“… We, while we were children, were held
in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the
time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order
that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:3-5)
Pastor J. Wilbur Chapman, an American hymn writer and evangelist
(1859-1918), spoke of King Theodore II of Abyssinia. He said that the king
ordered the “seizure of Captain Campbell, a British
citizen, incarcerating him in a dungeon in the fortress of Magdala, on the top
of a mountain nine thousand feet high.” Pastor Chapman said, “It took six months for Great Britain to learn of his arrest and
at that time they demanded his immediate release. King Theodore refused to let
him go, and in less than ten days, ten thousand British soldiers were sent on
ships to rescue the man. They disembarked and marched seven hundred miles
through the mountains under a burning sun, to the very mountains where the
prisoner was held; and there they gave battle. The gates were torn down and
presently the prisoner was lifted upon their shoulders and carried down the
mountains and placed upon a white ship that took him safely back to his home.”
Chapman continued, “It cost the English (British)
government twenty-five millions of dollars to release the man,” which was
an incredible amount at the time.
A young man recently asked me for prayer. He wanted to trust in
the Lord, but he couldn’t do it because years ago something terrible had
happened to his three friends. They took their own lives and he could not endure
what had happened. If they were not in heaven, he did not want to be there,
either. He cared for his friends so much that he did not want to enter eternity
without them. And so he could not embrace the Lord and trust in Him – simply because
he cared!
I remember teaching a Bible study decades ago, in which a woman
said something similar. It preyed on her mind that her mother, whom she loved,
had apparently never placed her faith in the Lord. This daughter said, “If my
mother isn’t in heaven, I don’t want to be there either.” I often have wondered
what happened to the daughter because at the time she was not comforted; she
wanted her mother.
To the young man who lost his three friends, I answered with a
question: “How do you KNOW that your friends went to hell?” After this
rhetorical question, I told him about a pastor we are acquainted with
who ministers in the Los Angeles area. This pastor took an informal survey a few
years ago. He went out into the streets and deliberately sought out gang
members, asking each of them several questions, including: “Have you ever
personally received Jesus Christ as your Savior?” It’s interesting that nine out
of every ten of the gang members responded, “Yes” to that
question.
I told the young man who lost his friends something of my own
life. When I was sixteen years old I received the Lord in a dramatic way. It
truly surprised me and even though the experience filled me with joy, it also
frightened me, for I suddenly realized that the God I had previously denied was
very real. I saw that He is indeed all-powerful and He knows everything. I saw my sins, becoming embarrassed and afraid. For that and other reasons, after
a time, I ran away from the Lord for fifteen years. I said this to the young man
who lost his friends: “I often wondered what would have happened if I had died
during those fifteen years. Would I have gone to be with the Lord, or would I
have gone to a Christ-less eternity?” There are many who ask
questions like this one.
But the true answer is, it is not you and I who save ourselves,
it is the Lord who died for us all. The ground of our salvation; the power that
rescues us is not in you and me, it’s in the Lord Himself. Scripture tells us of
Jesus, “The Lord has laid on HIM the iniquity of us all”
(Isaiah 53:6), and “HE bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). And yes we must have
faith in our God, for as the Apostle Paul said, “If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” But he also said,
“If we are faithless, HE remains FAITHFUL; He cannot deny
Himself” (2 Timothy 2:12-13).
As I said to the man who lost his friends, we know they died,
but we really don't know everything about them. It was his assumption they were lost, but we
are unaware of the whole situation, and it may be that this man would miss the chance
of spending eternity with one or more of his friends, if he chose to not be
saved and therefore wouldn’t be there to spend it with them.
The friends were suicides – they took their own lives. It must
be noted that suicide is not the “unpardonable sin.” Nowhere in Scripture does
it say such a thing. A careful reading of Judges 16:28 and forward will reveal
that Samson was a suicide – he took his own life. And yet Samson is mentioned in
Hebrews 11:32 as one of the heroes of the faith. The true unpardonable sin
is to consciously and continually reject the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be a
time for those who refuse to accept the sacrifice Jesus made, when He will
simply let
them have their own way. The Lord is our one true hope.
The British man, Captain Campbell was forcibly rescued by his
government from a dark dungeon. You’ll be interested that the young man who lost
his friends also was rescued – he accepted the Lord’s offer, giving his heart
and life to Jesus Christ. He has been saved from the dungeon of sin, for now
and all eternity. We don’t know about his friends, but we can hope they trusted
in the Lord, and one day, all will be revealed.
The British government spent an incredible amount of money to
rescue one man, and no doubt, British soldiers shed their blood in rescuing him. God the Father gave His Son, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood and died for
our sins. As it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “God has not
destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ.” The Book of Acts says of Jesus, "He purchased
(us) with His own
blood" (Acts 20:28). And our Scripture for today: “God sent forth His Son, born
of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were
under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians
4:3-5). The British sent their best to rescue Captain Campbell. God sent His
best to rescue you and me.
Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, who saves us
from our sins. Help those who read and hear these words to trust in Him. We give
our hearts and lives to You. Help the young man to grow in grace, love,
peace and joy. In Jesus Name. Amen.
