Bristol Conference 1962 - Part 1 — William MacDonald

I think we should just express sincere appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Jett Weiler and all of the others who have taken the burden of this conference. You know, I've always had a great deal of respect for these dear Christians who have been so diligently engaged in the administration of the conference, but I can really say tonight I have more respect for them now than I ever did before, and I'm sure that I express the gratitude and thanksgiving of each one for these dear ones.

I can't name them all individually, and that's the difficulty of an announcement like this, but I'm sure they'll realize that we really mean it. All right, John chapter 9, verse 35. I really should go back to verse 34.

Christ Gives Sight to the Spiritually Blind

It says, "...they answered and said unto him, to the man that had received his sight, Thou art altogether born of sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe in the Son of God?

He answered and said, Whom is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and is he that talketh with thee? He said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

And Jesus said, For judgment I am coming to this world, for they which see not might see, and they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

Jesus said unto him, If ye were blind ye should have no sin. But now ye say ye see, therefore your sin remaineth.". Chapter 10, verse 1,. "...verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold that climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This terrible took Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.".

Now, we'll have to go back to the beginning of chapter 9 for the start of this story. As the Lord Jesus was passing by, he came across a man who was blind from birth. This is a picture of every person born into the world.

They're born as sons of Adam, and they're born blind by birth. You know, it's an interesting thing about a man who's blind from birth. There's nothing but a miracle that will ever help him. All the surgery in the world wouldn't do a bit of good for a man who's blind from birth.

What it really needs, a case like that, is a new optic nerve is what it needs, and nothing but the hand of the Creator God would ever be able to do anything for a man who's blind by birth. And this is true in the spiritual realm, too.

All the philosophical and psychological surgery in the world won't do a bit of good for a helpless sinner. What really needs is the touch of the Redeemer God, and nothing else will ever do. You know, you'd think by the center of our times that psychology and psychiatry would solve every problem, wouldn't you?

I was really interested to read The Life of Christ, surprisingly enough, by Bishop Sheen, and he was talking there about how the Lord Jesus reclined at a couch, and a sinful woman came and washed his feet.

And he said, you know, in our day, another couch has taken the place of the Savior's couch, and that's the psychiatrist's couch. But he said, there's one thing the psychiatrist can never say, and that is, Thy sins be forgiven thee.

It's something to think about, isn't it? Well, the disciples were there with the Lord Jesus. He passed by and saw this man who was blind from birth, and the disciples started a theological discussion.

They said, Lord, who did sin? This man or his parents that he was born blind? Well, you know, that's about the best that men can do. It really shows the powerlessness of human nature to help a helpless sinner.

They can engage in theological discussions, in theological disputes, and they can raise all kinds of theological riddles, but it doesn't help a man who's been blind from birth. And, dear friends, if you're here tonight and you're in that condition, blind from birth, the person you ought to meet is Jesus Christ, because nobody else will do you a bit of good.

The disciples said, well, all they did was show their own ignorance by asking a question like this. Who did sin? This man or his parents that he was born blind? Well, it certainly couldn't have been the man himself, because he was born that way, and this would have meant a previous incarnation for the poor fellow, and none of the Jews believed in that.

The disciples didn't believe in it themselves. Why did they ever ask such a question? Well, once again, it shows you the frustration of human nature to help in a case of need like this. And so, the Lord Jesus said, neither has this man sinned nor his parents that he was born blind.

Now, he didn't mean that the man hadn't sinned, and he didn't mean that his parents hadn't sinned, and he didn't mean that all of these frailties of human nature weren't the result of sin, but he meant in this particular case that wasn't the cause.

It wasn't a congenital condition. In that sense, God had a special purpose in it. God was going to use this man as a springboard to display his marvelous power. Now, people have difficulty with this in the world today.

They see a little child born into the world, and they see him in a picture like this, and they say, isn't that awful? How can there be a God in heaven? Well, I wish you could have talked to this man after he got his sight, and asked him if he had any regrets, and I know what he would have said.

He would have had absolutely no regrets at all. You can leave those things to the Lord, and he'll work them out all right. And that's exactly what happened. This man became a pattern case. This man became an object lesson, and the Lord Jesus is waiting to do it with every lost, guilty sinner in the world today.

Christ’s Mission and the Miracle of Creation

Then the Savior added those memorable words that should be written across the faces of our watches and clocks. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day, the night cometh when no man can work.

While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And, when he had said that, he leaned over, picked up some clay, mixed the clay with some syphilis, and anointed the eyes of the blind. Now, what do you think of that?

Just what do you think of that? You know, if you went down to the nearest medical college and asked them, you know, we have a patient, and he was born blind. How do you think clay mingles with syphilis?

They'd say, my dear friend, just wait a minute, and a little man with a white coat will come and get you. They will. You know, that kind of thing, why, that just seems ridiculous to human nature. And, you know, there is this about the gospel.

It just seems ridiculous to unrepentant human nature. You tell men and women, you're a guilty sinner on the way to hell. What you need is to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He died as your substitute on Calvary's cross, and if you receive him as a free gift from God, he'll wash your sins away and make you as fit for heaven as is possible to be.

Just go figure what that does. You sound reasonable. But, dear friends, the clay and the syphilis didn't sound reasonable, but it worked. And God's foolishness is wiser by the wisdom of men. It is. I don't think this was just something coincidental that the Lord Jesus did.

I think this was very wonderful. He just took the elements from which we are made, anyway, and he created a new part for this man. In fact, this is just my own thought. I really believe personally that this man was born without eyeballs in his pocket.

That's just my own thought. I don't ask you to accept it, but I know this. I know this, that the Lord Jesus proved himself to be the creator of Genesis 1 this day when he took clay, mingled the syphilis, and anointed the eyes of the blind man.

That's what the man was made out of in the first place, and as I say, he just used the from which we are made, and he made a new part for this man. Isn't that wonderful? You know, the scripture says that of all the things the Lord Jesus did were written in books, the world itself wouldn't be able to contain it.

And, you know, I'm just simple enough of a Christian to take that just the way it's written and believe it absolutely like that, because, you know, there were quite a few medical technicalities that took place in this particular operation, and quite a few nerves involved.

And I think that of all the things that actually took place here, that if covered in a single sentence probably would fill a few shelves in your library and in mine, too. All right, now, he said to the man, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation said.

Salvation Requires Trust and Response

Now, you see, that's a wonderful thing. God is the only one who can save our guilty souls, and yet he calls our will into play in this matter, doesn't he? Who can save a soul? Only God. Who can wash away sins?

Only God can do it. And yet, he says, Go wash in the pool of Siloam. This reminds us that if you're here tonight and you're not saved, God can save you, and God will save you if God's going to call your will into play.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And so, he says to every sinner, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, and call your will into play.

And so, the man washed. He went and washed in the pool of Siloam, and he came to you. You know, people say, How do you know the Bible is the word of God? Well, I know by a million and one ways. Every time I read it, I know it's the word of God.

But just think of the restraint of the doctor-writer at this particular incident. I'll tell you, if a modern-day newspaper writer were writing the story, he wouldn't have written it like that. He went and washed, and he came to you.

Why, a modern writer would have said, Sensational! Terrific! Spectacular! And he'd have used all the long words that come out of Hollywood today to describe such an event. And the Spirit of God uses a wonderful restraint that he went and he washed, and he came to you.

Wonderful! The word of God is really wonderful. And the people crowded around. The neighbors crowded around. They couldn't escape. Isn't that the fellow we've always known that was blind? Some of them said, Well, it sure looks like him.

And they said, Yeah, it looks like him. And he removed all doubt. He said, Look, I'm he. I'm the one. Just to remove all doubt from your mind. They said, Well, what in the world's going to happen? And he said, Well, he said, Well, this man came along, and he anointed my eyes with clay and fiddle, and he told me to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.

And I went and washed, and I came seeing. And they said, And where is he now? And he said, I don't know. You know, his ignorance is really greater than his knowledge. That's a wonderful thing. Really, that's the wonderful thing about salvation.

You don't really have to know a lot. All you have to know is the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's amazing how little a person can know and get into heaven. It really is. It really is. He said, I don't know where he is.

Religious Opposition to New Life in Christ

Oh, I know. I know he's here. Well, then the Pharisees, the religious leaders, came crowding around. Now, mind you, they hadn't been able to do anything for this poor fellow all his life. And they kept crowding around now, and they said, Now, let's see.

We'd like to take supervisory capacity in this case. Who gave you Christ on the Sabbath day? He's a man. Who healed you on the Sabbath day, they said? We've got to take a little interest in this. The Sabbath is being desecrated.

It was a fine thing to say, wasn't it? Dear friends, it's an interesting thing that when Christ comes into a person's life, there is a certain religious circle where that person is no longer wanted. Isn't that an interesting thing?

It's possible that when Christ comes into your life, you'll become a lucid. What I'd like to say is this, that as long as this man was blind, he was a member in good standing in the Jewish fellowship, and the minute he received his Christ, he was out of fellowship.

But he was in fellowship with somebody else, with a one that really can. Dear friends, it's true in the religious world today that as long as you're blind, you can get along very nicely in certain religious fellowships, and the minute you receive your Christ, you're no longer wanted.

You're a fish out of water, you're a round peg in a square hole. It's a difference. It makes a difference when the Lord Jesus Christ comes into the life, and he never tried to deceive anybody on that subject.

He said, but not that I am come to bring peace. I came not to bring peace, but of the Lord.". And when I come into a person's life, there's going to have to be friction, and tension, and trouble along the way, and families will be disturbed, and parents will be against children, and children against parents of the world.

And so, the parent points at my eyes, and I've got my sight, and they say, Well, this man isn't of God. This man isn't of God. How could he be of God and heal you on the Sabbath day? Well, I don't know, but it's a strange miracle for a sinner to perform.

The Testimony of a Newly Converted Witness

And, you know, I got a lesson from this. These men were the doctors of religion. They were. And this poor fellow had only been restored to sight a very short time, and he knew more on his knees than they knew on their tiptoes.

He did. And he could confound them with just a simple statement like that in spite of all their learning. They were absolutely dead. In fact, this is the thing to remember, that the people who were really blind in this story were the Pharisees.

That's the whole moral of the story, isn't it? The people who were blind were the Pharisees. And they said to this man, they said, Now, we'd like to interrogate you a little longer. We have a certain brainwashing technique that we'd like to go through.

They said, What do you say of this man that we see here at sight? I guess they thought he was going to turn on him. Isn't that a fine thing? They said, Come on now, tell us what you think of him. You know, I think he's a prophet.

I think he's a prophet. And so this just bothered them a great deal, and they said, Well, look, this is a fake. This has been done with mirrors. We don't believe he was any blind. Well, if they didn't believe that he did, and his parents were true.

And so they went to his parents, and they said, We'd like to call in more witnesses. Is this your son? They said, Yes, this is our son. And they said, Was he blind? Oh, yes, they said he was blind. They said, Well, what has happened to him?

Tell us about it, will you? And they said, Well, they said, You see, the Jews had made an agreement that if anybody acknowledged Jesus, that he was Christ, out of the Jewish synagogue, they were no longer welcome.

They were to be cast out. And so the parents said, Well, look, we know he was blind, and there he is, he has his sight, but frankly, we don't know very much about how it happened. So why don't you go and ask him?

And if he knows enough, he'll be able to tell you. And so here they were back with the one they didn't want to talk to all over again. In other words, he was confounding them with just some little, simple word every time they turned on him.

And this is a lesson, too, because you know, sometimes I feel that the most effective testimonies for Christ are those that some people have just been saved. I don't know why we should lose that as we go along in a Christian life.

We shouldn't. But I tell you, it's a wonderful thing. You don't have to be learned in the Scriptures to be effective for Christ. You don't. All you have to do is go back to your home and tell what great things the Lord has done for you.

That's all it requires, and sometimes if you get too bookish, you'll lose your power and your simplicity for Christ. So they went back to this poor blind man again, and they said, Now, come on, give glory to God, and admit this man is a sinner.

I don't think all the rites in China would have forced that man to admit that the one who gave him Christ was a sinner. I don't believe it. You know, we've kind of passed over the wonder of it. We have.

This man was blind from birth, and in a moment of time he looked out upon a world he had never seen before. He had heard of trees he didn't know what a tree looked like. He had heard of the blue sky that he didn't know what the sky looked like, and just imagine the thrill of that moment when he went to the pool and washed, and he came, he saw all the people he had known, all the people from whom he had begged, there they were dancing by.

What a whole new world opened up to him. As you know, it's true that when a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, he sees in his faith. It's a wonderful thing to have those eyes open. I tell you, you see things in a different way you've ever seen before, and a whole new world is open to you.

It'd be pretty hard to get one who's been claimed by precious blood to say that the one who sent him was a sinner. Wouldn't it? So that's what they wanted him to say. Come on now, give God the glory and say this man was a sinner.

He said, well, you're raising theological problems right now. He said, I want to tell you, I don't know very much so. I do know one thing. I was blind, and now I see. You know, this is unanswerable. This is unanswerable.

People can raise a million and one objections to the Bible, and people can evade the simple teachings of the Bible in this way, but nobody can refute the testimony of a person who's been saved by grace who says, this one thing I know, whereas I was blind, and I don't know of any more effective testimony in all the world than that.

Religious Tradition Versus the Authority of Christ

Well, they said, tell us again. Tell us again how he did it to you. And he said, oh, you want to become his disciple. Oh, I really think he said it in irony. He said, would you also be his disciple? And he knew very well that they were gnashing their teeth at him at that very, very moment.

They said, you're his disciple, but we're Moses' disciples. We're true to the teachings of Moses. And this man, well, after all, he's an unknown quantity. We don't even know where he's from. And the man that had his sight restored said, well, that makes it all the more amazing.

You don't know where he's from, and yet he's opened my eyes. This was a shot through as you said. I don't want to detect the tiny edge of the blade there. But these were the religious leaders, dear friend, and they were supposed to know everything that was going on.

They were supposed to know the latest theological trends on the continent. These men. And he said, well, here's a strange thing. Here's a miracle that's been performed the first time in the history of the world.

And it was. It was. The first time in the history of the world that a man born blind had received a sight, and the Pharisees didn't know anything about this. He said, well, it seems rather strange to me.

You know, he was developing pretty quickly, wasn't he? He really was. He was developing pretty quickly. But I want to tell you, he didn't learn it from men. The Spirit of God had come to him and was teaching him these things, and he was pliable in the hands of the Lord, and my, the wisdom that flowed from his lips.

He says in verse 32, since the world began, was it not heard that a man, that anyone, opened the eyes of a man born blind? If the sin were not a sin, he could do nothing. Well, I want to tell you, his logic and his scriptural reasoning was absolutely accurate and absolutely unanswerable.

And notice what they said to him in verse 34. They answered and said unto him, Thou art altogether born in sin, and that thou shalt suffer. Now, this really irritates me. This really irritates me. You feel it in the world today.

You feel it in the world today. Sometimes I hear young people from the school are coming out in a late spiel, and sometimes they see a priest with nobody sitting beside them, and they find that the good priest is hidden.

And they go over there, and they start witnessing to the man in the black clothes, and sometimes use his attitude. What seminary did he go to? Well, they didn't go to any seminary. In other words, what right do you have to talk to me?

But you know, the funny thing is that more often than not, they know their Bible better than he does, and he'll say, Well, you have to speak to Father O 'Brien. He specialized in that, and I have no idea.

He said, Who are you? Altogether born in sin. Ten minutes old and full of the flesh. That's what they were saying. I'll teach ya. Notice what it says. And they cast him out. But I want you to know what the next verse in the Bible says.

Who was waiting when they cast him out? Well, I want to tell you, the Lord Jesus was waiting, and they cast him out into the arms of almighty love where they cast him. Best thing that ever happened. I like the connection, and I've always loved the connection between verses 34 and 35.

They cast him out. A few minutes ago, he didn't know where Jesus was. But I tell you, when they cast him out, the Lord Jesus wasn't far away, was he? He was right on the spot when you need him most. And so it's when Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Just thou believe on the Son of God.

Oh, the questions of the Lord Jesus are really wonderful. Jesus never asked a question because he didn't know the answer, but he asked all his questions because we didn't know the answers, and he wanted us to know them.

And it would make quite a study, wouldn't it? The questions of the faith. Did you believe in the Son of God? And he said, Lord, who are you that I might believe? And he said, well, you're speaking to him.

I'm the one. And he said, Lord, I believe that he worships him. And Jesus said, yes, this is a good illustration of my purpose coming into the world, for judgment I am coming to the world that they that see not might see, and that they that see might remain blind.

Now, there are two classes of people mentioned here. The first is a man like this blind man who was blind and knew it, and the second class of persons was a Pharisee who was blind and wouldn't admit it.

And the Lord Jesus said, my coming into the world is going to make a distinction between people, and those who are blind and are willing to admit it, I'll give them their sight. Those were sinners, and who can say in the presence of God, I truly deserve to go to hell.

So I said, I'll save people like that when they trust in my beloved Son. But there is another class of people in the world who say, me blind? Me blind? Why, I'm a religious leader. The Lord Jesus said that they that see might be made blind.

And do you know the gospel has two effects? The gospel does. Some men hear the gospel and they accept it as their faith, and other men hear the gospel and they reject it, and they're more blind than others.

More blind than others. In fact, you can't hear the gospel and go out unaffected by it. The same sun that tans the skin bleaches the limbs, and the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. And the gospel has these effects on men, and the coming of Christ has its effects.

And I'd like to tell you this, that God will be just as much glorified in his judgment in the condemnation of the wicked as he will in his grace in the salvation of the faith. We like to count the number of converts who say what glory to God, but I'll tell you it's righteous judgment that will come down on men who refuse God's blessed Son as their Savior.

And some of the Pharisees, which are willing to hear these words instead of, are we blind all? They got the point. They said, you're calling us blind, aren't you? And he said, if he were blind he would have no sin.

That's a strange saying, isn't it? Did the Lord Jesus really mean that they had absolutely no sin? No. The thought is it's comparative. He is saying here, if you would only be willing to admit you're blind, then your sin would be relatively small.

But your great sin is that the Son of God is standing in front of you, and you say you see, and yet you don't see him. And the Son of God has been in your midst performing miracles, and you say our eyes are open, but you're unwilling to acknowledge that he's the Son of God.

And all the sins of your life are as nothing compared with this sin, that you reject Jesus Christ. That's what he says. Comparatively, if you were blind you would have no sin. They certainly didn't say.

Sure they would. If you were blind, he said, the great condemning sin in your life is that the Son of God stands before you, knocking at your heart. Sure, and you won't let it in. But now you say, we see, therefore your sin remaineth.

He said, there's nothing to that at all. Nothing to that at all. Our eyesight, we see everything in perfect focus. The Lord Jesus is saying, you have no heart for God, but for his blessed Son, and you don't see, and your sin remaineth on you.

Jesus as the Shepherd and Fulfillment of Scripture

Now, actually, it's kind of unfortunate that chapter stops there, because the rest is a very direct continuation of chapter 9, and I think it's beautiful when you see that. The Lord Jesus goes on to say, verily, verily, I say to you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Just consider this first, in the light of what we've been over. These Pharisees professed to be the religious leaders of the Jews. They said, look, all theological knowledge is spectacular. They professed to be the religious leaders of the Jews.

The Lord Jesus said, look, they didn't come in fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures concerning the Messiah. They're thieves and robbers. How did they ever get to that place of leadership in the Jewish nation?

They didn't get to it rightfully. They stripped it. That's what they did. It says, but he that entereth in by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. That's the Lord Jesus himself. He came in the proper way.

What was the proper way? Well, it was a way that was predicted of him all down through the Old Testament scriptures. The very things that the Old Testament prophesied of the Messiah, they were all fulfilled in the blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. To him the porter openeth. There is a difference of opinion about the porter, isn't there?

Some say it's John the Baptist, and some say it's the Holy Spirit. Well, you certainly won't be wrong if you say it's the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit certainly opens it all. But notice what it says next.

It says, and the sheep hear his voice. Now, that's a wonderful thing, because we just had one of his sheep, the man born blind, and there were all kinds of voices in chapter 9. There were the voices of Pharisees, and the sheep said, boy, that sounds good to me.

And then there was the voice of the Lord Jesus, and he said, that sounds like the voice of the good shepherd. Isn't that wonderful? When he got in sight, he got a divine instinct that told him a true voice and told him a And so he said, the sheep hear his voice.

Well, they did. He was one of the sheep that heard the voice of the Lord Jesus, and he called his own sheep by name. So there he was. When the man was thrown out, he would cast out the Lord Jesus, he said, to call him by name, and to introduce himself to him, and then it said, and leadeth them out.

God’s Sovereign Purpose Through Human Opposition

Now, this fills me. You know, the Pharisees in chapter 9 had cast him out. If they hadn't done it, the Lord would have led him out anyway, and all they succeeded in doing in their bitterness and animosity and enmity to the Gentiles was accomplish the will of God.

And I see this as a principle in the world, dear friends, that whether you cooperate with God or fight against him, it only serves the purpose. You know, one day there was a wealthy landowner, and he had a vast estate with beautiful trees on it, and he had an enemy who hated him for all his worth.

And one night, the enemy said, I'll get even with him, and he started out, and he had saws, and he had axes, and he had picks. And he picked out the most beautiful tree on the estate, and he worked through the night, and he hacked, and he sawed, and he kicked at it with the axe, and he got the wedges in, and as the morning light was about to break, the tree was ready to crumble.

And just as he was ready to give it the death blow, he looked up over the crest of the hill, and there was the owner coming with another man on horseback. And he gave the tree, the trunk of the tree, one last whack, and the tree came down, and as it came down, it cut him in its branches and sent him to the ground with a death blow.

He wasn't dead, but he was dying. And the wealthy landowner came and saw what had happened. He saw his enemy there. He saw him here, and he worked through the night to fell this tree. They got down off their horses, the two men, and they rolled out some blueprints.

They said, yes, very good, they said. They said, we were going to have to cut down this tree to put the building here. They said, he's just accomplished our purpose. And that's exactly what you have in John 9, and they cast him out.

Jesus would have let him out anyway. That's what I say, that when you get saved, oftentimes you're no longer welcome where you were before. They don't want you anymore. Never mind. Jesus wouldn't leave you out anyway.

He says, and when he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Well, this sheep sure knew his voice, didn't they? And he followed him, and it says he worshiped him.

And a stranger will they not call, as the Pharisees, the Pharisees. Oh, yes, they knew all about it, but they didn't know the stranger, and so their voices were hollow with mockery. They'll flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.

This terrible state Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were, which he spake unto them. Well, it's pretty clear to us, isn't it? It's pretty clear to us that God's purpose in your life, in fact, is unfolding every hour.

The Gospel Invitation to Receive Sight and Salvation

Dear friends, what a lesson to you if you are here tonight on stage. God tonight is offering to you as a free gift salvation by his wonderful grace. You can accept it, and you can spend eternity in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can reject it, too. You can fight against the law, and you can work out your own vicious schemes for all of the Jews. But, dear friends, if you are here tonight on stage, and you know that God's purpose in the long run is to advance the cause of Christ, and that God is greater than all the sin of man, and God's cause is not going to move, and so we would urge you tonight, if you are here without the sinner's salvation, we would urge you to bow to him, the Savior of the world.