“I AM glad to see you so well at your age, Jenkins; and as we have an opportunity of speaking of heavenly things, I should be pleased to make use of it, if I do, not hinder you.”
Jenkins laid aside his work, answering, he was only too glad to speak of such matter. So I inquired, “Can you now say that all your sins are cleansed?”
“I should hardly like to be so bold.”
“But you believe the Scriptures?”
“Indeed I do; every word of them,” said he, with feeling.
“But what say you to this Scripture― ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin?’”
“It is very encouraging; but I think my sins are so many.”
“But, Jenkins, you believe that Jesus, your Creator, became a man, and died upon the cross for sinners?”
“Yes, yes, that I do; indeed I do. But I do not like to be so bold as to say, My sins are all cleansed; that were very bold indeed.”
“But see! Suppose you owed several sums of money; that you were in debt for bread, meat, rent, and clothes, and that someone come and paid all your debts, and gave you the receipt; tell me, would it be bold to say, My debts are all paid?”
“No, no; and I begin to see where you are coming.”
“And what would be the best thing you could do, suppose now and then you got a little bit nervous and doubting? Why you should just go to the shelf and take the receipt down, and read the word ‘Paid.’ Now take down God’s word, and read what He says.”
“That I will, “said he; “and what that says there is no gainsaying. It ends all argument, so I believe.”
So he got out his spectacles. “No, I can’t read; the print is too small.”
“But, Jenkins, you must read it yourself if you can.”
“Well, I’ll try the other specks. Yes, I see it now. Why this is the verse the lady made the ink mark under. Don’t you remember, wife? ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’”
“‘All sin,’ friend, God says. Now, don’t you be so bold as to say, All sin except some of mine. You must not write under God’s words, ‘All, sin;’ not all mine, O God That would be bold indeed.”
“That is another way of looking at it; and truly sometimes I feel comfortable like when I think about Christ, but then it all goes again. What you say does cheer one though.”
“It is what God says; we will keep to the Book. Now, look at that word cleanse. What does a little childlike better than playing in the dirt? Very well, its mother washes it; the little thing cannot wash itself. So we like sin by nature, but God washes us. We will turn to Rev. 1:55And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5), and read about it there.”
So he read, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” “Dear! that is comforting; it is beautiful, and so simple, too! Well, I do bless God that I see it so plain. I hope I won’t be so bold as to doubt His word any more. But then we must not go to the dirt again?”
“No, indeed not. But what is it makes the child hate the dirt so much as putting on it a nice white frock? You never saw a girl drag her clean dress in the dirt all at once. We teach the little ones to love to be clean by washing them, and putting clean things on them.”
“That is true enough, poor little dears. But how simple it makes it, does it not, wife? We shall try to keep from sinning; if we know we are washed in the blood, so we shall. Do you see it? It comes very plain and comforting to me.”
“But one thing more, friend. When a little one is washed, and has a clean frock on, yet the mother takes its hand lest it should fall.”
“I see where you are coming again,” said he. “Yes, so He takes care of us.”
“Indeed He does; and He has said, I will never leave thee; ‘I will never forsake thee.’ All is His doing. He sent His Son for us; Jesus washed us in His own blood, and He keeps us from falling. Now, after this, you must look the devil straight in the face, and tell him you are washed, and forgiven, and taken care of. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you; for he is a great coward but if you turn and run from him, he will punish you cruelly.”
“Yes, I will say to him, See, I have got it in this book, and read it out, and say, I don’t want you; so go.”
So we placed a marker in each page where these two tests are to be found; for Jenkins would not have the leaves of God’s holy book turned down—and lined round that in Revelation as that in John’s epistle had been done.
Reader, does God’s word end all argument with you? May it be so, for His own Name’s sake.