TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
January, 1940
The Most Dangerous Shortage of the Present Day By R. A. TORREY
' In the second place, the time is short in which to make adequate preparation for eternity. Preparation for eternity does not end with our being saved. In deed, when we are saved, when our sins are forgiven and we really become chil dren of God, our preparation for eter nity is very far from complete; it has just begun. Many imagine that the mo ment that they are saved, the moment that their sins are forgiven, they are ripe for heaven. This is not so. After one has received, through faith in Jesus Christ, full pardon for all his sins, and has been born again and has become a true child of God, there is still to be wrought a great work of moral and spiritual preparation for heaven, for eternity, for eternal companionship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. Preparation for heaven begins with salvation; it does not end with it. A full and adequate preparation for heaven is a matter that requires time.- It re quires much time. The more time .we have to devote to preparation for eternity, and the better use we make of that time, the better it is for us; and the more abundant will be our en trance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the richer and fuller and more satis factory will be our eternity, and the bet ter we shall be fitted to enjoy heaven . and. its holy and peculiar -joys. / If we begin our preparation for an eternal heaven at the very dawn of a long life, the time is none too long. The time is very short, indeed, for this all- important work. Let us make the most of it. The development of a Christlike character is not the work of a day. We have not one hour to lose. It is true that we have an eternity to live in, but we have only a brief lifetime in which to prepare for it. - ’. In the third place, the time is short for laying up treasures in heaven. It is the clear teaching of the Lord Jesus that by certain definite courses of ac tion we make deposits in the eternal “Reserve Bank” of heaven, deposits ( which it shall be our future and eternal.; privilege to enjoy. Most men do ng begin soon enough to lay up for old and, therefore, when -Id age steals them, they must spend it in penurj distress. But deposits which wej
[This remarkably stirring sermon by the late Dr. Torrey has been supplied for T he K ing ’ s B usiness by Mrs. R. A. Torrey. I f the urgency Dr. Torrey has described existed in the years, fol lowing the World War when this mes sage was uttered, how equally important it is that in the present hour we-shall realize the fact, "T h e time is short"! EDITpR.] “The time Is short” (I Cor. 7:29). JL has brought its natural and in evitable result, world-wide want. But there is a shortage which is far more serious and involving infinitely more peril than is this material scarcity. What that shortage is you will find in my text. You will find the text in 1 Corinthians 7:29: “The time is short.” There is nothing of which any of us has less to spare and yet of which most of us are so prodigal and so wasteful as time. Happy, yes, thrice happy, is the man who not only believes but feels the truth set forth in the short, solemn, and startling statement of our text, “The time is short.” The word translated “time” means time of opportunity, time for doing the thing that needs to be done. The word translated “short” means “drawn to gether,” "contracted,” that is, exceed ingly limited, and, therefore, in great need of being conserved and improved to the uttermost. And the time of oppor tunity at our disposal for doing the many things of tremendous importance that clamor to be done before we go into eternity and meet God, is exceed ingly contracted. If any one of us will stop to think how many things of the highest import ance there arc that we must do before we can satisfactorily shut our eyes upon this world and pass out to meet God in judgment in the next world, his own reason will cry with stentorian tones, “The time is short.” The average man and the average woman seem to think that whatever else may be scarce, there is plenty of time. No, No, No, “The time is short.” The day of opportunity is flying more swiftly than in aero plane. The unsaved man thinks that títere is plenty of time to repent and be saved. The Christian thinks that there is plenty of time to get ready for the coming of the Lord. The one who HE terrible curse and waste and destruction of- world-wide war
would save souls thinks that there is plenty of time in which to do it. But to one and all, God thunders in the words of the text, “The time is short.” Things for which the Time Is Short We shall look first at the things for which the time is short. First of all, the time is short in which we must be saved if we are to be saved at all. Do I need to say how infinitely important it is that we be saved? We all know that the differ ence between an eternity of joy and honor and beauty and glory, and an eter nity of sorrow and shame and moral hideousness and utter degradation and blackest despair, depends upon our be ing saved. Yes,' we all feel in some measure at least that we must be saved sometime. But alas, many think that there is plenty of time in which to be saved. There is not. “The time is short,” exceedingly short. If anything is to be done to secure our salvation, it has to be done quickly. If not done quickly, it will not be done at all. If you are not saved soon, you will never be saved. Just how short the time may be in which any one of us can be saved, none of us can tell. It may be measured by a few weeks, it may be measured by a few hours, or a few minutes or a few heart beats, but at ttr very long est, “the time is short,” very, very short.
draw upon and enjoy for are vastly more important that the prudent man makes [Continued onl
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