AFTER preaching in the North of England a young fellow said to me, “I came here religious and respectable, I was doing my best and trying to live up to the Ten Commandments, but God has shown me in this meeting that I am steeped in sin and only fit for hell.”
This was repentance indeed, and he left the preaching-hall rejoicing in the Savior.
This, then, is the way of blessing. Own that you are a sinner, and Jesus will reveal Himself to you as a Savior. Tell Him that you are guilty, and you will learn that He is gracious.
No man, no matter how excellent in morality, high in fame, or open-handed in charity, ever reached heaven if these were his plea. The world may have benefited by his deeds, and the world repays by generous applause. But God owes nothing for his works of charity; they will not atone for his sins; they are no passport to heaven.
“Repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," is God's way of blessing.
“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9.) How plain! How simple!
J. T. M.