The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-08-15

- 0~0AAoS eAAAA 10 Will never
save a man or a woman. By giving
you SO much earthly luxury and refine
ment he intimated that he would have
you enjoy yourselves, but he would
not have you wrap yourself up in them
as a cloak to hide your SINS God now
walks in your garden as he did in
Eden, even in the cool of the day, and
he stands by your well as he did by
well in Salnaria, and he would make
your comfort on earth type of your
rapture in heaven.
SOUND HEADS AND ROTTEN HEARTS.
Furthermore, mere sOundness of re-
igious belief will not hide our inioui
ties. There are men whose heads are
as sound as Jonathan Edwards or
John Wesley's, whose hearts are as rot
ten as Tom Paine's or Charles Gui-
teau's. 1t is important that we be the
oretical Christians. 1t is utter folly in
this day for man to have no prefer
ence for any one form of faith, when it
is SO easy to become conversant with
toxlcated man staggered m Haf6s my house is
one night begging for lodging. He
made great pretentions to religion.
asked where he went to church. He
said: Nowhere; l belong to liberal
Christianity" But there are those who
never become Christians because their
obstinacy prevents them from ever tax
ing q. fair view of what religion is
They are like, a brute beast in the fact
that their greatest strength lies in their
horns. They are combatant, and all
they are ever willing to do for their
souls is to enter an ecclesiastical fight.
have met men who would talk all
day upon the ninth chapter of Romans
who were thoroughly helpless before
the fourteenth chapter of John. But
there are those who, having escaped
from this condition, are now depending
entirely upon their soundness of re-
igious theory. The doctrines of mans
depravity and Christ's atonement and
Gods sovereignty are theoretically re-
ceived by them. But, alas there they
stop 1t is only the shell of Christiani-
ty, containing no evangelical life.
They stand looking over into heaven
and admire its beauty and it's song and
are so pleased with the looks from the
outside that they cannot be induced to
enter. They could make better argu-
ment for the truth than ten thousand
Christians who have in their hearts re-
ceived it. If syllogisms and dilemmas
and sound propositions and logical de-
auctions could save their souls they
would be among the best of
Christians. They could correctly de-
fine repentance and faith and
the atonement, while they have
never felt one sorrow for sin nor ex-
ercised a moments confidence in
the great sacrifice. They are almost
immovable in their position. We can
not present anything about the religion
of Christ that they do not know. The
Saviour described the fate of such
one in his parable: "And that servant
which knew his Lords will, and pre-
pared not himself, neither did accord
ing to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes" Theories in religion
have beauty of their own, but if they
result in no warmth of Christian life it
is the beauty of hornblende and field
spar. Do not call such GOODNESS and
hardness religion. The river of life
never freezes over Icicles never hang
on the caves of heaven. Soundness of
intellectual belief is beautiful cloak.
well woven and well cut, but in the
hour when God shall demand our souls
it will not of itself be sufficient to hide
our iniquities.,
BETTER THAN A CLOAE.
My friends, can it be that have been
unkind, and torn from you some hope
upon which you were resting for time
and eternity? Verify, I would be I'M
kind if, having taken away your cloak,
l did not offer you something better.
This is a cold world and you want
something to wrap around your spirit.
Christ offers you a robe today. He
wove it himself, and he will now with
his own hand prepare it just to fit your
soul. The Righteousness he offers is
like the coat he used to wear about
Judea, without seam from top to bot
toni There is a day of doom. Cow
ard would be if l did not dare tell
you this. 1t shall be day of unutter-
able disappointment to those who have
trusted in their official dignity, in their
elegant manners, in their outward |
in their soundness of intellect
ual belief
But I see soul standing before God
VINO once was thoroughly detiled. Yet |
look at him and you cannot find sim
gle transgression anywhere about him.
How is this? you ask. Was he not
once Sabbath breaker, blasphemer,
robber, a perjurer, thief, a muir
derer? Yes, but Christ hath cleansed |
him. Christ hath lifted him up. Christ |
hath rent off his rags. Christ hath |
clothed him in a spotless robe of
That is the reason why
you cannot see his former degradation.
This glorious hope in Christ's name is
profered today. Wandering and way
ward soul, is not this salvation worth
coming for, worth striving for? Do
you wonder that so many with bitter
weeping have besought it, and with a
very enthusiasm of sorrow cried for
divine compasaon9 Do you wonder
at the earnestness of those who stand
In pulpits beseeching men to be recon
ciled to Code Nay, do you wonder at
the importantly of the Holy Ghost
who now striveth with thy soul2
In many of the palaces of Europe the