THE REFUGE
1 John 3:1 (NASB 1995)
How blessed it is that the Creator of all things has set His compassion upon fallen humanity. As the Scriptures declare, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
God sent forth His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to accomplish salvation for those whom the Father had given Him. By His Spirit, He exerts His holy influence upon dead hearts, awakening them from their spiritual grave and granting them repentance and faith. Saving faith does not arise from fallen man; it is the gift of God. As Jonah cried from the belly of the great fish, “Salvation is from the LORD.”
Ah, saints of God, you who cherish the cross of your salvation — Christ has purchased you with the price of His own blood. He has adopted you into His eternal kingdom and calls you His beloved children. He has opened the eyes of your heart to behold His glorious Son. He who was crucified — covered in blood, sweat, and tears — is now seated at the right hand of God, reigning as King. Rejoice, Christian: you who were once rebels are now called children of God. Beloved, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.”
Now a word to those who refuse to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. O child of rebellion, may God be pleased to move upon your heart even through these feeble words. Awake! Consider your ways — your thoughts, your speech, your actions. Will you continue to shake your fist at God and violate His holy law written upon your heart? For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made. The testimony of creation leaves you without excuse.
Examine yourself honestly. Listen to the corruption that proceeds from your own heart — words and desires you conceal from those closest to you. Consider the works of the flesh: immorality, impurity, lust, sensuality, jealousy, outbursts of anger, envy, drunkenness. These do not merely reveal weakness; they expose spiritual death and your desperate need for a Savior.
You cannot cleanse yourself. You cannot regenerate your own heart. Unless God grants you repentance, you will remain in darkness. Yet the gospel calls you to Christ. Turn from your sin and flee to Him. Plead for mercy. Cry out for grace.
Your days are numbered, and the bow of God’s judgment is bent; the arrow of His justice is aimed at you. You have broken and trampled upon the law of God, and you stand condemned. Apart from Christ, His righteous wrath remains upon you. On the day you die, you will stand before the great Judge of heaven, and outside of Christ you will be found guilty. Your earthly kingdom will not stand — it will vanish in a moment.
But in Christ there is refuge. In Him there is pardon. In Him there is adoption. The Scriptures are clear concerning Jesus Christ: “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
Propitiation means that God’s wrath has been satisfied. The broken law has been fully answered in Christ for all who come to Him in faith and repentance. The Holy Bible further declares that God sent His own Son, Jesus, “in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us.”
Reader, there is no escape apart from Christ. Your own conscience will rise to testify against you on the day of the Lord and will confirm the righteousness of God’s judgment. Will you allow the fleeting pleasures of sin to damn your soul to eternal misery?
Husbands — are your eyes filled with adultery? Fathers — do you realize that you carry the greatest influence upon your children even in your absence? Mothers — watch your children sleep as their little chests rise with every breath, and remember that one day they will imitate your every action.
There is a day appointed when you will stand before God, and nothing will be hidden. The sun, moon, and stars — the very creation that testifies to His glory — will stand as witnesses against you. His judgment will flash forth like lightning, sentencing you to hell, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Therefore, flee to the cross. Kneel before Him who was dead and is now alive forevermore. Do not trust in your own resolve, but cast yourself upon Lord Jesus Christ and beseech Him for salvation.