“Will He Cast Me Out?”

SOME years ago, the writer of this little narrative was giving an address to the scholars of a small Sunday school in one of the suburbs of London, the subject being "Blind Bartimæus." Three things which occur in the incident especially were dwelt upon:—
“He heard... Jesus" (ver. 47).
“He came to JESUS" (ver. 50).
“He followed Jesus" (ver. 52).
At the close of the service it was evident that the Holy Spirit had been working during the meeting, and one of the scholars came to the speaker, crying bitterly and trembling as she said, "Oh, sir, I am so wicked, and don't love Jesus. Will He cast me out?" The child was convicted of sin; she knew that she was a sinner. It was pointed out to her that God says, "All have sinned," and also that the Lord accepts guilty sinners who come to Him, since He says, "Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out.”
The earnestness of the blind beggar attracted the attention of Jesus, and Bartimæus, answering quickly to the Savior's call, soon found himself in the company of the sinner's Friend, and everlasting blessing resulted. And so with our little maiden: she obeyed the call of Jesus, came to Him, and could say:—
“I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.”
Henceforth her desire was to follow the Savior as Bartimus did, to tell others of Him, and her delight was to bring others into the place where the Word of God was read and spoken of. The writer lost sight of her for some few years, but he constantly heard of her sweet testimony. Last year it pleased the Savior to take her home to be with Himself.
Say, children, have you found soul rest in Jesus? Come, yield yourselves to Him now ere the day of salvation closes, and you, too, will desire to follow Him, and shine for Him, as we so often sing:—
“Jesus bids us shine,
first of all for Him,
Well He sees and knows it,
if our light grow dim.
He looks down from heaven to see us shine,
You in your small corner, and I in mine.”
“He received his sight,
and
Followed Jesus in the way.”
Hints for the Bible Class
(1) The Purgation of Sins.
(2) The Purger of Sins.
(3) Our Sins.
EVERYONE who has any kind of faith in the holiness of God, and any degree of just sense of his own sinfulness, believes in the necessity of the cleansing away of sins.
(1.)
The Scriptures testify to the fact of sins being cleansed or purged. Example—"... purged our sins" (Heb. 1:3); "... cleanseth... from all sin" (1 John 1:7); "washed... from... sins" (Rev. 1:5).
(2)
The Scriptures declare that (a) there is only One purger of sins, even the Lord Jesus Christ.
“He... purged our sins," or "made purgation of sins" (Heb. 1:3). As there is only One purger of sins, all systems of religion which disallow Christ this exclusive honor are disobedient to God's Word.
The Scriptures further declare that (b) the Lord Jesus effected the purging away of sins "by Himself"—"... He... by Himself purged our sins." He did not give over the power to anyone else, nor entrust any creature whatever with the right or authority to cleanse away sins.
The Scriptures yet further declare that (c) the means adopted by the Lord to effect the purging of sins was by His own blood. He "washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Rev. 1:5). Observe how specific are the words of Scripture, giving the glory of the cleansing to Christ Himself—"He Himself"; and also to the means whereby the cleansing is effected—"His own blood." Christ and His gracious work are guarded by the Holy Scriptures with the utmost care. "He Himself" lets no other in; "His own blood" permits of no other means save the blood of Jesus. His blood was poured out once and forever; there was no repetition of the blood-shedding. And now "the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”
(3.)
Our sins are our own sins—not our parents' or our companions' sins—and unless our own sins are cleansed away from us we individually cannot see God. When David felt his sin he cried to God, "Wash me" (Psa. 51:7). Wash me!-just as if there had been no other sinner in the world but himself. And everyone who believes the holiness of God and realizes his sinfulness must say, "Wash me.”
A great company is presented to our contemplation in heaven, concerning whom the inquiry was raised, Who are they? And then we hear heaven's reply: "These are they which... have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God." (Rev. 7:14, 15.) "They have washed their robes. Therefore the holiness of God magnified, perfect purity ensured, and the means the precious blood of Christ.