Quote of the Day

I used to ask myself the question, - 'Am I afraid to die? If I should drop down dead in my room, can I say that I should joyfully close my eyes?' Well, it often happened happened that I could not honestly say so.  Is used to feel that death would be a very solemn thing.  'Ah, then!' I said, 'I have never believed in Christ, for if I had put my trust in the Lord Jesus, I should not be afraid to die, but I should be quite confident.'  I do not doubt that many a person is saying, 'I cannot follow Christ, because I am afraid to die; I cannot believe that Jesus Christ will save me, because the thought of death makes me tremble.' Ah, poor soul, there are many of God's blessed ones, who through fear of death have been much of their lifetime subject to bondage!  ...I know that, when he gets more grace he will rejoice at the thought of death; but I do know that there are many quite safe, who will die rejoicing in Christ, who now, in the prospect of death, feel afraid of it.  My aged grandfather once preached a sermon which I have not yet forgotten.  He was preaching from the text, 'The God of all grace,' and he somewhat interested the assembly, after describing the different kinds of grace that God gave, by saying at the end of each period, 'But there is one kind of grace that you do not want.'  After each part of his theme, there came the like sentence, 'But there is one kind of grace you do not want.'  And then he wound up by saying, 'You don't want dying grace in living moments, but you shall have dying grace when you need it.  When you are in the condition to require it, you shall have grace enough if you put your trust in Christ.'  In a party of friends, we were discussing the question whether, if the days of martyrdom should come, we were prepared to be burned.  I said, 'I must frankly tell you that, speaking as I feel to-day, I am not prepared to be burned; but I do believe that, if there were a stake at Smithfield, and I knew that I was to be burned there at one o'clock, I should have grace enough to be burned there when one o'clock came.'

 

C. H. Spurgeon