IN the city of Kishenev, in one of the southern I provinces of Russia, there stands a large building. Its walls are several feet in thickness, and its massive, solid appearance is still further increased by its four great round towers.
This building is the city prison. Within its frowning walls hundred of prisoners are often to be found. There are underground dungeons, dark and lonesome, where the worst criminals are confined; there are cells, lighter and less terrible, which are occupied by those whose offenses are not so heinous.
Some years ago two men drove up in a droshky (a Russian carriage) to the gate of this prison. They had come direct from the governor's house, and were armed with his full permission to visit and speak to the prisoners.
It was an unusual errand that brought to the prison these two visitors, with their hearts aglow with the joy of God's salvation. It was their desire to speak of that salvation to the prisoners, and to tell them how it has been made free to all by the atoning work of Christ, and how it is to be simply received by any poor sinner through faith in Him.
Row by row the men were marched up by the obliging officials. Each received the gift of a New Testament in his own language; and a brief, earnest address was given, pointing to Christ as the only One through whom God's forgiveness could be obtained.
When all was over, the visitors were about to take their leave, when a warder stepped up to the elder of them.
“We have a murderer in our charge at present," said he.
“Have I seen him?" asked the visitor.
“No, he is in solitary confinement.”
“Take me to his cell, please.”
Turning to the stone staircase by which access was afforded to the underground dungeons, the warders led the way to the dark basement regions of the prison. Here, in a lonely cell, lay the murderer.
The visitor introduced himself by offering the man a copy of the New Testament.
“Thank you, but I cannot read," he sadly replied.
“Here, then, is the very thing for you," was the cheery reply. "You will be able to read this, and it teaches the truth it is most important that you should know.”
So saying, the visitor produced a small book of three pages, and handed it to the convict.
The latter took it, opened it, and gazed with a puzzled look upon its pages. No words were there, no letters of the alphabet, but simply colors. The first page was black, the second red, the third white. It was a copy of what is pretty widely known in England as "The Wordless Book.”
“What is the meaning of this? I cannot understand," said the condemned man.
This was the question which the visitor was waiting for. It gave him the opportunity he desired of setting the gospel of God's wonderful grace before the poor prisoner.
“The black leaf represents black sin—yours and mine," he explained. "Sin against God and against mans sin in the heart and sin in the life, black as night, black with coming judgment.
“The red page represents the precious blood of Christ, by which alone sin can be cleansed and put away. He was wounded for our transgressions... with His stripes we are healed.'
“The white leaf represents the perfect salvation of the soul through our Lord Jesus Christ; God's abundant pardon of every sin to those who in true repentance accept Him as their Savior; the complete righteousness that comes to the believing sinner through faith.”
It was all so new to the poor convict. From one page to the other of the "Wordless Book" his eyes anxiously wandered, and his hands began to tremble violently.
“You are able to read that little book, are you not?" asked the kind visitor.
“Yes, I can read it, thank God!" he replied, as big tear drops fell upon his chained hands.
“And thank you, sir, a thousand-fold, for bringing such a message to such an unworthy wretch as I am,”
And thus there was joy in heaven over another repentant sinner.
In reading this narrative, the reader will naturally and unconsciously draw a comparison between himself (or herself) and the degraded occupant of the dungeon at Kishenev. He was a murderer; you are a respectable, decent-living person. He was ignorant and illiterate; you have been educated, and can read these lines without the slightest difficulty.
These things being so, you are apt to forget that in God's sight "there is no difference." All are on the same platform before Him; all are sinners; all are exposed to the same dread consequences of their guilt.
The Bible teaches this plainly and emphatically. (See Rom. 3:22, 23.)
Whether you understand it or not, it is true. You need the same message of salvation that the Russian criminal received so thankfully. There are no two ways of salvation. You, and he, must be saved in just the same way, or not at all.
Listen, then, as he listened. Remember, it is all for you.
First think of SIN, portrayed by the BLACK page of the "Wordless Book.", Men make light of it, but it is of infinite seriousness in the eyes of God. Through one sin Adam fell from his high estate. One sin shut Moses out of the promised land. And if one sin be so serious, what about the many of which you have been guilty? Does not my question awaken memories within you? Do you not recall sins of thought, of word, of deed? Does not your conscience charge you with sinful wishes, sinful thoughts, and sinful actions? All these—your SINS—constitute you a SINNER before God, and expose you to the terrors of His righteous indignation and wrath. This is the first great fact to be faced.
Secondly, think of the power and efficacy of Christ's precious blood, represented by the RED page of the book. It is the one and only means whereby we can be cleansed from our sins. When a guilty sinner turns to God in faith, God has regard to the blood that was shed for sinners; and such is its value that He freely and fully forgives. The truth is that on account of our sin our lives are forfeited. Sentence of death and judgment has been passed upon us. It was in order to bear this penalty on our behalf that the Lord Jesus went to Calvary. The shedding of His blood was the witness that He had laid down His life for us. He was our Surety and Substitute. The chastisement due to us was inflicted upon Him. Thus, and thus only, can we be saved. Neglect the precious blood of Christ and you neglect the only means by which God can extend His blessing to you.
Thirdly, consider the greatness of the salvation, the perfection of the cleansing, set forth by the WHITE page of the book. "Whiter than snow" is the scriptural description of those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb. God clothes them with a righteousness that is altogether apart from their works—a righteousness so perfect that God Himself finds no flaw therein; a robe of such unsullied whiteness that even heaven's light will reveal no spot upon it To think that you, a poor, sinful creature of earth, may be made whiter than snow and perfectly fit for the presence of God.
Such is the efficacy of the precious blood of Christ. There lies the secret of this wonderful thing. The red page lies between the black and the white. He who would move from the black to the white must do so by way of the red. And he who would pass from the blackness of his guilt to the peace and blessing of justification before God can only do so by way of the blood of Christ.
“The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7.)
May God give the reader to ponder over this wonderful verse. Trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and you will experience the efficacy of the precious blood— viz., cleansing from every sin. H. P. B.