Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-11-13

doubtless cost Peter many a sleepless
night. He was rash and impulsive,
always saying the wrong thing. Even
after he had been with the Master for
three whole years, he was guilty of
falseEood and profanity. Yet Peter,
by the grace of God, overcame his
bad record, and SO gained the victory
over his besetting sins that later his
testimony is Kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation"
There vas Mark, the backslider,
who, not discouraged by his signal
failure, made a fresh start and became
so steadfast and reliable tina. the Holy
Spirit selected him to write a. history
of the Masters life. Today millions
of people are prayerfully studying the
Gospel of Mark, and are thanking God
for it.. Little did he expect such a
career after deserving Paul and Barna-
bas at PamphyIia, but God knows how
to use ever a bacEsIider to his glory.
II. Remember that Christ did not
come to select here and there a per-
feet man and thus make UP a church;
he came to seek and to a thu lost.
He is not looking for righteous men
at all, but for sinners. He came ex-
pressly to lead such to repentance,
and the encouragement which he Of
fers is that he bore the penalty OF
their sins on the cross and W. soever
viii may be saved. The strange thing
about the Gospel is that it reveals
Gods love for those who have made
a bad record, and his desire to blot it
out and give them a chance to make a
new record.
Notice the great variety of ways in
which God describes the putting away
of the believers sins. In Isaiah 3S:17
we read, Thou hast cast all my siEs
behind thy back" But" someone
says, God might turn around and all
my sins would be in full sight" Sure
enough. And SO we read in Micah
1919, Thou wilt cast all their sins
into the depths of the sea-" That is
better, but they might wash ashore?
Very true, and so God says in Psalm
1912, Gas far as the east is from
the west so far hath he removed our
transgressions from u.s." That is bet
ter still, for that means out of Gods
sight. But some poor sinner would be
sure to say, Yes, my sins are out Of
Gods sight, but not out of his mind,
and every time / meet him in heaven
| shall feel that he is thinking of the
mean things which ! did on earth"
For the sake of such people God adds
Hebrews 1o:17), And their sins and
their iniquities will I remember no
more"
Now, why should you so persistent
ly remember what God so graciously
forgets? Why should you keep in the
foreground what God is willing to put
behind his back? Just throw that bad
record in with the rest of your sins
and have them all disposed of at once,
and then you can have the sweet con
seriousness that though you may re
member your sins, God has entirely
forgotten them. Remember also that
the longer you wait the worse your
record will be.
III. While your bad record will hin
der you somewhat, it also will help
,tOU- II viz tCuu W hCCP yOQ IL
for one thing, and that will be nc
small gain. It will enable you to
sympathize with others who have
made a bad record, and to encourage
them to hope for better things. In.
deed, your bad record in one sense
will become your strongest weapon OF
warfare.
IVY Ca-c;d1- otea fAo& 80 -, 49,
a particularly bad srecord your con.
version will be a greater triumph oil
grace than If you were only an ordi
nary sinner. Jesus Christ claims thai
he can save the worst of sinners and
so change them by the power of his
grace that he will actually be proud
of them in heaven. He is searching
demonstrate his power.
v. And may it not be that in heaven
those who have been the greatest sin
ners will be the loudest prafsers Of
the Redeemer's name? When the
Pharisee criticized Jesus for allowins
the outcast woman to weep at his
feet the master said, Simon, | have
W Say ulJO lue6. "A C0TIdlI
man had two debtors. the one owed
five hundred pence and the other fifty
When they could not pay he forgave
them both. Which of them therefore
will love him most?" Simon an
swered. He, / suppose, to whom he
forgave the most" Jesus replied
Thou hast rightly Judged" AID ther
he drew a contrast between the proud
self-righteous host and the sinful, sor
rowing woman who was weeping ouI
her penitence and bathing his fee
with her tears. Even so our theme
In heaven will not be the good deed:
we have wrought on earth, but thu
matchless grace that redeemed US
and the greater the sins from which
we have been redeemed, the greater
triumph of grace shall we have t.
proclaim,
1.-iI.I af Lls n~anandance