When I was a boy, I used to sing this chorus by Helen Griggs: “Gone, gone, gone, gone! Yes, my sins are gone! Now my soul is free and in my heart’s a song! Buried in the deepest sea; Yes that’s good enough for me! I shall live eternally, Praise God, my sins are gone!” I suspect the Philippian jailer had a similar melody after accepting Jesus as his Savior. We read in Acts Ch 16 how Paul went to Philippi, led Lydia to accept Jesus and healed a demon-possessed young woman. Because of this healing, he and Silas was thrown into prison. At midnight they sang and prayed until an earthquake shook the prison and loosed the chains of all the inmates. The jailer was so scared he would be executed for letting prisoners escape that he was about to commit suicide. Paul shouted, “Stop! We’re all here!” The jailer called for a light and asked Paul how to be saved. Paul explained, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. At midnight, he and his entire family accepted Christ as their Savior and were filled with joy. Now they could all say, “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes our sins are gone!”
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
