The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-07-13
CHRISTIAN FAITH.
Rev. Z. Dewitt Talmage breaches
a8eFmon to Believera

Q Sermon to BelieveeA
RnatA u 0urs Tass q . 0soulso CAFistiaa
-Chriss tho Dase Hfisaa-TfUs aspr
passss ths Result q DslIse-1o
Ysang Asa.
Rsy. Dr.. 4. Dewitt Talmaee lately dis
coufsed On the subject ''Noae like Jesua"
He took for his taxi: ''Unto you therefore
which bel,eveHs b precious" Peter IL ..
Following u the sermon:
We had for many years In this country
co0mercial dspressioa Whist was the
matter with the storesi Lack OF faith.
Noaey enough, goods enough. sktllful
brains enough, industrious hands enough,
but no faith. Now whist damages the CON-
merciAl world, damages the spirituala Our
greatest lack 10 faith. That u the hinge
on which eternity turnA The Bible says
We ere saved BY faith. TO-" says some
one in the audience, Il have faith believe
chat Christ came down to save the world"
reply that In worldly matters when You
have faith you always act upon II. For
instance, il I could show you business
operation BY which you could make SOU
you would Immediately 60 into It You
would prove your faith in Whist told
you BY your prompt and immediate &C
ton. Now, If what you csii faith
in Christ has led you % surrender your en-
tire nature to Jesus and to corresponding
action in your life, Il 10 genuine faith, and
IL 1t has not, it 10 not faith at all There are
some things which believe with the head.
Thea there arc other things which believe
with the heart And then there are other
things which believe both with the head
and heart. believe, for instance, that
Cromwell lived. That 10 . matter OF the
head.
Then there are other things which I be-
ieve with the heart and not with the head.
That is, I have NO especlaI reason Tor believ-
ing them, and yet want to believe them,
and the wish il the father to the expecta-
ton. But there is . very great difference
between that which we believe about our
selves and that which we believe about
others. For instance. you remember not
great while ago there waS disaster In
Pennsylvania amid the mines; there was
an explosion amid the damps and many
lives were lost. In the morning you picked
up your newspaper And saw that
there had been . great disaster in Penn
sylvania- You said: "Ah, what sad thing
this 10; how many lives lost! o, what
sorrowp Then you read . little further
on. There had been an almost miraculous
effort to get these men out and few had
been saved. 70" you said, ''what brave
thing; what grand thing that was! How
well it was donev' Then you folded the
paper up and sat down to your morning
repsst Your appetite had not been inter-
fered with. and during that day, perhaps,
you thought only two or three times OF the
disaster. But suppose you and had been
in the mine and the dying had been all
around u, and we had heard the pickaxes
Just above Us Is thev were trying to work
their way down, and after awhile We saw
the light and then the life bucket let down
through the shaft, and su6ocated and half
dead, we had just strength enough to
throw ourselves over into it and been
hauled out into the light Then what IN
appreciation we would have had Of the
agony and the darkness beneath and the
joy Of deliversnce.
That il the difference between believing
Q thing about others and believing it about
ourselves. We take up the Bible and read
that Christ came to save the world THAT
was beautiful" you say, - fne specimen
Of self-denial That Was very grand In
deed" But suppose 1t is found that We
oursslyes were down in the mine OF sin
and in the darkness, and Christ stretched
down BIS arm Of mercy through the gloom
and lifted Us out Of the pit, and set our
feet on the Rock Of Ages, and put q new
song into our MOUTH o. then it matter
of handclspping; it 10 Q matter Of congrat-
ulstion; it Is . matter Of deep emotions.
Which kind Of faith have you, my brother!
Il in faith that makes Christian, and it -
the proportion Of faith that makes the diff
ference between Christians. What was 1t
that lifted Paul, and Luther, and Payson,
and Doddridge above the ordinary level OF
Christian character! II was the simple.
ity, the brilliancy, the power and the splen-
dor of their faith. o, that we had more OF
It'll God give US more faith to preach and
moro faith to hear. Lord! we believe,
help Thou our unbeliefI To you which be-
heve He is precious"
First: l remark Christ is precious to the
believer as q Saviour from sin. A man
says: ITO whom are you talking! l am
one Of the most respectable men in this
neighborhood; do you call me . sinner"
Yes! THE heart is deceitful above all
things aud desperately wicked.' You
say: How do you know any thing abo 1t
my hearth know that about it, for God
announces it in HIS word; and what God
says is always right.
When man becomes Christian people
say: THAT man sets himself above US"
O, no. Instead Of setting himself up, he
throws himself down. He cries out: Il
was lost once, but now am found. Twas
blind once, but now I see. I PROSTATE
myself at the foot Of the cross OF the
Saviour's mercy" What grand thing it
10 to feel that all the bad words have ever
uttered, and all the bad deeds I have ever
done, and all the bad thoughts that have
me through my mind, are as though they
had never been, for the sake Of what Christ
had done. You know there is difference
in stains. Some can be washed out By
water, but others require chemical prep
aration. The sin OF the heart Is 50 black
and indelible mark that no human appli-
cation can cleanse 1t. VIII le the blood OF
Jesus lhrist can wash It out forever. o,
the infinite, the omnipotent chemistry OF
the Gospel! Some man says: Il believe
al that. l believe God has forgiven the
most OF my rs, but there is one sin I can
not forget" What 10 it! LIDO not want TO
know what 1t 10, but take the responsi-
bility Of saying that God will forgive 1t -
willingly ~ any other sin.
Der sins like mountains for their size,
The seas Of sovereign grace expand
The seas Of sovereign grace arise"
There WAS very Rood man about seven
ty-five years OF age that once said: Il BE-
lieve God has fogrven me. but there 10 one
sin which committed when was about
twenty years Of age that never forgave
myself for, and can't feel hsppy when !
think Of IT," He said that one sin some
times came over his heart and biotted out
oil his hope Of Heaven. Why, he lacked
faith.