Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-04-16
THE CHRISTIAN
Soldier Sure of YictOry-He Must Stand
Forth and Prove his Faith by Works,
Being Vigilant Sentinel on
the WatehtOwers of the
Lord.
Interesting Discourse on the Subject at
the First Baptist Church by Rev.
DIR. WOmack, the Pastor on
Easter Sunday Morning.

The following is synopsis of the sermon
preached on Sunday last by Rev. Mr.. Wo-
mack of the First Baptist church
THE ONE SAFE POSITION.
II fight not as that beats the air."-1 Cor,
*, 26.
The thought wish to present this morning
is comprehended in the single word UictOyy
What is meant by victory is congenial to
every man in the world. If the christian
runs for a prize, he Iuns with certainty; if
considered as soldier, he fights not as one
who beats the air, but as one who is abso-
lutely certain of victory. II he be opposed
by demons and men, he knows God will take
vengeance on them, and that he will come
of more than conqueror. He enters the
contest with victory already insured. As he
goes into the battle, victory is emb.azoned on
his banner and rings forth from his exultlng
lips. In the heat of the conflict, whether
enabled to advance, or compelled to retreat,
the certainty of bis final success encourages
his heart aud nerves his arm with more than
human strength to strike yet another blow.
In whatever aspect the christian as an indl-
vidual is contemplated we must view him as
man who is bound to succeed IN the great
est, and in the main enterprise of his whole
life. AS a partisan, he knows the cause he
has espoused will never be chronicled in his
tory as q ''lost cause. As soldier, he
knows the grand army, under whose colors
he fights, will never be forced to retreat, to
surrender, nor ground their arms. He knows
his captain will march on to victory and re-
ward his veterans with an immortal crown.
There are, then, two features of the chris
tan s victory to which | wish to call atten-
ton. First:
THE CHRISTIAN AS AN INDIVIDUAL.
Whether the bible be true or untrue, the
pious man is safe.
l. Suppose we do not know for certain
that the bible is true. 1t may be, then, there
is no future at all, for the pious or impious
man. At death we may become extinct.
Now, If we knee this, then we would be safe
| in giving no heed to the teachings of the BIZ
| ble But who can make himself perfectly
certain of this? Who has ever been able to
furnish proof SO plain that all could under
stand and appreciate it, that the bible is a
| mythp That has never been and never can
be done. Here is uncertainty then. The in
| fdel Is necessarily SUBJECT. to the reflection:
| 1.-The bible may be true. What If 1t is?
| Such an attitude to eternal interests Is GER
tainly both unpleasant and unsafe.
2. Suppose the teachings of the bible are
so indefinite or obscure that we are at liberty
to conclude, without any definite reason, that
the whole human family will be saved. Is
| tins safe position? Certainly not; for we
are troubled with reflection as unpleasant
as Che other, viz: 1t may be that the bible
Is true when it says: Except We re-
|
reflection, and one we cannot avoid. For
| | tell you, that if we believe the bible we can
not satisfy ourselves that all will be saved.
| Do what you may, it will thunder IN your
ears: ''The soul that slnueth, it shall die. :"
| 1t persists in saying the sinner shall be
| turned into hell, with the nations that forget
! God. This Is unsafe ground. For,
| 3. l may be permitted to remark here
| that if the Greek language is capable of con-
| veying the idea of eternal duration, and if
we may believe it when it athrms that the
| righteous shall inherit eternal life, then we
must believe it when its says, using the same
words, the unrlghteous shall go into eternal
punishment. We may explain away the
force of many passages, but there are some
| which cannot be explained away. But, for
| the sake of showing how vain it is, | will
| grant we do not for certain know what will
| become of the sinner. Are we safe? No,
| for we are still in doubt. We cannot prove
that it will be well with him. 1t is infinitely
better to abandon what IS doubtful, for the
| reason 1t is ex eedingly unsafe. For,
| 4. Suppose when it says eternal punish
| ment IL does not mean eternal punishment,
but punishment for few millions, or for one
million, or for two or three thousand, or only
| four or FIVE hundreds of years, after which
the soul. purified by the fires, will be free.
| Who wants to make that experiment? VIII
| we, to secure few moments of self. gratif-
| cation, undergo that severe trialp Such a
course were not wise. But 1t must be re-
meIabeFed the word eternal cannot be so ex-
planned. But carrying out the supposition,
| what is the prospect before the impious man
| in the other world when this four or five hum
| dred, or thousands, or few millions of years
| of suffering have expired? VIII he then DO
| happyP There are no means OF determining
| about this in heaven, or from heaven; and
there has never a spirit, who mas made the
experiment, returned to tell US. So there is
| OH in, Or tO no
our guide here. save the unsupported opinion
| of few men. Eternal, in the case of the
| impious, according to this view, means linn
tied period of time of few hundred or thou
sands of years. Then, eternal in the case of
| the christian must mean about the same
length of time. 30, then, the eternal Of the
christian and the eternal of the sinner, be-
ginning at the same time, will end at the
same time; hence they both become extinct
| about the same time, and the whole OF the
sinners future, be it long or short,
will be spent In punishment. For
the most cogent reasons, then, there
is no ground safe for man, but the
ground Of repentance toward God and trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ,
| These reflections, which are no attempt at q
| discussion OF this question, are quite sutii-
| clent to prove the truth of the remark,
that the lite of the christian is neces-
sarIly success and aside from
| ground. For if there is no future, his effort
to prepare for one does not deprive him of
| any happiness now, nor then. If all will be
saved any how, his care to insure his saliva
ton cannot initiate against his being saved /.
And if the wicked are to suffer few thou
sand years only, his diligence now in living a
life of piety VIII save him from that little.
So the christian is the only man in the world
who is on sure and safe ground. Contem-
plate now a second aspect of the christian s
glory, viz:
THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF THE ARMY OF
WHICH HE is SOLDIER.
Christ, as the captain of our salvation,
came into this world to establish a kingdom
He did establish a Kingdom, and he himself
triumph He will overthrow idolatry and
superstition and expel all evil; will defeat the
plans OF evil spirits and wicked men; will
wrest from Death his spoils; will assemble
the race at the grand assize, and award to his
folio Wers their everlasting abode. He will
see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
All the world will not be converted to God.
Men will continue to be thoughtless, neglect
full and sinful; why none but an all-wise
God can know. We could heartily wish il
were otherwise. Some will turn to him, but
not all; they will continue to be as they are;
but, no matter how few become christians,
| nor how great the opposition, the cause of
our Redeemer will triumph The past argues
its future. The past success OF the christian
| religion is one of the most remarkable phe-
nomena in the whole HISTORY of the world.
With no philosophy, no learning. no politics,
no sword, no arm of power, it has de-
| molished heather temples, torn down affairs,
and ground to powder thousand idols;
1t has banished myths, buried supersti-
ton, and turned midnight darkness into the
brightest of day; it has dissolved empires
ennoblea and given a new impulse to philos-
ophy; purified literature, and remodeled and
reconstructed national and International
laws; tanned the savage, civilized the barba-
rian and elevated the race; crossed river,
mountain and ocean, and girded the globe.
Thus it will continue till the last day. At
present christian influence is much divided
and distributed. But this cannot last long.
They all must, and will, be one. The divis-
| ion between Christ and antichrist must and
will be made. The two great moral forces
in the world will be mutually opposed. Sa-