A servant of the Lord was preaching the gospel in a little village. It was from the 17th chapter of Acts; and although it is now over twenty-five years ago, I remember his speaking on the second verse: "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.”
The preacher said: "Take notice: Paul did not reason out of his head; he reasoned out of the Scriptures." I was in deep exercise of soul, as I knew I was unsaved, and I had a deep dread of death. That afternoon my mother had told me that my two sisters were saved, and the thought struck me: "You are the only one of us that is not saved." I felt miserable, and on the way to the meeting I spoke to my sisters about how one could be saved.
One of them said to me: "Believe that Christ died for you, and rose again; and keep saying, 'I am saved because I believe this.'”
I kept on reasoning; what good will that do me? Just to believe that—how is it going to save me? I turned these things over and over in my mind, until the preacher told about a little boy who wanted to know what made the hands on his father's watch go round. The father answered that he wound up the works inside the watch, and that was what made the hands go round. The little boy believed his father. He did not reason about it. "So," said the preacher, "do not reason! Simply believe.”
I almost shouted aloud with joy: "I believe! I believe! I believe!! I am saved!" I saw I had been reasoning instead of believing.
Now, friend, if you are still unsaved, turn to John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6), and you will see the way to be saved. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." He does not say I am a way, but Jesus says, I am the way, showing clearly that there is no other way.
In Acts 16:3030And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30) we find a man asking, "What must I do to be saved?" We get the answer in the next verse, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
How plain is the way, and how simple the truth of God's plan of salvation. Believe—don't reason! And thou shalt be saved.