The absolutely vile attacks on Christians and Christianity by hate-filled
unbelievers exposes their bitterness and unhappiness. Not content with
simple disagreement, they must tear down others to make themselves feel good
about their own self. This is a sympton of not only psychological disorder,
but also a symptom and indicator of lacking God in their lives. They do not
have the peace and joy that God brings into a believer's heart so they lash
out at those who do. It's not uncommon. In fact it has been well documented
for centuries. In the following sermon, Charles Spurgeon addresses the
unhappiness in the unbelievers' lives and how they can obtain true,
fulfilling happiness and joy through Jesus Christ.

May God bless,
Carl
my website --http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog --http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

---

The Unbeliever's Unhappy Condition
by Charles Spurgeon

"He that believed, not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him."-John 3:36.

HIS IS A PART of a discourse by John the Baptist. We have not many sermons
by that mighty preacher, but we have just sufficient to prove that he knew
how to lay the axe at the root of the tree by preaching the law of God most
unflinchingly; and also that he knew how to declare the gospel, for no one
could have uttered sentences which more clearly contain the way of salvation
than those in the text before us. Indeed, this third chapter of the gospel
according to the evangelist John is notable among clear and plain
Scriptures-notable for being yet clearer and plainer than almost any other.
John the Baptist was evidently a preacher who knew how to discriminate-a
point in which so many fail-he separated between the precious and the vile,
and therefore he was as God's mouth to the people. He does not address them
as all lost nor as all saved, but he shows the two classes, he keeps up the
line of demarcation between him that feareth God and him that feareth him
not. He plainly declares the privileges of the believer, he saith he hath
even now eternal life; and with equal decision he testifies to the sad state
of the unbeliever-"he shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him." John the Baptist might usefully instruct many professedly Christian
preachers. Although he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater
than John the Baptist, and ought, therefore, more clearly to bear witness to
the truth; yet, there are many who muddle the gospel, who teach philosophy,
who preach a mingle-mangle, which is neither law nor gospel; and these might
well go to school to this rough preacher of the wilderness, and learn from
him how to cry, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world." I desire this morning to take a leaf out of the Baptist's lesson
book; I would preach as he did the gospel of the Lord Jesus, "whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear." It is my earnest desire to enjoy the delight of
expounding to you the deep things of God; I feel a profound pleasure in
opening up the blessings of the covenant of grace, and bringing forth out of
its treasury things new and old. I should be happy to dwell upon the types
of the Old Testament, and even to touch upon the prophecies of the New; but,
while so many yet remain unsaved, my heart is never content except when I am
preaching simply the gospel of Jesus Christ. My dear unconverted hearers,
when I see you brought to Christ, I will then advance beyond the rudiments
of the gospel; but, meanwhile, while hell is gaping wide, and many of you
will certainly help to fill it, I cannot turn aside from warning you. I dare
not resist the sacred impulse which constrains me to preach over and over
again to you the glad tidings of salvation. I shall, like John, continue
laying the axe at the root of the trees, and shall not go beyond crying,
"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." As he did, we shall now
declare the sad estate of him who believeth not the Son of God.

This morning, with the burden of the Lord upon us, we shall speak upon the
words of the text. Our first point shall be a discovery of the guilty one,
"he that believeth not the Son." Next, we shall consider his offense; it
lies in "not believing the Son;" thirdly, we shall lay bare the sinful
causes which create this unbelief; and, fourthly, we shall show the terrible
result of not believing in the Son: "he shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him." May the Spirit help us in all.

I. To begin, then, who is THE GUILTY ONE? Who is then unhappy man here
spoken of? Is he a person to be met with only once in a century? Must we
search the crowds through and through to find out an individual in this
miserable plight? Ah! no; the persons who are here spoken of are common;
they abound even in our holy assemblies; they are to be met with by
thousands in our streets. Alas, alas! they form the vast majority of the
world's population. Jesus hath come unto his own and his own have not
received him, the Jewish race remain unbelieving; while the Gentiles, to
whom he was to be a light, prefer to sit in darkness and reject his
brightness. We shall not be talking this morning upon a recondite theme,
with only a remote relation to ourselves, but there are many here of whom we
shall be speaking, and we devoutly pray that the word of God may come with
power to their souls.

The persons here spoken of are those who believe not the Son of God. Jesus
Christ, out of infinite mercy, has come into the world, has taken upon
himself our nature, and in that nature has suffered the just for the unjust,
to bring us to God. By reason of his sufferings, the gospel message is now
proclaimed to all men, and they are honestly assured that "whosoever
believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." The unhappy
persons in this text will not believe in Jesus Christ, they reject God's way
of mercy; they hear the gospel, but refuse obedience to its command. Let it
not be imagined that these individuals are necessarily avowed sceptics, for
many of them believe much of revealed truth. They believe the Bible to be
the word of God; they believe there is a God; they believe that Jesus Christ
is come into the world as a Savior; they believe most of the doctrines which
cluster around the cross. Alas! they may do this, but yet the wrath of God
abideth on them, if they believe not the Son of God. It may surprise you to
learn that many of these persons are very much interested in orthodoxy. They
believe that they have discovered the truth, and they exceedingly value
those discoveries, so that they frequently grow very warm in temper with
those who differ from them. They have read much, and they are matters of
argument in the defense of what they consider to be sound doctrine. They
cannot endure heresy, and yet sad is the fact, that believing what they do,
and knowing so much, they have not believed the Son of God. They believe the
doctrine of election, but they have not the faith of God's elect: they swear
by final perseverance, but persevere in unbelief. They confess all the five
points of Calvinism, but they have not come to the one most needful point of
looking unto Jesus, that they may be saved. They accept in creed the truths
that are assuredly believed among us, but they have not received that
faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; at any rate, they have not received it personally and
practically for their souls' salvation.

It must be admitted that not a few of these persons are blameless as to
their morals. You could not, with the closest observation, find either
dishonesty, falsehood, uncleanness, or malice in their outward life; they
are not only free from these blots, but they manifest positive excellences.
Much of their character is commendable. They frequently are courteous and
compassionate, generous and gentle-minded. Often times, they are so amiable
and admirable that, while looking upon them, we understand how our Lord, in
a similar case, loved the young man who asked "what lack I yet?" The one
thing needful they are destitute of, they have not believed in Christ Jesus,
and loath as the Savior was to see them perish, yet it cannot be helped, one
doom is common to all who believe not; they shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abideth on them.

In many cases these persons are, in addition to their morality, religious
persons after a fashion. They would not absent themselves from the usual
service of the place of worship. They are most careful to respect the
Sabbath, they venerate the Book of God, they use a form of prayer, they join
in the songs of the Sanctuary, they sit as God's people sit, and stand as
God's people stand, but, alas, there is a worm in the center of that fair
fruit, they have missed the one essential thing, which, being omitted,
brings certain ruin; they have not believed on the Son of God. Ah, how far a
man may go, and yet, for lack of this one thing the wrath of God may still
abide upon him. Beloved of parents who are hopeful of the conversion of
their boy, esteemed by Christians who cannot but admire his outward
conversation, yet for all that, the young man may be under the frown of God,
for "God is angry with the wicked every day." The wrath of God abideth on
the man, whoever he may be, that hath not believed in Jesus.

Now, if our text showed that the wrath of God was resting on the culprits in
our jails, most persons would assent to the statement, and none would wonder
at it. If our text declared that the wrath of God abides upon persons who
live in habitual unchastity and constant violation of all the laws of order
and respectability, most men would say "Amen;" but the text is aimed at
another character. It is true that God's wrath does rest upon open sinners;
but, oh sirs, this too is tree, the wrath ...

read more >>

The absolutely vile attacks on Christians and Christianity by hate-filled
unbelievers exposes their bitterness and unhappiness. Not content with
simple disagreement, they must tear down others to make themselves feel good
about their own self. This is a sympton of not only psychological disorder,
but also a symptom and indicator of lacking God in their lives. They do not
have the peace and joy that God brings into a believer's heart so they lash
out at those who do. It's not uncommon. In fact it has been well documented
for centuries. In the following sermon, Charles Spurgeon addresses the
unhappiness in the unbelievers' lives and how they can obtain true,
fulfilling happiness and joy through Jesus Christ.

May God bless,
Carl
my website --http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog --http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

---

The Unbeliever's Unhappy Condition
by Charles Spurgeon

"He that believed, not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him."-John 3:36.

HIS IS A PART of a discourse by John the Baptist. We have not many sermons
by that mighty preacher, but we have just sufficient to prove that he knew
how to lay the axe at the root of the tree by preaching the law of God most
unflinchingly; and also that he knew how to declare the gospel, for no one
could have uttered sentences which more clearly contain the way of salvation
than those in the text before us. Indeed, this third chapter of the gospel
according to the evangelist John is notable among clear and plain
Scriptures-notable for being yet clearer and plainer than almost any other.
John the Baptist was evidently a preacher who knew how to discriminate-a
point in which so many fail-he separated between the precious and the vile,
and therefore he was as God's mouth to the people. He does not address them
as all lost nor as all saved, but he shows the two classes, he keeps up the
line of demarcation between him that feareth God and him that feareth him
not. He plainly declares the privileges of the believer, he saith he hath
even now eternal life; and with equal decision he testifies to the sad state
of the unbeliever-"he shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him." John the Baptist might usefully instruct many professedly Christian
preachers. Although he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater
than John the Baptist, and ought, therefore, more clearly to bear witness to
the truth; yet, there are many who muddle the gospel, who teach philosophy,
who preach a mingle-mangle, which is neither law nor gospel; and these might
well go to school to this rough preacher of the wilderness, and learn from
him how to cry, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world." I desire this morning to take a leaf out of the Baptist's lesson
book; I would preach as he did the gospel of the Lord Jesus, "whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear." It is my earnest desire to enjoy the delight of
expounding to you the deep things of God; I feel a profound pleasure in
opening up the blessings of the covenant of grace, and bringing forth out of
its treasury things new and old. I should be happy to dwell upon the types
of the Old Testament, and even to touch upon the prophecies of the New; but,
while so many yet remain unsaved, my heart is never content except when I am
preaching simply the gospel of Jesus Christ. My dear unconverted hearers,
when I see you brought to Christ, I will then advance beyond the rudiments
of the gospel; but, meanwhile, while hell is gaping wide, and many of you
will certainly help to fill it, I cannot turn aside from warning you. I dare
not resist the sacred impulse which constrains me to preach over and over
again to you the glad tidings of salvation. I shall, like John, continue
laying the axe at the root of the trees, and shall not go beyond crying,
"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." As he did, we shall now
declare the sad estate of him who believeth not the Son of God.

This morning, with the burden of the Lord upon us, we shall speak upon the
words of the text. Our first point shall be a discovery of the guilty one,
"he that believeth not the Son." Next, we shall consider his offense; it
lies in "not believing the Son;" thirdly, we shall lay bare the sinful
causes which create this unbelief; and, fourthly, we shall show the terrible
result of not believing in the Son: "he shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him." May the Spirit help us in all.

I. To begin, then, who is THE GUILTY ONE? Who is then unhappy man here
spoken of? Is he a person to be met with only once in a century? Must we
search the crowds through and through to find out an individual in this
miserable plight? Ah! no; the persons who are here spoken of are common;
they abound even in our holy assemblies; they are to be met with by
thousands in our streets. Alas, alas! they form the vast majority of the
world's population. Jesus hath come unto his own and his own have not
received him, the Jewish race remain unbelieving; while the Gentiles, to
whom he was to be a light, prefer to sit in darkness and reject his
brightness. We shall not be talking this morning upon a recondite theme,
with only a remote relation to ourselves, but there are many here of whom we
shall be speaking, and we devoutly pray that the word of God may come with
power to their souls.

The persons here spoken of are those who believe not the Son of God. Jesus
Christ, out of infinite mercy, has come into the world, has taken upon
himself our nature, and in that nature has suffered the just for the unjust,
to bring us to God. By reason of his sufferings, the gospel message is now
proclaimed to all men, and they are honestly assured that "whosoever
believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." The unhappy
persons in this text will not believe in Jesus Christ, they reject God's way
of mercy; they hear the gospel, but refuse obedience to its command. Let it
not be imagined that these individuals are necessarily avowed sceptics, for
many of them believe much of revealed truth. They believe the Bible to be
the word of God; they believe there is a God; they believe that Jesus Christ
is come into the world as a Savior; they believe most of the doctrines which
cluster around the cross. Alas! they may do this, but yet the wrath of God
abideth on them, if they believe not the Son of God. It may surprise you to
learn that many of these persons are very much interested in orthodoxy. They
believe that they have discovered the truth, and they exceedingly value
those discoveries, so that they frequently grow very warm in temper with
those who differ from them. They have read much, and they are matters of
argument in the defense of what they consider to be sound doctrine. They
cannot endure heresy, and yet sad is the fact, that believing what they do,
and knowing so much, they have not believed the Son of God. They believe the
doctrine of election, but they have not the faith of God's elect: they swear
by final perseverance, but persevere in unbelief. They confess all the five
points of Calvinism, but they have not come to the one most needful point of
looking unto Jesus, that they may be saved. They accept in creed the truths
that are assuredly believed among us, but they have not received that
faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; at any rate, they have not received it personally and
practically for their souls' salvation.

It must be admitted that not a few of these persons are blameless as to
their morals. You could not, with the closest observation, find either
dishonesty, falsehood, uncleanness, or malice in their outward life; they
are not only free from these blots, but they manifest positive excellences.
Much of their character is commendable. They frequently are courteous and
compassionate, generous and gentle-minded. Often times, they are so amiable
and admirable that, while looking upon them, we understand how our Lord, in
a similar case, loved the young man who asked "what lack I yet?" The one
thing needful they are destitute of, they have not believed in Christ Jesus,
and loath as the Savior was to see them perish, yet it cannot be helped, one
doom is common to all who believe not; they shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abideth on them.

In many cases these persons are, in addition to their morality, religious
persons after a fashion. They would not absent themselves from the usual
service of the place of worship. They are most careful to respect the
Sabbath, they venerate the Book of God, they use a form of prayer, they join
in the songs of the Sanctuary, they sit as God's people sit, and stand as
God's people stand, but, alas, there is a worm in the center of that fair
fruit, they have missed the one essential thing, which, being omitted,
brings certain ruin; they have not believed on the Son of God. Ah, how far a
man may go, and yet, for lack of this one thing the wrath of God may still
abide upon him. Beloved of parents who are hopeful of the conversion of
their boy, esteemed by Christians who cannot but admire his outward
conversation, yet for all that, the young man may be under the frown of God,
for "God is angry with the wicked every day." The wrath of God abideth on
the man, whoever he may be, that hath not believed in Jesus.

Now, if our text showed that the wrath of God was resting on the culprits in
our jails, most persons would assent to the statement, and none would wonder
at it. If our text declared that the wrath of God abides upon persons who
live in habitual unchastity and constant violation of all the laws of order
and respectability, most men would say "Amen;" but the text is aimed at
another character. It is true that God's wrath does rest upon open sinners;
but, oh sirs, this too is tree, the wrath of God abideth upon those who
boast of their virtues but have not believed in Jesus his Son. They may
dwell in palaces; but, if they are not believers, the wrath of God abideth
on them. They may sit in the senate house and enjoy the acclamations of the
nation; but, if they believe not on the Son, the wrath of God abideth on
them. Their names may be enrolled in the peerage, all they may possess
countless wealth, but the wrath of God abideth on them. They may be habitual
in their charities, and abundant in external acts of devotion; but, if they
have not accepted the appointed Savior, the word of God bears witness, that
"the wrath of God abideth on them."

II. Now let us, with our hearts awakened by God's Spirit, try to think upon
THEIR OFFENCE.

What is this peculiar sin which entails the wrath of God upon these people?
It is that they have not believed the Son of God. What does that amount to?
It amounts to this, first of all, that they refuse to accept the mercy of
God. God made a law, and his creatures were bound to respect and obey it. We
rejected it, and turned aside from it. It was a great display of the heart's
hatred, but it was not in some respects so thoroughly and intensely wicked a
manifestation of enmity to God as when we reject the gospel of grace. God
has now presented not the law but the gospel to us, and he has said: "My
creatures, you have broken my law, you have acted very vilely towards me. I
must punish for sin, else I were not God, and I cannot lay aside my justice;
but I have devised a way by which, without any injury to any of my
attributes, I can have mercy upon you. I am ready to forgive the past, and
to restore you to more than your lost position, so that you shall be my sons
and my daughters. My only command to you is, believe in my Son. If this
command be obeyed, all the blessings of my new covenant shall be yours.
Trust him, and follow him; for, behold, I give him as a leader and commander
to the people. Accept him as making atonement by his substitution, and obey
him." Now, to reject the law of God shows an evil heart of unbelief; but who
shall say what a depth of rebellion must dwell in that heart which refuses
not only the yoke of God but even the gift of God. The provision of a Savior
for lost men is the free gift of God, by it all our wants are supplied, all
our evils are removed, peace on earth is secured to us, and glory for ever
with God: the rejection of this gift cannot be a small sin. The all-seeing
One, when he beholds men spurning the supreme gift of his love, cannot but
regard such rejection as the worst proof of the hatred of their hearts
against himself. When the Holy Spirit comes to convince men of sin, the
especial sin which he brings to light is thus described: "Of sin, because
they believed not on me." Not because the heathen were licentious in their
habits, barbarians in their ways, and bloodthirsty in their spirit. No: "Of
sin, because they believe not on me." Condemnation has come upon men, but
what is the condemnation? "That light is come into the world, and men love
darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." Remember, also,
that expressive text: "He that believeth not is condemned already;" and what
is he condemned for! "Because he hath not believed in the name of the
only-begotten Son of God."

Let me remark, further, that in the rejection of divine mercy as presented
in Christ, the unbeliever has displayed an intense venom against God, for
observe how it is. He must either receive the mercy of God in Christ, or he
must be condemned-there is no other alternative. He must trust Christ whom
God has set forth to be the propitiation for sin, or else he must be driven
from the presence of God into eternal punishment. The unbeliever in effect
says, "I had sooner be damned than I would accept God's mercy in Christ."
Can we conceive a grosser insult to the infinite compassion of the great
Father? Suppose a man has injured another, grossly insulted him, and that
repeatedly, and yet the injured person, finding the man at last brought into
a wretched and miserable state, goes to him, and simply out of kindness to
him, says, "I freely forgive you all the wrong you ever did me, and I am
ready to relieve your poverty, and to succor you in your distress." Suppose
the other replies, "No, I would sooner rot than take anything from you;"
would not you have in such a resolve a clear proof of the intense enmity
that existed in his heart? And so when a man saith, and everyone of you
unbelievers do practically say so, "I would sooner lie for ever in hell than
honor Christ by trusting him," this is a very plain proof of his hatred of
God and his Christ. Unbelievers hate God. Let me ask for what do you hate
him? He keeps the breath within your nostrils; he it is that gives you food
and rainment, and sends fruitful seasons. For which of these good things do
you hate him? You hate him because he is good. Ah, then, it must be because
you yourself are evil, and your heart very far removed from righteousness.
May God grant that this great and crying sin may be clearly set before your
eyes by the light of the Eternal Spirit, and may you repent of it, and turn
from your unbelief, and live this day.

But yet further, the unbeliever touches God in a very tender place by his
unbelief. No doubt, it was to the great Maker a joyous thing to fashion this
world, but there are no expressions of joy concerning it at all equal to the
joy of God in the matter of human redemption. We would be guarded when we
speak of him; but, as far as we can tell, the gift of his dear Son to men,
and the whole scheme of redemption, is the master work even of God himself.
He is infinite in POWER, and wisdom, and love; his ways are as high above
our ways as the heavens are above the earth; but Scripture, I think, will
warrant me in saying-

"That in the grace which rescued man
His brightest form of glory shines;
Here on the cross 'tis fairest writ,
In precious blood and crimson lines."

Now, the man who saith, "There is no God" is a fool, but he who denies God
the glory of redemption, in addition to his folly, has robbed the Lord of
the choicest jewel of his regalia, and aimed a deadly blow at the divine
honor. I may say of him who despises the great salvation, that, in despising
Christ, he touches the apple of God's eye. "This is my beloved Son," saith
God, "hear ye him." Out of heaven he saith it, and yet men stop their ears
and say, "We will not have him." Nay, they wax wrath against the cross, and
turn away from God's salvation. Do you think that God will always bear this?
The times of your ignorance he hath winked at, but "now commandeth all men
every where to repent." Will ye stand out against his love? His love that
has been so inventive in ingenious plans by which to bless the sons of men?
Shall his choicest work be utterly contemned by you? If so, it is little
wonder that it is written, "The wrath of God abideth on him."

I must, still further, unveil this matter by saying that the unbeliever
perpetrates an offense against every person of the blessed Trinity. He may
think that his not believing is a very small business, but, indeed, it is a
barbed shaft shot against the Deity. Take the Persons of the blessed
Trinity, beginning with the Son of God who comes to us most nearly. It is to
me the most surprising thing I ever heard of that "the word was made flesh
and dwelt among us." I do not wonder that in Hindostan the missionaries are
often met with this remark: "It is too good to be true that God ever took
upon himself the nature of such a thing as man!" Yet, more wonderful does it
seem to be that, when Christ became man, he took all the sorrows and
infirmity of man, and, in addition, was made to bear the sin of many. The
most extraordinary of all facts is this: that the infinitely Holy should be
"numbered with the transgressors," and, in the words of Esaias, should "bear
their iniquities." The Lord hath made him, who knew no sin, to be made sin
for us. Wonder of wonders! It is beyond all degree amazing that he who
distributes crowns and thrones should hang on a tree and die, the just for
the unjust, bearing the punishment due to sinners for guilt. Now, knowing
this, as most of you do, and yet refusing to believe, you do, in effect,
say, "I do not believe that the incarnate God can save." "Oh no," you reply,
"we sincerely believe that he can save." Then, it must be that you feel, "I
believe he can, but I will not have him to save me." Wherein I excuse you in
the first place, I must bring the accusation more heavily in the second. You
answer that "you do not say you will not believe him." Why do you then
remain in unbelief? The fact is you do not trust him; you do not obey him. I
pray you account for the fact. "May I believe him?" saith one. Have we not
told you ten thousand times over that whosoever will may take the water of
life freely. If there be any barrier it is not with God, it is not with
Christ, it is with your own sinful heart. You are welcome to the Savior now,
and if you trust him now he is yours for ever. But oh, unbeliever, it
appears to be nothing to you that Christ has died. His wounds attract you
not. His groans for his enemies have no music in them to you. You turn your
back upon the incarnate God who bleeds for men, and in so doing you shut
yourselves out of hope, judging yourselves unworthy of eternal life.

Furthermore, the wilful rejection of Christ is also an insult to God the
Father. "He that believeth not hath made God a liar, because he hath not
believed the record that God gave of his Son." God has himself often borne
testimony to his dear Son. "Him hath God the Father set forth to be a
propitiation for our Sins." In rejecting Christ, you reject God's testimony
and God's gift. It is a direct assault upon the truthfulness and
lovingkindness of the gracious Father, when you trample on or cast aside his
priceless, peerless gift of love.

And, as for the blessed Spirit, it is his office here below to bear witness
to Christ. In the Christian ministry, daily the Holy Spirit cries to the
sons of men to come to Jesus. He has striven in the hearts of many of you,
given you a measure of conviction of sin, and a degree of knowledge of the
glory of Christ, but you have repressed it, you have labored to your utmost
to do despite to the Spirit of God. Believe me, this is no slight sin. An
unbeliever is an enemy to God the Father, to God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost. Against the blessed Trinity in Unity, O unbeliever, your sin is a
standing insult: you are now to God's face insulting him, by continuing an
unbeliever.

And, I must add, that there is also in unbelief an insult against every
attribute of God. The unbeliever in effect declares, "If the justice of God
is seen in laying the punishment of sin upon Christ-I do not care for his
justice, I will bear my own punishment." The sinner seems to say, "God is
merciful in the gift of Christ to suffer in our stead-I do not want his
mercy, I can do without it. Others may be guilty, and they may trust in the
Redeemer, but I do not feel such guilt and I will not sue for pardon."
Unbelievers attack the wisdom of God, for, whereas the wisdom of God is in
its fullness revealed in the gift of Jesus, they say, "It is a dogma,
unphilosophical, and worn-out." They count the wisdom of God to be
foolishness, and thus cast a slight upon another of the divine attributes. I
might in detail mention every one of the attributes and prerogatives of God,
and prove that your nonacceptance of the Savior is an insult to every one of
them, and to God himself: but the theme is too sad for us to continue upon
it, and, therefore, let us pass to another phase of the subject, though I
fear it will be equally grievous.

III. Thirdly, let us consider THE CAUSES OF THIS UNBELIEF.

In a great many, unbelief may be ascribed to a careless ignorance of the way
of salvation. Now, I should not wonder if many of you imagine that, if you
do not understand the gospel, you are therefore quite excused for not
believing it. But, sirs, it is not so. You are placed in this world, not as
heathens in the center of Africa, but in enlightened England, where you live
in the full blaze of gospel day. There are places of worship all around you,
which you can without difficulty attend. The book of God is very cheap; you
have it in your houses; you can all read it or hear it read. Is it so, then,
that the king has been pleased to reveal himself to you, and tell you the
way to salvation, and yet you, at the age of twenty, thirty, or forty, do
not know the way of salvation? What, do you mean, sir? What can you mean?
Has God been pleased to reveal himself in Scripture, and tell you how to
escape from hell and fly to heaven, and yet have you been too idle to
inquire into that way? Dare you say to God, "I do not think it worth my
while to learn what thou hast revealed, neither do I care to know of the
gift which thou hast bestowed on men." How can you think that such ignorance
is an excuse for your sin? What could be a more gross aggravation of it? If
you do not know, you ought to know; if you have not learned the gospel
message, you might have learned it, for there are, some of us whose language
it is not difficult for even the most illiterate to understand, and who
would, if we caught ourselves using a hard word, retract it, and put it into
little syllables, so that not even a child's intellect need be perplexed by
our language. Salvation's way is plain in the book; those words, "Believe
and live," are in this Christian England almost as legible and as
universally to be seen as though they were printed on the sky. That trust in
the Lord Jesus saves the soul is well-known news. But, if you still say you
have not known all this, then I reply, "Dear sir, do try to know it. Go to
the Scriptures, study them, see what is there. Hear, also, the gospel, for
it is written, "Incline your ear to come unto me; hear, and your soul shall
live." Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." For your
soul's sake I charge you, be no longer ignorant of that which you must know,
or else must perish.

In some others, the cause is indifference. They do not think the matter to
be of any very great consequence. They are aware that they are not quite
right, but they have a notion that somehow or other they will get right at
last; and, meanwhile, it does not trouble them. Oh man, I pray thee as thy
fellow creature let me speak with thee a word of expostulation. God declares
that his wrath abides upon you as an unbeliever, and do you call that
nothing? God says, "I am angry with you," and you say to him, "I do not
care, it is of very small importance to me. The rise or fall of the consols
is of much more consequence than whether God is angry with me or not. My
dinner being done to a turn concerns me a great deal more than whether the
infinite God loves me or hates me." That is the English of your conduct, and
I put it to you whether there can be a higher impertinence against your
Creator, or a direr form of arrogant revolt against the eternal Ruler. If it
does not trouble you that God is angry with you, it ought to trouble you;
and it troubles me that it does not trouble you. We have heard of persons
guilty of murder, whose behavior during the trial has been cool and
self-possessed. The coolness with which they pleaded "not guilty" has been
all of a piece with the hardness of tears which led them to the bloody deed.
He who is capable of great crime is also incapable of shame concerning it. A
man who is able to take pleasure and be at ease while God is angry with him
shows that his heart is harder than steel.

In certain cases, the root of this unbelief lies in another direction. It is
fed by pride. The person who is guilty of it does not believe that he needs
a Savior. His notion is that he will do his very best, attend the church or
the meeting-house very regularly, subscribe occasionally or frequently, and
go to heaven partly by what he does, and partly by the merits of Christ. So
that not believing in Christ is not a matter of any great consequence with
him, because he is not naked, and poor, and miserable; but he is rich, and
increased in goods in spiritual things. To be saved by faith is a religion
for harlots, and drunkards, and thieves; but for respectable persons such as
he is, who have kept the law from their youth up, he does not see any
particular need of laying hold upon Christ. Such conduct reminds me of the
words of Cowper:-

"Perish the virtue, as it ought, abhorr'd,
And the fool with it that insults his Lord."

God believed it needful, in order to save man, that the Redeemer should die;
yet you self-righteous ones evidently think that death a superfluity: for if
a man could save himself, why did the Lord descend and die to save him? If
there be a way to heaven by respectability and morality without Christ, what
is the good of Christ? It is utterly useless to have an expiator and a
meditator, if men are so good that they do not require them. You tell God to
his face that he lies unto you, that you are not so sinful as he would
persuade you, that you do not need a substitute and sacrifice as he says you
do. Oh, sirs, this pride of yours is an arrogant rebellion against God. Look
at your fine actions, you that are so good-your motives are base, your pride
over what you have done has defiled, with black fingers, all your acts. In
as much as you prefer your way to God's way, and prefer your righteousness
to God's righteousness, the wrath of God abideth on you.

Perhaps I have not hit the reason of your unbelief, therefore let me speak
once more. In many love of sin rather than any boasted self-righteousness
keeps them from the Savior. They do not believe in Jesus, not because they
have any doubt about the truths of Christianity, but because they have an
enslaving love for their favourite sin. "Why," saith one, "if I were to
believe in Christ, of course, I must obey him-to trust and to obey go
together. Then I could not be the drunkard I am, I could not trade as I do,
I could not practice secret licentiousness, I could not frequent the haunts
of the ungodly, where laughter is occasioned by sin, and mirth by blasphemy.
I cannot give up these my darling sins." Perhaps, this sinner hopes that one
day, when he cannot any longer enjoy his sin, he will meanly sneak out of
it, and try to cheat the devil of his soul; but, meanwhile, he prefers the
pleasures of sin to obedience to God, and unbelief to acceptance of his
salvation. O sweet sin! O bitter sin! How art thou murdering the souls of
men! As certain serpents before they strike their prey fix their eyes upon
it and fascinate it, and then at last devour it, so does sin fascinate the
foolish sons of Adam; they are charmed with it, and perish for it. It yields
but a momentary joy, and the wage thereof is eternal misery, yet are men
enamoured of it. The ways of the strange woman, and the paths of uncleanness
lead most plainly to the chambers of death, yet are men attracted thereto as
moths by the blaze of the candle, and so are they destroyed. Alas! that men
wantonly dash against the rocks of dangerous lasts, and perish wilfully
beneath the enchantment of sin. Sad pity it is to prefer a harlot to the
eternal God, to prefer a few pence made by dishonesty to heaven itself, to
prefer the gratification of the belly to the love of the Creator, and the
joy of being reconciled and saved. It was a dire insult to God when Israel
set up a golden calf, and said, "These be thy gods, O Israel." Shall the
image of an ox that eateth grass supplant the living God! He that had strewn
the earth with manna, had made Sinai to smoke with his presence, and the
whole wilderness to tremble beneath his marchings, is he to be thrust aside
by the image of a bullock that hath horns and hoofs? Will men prefer molten
metal to the infinitely holy and glorious Jehovah? But, surely, the
preference of a lust to God is a greater insult still: to obey our passions
rather than his will, and to prefer sin to his mercy; this is the crime of
crimes. May God deliver us from it, for his mercy's sake.

IV. We have heavy tidings in the last head of my discourse, THE TERRIBLE
RESULT of unbelief. "He shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on
him." "The wrath of God!" No words can ever fully explain this expression.
Holy Whitfield, when he was preaching, would often hold up his hands, and,
with tears streaming down his eyes, would exclaim, "Oh, the wrath to come!
the wrath to come!" Then would he pause because his emotions checked his
utterance. The wrath of God! I confess I feel uneasy if anybody is angry
with me, and yet one can bear the auger of foolish, hot-tempered persons
with some equanimity. But the wrath of God is the anger of one who is never
angry without a cause, one who is very patient and long suffering. It takes
much to bring the choler into Jehovah's face, yet is he wroth with
unbelievers. He is never wroth with anything because it is feeble and
little, but only because it is wrong. His anger is only his holiness set on
fire. He cannot bear sin; who would wish that he should? What right-minded
man would desire God to be pleased with evil? That were to make a devil of
God. Because he is God, he must be angry with sin wherever it is. This makes
the sting of it, that his wrath is just and holy anger. It is the anger,
remember, of an Omnipotent Being, who can crush us as easily as a moth. It
is the anger of an Infinite Being, and therefore infinite anger, the heights
and depths and breadths and lengths of which no man can measure. Only the
incarnate God ever fully knew the power of God's anger. It is beyond all
conception, yet the anger rests on you my hearer. Alas, for you, if you are
an unbeliever, for this is your state before God. It is no fiction of mine,
but the word of inspired truth: "the wrath of God abideth on him."

Then notice the next word, it "abideth," this is to say, it is upon you now.
He is angry with you at this moment,-and always. You go to sleep with an
angry God gazing into your face, you wake in the morning, and if your eye
were not dim, you would perceive his frowning countenance. He is angry with
you, even when you are singing his praises, for you mock him with solemn
sounds, upon a thoughtless tongue; angry with you on your knees, for you
only pretend to pray, you utter words without heart. As long as you are not
a believer, he must be angry with you every moment. "God is angry with the
wicked every day."

That the text saith it abideth, and the present tense takes a long sweep,
for it always will abide on you. But may you not, perhaps, escape from it,
by ceasing to exist? The test precludes such an idea. Although it says, that
you "shall not see life," it teaches that God's wrath is upon you, so that
the absence of life is not annihilation. Spiritual life belongs only to
believers; you are now without that life, yet you exist, and wrath abides on
you, and so it ever must be. While you shall not see life, you shall exist
in eternal death, for the wrath of God cannot abide on a non-existent
creature. You shall not see life, but you shall feel wrath to the uttermost.
It is horror enough that wrath should be on you now, it is horror upon
horrors, and hell upon hell, that it shall be upon you for ever.

And notice that it must be so, because you reject the only thing that can
heal you. As George Herbert says, "Whom oils and balsams kill, what salve
can cure?" If Christ himself has become a savor of death unto death unto
you, because you reject him, how can you be saved? There is but one door,
and if you close it by your unbelief, how can you enter heaven? There is one
healing medicine, and, if you refuse to take it, what remains but death?
There is one water of life, but you refuse to drink it; then must you thirst
for ever. You put from you, voluntarily, the one only Redeemer; how then
shall you be ransomed? Shall Christ die again, and in another state be
offered to you once more? O sirs, you would reject him then as you reject
him now. But there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin. On the cross, God's
mercy to the sons of men was fully revealed, and will you reject God's
ultimatum of grace; his last appeal to you. If so, it is at your own peril:
Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more; he shall come again, but
without a sin offering unto the salvation of his people.

Remember, sirs, that the wrath of God will produce no saving or softening
effect. It has been suggested that a sinner, after suffering God's wrath
awhile, may repent, and so escape from it. But our observation and
experience prove that the wrath of God never softened anybody's heart yet,
and we believe it never will: those who are suffering divine wrath will go
on to harden, and harden, and harden, the more they suffer, the more they
will hate: the more they are punished, the more will they sin. The wrath of
God abiding on you will produce no good results to you, but rather you shall
go from evil to evil, further and further from the presence of God.

The reason why the wrath of God abides on an unbeliever is partly because
all his other sins remain on him. There is no sin that shall damn the man
who believes, and nothing can save the man who will not believe. God removes
all sin the moment we believe; but while we believe not, fresh cords fasten
upon us our transgressions. The sin of Judah is written as with an iron pen,
and graven with a point of a diamond. Nothing can release you from guilt
while your heart remains at enmity with Jesus Christ your Lord.

Remember that God has never taken an oath, that I know of, against any class
of persons, except unbelievers. "To whom sware he that they should not enter
into his rest, but to them that believed not?" Continued unbelief God never
will forgive, because his word binds him not to do so. Doth he swear an
oath, and shall he go back from it? It cannot be. O that you might have
grace to relinquish your unbelief, and close in with the gospel, and be
saved.

Now, I hear some one object, "You tell us that certain people are under the
wrath of God, but they are very prosperous." I reply, that yonder bullock
will be slaughtered. Yet it is being fattened. And your prosperity, O
ungodly man, is but a fattening of you for the slaughter of justice. Ay, but
you say, "They are very merry, and some of those who are forgiven are very
sad." Mercy lets them be merry while they may. We have heard of men who,
when driven to Tyburn in a cart, could drink and laugh as they went to the
gallows. It only proved what bad men they were. And so, whereas the guilty
can yet take comfort, it only proves their guiltiness.

Let me ask what ought to be your thoughts concerning these solemn truths
which I have delivered to you? I know what my thoughts were; they made me go
to my bed unhappy. They made me very grateful because I hope I have believed
in Jesus Christ; yet they made me start in the night, and wake this morning
with a load upon me. I come here to say to you, must it be so that you will
always remain unbelievers, and abide under the wrath of God? If it must be
so, and the dread conclusion seems forced upon me, at any rate, do look it
in the face, do consider it. If you are resolved to be damned, know what you
are at. Take advise and consider. O sirs, it cannot need an argument to
convince you that it is a most wretched thing to be now under the wrath of
God. You cannot want any argument to show that it must be a blessed thing to
be forgiven-you must see that. It is not your reason that wants convincing,
it is, your heart that wants renewing.

The whole gospel lies in this nutshell. Come, thou guilty one, just as thou
art, and rest thyself upon the finished work of the Savior, and take him to
be thine for ever. Trust Jesus now. In your present position it may be done.
God's Holy Spirit blessing your mind, you may at this moment say, "Lord, I
believe, help thou mine unbelief." You may now confide in Jesus, and some
who came in here unforgiven, may make the angels sing because they go down
yonder steps saved souls, whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins
are covered. God knoweth one thing, that if I knew by what study and what
art I could learn to preach the gospel so as to affect your hearts I would
spare no cost or pains. For the present, I have aimed simply to warn you,
not with adornment of speech, lest the power should be the power of man; and
now I leave my message, and commit it to him who shall judge the quick and
the dead. But this know, if ye receive not the Son, I shall be a swift
witness against you. God grant it be not so, for his mercy's sake. Amen.