When Billy Spiers was just a little fellow, his mother and father would stand him between them while they knelt to pray to the blessed Lord Jesus. And Billy heard that sweetest of all names — the name of Jesus —from his earliest childhood.
Billy lived in a town on the coast of Scotland when he was a boy, and he would often run down to the beach to play. Sometimes there would be a group of people there listening to preachers of the gospel. The preachers would tell the wonderful story of Jesus’ love for poor lost sinners and how He died to open the way for any repentant sinner to come to His home in heaven. Billy would listen too. He listened carefully, but he never got down on his knees to confess to the Lord Jesus that he was a sinner and needed Him to be his Saviour.
When Billy grew up, he moved from Scotland to the United States. One day he had an accident with his car and brought it to an autobody shop to be repaired which was run by Christians. When he came into the shop, he noticed Bible verses on the walls.
“Look at that,” Bill said. “ ‘Be-lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved’ ” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). “And over there, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ ” (1 Timothy 1:15). And pointing to another wall he read aloud, “ ‘It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment’ ” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)), and “ ‘Christ died for our sins’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:3). “You fellows must be Christians,” he said. “Everywhere I look there’s a verse from the Bible. My mother and father taught me all those when I was just a little boy. My parents both loved the Lord Jesus . . . yes they did.”
“And how about you?” the repairman asked. “Do you love the Lord Jesus, Bill? Are you saved?” But Bill didn’t give a clear answer.
About 10 years later Bill came into the autobody shop again. By this time he had two daughters, and he wanted them to learn the way of salvation. But when the repairmen asked, “Bill, are you ready to go, if the Lord Jesus should come today?” Bill couldn’t say “yes,” because he never had taken that step of admitting that he was a sinner and that he needed the Lord Jesus to wash away his sins.
Years later one of the Christian repairmen met Bill again. Bill still could not give a clear answer, when he was asked if he was saved from his sins.
Just recently one of the repairmen met Bill on the street. Bill said, “When you meet a man with a broken leg, you can see it. You know his leg is broken. I’m a broken man . . . I’m all broken up inside. You can’t see it, but it’s real. The last 10 years of my life have been a total waste!”
Bill is a white-haired man now, 62 years old. He knows the way of salvation, but he’s still not saved.
How about you? Have you knelt before the Lord Jesus and confessed that you are a guilty, helpless sinner and cried to Him to save you? “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 4:77Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7)). “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)).
ML-10/08/2000