The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-02-12
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
WINTER EVENING CONVERSATIONS
THE DEVIL.

l do not believe, my friends, that We thin
enough about fue, personal Devil in tn
world. We are apt to forget him. We ar
apt to think of God and man as the only O.
chief actors in the worlds dread drama.
find the Devil has become to some sort o
Ggurative term, or an unknown quantity, o
at best devoid of personality. As his per
sonality is expanded into mist, his existence
is thought less and less of; and as We forge
his existence we cease to fear his power anG
to watch his wiles Much is said about the
Importance of the doctrine of He'll in the sys
tenn of divine truth. l doubt not the doc
trine of the Devil, if l may so speak, is still
more fundamental in its bearing upon both
faith and morality. He'll is hereafter the
Devil is here, and conducts infallibly to that
hereafter. AS fundamental facts the main:
tenance 0f personal Devil and real Hell
is as necessary to the maintenance Of Chris
tianity as the belief in God and "heavenly
country" They are parts of the system Of
revealed truth, and, may add, of oldtime
biblical belief. Perhaps the declension Of
piety, the worldliness, and Indifference now
complained Of, and the Universalistic ten
denotes of mems minds may in some degree
be due to our want of belief in the Devil. /
sometimes foolishly wish We could have few
we'll authenticated appearances, in order that
We might have more generally the concrete
notions of Luther on this subject What he
saw makes no difference; the hurting of his
inkstaud proves all that is important, which
is that he was possessed of an overwhelming
conviction of the personality of the Evil One.
1t is nothing more than We nigh. have ex-
pected in that great Rsformer. In those
sharp and deadly struggles the Devil was q
reality to the human consciousness. When
any man sets himself to assault and shake
the very throne of Satan he will be very apt
to show himself "in propria psrsOn@" But
he is not the less dangerous, he is more 80,
in these quiet days when he gently woos to
paths of self-indulgeuce till Christian profess
sors think the Devil is in nothing and cease
to think of him. And 80 we find enough
people in the churches who "run well' with
the worldlings about them of similar tastes,
and wishes, of similar habits and ways
never once recolecting that religious life,
if it means anything, is growing internal
conformity to the habitual grace and holiness
of Christ, and this by habitusl warfare, NOR
tifying selfdenial and self-conquest.
In the progressive descent of people into
worldliness, in6delity and idolstry the facts
of sin and Satan are obscured or lost before
the bslief in God. 1t is easier to forget the
Devil than to forget God. 1t is pleasanter
to think of no Devil than of no God. The
one can not be good to US; the other may.
We have enough men who have long ago
discarded as superstition the idea of per-
sonal Devil which used to be held without
harm by the excellent of the earth. They
are now turning over the question in their
minds if there be God and an inspired rev.
elation. And yet believers sometimes at
tempt to reason with these men. Why they
are gone. Il it anything wonderful that a
learned man should be lost? Better not at
tach 30 much Importance to mere learning as
if that made them very valuable to God
Talk about faith in God; why, that is moth
ing to find, it is common to all these men,
But find me one who believes in the Devil
and siu, in the frat transgression as the
s,urce of all our woes.
We had better turn our attention to what
they have already abandoned, and seek to
impress the true and simple idea of revela-
ton upon those who are coming after u.s.
1t is dreadful to think how many people
about us are going to be Lost if they die as
they are now living; and I think men do in
most cases. There are notable exceptions.
l think sometimes there is more hope of our
harlots that they will repent, than Of our
good moral fellows Eho have heard it thun.
der so long from Mount Sinai that they are
used to it. But if the leaven of philosophy,
falsely so called, shall 60 on leavening the
people, giving US what are termed more ra.
tional views of Scripture, we shall soon be
where many of tho philosophers now are, in
a state Of utter uncertainty about anything
in religion. There is too much disposition
to apologize to the world, to fear to bt
thought superstitious. What congratula
tions on all sides We should see if few o.
the great Bible mysteries could now be clear
ly Illuminated by some great teacher, so al
to be understood by all. Itis this impatienc'
under the reproach Of the world, and eager
ness to accord with men whose aninsus is q
least doubtful, if not plainly enough opposed
to the religion of "Moses and the prophets,
that is unseemly. We had better simply
preach "Jesus and the Resurrection" ant
let the enemies of God stand off if they wan
to. We are too anxious to convince th'
, world. The world wants conversion. W.
are too anxious to convince by argumeu
that there is God, and that the Bible is hi
revelation. We had better be impressini
the fact that there is Devil. This is God
+ method He does not begin his revelation
! by setting about to prove His own existence
: and personality. That would have beef
child-like. Men only declare their own foil,
. mLo, +bev raiee snch nuastiona All ma,