CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.

(Acts 3:19)

 

Three days after we left Southampton, Jeremy approached me as I was washing out some of the children’s nightgowns.

“Mrs. Keeney, might I speak with you?”

“Certainly, Jeremy. What’s on your mind?”

“Well, I’m a little curious about some things. Religion really hasn’t played a very big part in my life. I mean, my mother was a whore. I mean, she, um….”

“I understand, Jeremy. Go on.”

“Well…yes…um… Anyway, when the Bishop took me in, he just ranted and raved about God and His eternal damnation and all that. But I’ve seen something different in you, and frankly, Mrs. Keeney, I’m curious about it. All the bad things I’ve done to your family and still you’ve forgiven me. You treat me nice and all. Why is that?”

“It’s because I’ve also been forgiven, Jeremy, and the Lord commands that I forgive those who do me wrong.”

“He does?”

“Yes, He does. You see, I used to be a bad person, too, but God forgave me.”

“You?! You’ve been a bad person? Why, I can’t believe you were ever as bad as me. I’ve done some really horrible things, Mrs. Keeney. Really horrible.”

“Sin has no degrees with God, Jeremy. To Him, sin is sin. The sin of lying is just as bad as the sin of murder. And we’re all guilty of sin, from the moment of our birth to the moment of our death. We’re all sinners. The difference is whether we’re lost sinners or saved sinners.”

“What am I—a lost one or a saved one?”

“That’s a question only you can answer. Evidently, from what you’ve told me, you must realize that you’re a sinner, is that correct?”

“Well, yes, if you say so.”

“It’s not if I say so, Jeremy. It’s because number one, God says so, and number two, because you believe so.”

“Well, yes, I suppose then I’m a sinner. So, how do I become a saved one?”

“Do you know who Jesus Christ is, Jeremy?”

“My mother used his name quite a bit, when she was angry. But, wasn’t he that little baby born on Christmas?”

Oh, brother, I thought, this was going to be more difficult that I first realized. Trying a different avenue, I plowed onward. “Jeremy, if this ship was to sink and you were to die on this voyage, do you know where you would spend eternity?”

“Well, ma’am, as bad as I’ve been, I’d probably be in that place of fire and brimstone my grandma used to talk about. You know, she tried many times to tell me about Jesus, but I just didn’t have time for all that foolishness, and besides, I figured that He’d not want to have anything to do with the likes of me, being a bastard and all.”

“Jeremy, just between you and me and despite what the Puritans believe, Jesus died for everyone—even such a great sinner as you perceive yourself to be. And Jeremy, He wants you to spend eternity in Heaven with him. Would you like to know how you can do that?”

“Yes, ma’am, I would.”

“Well, the first thing you need to realize is that you are a sinner and that there is nothing you can do to redeem your soul—not good works, not going to church, not even getting baptized is enough to pay for your sins and be good enough to enter Heaven on your own. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.’”

“Then how in the world can I be good enough to go to Heaven?” Jeremy asked, with a puzzled expression on his face.

“You can’t be good enough, Jeremy. The only way to Heaven is through the righteousness of Christ—we have to have His righteousness in order for the Father to allow us to come there. Do you know how we get Jesus’ righteousness?”

“No, ma’am. I don’t suppose I can buy some—can I?”

“No, son,” I chuckled. “You can’t buy salvation. The only way to get it is to place your trust in Jesus.”

“How do I do that, Mrs. Keeney?”

“Just believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was crucified on the cross for your sins, died and rose again on the third day. If you accept that Jesus did that for you—that He would have done that for you, even if you’d been the only human being on earth—and purpose in your heart that you are going to live for Him and obey Him, allowing Him to be the Lord of your life, then you can be saved.”

“That’s all there is to it? I don’t have to do anything more than believe?” Jeremy was astonished at the simplicity of the Gospel message.

“That’s all,” I replied. “Would you like to do that?”

“Yes, ma’am!!” He smiled a big old grin, ear to ear. “Right now!”

“Then all you have to do is tell Jesus that you believe all that and that you want him to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life. Just pray to Him right now and He will save you—right now.”

To my surprise, Jeremy knelt right there on the deck of the Confidence in full view of anyone who might pass by and prayed: “Jesus, I know that I’m probably one of the worst sinners You’ve ever seen. But I want to go to Heaven when I die. I believe everything that Mrs. Keeney has said about you and that you died for me. Would you please come into my heart and save me?” Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I could not contain them.

In the end, a weeping young man, born in a London brothel and raised to adulthood by an angry, twisted, bitter bishop came to the cross of Christ and joined the ranks of the saved. It was the first time I had ever led anyone to the Lord, and it was a thrilling experience, second only to birthing a human baby. Jeremy Tibbets awoke that day a lost soul bound for Hell and slept that night assured of eternity in Heaven.