“What can be the matter with S―?” I asked of a friend a few weeks ago; “she looks so wretched and miserable, and wears on her face so different an expression from the bright, happy one which a short time since told of a purged conscience, and a mind at perfect peace with God.”
“Ah,” replied my friend, “she says she is not saved; that she does not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that her sins are not forgiven.”
Being much interested in my little friend S―, this intelligence sent me to my knees before the Lord, to ask of Him wisdom to deal with her case, and to teach me to know how to speak “a word in season” to the weary one.
Soon an opportunity for an interview occurred, and the following conversation, so far as I can remember, passed between us: “My dear S―, I am much grieved to see you so troubled. What is the matter?”
“Oh, my sins are not forgiven, and I am so very unhappy.”
“But this is a very different tale from what you told me some time since, when you said you were sure your sins were all forgiven, and that you were happy in the Lord. What has made the difference?”
“Oh, I am afraid I said what I did then to make you pleased with me; and now I fear I don’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ at all, and I am not saved.”
“What you say grieves me very much indeed; and I must ask you, in the presence of God, one very solemn question. When you told me before that your sins were all washed away by the precious blood of Christ, did you say so only to please me, or did you really think it was so at that time?”
“Oh, I could not tell a lie about it. I did think really it was so then, but now I know I was mistaken.”
I saw at once that what I had before suspected was true: our great enemy had occupied the dear little one with her own faith rather than with its object, the Lord Jesus Christ; and then, having swept away that faith from her view, she sunk in the Slough of Despond.
I turned to the first chapter of Leviticus, and read the following words: “If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own voluntary will, or (for his acceptance) at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make an atonement for him” (Lev. 2, 3, 4).
“Now, S―,” I said, “if you were called to die today, what would be your hope?”
With a burst of tears she replied, “I should not have any.”
“Come,” said I, “let us look at this Scripture. You are a poor guilty sinner, are you not?”
“Oh, yes.”
“You cannot therefore approach to God trusting in yourself?”
“Oh, no.”
“This man who came to God brought a lamb, we will say, and you remember of whom it is written, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’?” (John 1).
“Oh yes―the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Very well. When the Israelite brought his lamb, he put his hand upon its head, which was the same as if he had said, ‘O God, I am a poor sinful man, but I bring this innocent lamb as my substitute; please accept it for me.’ Can you this morning say, O God, I am a poor sinful girl; but please accept Thy Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, for me’?”
“Oh yes, I can indeed; it is just what I want.”
“That is right. Now tell me, what does God say here?” and with my finger I pointed t the words, “And. it shall be accepted for him to make an atonement for him.” Sue looked at me more brightly, and I said, “Who is the ‘him’ here?”
“The man who laid his hand on the head of the lamb.”
“And whose words are these?”
“God’s.”
“Are they true?”
“Oh yes.”
“Now, look, I want to show you another Scripture: ‘He hath made us accepted in the beloved’ (Eph. 1:66To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)). Who is the Beloved?”
“The Lord Jesus Christ.”
“And who are the ‘us’ here spoken of?”
“Those who lay their hands on the head of God’s Lamb.”
“This, you say, is your position; and now, though Satan says you are not accepted, God says here you are ‘in the beloved.’ Which will you believe?”
“Oh, I must believe God.”
“Now read on. ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.’ You said just now your sins were not forgiven; see what God says here. There are one or two other places where our sins are spoken of, which I would like also to show you.” I turned to Isaiah 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6): “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” I pointed to the first words, and asked, “Is that you? Have you gone astray?”
“Oh yes,” she replied.
Then, still pointing to the following words, “Have you turned to your own way?”
“Yes,” she said again.
“Then you see your sins were laid by God on the Lord Jesus Christ (pointing to the last clause); for the ‘us’ in the last clause refers to the same persons as the ‘we’ in the first and second. Let us see when this was done: 1 Peter 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24), tells us ‘Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.’ Then it was He bore our sins on the tree. Is He bearing them now?”
“Oh no; He is on the throne of God in heaven, and they cannot be there.”
“Quite true. Let us see what He has done with them: ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:1212As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)). Do you know how far the east is from the west?”
“No.”
“Quite so; it is a distance which cannot be measured. If God had said ‘as far as the north is from the south,’ I should know the distance was about 8000 miles; but no one has ever measured the distance between the east and the west. They can never come together, and God says ‘so far hath he removed our transgressions from us;’ and again, ‘Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back’ (Isaiah 38:1717Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. (Isaiah 38:17))―that is, where God cannot see them. Now you see that in Christ Jesus we are ‘accepted in the beloved,’ and that ‘we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,’ and God Himself tells us so in Eph. 1:6, 76To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:6‑7). Shall we kneel down now, and bless God together that He has ‘accepted us in the beloved,’ and forgiven us all our sins for Christ’s sake?”
“Oh yes, please.”
We knelt, and the sorrowful and despairing one rose from her knees with the assurance of salvation, and knowing “peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.” To the God of all grace be the praise forever!
And now, if any poor doubting, fearing sinner, tempted sorely by Satan, should read this paper, let him remember that Christ is God’s Lamb; that “he has offered himself without spot to God;” that “he loved us, and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savor” (Eph. 5:22And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor. (Ephesians 5:2)); and that through the sweet savor of His person and work ever ascending to God, everyone who can in faith say, “O God, accept Thy Son for me!” is accepted certainly by God according to all the preciousness of that Beloved One to God, “for unto you therefore who believe is the preciousness” (see Greek, 1 Peter 2:77Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, (1 Peter 2:7)). May God seal these consolatory and establishing truths upon the soul of every distressed one, and he shall have “joy and peace in believing,” even a present„ personal, perfect salvation, such as the dying thief received, when the Lord said to him, “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”
J. V.