(ROM. 1:16)
This familiar gospel text is illustrated in a remarkable way by the following incidents which have recently taken place in Russia under the present Government. How great is the grace of God who uses His power for the salvation of men instead of their destruction! The account herein given is a translation from the Russian language, and brings vividly before the mind the gracious activity of the Holy Spirit in exalting Christ and giving boldness to His servants to testify and exemplify the grace of a Saviour-God.
Mr. T…. was arrested by the Cheka for insisting on preaching the Gospel. He could not keep quiet even in prison, but continued presenting to his fellow-prisoners the glad tidings of Jesus Christ. The Lord clothed his words with such, power that many bowed their knees, found peace with God and committed their lives to Him.
When this became known, the Cheka (the Russian police) sent for him and sternly demanded that he keep silence. But he boldly replied, "As long as I am able to open my mouth, I must- tell men that there is One who is above all, the blessed God before whose throne you will have to appear." A shower of threats and curses was their reply. "We will make you keep quiet," they said. They then sent him to cells where Communists were imprisoned for party discipline. Even here he could not keep quiet, but boldly and happily he testified to them of the grace of God and His disposition of mercy toward all men. He read the Scriptures to them and prayed aloud for their salvation. It was not necessary to wait long for results. One after another came to him at night when the others could not see them, asking the way of salvation, and confessing their sins. In this way and at this time many received forgiveness of sins through the grace of God and found that peace which cannot be shaken, because founded upon the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
Their numbers constantly increased. He was again brought before the Cheka. "Now tell us," they said with malicious joy, "have the comrades taught you to keep quiet?" "Thank God," he replied, "that is not so, but' I have taught them how to pray." Enraged, they called him a liar. "No," he said, "I do not lie. They now bow their knees to God and confess Jesus Christ our Lord to be their Saviour. And you too," he said, "must do likewise." In great anger the Cheka sent for some of these Communists, who to their great surprise bore testimony to Christ and said they were new creatures in Him.
The wrath of the Cheka was now unbounded. They decided to imprison him amongst dangerous robbers, so that by any means his zeal in praying and preaching might be quenched. Not long before a large band of robbers had been caught. They had been pillaging villages and had murdered many people in the Caucasus. They, however, strenuously denied their guilt, and the execution of the death-sentence had been deferred. In this prison-den they had been confined for a long time and had become like wild beasts. When the Cheka did not wish their victims killed immediately, they cast them into this hideous place with its brutal company. Like wild animals the robbers fell upon them, stripping their helpless victims of their clothing, which they sold to their brutal jailers, and often tormented the new arrivals until death came as a welcome relief.
Our friend, Mr. T., together with a priest and an officer, was thrown in amongst them. But it was somewhat with our brother as with the prophet Daniel in the den of lions. Before they could attack him, he approached the robber-chief to shake hands with him in a friendly fashion, and said, "I greet you in the name of God. We are all here, like yourselves, under sentence of death." This brave and happy salutation completely disarmed the chief and made a deep impression upon the wild people. The chief said, "Comrades, no one has ever welcomed us like this man:we will not harm him." Before they could attack the priest and the officer, Mr. T. said, "Please do not harm them either; they are my friends." They were left in peace. The chief said to him, "Lie down beside me, and no one will dare to touch you. Let your friends do likewise."
Before Mr. T. lay down on the cold and filthy floor, he bowed his knees in prayer and prayed aloud. The robbers looked at him in great astonishment. They had never seen nor heard of such a thing before; that a man who was evidently not a priest could pray, and at an hour when there was no church service going on. It seemed still more surprising to them that the words used were simple and not studied. His prayer, freely and simply uttered, embraced the needs of his family and himself, the inhabitants of this den, and all his enemies, committing them affectionately to the grace of God. Some were inclined to laugh, others to quarrel, but the stern look of their chief restrained them.
The night was a terrible one. He had never in any of his numerous imprisonments encountered similar conditions. Myriads of poisonous insects and centipedes tormented them. But, as of old, there was evening and morning the first day. The morning at length came, and Mr. T., after a sincere and heartfelt prayer, began to make acquaintance with his fellow-prisoners. Their tone was more friendly. But the poor priest had much to suffer in blows and mockery. When Mr. T. had finished praying, the priest likewise desired to pray, but he had not the necessary courage. "Why do you not pray together with him, you fraud?" they cried. Some one shouted, "Come, let us teach him to pray; possibly he has forgotten how it is to be done, but we shall teach you as you have taught us." With a loud cry, they forced him to his knees. He repeated all the church prayers he could remember, and soon fainted. When he recovered, they shouted, "Pray as T. prays. When he prays a pleasant feeling comes over us, and you must pray like him." In great distress, the poor victim prayed to the mother of Christ and the saints, but that was far from satisfying them. "Listen, cursed raven," they shouted"; "do you believe those prayers are heard?" They struck and kicked him, and at length in deep distress the poor priest admitted his belief that his prayers were not heard by God. This raised a general uproar of angry voices. "Listen!" they cried, "He does not believe in his own prayers. Blood-sucker," one shouted, "thou art guilty and such as thou art, of my becoming a thief and a robber." Another exclaimed, "If you priests had taught us how to pray as T. does, I would have been an honest and reasonable man! It is you who are guilty if I am shot. We will kill thee, but before we do so, thou must learn how to pray."
Mr. T. then said to the priest, "Confess your sins and call upon the name of the Lord. He will save you." Being afraid to die, the priest began to pray from the depths of his heart to the living God. He confessed that outwardly he was a sheep, but inwardly he was more like a wolf. "That is better," cried the listeners; "your prayers are more like T.'s prayers! Continue! Continue!" they shouted. God graciously heard the cries of this tormented soul. He became more peaceful in addressing God, until he broke out in happy thanksgiving for the forgiveness of his sins through Christ Jesus.
When he had finished, and said "Amen," three times, Mr. T. calmly thanked the Lord for His wonderful grace to the priest. All became calm. The change in the priest influenced the robbers profoundly. The officer, likewise,, found peace with God.
"Friends," said Mr. T. to the robbers, after having had soup with them made of rotten fish, "your bad language and foolish words are very trying to me, and cause me much pain. . I should like to tell you something beautiful from the Bible. Although it has been taken away from me, I can by heart remember many things." "We will listen," they said. He then began from the first chapter of the book of Genesis and told his attentive audience about the creation of the world, the entrance of sin and the consequent fall of man. He came to the 53rd chapter of the prophet Isaiah, drew a picture before their eyes of the Suffering Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world. Their attention was arrested by this vivid presentation of God's goodness as expressed in the death of His beloved Son. The following day the robber-chief said, "Tell us more about the scourging and crucifixion of Christ." Mr. T. spoke of the two thieves who were crucified beside the Lord, and how one of them openly confessed his guilt. "Comrades," said the chief, "I wish openly to confess what you and I have done." It was a horrible confession, a very nightmare of horror. '"All this," said he, "I have done. Could God forgive me?" "Thanks to the ever-merciful God," said Mr. T., "He can and will forgive in the same manner as He did your guilty comrade, the thief on the cross." God, in virtue of the precious Blood, purified the guilty conscience of this bold and reckless man, and gave him peace as to his past and joy and hope as to his future.
What a God of righteousness and love we have to do with! The truly repentant soul can say with delight:
"I have a title without a flaw, a prospect without a cloud, and a Saviour and Friend who never changes."
The chief asked to be brought before the Cheka, and to their intense surprise he told them the details of his lawless life. But their astonishment was unbounded when this bold and daring bandit told them that the prayers of Mr. T. had brought him and his band to this sincere confession. The Cheka were shaken by this fresh evidence of the power of Mr. T.'s testimony, and after eight days he was set at liberty.
When he was told of his freedom, his joy was great at the prospect of seeing his wife and child once more, but as he looked upon his companions his heart was sore as he thought of parting with them. "You have been a father to us," said the chief. "You have brought us to Christ, we have been taught to pray, and we are now able to face even death in peace." Mr. T. warmly embraced and kissed them all as he left the dismal den.
May this truly marvelous tale of the grace of God in a dismal modern prison be blessed to you, my reader. Time is brief and eternity approaches. A Saviour-God desires your blessing, and our desire is but a faint reflection of His who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
"We praise Thee, and would praise Thee more,
To Thee our all we owe,
The precious Saviour and the power
That makes Him precious too."