Jesus & Salvation
Jesus & Salvation
Jesus & Salvation
RELATED INDEX TOPICS: God, Love of God, Communion with God, Testimonies of Faith.
1. At the close of a Gospel service an intelligent-looking man came to the minister & said, "I do
not see any necessity for the Blood of Christ in my salvation. I can be saved without believing in His shed
Blood."
"Very well, said the minister, "how then do you propose to be saved?"
"By following His example," was the answer. "That is enough for any man."
"I suppose it is," said the minister. "And you propose to do just that in your life?"
"I do, and I am sure that that is enough."
"Very well. I am sure that you want to begin right. The Word of God tells us how to do that. I read
here concerning Christ, 'Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.' I suppose that you can say
that of yourself, too?" (1Pet.2:22).
The man became visibly embarrassed. "Well," he said, "I cannot say that exactly. I have sometimes
sinned."
"In that case you do not need an example, but a Saviour; and the only way of salvation is by His
shed Blood."
2. A preacher was speaking from the text, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son Cleanseth us from all
sin."
Suddenly he was interrupted by an atheist who asked, "How can blood cleanse sin?"
For a moment the preacher was silent; then he countered, "How can water quench thirst?"
"I do not know," replied the infidel, "but I know that it does."
"Neither do I know how the blood of Jesus cleanses sin," answered the preacher, "but I know that
it does."
3. Holman Hunt painted the picture "Christ the Light of the World." It is a painting of Christ in a
garden at midnight, holding a lantern in His left hand. With His right hand He is knocking on a heavily
panelled door. When the painting was unveiled, several critics were present. One critic detected what he
thought was lacking, namely, a knob on the door. He said, "You haven't finished your work."
"It is finished," said the artist.
"But there is no knob on the door," protested the critic.
"Ah!" said the artist, "that is the door to the human heart. It can be opened only from the inside!"
4. Dr. Bernardo, the great friend of friendless children, told a story of how a dirty ragged urchin
hailed him in the street one day, with the request that he might be taken into one of Bernardo's Homes.
"I know nothing about you, my lad," said the Doctor. "What have you to recommend you?"
"I thought these would be enough," said the little chap, pointing to his rags.
Dr. Bernardo gathered him up in his arms & took him in.
5. You simply can't put your sins behind you until you face them.
6. Renan, the Frenchman, said, "In Jesus is condensed all that is good & exalted in nature."
Thomas Paine, the infidel said, "The morality that He preached has not been exceeded by any."
Rousseau stated, "If the life & death of Socrates were those of a martyr, the life & death of Jesus
Christ were those of a God."
The Jew, Disraeli, acknowledged the fact that, "Jesus has conquered Europe & has changed its
name to Christendom."
Thomas Jefferson, said, "Jesus Christ has given to us the most sublime & benevolent code of
morals ever offered to man."
The great theologian & Biblical critic, David Strauss, said, "Jesus remains the highest model of
religion within the reach of our thoughts. No perfect piety is possible without His presence in the heart."
8. If there is no repentance, there can be no pardon. Some years ago a murderer was sentenced to
death. The murderer's brother, to whom the State was deeply indebted for former services, besought the
governor of the State for his brother's pardon. The pardon was granted, & the man visited his brother with
the pardon in his pocket. "What would you do," he said to him, "if you received a pardon?"
"The first thing I would do," he answered, "is to track down the judge who sentenced me, &
murder him; & the next thing I would do is to track down the chief witness, & murder him."
The brother rose, & left the prison with the pardon in his pocket.
9. A Scottsman, while walking the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa, happened to glance in the
gutter, & saw a piece of paper on which was written in large letters: "Five thousand pounds reward!"
Moved with curiosity & a desire for the reward, he stooped down & retrieved the paper. It turned out to be
a four-page Gospel tract. On opening it he read: "Five thousand pounds will be paid to the person or
persons who can answer the following question: 'How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?'"
Needless to say, the reward remains unclaimed unto this day! (Heb.2:3)
10. He who provides for this life, but makes no provision for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a
fool forever.
11. It pleases the Father that all fullness should be in Christ; therefore there is nothing but
emptiness anywhere else.
12. A cloud over the sun makes no change in the body of the sun; so, though the divine nature be
covered with the human, it makes no change in the divine nature.
13. Between Jesus & whomsoever else in the World there is no possible comparison.
14. In His life Christ is an example showing us how to live; in His death, He is a sacrifice
satisfying for our sins; in His resurrection, a Conqueror; in His ascension, a King; in His intercession, a
High Priest.
15. Salvation does not come from assent of the head but by the consent of the heart.
16. While presenting the Gospel on the street of a California city, we were often interrupted about
as follows: "Look here, sir! There are hundreds of religions in this country, & the followers of each sect
think theirs the only right one. How can poor plain men like us find out what really is the truth?"
We generally replied something like this: "Hundreds of religions, you say? That's strange; I've
heard of only two."
"Oh, but you surely know there are more than that?"
"Not at all, sir. I find, I admit, many shades of difference in the opinions of those comprising the
two great schools; but after all there are but two. The one covers all who expect salvation by doing; the
other, all who have been saved by something done. So you see the whole question is very simple. Can you
save yourself, or must you be saved by another? If you can be your own savior, you do not need my
message. If you cannot, you may well listen to it."
17. An old preacher, who was preaching on a village green in England, had lived on the American
prairies. He described the way the Indians saved their wigwams from a prairie fire by setting fire to the dry
grass adjoining the settlement. "The fire cannot come," he cried, "where the fire has already been."
"That is why I call you to the Cross of Christ," he continued. "Judgement has already fallen & can
never come again. He who takes his stand at the Cross is safe evermore. He can never come into
condemnation, he is in God's safety zone."
18. When God was about to create Man, says a Jewish legend, He took into His counsel the Angels
that stood about His throne.
"Create him not," said the Angel of Justice, "for if Thou dost he will commit all kinds of
wickedness against his fellow men; he will be hard & cruel & dishonest & unrighteous."
"Create him not," said the Angel of Truth, "for he will be false & deceitful to his brother-man, &
even to Thee."
"Create him not," said the Angel of Holiness, "he will follow that which is impure in Thy sight, &
dishonour Thee to Thy face."
Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy (God's best beloved) & said: "Create him, our Heavenly
Father, for when he sins & turns from the path of right & truth & holiness I will take him tenderly by the
hand, & speak loving words to him, & then lead him back to Thee."
19. When I was in England, during one of the conferences, a woman told me she was once
awakened by a very strange noise of pecking, or something of the kind. When she got up, she saw a
butterfly flying back & forth inside the window pane in a great fright, & outside a sparrow pecking &
trying to get in. The butterfly did not see the glass, & expected every minute to be caught, & the sparrow
did not see the glass, & expected every minute to get the butterfly. Yet all the while that butterfly was as
safe as if it had been millions of miles away, because of the glass between it & the sparrow. So it is with a
Christian. Satan cannot touch the soul that has the Lord Jesus Christ between itself & him.
20. A Negro, carrying a bag of potatoes on his back, was asked by a skeptic: "How do you know
you are saved?"
The Negro took a few steps & then dropped the bag. Then he said:
"How do I know I have dropped the bag? I have not looked around."
"No," replied the man. "You can tell by the lessening of the weight."
"Yes," went on the Negro, "that is how I know I am saved. I have lost the guilty feeling of sin &
sorrow & have found peace & satisfaction in my Lord & Saviour."
21. A many may go to Heaven without health, without honours, without learning, without friends;
but he can never get to Heaven without Christ.
22. A missionary in India spoke near a fountain on the subject; "Jesus, the Water of Life."
A Moslem interrupted, "Your religion is like this little stream of water, but Islam is like a great
ocean!"
"Yes," said the missionary, "but there is this difference: When men drink ocean water they die of
thirst. When they drink the water of life which Christ gives they live forever!"
23. Outside the Bible, there are several secular writers who make mention of the Lord Jesus
Christ:
Tacitus--in Book XV, Ch.44--writing in A.D.114, tells us that the founder of the Christian religion,
Jesus Christ, was put to death by Pontius Pilate in the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius.
Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan on the subject of Christ & Christians (Book
X-96).
Josephus, the Jewish historian, in A.D.90, has a short biographical note on Jesus Who is called
Christ in his "Antiquities"--Book XVIII, Ch.III, Section 3.
The "Babylonian Talmud" makes mention of Jesus Christ.
24. "Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, & Jesus for only 3. Yet the
influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of
teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Jesus painted no
pictures; yet, some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, & Leonardo da Vinci received their
inspiration from Him.
Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, & scores of the world's greatest poets were inspired by
Him. Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, & Mendelssohn reached their
highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, & oratories they composed in His praise. Every
sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.
25. In infancy He startled a king; in boyhood He puzzled the doctors, in manhood He walked upon
the billows & hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine & made no charge for His
services. He never wrote a book, yet not all the libraries of the country could hold the books that could be
written about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme of more songs than all song
writers combined. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students
as He has. Great men have come & gone, yet He lives on. Death could not destroy Him, the grave could not
hold Him.
26. An African in a jungle village was one of a crowd listening to a missionary tell of Jesus Christ,
His matchless personality & sacrificial life of service. The African could not contain his joy. Breaking in on
the missionary's message, he cried: "I always knew there ought to be a God like that, but never before did I
know His Name!"
27. Faith hath two hands; with one it pulls off its own righteousness & throws it away ... with the
other it puts on Christ's.
28. Two men, the one a foreman, the other, one of the carpenters under him, were standing on the
deck of a steamship then on the stocks, in one of the shipbuilding yards on the Clyde. "Well, S.," said the
foreman, "I have been anxious to have a conversation with you. I'm told you are one of those people who
say they know for certain that they are saved. Is that true?"
"Yes," said S., "quite true; thank God, I know I'm saved; in fact, there is nothing I'm more sure of,
than that I'm saved."
"Well, now," said the foreman, "that is something I cannot see through, how any man can say that
he is saved as long as he is in this World. I think it is rather presumptuous for anyone to say so ..."
"Well," said S., "there is a reality in being saved, in being a child of God, & in knowing it. What is
the breadth of this waterway?"
The foreman, astonished at the apparent sudden change in the conversation, said, "Why, fourteen
inches all around, to be sure; what makes you ask that, when you know?"
"But are you quite sure that it is to be fourteen inches?"
"Certainly."
"But what makes you so sure?"
"Why, I'm going by the book," &, as he said so, he pulled a book out of his pocket, in which were
marked the sizes & position of the various things on the deck. "I'm sure it is fourteen inches, for it is here in
the book, & I got the book from headquarters."
"Oh! I see," said S., "now look here; that is exactly how I know I'm saved. I'm just going by the
Book. It came from Headquarters--it is God's Word."
29. The following story came direct to us from the Rev. Mr. Cunningham of South China: One day
a well-dressed, intelligent-looking man came to the Street Chapel. He sat & listened well for some time,
then left. This was repeated three consecutive days. Then he rose & addressed the missionary, saying: "I
have heard you speak three times & you always have the same text. Why don't you change it?"
Mr. Cunningham, somewhat surprised, asked, "What text?"
"Jesus Christ," was the reply.
After a moment's silence the missionary replied: "Sir, before answering your question, may I ask
you: 'What had you for dinner today?'"
"Rice," replied the man.
"What food had you yesterday?"
Again came--"Rice."
"And what do you expect to eat in the future," the missionary asked.
"Rice, of course. Rice gives me strength. I could not do without it. Sir, it is--," he hesitated as if for
a strong word--"Sir, it is my very life!"
The missionary raised his hand, "That is just what I wanted from you. What you have said of rice,
Jesus Christ is to our souls. He is the rice of life!"
30. I remember hearing of a young man who went to a minister in great distress about his spiritual
state. He said to the minister, "Sir, can you tell me what I must do to find peace?"
The minister replied, "Young man, you are too late."
"Oh", said the young man, "You don't mean to say I am too late to be saved?"
"Oh, no," was the reply, "but you are too late to do something. Jesus did everything that needed to
be done twenty centuries ago."
31. They had been talking with Dr. W.H. Griffith-Thomas night after night, endeavouring to win
him, then a young doctor, for Christ. Nothing they said seemed to cut through the mental fog that blocked
the way to a clear understanding of salvation. Finally realising that the young man's difficulty was his own
inability to "feel" saved, Mr. Poole took a coin, & handing it to Dr. Griffith-Thomas asked him to put it in
his vest-pocket.
"Do you feel you've got it?" Mr. Poole asked.
"No," replied the young doctor, "I know I have."
"So," Mr. Poole rejoined, "we know we have Christ when we accept Him & believe His Word,
without feeling it."
Dr. Griffith-Thomas testified later, "When I awoke the next morning my soul was overflowing
with joy, & since then I have never doubted that it was on that Saturday night I was 'born again'--converted
to God."
32. While walking down a street one day, I passed a store where a man on the pavement was
washing the large plate glass window. There was one soiled spot which defied all efforts to remove it. After
rubbing hard & using much soap & water & failing to remove it, he found out the trouble. "It's on the
inside," he called out to someone in the store.
Many are striving to cleanse the soul from its stains. They wash it with tears of sorrow; they scrub
it with the soap of good resolves; they rub it with the chamois of morality; but still the consciousness of it is
not removed. The trouble is, "It's on the inside." Nothing but the Blood of Jesus, applied by the mighty
power of Holy Spirit, can cleanse the inside.
33. I was travelling some years ago with one of the most eminent Jews of our time, the late Dr.
Cappadose of Amsterdam. He said to me, "Would you like to know how I became a Christian?"
"I should, very much," I replied.
He said, "I was reading my Hebrew Old Testament, & I came to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. I had
read it before, but this time my eyes seemed opened. I began to think it was the New Testament I had gotten
hold of by mistake. I turned the back of it toward me to make sure it was my own Bible. As I read it again
& again, I saw what I had never seen before--sin laid on another. And Who could it be but the Lord Jesus?
The end of that was that I became a Christian without the New Testament at all!"
34. Christ's Blood has value enough to redeem the whole World, but the virtue of it is applied only
to such as believe.
35. Whatever your past has been, you can have a spotless future.
36. A Christian has not lost the power to sin, but the desire to sin.
37. "Socialism," declared a street orator, "can put a new coat on a man!"
"Jesus Christ," cried a voice in the crowd, "can put a new man in the coat, & that is better still!"
39. The Bible is concerned only incidentally with the history of Israel or a system of ethics. The
Bible is primarily concerned with the story of redemption of God as it is in Jesus Christ. If you read the
Scriptures & miss the story of salvation, you have missed its message & meaning. There have been those
who have gone through the Bible & traced the story of Jesus:
In Genesis He is the Seed of the Woman.
In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus He is the Atoning Sacrifice.
In Numbers He is the Smitten Rock.
In Deuteronomy He is the Rock.
In Joshua He is the Captain of the Lord's Hosts.
In Judges He is the Deliverer.
In Ruth He is the Heavenly Kinsman.
In the Books of Kings he is the Promised King.
In Nehemiah He is the Restorer of the nation.
In Esther He is the Advocate.
In Job He is my Redeemer.
In Psalms He is my All & in All.
In Proverbs He is my Pattern.
In Ecclesiastes He is my Goal.
In the Song of Solomon He is my Satisfier.
In the Prophets He is the Coming Prince of Peace.
In the Gospels He is Christ coming to seek & to save.
In Acts He is Christ risen.
In the Epistles He is Christ at the Father's right hand.
In the Revelation He is Christ returning & reigning.
40. An old coloured woman in one of the southern States of U.S.A., who was very poor &
ignorant, was very confident she was going to Heaven. "What?" said one, "nobody knows anything about
you, & if you go to Hell, the Universe will be ignorant of it."
"Yes, massa," said she, "it won't make no difference to the Universe; but it will make a great
difference to the Lawd. His honour would be gone."
(John 10:28; 6:36,37; 17:2,12)
41. Here is a Man Who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up
in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30, & then for three years He was
an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family.
He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never travelled 200 miles
from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompanies greatness.
He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this World except the naked power
of His divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went
through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of
property He had on Earth while He was dying--& that was His coat. When He was dead He was taken
down & laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen wide centuries have come & gone & today he is the centerpiece of the human race & the
leader of the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, & all the navies that
ever were built, & all the parliaments that ever sat, & all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not
affected the life of man upon this Earth as powerfully as has that One solitary life.
42. To many, Jesus Christ is only a person, a subject for a painting, a heroic theme for a pen, a
beautiful form for a statue & a thought for a song; but to those who have heard His voice, who have felt His
pardon, who have received His benediction, He is music, warmth, light, joy, hope & salvation, a Friend
Who never forsakes, Who lifts us when others try to push us down. We cannot wear Him out; we pile on
Him all our griefs & troubles. He is always ready to lift us; He is always ready to help us; He addresses
with the same Love; He beams upon us with the same smile; He pities us with the same compassion.
There is no Name like His. It is more inspiring than Caesar's, more musical than Beethoven's,
more conquering than Napoleon's, more eloquent than Demosthenes', more patient than Lincoln's. The
Name of Jesus throbs with all life, weeps with all pathos, groans with all pains, stoops with all Love. Its
breath is laden with perfume. Who like Jesus can pity a homeless orphan? Who like Jesus can welcome a
prodigal back home? Who like Jesus can make a drunkard sober? Who like Jesus can illuminate a cemetery
plowed with graves? Who like Jesus can make a queen unto God out of a woman of the street? Who like
Jesus can catch the tears of a human sorrow in His bowl? Who like Jesus can kiss away our sorrow?
I struggle for a metaphor with which to express Jesus. He is not like the bursting forth of an
orchestra; that is too loud & it may be out of tune. He is not like the sea when lashed into a rage by a storm;
that is too boisterous. He is not like a mountain wreathed in lightning, canopied with snow; that is too
solitary & remote.
He is the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, a gale of spices from Heaven.
43. An aged saint, on being asked to describe salvation, aptly replied, "Something for nothing."
Another aged saint, who had weathered the storms for many a long year & was nearing the
heavenly harbour, on hearing this story related, exclaimed, "Yes, it's even better than that. It's everything
for nothing."
44. Christ never looks greater than when you put some great men by His side. "I paint!" cried
Raphael.
"I build!" was the boast of Michaelangelo.
"I rule!" cried Caesar.
"I sing!" cried Homer.
"I conquer!" cried Alexander.
"I seek & save!" cries Jesus Christ.
45. My Master was so very poor,
A manger was His cradling place;
So very rich my Master was--
Kings came from far to gain His grace.
47. To be Himself a star most bright, to bring the wise men to His sight,
To be Himself a voice most sweet, to call the shepherds to His feet,
To be a child--it was His will, that folk like us might find Him still.
--John Erskine
48. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, & given Him a Name which is above every
name. (Phil.2:9)
50. A vase closely sealed was found in a mummy pit in Egypt by the English traveller Wilkinson.
In it were discovered a few peas, old, wrinkled, & hard as a stone. The peas were planted carefully under a
glass & at the end of 30 days they sprang into life, after having lain sleeping in the dust of a tomb for
almost 3,000 years--a faint illustration of the mortal body which shall put on immortality. "Because He
lives, we shall live also."
51. The Gospel of Jesus Christ breaks hard hearts & heals broken hearts.
52. The story is told by the Persians of the great Shah Abbas, who reigned magnificently in Persia,
but loved to mingle with the people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, he descended the long flight
of stairs, dark and damp, to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace.
The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse,
black bread and a jug of water and they ate and drank. The Shah went away, but returned again and again,
for his heart was filled with sympathy for the lonely man. He gave him sweet counsel, and the poor man
opened his whole heart and loved this friend, so kind, so wise, and yet poor like himself.
At last the emperor thought, 'I will tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.' So he said,
'You think me poor, but I am Shah Abbas your emperor.' He expected a petition for some great thing, but
the man sat silent, gazing on him with love and wonder. Then the king said. 'Haven't you understood? I can
make you rich and noble, can give you a city, can appoint you as a great ruler. Have you nothing to ask?'
The man replied gently, 'Yes, my lord, I understood. But what is this you have done, to leave your
palace and glory, to sit with me in this dark place, to partake of my coarse fare, to care whether my heart is
glad or sorry? Even you can give nothing more precious. On others you may bestow rich presents, but to
me you have given yourself; it only remains to ask that you never withdraw this gift of your friendship.'
(Mark 10.45; Gal.2.20; Eph.5.2,25)
53. Two men who had been friends in their youth met years later in the police court of a great city,
one on the judge's bench, the other in the prisoner's dock. Evidence was heard, and the prisoner found
guilty. In consideration of their former friendship the judge was asked to withhold sentence.
'No,' he said. 'that cannot be; justice must be done and the law upheld.'
So he gave sentence: 'Fifty dollars fine, or fourteen days at hard labour.'
The condemned man had nothing wherewith to pay, so prison was before him. Then the judge,
having fulfilled his duty, stepped down beside the prisoner, paid his fine, put his arm about him, and said,
'Now, John, you are going home with me to dinner.' Not even God can overlook sin. He must be faithful
and just. But for us the Judge was crucified! 'Lo! guilt is gone, and I am free.'
(Hab.1.13; Rom.3.24,26)
55. Nature forms us; sin deforms us; school informs us; but only Christ transforms us.
58. JESUS CHRIST is the heart of the Bible. He is the Shiloh in Genesis; the I AM in Exodus; the
Star and Sceptre in Numbers; the Rock in Deuteronomy; the Captain of the Lord's Host in Joshua; and the
Redeemer in Job. He is David's Lord and Shepherd in the Psalms; in the Song of Songs He is the Beloved;
in Isaiah He is the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of
Peace. In Jeremiah He is the Lord our Righteousness; in Daniel He is the Messiah; in Zechariah He is the
Branch; in Haggai He is the Desire of all Nations; in Malachi He is the Messenger of the Covenant and the
Sun of Righteousness; in the Book of Revelation He is the Alpha and the Omega, and also the Morning
Star.
59. A simple way to remember the word "justified" that always stuck with me since I was a boy
was when the preacher illustrated how we're justified by Jesus' blood, it's just-if-I'd never sinned! He
cleansed us from all our sins. "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin"--past, present, future.
(1Jn.1:7) Just-if-I'd never sinned, justified. Really it means it makes you just, righteous, saved!--Dad
60. Jesus lived that He might die and died that we might live!
63. The poor Catholics & "holiness" people really live in eternal insecurity! They never know
when or where or how or if they're saved! It's enough to make a nervous wreck out of you, & a lot of them
wind up nervous wrecks! I know Dr. Ironside wrote some good books on that if you ever want to read
them.
He started out "holiness" & finally wound up a nervous wreck with TB & everything because he
just couldn't stay good enough! He couldn't stay saved all the time. When he was in the TB Sanitarium he
got time to read the Word & found out it was just by grace! So he wrote a book called, "Grace Plus Faith
Plus Nothing!" Well, you don't have to read his books, just read Ephesians 2:8,9.
They make the standard so high that you know it's impossible to attain, so you almost give up
altogether like Ironside did.
Well, when he finally realised that it wasn't him, that it was the Lord & all he had to do was trust
God & obey Him & His Law of Love & love others, in that horrible tubercular condition, dying,
hemorrhaging, coughing up blood & everything else, wasting away, he cried out to God desperately to save
him & he was gloriously saved & healed!
He immediately began to get better & he began to tell everybody, witness to everybody: "Why, do
you know all you have to do to get saved is just believe, that's all! Just believe! Grace--God's grace--faith--
your faith--plus nothing! That's all it takes to get saved!" Grace + Faith + Nothing! Well, of course the
works will come as works of love & labours of love for the Lord, but they are not required for salvation.
They're a manifestation of salvation & your love for the Lord & others.
So he went around shouting & praising God & witnessing & preaching this newfound Gospel, just
like Martin Luther when he finally came to the conclusion that we're saved by grace through faith & that
not of ourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast!--Ephesians 2:8,9. When Martin
Luther had made this same realisation, he got up from his crawl on his knees up the steps & began to shout:
"I don't have to do this to be saved! I don't have to do penance, I don't have to crawl up these steps
& on my hands & knees to the Pope or anybody! I can just be saved by the grace of God! He's already
given it, all I have to do is receive it & thank God for it!"
He went around preaching that & getting folks saved by grace & got thrown out of the church
because that was absolutely intolerable doctrine that you didn't have to be good, you didn't have to have
works, you didn't have to be a saint to be saved, you could just be a saved sinner.--Dad
64. Justification means that God through this amazing process makes me appear justified in His
eyes: "Just-as-if-I-never-sinned."
68. Jesus Christ was born in the meanest of circumstances, but the air above was filled with the
hallelujahs of the heavenly hosts. His lodging was a cattle pen, but a star drew distinguished visitants from
afar to do Him homage.
His birth was contrary to the laws of life. His death was contrary to the laws of death. No miracle
is so inexplicable as His life & teaching.
He had no cornfields or fisheries, but he could spread a table for 5000 & have bread & fish to
spare. He walked on no beautiful carpets, but He walked on the waters & they supported Him.
His crucifixion was the crime of crimes, but, on God's side, no lower price than His infinite agony
could have made possible our redemption. When He died few men mourned, but a black crepe was hung
over the sun. Though men trembled not for their sins, the Earth beneath shook under the load. All nature
honoured Him, sinners alone rejected Him.
Sin never touched Him. Corruption could not get hold of His body. The soil that had been
reddened with His blood could not claim His dust.
71. Three years He preached His Gospel. He wrote no book, built no church, had no money back
of Him. After 1900 years, He is the one central character of human history, the perpetual theme of all
preaching, the pivot around which the events of the age revolve, the only Regenerator of the human race.
Was it only the son of Joseph & Mary who crossed the World's horizon nearly 2000 years ago?
Was it merely human blood that was spilled on Calvary's hill for the redemption of sinners & which has
worked such wonders in men & nations through the centuries?
What thinking man can keep from exclaiming: "MY LORD & MY GOD!"
A Carpenter's in Nazareth
Were skilled with tool and wood;
They laid the beams of simple homes
And found their labor good.
74. JESUS challenges the attention of the World by His great versatility. He meets all the needs of
all classes and conditions of men.
Call the roll of the World's workers and ask,
"What think ye of Christ?" Their answers amaze us by their revelation of these qualifying
attributes of the Saviour. He is:
To the Artist--the One Altogether Lovely.
To the Architect--the Cornerstone.
To the Astronomer--Sun of Righteousness.
To the Baker--the Living Bread.
To the Doctor--the Great Physician.
To the Educator--the Great Teacher.
To the Farmer--The Sower and the Lord of the Harvest.
To the Newspaper man--the Good Tidings of Great Joy.
To the Servant--the Good Master.
To the Student--the Incarnate Truth.
To the Theologian--the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
To the Builder--the Sure Foundation.
To the Carpenter--the Door.
To the Preacher--the Word of God.
To the Banker--the Hidden Treasure.
To the Biologist--the Life.
To the Toiler--the Giver of Rest.
To the Electrician--the Light of the World
To the Florist--the Rose of Sharon & the Lily of the Valley
To the Jeweler--The Living Precious Stone
To the Lawyer--Counselor, Lawgiver & Advocate
To the Sinner--The Lamb of God who taketh away sin.
77. There was a famous king who had a favourite jester in his court. Because of all his good works
all those years in cheering up the king & making him happy & cracking jokes & being so funny, he gave
him some property & quite an income & retired him. Then the king gave him this beautiful cane with gold
wrought into the wood, & the king said, "I want to give to you this, my own cane, as a special present to
you from me, because you have been such an encouragement to me all these years. You're going away now
on a trip because I have set you free, & I want you to take the cane with you. That's my special gift to you
for being the greatest fool I ever had!"
Some years later the king's fool heard that the king himself was dying & he came to his deathbed
& began to sympathise with him & asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"What do you mean?" asked the king.
"Are you ready to die? Have you made any preparations for this journey into death?"
The king asked, "How could I make preparations to die, what do you mean?"
And the king's jester said, "Have you received Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Are you saved, are
you ready to die? Are you ready to go to Heaven?" The king said,
"No, I'm not!"
The king's jester said, "Well, since the last time I saw you I have met Jesus & have found Him as
my Saviour & I am ready to go!" They were both close to the same age. The jester said, "Once I was going
on a long journey & you gave me this cane as a present because you said that I was the greatest fool you
ever had. But I have made my preparations for that journey, the longest journey we'll ever take, & one from
which we'll never return. But you have not made preparations for that journey. So I want to give you back
the cane: You're a greater fool than I am!"--Dad
78. God has never promised to forgive a single sin that man is not willing to forsake.
79. Our answer to the Devil's charge is not an alibi, but a plea of guilty & a claim that the demands
of justice have been satisfied in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
80. The Love of God cannot be merited or earned, but it can be spurned.
81. Anyone can devise a plan by which good people may go to Heaven. Only God can devise a
plan whereby sinners, who are his enemies, can go to Heaven.
82. The death-struck sinner, like the wan, anemic, dying invalid, is saved by having poured into his
veins the healthier blood of Christ.
83. In taking the sinner's place on the cross, Jesus became as totally accountable for sin as if He
was totally responsible for it.
85. Reformation is putting a new coat on the man. Regeneration is putting a new man in the coat.
87. If the value of an object is determined by the price paid for it, then think of your value. You
have been purchased by the highest price imaginable--the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
88. The Lord Jesus (who is God) became the Son of man, in order that I (a mere man) might
become a son of God!
89. There is a tremendous contrast between religion & salvation: Religion is man trying to reach
up to God. Salvation is God reaching down to man.
90. Salvation is only by a working faith. In short, good works are the fruit of saving faith. They are
also the proof of saving faith.
91. Whatever contribution men make to their Salvation they make by the grace of God. And that
makes Salvation the work of grace 100%.
92. That Christ & a forgiven sinner should be made one, & share Heaven between them, is the
wonder of Salvation; what more could Love do?
93. We need to be delivered from the freedom which is absolute bondage into the bondage which
is perfect freedom.
94. Seeing we are born God's enemies we must be new-born His sons.
98. Once a Christian mechanic was greasing my car & I asked him how he'd gotten saved. He said,
"I was scared into it! An evangelist at our church was always praising the Lord no matter what happened.--
So one day we kids went out & cut all the ignition wires in his car. We were going to have a big laugh at
him because we figured he wouldn't praise the Lord for that.
"He was the last one out of the church & there was nobody left to help him or give him a ride. He
tried over & over again to start his car, but, of course, no car will run with the ignition wires cut. Then he
prayed, 'Lord, I've only got a short time to get to my next meeting, so in Jesus' Name I command this car to
go!'--And he turned the key & off he roared!
"I nearly fainted dead away because I knew there was no car on Earth that could run with the wires
cut! We felt the presence of the angel of the Lord so close we were scared stiff! So that night in church all
of the boys in our gang got saved!"--Dad
99. Jesus is God spelling Himself out in a language that man can understand.
100. Jesus did not cease to be the Son of God when He became a man. He did not drop His deity,
which is an impossible thought. He remained what He was & added what He had not had, namely a human
nature, derived out of a woman, a human mother. He became the God-man.
He was like a king who temporarily put on the garments of a peasant while at the same time
remaining king.
101. Our hope lies not in the man we put on the moon, but in the Man we put on the cross.
102. Since God has a Son of His own, & such a Son, how wonderful God's Love in adopting us!
103. We are born with our backs upon God & Heaven, & our faces upon sin & Hell, till grace
comes & that converts--turns us.
104. Salvation never results from good deeds; salvation always results in good deeds.
105. We are not justified by doing good works, but being justified we then do good.
109. Faith hath two hands; with one it pulls off its own righteousness & throws it away ... with the
other it puts on Christ's.
111. Life with Christ is an endless hope. Life without Christ is a hopeless end.
112. If you are never born again, you will wish you had never been born at all.
113. The best news the World ever had came from a graveyard.
114. We are more sure to arise out of our graves than out of our beds.
118. "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"--1Cor.15:57.
121. I have a great need for Christ. I have a great Christ for my need!
122. Since I have been converted, I am happier when I am unhappy than when I used to be happy
before I was converted.
123. Jesus Christ is: absolutely necessary; exclusively sufficient; instantaneously accessible;
perennially satisfying; totally powerful.
124. The Christ Who rules us rules all things for us.
126. There is a legend of Martin Luther, that, during a serious illness, the Evil One entered his
sick-room and, looking at him with a triumphant smile, unrolled a big scroll which he carried in his arms.
As the fiend threw one end of it on the floor, it unwound by itself. Luther's eyes read the long
fearful record of his own sins, one by one. That stout heart quailed before the ghastly roll.
Suddenly it flashed into Luther's mind that there was one thing not written there. He cried aloud:
"One thing you have forgotten. The rest is all true, but one thing you have forgotten: 'The blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,'" And as he said this, the Accuser of the Brethren and his heavy roll
disappeared.
128. The Lord Jesus has paid too high a price for our redemption to leave us in the enemy's hand.
129. The elect are whosoever will; the non-elect are whosoever won't.
--Henry Ward Beecher
130. Conversion is no repairing of the old building; but it takes it all down & erects a new
structure.
131. Christ hath crossed out the black lines of our sin with the red lines of His own blood.
132. Christ rose again, but our sins did not: they are buried forever in His grave.
134. Fact is fact & feeling is feeling; never does the second change the first.
135. Salvation is defined this way: God thought it; Jesus bought it; The Holy Spirit wrought it; The
Devil fought it; & I've got it.
136. When a child is old enough to know that he has sinned, that child is old enough to know that
he needs to be saved.
137. It will cost you your sins if you come to Jesus, but it will cost you your soul if you do not
come to Him.
138. God is for us--that is good. God is with us--that is better. God is in us--that is best.
140. The resurrection of Jesus is something to shout about. It is an explosive event whose fall-out
affects the whole human race.
141. The same power that brought Christ back from the dead is operative within those who are
Christ's. The resurrection is an ongoing thing.
142. Man is responsible to God for becoming what God has made possible for him to become.
144. No soldiers of Christ are ever lost, missing or left dead on the battlefield.
145. Jesus has made the life of His people as eternal as His Own.
146. As God numbers the hairs of His people, He must needs preserve their heads.
147. No philosophy that will not teach us how to master death is worth a thing to us.
149. Christ needs take no other revenge on a soul for refusing Him than to condemn such a one to
have his own desire.
150. There are too many grandchildren of Christ in the World, those whose parents were Christians
but they aren't. Nowhere in the Bible does God claim grandchildren--just children, born again by faith in
Christ.
151. Salvation may come quietly, but we can't remain quiet about it.
152.During WW2, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was waiting at an airport for a
plane. A sailor stepped to a ticket window & asked for a seat on the same plane, explaining, "I want to see
my mother, I haven't much time."
The indifferent person at the ticket window was not impressed. "There's a war on, you know," she
replied.
At this point General Roosevelt, who had overheard the conversation, stepped to the window &
told her to give the sailor his seat. A friend said, "Teddy, aren't you in a hurry, too?"
"It's a matter of rank," came the reply. "I'm only a general; he's a son!"
153. I am writing to say how much I care for you and to say how much I want you to know Me
better.
When you awoke this morning I exploded a brilliant sunrise through your window hoping to get
your attention, but you rushed off without even noticing.
Later, I noticed you were walking with some friends, so I bathed you in warm sunshine and
perfumed the air with nature's sweet scent, and still you didn't notice me. As you passed by, I shouted to
you in a thunderstorm and painted a beautiful rainbow in the sky and you didn't even look.
In the evening, I spilled moonlight onto your face and sent a cool breeze to rest you. As you slept,
I watched over you and shared your thoughts, but you were unaware that I was so near.
I have chosen you and hope you will talk to Me soon. Until then I will remain near. I am your
Friend and love you very much.