“BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT”
Some years since I stood in a picture-gallery before a masterpiece, which made a deep impression on me, and which serves as an illustration of the above passage of scripture. The title of the picture was, ‘The Dismal Swamp’. In the foreground was a negro, a runaway slave, panting for breath, and entangled by the reeds; pursuing, and close behind him, were the fierce bloodhounds, with terrible fangs and frothy mouths. It was evident he could feel the hot breath of those terrible creatures close at his heels; for in his eyes there was depicted such a look of hopeless despair as I have never forgotten. I have seen such a look once in my life since, at a scene more real and terrible. I was standing by the deathbed of a man who had rejected the gospel of the grace of God. I had been repeating that beautiful scripture, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”, 1 Tim 1: 15. He seemed unconscious as I kept repeating it close to his dying ear, when, gathering up his strength, he rose up in the bed with just such a look of dark despair, he wailed so hopelessly, ‘The Lord Jesus will have nothing to do with me now, and I can have nothing to do with Him. To-night, to-night my soul will be in hell’, and that night he died. Oh, my reader, may you never know such a death-bed as that!
Rouse, I beseech you, ere the “evil day” come upon you, the day you gladly forget, the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, when the silver cord shall be loosed, the golden bowl broken, the pitcher broken at the fountain, when the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God who gave it! And it may come in one fell moment, and then, oh, then, you will pass into eternity to await the resurrection, when, like the negro in the picture, discovered and overtaken, in that terrible judgment-day you will find out the truth of the scripture, “Be sure your sin will find you out”; and yet another scripture, “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after”, 1 Tim 5: 24. Yes, my reader, those secret sins, hidden and unknown to your fellow-men, but known to God, are on your track, and will face you there if not here. How blessed to be discovered now! “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin”, Ps 32: 5.
Mark the words “I acknowledged” and “thou forgavest”. Yes, there is forgiveness now for thee, dear reader; but how? Through that blessed Man in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was once on the tree, the sinless One who said, “mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head” (Ps 40: 12); of whom the Scripture says concerning all who trust Him, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree”, 1 Pet 2: 24. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures.
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses”, Acts 13: 38.
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From ‘Salvation of God’, 1888