"Where did you learn to preach the Gospel so clear and plain?" "I learnt it," answered the young man, "just in the very last place in the world where you would have expected me not to have heard it," and then he told his story...

Though he would always call himself a Catholic, he had really no religion at all. He spent his time pleasing himself and became so notoriously wicked that none of his wicked companions would have dared to have sinned so boldly as he; yet, strange to say, it was this extraordinary, wickedness which God used to awaken his conscience.

One day it struck him that, "it may be true after all, that there is an eternal judgement for sinners." He had heard of the Judgement of the Lake of Fire and he thought, "if anyone is ever to be there, it must be myself; for I have never seen or heard anyone who has sinned as I have done." He was still quite young and had delighted in his sinful life; but this thought so terrified him that he suddenly left his sinful companions and gave himself up to despair. Sometimes he thought of how sinners might be saved by entering a monastery, and doing penance. A faint hope rose within him that by this it might be possible to escape eternal punishment, and have in exchange, perhaps, some thousand years in purgatory; but to gain favour with God, it would be necessary to do more penance than anyone had ever done before. He had heard of the La Trappe Monastery in Sicily which was said to have rules more severe than any other in the world. The monks got up at two in the morning for services in the chapel, and after a frugal meal went forth to hard work in the fields, to endure heat and cold and storms, and never to change their clothes to suit the weather. They slept on hard knotted ropes called a bed. There were many other hardships undertaken, but when the young man heard of such a convent he was filled with joy and determined to go at once and offer himself to the monks. He was very poor, so he was determined to travel the hundreds of miles on foot.

He found himself at last across the Straits of Messina, and a little more weary walking brought him to the old convent with its gloomy walls. He was very tired and worn out by the time he stood at the gate and rang the bell. The gate was slowly opened by an old monk who seemed scarcely able to move. The old man asked him what he wanted. "I want to be saved" was the reply. The old monk looked kindly at him and led him into a little room near the gate, where they were alone together.

"Now tell me what you mean" said the old man, I should like to hear your history." The young German told his sad story. He continued, "I have been a far greater sinner than anyone I have heard of. I do not think it possible that I can be saved, but anything that can be done I am willing to do, if only I may have a faint hope that at last I may escape eternal punishment; but it must be by spending the rest of my life in penance, and the harder it is the more I shall be thankful to do it. Only tell me what I am to do, and I will do it gladly."

"If you will do what I tell you," replied the monk, "you will go back to Germany, for there has been One down here who has done the whole work in your place before you came here. He has finished it. He did it instead of you, so, THERE IS NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU TO DO. IT IS ALL DONE."

"Who has done it?" he asked. "Did you ever hear of the Lord Jesus Christ?" asked the old man. "Yes, of course I have heard of Him." "Do you know where he is?" continued the aged man. "Yes of course, I know He is in heaven. "But tell me," said the old monk, looking earnestly into his face, "do you know why He is in Heaven?" "No, except that He is always in heaven". "He was not always in heaven," said the old monk. "He came down here to do the work that you want to do yourself; He came down here to bear the punishment of your sin. He is in heaven now because the work is done. If it were not so He would still be here, for He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and if anything remained to be done, He would still be here, for He undertook to do the whole work Himself and He has gone back to heaven because he has done it. Do you know that on the cross he said 'IT IS FINISHED'?". The young man asked "What was finished?" The reply came, "It is the work you want to begin; and now, if you want to add the crowning sin to your wicked life, and do something worse than you have done before, you may stay here and cast contempt upon the perfect work of the Son of God, and try yourself to do what He only could do, and what He has done is finished. It will be as much as saying, Christ has not done enough and I must add to the work that He has declared finished. It may seem strange to you that I stay here where Christ is insulted, but I am very old and can only walk to the gate. I cannot get away so I must stay here till the Lord calls me home, but you can go, and I entreat you to go back at once to your friends and tell them all that the Lord has done for you. You may stay here three days, and I will tell you all I can during that time about the Lord Jesus Christ, and then you must go."

He did remain there three days, and then went back to Germany, and from that day, has told this to anyone who would listen.

Do you know where you are going? All who want to go to heaven "Must be born Again." Jesus talked about Heaven and He said "In my Father's house are many mansions." He also said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14 v.2,6). This is the Gospel. If Jesus is right (and he most certainly is) then all other ways are wrong! Religion cannot save you, only Jesus can. God did not create the religions of the world, man did! To satisfy his conscience. Man is "forever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3 v.7)

Do you know the One who died on the cross for you? Jesus said "except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3 v.3). Jesus said that He is the only way to heaven. What did He mean? He meant a spiritual birth whereby a person confesses their sins to Jesus Christ and accepts Him as Saviour. This is not a religion, it is life.

But this man (Lord Jesus Christ) after he had made one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10 v.12)

For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10 v.13)

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting, for God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved . (John 3 v.16&17)

For printed copies contact:
Way of Life, 148 Blackisland Road, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland. BT71 6NL