A man set up a business of dyeing things different colors for people. He advertised that he could dye just about anything—clothes, shoes, curtains—whatever a person wanted. One of his first customers was a wealthy lady who brought in a very expensive fur coat. She wanted the color of the coat to be changed.
When the lady left his shop, the man was still holding her expensive coat. He looked at it carefully and began to wonder if he really would be able to dye it successfully. If I’m not successful, he thought, I’m sunk. Instead of making money, I will go deeply into debt. So he decided to test it first.
“I’ll look for a very small piece of fur exactly like the fur the coat is made of,” he said to himself. “I’ll try dyeing that. If that turns out OK, I’ll know that I’ll be able to dye the coat.”
That was a good idea. It’s smart to test things first.
Now here’s a test I’d like you to try. Think of the worst thing you’ve ever done in your life—something you knew was wrong, but because you wanted to do it, you did it anyway. Now, see if you can think of a way you can get rid of that sin. Is there any way you can totally erase that sin from God’s record of your life by your own efforts? That’s like the small sample of fur. If the man who set up the dyeing business could dye the sample, he could also, hopefully, dye the coat. If you can erase this one sin from God’s record of your life, you would be able to erase all your sins by yourself. But can you erase that one sin?
I took that test, but I couldn’t pass it. I could not erase one sin from my record. Do you know why? Mark 2:77Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? (Mark 2:7) tells us, “Who can forgive sins but God only?” There is no person here on earth who can erase even one sin. Thankfully, there is One who is able to erase ALL my sins and your sins too. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)). Yes, the blood of the Lord Jesus, God’s Son, has erased all my sins, and He can erase all yours too, if you will let Him.
I don’t know how the test for dyeing the fur coat turned out. But I do know that my test to erase my sins from God’s record failed, and yours will too. Will you come to Jesus and let Him erase all your sins? He will not fail. He loves you so much He gave up His life so you could have all your sins washed away in His precious blood. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)).
ML-02/01/2015