Judson on the Christian Life
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On Obedience
“O, when will Christians learn…that their puny, polluted offerings of works are not necessary to God? He permits them to work, as a favor, in order to do them good, personally, because he loves them, and desires to honor them, not because he needs them.”
“The first duty of every lover of Christ is to enter constantly within the veil, offering himself a sacrifice to God, to obtain some sensible communion with the great Invisible; and his second, to come forth with a shining face, as Moses, and be ready to speak and do whatever God, by his word, providence, and indwelling Spirit, shall appoint.”
On Evangelism
Judson’s desire was, “to avoid every secular occupation, and all literary and scientific pursuits, and devote the remainder of my days to simple declaration of the precious truths of the gospel.”
“Do you, a professor of religion, love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity? Have you set your heart on that object which is dearest to his heart? Are you endeavoring to obey his great parting command?”
On Living for Eternity
“A life once spent is irrevocable. It will remain to be contemplated through eternity. If it be marked with sins, the marks will be indelible. If it has been a useless life, it can never be improved. Such it will stand forever and ever…When it is once past, it is gone forever. It will never become less true that such a day was spent in such a manner. Each day will not only be a witness of our conduct, but will affect our everlasting destiny. No day will lose its share of influence in determining where shall be our seat in heaven. How shall we then wish to see each day marked with usefulness! It will then be too late to mend its appearance. It is too late to mend the days that are past. The future is in our power. Let us, then, each morning, resolve to send the day into eternity in such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever. And at night let us reflect that one more day is irrevocably gone, indelibly marked.”
“You have but one life to live to prepare for eternity…You have only one. Every action of that one life gives coloring to your eternity. How important, then, that you spend that life so as to please the Savior, the blessed Savior, who has done everything for you!”
“Let me urge you frequently to reexamine the foundation of your hope. O, it is a solemn thing to die – an aweful thing to go into eternity, and discover that we have been deceiving ourselves! Let us depend upon it, that nothing but real faith in Christ, proved to be genuine by a holy life, can support us at last. That faith which consists merely in a correct belief of the doctrines of grace, and prompts to no self-denial – that faith which allows us to spend all our days serving self, content with merely refraining from outward sins, and attending to the ordinary duties of religion, – is no faith at all. O, let me beg of you to look well into this matter!”
On Pleasing Christ
“If any of you enter the Gospel ministry in this or other lands, let not your object be so much to ‘do your duty,’ or even to ‘save souls,’ though these should have a place in your motives, as to please the Lord Jesus. Let this be your ruling motive in all that you do. Now, do you ask, how you shall please him? How, indeed, shall we know what will please him but by His commands?”
Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) was a Baptist missionary to Burma (now Myanmar) from America. He worked with Luther Rice to establish the Baptist Triennial Convention (the forebear of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Northern American Baptist USA denominations). He also translated the Bible into Burmese and established some of the first churches in Burma.
