A friend and I were in Rome. Together we visited the Sistine chapel, and we stood in awe before the great fresco of the last judgment by Michelangelo. We were astonished at the power with which the painter had been able to represent the dead rising, taking their places before the tribunal of Christ, and from that, as a result of the judgment passed upon them, entering into glory or descending into hell.
In the midst of this immense, imaginary scene one figure impressed us particularly. It was that of a man. His face was in his hands, and his fingers seemed to sink into his head. One of his eyes was covered by his hand, and from the other eye he stared at us with a look fixed, gloomy, glassy and desperate.
We appeared to see this man descending, slowly sinking into the abyss. He seemed to be saying to himself, “IT IS ALL OVER FOREVER!”—and to be saying to us, “DO NOT AS I HAVE DONE!” A long time we continued looking at this without saying a word.
My friend at last broke the silence by saying, “We too will have to go through that; it is not a very pleasant reflection!” He went on to say, “I do not believe that it is possible to be sure of being saved while in the world.”
I had nothing to say. I had not thought much upon such things, but I began to realize how important it was to make sure of salvation in this life. My period of youthful dreams had passed. The romance of youth had been succeeded by the realities of life: its struggles, its battles, its temptations, its falls and its remorse. The passing years had only served to increase the unhappy state of my uneasy conscience.
What could be done? Was it necessary to bear this burden to the end of life? And what would the end be? Death—the judgment—the condemnation. The look of desperation of the man in the painting had pierced me through. It seemed to me that I had been born for a better fate than that! I needed pardon for my sins, but I knew no way to get it. Who could show me the way? Where could it be found? Was it at all possible?
That was years ago. The painting is still in its place; the unhappy, condemned man fixes still the same look upon every visitor to the Sistine chapel, and seems to say, “DO NOT AS I HAVE DONE!” But since then I have learned this, that there is here on earth the possibility of pardon—of absolute forgiveness. I have raised my eyes to Him who gave Himself as a Saviour to the world; I have seen Him dying on the cross, and I have understood that it was for me.
I have believed it, and those sins which were such a weight on my conscience have been lifted off; that troubled heart is now at peace. I am saved!
I have understood the value of these words: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). For the one who has trusted in Christ, his salvation is a settled fact; he has an assurance of it that no one is able to take away, because that assurance is God-given. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:11There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)).