DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE ANXIOUS TO BE SAVED BUT DO NOT KNOW HOW
There is a very large class of persons who are anxious to be saved but
simply do not know how. It is not difficult to lead this class of
persons to Christ. Perhaps no other passage in the Bible is more used
for this purpose than Isaiah liii. 6. It makes the way of salvation very
plain. Read the first part of the verse to the inquirer, “All we like
sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way.” Then
ask, “Is that true of you,” and when he has thought it over and said
“yes,” then say to him, “Now let us see what God has done with your
sins,” and read the remainder of the verse, “And the Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all.” “What then is it necessary for you to do to
be saved?” Very soon he can be led to see that all that it is necessary
for him to do is to accept the sin bearer whom God has provided. Some
years ago I noticed in a meeting a white–haired man who did not stand up
with the Christians. At the close of the service I walked down to him
and said, “Are you not a Christian?” He said he was not. I was sure he
was interested, so I put to him the direct question, “Would you become a
Christian to–night if I would show you the way?” and he replied that he
would. We sat down together and I opened my Bible to Isaiah liii. 6 and
read the first part of the verse, “All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned every one to his own way.” I then said to him, “Is that
true of you?” and he answered “yes.” “Now,” I said, “let us read the
rest of the verse, ‘And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all.’” “What has the Lord done,” I said, “with your sins?” He thought a
moment and said “he has laid them on Christ.” “What then” I said “is all
that you have to do to be saved?” and he replied quite promptly, “Accept
him.” “Well,” I said, “will you accept him to–night?” He said, “I will.”
“Let us then kneel down and tell God so.” We knelt down and I led in
prayer and he followed in a very simple way telling God that he was a
sinner but that he believed that He had laid his sins upon Jesus Christ,
and asking God for Christ’s sake to forgive his sins. When he had
finished I asked him if he thought God had heard his prayer and that his
sins were forgiven, and he said “yes.” I then asked him if he would
begin to lead a Christian life at once, set up the family altar and
openly confess Christ before the world, and he replied that he would.
Some months after I met his pastor and made inquiries about him and
found that he had gone to his home in a distant village, set up the
family altar and united with the church together with his son, the only
remaining member of the family out of Christ. Apparently all that this
man was waiting for was for some one to make the way of salvation plain
to him. I sometimes put it this way in using this verse: “There are two
things which a man needs to know and one thing he needs to do in order
to be saved. What he needs to _know_ is, first, that he is a lost sinner
and this verse tells him that; second, that Christ is an all–sufficient
Saviour and this verse tells him that. What he needs to _do_ is simply
to accept this all–sufficient Saviour whom God has provided.” John i. 12
brings out this thought very clearly, “As many as _received him_ to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name.” After the verse has been read you can ask the one with whom
you are dealing, “To whom is it that God gives the power to become the
sons of God?” “As many as receive him.” What must you then do to become
a son of God? “Receive him.” Well, will you receive him as your Saviour
and as your master now? Isaiah lv. 7; Acts xvi. 31; John iii. 16 and
iii. 36 are all useful in making the way of salvation plain. John iii.
14 compared with Numbers xxi. 8 and the following verses, can often be
used with good effect. When they are used you should lead the inquirer
to see just what the serpent–bitten Israelite had to do to be saved—that
he had simply to look at the brazen serpent lifted up upon the pole—then
show him that the sin–bitten man has to do simply the same thing—look at
Christ lifted up on the Cross for his sins. Romans i. 16 is another
excellent verse to use. It makes the way of salvation very clear. You
can ask the inquirer whom it is, according to his verse, that the Gospel
saves, and he will see that it is “every one that believeth.” Then ask
him, “What then is all that is necessary for one to do in order to be
saved,” and he will see that it is simply to believe. Then ask him
“believe what,” and the answer is “the Gospel.” The next question that
naturally arises is, what is the Gospel? This is answered by 1 Cor. xv.;
1‒4. These verses show what the Gospel is, “that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he rose
the third day according to the scriptures” and this is what he must
believe in order to be saved. He must believe from his heart that Christ
died for his sins and that he rose again. Then ask the inquirer, “do you
believe that Christ died for your sins? do you believe that he rose
again?” If he says that he does, ask him if he will make this a heart
faith and get down and ask God for Christ’s sake, to forgive his sins
and believe he does it because he says so, and then trust in the living
Saviour to save him day by day from the power of sin. Romans x. 9–10
also makes the way of salvation clear to many minds where other verses
fail. Romans x. 13 makes it, if possible, more simple still. This shows
that all that a man has to do to be saved is to “call upon the name of
the Lord.” You can ask the inquirer “Are you ready now and here to get
down and call upon the name of the Lord for salvation and to believe
that God saves you because he says he will?” The way of salvation can be
made plain by the use of Exodus xii. 7, 13, 23. These verses show that
it was the blood that made the Israelites safe and just so it is to–day
the blood that makes us safe, and when God sees the blood he passes over
us. The only thing for us to do is to get behind the blood. Then show
the inquirer that the way to be behind the blood is by simple faith in
Jesus Christ. Luke xviii. 10–14 is exceedingly useful in showing what a
man may have and yet be lost (the Pharisee) and what a man may lack and
yet be saved (the Publican) and that all that a man has to do to be
saved is simply to do as the Publican did, that is take the sinner’s
place and cry to God for mercy and then he will go down to his house
justified. This passage can be used in the following manner to make the
meaning more clear. Ask the inquirer, “Which one of these two (the
Pharisee or the Publican) went down to his house justified?” Then ask
him, “What did the Publican do that the Pharisee did not do, that
brought him the forgiveness of his sins while the Pharisee went out of
the Temple unforgiven?” When he studies the passage he will soon see
that what the Publican did was simply to take the sinner’s place before
God and cry for mercy and that as soon as he did this he was “justified”
or forgiven. Then you can ask him, “What is all that it is necessary for
you to do to find forgiveness?” Then ask him, “Will you do it now and
here?” and when he has done so ask him if he believes God’s word and if
he is going down to his house justified. What saving faith is, is
beautifully illustrated by Luke vii. 48–50. The fiftieth verse tells us
that this woman had saving faith. Now ask the inquirer, “What was the
faith she had,” and show him that her faith was simply such faith that
Jesus could and would forgive her sins, that she came to him to do it.
This is saving faith. Galatians iii. 10–13 also makes the way of
salvation very simple. The tenth verse shows the sinner’s position
before accepting Christ—“under the curse.” The thirteenth verse shows
what Christ has done—has been made a curse for us. What the sinner had
to do is, evidently, simply to accept Christ.