“No Afeard of God Noo”

When I was a boy they used to tell of a lad who lived in the north of Scotland, who was in great distress whenever he thought of meeting God. He was not very bright — the Scotch called him daft. This wee lad was greatly worried whenever he thought of the fact that some day he would have to give account to God for his sins. Many times his elders heard him crying to himself, “Oh, I dinna want to meet God. I am afeard of God. I canna’ meet Him.”
People tried to comfort him, but they were not able to make clear to him how anyone could be at peace with God. Finally, in a very simple way, the gospel was explained to the lad, and his joy was unbounded as he saw something of the love and grace of God in giving His Son for him, One day the little fellow was heard crooning to himself, “I am no afeard of God noo, for I am going to heaven noo.” Someone said, “Little John, what makes you talk like that? Why are you not afraid of God? Have you not committed sins?”
“Why, I have sinned many times, but I am no afeard of God noo.”
“But do you not know that God is righteous and will punish sin?”
“Yes, I have sinned and all that, but I am no afeard of God. He will not punish me.”
“Well, what makes you so sure? Can you explain the great doctrine of the atonement?”
Little John scratched his poor, muddled head a moment, and then he said, “Well, someday I am going’ up to meet God, and He will have a big Bible-book in front o’ Him, and He will have the sins of all the people written Boon in His book. When little John comes up to God, He will turn over the pages of that Bible-book until He finds the one with little John’s name on it, but before He can read out the sins, Jesus Christ will be there with His bleeding hand, and He will put it down quick over all the page, and God will look at it, and say, ‘I canna find a sin on this page.’ The blood will blot them all out, and little John will gang into heaven.”
Little John knew more than many of our doctors of divinity, but there was one thing wrong with his theology. We don’t wait until the day of judgment for the blood to blot out our sins, but it is done here and now in this world. The moment a poor sinner comes to God owning his guilt and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, his sin is atoned for, covered, never to be made manifest again, blotted out forever.
The Word of God is, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Again God declares, “I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy sins.”
It is only through the atoning work of Jesus Christ that God is enabled thus to be just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus Christ.