A CULTURED Chinese gentleman, an ardent admirer of Confucius, said to me the first day I met him, “I know nothing about Christianity, but I would like to know. I have read the Sermon on the Mount—it is truly beautiful.”
“Tell me,” I said, “where do you find the power to carry out what your prophet Confucius teaches?”
He leaned back in his chair and laughed aloud. “Oh, I have no power! We admire the teaching but we are unable to carry it out.”
“That is just where Christianity differs from every other religion,” was my answer. “Our Lord told us, ‘Without Me ye can do nothing.’ But He also added that He by His Spirit would dwell in our hearts and give us both the desire to do His will and the power to carry that desire into effect.”
A smile of joy spread over his face. “Why, that is wonderful!” he cried. “Wonderful! Tell me about it.”
A few weeks afterward this dear Chinese man received Christ as his Saviour, and I later baptized him.
No religion on earth has power to save anyone, nor the power to help one to live for God. Only the Lord Jesus can change lives and make them fit for God’s holy presence. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12).
Dear friend, if you are unsaved, you are still in your sins, and nothing you can do will make you fit for God. But Jesus has provided a way, so that you, by believing in Him, may have everlasting life. When you take Christ as your Saviour, God gives you a new nature, capable of loving Him. The Spirit of God, dwelling in the heart, is the power that enables one to live for the Lord, teaches him from His Word, and gives a happiness which this poor world cannot give. Why not trust Him today?
ML-04/15/1962