“Is There Hope ... For A Man Like Me?”
Good News – March 2021 – Grace & Truth Magazine
“Is There Hope ... For A Man Like Me?”
One night after a revival meeting in a large city, a dangerous looking man approached the preacher and asked, “Will you come with me tonight? I must talk with you.”
“Gladly,” answered the preacher.
The man led the way down several side streets and into an alley. He unlocked a door, ushered the preacher inside and then pulled out a revolver, saying, “I won’t harm you. I just want to ask you if you meant what you said in your sermon tonight, that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin?”
The preacher replied, “Of course I meant it. God says it in His Word.”
Then the man said, “I have killed four people with this revolver. Is there hope for a man like me?”
“I will tell you again that if a man will confess and forsake his sins, God has promised that He will forgive him and cleanse him from all sin” (read 1 John 1:7).
The man went on, “On the other side of this wall is my tavern. We sell liquor to anybody. Many times I have taken the last cent from a man, letting his family go hungry. Next to the tavern is my gambling joint. There isn’t an honest game in the place. A man recently committed suicide after losing everything here. Is there any hope for a man like me?”
The preacher replied, “God means it when He says, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.’”
“One more question, and you can go. As you leave the alley, you’ll pass my house. My wife is there with my 11-year-old daughter. Thirteen years ago I met a beautiful girl in New York and lied to her about my life. She married me; but when she found out the truth, it broke her heart. Since then, I have made life a ‘hell on earth’ for her. I even started beating her. Recently, I also slapped my daughter and knocked her against a hot stove, burning her arm from shoulder to wrist. She is disfigured for life. Is there hope for a man like me?”
The preacher grabbed the wretched man, shook him and exclaimed, “Listen to me! No matter what you have done, God’s Word stands: ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.’ That means you!”
The man said, “Thank you so much. I had to be sure. I believe you. I will be at your meeting again tomorrow night.”
After the preacher left, the man emptied the tavern and the gambling room. He then broke every bottle, barrel and mirror. He also smashed the gaming tables and wheels, and burned all the dice and cards in the fireplace. All night long he destroyed all his implements of sin. It was morning when he walked up the stairs of his house and sat down, exhausted.
On hearing him, his wife told their daughter, “Go and tell Daddy breakfast is ready.”
The girl walked slowly toward her father. Half-afraid she said, “Daddy, Mommy said breakfast was ready.”
The man smiled and said, “Darling, Daddy doesn’t want breakfast.”
His daughter turned and ran into the kitchen shouting, “Mommy! Daddy smiled at me and called me ‘darling’ and didn’t shout at me!”
Her mother insisted, “I don’t believe it! Go back and just tell your father breakfast is ready.” The mother decided to follow her daughter.
As he heard them approach, the man smiled and said, “Come closer.”
Trembling, his wife and daughter approached him. He gently put his arms around the two he had so violently abused before and, with tear-filled eyes, assured them, “You don’t have to be afraid of me anymore. God has given you a new husband and a new daddy today.”
At the meeting that night, his wife and daughter also gave their hearts to Christ. They too discovered that “the blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7 NKJV).
Have you got the message? Will you confess and forsake your sins right now and give your life to Christ? Ask God to forgive you. There is hope for one like you! We can tell you more.
This article is available as a gospel tract from Grace &Truth.