"Scarcely saved" points out the difficulty of salvation.Some think it easy to begin by believing,but the prophets cries,"who hath believed"? and Jesus asks, "when the Son of man cometh,shall he find faith on the earth"? Some may also think it easy to persever to the end,but the godly are hard put to it to keep their faces toward Zion.It is no light thing to be saved;omnipotent grace is needed.It is no trifling thing to be lost,but it can be done by neglect.
The fact is "the righteous scarcely are saved".the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.The saving acts can be hard, to lay hold on Christ simply as sinners.To overcome the desires and lust of the flesh day after day, moment by moment.To resist the world with its blandishments,threats, and customs.To vanquish Satan and his horrible temptations.To perform duties in a humble and holy spirit. To reach to gracious heights and continue in them.When the apostle uses the phrase"if the righteous scarcely be saved",he does not doubt salvation,he is speaking of the difficulty of making it through the fire and the water, coming through many trials and tribulations,and staying faithful to the call.It wasn't easy to get Lott out of Sodom,and Isreal out of Egypt,and it is no easy matter to get man out of his state of corruption.
Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?IF the saints scarcely reach heaven,what of the ungodly? What can they do who have no God? what can they do who have no savior?What can one do who are without the spirit of God?What without prayer,the word,the promise of God etc.What without truth?If the saints be sorely chastened, what will the justice be to the openly defiant sinner?Hold on to God's unchanging hand,and endure to the end.
all who cries "Lord Lord will not eneter into the kingdom",just how sure are you,enough to bet an eternity on it?
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