Section 1. The Introduction.
Section 1. The Introduction.
What! not love the Lord! Hellish sin!
What! not love Jesus! Stupendous wickedness!
What! not love Christ! Monstrous impiety!
Not love him who is both Lord, and Jesus, and Christ! What name might we call him by?
Is he a man—or a beast?
Is he a man—or a devil?
Do you confess him to be Lord, and Jesus, and Christ—and love sin, and not him? Do you love the world—and not him? Do you love sin—and not him? This may be . . .
the astonishment of the heavens,
the amazement of the earth,
the wonder of angels,
the joy of devils,
the burden of the creation of God.
The earth groans to bear them;
the sun is grieved to give light unto them;
the air laments to be sucked into sin-filthy bodies, wherein are more filthy souls, because they are void of the love of Christ! Yes, all this world looks more like Hell than Heaven, because of the swarms of men therein who have no sincere love to Jesus Christ.
Let all among you this day, who are not sensual beasts, or incarnate devils—who have the understanding and hearts of men—stand and wonder, that though devils will not love the Lord Jesus Christ, that a man should deny Christ his love. Good Lord! What a thing is this! What cursed wickedness is this! What wonder that you behold such a sight as this—a man without love unto your Son—and allow him to continue to be a man; or not make him . . .
a sick man,
a poor man,
a tormented pained man on earth,
or a damned man in Hell!
But though you bear with such a man, is he not a wretched, miserable man—though he is a rich and prospering man? Oh what punishment waits for him! How devils hope for his death, that they might drag him down to that hellish crew, where there is not one lover of Christ among them all!
But what is he? What shall he be that does not love Christ? What? Anathema, Maranatha! What is that? The explanation will tell you.
Section 2. The Explanation of Anathema , and Maranatha .
1. Anathema , when found in scripture, is usually translated accursed . "And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said: We have bound ourselves under a great curse , that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul," Acts 23.14. The same word is used: "But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed ." Galatians 1.8 , repeated in verse 9. "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh," Romans 9.3.
Not to love Jesus, is to accursed —whoever does not love him, shall be anathema forever. This Greek word is used as the Hebrew word Cherem , which is translated, utterly to destroy; namely, "But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly!" Samuel 15.9. The Greek verb signifies such cursing, as when a man either swears, vows, or wishes himself to die, or to be given to the devil; and the Hebrew word that answers to it, signifies, utterly to destroy, to devote to destruction.
As much as to say, If any man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be utterly destroyed, devoted to destruction, let the devil take him! And so he will, by God's own order and command. "Then shall he say unto those on the left hand, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25.41. "But God said: You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you!" Luke 12.20. In the Greek, They shall require, demand, fetch away your soul. They—what they? The devils, that seize the souls of all that love not Christ, whenever they die.
2. Maran-atha —two Syriac words, signifying, to come . A man that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be cursed in all nations, in all languages, by all people—all the world shall account that man to be anathema.
Anathema, Maranatha; some render it, "Let him be accursed when the Lord comes!" Or, "He shall have due vengeance from the Lord, when he comes." And all for lack of love unto him. And with this highest degree of excommunication, shall all the non-lovers of Christ, at his coming, be excluded, and stand excommunicated from the favorable presence of the glorious God, and of Christ the gracious only Savior, from the company of all the holy angels, and society of the blessed saints, from the holy place above, and from all the joys and happiness thereof.
The manner how the Jews excommunicated the Samaritans was very solemn and dreadful. These curses they wrote upon tablets, and sealed them, and sent them through all Israel, who multiplied also this great Anathema , or curse , upon them.
But the excommunication of all the non-lovers of Christ will be inconceivably more terrible, when the Lord himself shall come with millions of his holy angels, and with ten thousands, yes, thousands of thousands of his saints, and the trumpet sounding, the saints singing, and the air ringing, Christ and all shall say, "Now cursed forever be every man who did not love the Lord Jesus!" That is, let them never come into the kingdom of Heaven, nor have a share in the happiness that God has prepared for those who love him! And all the saints and angels shall say: "Amen, amen!"
There is another text, setting forth the contrary good condition of those that love Christ, "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, Amen." Ephesians 6.24. Paul, standing upon Mount Ebal, denounces a curse against those who do not love the Lord Jesus. He then stands upon Mount Gerizim, and pronounces a blessing upon those who love the Lord Jesus. (Deuteronomy 27)
But now, though you are not unjust towards men, not drunkards, not swearers—yet, if non-lovers of Christ, the curse lies upon you! At the coming of the Lord, it will be in vain to plead your praying, hearing, church attendance, your moral conduct—if void of the love of Christ; for Christ shall declare you accursed , and all that shall attend him at his coming, shall say, "Amen!"
Section 3. A Division and Paraphrase of the Text
The whole text consists of these seven parts:
I. The grace to be obtained, the duty to be performed, or act to be exerted—namely, love to Jesus. This is sweet, pleasant, and delightful.
2. The object of this act, or person to be loved, called the Lord, and Jesus, and Christ.
3. The subject of this act, or who should do this duty—man. Beasts cannot, devils will not—man ought.
4. A supposition, If a man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ—and it is indeed to be supposed that many will not.
5. A heavy imprecation, or solemn denunciation of vengeance, Anathema! If he will not be a lover of Christ, let him be accursed.
6. A determination of the time when this at furthest shall be executed, and poured forth upon him; Maranatha, when the Lord comes, though he prosper in the mean time—yet when Maranatha, then Anathema.
7. The extent of this curse; "If any man"—let him be what he will—a scholar, a preacher, a professor, an emperor, and yet not a Christ-lover—the plagues of God at the coming of Christ shall light and lie upon him. If this "any" be ever so many, vengeance and damnation shall overtake and seize them all.
I cannot yet get off the words of the text, without another view of each term, one by one.
IF—this if , joined to the not loving of Christ—is one of the saddest ifs you can suppose!
If you should be poor,
if you should be cast into prison,
if you should be banished,
if you should suffer the loss of liberty and life
— it is not nearly as bad as if you should not love the Lord Jesus Christ. For, if you do not love Christ—then you will be cast to Hell and damned forever! If God is true, and Christ is true, and the Word of God is true—you can never be saved, if you never love Christ! Even if you pray until you wear the skin from off your knees—or if you cry for mercy until your tongue waste away—or if you confess sin, and weep yourselves blind—or if you go as far towards Heaven as ever any deceitful hypocrite did, and all this while have no sincere love to Christ—you never shall escape the damnation of Hell! If you do—then I am a liar, and I preached falsehood and deceitful words unto you.
You will surely say, "What! will you drive us to despair?" Yes, that I would with all my heart, into this despair of ever getting to Heaven without sincere love to Christ. For you must despair of having happiness and eternal glory any other way than what God has prescribed in his word—and love to Christ is one qualification of that man who shall be saved. "I have sworn in my wrath—they shall never enter into my rest!" It is sufficient to alarm sinners, that God swears, if they continue to the death without love to, and faith in Christ—they shall certainly not enter into his rest.
The heathen cannot love Christ, because they do not know him. But any man, especially one who lives under the means of grace, any base man—or any noble man; any ignorant man—or any learned man; any man of any age, of any sort, of any calling, of any place or nation, where they have so often and so long heard of Christ—if any such man does not love Jesus, though he often talks of him, though he prays to God in Christ's name; though he professes him, suffers or dies for him—the Lord almighty, the only Potentate; the Lord who has the power of life and death, able to take up to Heaven, and cast down to Hell, to damn and save, who reigns over men and devils, who has all power committed to him; who is Jesus, the only, mighty, all-sufficient Savior, who came from Heaven to earth, to get and purchase for men a passage from earth to Heaven, who suffered, bled, and died to save sinners from sin, from Hell, from everlasting burnings; when there is no other name under Heaven by which sinners can be saved, than the name of Jesus; who is designed from all eternity, and sent in the fullness of time to bring about and accomplish the work of man's redemption; who was furnished with all manner of qualifications to bring souls to eternal glory; and yet not love Christ—they shall be Anathema —cursed and miserable wretches, devoted to damnation, separated from God, cast to devils—when Maranatha , the Lord comes. To be Anathema when Maranatha —is to be accursed indeed, and forever! Then cursed men must be with cursed devils to all eternity!