H.A. Ironside tells of open-air meetings in Albuquerque, NM. A gambler who had moved there for his tuberculosis had been convicted of sin, but was unsure there was mercy for him. When Ironside visited him, “he said, ‘I’m praying; I’ve made up my mind that if I have to go to hell, I’ll go praying.’” Ironside explained that salvation was a gift, gave him some gospel booklets to read, and left. The following evening he returned and, rapidly succumbing to the disease, brokenly told what had transpired: “This afternoon I lay on the bed–I took the tracts and tried to read–My aunt came in–I asked her to read them to me.–Every time she came to a Bible verse–I said, ‘Look it up.’–She said, ‘Tain’t necessary.’–I said ‘It is.–I can’t afford to make any mistakes.’–She looked them up–They were just the same.–At last I saw it–I said, ‘That’s it–Christ died for sinners–that’s me exactly.–He saves all who trust Him–I can trust Him now.’” He did, and three days later, he was with the Lord.

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