ST. JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH
(The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod)
Alma, Kansas
Sharing the Gospel through Word and Sacraments to inspire Christ-centered living!
In This Month's
St. John Witness
OCTOBER WITNESS
Pastor's Message
"He that covers his sin shall not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
In May of 1948, three men robbed a bank in Hoyt, Kansas. Al Johnson had joined two other men in taking about $1000 from the bank’s tellers. They fled the scene and were not caught. However, at that time, there was a vehicle accident and the two men in the wreck were identified, mistakenly, as the bank robbers. The sheriff’s office closed the files. Al Johnson was sure he would never be caught.
Time passed. He married a Christian girl and attended church with her. She knew nothing of this crime, but it stayed on his mind. In a tract he read, God spoke to him with these words: “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Johnson knew what he had done was wrong, but the Holy Spirit was not done, for Johnson had pangs of conscience.
Although he was a teenage when the crime was committed, and the statute of limitations had passed, the lingering guilt would not go away. “I thought about the robbery many times,” he said. “I prayed about it and asked the Lord to give me an answer. It seemed He always directed me to be truthful.” Even if it meant going to prison, he could not keep the secret any longer. So one Sunday, at the Seward Avenue Baptist Church, the man named Al Johnson stepped forward and told the congregation that the day before he had gone to the district attorney and confessed his role in the crime.
Johnson also revealed that he borrowed money to repay the stolen funds. He told authorities about the other two men who were involved, who had not been in the accident as presumed. The closed file was solved but not prosecuted.
When we think the best approach is to hide our sin, either to avoid embarrassment and exposure, or to avoid potential consequences of our actions. There is a God who sees everything – nothing is ever hidden from His view. His hatred of sin is so intense that He will not allow us to prosper by covering our sin. The toll of hidden sin on the soul and body is greater than we can know. But the mercy of God is greater than our sin. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice is enough to cleanse every conscience from every sin. Faith in His mercy is our connection to forgiveness and purity. Salvation is for the sinner. God’s mercy is for the repentant. God’s grace is for the believer!
Rejoice for God’s grace! Pastor Grimm
