The Holy Scriptures, which were written for our learning, contain
beacons as well as patterns. They show us examples of what we should
avoid, as well as examples of what we should follow. The man whose
name heads this page is set for a beacon to the whole church of Christ.
His character is put before us in one little word: ‘He lingered.’ Let us sit
down and look at this beacon for a few minutes. Let us consider Lot.
Who is this man that lingered? It is the nephew of faithful Abraham.
And when did he linger? The very morning Sodom was to be destroyed.
And where did he linger? Within the walls of Sodom itself. And before
whom did he linger? Under the eyes of the two angels, who were sent
to bring him out of the city. Even then ‘he lingered’!
The words are solemn, and full of food for thought. They ought to
sound like a trumpet in the ears of all who make any profession of
religion. I trust they will make every reader of this paper think. Who
knows but they are the very words your soul requires? The voice of the
Lord Jesus commands you to ‘remember Lot’s wife’ (Luke 17:32). The
voice of one of His ministers invites you this day to remember Lot.
Let me try to show —
1. what Lot was himself;
2. what the text already quoted tells you of him;
3. what reasons may account for his lingering;
4. what kind of fruit his lingering brought forth.
I ask the special attention of all who have reason to hope they are
real Christians, and desire to live holy lives. Let it be a settled principle
in our minds, if we follow holiness, that we must not ‘linger’.
Once more, I say, ‘Lot is a beacon.’
1. What was Lot?
This is a most important point. If I leave it unnoticed, I shall perhaps
miss that class of professing Christians I want especially to benefit. If
I did not make it quite clear, many would perhaps say, after reading
this paper, ‘Ah! Lot was a bad man, a poor, wicked, dark creature, an
unconverted man, a child of this world. No wonder he lingered!”
But mark now what I say. Lot was nothing of the kind. Lot was a
true believer, a converted person, a real child of God, a justified soul, a
righteous man.
Has anyone of my readers grace in his heart? So also had Lot. Has
anyone of my readers a hope of salvation? So also had Lot. Is anyone of
my readers a ‘new creature’? So also was Lot. Is anyone of my readers a
traveller in the narrow way which leads unto life? So also was Lot.
Let no one think this is only my private opinion, a mere arbitrary
fancy of my own, a notion unsupported by Scripture. Let no one
suppose I want him to believe it merely because I say it. The Holy
Ghost has placed the matter beyond controversy, by calling him ‘just’
and ‘righteous’ (2 Peter 2:7, 8), and has given us good evidence of the
grace that was in him.
One evidence is, that he lived in a wicked place, ‘seeing and hearing‘
evil all around him (2 Peter 2:8), and yet was not wicked himself. Now
to be a Daniel in Babylon, an Obadiah in Ahab’s house, an Abijah in
]eroboam’s family, a saint in Nero’s court, and a ‘righteous man’ in
Sodom, a man must have the grace of God. Without grace it would be
impossible.
Another evidence is, that he ‘vexed his soul with the unlawful deeds’ he
beheld around him (2 Peter 2:8). He was wounded, grieved, pained and
hurt at the sight of sin. This was feeling like holy David, who says, ‘I beheld
the transgressors, and was grieved, because they kept not Thy word.’
‘Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not Thy law’
(Ps. 119:136, 158). This was feeling like St Paul, who says, ‘I have great
sorrow and continual heaviness in my heart . . . for my brethren, my
kinsmen according to the flesh’ (Rom. 9:2, 3). Nothing will account for this
but the grace of God.
Another evidence is, that he ‘vexed his soul from day to day’ with
the unlawful deeds he saw (2 Peter 2:8). He did not at length become
cool and lukewarm about sin, as many do. Familiarity and habit did
not take off the fine edge of his feelings, as too often is the case. Many
a man is shocked and startled at the first sight of wickedness, and yet
becomes at last so accustomed to see it, that he views it with
comparative unconcern. This is especially the case with those who live in towns
and cities, or with English people who travel on the Continent. Such
persons often become utterly indifferent about sabbath-breaking, and
many forms of open sin. But it was not so with Lot. And this, again, is
a great mark of the reality of his grace.
Such an one was Lot — a just and righteous man, a man sealed and
stamped as an heir of heaven by the Holy Ghost Himself.
Before we pass on, let us remember that a true Christian may have
many a blemish, many a defect, many an infirmity, and yet be a true
Christian nevertheless. We do not despise gold because it is mixed with
much dross. We must not undervalue grace because it is accompanied
by much corruption. Read on, and you will find that Lot paid dearly
for his ‘lingering’. But do not forget, as you read, that Lot was a child
of God.
2. What the text tells us about him
Let us pass on to the second thing I spoke of. What does the text,
already quoted, tell us about Lot’s behaviour?
The words are wonderful and astounding: ‘He lingered.’ The more
we consider the time and circumstances, the more wonderful we shall
think them.
Lot knew the awful condition of the city in which he stood. ‘The
cry’ of its abominations ‘had waxen great before the Lord’ (Gen.
19:33). And yet he lingered.
Lot knew the fearful judgement coming down on all within its walls.
The angels had said plainly, ‘The Lord hath sent us to destroy it’ (Gen.
19:13). And yet he lingered.
Lot knew that God was a God who always kept His word, and if He
said a thing would surely do it. He could hardly be Abraham's nephew,
and live long with him, and not be aware of this. Yet he lingered.
Lot believed there was danger, for he went to his sons-in-law, and
warned them to flee. ‘Up!’ he said, ‘Get you out of this place; for the
Lord will destroy this city’ (Gen. 19:14). And yet he lingered.
Lot saw the angels of God standing by, waiting for him and his
family to go forth. He heard the voice of those ministers of wrath
ringing in his ears to hasten him: ‘Arise, take thy wife, and thy two
daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the
city’ (Gen. 19:15). And yet he lingered.
He was slow when he should have been quick, backward when he
should have been forward, trifling when he should have been hastening,
loitering when he should have been hurrying, cold when he should have
been hot. It is passing Strange! It seems almost incredible! It appears
too wonderful to be true! But the Spirit writes it down for our learning.
And so it was.
And yet, wonderful as it may appear at first sight, I fear there are
many of the Lord Jesus Christ’s people very like Lot.
I ask every reader of this paper to mark well what I say. I repeat it
that there may be no mistake about my meaning; I have shown you
that Lot lingered. I say that there are many Christian men and Christian
women in this day very like Lot.
There are many real children of God who appear to know far more
than they live up to, and see far more than they practise, and yet
continue in this state for many years. Wonderful that they go as far as
they do, and yet go no further!
They hold the Head, even Christ, and love the truth. They like sound
preaching, and assent to every article of gospel doctrine, when they
hear it. But still there is an indescribable something which is not
satisfactory about them. They are constantly doing things which disappoint
the expectations of their ministers, and of more advanced Christian
friends. Marvellous that they should think as they do, and yet stand
still!
They believe in heaven, and yet seem faintly to long for it, and in
hell, and yet seem little to fear it. They love the Lord Jesus; but the
work they do for Him is small. They hate the devil; but they often
appear to tempt him to come to them. They know the time is short;
but they live as if it were long. They know they have a battle to fight;
yet a man might think they were at peace. They know they have a race
to run; yet they often look like people sitting still. They know the
Judge is at the door, and there is wrath to come; and yet they appear
half asleep. Astonishing they should be what they are, and yet be
nothing more!
And what shall we say of these people? They often puzzle godly
friends and relations. They often cause great anxiety. They often give
rise to great doubts and searchings of heart. But they may be classed
under one sweeping description: they are all brethren and sisters of Lot.
They linger.
These are they who get the notion into their minds, that it is
impossible for all believers to be so very holy and very spiritual! They
allow that eminent holiness is a beautiful thing. They like to read
about it in books, and even to see it occasionally in others. But they do
not think that all are meant to aim at so high a standard. At any rate,
they seem to make up their minds it is beyond their reach.
These are they who get into their heads false ideas of charity, as they
call it. They are morbidly afraid of being illiberal and narrow-minded,
and are always flying into the opposite extreme. They would fain please
everybody, and suit everybody, and be agreeable to everybody. But
they forget they ought first to be sure that they please God.
These are they who dread sacrifices, and shrink from self-denial.
They never appear able to apply our Lord’s command, to ‘take up the
cross’, and ‘cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye’ (Matt.
5:29, 30). They cannot deny that our Lord used these expressions, but
they never find a place for them in their religion. They spend their lives
in trying to make the gate more wide and the cross more light. But they
never succeed.
These are they who are always trying to keep in with the world.
They are ingenious in discovering reasons for not separating decidedly,
and in framing plausible excuses for attending questionable
amusements, and keeping up questionable friendships. One day you are told
of their attending a Bible reading; the next day perhaps you hear of
their going to a ball. One day they fast, or go to the Lord's table and
receive the sacrament; another day they go to the racecourse in the
morning, and the opera at night. One day they are almost in hysterics
under the sermon of some sensational preacher; another day they are
weeping over some novel. They are constantly labouring to persuade
themselves that to mix a little with worldly people on their own ground
does good. Yet in their case it is very clear they do no good, and only
get harm.
These are they who cannot find it in their hearts to quarrel with
their besetting sin, whether it be sloth, indolence, ill-temper, pride,
selfishness, impatience or what it may. They allow it to remain a
tolerably quiet and undisturbed tenant of their hearts. They say it is
their health, or their constitutions, or their temperaments, or their
trials, or their way. Their father, or mother, or grandmother, was so
before themselves, and they are sure they cannot help it. And when you
meet after the absence of a year or so, you hear the same thing!
But all, all, all may be summed up in one single sentence. They are
the brethren and sisters of Lot. They linger.
Ah, if you are a lingering soul, you are not happy! You know you
are not. It would be strange indeed if you were so. Lingering is the sure
destruction of a happy Christianity. A lingerer’s conscience forbids him
to enjoy inward peace.
Perhaps at one time you did run well. But you have left your first
love; you have never felt the same comfort since, and you never will
till you return to your ‘first works’ (Rev. 2:5). Like Peter, when the
Lord Jesus was taken prisoner, you are following the Lord afar off and,
like him, you will find the way not pleasant, but hard.
Come and look at Lot. Come and mark Lot’s history. Come and
consider Lot’s ‘lingering’, and be wise.
3. What reasons may account for his lingering.
Let us next consider the reasons that may account for Lot’s lingering.
This is a question of great importance, and I ask most serious
attention to it. To know the root of a disease is one step towards a
remedy. He that is forewarned is forearmed.
Who is there among the readers of this paper that feels secure, and
has no fear of lingering? Come and listen while I tell you a few passages
of Lot’s history. Do as he did, and it will be a miracle indeed if you do
not get into the same state of soul at last.
One thing then I observe in Lot is this: he made a wrong choice in
early life.
There was a time when Abraham and Lot lived together. They
both became rich, and could live together no longer. Abraham, the
elder of the two, in the true spirit of humility and courtesy, gave
Lot the choice of the country, when they resolved to part company:
‘If thou,’ he said, ‘wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right;
or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left’ (Gen.
13:9).
And what did Lot do? We are told he saw that the plains of Jordan,
near Sodom, were rich, fertile and well watered. It was a good land for
cattle and full of pastures. He had large flocks and herds, and it just
suited his requirements. And this was the land he chose for a residence,
simply because it was a rich, well-watered land (Gen. 13:10).
It was near the town of Sodom! He cared not for that. The men of
Sodom, who would be his neighbours, were wicked! It mattered not.
They were sinners before God exceedingly! It made no difference to
him. The pasture was rich. The land was good. He wanted such a
country for his flocks and herds. And before that argument all scruples
and doubts, if indeed he had any, at once went down.
He chose by sight, and not by faith. He asked no counsel of God,
to preserve him from mistakes. He looked to the things of time, and not
of eternity. He thought of his worldly profit, and not of his soul. He
considered only what would help him in this life. He forgot the solemn
business of the life to come. This was a bad beginning.
But I observe also that Lot mixed with sinners when there was no
occasion for his doing so.
We are first told that he ‘pitched his tent toward Sodom’ (Gen.
13:12). This, as I have already shown, was a great mistake.
But the next time he is mentioned, we find him actually living in
Sodom itself. The Spirit says expressly, ‘He dwelt in Sodom’ (Gen.
14:12). His tents were left. The country was forsaken. He occupied a
house in the very streets of that wicked town.
We are not told the reasons of this change. We are not aware that
any occasion could have arisen for it. We are sure there could have been
no command of God. Perhaps his wife liked the town better than the
country, for the sake of society. It is plain she had no grace herself.
Perhaps she persuaded Lot it was needful for the advantage of his
daughters, that they might marry and get settled in life. Perhaps the
daughters urged living in the town for the sake of gay company; they
were evidently light-minded young women. Perhaps Lot liked it himself,
in order to make more of his flocks and herds. Men never want reasons
to confirm their wills. But one thing is very clear. Lot dwelt in the
midst of Sodom without good cause.
When a child of God does these two things which I have named, we
never need be surprised if we hear, by and by, unfavourable accounts
about his soul. We never need wonder if he becomes deaf to the
warning voice of affliction, as Lot was (Gen. 14:12), and turns out a
lingerer in the day of trial and danger, as Lot did.
Make a wrong choice in life, an unscriptural choice, and settle
yourself down unnecessarily in the midst of worldly people, and I know no
surer way to damage your own spirituality, and to go backward about
your eternal concerns. This is the way to make the pulse of your soul
beat feebly and languidly. This is the way to make the edge of your
feeling about sin become blunt and dull. This is the way to dim the eyes
of your spiritual discernment, till you can scarcely distinguish good
from evil, and stumble as you walk. This is the way to bring a moral
palsy on your feet and limbs, and make you go tottering and trembling
along the road to Zion, as if the grasshopper was a burden. This is the
way to sell the pass to your worst enemy, to give the devil vantage
ground in the battle, to tie your arms in fighting, to fetter your legs in
running, to dry up the sources of your strength, to cripple your
energies, to cut off your own hair, like Samson, and give yourself into
the hands of the Philistines, to put out your own eyes, grind at the mill,
and become a slave.
I call on every reader of this paper to mark well what I am saying.
Settle these things down in your mind. Do not forget them. Recollect
them in the morning. Recall them to memory at night. Let them sink
down deeply into your heart. If ever you would be safe from
lingering, beware of needless mingling with worldly people. Beware of
Lot’s choice! If you would not settle down into a dry, dull, sleepy,
lazy, barren, heavy, carnal, stupid, torpid state of soul, beware of Lot’s
choice!
a. Remember this in choosing a dwelling-place, or residence. It is
not enough that the house is comfortable, the situation good, the air
fine, the neighbourhood pleasant, the rent or price small, the living
cheap. There are other things yet to be considered. You must think of
your immortal soul. Will the house you think of help you towards
heaven or hell? Is the gospel preached within an easy distance? Is Christ
crucified within reach of your door? Is there a real man of God near,
who will watch over your soul? I charge you, if you love life, not to
overlook this. Beware of Lot’s choice.
b. Remember this in choosing a calling, a place, or profession in life.
It is not enough that the salary is high, the wages good, the work light,
the advantages numerous, the prospects of getting on most favourable.
Think of your soul, your immortal soul. Will it be fed or starved? Will it
be prospered or drawn back? Will you have your Sundays free, and be
able to have one day in the week for your spiritual business? I beseech
you, by the mercies of God, to take heed what you do. Make no rash
decision. Look at the place in every light, the light of God as well as the
light of the world. Gold may be bought too dear. Beware of Lot’s
choice.
c. Remember this in choosing a husband or wife, if you are
unmarried. It is not enough that your eye is pleased, that your tastes
are met, that your mind finds congeniality, that there is amiability and
affection, that there is a comfortable home for life. There needs
something more than this. There is a life yet to come. Think of your
soul, your immortal soul. Will it be helped upwards or dragged
downwards by the union you are planning? Will it be made more
heavenly, or more earthly, drawn nearer to Christ, or to the world? Will
its religion grow in vigour, or will it decay? I pray you, by all your
hopes of glory, allow this to enter into your calculations. ‘Think,’ as old
Baxter said, and ‘think, and think again,’ before you commit yourself.
‘Be not unequally yoked’ (2 Cor. 6:14). Matrimony is nowhere named
among the means of conversion. Remember Lot’s choice.
d. Remember this, if you are ever offered a situation on a railway. It
is not enough to have good pay and regular employment, the
confidence of the directors, and the best chance of rising to a higher
post. These things are very well in their way, but they are not
everything. How will your soul fare if you serve a railway company that runs
Sunday trains? What day in the week will you have for God and
eternity? What opportunities will you have for hearing the gospel
preached? I solemnly warn you to consider this. It will profit you
nothing to fill your purse, if you bring leanness and poverty on your
soul. Beware of selling your sabbath for the sake of a good place!
Remember Esau’s mess of pottage. Beware of Lot’s choice!
Some reader may perhaps think, ‘A believer need not fear; he is a
sheep of Christ, he will never perish, he cannot come to much harm. It
cannot be that such small matters can be of great importance.’
Well, you may think so. But I warn you, if you neglect these
matters, your soul will never prosper. A true believer will certainly not
be cast away, although he may linger. But if he does linger, it is vain to
suppose that his religion will thrive. Grace is a tender plant. Unless you
cherish it and nurse it well, it will soon become sickly in this evil world.
It may droop, though it cannot die. The brightest gold will soon
become dim when exposed to a damp atmosphere. The hottest iron will
soon become cold. It requires pains and toil to bring it to a red heat; it
requires nothing but letting alone, or a little cold water, to become
Mack and hard.
You may be an earnest, zealous Christian now. You may feel like
David in his prosperity: ‘I shall never be moved’ (Ps. 30:6). But be not
deceived. You have only got to walk in Lot’s steps and make Lot’s
choice, and you will soon come to Lot’s state of soul. Allow yourself
to do as he did, presume to act as he acted, and be very sure you will
soon discover you have become a wretched lingerer like him. You will
find, like Samson, the presence of the Lord is no longer with you. You
will prove, to your own shame, an undecided, hesitating man, in the
day of trial. There will come a canker on your religion, and eat out its
vitality without your knowing it. There will come a slow consumption
on your spiritual strength, and waste it away insensibly. And at length
you will wake up to find your hands hardly able to do the Lord’s work,
and your feet hardly able to carry you along the Lord’s way, and your
faith no bigger than a grain of mustard seed; and this, perhaps, at some
turning point in your life, at a time when the enemy is coming in like
a flood, and your need is the sorest.
Ah, if you would not become a lingerer in religion, consider these
things! Beware of doing what Lot did!
4. What kind of fruit his lingering brought forth.
Let us inquire now what kind of fruit Lot’s lingering spirit bore at
last.
I would not pass over this point for many reasons, and especially in
the present day. There are not a few who will feel disposed to say,
‘After all Lot was saved: he was justified; he got to heaven. I want no
more. If I do but get to heaven, I shall be content.’ If this be the
thought of your heart, just stay a moment, and listen to me a little
longer. I will show you one or two things in Lot’s history which deserve
attention, and may perhaps induce you to alter your mind.
I think it of first importance to dwell upon this subject. I always
will contend that eminent holiness and eminent usefulness are most
closely connected, that happiness and ‘following the Lord fully’ go
side by side, and that if believers will linger, they must not expect to be
useful in their day and generation, or to be very saintly and
Christlike, or to enjoy great comfort and peace in believing.
a. Let us mark, then, for one thing, that Lot did no good among the
inhabitants of Sodom.
Lot probably lived in Sodom many years. No doubt he had many
precious opportunities for speaking of the things of God, and trying to
turn away souls from sin. But Lot seems to have effected just nothing
at all. He appears to have had no weight or influence with the people
who lived around him. He possessed none of that respect and reverence
which even the men of the world will frequently concede to a bright
servant of God.
Not one righteous person could be found in all Sodom, outside the
walls of Lot’s home. Not one of his neighbours believed his testimony.
Not one of his acquaintances honoured the Lord whom he worshipped.
Not one of his servants served his master’s God. Not one of ‘all the
people from every quarter’ cared a jot for his opinion when he tried to
restrain their wickedness. ‘This one fellow came in to sojourn,’ said
they, ‘and he will needs be a judge’ (Gen. 19:9). His life carried no
weight; his words were not listened to; his religion drew none to follow
him.
And, truly, I do not wonder! As a general rule, lingering souls do no
good to the world and bring no credit to God’s cause. Their salt has too
little savour to season the corruption around them. They are not
‘epistles of Christ’ who can be ‘known and read of all’ (2 Cor. 3:2).
There is nothing magnetic and attractive and Christ-reflecting about
their ways. Let us remember this.
b. Let us mark, for another thing, that Lot helped none of his
family, relatives or connections towards heaven.
We are not told how large his family was. But this we know — he had
a wife and two daughters at least, in the day he was called out of
Sodom, if he had not more children besides.
But whether Lot's family was large or small, one thing, I think, is
perfectly clear — there was not one among them all that feared God!
When he ‘went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married
his daughters’, and warned them to flee from the judgements coming on
Sodom, we are told, ‘he seemed to them as one that mocked’ (Gen
19:14). What fearful words those are! It was as good as saying, ‘Who
cares for anything you say?’ So long as the world stands, those things
will be a painful proof of the contempt with which a lingerer in religion
is regarded.
And what was Lot’s wife? She left the city in his company, but she
did not go far. She had not faith to see the need of such a speedy flight.
She left her heart in Sodom when she began to flee. She looked back
from behind her husband in spite of the plainest command not to do so
(Gen. 19:17), and was at once turned into a pillar of salt.
And what were Lot’s two daughters? They escaped, indeed, but only
to do the devil’s work. They became their father’s tempters to
wickedness, and led him to commit the foulest of sins.
In short, Lot seems to have stood alone in his family! He was not
made the means of keeping one soul back from the gates of hell!
And I do not wonder. Lingering souls are seen through by their own
families and, when seen through, they are despised. Their nearest
relatives understand inconsistency, if they understand nothing else in
religion. They draw the sad, but not unnatural conclusion, ‘Surely, if he
believed all he professes to believe, he would not go on as he does.’
Lingering parents seldom have godly children. The eye of the child
drinks in far more than the ear. A child will always observe what you
do much more than what you say. Let us remember this.
c. Let us mark, for a third thing, that Lot left no evidences behind
him when he died.
We know but little about Lot after his flight from Sodom, and all
that we do know is unsatisfactory.
His pleading for Zoar, because it was ‘a little one’, his departure
from Zoar afterwards, and his conduct in the cave — all, all tell the
same story. All show the weakness of the grace that was in him, and the
low state of soul into which he had fallen.
We know not how long he lived after his escape. We know not where
he died, or when he died, whether he saw Abraham again, what was the
manner of his death, what he said or what he thought. All these are
hidden things. We are told of the last days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, David, but not one word about Lot. Oh, what a gloomy
deathbed the deathbed of Lot must have been!
The Scripture appears to draw a veil around him on purpose. There
is a painful silence about his latter end. He seems to go out like an
expiring lamp, and to leave an ill savour behind him. And had we not been
specially told in the New Testament that Lot was ‘just’ and ‘righteous’,
I verily believe should have doubted whether Lot was a saved soul at all.
But I do not wonder at his sad end. Lingering believers will generally
reap according as they have sown. Their lingering often meets them
when their spirit is departing. They have little peace at the last. They
reach heaven, to be sure; but they reach it in poor plight, weary and
footsore, in weakness and tears, in darkness and storm. They are saved,
but ‘saved so as by fire’ (1 Cor. 3:15).
I ask every reader of this paper to consider the three things which I
have just mentioned. Do not misunderstand my meaning. It is amazing
to observe how readily people catch at the least excuse for
misunderstanding the things that concern their souls!
I do not tell you that believers who do not linger will, as a matter of
course, be great instruments of usefulness to the world. Noah preached
one hundred and twenty years, and none believed him. The Lord Jesus
was not esteemed by His own people, the Jews.
Nor yet do I tell you that believers who do not linger, will, as a
matter of course, be the means of converting their families and relatives.
David’s children were, many of them, ungodly. The Lord Jesus was not
believed on even by His own brethren.
But I do say it is almost impossible not to see some connection
between Lot’s evil choice and Lot's lingering, and between Lot’s
lingering and his unprofitableness to his family and the world. I believe
the Spirit meant us to see it. I believe the Spirit meant to make him a
beacon to all professing Christians. And I am sure the lessons I have
tried to draw from the whole history deserve serious reflection.
And now let me speak a few parting words to all who read this paper,
and especially to all who call themselves believers in Christ.
I have no wish to make your hearts sad. I do not want to give you a
gloomy view of the Christian course. My only object is to give you
friendly warnings. I desire your peace and comfort. I would fain see
you happy as well as safe, and joyful, as well as justified. I speak as I
have done for your good.
You live in days when a lingering, Lot-like religion abounds. The
stream of profession is far broader than it once was, but far less deep in
many places. A certain kind of Christianity is almost fashionable now.
To belong to some party in the Church of England, and show a zeal for
its interests; to talk about the leading controversies of the day; to buy
popular religious books as fast as they come out, and lay them on your
table; to attend meetings; to subscribe to societies; to discuss the merits
of preachers; to be enthusiastic and excited about every new form of
sensational religion which crops up — all these are now comparatively
easy and common attainments. They no longer make a person singular.
They require little or no sacrifice. They entail no cross.
But to walk closely with God; to be really spiritually-minded; to
behave like strangers and pilgrims; to be distinct from the world in
employment of time, in conversation, in amusements, in dress; to bear a
faithful witness for Christ in all places; to leave a savour of our Master
in every society; to be prayerful, humble, unselfish, good-tempered,
quiet, easily pleased, charitable, patient, meek; to be jealously afraid of
all manner of sin, and tremblingly alive to our danger from the
world — these, these are still rare things! They are not common among those
who are called true Christians and, worst of all, the absence of them is
not felt and bewailed as it should be.
In a day like this I venture to offer counsel to every believing reader
of this paper. Do not turn away from it. Do not be angry with me for
plain speaking. I bid you ‘give diligence to make your calling and
election sure’ (2 Peter 1:10). I bid you not to be slothful, not to be
careless, not to be content with a small measure of grace, not to be
satisfied with being a little better than the world. I solemnly warn you
not to attempt doing what never can be done f I mean, to serve Christ,
and yet keep in with the world. I call upon you, and beseech you to be
a whole-hearted Christian, to follow after eminent holiness, to aim at a
high degree of sanctification, to live a consecrated life, to present your
body a ‘living sacrifice’ unto God, to ‘walk in the Spirit’ (Rom 12:1;
Gal. 5:25). I charge you, and exhort you, by all your hopes of heaven
and desires of glory, if you would be happy, if you would be useful, do
not be a lingering soul.
Would you know what the times demand? The shaking of nations,
the uprooting of ancient things, the overturning of kingdoms, the stir
and restlessness of men’s minds — what do they say? They all cry aloud,
‘Christian, do not linger!’
Would you be found ready for Christ at His second appearing, your
loins girded, your lamp burning, yourself bold and prepared to meet
Him? Then do not linger!
Would you enjoy much sensible comfort in your religion, feel the
witness of the Spirit within you, know whom you have believed, and
not be a gloomy, complaining, sour, downcast and melancholy
Christian? Then do not linger!
Would you enjoy strong assurance of your own salvation, in the day
of sickness, and on the bed of death? Would you see with the eye of
faith heaven opening, and Jesus rising to receive you? Then do not
linger!
Would you leave great broad evidences behind you when you are
gone? Would you like us to lay you in the grave with comfortable hope,
and talk of your state after death without a doubt? Then do not linger!
Would you be useful to the world in your day and generation?
Would you draw men from sin to Christ, adorn your doctrine, and
make your Master’s cause beautiful and attractive in their eyes? Then
do not linger!
Would you help your children and relatives towards heaven, and
make them say, ‘We will go with you,’ and not make them infidels and
despisers of all religion? Then do not linger!
Would you have a great crown in the day of Christ’s appearing, and
not be the least and smallest star in glory, and not find yourself the last
and lowest in the kingdom of God? Then do not linger!
Oh, let not one of us linger! Time does not, death does not,
judgement does not, the devil does not, the world does not. Neither
let the children of God linger.
Does any reader of this paper feel that he is a lingerer? Has your
heart felt heavy, and your conscience sore, while you have been reading
these pages? Does something within you whisper, ‘I am the man’? Then
listen to what I am saying. It is not well with your soul. Awake, and try
to do better.
If you are a lingerer, you must just go to Christ at once and be cured.
You must use the old remedy; you must bathe in the old fountain. You
must turn again to Christ and be healed. The way to do a thing is to do
it. Do this at once!
Think not for a moment your case is past recovery. Think not,
because you have been long living in a dry, sleepy and heavy state of
soul, that there is no hope of revival. Is not the Lord Jesus Christ an
appointed Physician for all spiritual ailments? Did He not cure every
form of disease when He was upon earth? Did not He cast out every
kind of devil? Did He not raise poor backsliding Peter, and put a new
song in his mouth? Oh, doubt not, but earnestly believe that He will yet
revive His work within you! Only turn from lingering, and confess your
folly, and come — come at once to Christ. Blessed are the words of the
prophet: ‘Only acknowledge thine iniquity.’ ‘Return, ye backsliding
children, and I will heal your backslidings’ (Jer. 3:13, 22).
And let us all remember the souls of others, as well as our own. If at
any time we see any brother or sister lingering, let us try to awaken
them, try to arouse them, try to stir them up. Let us all ‘exhort one
another’ as we have opportunity. ‘Let us provoke unto love and good
works’ (Heb 3:13; 10:24). Let us not be afraid to say to each other,
‘Brother, or sister, have you forgotten Lot? Awake, and remember Lot!
Awake, and linger no more.’
