The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-05-21

belief. Our work Is successful accord |
ing to our faith. The man who be- |
ieves In only half Bible, or the Bible |
In spots; the man who thinks he can
not persuade others; the man who
halts, doubling about this and doubt
ing about that. will be a failure in
Christian work Show me the man
who rather thinks that the garden of
Eden may have been an allegcry, and
IS not quite certain but that there may
be another chance after death, and
does not know whether or not the Bible
is inspired, and tell you that man for
soul saving is a poor stick. Faith In
God and in Jesus Christ, and the Holy
Ghost, and the absolute necessity CT a
regenerated heart in order to see God
in peace, is one thread you must have
in your Inended net or you will never
be a successful fisher for men. Why,
how can you doubt
The hundreds of millions of men and
women now standing in the church on
earth and the hundreds of millions in
heaven attest the power of this Gospel
to save. With more than the certainty
of a mathematical demonstration let
us start out to redeem all nations. The
rottenest thread that you are to tear
out of your net is unbelief, and the
most important thread that you are to
put in it is faith. Faith in God, tri-
umphant faith, everlasting faith. Il
you cannot trust the infinite, the holy,
the omnipotent Jehovah. who can you
| trustl
Oh, this important work OF lnending
our nets If we could get our nets
right we would accomplish more in
soul saving in the next year than we
have in the last twenty years. But
where shall we get them mended2 Just
where old Zebedee and his two boys
mended their nets-where you are.
"James, why don't you put your oar
in Lake Galilee, or hoist your sail and
land at Capernaum or Tiberias or Ga
dara, and, seated on the bank, mend
your metz John, why don't you go
ashore and mend your nett
No; they sat on the guards of the
boat, or at the prov of the boat, or in
the stern of the boat, and they took up
the thread and the needle, and the
ropes and the wooden blocks, and went
to work sewing, sewing; tying, tying;
weaving, weaving; pounding, pound
ing; until. the net mended, they push it
off in the sea, and drop paddle and
hoist sail, and the cutwater went
through amid the shoals of fish, some
of the descendants of which we had
for breakfast one morning while we
were encamped ON the beach of beauti
full Galilee. James and John had nc
time to 60 ashore. They were not fish
ing for fun, as you and do in summer
time 1t was their livelihood and that
of their families. They mended thei1
nets where they were, in the ship. "Oh,
says some one, II mean to get my
: net mended, and 1 will go down to the
public library, and I will see what the
. scientists say about evolution and abou
. the survival of the ffttest, and vii
), read up what the theologians say abou
advanced thought I will leave tn,
, ship awhile and I will go ashore ant
. stay there till my net is mended"
- Do that, my brother, and you viii
)" have no net left. Instead of their help
ing you mend your net they will stea
;. the pieces that remain. Better stay il
:. the Gospel boat, where you have all tn
= means for mending your net. Wha
are they, do you aska I answer all yo'
= need you have where you are, namely
= a Bible and place to pray. The NOR
you study evolution and adopt what
called advanced thought the bigge
fool you will be. Stay in the ship an
u mind your net. That is where Jane
Il the son of Zebedee and John hi
> brother staid. That is where all VIII
:, get their nets lnended stay.
= DON'T GO ASHORE.
notice that all who leave the, Gosp'
70 boat and 60 ashore to mend their ne
W stay there. Or if they try again to fisl
q. they do not catch anything. Get o,
"A of the Gospel boat and go up into tt
m world to get your net mended, and yo
Of will live to sec the day when you wi
feel like the man who, having forsake
Christianity. sighed, II would give
thousand pounds to feel as I did
>" 1920" The time will come when yc
y would be willing to.give a thousar
g pounds to feel as You did in 1S9
=. These men who have given up'their o
- religion cannot help you bit.
It is my opinion that the most
those ministers who gave up the old T
Nv 1giou afe in search. Of notoriety. Ths
IA do not succeed in attracting much a
tention. They are tired of oLsc::rit
~ They must do something to attract q
~ tention, SO they sit down on the beat
VI and goto tearing to pieces the fishil
la nets instead of mending them. III
~ staid old denomination to which tn,
VI belong does not pay them enough 6
III tention, so they attract attention
Ac striking their grandmother. They
- not get enough attention by standh
nc nc in the pulpits, so they 60 to work a,
break the church windows
"u These dear brethren of all denomin
al tons, afflicted with theological fidge
had better so to mepding nets inste'
no of breaking them. Before they bre.
ce. I'D the old religion and trv to foist
10 us a new religion, let them go throu
an some great sacrifice for God that "
ulo prove them worthy for such wor
taking the advice of TalIeyrand to
az man who wanted to upset the religi
lay of Jesus Christ and start a new or
MT when he said, ''Go and be crucifi
90 and then raise yourself from the gra
CHI the third davp, Those who nronosa
ay' mend their nets by secular and skep
our cal books are like man who has j,
the one week for fishing, and six of t
saI days he spends in reading Izaak w
l toms Complete Angler" and Whe
,e1 ley's Rod and Line" and Scot
I'LL / "Eishinp in Northern Waters a