Christ Is All - Charles Spurgeon

“Christ is all” — Colossians 3:11

My text is very short, yet it is one you cannot forget, and I am confident that if you are Christians, you will agree with it. What a multitude of religions there are in this world! Men have invented many systems of religion, and if you look around, you will see scores of different sects. But it is a great fact that, while there are many false religions, there is only one that is true. Where there are many falsehoods, there can only be one truth. Real religion is, therefore, one. There is but one gospel—the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing it is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, should be born of humble parents, live as a poor man in this world, and ultimately die for our salvation! He lived a life of suffering and trial, and, through the malice of His enemies, was crucified on Calvary as an outcast of society. Then, they said, “There is an end of His religion. No one will call themselves a Christian anymore; it will be discreditable to even mention His name.

But it is a wonderful fact that this religion has not only survived but is as strong as ever. Yes! The religion He founded still exists, still grows, and continues to extend its reach. While other religions have faded into the past, and their idols have been cast away, the name of Jesus remains mighty, and it shall continue to be a blessed power for as long as the universe endures.

The religion of Jesus is the religion of God; despite all the hatred and persecution it has faced, it still exists and flourishes. It is this religion, the one gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that I will attempt to preach to you today. The text captures it all in the most comprehensive manner: “Christ is all.” I will use this as both a test and a motive. First, I want to use it to sift you, to distinguish between the people of God and those who are not. I will use this text as a sieve to see who is wheat and who is chaff. We must consider this passage in several senses, and I want to address it first as:

I. A Test to Try You

Christ must be all, as your Great Master and Teacher. There are some who set up a particular man as their authority, regarding him as their master, considering whatever he says to be right, and refusing to dispute it. Or, perhaps they follow a certain book, other than the Bible, and say, “We will judge all things by this book.” If a preacher does not align exactly with the doctrine of that book, they quickly dismiss him as not sound in the faith. We encounter many people who make their narrow creed everything and measure everything by that.

But I must insist that Christ must be all, and not any man, however good or great. We are not to follow men, but to follow Christ, who alone is our Master. Our faith is not based on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God. We are to follow no one except insofar as they follow Christ. Be not deceived; do not submit yourselves to creeds, books, or men; devote yourselves to the study of God’s Word, and let it form your creed and the doctrines of your faith. When you do this, you will be able to say:

“Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art,
I’d call them vanity and lies,
And bind the gospel to my heart.”

Let Christ be your only Master. Now, can you say this? Or are you boasting, “The Baptists are all”—”The Wesleyans are all”—”The Church of England is all”? If you are saying this, you do not know His truth, for you are not testifying that “Christ is all,” but simply proclaiming the loyalty to your little party. I long for the day when the word “party” is erased from the vocabulary of the Christian Church. I have no sympathy with sectarianism. I thank God that I am able to protest against it and exclaim:

“Let party names no more
The Christian world o’erspread;

because:

“Gentile and Jew, and bond and free,
Are one in Christ, their Head.

If “Christ is all” to you, you are Christians, and I am ready to give you the right hand of fellowship. I do not care where you worship or by what name you call yourselves, we are brethren, and we should love one another. But if you cannot embrace all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter their denomination, your hearts are too small for heaven. If your views are contracted, you cannot possibly say “Christ is all.”

Next, Christ must be all as your principal object in life—your chief good. Your great aim must be to glorify Christ on earth, in the hope and expectation of enjoying Him forever in heaven. However, some of you make Christ not your all. You think more of your business than of Him. You wake up early to look at your ledgers and spend all day toiling at your job. I am not advocating laziness. God disapproves of those who neglect their duties. We need to work diligently, but we must also remember that our eternal work is just as important as our earthly work. We must want something more than earthly riches; we need an inheritance that is not made with hands, a mansion not built by man, an eternal possession.

Are you making this world your all? If so, you are doomed to lose everything. The world and all its desires will pass away. I imagine a rich man, whose wealth was his all, finding himself in the next world and realizing that his gold is gone. He would be in despair, saying, “My all is gone!” But if Christ is your all, your treasure will never be gone, for He will never leave you nor forsake you. You will be happy and blessed not only in this world but also in the world to come, where you will sit with Christ on His throne forever.

II. Christ as Your Principal Object in Life

Some people may say, “I do not make business my all; I believe in enjoying life and indulging in pleasures while I can.” But will such a course fit you for heaven and eternal joy? When you are on your deathbed, will your indulgences bring peace to your conscience? As you face eternity, will your sinful pleasures seem worthwhile? No! When you stand before God, your soul will feel the weight of your sins. The pleasure you once pursued will be nothing compared to the agony of facing the consequences of your sins. Imagine, in the moment of judgment, the terror of hearing your own profanities echoing in your ears as a reminder of how you mocked God. That would be horrible.

But some people, though more moderate in their pleasures, still rest in religion’s outward forms. They attend church, believe themselves to be good people, and assume that they will be accepted at the last day. But can you say, “Christ is all”? If you are resting on externals and not in the true spirit of Christ, you cannot truly say that “Christ is all.” Christianity is not about following outward rituals; it is a heart religion. If you cannot sincerely say, “Christ is all” from the depths of your heart, then you have no part in the blessings of the gospel, and your end will be destruction—eternal separation from the Lord. May it not be so with any of you. May you be united to Christ through living faith, which purifies the heart.

III. Christ as the Source of Your Joy

Some may think that Christians are a melancholy group, void of joy. I can tell you from experience that religion is the source of great happiness. I would not trade my blessed estate for anything this world offers. Religion has brought me more joy than anything else. The joy of knowing Christ will shine in your heart and light up your face, even amid life’s deepest troubles.

For instance, I remember the story of a poor man in Holborn who, despite living in deep poverty, found great joy in his relationship with Christ. He had been bedridden for months, yet when a Christian visitor asked how he was doing, he said, “I have a good Father up in heaven who provides for me, and I am very happy. I would not change places with anyone in the world. I know Christ is with me, and I will be rich in heaven.”

True religion, then, can cheer the sick, make the poor feel rich, and fill the heart with joy. Christ is the source of all our joy, and His compassion can lift us even from the depths of despair. If you have received Christ’s blood and applied it to your conscience, you will be able to sing of Him as all your hope, joy, and support.

IV. Conclusion

So, as I finish this message, I ask: Can you say that Christ is your only Master, your chief good, and your only joy? If you can say this, then welcome, my brother! You are one with Christ, and we are one with each other. But if you cannot say it, how terrible it will be when you face God, deprived of all your worldly treasures. May you be united to Christ through faith, and may your heart be pure. Let us each say, “Christ is all,” and may we meet again around the eternal throne.

II. A MOTIVE TO ENCOURAGE YOU

“Christ is all.” My beloved friends, in what is He all? Christ is all in the entire work of salvation. Let me take you back to the time before this world was made. There was a period when this great world, the sun, the moon, the stars, and everything that now exists in the vast universe, existed in the mind of God, like unborn forests contained in an acorn. There was a time when the Great Creator lived alone, yet He could foresee that He would create a world and that men would be born to populate it. In that vast eternity, a great plan was devised, whereby He might save a fallen race.

Do you know who devised it? God planned it from beginning to end. Neither Gabriel nor any of the holy angels had any part in this plan. I question whether they were even told how God could be just and yet save the transgressors. God was all in the drawing up of the plan, and Christ was all in carrying it out.

There was a dark and sorrowful night. Jesus was in the garden, sweating great drops of blood, which fell to the ground. Nobody came to bear the load that had been laid upon Him. An angel stood there to strengthen Him, but not to bear the sentence. The cup was put into His hands, and Jesus said, “Father, must I drink it?” His Father replied, “If you do not drink, sinners cannot be saved.” So He took the cup and drained it to its very dregs. No one helped Him. And when He hung upon that accursed tree of Calvary, when His precious hands were pierced, when:

“From His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flowed mingled down,”

there was no one to help Him. He was “all” in the work of salvation.

And, my friends, if any of you shall be saved, it must be by Christ alone. There must be no patchwork. Christ did it all, and He will not be helped in this matter. Christ will not allow you, as some say, to do what you can and leave Him to make up the rest. What can you do that is not sinful? Christ has done everything for us; the work of redemption is finished. Christ planned it all and worked it out. Therefore, we preach a full salvation through Jesus Christ.

What could we poor mortals do towards saving ourselves? Our best works are but mean and worthless when it comes to such a great end. I am sure I could not do it. My preaching—I am ashamed of it, and there are a thousand faults in my prayers. God wants nothing from us by way of “making up” Christ’s work; He cancels all the sins and blots out all the transgressions of everyone who trusts in His Son’s death.

If I have found Christ, I have found all. I do not have strong faith,” you may say. Never mind; Christ is all. “I do not feel my sins deeply enough,” but Christ is all. Many people think they must feel a load of repentance before they can hope that Christ will receive them. I know that every child of God will repent, but we are not all brought to the cross by the terrors of the law. It is not your feelings, my friends, that will save you, but Christ only—Christ standing in your stead, Christ being your Substitute. If, feeling your need for His grace to pardon you and His righteousness to justify you before God, you can but look to Christ, though you have nothing good about you, you will have done all that is necessary to carry you to heaven. It is not your act that can save you, but the act of Christ alone.

I remember a conversation with an Irishman who had been to hear me preach. He had come to ask me the way of salvation. What troubles me,” he said, “is this: God says He will condemn the sinner and punish him. How can God forgive, because He must punish to keep His word?” I presented the Scriptural view of the atonement, showing that Christ is our Substitute. The man was astonished and delighted, never having understood the beauty and simplicity of the gospel way of salvation. “Is it really so?” he asked. It is in the Bible,” I replied. Then the Bible must be true,” he said, “for nobody but God could have thought of it.

If Jesus Christ is our Surety, friends, we are safe from the demands of the law. If Christ is our Substitute, we will not suffer the penalty due to sin because God will never punish the same sin twice. If I have nothing but Christ, I do not want anything else, for Christ is all. If Christ is your all, you will not need anything to help you in living or dying. Now, for two thoughts before I close.

1. If a man has Christ, what else does he need?

If a man has Christ, he has everything. If I want perfection and I have Christ, I have absolute perfection in Him. If I want righteousness, I shall find in Him my beauty and my glorious dress. I want pardon, and if I have Christ, I am pardoned. I want heaven, and if I have Christ, I have the Prince of heaven, and shall be with Him forever, to live in His blessed embrace for all eternity. If you have Christ, you have all. Do not be despondent. Do not listen to the whispers of Satan that you are not a child of God. If you have Christ, you are His people, and everything else will come in time. Christ makes you complete in Himself; as the apostle says, “Ye are complete in Him.”

Think of poor Mary Magdalene. She had nothing to bring of her own; she had been a harlot. But when she reaches heaven’s gates, she will say, “I have Christ,” and the command will go forth, “Let her in, Gabriel, let her in.” Here comes a poor squalid wretch—what has he been doing? He has never learned to write and has never attended a school, but he has Christ in his heart. Gabriel, let him in.” Next comes a rich bad man, dressed in rings and fine clothes, but the command is, “Shut the gates, Gabriel; he has no business here.” Then comes a fine, flaming professor of the gospel, but he never knew Christ in his heart. “Shut the gate, Gabriel.”

If a man has Christ, he has all for eternity. If he has not Christ, he is poor, blind, naked, and will be miserable forever. Will you not, then, resolve, in the strength of the Lord, to seek Him at once and make Him your Friend? No matter what your state or condition, you are invited to come to Him.

“Ye blind, ye lame, who are far from Christ,
Come to Him, and receive your sight, and obtain strength!
He is made your all; you need bring nothing in your hand to come to Him.”

“Ah!” says one, “I am not good enough yet.” Beggars do not talk thus. They know that the more needy they are, the more likely they are to receive what they ask. The worse the dress, the better for begging. It is the same with respect to the gospel, and you are invited to come to Christ just as you are—naked and miserable—so that He may clothe and comfort you.

2. How poor is the man who is destitute of Christ!

If I were to say to some of you that you are poor, you might reply, “I am not poor; I have 250 pounds a year, a decent house, and a good job.” Yet, if you have not Christ, you are a poor man indeed. Look at that poor worldling with a load of 10,000 pounds on his back, stocks, annuities in one hand, and railway scrip in the other. He is wretched with all his wealth, even though he can hardly carry it. A beggar-woman asks him to take part of his load, but the miserable man refuses help, determined to carry everything himself. Eventually, he comes to a great gulf, and instead of finding his riches helping him, they hang around his neck like millstones, weighing him down.

There are some who would do anything for gold. If there is one man more miserable than another in hell, it must be the man who robbed others to feather his own nest. Such feathers will help the arrows that pierce his soul for eternity. No matter what your wealth is, if you have not Christ, you are miserably poor. But with Christ, you are rich to all eternity.

Picture this: a man in his final moments. Someone stands by his bedside as he begins to sweat in death’s grip. The strong man falls, and now, as his life slips away, his soul flies to appear before God. How will it appear there? Oh, the poor soul without Christ! It will be a naked soul, perishing, with no salvation. Mercy cannot be secured then. It will be in vain to pray, as the lamp will be put out in eternal darkness. And the Judge will say in tones that will pierce the soul, “Depart from me, ye cursed.

May God give you grace to repent and embrace the salvation revealed in the gospel! Every sin-sick soul can have Christ, but to you who are trusting in yourselves and your righteousness, if you know nothing of sin, you know nothing of Christ. The way to be saved is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come, and take the water of life freely.”

I’ve heard that, in desert lands where water is scarce, when they find a pool, a man on a camel will shout out, “Come!” Then another man far away will hear and shout, “Come!” until the whole desert echoes with the cry, “Come!” And they come rushing to drink.

I do not make the gospel invitation wider than the Word of God, which says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Whosoever you are, whatever you have been, if you feel your need of Christ, “Come,” and He will receive you and give you to drink of the water of life freely.