
if we live to a hundred or over a hundred, it's very short. It's very short if you try and
compare it with eternity. As I say, we cannot appreciate
eternity, but we can in our little minds visualise things if we
try and align it to a time scale. That's the only way we can really
do it. Remember in eternity there is no time. So there's no time
scale. But we can think of time, can't
we? We understand what time is. We know what a year is. We know
what a hundred years are. And we know what a million years
are, although we shan't ever see that naturally. And we can
perhaps think farther on of a billion years and a trillion years. And
the numbers start getting big, don't they? And then to try and
compare those with our little life, of so many years and then
recognise that the longest period our minds can assimilate is really
very short in comparison with eternity. Now it's good if the
Holy Spirit of God comes and shows to us the shortness of
our life and the need each of us have of being right for eternity. That's the great thing, isn't
it? So you and I may be working hard for this and that and these
verses and they point out to us the things of this life, but
they are of little value. Compare them to eternity, the
eternal state. What would it matter what you
and I earned, what you and I spent our money on in a million years
time, when we're dead and buried? It won't matter at all, will
it? Insignificant. But it will matter. where our
soul is. And that's the great issue. And
that's the important thing. That's why the Apostle, almost
in the middle of this situation, comes and he makes this great
point, he says, but this I say brethren, now just listen to
what I'm saying he's really saying, this I say brethren, the time
is short. It is short. Now, the longest
of our life, therefore, is short. In reality, our life may be much
shorter than that. We may only have a very short
time to live on this earth. We may only have a few hours
to live on this earth. The Lord knows. You and I don't
know. We don't know how long we have
on this earth. But we do know that our life
on this earth is short and how needful it is then that we are
prepared and that we are ready to depart this life. Now then,
if we are ready, Are we like the Apostle Paul who was willing
and ready to depart this life and to go and to be with Christ
which is far better? Now how do you and I evaluate
that statement? What do we think of that? What
do we think of going to be with Christ which is far better? What do you think of that? Do
you agree with it? Or do you think, well in actual
fact I don't think so. I want to carry on in this world.
I want to live my life in this world. You hear people saying,
don't you, I want to live my life to the full. They want to
enjoy their life on this earth as much as they can and cast
eternity behind them with little concern about their immortal
soul. Well, the Apostle Paul was consistently
looking forward to that time. when he would be with Christ. And really that is an important
point in our religion. You see, religion today is pretty
wishy-washy, in the most part. And people pick it up and put
it down when it suits them. But the reality is that you and
I must soon leave this earth, and it will either go to be with
Christ, which is far better, Or, if we're not there, it'll
be to go into hell. And let us not beat about the
bush, my friends. There's only the two alternatives.
You and I will only be found in one place or the other. And
if we are found in hell, don't forget, that's eternal. It's not just for a few years
and then the Lord will repent and say, well, these people have
suffered enough. The Word of God tells us it is
for eternity. And we have some views of hell
as a terrible place, a place of darkness, a place where the
worm dieth not, a place where there's fire and burning. We
can't think of anything worse than probably being totally isolated
and just by ourselves in that terrible state. No relief. No relief. No relief, you see,
in this world. You get tired and go to bed and
go to sleep. Not in hell. Terrible consideration. Fearful to drop into that place. And just to confirm the situation,
I believe there cannot be a worse condition than people who have
heard the gospel preached and it has no effect upon their hearts
and they've gone on and gone into hell. and yet have sat under
the Gospel and have basically rejected it because they wanted
to enjoy their life. They didn't want to submit themselves
unto the Word of God. Well, it's a very solemn consideration,
isn't it? And yet the truth is that there
are multitudes today of so-called professing Christians who come
to their deathbed without Christ. And they've gone to the house
of God, week after week, year after year, and yet they are
without Christ. The important consideration is,
what do we think of Christ? That's the great thing, isn't
it? What do we think of Christ? Well, first of all, we shan't
think anything of Christ, unless we know the convincing power
of the Spirit of God showing to us that we are sinners, bad
sinners, terrible sinners who deserve hell and have been brought
to that place to pray, to pray very simply God be merciful to
me, a sinner. Now, if the Lord has really produced
a prayer from our heart, that is the work of the Holy Spirit,
and you can bless God for it. It's not very comfortable to
be brought to that position, but it's a good place because
it makes us cry to God that he would have mercy upon us, that
he will bless us, and he will give us a good hope in his mercy,
and that he will draw us to the Lord Jesus Christ and he will
show us our need of the Lord Jesus Christ and to direct us
to what the Lord Jesus Christ has done and when the Spirit
of God blesses us with a view of what Christ has done for unworthy,
hell-deserving sinners to think that the Lord has looked upon
us and not cast us off and not dismissed us but has had mercy
upon us And the cost of our salvation was none less than the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you see, if the Spirit of
God directs us in that way, to draw us into Him, in love, as
we see His love toward us, as I often say, the Word of God
tells us, not that we loved God, but that He loved us. He loved us. He loves us first. and we return that love to him.
We don't love God first. We won't find God attractive
naturally, but as we see and know the love of God towards
us, we'll be amazed. Fancy God loving such a bad person
as me. That's a very humbling position. It's a very wonderful position,
because it shows to us that God has granted us his grace, that
means his unmerited favour. So here we have this I say brethren,
the time is short. It is short. And the apostle
goes on, it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though
they had none. You see it makes no difference
really, because we're all travelling on this journey. We're all travelling,
whether we have wives or husbands or whether we don't. We're all
travelling on this journey. We've all got to stand before
the judgment seat of Christ. None of us We'll be able to escape
that. There won't be any place you
and I can hide in. We're told when the end of the world comes,
people will be trying to hide. But we won't be able to hide
from the great eye of Almighty God. We'll all be there, every
one of us, before that judgement seat of Christ. It'll be a tremendous
day. So here the Apostle says, the
time is short. It remaineth that both they that
have wise 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." It just
gives a short little list here of things which continue on in
natural life, but yet as we compare it with the shortness of life
and eternity, we see it's as though it didn't really occur.
It didn't really exist. You go back to the condition
of being married. Some people today are married
for a long time. I've written a paper recently,
I think a couple have reached 80 years. They were both over
100 years old. They've been married for 80 years. But 80 years, in comparison with
eternity, is nothing. It's nothing. You won't even
be able to observe it. in eternity, it says nothing. So here this is so true. Though they both that have wives
be as though they had none, they that weep as though they wept
not, they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not, and they that
buy as though they possessed not. Well, I suppose we're all
guilty of buying things, aren't we? Especially in this material
age in which we live, when there's, in our nation here, It's a relatively
affluent country, and if people want things, they say, well,
I'll save up and buy it, or they may not even have to save up,
they go and buy it. They've got plenty of cash and they go and
buy it. And so we find here that they say, and they that buy,
as though they possess not. Well, it's a possession. We buy
something, don't we? Perhaps we've been waiting for
it for a long time. We look forward to it. And when we get it, perhaps
we idolise it. Perhaps we spend too much time
looking at it and perhaps working it, or perhaps playing with it,
or perhaps whatever it is we do with it. And yet, you see,
if we think wisely, what does it do? It detracts from our time
with God. Yes, now we know the Lord has
given us all things to enjoy, all things that the Lord has
given us, but we should always to hold the things in this world,
that's the word of God, with a light hand. It's not to grasp
them as though our life depends upon them. To hold it with a
light hand so that if it was taken away, it wouldn't matter. It's quite a test, isn't it,
as to whether we make things idols or not. Whether if we saved
up something and we've gone and bought it and we treasure it,
if it was taken away, would it matter? If your house was burgled
and you lost your dearest possession, would it matter? Or would you
say, well, it's only something of the earth. The great thing
is to know that my soul is safe, and that is true. Sometimes the
Lord brings these kind of things into our lives to give us to
consider how we value our soul and how we value the things of
this world. Now don't forget, the devil will
want you to value the things of this world, to spend all your
time on the things of the world and to give little time to the
consideration of your never dying soul. And it is a continual temptation. It's a continual battle to be
able to turn away from the things of this vain world. and to seek
after the things of God. You see, we don't lose our old
nature. It's still with us, it continues
with us. We don't lose it. And therefore it's a continual
battle between the flesh and the spirit. But I can tell you
this, when the Lord gives us the strength to turn away from
the things of God and to pick up the Word of God and to read
the Word of God, it brings peace in our heart. Yes, and we're
thankful the Lord has made us and enabled us to concentrate
on the things of God rather than the things of this time. It doesn't
happen all the time, does it? I wish it did, but nonetheless
we can be thankful when the Lord does come and bless us in this
way that the things of God are real toward us. And so he says,
and they that buy as though they possessed not. Just moving on
to the last clause for a moment. And they that use this world
is not abusing it, for the fashion of this world passes away. Well, I suppose up to a certain
extent we're all fashion conscious, aren't we? It would be untruthful
to say that we weren't. We're all fashion conscious,
but we need to realise that the fashion of this world passes
away. Yes, we're all very concerned
probably, how we look. We jump up in front of the mirror
to see if we look okay. But you see, all these things
are irrelevant really. Because all these things pass away. Yes,
and the fashion of it, the fashion of the world changes, isn't it?
And today, perhaps has never changed as often as it does today.
And people want to keep up with the latest fashion. in order
to design a gear they can. But you see, it's passing away. Just stop and think, a thousand
years, will it matter what you actually really wore? I mean
you've got to wear decent clothes and everything else, but does
it really matter how fashion conscious you are? Does it really
matter? The reality is, no it doesn't.
The reality is, How stands our soul? How healthy is our soul? We might go on to say, the great
question is, are we dressed? You might say, what do you mean?
I mean this. Are we dressed? Are we clothed with the righteousness
of Christ? That's the important thing. That's
what you and I need to be very concerned about. Whether we are
clothed in that spotless robe of Christ's righteousness, whether
it covers our nakedness, whether it's been given to us. You see,
the fashion of this world, you and I have to go and buy things,
don't we? Sometimes things are very expensive, not worth what
they are, but nonetheless things are very expensive. But you see,
the Lord comes and he gives the robe of his righteousness. And
my friends, that is invaluable. The value is so great,
we cannot put a figure on it. Because if you and I possess
the righteousness of Christ, then eternal life is ours. Remember
that instance in the Word of God when there was that marriage
feast and one person went in who didn't have on a wedding
garment and the Lord came and told him to get out, cast him
out. you and I need to possess the
wedding garment, which is the righteousness of Christ. So my
friends, let us not be concerned about our natural fashions, but
let us be concerned about whether we possess the righteousness
of Christ. And that's a good question, isn't
it, to ponder over. That's a good question to go home and think
about. As you undress the knife, you
take your clothes off, hang them up, to think, well, I've taken
those off and we'd all have to take our clothes off one day
when we die. That'd be of no value. But, if we possess the
righteousness of Christ, it'll be eternally well with our soul. So they that use this world as
not abusing it, for the fashion of this world, pass it away. Isn't it good that we have the
word of God to spell these things out to us? This is a chapter
I read tonight, which is not often read. Not often read, is
it? I don't expect you read it very
often. But it is a chapter, we have these points in, which are
very relevant to the day and age in which we live. And very
relevant to our eternal state. To consider how it is, and how
we do stand, and so to realise the truth of this, the time is
short. It is indeed exceedingly short,
exceedingly short. And this wasn't the only place
of course, there are many places in the Word of God where it tells
us about the shortness of our life and how quickly it flows
away. And the Apostle, when he wrote
to that Roman church, he said, spoke these words, and that knowing
the time, that now It is high time, it's about time, to wake
out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand. Let us cast off the works of
darkness, let us put on the armour of light, let us walk honestly
as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering
and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but, and this is
the great question, but, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. We make many provisions, don't
we, for our natural body. Many provisions. We want a store
of things for our natural body. My friends, the great thing is
to know that we are in Christ Jesus. put on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, how true it is that we
should not be found sleeping. The devil wants you and me to
sleep. He wants us to doze off, so we don't think about the things
of God. Yes, the wonderful thing it is to know that the Lord watches
over us, but to also be aware that the Satan will bring us
into that sleepy condition so that we don't attend to the things
of God. How important it is that we are
made aware of the work of the Holy Spirit of God which comes
to us and causes us to consider our ways. The Apostle Peter reminds
us of these situations and he tells us this. For for this cause
was the gospel preached also to them that are dead. They might
be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is
at hand." So what are we to do? This is what the Apostle tells
us. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. Are we watching? Are we praying? Are we sober? With regard to the things of
God and sober in the world. You know, it's very easy to be
carried away with the spirit of the world. Yes, we don't all
have the same natures, but some of us have perhaps a greater
worldly nature than others. And it's far more difficult to
stand firm against the temptations which come before us. But here
is A word of instruction, be therefore sober and watch unto
prayer. And again, we should be thankful
the word of God is here for our gracious instruction. And then
he tells us, and above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves,
for charity shall cover the night of sins. Fervent love one to
another. What a good thing it is to have
love one to another. and then use hospitality one
to another without grudging. It's good to be hospitable to
the Church of God. One to another. This is the Word
of God. This is the instruction that Peter gives. Use hospitality one to another
without grudging. And if we're led by the Spirit
of God and blessed by the Spirit of God, I believe that would
indeed be our concern and our desire. And so the Apostle Peter
goes on in the second epistle. He tells us this. 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, as some men count slackness.
The Lord doesn't forget what the Lord has said comes to pass. I am the Lord, I change not.
Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. That's the word
of God. But it is longsuffering to us, Lord, not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It's a great blessing if you
and I have been brought to that place of repentance. Remember
the days are short, short before us, and my friends, all of us
need to be blessed with that grace of repentance. We must,
all of us. repent of our sins, and that
not just in a formal way, but we fall down before God and acknowledge
our sins and are truly sorry for our sins and desire to turn
from them. And the effect will be that we
turn around and go in the opposite direction. We won't continue
following that way of sin. We should desire to turn around
and go against the tide, as it were. We may have been going
with the tide. Everything's been swimming and
easing. We've kind of got on quite well, but when the Lord
blesses us with that spirit of repentance, the effect is we
turn around. He gives us grace to turn around,
and then, my friends, it's a battle. It's against the tide. It's not
easy. Repentance is not easy. And he
goes on to tell us, 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 a fervent heat, The
earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Now whether we shall see this or not, the Lord knows. Whether
we shall still be on the earth, the Lord knows when that great
day comes. But nonetheless, it will come. Either that or the
day of our death. And we're told, be you also ready. All be ready for this great day. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness. Holy conversation and godliness. We might just think, well, here's
today, Sunday today, we're towards the end of this day, what's our
conversation been today? Well, it's the Lord's Day, isn't
it? It's the special day. What's our conversation been
today? Has it been with all holiness,
where we talked about many other things, many worldly considerations,
many things which do not profit? Well, here we have this great
and important statement, ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness. That means walking in accordance
with the Word of God, Godliness. And so he tells us, 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 a 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, we should bless God that
we have all these verses and words to construct us and to
direct us in our life on this earth. And we should recognise
that these are the words of God. They're not my words. My words
would be futile. They're the words of God. And
as they're the words of God, they will be fulfilled. And we will be without excuse
if we stand before that judgment seat and the Lord speaks and
says, well, this was recorded and did you obey this and did
you walk in this way? Do you know if we've disobeyed
God's word and walked contrary to it, we'll be speechless. before that great God on which
we know we're guilty. What a terrible thought, isn't
it? But what a blessing it is to be found walking in the light
of His countenance, that glorious light which shines into the heart
of His children, that light of the glorious Gospel which is
revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. It comes down to this,
doesn't it? What do you and I think of Christ?
That's the great question. We think of many things, don't
we? Irrelevant things, most of them. What do you and I think
of Christ? How important it is. I often
refer to, and it's good to refer to, the view the Apostle Paul
had when he addressed the Philippians and he told them what he thought
of Christ. And he tells us what he was.
He was a Hebrew. He was brought up at the feet
of Gamaliel. And he tells us this. He says,
But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. That puts things in perspective,
doesn't it? What things were gained to me,
those things I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless. That means there's no question.
Doubtless. And I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. What
does that mean? It means he's willing to put
all things, lose all things, that he might have the knowledge
of the excellency of Christ Jesus his Lord. You see, that's a tremendous
comparison, isn't it? Tremendous comparison, isn't
it? Bless God that we have such words here to encourage us today.
Because as I said earlier, we are such a materialistic people
at the present time. And how important it is that
we might understand what the Apostle tells us here. Yea, doubtless
and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do countenance but done, that I may win Christ."
Again, how do we view Christ this evening? How do you view
Christ this evening? The Apostle says, and be found
in Him. You know, if we're in Christ,
we're eternally safe. And be found in Him. Not having
my own righteousness, no, that's no good. It's just as filthy
rags. Don't rely on that, friends.
It won't do you any good when you come to die. Not having on
mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. Yes, this blessed righteousness
which Christ gives to his church, gives to his people, those for
whom he gave his life, those for whom he's loved with everlasting
love, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And it goes
on, that I may know him. Well, of course, Paul knew the
Lord Jesus. He had that wonderful revelation
and he knew the Lord Jesus. But you see, he wanted to know
more. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death. You may think, well what a strange
man. Well he was a strange man, but he was a blessed man and
he understood the great need he had of knowing the Lord Jesus
Christ and as he knew him he wanted to know him more. Now
my friends, eternity in heaven is knowing Christ eternally. And you won't be happy in heaven
if you've never desired Christ on this earth. You won't find
heaven a happy place at all. Because heaven is a place of
worship, heaven is a place of joy and peace and rejoicing in
what Christ has done and to be with him and to view him forever
and ever. Not, you see, just being satisfied
with the poor things of this world, but here to know this
union this union, the fellowship of his sufferings and being made
conformable unto his death. Well, we haven't got time this
evening to go into that, but you meditate on that. It's true,
it's true, it's wonderful to enjoy fellowship in his sufferings,
because what it produces is this, union with Christ. That's what
it does, union with Christ, and it makes Christ then of great
value. as we see what he's done for
us, and he's given his life, given his life, my friends. Just
imagine giving our life for someone else, someone who was so bad,
someone who perhaps had been an enemy of us, really dealt
with us wrongly, and all through our life had been a real problem
to us, and then we were asked to die for that person. Well,
would you do that? Well, you wouldn't, would you?
The Lord Jesus Christ, he laid down his life for rebellious
sinners, those who opposed Almighty God. Those that we, we who have
opposed God, to think that he laid down his life for us, great
sinners. Oh, what a marvel, what a glorious
gospel it is. And so tonight, do we rejoice
in what Christ has done. Do we bless him for giving his
life, for shedding his blood, dying in our place, that we might
be at last received into glory, forever and ever, and to be found
forever with the Lord. Oh, what a blessed condition
that is. And so tonight, as we ponder
these words, just remember what the Apostle wrote and said. But
this I say, brethren, the time is short. And so it is. But what a blessing it is if
we are ready. The hymn writer says, prepare
me, gracious God, to stand before thy face, thy spirit must the
work perform. And it is all of grace to his
praise. Amen.