Dialogue I

MINISTER:  Good afternoon, neighbor.  I see you are working hard at work today.  I take it that it means a lot to you, it is a matter close to your heart to get along well in this world.

PARISHIONER:  Yes, sir, it is necessary.  To keep us in clothes and food does take work.

M:  Well, I certainly wouldn’t speak against good, hard work.  The Bible orders us to be “not slothful in business.”  But you know we have another calling — the soul must be fed and clothed too.

P:  Doubtless the soul is the chief concern; but I hope I do not neglect it;  I should be sorry if you think me so bad a man;  I believe you have no reason….

M:  No particular reason to be suspicious of you more than of many others.  But when I look around, and observe the general unconcern  about salvation in which men live, I am alarmed.  And, it is my duty to caution the people of my charge.

P:  I hope you do not condemn us all:  some indeed are wicked, swearing, drunken men, but not all of us are.  You know that I attend church regularly; I never have wronged any man in my life, and I pay every man his due.

M:  And upon this do you build your hope of heaven?  If this is your foundation, I must tell you plainly it will leave you hopeless in the day of trial.  Let us examine your hope by the word of God.  You never have wronged anyone — you say.  You mean perhaps you never robbed or cheated any person.  I do not say you have, but still you have committed much sin, and done much hurt, not only to others, but especially to your own soul, by many, many offences against the holy law of God.  Yes, each man has broken every one of his commandments.

P:  How can you have such an opinion of me?  I never committed idolatry, murder, adultery…

M:  Yes, all of them.  Have you never loved any worldly thing more than God and his favor, nor feared any thing more than his displeasure, so as to neglect a known duty rather than endure some inconvenience?  This was a beach of the FIRST commandment.  The SECOND commandment concerns the manner of expression of our heart’s devotion.  Therefore, whatever has been unbecoming in your worship of God breaks this law — such as wandering thoughts, carelessness, and irreverence, and so also is neglect of devotion.  Here you will not pretend to be guiltless, I don’t imagine.  Consequently, even coming to church in a careless, unthinking manner is more to be counted among your sins than to be trusted in for justification before God.

Every time you have used the Lord’s name without any reverential sense of his majesty, you have broken the THIRD commandment.  Whenever you have neglected to attend worship on the Lord’s day when you really might have come, every time you have allowed worldly thoughts and care to make you unfit for God’s worship, every time you have done worldly business on that day that might have been done on another day and neglected to give the whole day to God, by reading, hearing, prayer, meditation, and useful conversation, you have profaned the Lord’s day.

The substance of all these commands is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.”  But you have come short of this, whenever you have not acted to the glory of God.  Now what do you think of your innocence with respect to this first table of the commandments?

P:  I cannot pretend to justify myself with respect to God….but I am sure I have done no hurt to man.

M:  I think you would not say so if you truly understood the spiritual nature of God’s law — the way our Lord explained it in his sermon on the mount, Matthew 5.  There you find that the lustful look of the eye is counted as ADULTRY in the sight of God.  And ANGER without cause, and especially harsh language, is accounted a degree of MURDER.  Who can acquit himself of these?  If you understand the other commandments in the same spiritual way, all parts of your behavior are unsuitable, all irreverence and rash criticism of superiors, all unkind treatment of those beneath you — all will be seen to be the breaking of the FIFTH commandment.  All evil speaking and repeating stories injurious to the character of others, is against the NINTH.  And murmering and discontent, envy and greed, are sins forbidden by the TENTH.

P:  Then it seems there is but one commandment against which I have not sinned.

M:  And, if you rightly know yourself and the law of God, you would not claim to be free of that either.  Be not offended, I speak out of love to your soul.  I do not think you a thief or a robber….yet, have you never concealed the faults of what you sold, when you knew that ignorance of these was the very thing that led the person to buy?  Have you never taken advantage of the necessity of a needy seller, and beat down his sale price below its real value?  These things will witness against you.

P:  Why Pastor, at this rate you will condemn the whole world.  According to your thinking there is not a good man upon the earth.

M:  It is not my thinking, but the Word of Scripture:  “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”  Romans 3:12.

P:  I am glad then you do not think me worse than my friends and neighbors.  If they all are alike sinners, I guess I shall get along as well as they.

M:  And, thus you think you need not be greatly troubled and you will pass with the crowd?  But what will that mean before the all-seeing eye of God?  Had you lived back in the old days in wicked Sodom, this would not have saved you from the fiery judgment and destruction.

P:  Why, you would damn all the world!

M:  Not I.  That is God’s responsibility alone.  I would with all my soul rescue men from the misery of damnation.  That is why I am talking with you.

P:  Who then can be saved?  Not even you.  Haven’t you ever sinned?

M:  Of course, I have sinned — greatly sinned and deserve eternal damnation.  But God was pleased to awaken me to repentance.  I saw my danger and fled the wrath to come.  I have been forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ.

P:  I hope I have repented, too.  Whenever I do wrong, I am sorry for it afterward.  And as for faith — why, I have always believed.

M:  If your repentance is sincere, and your faith livey and true, then you are in a safe and happy state.  But so many are deceived and have only a dead faith and imperfect repentance.  Would you be willing for me to put yours to the test?

P:  Why, I suppose so.

M:  Good.  First then, let us examine your repentance.  Now, true repentance means feeling your own sin, seeing its hideousness, hating it and forsaking it, and turning to God in newness of life.  Is your repentance like this?

P:  I trust it is.

M:  Examine your heart.  The wages of sin is death, eternal death.  Do you feel you deserve this?

P:  I guess all men do, but God is merciful.

M:  Do not now talk of other men.  Do you think that you deserve eternal death?

P:  If God should deal with me according to strict justice — yes.  But we hope in God’s mercy.  God is love, you know.

M:  I’m afraid your wrong idea about God’s mercy is actually keeping you from true repentance.  You seem to hope in God’s mercy without ever being sensible of your utter misery without it.  You are claiming the healing balm without any conviction of sin’s wound and ruin in your life.  God calls this healing the wounds of his people slightly — a false healing.  You have never seen yourself hopelessly lost and without strength in yourself — tossed with the storm — so as to flee to Christ who is our refuge “from the storm.”  You will never know saving grace from Christ until you turn to him as helpless and undone.  Remember how it was in the book of Acts, Peter’s hearers were “pricked in their hearts and said, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”  The jailor, in Chapter 16, trembled because of his miserable condition and thus received forgiveness of sins  Paul himself was struck to the ground under a sense of guilt before the Holy Christ.

P:  Yes, but all these were infidels.  I was born of fine, religious parents and brought up to know good things.  I’ve always believed.

M:  It is true that God does not deal with all in exactly the same way, but I fear you depend too much upon your past privileges.  Have you not lived a long time in the world without God?  Instead of renouncing the world, the flesh, your old nature and its desires and the devil, have you not been led by them?  Have you not in many things conformed to the world, contrary to God’s commands?  Have you not frequently obeyed your carnal lusts and inclinations, going right against God’s pure law — perhaps by actual deeds and perhaps by indulging in evil thoughts and living in besetting sins without concern?  And has not the devil been your true master, leading you to offend God by profaning his holy day for trifling pleasure and the same with other commandments?  And, by our talk today you have admitted that there is still little or no concern about it all.  You simply hope all will be well.  It is plain that you need to turn unto God and begin all anew.

P:  How would I begin anew?

M:  By acknowledging that you have forsaken God and gone into sin and are at enmity with God, and that for these things you deserve his wrath, and stand on the brink of ruin, covered with guilt.  Then turn and run to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy.

P:  Well, I am willing to forsake all sin, turn more to God and do better.

M:  These are good resolutions, but they do not seem to come from the right principle.  You would forsake sin and do better but you have secret feelings that your change will fit you for God and gain his favor in Christ.  This is a legal spirit of self-dependence, a “going about to establish your own righteousness.”

When I see you admit that you are sinful and unworthy before God even of His least mercy and that your deeds are not acceptable with Him; when I see you cast yourself before God as lost and helpless, hoping only in the promise of salvation made in Jesus Christ; when this is not only words on your tongue but the deep feeling of the heart — then I shall think a real work of grace is begun in your heart and soul.

P:  Why, you are advising me to utter despair!

M:  Indeed, I would advise you to despair of all help from yourself and turn broken and helpless to Christ your only Savior who came to set prisoners free and “to bind up the broken-hearted.”

P:  All this may be necessary for bad, notorious sinners, but I reverence God, attend church and have always believed.

M:  I’m afraid you have never really believed at all.  It is plain your repentance has not been real.  You never saw and felt your danger so you have not escaped it.  You’ve flattered yourself that even when things were not right in your life they would be when you lived a little better.  You are trusting to yourself and care not for your sins.

Every natural man is basically selfish and corrupt.  And, while you have all along been seeking your own pleasure and your own will God commands, “Do all to the glory of God.”  Paul was right when he said, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”  Romans 8:7.  Have you not passed days and weeks without one serious thought of God, though all the time you were receiving blessings at his hand?  Have you not put out such thoughts of him as though they were enemies to your peace, drowning God’s calls in worldly cares, empty conversations, and idle amusements?  Let me be frank with you.  You have run from God, speaking peace to your soul when there is no peace.  This way, you will perish.  Surrender your heart to Christ, confess your sins and take his blood and righteousness for your needs.  “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12.  (Continue to Dialogue II below)

Matthew 25:31-46  New International Version (NIV)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Dialogue II

M:  I am glad to see you again, because we should talk more on the same important subject.

P:  Well, I must say I did not like what you said before, but now I feel it was all true.

M:  What has made this change in your thinking?

P:  Your sermon Sunday on the Day of Judgment.  I have been bothered ever since, and I am afraid if that day of judgment came now, I would not be ready.

M:  It would then be too late to cry for mercy.  But what caused you to see your need in this way?

P:  You showed us from Matthew 25 the godly are to be separate from the wicked and that this is according to a separation made between them in the present life.  Well, I am not sure of any such change in my life as you described.  I fear I’m still in a state of sin as you told us all men are by nature.

M:  You have great reason to be afraid.  Remember I told you that the only ones counted righteous in the day of judgment would be those who have fled to the Lord Jesus for his righteousness to make them right with God and for the Holy Spirit to create in them a new heart.  Then they will show this change by a holy life the rest of their days on earth.

And, the wicked are those who live and die without faith in Christ and without the indwelling Holy Spirit — regardless of how orderly and decent their conduct is.

P:  That is what upset me.  You told us that even the most upright man had committed sins enough to condemn him if he died without Christ.

M:  Those who do not by faith seek God’s mercy in Christ, have no good works, for all they do is from a wrong principle — either from selfish and worldly motives or seeking to pardon their own sins by their own good doings.  By this law of works, we cannot be saved.

P:  I see now that I must get forgiveness for my sins through faith in Jesus Christ.  But I really don’t know what that faith is.  This I do know, though, that all along I have been out of the way.  I now stand under guilt of literally thousands of sins, the least of which is enough to condemn me.   Pastor, what must I do to be saved?

M:  Tell me first what you think of your good deeds?

P:  I have none to think about, I guess.  There is sin in everything I do:  my pride in not being so bad as others, my worldliness, my vain trifling spirit in prayer and hearing sermons.  They are enough to condemn me, if I had done nothing else.

M:  And what do you intend to do about this?

P:  I will do better, I will strive against sin, I will pray.

M:  But you have admitted that all these duties heretofore have been mixed with sin.  What makes you think they will be accepted now?  And how could these ever care for past offences?  “By the deeds of the law shall no man living be justified.”

P:  I see no way — if ever there was a mixed, lost soul, I am he.  What shall I do?

M:  “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”  Acts 16:31.  “The work of God is this — to believe in the one he has sent.”  John 6:29.  “Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin.”  Acts 13:39.  Come, unprepared, sinful, and helpless as you are, to God, through Christ, for mercy.  “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”  Hebrews 7:25.  He can wash you from the guilt of all your sins, destroy the power and dominion of sin in you, “may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

P:  I have no doubt of Christ’s power to save.  He’s the Son of God — but I realize I am not a fit person to be saved.

M:  Look in your Bible; there it says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”  I Timothy 1:15.

P:  Yes, but He does not save all sinners.

M:  That is because they will not come to him to be saved.  The Savior said, “yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”  John 5:40.

P:  But what if my repentance and belief is not proper?  The Bible says that “many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able;” and “not every one that says to me, Lord! Lord! shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”  All this bothers me, and seems to keep me from the Lord.

M:  To whom then do you intend to go?

P:  I don’t know.  I realize there is no other name under heaven whereby one may be saved.

M:  And Christ says to you, “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28.  Go to Him — escape the wages of sin, the curse of the law and wrath of God.  Go to Him for pardon, peace, grace and glory.  Behold Him on the cross, bleeding and dying for sinners — claim God’s promises in Him.

P:  How can I in this condition?  I feel unworthy of His least mercy.

M:  When will you have yourself prepared and made worthy?

P:  Never, I guess.

M:  Then come to Him just as you are, His mercy is always unmerited.  His grace is free.  It is for you.

P:  I would like to really believe and accept that, but —

M:  It is not my word.  God invites you to come, “come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.”  Isaiah 55:1.  He commands you to come, “and this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ.”  I John 3:23.  He promises to receive those that come, “all those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”  John 6:37.  He threatens if you do not come, “whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  Mark 16:16.

P:  Yes, but how could I say these words are for me?

M:  They are for all who will hear.  God says, “preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15.

P:  I have no answer to that, but I still cannot believe Christ will receive such a sinner as I am.

M:  This stubborn unbelief is your deepest guilt.  But God gave His only son up to death to save sinners, not the righteous.  For this He labored, wept, bled and died.  For this He reigns and intercedes in heaven.  He is not only willing to save but is offended when men will not come.  While on earth, he wept over Jerusalem on this very account.

P:  I have no answer to that.

M:  What do you intend to do?

P:  Well — even though I am so afraid that I shall never be saved, I do see there is no other way but through Christ and His free mercy.  I feel somehow that I must go to him, and if I perish it will be at the foot of the cross, calling on God for mercy.

M:  Stay with that, and all the precious promises of the Gospel are yours.  Do not seek rest anywhere but in Christ.  And watch out lest worldly cares or pleasure take your mind off the things of God and sin thus grieves the Holy Spirit.  Remember, it is said, “If a man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

Dialogue III

P:  Pastor, I hope that I am not bothering you too much, but I need more advice.  For some time now, I have been in an unusual condition.  To me, my whole life seems to be a sink of sin.  I feel that I deserve nothing but hell.  You warned me against allowing worldly cares and pleasures.  You have no need to worry about that, for wherever I have been, or whatever I have been doing, my sins and hell have still been before my eyes.

M:  And jut how have your sins looked to you?

P:  It seems strange, but sins committed many years ago have now arisen in my mind and condemn me.  Sins of my youth, plague me as if I committed them but yesterday.  And, the Scriptures speak against me.  I have thought a hundred times on those words, “The wages of sin is death.”

I did not use to understand what you meant when you urged me to look into my heart.  But I can see it all now.  And I find there a strong bent to many sins and see that I deserve God’s wrath.  Because of my own wickedness, I have shared in the sinful lives of others; I have talked of myself in an empty, vain manner; I have been greedy after the world; I’ve passed so lightly over spiritual duties of prayer and the like as if they were just a burden, and so many other sins, too.

Now, though, I really want to forsake sin and live to the glory of God.

M:  Do not trust your own strength.  You may not know your heart as well as you think.  Don’t be fooled.  The heart of man is by nature like a cage of unclean birds — and not easily cleansed from its various lusts and vile affections.  Those that seem to be rooted out, sometimes are only asleep for a little while.  Be careful; they may one day awake again.  And, you know, sometimes these sins are only exchanged for others just as bad and dangerous, such as pride, envy and the like.

P:  There is something else which I want to tell you.  The other day, while I was thinking how sinful I actually am and just wondering what would become of me in the next world, these words from the Bible came to me, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.”  I forget just where that Scripture is, but I found comfort and peace in those words.  Then I went alone in my room and prayed.  I do feel so much better now.

M:  In your prayer, what did you ask God to do for you?

P:  Well, I hardly knew how to really pray.  I felt God’s eyes were on me.  My sins were not covered, so I called on him for healing.  In the name of Christ, I asked that the blood of the cross might be my own offering.  Finally, I found myself stumbling through the works of the hymn, “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come.”

M:  Do you believe God heard your prayer through Christ and truly saved you?

P:  I can only claim one of the verses you pointed out, here in Romans 10:13.  “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  Then, there has been a change in my very way of looking at things.  In my heart there is a love — I might really call it a hunger — for God’s Word.  And, then I find myself looking forward to our talks together.  I seem to like to be with others who believe this way — and to talk of heavenly things.  Maybe it sounds foolish, but sometimes I almost feel I could die, with pleasure, if I knew it to be His will.

M:  These are good signs.  But now you must not rest in your spiritual life.  How many in the Bible lost their first love:  the Israelites after they got through the Red sea, the Galatians, the church of Ephesus.  They soon grew cold, and you too will have a continual warfare with sin.  It is “he that endures to the end” that “shall be saved.”

P:  I certainly hope I never go back on the Lord.  How can I, as you say, “make my calling and election sure” and grow stronger?

M:  Let me give you some Bible advice.  First, “walk humbly with your God.”  Never forget the true shame of your past life of sin, your daily neglect, rebellion and ingratitude toward God.  And remember that in spite of all that, God spared you until He at last opened your eyes to escape eternal destruction.  Every time throughout your life when you compare what you deserved to what you have now been given, learn humility.  This humility will free us from self-trust.  We must learn to keep a watchful eye on our sinful inclinations and each failure should bring us all the more closely to Him, like a helpless child in a time of need.

My next advice is, “Keep a conscience void of offence.”  If you have wronged any man, don’t be ashamed to acknowledge it and straighten it out.  Take heed that you grieve not the Holy Spirit by unholy living.  Watch especially the old, besetting sins, and stop even the first thoughts.  And do not forget, “if we confess our sins, he is faith and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Immediately tell God your failures and tell him all.  Along with God’s merciful pardon should come a greater fear of offending Him again in such a way.

And, if you are now planted in God’s vineyard, you are commanded to “Be fruitful.”  Your life must blossom into a fragrant, useful testimony for Christ.  As you recall how God in mercy called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, don’t forget the many who still languish there.  Tell somebody what you have learned — what has happened in your life.  Let them hear the Gospel through you.

Further, let the meditations of your heart be acceptable in His sight.  Seek a close walk with the Father of your spirit and endeavor to withdraw your thoughts from worldly things, and raise your love from earth to heaven where there are things unseen except to the eye of faith.  Loving and delighting in God will become a habit with you.  In your praying you will realize a conversation with the very God of heaven.  And, when you open His word to read, He will Himself speak to your heart.

Finally, let your conduct in life be such as befitting to the Gospel.  You are called on to fight the good fight of faith; see that you faint not, neither be weary of well-doing.  Show that you are alive unto God by always living for God.  Love men;  They are the work of God’s hands.  Do good even to those who make themselves your enemy.  With the prayer of forgiveness seek to “overcome evil with good.”  Flee from bitterness.  Do good especially to them of the household of your family and acquaintances.  And, be ever on guard that your tongue be kept entirely for God’s glory.  Instead of using it for criticism or impure words or angry words, use it to crown the Savior’s brow with praise.

P:  Thank you, Pastor.  I see there is a great life ahead of me.  With God’s help, I hope to be faithful to the end.

M:  Expect many difficulties and oppositions.  The way to heaven is the way of the cross, and thru much tribulation.  The world, the flesh, and the devil are strong enemies, and they are closely leagued together.  But be not discouraged.  God is above all.  “Christ ever lives to make intercession for us,” and to save in every difficulty those “that come to God through him.”  Holy angels will be employed as your guardians; and all the godly ones will be your loving brethren and true friends.  They that are for you are more than they that are against you.

Be not your own enemy, and nothing can hurt you.  Be not high-minded, but fear.  “Happy is the man that fears always.”