A little company were present for Bible School. One said,
“Let us all say a verse of Scripture, God’s holy Word. I will begin with the text that taught me how to know that I was saved; this is it,
Each in turn repeated a verse, and when we came to the last one, he said,
“I will repeat the one through which I was converted,” then he repeated the words, “The wages of sin is death.” We said,
“Please tell us how it came about.” So he began something like this:
My father was president of a club of atheists (infidels). My mother was led by him, so I was brought up a wild, reckless wicked boy, working mischief and cruelty wherever I could. With a number more of the same kind; I was in a public park. We were, as usual, doing all we could to destroy things—jumping on the seats and tables, breaking up the flower beds, and spoiling the beauty of the park. The old man in charge could not catch us. When we were tired, we sat down in a corner out of sight. After a while a tall man with a broad brimmed hat came along, and spoke to us. He told us some interesting things of the countries in which he had traveled, and to which we listened, but when he began to talk about religious things, I would not listen, and got up saying,
“I want none of that talk. Down with God, down with religion, down with Darbys.” Darby was a man who preached about Christ. I cursed and swore at him, and at all like him. The man tried to speak, but I cursed him still more. He said, “Let me give you one sentence,” and after he waited till I was quiet, he said, “The wages of sin is death,” and then he walked away.
These words, “The wages of sin is death,” remained with me. I could not get them out of my mind. I tried to forget them. I did not know that they were from the Word of God. I did not know where they came from.
“The wages of sin is death,” sounded in my ears night and day. Notices of funerals, or a funeral passing, kept them ever before me, “The wages of sin is death.”
I began to try to improve my life. I had all kinds of infidel books. I gathered a lot of them, and pitched them into the furnace, and put the expensive ones on a shelf out of my sight, but wickedness rose up in my heart, and mocked all my best endeavors. This went on for about three or four months, till in despair, I thought to see the man who spoke to me at the first. One night I waited for him to come out of a meeting place which I knew he attended. I went up to him, and asked if he remembered me. After a while he said,
“Are you the young man I spoke to in the park?”
“Yes, I want to speak to you.” He answered rather ungraciously,
“Well, what do you want?” He did not want anything to do with me, but I persisted.
“I want to talk with you by ourselves.”
He permitted me to walk to a place with him where he was to meet someone. That one did not come, so we talked on. He at last saw that I was anxious about my soul, and put some verses of Scripture before me, but I did not understand him till he said,
“What did I say to you in the park?” So I repeated,
“The wages of sin is death!”
“But what is the rest of it?” he asked.
“That was all you said,” I answered, “tell me the rest of it,” and I waited with eager expectation to hear it. Then came to me those sublime, life-giving words that he repeated,
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). I was listening with deep interest to hear every word.
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” O how precious!
“So salvation is the gift of God, and what do you do when you receive a gift? You take it, and thank the giver.”
So I did, I received the gift, and thanked the Giver. My load was gone, Christ had died for me, how wonderful God’s love to give His Son for such a wretch as I am. Now I was clear of all such wages, all through our Lord Jesus Christ bearing the judgment of them on the cross.
It was after midnight when I went home, too overjoyed to keep the good news. I wakened my mother and sister to tell them of the gift I had received. They thought I had lost my reason. I pulled down the rest of my infidel books in the morning to burn them. I wanted them no more, for I was now saved from eternal woe; saved to be with Christ in glory.
The speaker sat down, and we thanked him for the story of his conversion, and hoped and prayed that every one there, though they had not passed through such deep conviction, but had heard this good news all their lives, while he was ignorant of the Bible truths till then, that they might know that they too had received “the gift of God—eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” From that time his life was changed, and soon his mother came with deep contrition to Christ and believed on Him. She was the first soul that he led to Christ. Both together sat down to remember the Lord’s death. (1 Cor. 11:23-2623For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. (1 Corinthians 11:23‑26)).