Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-11-12

Master, ana WHICH
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
falsehood 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 was 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 Pamphylia, but God knows how
to use even a bacEslider 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 saw the 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
will 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 1t
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 1917
we read, Thou hast cast all my sins
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
.7:19, 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
103:12, "As 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 I meet him in heaven
/ shall feel that he Is thinking Of the
mean things which I did on EARTH
For the sake Of such people God adds
(Hebrews 10:17), "And their sins and
their iniquities will l remember nc
more"
Now. why should you 80 persistent.
iy 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 a 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, 1t also will help
you. 1t will tend to keep you humble
for one thing, and that will be no
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.
Nv. Consider also that II you have
a particularly bad record your con
version will be a greater triumph of
grace than If you were only an ordi-
nary sinner. Jesus Christ claims that
he can save the worst Of sinners and
Sc change them by the power of his
grace that he will actually be proud
Of them in heaven. He is searching
the world for hard cases on which to
demonstrate his power.
v. And may It not be that In heaven
those who have been the greatest sin
ners will be the loudest praisers Of
the Redeemer's name? When the
Pharisee criticized Jesus for allowing
the outcast woman to weep at his
feet the master said, Simon, I have
somewhat to say unto thee, A certain
had two debtors, the one owed
five hundred pence and the other fifty.