Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870), the famous author and social
critic, was a religious modernist (i.e., an unsaved person who professes to
be a Christian). Here is a quote by Mr. Dickens concerning his errant
religious beliefs...
“Remember!—It is Christianity to do good always—even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbours as our self, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to show that we love Him by humbly trying to do right in everything. If we do this, and remember the life and lessons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and try to act up to them, we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes, and enable us to live and die in peace.” [emphasis added]
SOURCE: Quote by Charles Dickens: “Remember!--It is Christianity to do good always...”
Charles Dickens teaches to follow the teachings of Christ and hope that you make it. Dickens' view of salvation is that you do your best and hope for the rest. This is what most false religions believe and teach. In sharp contrast, the Holy Bible teaches that salvation is a free gift, paid for by Jesus' death on the cross and the precious blood that He sprinkled on the mercy seat in Heaven. 1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Christ died in our place on the cross. Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay. Since eternal life is a gift, we simply need to receive it to be saved.
Salvation is a supernatural second birth wrought by the Spirit of God. The first birth is physical, but the second birth is spiritual. Many people errantly view Christianity as a philosophy to be ascribed to and lived. This is what Charles Dickens believed. There is no mention of being born-again in his writings. Others errantly view Christianity as an organization that you join like Roman Catholicism. Some people errantly think that Christianity is a culture, like the European Reformation and Martin Luther. Tragically, Christianity has been corrupted into a religious business in America. Biblically, salvation is a miraculous new birth wrought by the Holy Spirit of God in response to one's childlike faith in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ!
It will be alarming in Heaven when most religious people, who sincerely thought they were going to Heaven one day, will hear the horrifying words from Jesus Himself... “I NEVER KNEW YOU!!!” Luke 13:23, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again!!!
May I say, you don't get saved by following the life and lessons of Christ as Dickens' ignorantly taught. You get saved by realizing that you are a guilty sinner in the eyes of a holy God, and you completely rest in the Lord Jesus Christ because of His sacrifice upon the cross for your sins and His resurrection from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 4:10-11; 1st Thessalonians 4:14). I am not saved because I am good, but because God is good. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Please read, “The Deception Of A Christmas Carol.”
The Bible tells us about a group of religious workers who were not born-again. They admittedly trusted in their WORKS! Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Whether doing good works, or ceasing from bad works to be saved, both are works of human effort which corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel. We are saved by God's works, not our own.
In his last will and testament, written on May 12, 1869, Dickens admirably wrote, “I commit my soul to the mercy of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and I exhort my dear children humbly to try to guide themselves by the teaching of the New Testament in its broad spirit, and to put no faith in any man’s narrow construction of its letter here or there.” From this sole quotation it would appear that Dickens may have been saved; but remember, even unsaved Mormons, Roman Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses call Jesus their “Lord and Savior.” And of course, you don't have to receive Jesus as your Lord to be saved, only your Savior (1st Timothy 4:10).
Salvation is not by trusting Jesus, but by trusting Jesus' because of His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection. The cross must be included. I hear a lot of mumbo-jumbo on religious radio today about “starting a relationship with Jesus” or “inviting Jesus into your heart” to be saved. These are not the Gospel. Judas had a relationship with Jesus, but still went to Hell because he didn't believe the Gospel. You can invite Jesus into your heart and life, and yet never be saved at all.
Jesus said, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN” (John 3:1-7). Salvation is so simple that most people corrupt it and pass entirely over it. I sincerely hope and pray that you will rest completely in Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins, believing that He rose from the dead for our justification. 1st Thessalonians 4:14-15, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.” Make sure that you are saved. Don't end up like Charles Dickens in Hell who sincerely thought he could get to Heaven by following Christ's life and lessons. You cannot get to Heaven by being a disciple; but rather, you must become a born-again child of God.
Ye Must Be Born Again!
| You Need HIS
Righteousness! |
Believe The Gospel
