The Bossier banner., 1894-12-13


fers to wallow instead of rise up. do
not care what you call that; am not
going to quarrel with any theologian,
or any man who makes any pretensions
to theology. | do not care whether
you call it "total depravity" or some
thing else; simply make the announce
ment of Gods Word, affirmed and
confirmed by the experience of
hundreds of Christian people; the
imagination of the heart of man is evil
from youth. There is none that doeth
good; no net one" We have a bad ma
ture. We were born with it. We got
it from our parents; they got it from
their parents. Our thoughts are wrong,
our action is wrong; our whole life is
obnoxious to God before conversion;
and after conversion, not one good
thing in us but that which the grace
Of God has planted and fostered.
''Well," you say, Il cantt believe that
to be So" All! my dear brother, that
is because you have never looked into
this laver of looking glasses.
If you could catch a glimpse of your
natural heart before God, you would
cry out in amazement and alarm. The
very first thing this gospel does is to
cut down our pride and self-sufficiency
If a man does not feel his lost and
ruined condition before God, he does
not want any Gospel. think the rea-
son that there are so few conversions in
this day is because the tendency of the
preaching is to make men believe that
they are pretty good anyhow-quite
clever, only wanting a little fixing up
"a few touches of Divine grace, and
then you will be all right; instead of
proclaiming the broad, deep truth that
Payson and Whiteield hundred to a
race trembling on the verge of infinite
and eternal disaster. "Now," says
some one, ''can this really be true? Is
there no good in us?" In Hampton
court l saw room where the four
walls were covered with looking
glasses, and it made no differ
ence which way you looked, you
saw yourself. And so it is in
this Gospel of Christ. If you
once step within it's full precincts you
will find your whole character reflect
ed; every feature of moral depravity
every spot of moral taint. If 1 under.
stand the Word of God, its first an.
! nouncement is that we are lost. / care
not, my brother, how, magnificently
you may have been born, or what may
have been your heritage or ancestry
you are lost by reason of sin. But, ;
you say, what is the use of all this
of showing a mans faults when he
can't get rid of them?" None,
What was the use of thai
FURNISHED surface to that lavel
of looking glasses spoken of in the
text, if it only showed the spots on the
| countenanee and the need of washing.
and there was nothing to wash with?'
Glory be to God, find that this lave1
of looking-glasses was filed will
fresh water every morning, and the
priest no sooner looked on its FURNISHED
side and saw his need of cleansing
then he washed and was clean-glori
GUS type of the Gospel of my Lore
Jesus. that first shows man his sin
and then washes it all away.
| L w IIIU you W hOClCC plltS 1tNGl
in which the priest washed-the lavel
of looking -glasses-was filed with
fresh water every morning. The ser
wants of the tabernacle brought tht
water in buckets and poured it int
this laver. So it is with the Gospel o
Jesus Christ; it has fresh salvation
every day. 1t is not stagnant poo
/ H11n1 With ,1n4 4a1
1t is living water, which is brough
from the eternal rock to wasl
away the sins of yesterda,
of one moment ago 'Oh,
says some one, 81 was q Christian
twenty years ago!" That does no
mean anything to me. What are yo
now? We are not talking, my brother
about pardon ten years ago, but abou
pardon nova fresh salvation. Sur
pose a Time of war should como
and l co1ld show the governmen
that l had been loyal to
twelve years ago, would ttat excus
me from taking an oath of alIeg:anc
now? Suppose you ask me about m
physical health, and should say wa
well fifteen years ago-that does nc
say how l am now. The Gospel {
Jesus Christ COMES and demands pre-!
ent allegiance, present fealty, preser
moral health; and yet how man
Christians there are seeking to live Ell
tirely in past experience of preseT
mercy and pardon! When I was o
the sea, and there came up gres
storm, and officers and crew and pa
sengers all thought we must go dow
began to think of my life il
/ surance, and whether, if 1 wei
taken away, my family woul
| be cared for; and then I though
is the premium paid up? and
said: Yes. Then I felt comfortabl
: Yet there are men who, in religion
/ matters, are looking back to past il
: surance. They have let it run out. ar
they have nothing for the present, I
hope nor pardon-falling back on IL
? old insurance policy of ten, twent
E thirty years ago. If I want to find OF
4 how friend feels toward me, do l 8
? to the drawer and find some old yello
/, letter written to me ten or twel-
years ago? No; l go to the lett
r that was stamped the day befo
}, yesterday in the post Office, al