North Douglas Church

Years ago in Detroit,
Michigan, the well-known evangelist, Dr. Charles Finney, preached on the text,
“The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin,” from 1 John
1:7. After the service a stranger asked Dr. Finney to walk home with him. Some
of the church officials knew this man, and advised Dr. Finney not to go with
him. But he went anyway.

They walked down the
street, and the man stopped and unlocked a door, ushering Dr. Finney inside. He
then turned and locked the door, put the key in his pocket and said, “Don’t be
afraid. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do
you believe what you preached tonight?” Dr. Finney said, “I certainly do.”

The man responded, “We’re
in the back of a saloon. I am the sole proprietor. Mothers come in here, lay
their babies on the counter, and beg me not to sell liquor to their husbands. I
turn a deaf ear to their cries. We see to it that when a man leaves here he’s
well under the influence. More than one night a man leaving here has been killed
by the express train at the tracks. Dr. Finney, tell me, can God forgive a man
like me?”

Dr. Finney replied, “I
have but one authority: the Word of God, which says, “The blood of Jesus Christ,
God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”

“But that’s not all,”
added the man. “In another room we run a gambling hall. If a man doesn’t spend
all his money on liquor, we bring him back here and with marked cards see to it
that he’s fleeced out of his last dollar. We send him home penniless to a hungry
family. Dr. Finney, I’m sole owner of this gambling hall. Tell me honestly, can
God forgive a man with a heart like that?” Again Dr. Finney replied, “I have but
one authority: the Word of God, which says, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s
Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”

The man spoke again:
“That’s not all. Across the street is my home where live my wife and little
daughter. Neither one has had a kind word from me for five years. Their bodies
bear the marks of my brutal attacks. Dr. Finney, do you think God could forgive
a man with a heart like that?”

Dr. Finney’s eyes lowered.
His eyes filled with tears as he said, “My friend, you have painted one of the
darkest pictures I have ever gazed on, but I still have only one authority which
says, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”

The man then opened the
door, escorted the preacher out into the night, then never left the room until
the sun was rising—but before it did, he ripped up the decks of cards and poured
out all the contents of all the bottles down the drain. Then he crossed the road
to his home, where he sat in his living room quietly.

His little girl stood at
the door of the living room and called, “Daddy, Mother says breakfast is ready.”
When he answered his little girl kindly, she ran back to her mother, and said,
“Daddy spoke kindly to me! Something is the matter!” When the mother followed
her little girl into the living room, her husband motioned for them to come
closer.

Taking one on each knee,
he explained to their amazement how they had a new husband and a new daddy. He
ended by saying, “I’m done with that business across the street.” He became a
whole-hearted follower of Jesus Christ, joined the very church whose leaders had
advised against Dr. Finney going with him, and later became a leader there
himself.

When asked to tell how his
life was changed, he would reply, “I have only one thing to say: The blood of
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”