MANY MANSIONS.

Hoa Maori, Issue 13, 1 July 1889, Page 1

MANY MANSIONS.

, WHO ABE THE INHABITANTS? ■ffiAjbS we think of the many mansions in every land and every clime, there is one thought that presents itself to our minds which finds an outlet in the question: “ Who ABE the inhabitants ?” And the answer is immediately giventhey are men and women like ourselves. Age after age has seen these men and women come upon the scene, and age after age had seen them depart, never more to return, and then another question arises: “To what place have they departed?” Eternity alone will disclose the weal or the woe of all departed spirits, but when we think of the hundreds and the thousands of souls who have gone in and out, and are still going in and out of those earthly and perishable mansions, we shall do well to contrast with them those , other Mansions which are durable and imperishable, and of which the Lord Jesus . I speaks, and ask ourselves the question;

“ Are those who have been the inhabitants of the earthly mansions now become the inhabitants of the Heavenly Mansions ?” And here we would remind each other of the words of the Lord Jesus: “ Whosoever will, let him come.” (Eev. xxii. 17, John vi. 37); so that we may not allow the thought that living in an earthly mansion will give a title to dwell in a heavenly one. Man has sinned. “ There is none righteous, no not one ” (Eomans iii. 10); so that we must all stand on the same platform or level before God, and own ourselves sinners, and then the poor inhabitants of the cottage, and the rich inhabitant of the mansion will have exactly the same claim upon the loving heart of the Lord Jesus, for he came to save sinners.—l Timothy 1.15. The words of the Lord Jesus recorded in the Scriptures are: “In my Father’s house are many Mansions, if it were not so 1 would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there ye may bo also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas said unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME. —John xiv. 2-6. Here we get the statement of a iact, and that is: There are Mansions in the Father’s House above, and places are being prepared in them for all who are willing to enter by the right way. You may ask, as many a one has asked before,, who knows the right way ? In the midst of so many creeds and religions, can any presume to say they know the right way ? Yes, reader, we are assured of the divine inspiration of the Bible, the Word of God, and we therefore unhesitatingly say we not only know the right way, but we also affirm that there is only one way, and that way is Christ.” His own words are : "lam the way.” Dear fellow sinner, would you enter those Mansions in the Father’s house ? Then you

must come to God only by the way which His own wisdom and love have marked out, which is in and through Christ Jesus. The One who was the Sin-bearer now stands before God in all the efficacy of His own sacrifice, and the application through faith of His most precious blood will remove the guilt of all sin from the worst of sinners, purge the conscience, and give an undisputed title to a place in those many Mansions of the Father's House. Man forgets that he is ever beneath the eye of the all-seeing God. The word " Thou God seest me " (Genesis xvi. 13) is lost sight of, and he likes to think that some outward observance of religious exercises brings him into the presence of God, and makes him more fit to approach His holy Majesty. But man is ever in His view ; nothing can hide us from the eye of God; and. if through grace we are washed in the blood of Christ, we are thenceforth redeemed sinners. But if not, we are still in His sight, lost sinnersdead'in trespasses and sins—under condemnation —going onward to the judgments, which in a little while shall succeed this present day of His patience and long suffering. Until man thus becomes sensible of his condition and position, there will be no seeking salvation in God's own way. What joy would it be to the heart of the Lord Jesus if man willingly relinquished all side paths which will terminate in something far different to the Glory of the Mansions in the Father's house, and in dependence upon the Holy Spirit seek to know more of Him who so loved us as that He gave Himself a ransom for sinners, and He is now gone up on High, once dead, but now alive again (Revelation i. 18), to prepare a place for his redeemed ones in the many Mansions of the Father's House, we would lovingly press upon every unbelieving sinner who desires to exchange the sorrows of this earthly scene, for the Eternal Home in those many Mansions, the truth of the words of the Lord Jesus: " I AM THE WAV."