4-9-04
Title: WITHOUT CHRIST
Text: “WITHOUT CHRIST." (Ephesians 2:12)
Introduction:
I want to use two words from Ephesians 2:12 and that will be our text.
The verse says, “That at that time ye were WITHOUT CHRIST, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”
Our text is: WITHOUT CHRIST.
There are two things I want to talk about today--the misery of those who are WITHOUT CHRIST, and the great deliverance from that misery that God has provided through Jesus.
I want to begin with THE MISERY OF OUR PAST CONDITION.
I believe that we all understand that along with the rest of the world, we were once WITHOUT CHRIST.
There’s no way I can describe for you the great misery that lies in those two words.
There is no neediness like it, no want like it, and for those who die WITHOUT CHRIST; there is no devastation like the devastation it will bring.
WITHOUT CHRIST! I wish that those words were enough to shock the average person, to cause them to realize that they are in a desperate condition when they’re WITHOUT CHRIST.
Friends, I think you know the terrible problems contained within these two words?
The man WITHOUT CHRIST lacks all of those spiritual blessings which only Christ can give.
Jesus is the one who gives life to the believer, but the man who is WITHOUT CHRIST is dead in trespasses and sins.
What can we do?
Should we take the word of God and preach to this dead sinner?
We are ordered to do that, and, therefore, we should try to do it; but as long as he is WITHOUT CHRIST nothing will come of it.
As long as that sinner is WITHOUT CHRIST, there’s not much we can do; we can pray for him, and we can try to keep him in church, but everything we do will be useless.
Until the Holy Spirit comes to that man, he will still be dead in trespasses and sins.
Until Jesus is revealed to him, he cannot be born again and there can be no new life.
Something else to think about is that Jesus is the light of the world.
Light is the gift of Jesus.
"In him was light, and the light was the life of men."
Men lived in darkness until Jesus appeared.
Man himself has no power to get light.
WITHOUT CHRIST there is no light of true spiritual knowledge, no light of true spiritual enjoyment, no light in which the truth can be seen, and there’s no warmth of fellowship.
WITHOUT CHRIST there is no peace.
The person WITHOUT CHRIST is like a rabbet that’s chased by dogs.
It may be able to run like the wind, but the dogs are faster.
It tries to find cover in the pleasures of the world, but the dogs get closer and closer.
It tries to climb up the mountain of good works, but its legs are too weak to carry it to safety.
And until Jesus Christ provided refuge and shelter for this poor creature, it had no peace.
WITHOUT CHRIST there is no rest.
Those WITHOUT CHRIST are like a stormy sea, which cannot rest, and only Jesus can say to that sea, "Peace, be still."
WITHOUT CHRIST there is no safety.
The person is like an abandoned ship in a storm that has no one on board; it may crash upon the rocks, since it has no one to steer it.
In any case, it is at the mercy of wind and waves.
There’s no way it can be safe WITHOUT CHRIST.
I want to say it again, WITHOUT CHRIST, there is no hope.
Men and women WITHOUT CHRIST are like a shipwrecked sailor on some deserted island.
He can see far away, but nothing he sees can give him hope.
If, he imagines that there’s a ship on the horizon, it doesn’t take long before he is disappointed.
He feels like his situation is hopeless.
WITHOUT CHRIST, any person is totally lost, and until they receive Him as their Savior, there’s not a single beam of hope anywhere.
Remember friends, those WITHOUT CHRIST, can do all the religious acts you can imagine, however, they’re of no account.
They are like bags of air, containing nothing that God can accept?
WITHOUT CHRIST, our offerings, just like that of Cain's, will just lie on the stones, and there will not be any sweet-smelling smoke rise to be accepted by God.
WITHOUT CHRIST, your church attendance is a form of slavery.
WITHOUT CHRIST, your prayers are only empty words, your repentance is just wasted tears, your giving and your good deeds are just a coating of thin veneer to hide your sins.
And the good things you say about God don’t mean a thing.
WITHOUT CHRIST your religion is dead, corrupt, a stench, a nuisance before God—something He can't stand, because where there is no Christ there is no life and no devotion; there’s nothing in it for God to see that can possibly please Him.
And what I have described is a true description of all those who are WITHOUT CHRIST.
A good moral person WITHOUT CHRIST is just as lost as those who are immoral.
Rich and respectable people, WITHOUT CHRIST, will be just as damned as the prostitute that walks the streets at night.
WITHOUT CHRIST, even though you are generous and give to the poor, and even if you would die for another, God wouldn’t assign any value to you.
All of these things wouldn’t gain you a thing; instead, you would be shut out of heaven, and banished from the presence of God.
WITHOUT CHRIST, you are destitute of every benefit which He and He alone, can give.
WITHOUT CHRIST, implies, that you are without the benefit of all those wonderful promises of Jesus, which are written in God’s Word.
WITHOUT CHRIST, you are without a shepherd to care for you, and you don’t have anyone to call on when you are in trouble.
WITHOUT CHRIST, you have no mediator to plead your case in heaven; you have no representative to stand up yonder and represent you, and prepare a place for you.
WITHOUT CHRIST, you are like sheep without a shepherd; WITHOUT CHRIST you are like a body without a head; WITHOUT CHRIST you are miserable orphans without a father.
WITHOUT CHRIST, you are without a Savior; so what will you do?
What will become of you, when you find out that you need a Savior, but it’s too late?
And since you don’t have a friend in heaven, you are WITHOUT CHRIST.
To sum it all up, you are without anything that can make life a blessing, and make death a happy occasion.
WITHOUT CHRIST, even though you may be as rich as Rockefeller, and as famous as Elvis Presley, and as wise as Socrates, you will still be naked, and poor, and miserable, since you don’t have the One who made all things, and for whom all things were made.
Surely, this should be enough to stir up the conscience of even those who are the farthest from God.
But unfortunately, for those who are without any of the blessings which Jesus brings, and who miss all the good work which Jesus does—His presence is an irrelevant matter!
The great danger for many people today is to be without Jesus Himself.
Can you see Him being led away like a sheep to the slaughter, fastened to that cruel wooden cross--bleeding, dying; for you?
WITHOUT CHRIST you are without the benefit of that great sacrifice; you are without the value of that atoning blood.
Can you see him lying in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, asleep in death?
That sleep is a burial of all the sins of all people for all time.
But WITHOUT CHRIST, your sins are not atoned for, and they will go before you to judgment; they will shout for your condemnation, and they will drag you down without hope.
WITHOUT CHRIST, remember, you will have no part in His resurrection of the dead.
Those WITHOUT CHRIST will rip open the bonds of death, and they will rise, but not to newness of life, and not to a heavenly home, since shame and everlasting torment will be their destiny, because they are WITHOUT CHRIST.
Can you see Jesus as he rides through the streets of heaven, scattering gifts for men and women; but WITHOUT CHRIST, none of those gifts are for you.
There are no blessings for those who are WITHOUT CHRIST.
Jesus sits on that lofty throne at the right hand of God, and He pleads your case, but those WITHOUT CHRIST will not be included in His mediation, and they will have no share in his glory.
He is coming!
He will come, surrounded by majestic splendor, and all of His saints will reign with him; but WITHOUT CHRIST, you can not participate in all that splendor.
WITHOUT CHRIST, there will be no one to wipe away the tears from your eyes.
Listen, I cannot begin to tell you the unhappiness and misery that is contained in the meaning of these dreadful words--WITHOUT CHRIST.
WITHOUT CHRIST, every good thing you do amounts to nothing, since our righteousness is like filthy rags to God...
WITHOUT CHRIST, all the commands of God and all the grace of God are worth nothing to you.
Even his precious word, which is more precious than rubies, is of no help to you.
You may have Bibles in your rooms, and I believe you all have them, but the Bible is only a dead letter WITHOUT CHRIST?
I wish everyone could say what a poor woman once said.
"I have Christ here," and she put her hand on the Bible, "and I have Christ here," and she put her hand on her heart, "and I have Christ there," as she raised her eyes towards heaven.
But if you don’t have Christ in the heart, you will not find Christ in the Bible, because only those who know Him and love him in their hearts will discover His sweetness, and His blessedness, and his excellence.
Don’t get the idea that a certain amount of Bible-reading, and a certain amount of praying, and regular attendance at church, and regular giving of your tithe will ensure your salvation.
Having Christ is the essential condition for entering heaven.
If you have him in your heart, you will see Jesus one day.
But, if you don’t have Christ, all the work you do for God will seem like slavery.
And WITHOUT CHRIST, my friends, there is the sad thought that before long you will depart this life.
I don’t like to talk about it, and you may not like to hear it, but I believe all of us may need to think about it.
Young people may live WITHOUT CHRIST, but if they choose to do so, they will miss the richest joys of life.
And middle-aged people, WITHOUT CHRIST, may live to a ripe old age, but without him, they will miss the great support Jesus gives to those with troubles.
WITHOUT CHRIST, an old man may sit in his rocking chair, content with what he has, but mark my word; he will lose the sweet comfort that Jesus gives.
But remember, all of us die sooner or later.
It doesn’t matter how strong you are; death is stronger, and he will pull you down, if you are WITHOUT CHRIST.
So what will that person who is WITHOUT CHRIST do when his eyes begin to close for the last time?
What will he do when he passes into eternity to stand before the dreadful eyes of an angry God, WITHOUT CHRIST?
And when it’s time to face judgment and he must stand in the midst of a tremendous crowd of sinners, WITHOUT CHRIST?
I don’t believe anyone here is WITHOUT CHRIST, but if there is, I want you to think of dying, of being judged, of being condemned, WITHOUT CHRIST!
Christ can be had by asking.
Christ can be had by accepting Him.
Stretch out your hand and take him.
Trust him, and he will be yours for ever; and you will be with Him for all of eternity.
The second thing I want to talk about is-
THE GREAT DELIVERANCE FROM THAT MISERY THAT GOD HAS PROVIDED THROUGH JESUS.
We are not WITHOUT CHRIST now, but let me ask you, where would you be now WITHOUT CHRIST?
Some of you would probably be setting alone in your room.
You would have been with others, who are WITHOUT CHRIST.
You might even have been somewhere worse; you might have been with those who hate God; you might have been violating the ethics of morality as well as the laws of God by cursing, gossiping and being rude and mean because that’s what you were like, but now you are washed in the blood, and set apart for the Lord.
Where would you be WITHOUT CHRIST?
You might have been in hell; you might have been shut out for ever from God’s mercy; you might have been condemned to eternal banishment from the presence of God.
I read about an Indian who had a clear picture of where we would be WITHOUT CHRIST.
When he was asked what Christ had done for him, he picked up a worm, put it on the ground, and then he made a ring of straw and wood around it, which he set on fire.
As the wood began to glow the poor worm began to twist and wriggle in agony, at which point he stooped down, and gently picked it up, and said, "That is what Jesus did for me; I was surrounded by a ring of fire, without the power to help myself, but His pierced hand lifted me out of the flames."
Folks, just think about that, and if you’re like me, it will melt your heart.
Don’t you want to praise Him, since you are no longer WITHOUT CHRIST?
Now, think what his blood has done for you.
Just think about one thing, out of the thousand things He has done for you.
He has forgiven your many, many sins.
You were WITHOUT CHRIST, and your sins stood before you like a mountain.
But, a drop of Jesus’ blood fell upon it, and it all vanished in a moment.
A life time of sins were gone in an instant by the application of the precious blood!
Folks, I confess-“I am only a sinner, saved by grace.”
Now that you have Christ, think about the way in which he came to you, and allowed you to take Him for yourself.
Consider how long He stood in the cold, knocking at the door of your heart.
You didn’t want to have anything to do with Him; you despised him; you refused to accept him; you did, as you might say, spit in His face, and subjected Him to open shame in order to get rid of Him.
In spite of that, He wanted you.
Think about what might have happened, if he had simply left you alone and turned you over to your own sinful desires.
You could right now be dead in your sins and trespasses.
Instead of that, you have his blood applied to your heart, as a sign of your pardon.
You know very well what a difference that makes.
The blood of Jesus has sealed your acceptance by God, and therefore, you can rejoice in the ransom He has paid, and the forgiveness you have received with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
And I hope that you don’t forget the tremendous expense which it cost to purchase this priceless blessing.
Christ could not have been yours if He had stayed in heaven.
He had to come down to earth, and even then he couldn’t be fully yours until he bled and died.
Can you imagine the dreadful doorways that Jesus had to pass through before He could find His way to you?
He can easily find you now, but before he could come to you, he himself had to pass through the grave!
Think about that!
And why is it, that now that you are not WITHOUT CHRIST?
It can only be due to the grace and mercy of God.
I cannot understand the reason why I am saved, but the source of it must be God’s grace.
Think about what you have tonight, now that you have Jesus.
Don’t you have an income, even though it may be a small amount?
You may not have friends, and you may not have a comfortable room.
But, you do have your Savior; you have Christ, and what does that mean?
God’s word says, "He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him, also, freely give us all things?"
The man who has Christ has got everything.
Jesus can be everything to you, and once you get him you are richer than you can imagine.
If you have Christ, you have God the Father for your protector and God the Spirit for your comforter.
You have all things working together for your good and you have angels for your servants both on earth and in heaven.
Our message to this lost world should be, “Come to Jesus, sinners can come; saints can come; those who don’t belong to Him can come; those whose faith is like a grain of mustard seed can come; those who have no faith at all can come.
Come to Jesus now, who says, "Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely."
Amen.
