The Brookhaven leader., 1890-07-10


religion is. They are like a bru.s
beast in the fact that their create st
strength lies in their horns. They are
combatant and all they are ever will
ing 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 thorough
iy helpless before the fourteenth chapter
of John But there are those who, hav-
ing escaped from this condition, are
now depending entirely upon their
soundness OF religious theory. The
doctrines OF mans depravity and Christ's
atonement and Gods sovereignty
are theoretically received by
them. But alas, there they stop.
1t is only the shell OF Christianity con-
tanning no evangelical life. They stand
looking over into Heaven and admire
its beauty and its song, and are so
pleased with the looks from the outside
that they can not be induced to enter.
They could make a better argument for
the truth than ten thousand Christians
who have in their hearts received it. II
syllogisms and dilemmas and sound
propositions and logical deductions
could save their souls, they would be
among the best of Christians. They
could correctly define repentance and
faith and the atonement, while they
never felt one sorrow for sin nor exer-
cised moments confidence in the great
sacrifice. They are almost immovable
in their position. We can not pre-
sent any thing about the religion OF
Christ that they do not know. The
Saviour describes 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. 1cicles never hang
on the caves of Heaven. Soundness of
intellectual belief is a beautiful cloak,
we'll woven and we'll cut but in the
hour when God shall demand our souls
it will not of itself be sufficient to hide
our iniquities.
MY friends, can it be that l have been
unkind and torn from you some hope
upon which you were resting for time
and eternity? Verify, l would be un-
kind if, having taken away your cloak,
l did not offer you something better.
This is cold world, and you want
something to wrap around your spirit.
Christ offers you robe to-day.
He wove it Himself, and He
will now with His own hand
prepare it just to fit your soul.
The righteousness lie offers is like the
coat He used to wear about Judea, with
out seam from top to bottom. There is
a day of doom. Coward would be If
did not dare tell you this. 1t shall be
a day of unutterable disappointment to
those who have trusted in their officia
dignity, in their elegant manners, in
their outward morality in their
soundness of intellectual belief.
But I see soul standing before God
who once was thoroughly defiled. Yet
look at him and you can not find single
transgression anywhere about him.
How is this? you ask. Was he not once
a Sabbath breaker, a blasphemer,
robber, perjurer, thief, a murderer?
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 righteous
ness. That is the reason why you can
not see his former degradation. This
glorious hope in Christ's name is prof
fered to-day. Wandering and hayward
soul, is not this salvation worth COM
ing for, worth striving for? Do
you wonder that so many with bitter
weeping have besought it and with
very enthusiasm of sorrow cried for Di-
vine compassion? Do you wonder at the
earnestness of those who stand in pull
pits beseeching men to be reconciled to
God? Nay, do you wonder at the i'm
portunity of the Holy Ghost who
now striveth with thy soul? In many
of the palaces of Europe the walls
are mosaic. Fragments of shells and
glass are arranged by artists and aggre-
gated into pictorial splendor. What!
made out of broken shells and broken
glass! Oh, yes; God grant that by the
Transforming power of His spirit we
may all be made part of the
eternal palaces, our broken and frag-
mentary natures polished and shaped
and lifted up to make partof the ever
lasting splendors of the Heavenly tenn
pie.
For sinners, Lord, Thou cam'st to bleed,
And Pm sinner vile, indeed
Lord, / believe Thy grace is free;
Oh, magnify Thy grace in me.
EADMIMHc