“This way, please.”

William Murdoch, first officer of the RMS Titanic, motioned the passengers toward a small lifeboat that seemed to hang precariously off the side of the ship, sixty feet above the water. There was no response. No one wanted to leave the apparent safety of the Titanic to drift on the sea in a tiny boat. Something had happened to the ship, they knew, but surely nothing so serious that it could threaten to sink so great a vessel as theirs. A newlywed couple within the group turned to walk away.

The RMS Titanic at Southampton docks
prior to departure

The Coming Judgment

In fact, despite its appearance of security, the Titanic’s doom was already sealed. Less than an hour before it had struck an iceberg, opening a 200-foot gash in its side through which the icy waters of the north Atlantic were relentlessly pouring. Within a short time the ship would be on the bottom of the ocean. There could be no other outcome.

Often, when people are told that God’s judgment is coming upon the world, they cannot believe it. So many pleasures, amusements, luxuries, so much activity—how could it all come to an end? But the Bible warns us:

The day of the Lord shall come…in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements, burning with intense heat, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up”

— 2 Peter 3:10

Even today we can see signs that something is indeed terribly wrong with the world in which we live. Yes, there are pleasures and joys, but there is also much suffering, misery, and even death. God will not allow the world to continue forever in this state..

False Security

For much of the time the Titanic was sinking it was difficult to convince passengers that the ship was actually going down.

The RMS Titanic departing
Southampton, April 1912

Early on a wealthy young banker was awakened in his first-class stateroom by a servant who was worried because the ship had stopped moving. He reassured her by saying the ship could not sink and went back to bed. Later she realized that something was indeed wrong and again knocked on his door. When she grabbed him by the arm and pleaded with him, he scolded her for disturbing him and his wife and again went back to bed. Eventually this man, his wife, and their young daughter perished with the Titanic; only his infant son was saved, being carried onto a lifeboat by his nurse.

An artist’s rendering of
the sinking of the RMS Titanic

False Appearances

Even those who entered the lifeboats often did not realize just how serious the situation was; the downward slope toward the front of the ship did not seem that severe while they were still on board. Only from their lifeboats could they see how far down in the water the ship had actually gone. One woman was amazed to see water pouring into the ship through its open portholes, which just a short while before had been a good distance above the ocean.

A London newsboy after
the disaster

Do not be fooled by false appearances. God’s judgment is coming upon this world just as surely as the Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea. What then is the way of salvation? Jesus said:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”
— John 14:6

Today, to avoid sharing in the world’s destruction, you must take this way of salvation by believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior. This gospel is the “lifeboat” of God’s salvation in a world headed to its doom.

The Titanic today, at the bottom
of the Atlantic Ocean

That night, the newlywed couple that had begun to walk away was rescued from the Titanic when they eventually turned and entered into the lifeboat. Today, Jesus calls you to believe and be saved. Won’t you take this way, please?

Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life’s tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treach’rous shoal;
Chart and compass come from Thee;
Jesus, Savior, pilot me!

If you want to become a Christian
you can pray in this way:

Lord Jesus, save me from my peril!
I believe in You as my way of salvation.
You died for my sins and rose again
from the dead. Thank you, Jesus!”

Suggested Bible Verses t0 Read:
John 5:24, Romans 10:8-13

The historical incidents referred to in this pamphlet are recorded in Titanic: An Illustrated History, by Don Lynch; (New York: Hyperion/Madison Press, 1992), pages 96, 101, 112-115, 126, 130.

The photographs and captions on this page are from the Wikipedia entry on the RMS Titanic.

This pamphlet may be freely printed and distributed using the PDF file below, which is formatted for 2-sided printing.