After John and Charles landed in America, it was not long before they found that their new job was not as easy as they had thought. They had tried to live by certain rules and they tried to force others to do the same. The people in America did not like to be told what to do. As for the Indians, John could not even talk to them, as he did not know their language!
John’s trip to America ended a total failure. He decided to leave America and sailed for England. He was a very sad man when he left. But one good thing did happen to John. On the trip home, he finally realized that he, who went to America to tell others how to be saved, was not saved himself. At last he admitted that he was a sinner who had fallen short of the glory of God. This was wonderful, for he now was ready to learn one more thing: that Jesus had come to save sinners.
John learned how to be saved when he arrived back in England. God used a German Christian to tell John the good news from God’s Word, the Bible, that salvation comes by faith in the Lord Jesus. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31. What a wonderful day for John when he discovered that it was not what he could do that saved him but what Christ has done upon the cross.
I hope all who are listening to this story will also learn this. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” Titus 3:5.