The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1905, Page 9

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LuTHERAN SyNODICAL CONFERENCE OF NortH AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

Entered at the Post Ofiice at St. Louls, Mo., as second-class matter.

Vol. XXVII.

“St. Louis, Mo., February, 1905.

No. 2.

Nothing to Pay.

“Nothing to pay?—No, not a whit.
Nothing to do?—No, not a bit;
All that was needed to do or to pay,
Jesus has done in His own blessed way.

“Nothing to pay ?—No, thanks be to God,
The matter is settled, the price was the blood,
The blood of the victim, a ransom divine—
Believe it, poor sinner, and peace shall be thine.”’

—_—_—-«

Salvation for Nothing.

Some time since, says a pastor, when visiting
an old man who seemed anxious about salvation,
I found great difficulty in making him understand
that salvation is the free gift of God through Jesus,
the Saviour of sinners.

At last I said to him: ‘‘Now, suppose I were to
go to a shop, and buy something for you, and pay
for it, and send it to you, need you pay any money
for it?”’

"“No,’’ said the old man, brightening up; ‘“‘it
would be paid for.’’

‘‘Need you make any promise to pay at some
future time?’’ I then asked.

‘“No,’’ he replied; ‘‘I should have it for noth-
ing.”’ :

‘*So,’’? I said, ‘‘it is with salvation—the Lord
Jesus has paid the full price for it. He bought it
for us with His own precious blood, and now He
sends it to us in the Gospel and offers it to every
sinner as a free gift.’’

“Yes,’’ said the old man, as his eyes filled with
tears,'‘‘I see it now; it is salvation for nothing!
. Christ has bought it and gives it to me for nothing.”
Yes, we are saved for nothing through the sal-
. vation which is in Christ Jesus. ‘“By grace are ye

saved through faith; and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man
should boast,’’ Eph. 2, 8.9.

We have nothing whatever with which we could
buy salvation. The prophet says, ‘We are all as
an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags,’’ Is. 64,6. It is not, All our wicked-
nesses are as filthy rags, but, ‘‘All our righteous-
nesses areas filthy rags,’’? and surely we cannot
expect to buy salvation with a lot of dirty rags.
Salvation has been bought for us by Christ with His
own precious blood. He came into the world for
the salvation of sinners. His birth was made known
by the angel as the birth of the Sayiour. When He
was circumcised His name was called Jesus, which
means Saviour. His name was called Jesus because
He saves from sin. And when the child Jesus was
brought to the temple, the aged Simeon took Him
up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, ‘‘Lord,
now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, ac-
cording to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy

‘ salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face

of all people.’? This salvation which is in Christ
Jesus is offered to sinners in the Gospel without
money and without price. It is salvation for noth-
ing. The Gospel call to sinners is: '‘‘ Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely,”? Rey.
22,17. Jesus says, ‘‘I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely,”?
Rev. 21,6. Freely means for nothing. Yes, let the
sinner take salvation freely—for nothing. That is
the only way he can get it. ‘‘Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,’? says the
Bible; and believing is not doing, itis resting upon
that which is already done, it is accepting that
which is freely offered, itis calmly trusting in Jesus
in whom alone there is salvation. May every troubled