In the book 'Illustration of bible truths' There is a short account of a conversation between a gospel meeting evangelist and one of the men attending the meeting, and it goes like this;
We asked a gentleman at the close of one of our gospel-meetings. "Are you saved, sir?"
To which the man replied "No, I really can't say I am, but I would like to be."
"Why would you? Do you realize you are a lost sinner?"
"Oh, of course, we are all sinners."
"Ah! but that often means little or nothing. Are you a sinner yourself?"
"Well, I suppose I am, but I'm not what you could call a bad sinner. I am, I think, rather a good one. I always try to do the best I know how."
"Then, my friend, I fear there is little use seeking to show you the way of salvation.
Good sinners, together with honest liars, upright thieves, and virtuous scoundrels are far from being ready to submit to the grace of God, which is only for poor, vile, hell-deserving sinners, who have no merits to build on, no goodness to plead, but who are ready to be saved alone by the work of Another, and that One the Lord Jesus Christ."
He goes on says that;
Further conversation revealed the fact that the gentleman was far from being ready to be saved and would, according to his own declaration, rather take "his chances" as he was.
EOQ
Isn't this a typical responses of so many lost people in our lost world?
That they think that they are… not, bad people, but rather, as the man in the story said, 'good sinners', those who do the best they can, the best they know how… and that in some way that should be good enough for God? |
