"He's about seventy, unsaved, and growing feeble. I've got him to come and stay a day or two, and I'm going to bring him to the gospel meeting tomorrow night. I'm real anxious about his salvation. You will pray for him, won't you?”
The speaker was an earnest Christian woman, and the subject of her fervent wishes was her uncle. How natural that we should wish our loved ones to be blessed of God! And how right, too. I well remember the prayerful niece and her aged relative sitting side by side while I was preaching the gospel the next evening.
There passed before us the two solemn appointments that the unsaved man has before him: Death and Judgment. That simply means Death and Damnation, for no one can rise out of judgment. To die and be damned is the sure and certain lot of the sinner as such. He cannot evade these appointments. They are all divinely fixed. Sin has its sure penalties. "The wages of sin is death.”
But "all have sinned;" hence death and judgment claim all, rightly. Then will all be lost? No. Why? Our verses told us this too: "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.”
In love He went to the cross, "bare our sins in His own body on the tree," bared His bosom to the stroke of divine and righteous judgment. Yes, He who "knew no sin,” appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Wondrous sacrifice! Magnificent grace!
The face of my aged listener betokened much interest, and ere long the tell-tale tears slipped quickly down the wrinkled cheeks. His heart was softened by the tale of the Savior's dying love. The meeting closed with Bonar's lovely hymn,
"I rest in Christ the Son of God,
Who took the servant's form;
By faith I flee to Jesus' cross,
My covert from the storm.
"Jesus put all my sins away,
When bruised to make me whole;
Who shall accuse, or who condemn,
My blameless, ransomed soul?”
Inviting any anxious inquirers to speak with me in the side room, I was soon joined by the old man, who was still weeping. "Well, my friend," said I, "what is the matter?”
"I don't know exactly what it is, but I never felt as I do tonight.”
"Never mind your feelings; the great point is: Have you believed the gospel?”
"Yes, sir, I do believe it. Of course I've always believed it, in a certain sense, but I believe it tonight as I never did before. I certainly do feel as I never felt before,” and as he spoke he stroked his broad chest with his brawny toil-marked hand. "It was just when we were singing that hymn, it seemed to get all clear to me.”
"What part of the hymn?”
"Oh, that bit where it says,
‘Jesus put all my sins away,
When bruised to make me whole.'”
"And do you now believe that Jesus has put all your sins away?”
"Indeed I do tonight, though I never believed this way before.”
"You believe that Jesus bore your sins in His own body on the tree?”
"I believe that now.”
"How many of your sins did He bear?”
"All of them.”
"And where are all your sins now?”
A pause of some moments followed while the old man pondered this query, and then he slowly replied, "I don't feel quite sure as to that.”
"Has He taken them to heaven with Him, do you think?”
"No, no; there's no sin in heaven, I'm sure.”
"Well, then, what has Jesus done with them? You are sure He bore them all on the cross?”
"Yes, I feel sure of that tonight.”
"And you are sure He has not taken them with Him into heaven?”
"Yes, I'm certain about that too.”
"Well, then, what has He done with them?”
"That's just the bit that I'd like to be clear about; but I'm sure He's not put them back on me.”
"Quite right; that is true. But if He did once bear them all on the cross, and He has not taken them into heaven nor put them back on you, what must He have done with them?”
With a deep sigh of relief the truth flashed on his soul. A fresh burst of tears came as the old man replied with deep emphasis, "Why, He must have put them away forever?'
"Exactly so. That is just what Scripture so blessedly states, and what I have been preaching, and what the hymn so sweetly corroborates. If ever your sins could be found, they must be found on Jesus, since He once bore them. If they can't be found on Him, they are gone forever from God's sight.”
Peace, deep and read, entered his soul, and he left for home next day rejoicing in his newly found Savior.
Reader, are you able to say truthfully,
"Jesus put all my sins away,
When bruised to make me whole?”
"For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us."