Dead Man Talking - Number One

This will be the first of an ongoing - although somewhat infrequent - series of blog entries from great men who have walked with the Lord here on earth, and are now walking with the Lord in Heaven. It's a shame, but often the best preachers today can only be heard through their books, for they have long gone before us. Let us now hear from A. W. Pink:

"THE WAY OF SALVATION"
by A.W. Pink

What must I do to be saved?
Saved from what?
What is it You wish to be saved from?
Hell?
That proves nothing.
Nobody wants to go there.
The issue between God and man is SIN.
Do you wish to be saved from it?

What is sin?
Sin is a species of rebellion against God.
It is self-pleasing; it is the utter ignoring of God's claims,
being completely indifferent
whether my conduct pleases or displeases Him.

Before God saves a man, He convicts him of his 'sinnership'.

By this I do not mean that he says with everybody else,
"Oh yes, we are all sinners, I know that."

Rather do I mean that the Holy Spirit makes me feel in my heart
that I have been a life-long rebel against God,
and that my sins are so many, so great, so black, that I fear
that I have transgressed beyond the reach of divine mercy.

Have you ever had that experience?
Have you seen yourself to be totally unfit for heaven?
-and unfit for the presence of a Holy God?

Do you now perceive that there is no good thing in you,
nothing good credited to your account,
that all the way through life, you have loved the things God hates,
and hated the things God loves?

Has the realization of this broken your heart before God?
Has it made you MOURN that you have so despised His mercies,
misused His blessings, neglected His word, and given Him
no real place at all in your thoughts, affections and life?

If you have not yet seen and felt this personally,
then at present there is no hope for you, for God says,
"Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." -Luke 13:3
And if you die in your present condition, you will be lost forever.

But if you have been brought to the place where sin is your
greatest plague, where offending God is your greatest grief,
and where your deepest desire is now to please and honor Him,
then there is hope for you.

"The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was LOST"
(Luke 19:10). And He will save you, providing you are ready
and willing to throw down the weapons of your warfare against
Him, bow to His Lordship, and surrender yourself to His
control.

His blood can wash the foulest clean.
His grace can support and uphold the weakest.
His power can deliver the tried and tempted.

"Behold NOW is the accepted time; behold,
NOW is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

Yield yourself to Christ's claims.
Give Him the throne of your heart.
Turn over to Him the regulation of your life.
Trust in His atoning death.
Love Him with all your soul.
Obey Him with all your might
and He will conduct you to heaven.

"Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:31)