Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-09-15


the warnings and danger signals of the
Bible. They want 1t to read a little
smoother; and they want its language to
be modified so AS not to be so startling
And so men stop their ears, and blind
their eyes. and suffer Indifference to take
possession Of them, while they continue
on course that can only end In absolute
wreck and total loss, long after the warn
ing lights have been visible to more
vigilant lookouts.
For the lights bum just the same to
those who will see them; and the warn
ings reach the ears of those who will heed
them. Not a single danger is removed.
not a single penalty affected by any course
We may see ft to pursue.
Let any plain, honest man sit down to
read the Bible for the first time, with his
mind free from prejudice, with no desire
TO lind anything in the Bible that isn't
there, and no wish to remove anything
that Is there; but only wishing to know
! just What it teaches. no more and no less.
and he will reach the same conclusions as
those generally accepted by the church at
large. The great doctrines Of the Father
hood Of God. the immortality of the soul.
the curse of sin, the redemption through
| Christ. the final triumph of the righteous,
! and the everlasting misery Of the wicked
can only be put out Of sight by the most
| persistent effort Joined TO the most over
VI hn1f l7prv saaIr. S..t
men found these doctrines in the Bible and
| have defended them from the beginning.
! They are men entitled to speak with au-
/ thority; but at the same time every one Of
| US may appeal TO the Bible itself,
| 1t Is easy 10 see how an honest reader,
reading for the frst time, would under
stand this text. You may raise as many
/ questions as TO the meaning Of some Of the
/ other parts Of the parable as you like. tor
they are not important to the same degree;
I but the meaning OF this text Is perfectly
clear Certainly the obvious meaning is
! that there is no passage from one world to
the other in the hereafter. The destiny Is
| final There Is no appeal from that court
/ The decree cannot be revoked annulled
or set aside. Once banished from the
presence Of God, there is no subsequent
return. Everlasting life on the one hand.
everlasting death on the other. Such
words as forever, everlasting. and eternal
do not mean one thing when speaking Of
rewards and another thing when speaking
,F f.l 7 g.
see how we can lead ourselves 10 think
that they do. They are the words used In
speaking Of the existence Of God. do
not see how their obvious meaning can be
cannot be set aside, then the Bible certain
ly teaches the truth Of this text.
And what Is the truth Of this texti II
is that In this world We make our eternal
choice; in this world We form the charsc-
ter which fixes our destiny. 1t is that this
opportunity lost there will never be an
other; and that even If there were others
We should be powerless to take advantage
Of them.
You may meet this by saying that you
don't believe II, That is an answer, but II
is not reply. That is an impression. but
it is not reason. 1t is much more often
prejudice than judgment. Facts are not
affected by belief or unbelief. The point
is not whether we believe it or not, but
the point Is, is il trae}
Lot went out TO warn his sons in law
,F ha .
and Gomorrsh. We are told. and the record
states that he seemed to them as one that
mocked. But ere the sun of the next day
went down the cities were buried forever
from mortal sight
II is quite evident that the Inhabitants
Of Pompeii and Herculaueum did not be
lieve that there was any great danger Of
the destruction Of those cities, but they
lay buried for seventeen hundred years
All Europe refused TO believe Columbus
when he tried to demonstrate that there
was another continent across the ocean.
but Columbus was right; aud the existence
OF the continent was not even threatened
by the unbelief of men accounted wise and
safe.
Questions of fact are not matters of be-
lief. II is no reply therefore to say that
you do not accept a fact. A fact is just
the same whether you accept 1t or reject
it. The tests of 4 fact are well established
and to these tests every fact must submit:
but belief or unbelief does not enter in. 1t
Il a., ,ha i,
believe that this or that thing will happen,
when all the facts point to it as an abso-
lutte Certainty, and the train of events is
steadily moving to its appointed end.
The words of the text are the words of
Christ. He certainly knew all the facts in
the case. He certainly had sources of in
formation richer by far than those given
to any prophet, priest or king, who ever
| lived on this earth. He surely loves US
| too well to state any truth with unneces-
| sary harshness, or to overstate it. In His
| eagerness to save Us He certainly would
open every possible way of escape There
| fore when He says NO thoroughfare,
! we may rest assured that there is not the
remotest possibility Of our finding pas
sage. great gulf fxed,-no way to
| cross it; that is certainly what He says.
Do you not think that was exactly what He
meant? What possible hope can there be
that this gulf will ever be bridged? Had
| we read such words as these from any
one else we should without question have
been convinced that he who used them be-
lieved In everlasting punishment; why
should these words mean less coming from
the Saviour?
But you may ask: "Will not God hear
the cry of the penitent sinner whenever
and wherever it is uttered?" am ready
to answer "yes Thousand times, yes -
but that question does not cover the
ground, nor does the answer throw a sim
gle ray Of light across the fixed gulf. Did
it ever occur to you to ask whether the de-
sire for repentance. or the power to re-
pent might not be forever lost? That is
quite as important as the other question.
Perhaps it is not so much in the height
and depth and breadth of the gulf, as iI
the man himself. l believe sin to be sc
fatal a disease that 1t often destroys all
desire for repentance. 1t Is such pernic
ious madness that its victim may lose al