The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1879, Page 25

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Che Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PuBLISHED BY THE HvanceLicaAL LuTHERAN SyNODICAL CoNFERENCE oF NortH AMERICA.

Edited by Prof. R. A. BISCHOFF.

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo., %8 Second-class matter.

Vol. I.

St. Louis, Mo., September, 1879.

No. 7.

Just As | Am.

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come.

‘Just as Iam: Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come.

Just as Iam; Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come.
ff (Charlotte Elliott.)

——s +P o> oa -

Just As | Am.

The Gospel tells us that ‘Jesus Christ is
come into the world to save sinners’’; that
‘‘He is come to seek and to save that which is
Jost’’; that ‘‘His blood cleanseth from all sin’.
The Gospel also calls and invites poor sinners
to come to Jesus that they may have life. Jesus
says, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’”” (Matth.
11, 28.) What does that little word ‘‘come”’
mean? It means believe, trust in Jesus. This
is plainly seen from the following passage:
“‘And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of
life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’’
(John 6, 35.) Coming to Jesus is the same as
believing or trusting in Jesus. Now, no man
will come to Jesus, no man will put his trust
in that Saviour, except he is convinced of his
sin by the law of God, except he feels that he

is a sinner and needs a Saviour. A man that
does not consider himself sick will not call for
the doctor, and a man that does not consider
himself a sinner will not come to Jesus. Most
men do not feel themselves ‘‘heavy-laden”’ with
sin, and they, therefore, reject the Saviour, and
pay no heed to the call of the Gospel: Come
to Jesus.

There are many, however, that do not deny
their sinfulness, they know and feel that they
are sinners; and yet they do not come to Jesus.
Now, what is the matter with them? They do
not want to come just as they are; they think
they are too bad; they think their sins are too
great; they think they must first make them-
selves better before they can come. But oh!
this is a sad mistake; it is the devil who tries
to keep them from coming to Jesus. Itis a
sad mistake; for, in the first place, no man can
make himself better by his own strength. Why
not? Because we are sinners by nature; our
whole nature is corrupt, and rotten, and sinful.
The Bible teaches this all the way through.
We are ‘‘dead in trespasses and sin’, says the
apostle. ‘We are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousness are as filthy rags’’, says
the prophet. (Isaiah 64, 6.) ‘‘Who can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.’’
(Job 14, 4.) ‘Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.’’ (Psalm
51, 5.) Oh, how foolish is it then for a man
to try to make himself better, since he has no
strength whatsoever to do it! He will try, and
try, and try, and—fail. Oh, do not try to patch
up that old, sinful nature of yours, but come
to Jesus just a3 you are.

But you may say, I am afraid to come just
as I am, I am afraid He will not take me. Oh,
consider then, in the second place, the office of
Christ. Why did He come into the world?
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners.’’? (1 Tim. 1, 15.) He became
the ‘Lamb of God bearing the sins of the
world’’; He suffered and died upon the cross—
for what purpose? In order to redeem sinners
from sin, death, and the power of Satan. Your
redemption is now a finished fact. Jesus with
all his merits is offered unto you in the Gospel.
It is for you to come to Him, that is, to believe,

to trust in Him. Will He cast you out after
having done all this for you? No, no! He Him-
self says, ‘‘Him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out.’’ (John 6, 37.) Read that verse
over again! It is a drop of honey, yea, sweeter
than honey. ‘Him that cometh”—let him be
who he may; high or low, colored or white,
rich or poor, yea, the greatest of all sinners, the
chief of sinners: all who come shall be welcome.
“JT will in no wise cast him out’’—though he
may deserve it; though he may dread it: let
him take my word for it, I will take him into
my loving arms, I will in no wise cast him out.
Remember the harlot in the Pharisee’s house;
she was a great sinner, known all over the city
as a great sinner: she came to Jesus and washed
His feet with her tears. Did Jesus cast her out?
Oh no! He spoke kindly to her and said, ‘‘Thy
sins are forgiven thee’’. Remember the thief
that was crucified at the Saviour’s right hand.
He was a great sinner, but he came to Jesus
just as he was, he turned his eye of faith unto
the Saviour; and did Jesus cast him out? Oh,
no! He gave him eternal life in Paradise. Oh,
then, come to Jesus, poor sinner! He will take
you just as you are-—Many years ago a little
boy was stolen from his mother in London.
Years passed by, and the poor mother prayed,
and prayed for her lost boy. But all seemed
to be in vain. Still the mother did not give
up her hopes. One day a little chimney-sweeper
was sent into the house next to the mother’s to
clean the chimneys. When he had finished his
work, he, by mistake, went down the wrong
chimney, which belonged to the next house.
He came out at the fire-place of the sitting room.
He looked around, and that room seemed so.
familiar to him. The scenes of the past days
of his childhood came back to his mind. All
at once a woman stepped into the room. Now
all was clear to the boy. He cried out: ‘‘O,
my dear mother!’’ Now, did that mother shrink
back at the sight of the ragged, sooty clothes
of the boy? Do you think she threw him out
of the house and told him to wash himself first
before he could dare to come back? Oh, no,
no! She took that boy just as he was into her
loving arms and wept tears of joy. So we must
come to Jesus just as we are. He will take us
into His loving arms; He will wash us from all