By Dave Breese

There is a gradual alteration of attitude moving upon our society in present days. People are sensing the instability of our times. Everyone watches the rules for living our lives change nearly every week, and they wonder if whatever foundations there were in the past on which we could build hope for the future are crumbling beneath our feet.

In the midst of these attitudes, people listen to the news becoming more apocalyptic with every day that passes, with predictions for the future of society sounding increasingly unpromising. The sentiment that has come upon our society is that the best years were the 60’s, or perhaps the 70’s, 80’s, or 90’s, but now the tide of good things has passed. Some even feel that, concerning today’s culture, it is time to announce that the party is over and we are turning out the lights.

Is it time to despair of the future? The answer to this question is two-fold: yes and no. This is because there are two kinds of people in the world and, therefore, there is not one, but two futures that must be considered when we think of the up or down contents of tomorrow.

First of all, for Christians there is the Christian future. That future is described in the Word of God and it is so unimaginably beautiful that despair for the Christian is unthinkable. The Christian who is depressed with his present circumstances and who thinks that there is no real promise for tomorrow does not properly understand Christianity or the Word of God.

For the Christian, the future is wonderful beyond description. To those who believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (I Cor. 2:9). The Scripture says that one of the reasons we are saved is “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). Every Christian can read with encouragement the Scripture that says, “You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

In these and a hundred other places in the Bible, God makes to each believer great and precious promises so that the heart of a trusting member of the family of God can rejoice always. The believer knows, because God has said it, that for him, the best is yet to come.

The believer knows this for many reasons. First of all, because he knows that God presides above history. At a given time, the world may think that things are out of control and that no one is in charge. Therefore, the world worries and sometimes despairs of life because history seems like a careening automobile with no firm hand at the wheel.

The Christian knows that nothing could be further from the truth. To the Church the Lord says, “These things says He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the key of David, He that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens” (Rev. 3:7). Here is the promise made to the Church of our time that a loving, omnipotent, and efficient God presides above all of the details of history.

The Christian is confident also because he knows his salvation is secure in Christ. Having believed in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on Calvary’s cross, the Christian hears with joy the reassuring promise of Christ, “And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28,29). Because salvation is by grace alone, it is also as sure as the promise of a faithful Heavenly Father.

The Christian also takes confidence in the never-failing presence of Christ. The description of the core of Christianity is that this faith is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). This wonderful and reassuring set of promises is the reason why Christians think differently about the world than do the mere citizens of time.

Whatever may be the temporary inconveniences of time, the Christian knows that one day he will walk the streets of gold in the New Jerusalem, being forever beyond the reach of sorrow, tears, or the frustrations of this world. The believer knows that the earth is hardly final reality; it is the fleeting prelude to the greater reality, to the infinite joys of heaven. The worst that the world can lay on a Christian is simply “our light affliction, which is but for a moment” and it works for the Christian a “far more exeeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:17).

A suggestion for these times is, therefore, appropriate. In our churches, we would do well to sing more songs about heaven and the life which is to come. No one is properly ministering the Word unless he fills his hearers with bright anticipation of heaven and a deep longing for the moment when Jesus will come again.

This is not so for the man or woman of this world who has considered not the Gospel and received not the Savior of men. It is time for another Jonathan Edwards to appear in our midst and preach again on the subject of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Every Christian should consider regularly the pitiful, hopeless condition of the man or the woman who does not believe the Gospel of Christ. The condition of that person is sad beyond description. Why?

First of all, the sinner is living a wasted life. Every activity of the lost person, be it good or evil, is of zero consequence to gain credential before God or even to produce human advancement. All the activity, the total accomplishment of the sinner is simply that he is treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5). Indeed, the Bible says that even “the plowing of the wicked, is sin” (Prov. 21:4). To speak of “the glorious accomplishments” of the people of this world is foolishness. It is all but valiant dust that builds on dust.

The unsaved person is also an enemy of God (Rom 5:10). When a person is in this condition, his life is hopeless and he can only look forward to defeat and consequent despair. The battle against God is one that no one, however clever, however affable, can win. He may think of himself as dedicated to good or even great purposes, but alas, the accomplishments of his life will collapse into dirt and ashes. Being an enemy of God is an insane posture, and he is infinitely foolish who thinks he can win a contest against the God of the universe.

The sinner is condemned already and will be finally lost apart from his faith in Christ. In most somber fashion, our Lord said, “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). How awesome are the words “He that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). It, therefore, can be truly said that the life of the unbeliever will go from bad to worse, from worse to hell, and from hell to the lake of fire. The sinner may succeed as a salesman, an attorney, a doctor, a husband, a father, or even a religious leader. However, apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ, these things are irrelevant and inconsequential.

So, is the best yet to come? It is for one who knows Christ as his personal Savior. It is not, however, for one who neglects the divine invitation, the command to believe the Gospel.

Let us, therefore, extend an invitation. It is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). Each reader is invited to believe the Gospel and accept Jesus as personal Savior, even now. What is the Gospel? It is the marvelous message that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (I Cor. 15:3,4). Whatever may be your past, when you believe that, receiving Christ as personal Savior,we promise that the best is yet to come!