Condemned to Die
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preach the gospel of Christ, went forth to meet religious bigotry and
heathen superstition, persecution, and contempt, who counted not their
lives dear unto themselves that they might bear aloft the light of the
cross amidst the dark mazes of infidelity—these he hears witnessing
to Jesus as the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. From the rack,
the stake, the dungeon, from dens and caves of the earth, there falls
upon his ear the martyr’s shout of triumph. He hears the witness of
steadfast souls, who, though destitute, afflicted, tormented, yet bear
fearless, solemn testimony for the faith, declaring, “I know whom I
have believed.” These, yielding up their lives for the faith, declare to
the world that He in whom they have trusted is able to save to the
uttermost.
Ransomed by the sacrifice of Christ, washed from sin in His blood,
and clothed in His righteousness, Paul has the witness in himself that
his soul is precious in the sight of his Redeemer. His life is hid with
Christ in God, and he is persuaded that He who has conquered death is
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able to keep that which is committed to His trust. His mind grasps the
Saviour’s promise, “I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:40
. His
thoughts and hopes are centered on the second coming of his Lord.
And as the sword of the executioner descends and the shadows of
death gather about the martyr, his latest thought springs forward, as
will his earliest in the great awakening, to meet the Life-giver, who
shall welcome him to the joy of the blest.
Well-nigh a score of centuries have passed since Paul the aged
poured out his blood as a witness for the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus Christ. No faithful hand recorded for the generations to come
the last scenes in the life of this holy man, but Inspiration has preserved
for us his dying testimony. Like a trumpet peal his voice has rung out
through all the ages since, nerving with his own courage thousands
of witnesses for Christ and wakening in thousands of sorrow-stricken
hearts the echo of his own triumphant joy: “I am now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
all them also that love His appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:6-8
.
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