​Needle Through The Arm
(Salvation Without Works)
(Salvation Is Offered To All)
 
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16
 
The Basic Biblical Truth
 
Sin is a really big deal to God!  To be found guilty of sin carries the death penalty.  We all are found to have fallen short of God’s perfection, and are therefore in need of His salvation.  Fortunately, we have a God who loves us and offers us a way out of the punishment we deserve.  In His mercy and grace He offers us an amazing gift, and all we need to do is believe in Him and accept the salvation that is offered to us free of charge.  But that free gift cost God dearly.  He gave His Son for us.
 
The Object
 
Hat Pin/Needle Through the Arm Magic Kit
Large Candy Bar
Large Bottle of Soft Drink

I bought a needle through the arm magic kit through an online magic supplier.  It was fairly inexpensive and has worked very well for years.  It consists of a specially machined 12-inch hollow hat pin with a small hollow reservoir bulb for red “blood” on its large end.  The illusion works as follows.  Before the demonstration, even hours before, rubber cement is applied to the forearm.  I usually apply to an area about 1 ½ inches in diameter.  Let it dry completely.  The hat pin reservoir is filled with water colored with red food coloring to resemble blood.  The rest is in the presentation.  I must warn you about this one.  It looks VERY real!  With little kids, I spend a lot of time explaining to them beforehand that it is an illusion.  That helps, but I find it too intense for many under the age of 8.  By about 12 years old, I find them “tough” enough to handle the illusion without warnings.  The shock is part of the lesson.
 
The Lesson
 
I usually begin by detailing to the audience my propensity for and my love of a specific candy bar.  For me, its Kit Kat brand candy bars.  I then bring out a king size bar and admire it.  I truly do absolutely love them and I make a big deal of that fact.  I also prefer Pepsi with my candy.  And I then produce a liter bottle of ice cold Pepsi, and go on to explain how good they go together.  I also dwell on the fact that I spent my personal time and money to obtain these items by shopping for them myself.  I have developed an attachment to them and will not be able to part with them easily.
 
Next, I explain that out of my generosity, I would like to give the candy bar and Pepsi away to someone, and will usually pick an individual out of the audience as the potential receiver of my gift.  BUT, someone has to pay for the candy and Pepsi.  I go on to explain that these two items have become very special to me and no amount of money will be enough to cover the cost.  But I do so want to give them away.  I then add that no one can perform any amount of work for me that would suffice as payment.  I use my personal occupation as an example.  I am a woodworker by trade and most of my work goes into multi-million dollar homes.  No one in that audience has the experience or the ability to perform woodwork for me on a level that would impress me in the least.  But I really want to give my gift away.
 
I finally get to the point that I stipulate what payment I will accept.  You see. Its my game, and I make the rules.  I don’t want work, I don’t want money, I want blood!  Through the Bible God has stated that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.  And not just any old way will do.  I want someone to push an unsterilized hat pin into their skin, have it travel at least an inch under the skin, exit the skin, and produce blood!  Then, and only then, can the gift be given.  The crucifixion was a horrible ordeal.  Christ willingly went to the cross and suffered through so much for us.
 
Upon finding no one genuinely willing to take my challenge, I decide to pay the price myself.  Holding my arm horizontal, forearm facing me, I “push” the needle, (not really, it just looks like I do), into the arm right through the center of my rubber cement spot and up.  Taking my fingers, I squeeze the dried rubber cement on my arm around the needle.  I can then turn my forearm to the audience and they can see what looks amazingly like a needle passing through the skin.  A little jiggling of the needle as I squeeze the bulb on the end forcing a small amount of the “blood” to run out at the wound location.  I announce that the price that I had placed upon the transaction has been paid and I can now offer the free gift to the pre-picked individual.  I offer it to them.  I have found that about 30 % of the time the gift is refused.  It probably has to do with the extreme shock of what they have just witnessed, but I use those occasions to bring out the fact that everyone is offered salvation, not all choose to accept.
 
God is love.  It is such a simple statement but has a profound truth behind it.  We often see love as simply an emotion or a feeling and we live our lives governed by that description.  Rarely do we love as God loves—unconditionally.  God could have told us over and over what true loves looks like and we might have developed a reasonable understanding of the truth.  But He chose to demonstrate His love.  And that demonstration was so incredible, even the angels is Heaven are watching this thing called salvation play out here on this earth in wide eyed wonder. 
 
We cannot pay the price for our failures.  We simply cannot suffice a holy God with anything that we can offer.  We have nothing of value to give in exchange for our souls.  The best that we can offer is as filthy rags compared to the absolute perfect holiness of God.  Without someone stepping in with the ability to pay the cost, we would surely die because we deserve it.  We have earned a place in Hell, but God’s love steps in that no one need perish in the fires of Hell.  His grace is deeper than the deepest pit of Hell.  But the requirement is that we accept and believe Him.  That last step is difficult for many.
 
The Creator of the universe stepped out of Heaven and came to us as one of us, as a human being, and lived among us.  Laying aside His Heavenly prerogatives, He suffered an unimaginably painful beating and voluntarily died to pay the ultimate and complete price for our sins.  We must see this for what the Bible claims it to be, and that is the fact that had only one person in all of history accepted His gift of salvation, Christ would have gone to the cross for that one.   His love is that deep and awesome.  But He also went to the cross for those who reject Him as well.
 
The final result is that God can now point to the cross and with confidence proclaim that it is finished; love has been demonstrated for all to see and to consider.  Eternity hangs in the balance and we hold the key to our future.  Where we spend forever depends on the choice we make today.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

PDF of Lesson