The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-04-24

churches in this day arc being doctrined to
to death. They have been trying to lind OUT
all about Gods DEGREES, and they want to
know who are elected to be saved and VINO
are reprobated to be damned, and they are
keeping on discussing that subject when
there are millions Of souls who need to have
the truth put straight at them. They sit
counting the number OF teeth in the lawoone
with which Samson slew the Philistines.
They sit on the beach and see
vessel going to pieces in the ofhng,;
and instead OF getting into boat and
pulling away for the wreck, they sit dlscuss-
ing the different styles of oarlocks. God IN
tended us to know some things and intended
us not to know others. have heard scores
of sermons explanatory Of Gods DEGREES, but
came away more perpleXed than When 1
went. The only result of such discussion Is
a great fog. Here are two truths which are
to conquer the world: Man, a sinner; Christ,
a Saviour. Any man who adopts those two
theories in his religious belief shall have my
right hand in warm grip of Christian brother
hood.
A man comes down to river in time OF
freshet. He wants to get across. He has to
swim. What does he do? The first thing is
to put off his heavy apparel and drop every
thing he has in his hands. He must so
empty handed If he is going to the other
bank. And tell you when we have come
down to the river Of death and find 1t swift
and raging we will have to put off all our
sectarianism and lay down all our cumbrous
shore. "What," say you, ''would you
resolve all the Christian church into
one kind of church? Would you make
all Christendom worship in the same
way, BY the same forms" on
no. You mightas we'll decide that all peo-
ple shall eat the same kind of food without
reference to appetite, or wear the same kind
Of apparel without reference to the shape OF
their body. Your ancestry, your tempera-
ment, your surroundings will decide whether
you so to this or that church and adopt TINS
or that church polity. One church will best
get one man to heaven and another church
another man. I do not care which one OF
the gates you go through II you only so
through one OF the twelve gates that Jesus
lifted.
Well, now I see oil the redeemed of earth
coming up toward heaven. Do you think
thew will all get in? Yes. Gate the first, the
Moravians come up; they believed in the
Lord Jesus; they pass through. Gate the
second, the Quakers come up; they have
received the inward light; they have trusted
in the Lord; they pass through. Gate the
third, the Lutherans come up; they had the
same grace that made Luther what he was,
and they pass through. Gate the fourth. the
Baptists pass through. Gate the fifth, the
Free Will Haptists pass through. Gate the
sixth, the Reformed Church passes through.
Gate the seventh, the Congregational
pass through. Gata the eighth, the German
Reformed Church passes through. Gate
the ninth, the Methodists pass through.
Gate the tenth, the Sabbatarians pass
through. Gate the eleventh, the Church OF
the Disciples pass through. Gate the twelfth,
the Presbyterians pass through. But there
are great part Of other denominations who
must come in, and great tmultitudes who con-
nected themselves with no visible church,
but felt the power Of godliness in their heart
and showed It in their life. Where ID their
gate? Will you shut all the remaining
host out of the city2 No. They may
come In at our gate. Hosts Of God, il
you cannot get admission through any other
entrance, come In at the twelfth gate. Now
they minsle before the throne.
Looking up at the one hundred and forty
and four thousand, you cannot tell which
gate they came in. One Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one CLASSY sea, one doxology, one
triumph, one heaven! "Why, Luther, how
did you get in?" 81 came through the third
gate" "Crammer, how did you get in2" II
came through the eighth gate" sAdoniram
Judson, how did you get through?" II came
through the seventh gate" "Hugh McKail,
the martyr, how did you get through" II
came through the twelfth gate" Glory to
God, twelve gates, but one heaven!
In the third place. notice the points OF the
compass toward which these gates look.
They are not on one side. or on two sides, or
on three sides, but on four sides. This is no
fancy of mine, but distinct announcement.
On the north three gates, on the south three
gates, on the east three gates, on the west
three gates. What does that mean? Why, it
means all nationalities are included, and 1t
does not make any difference from what
quarter Of the earth a man comes up; II his
heart is right, there Is 4 gate open before
mercy for Lapland and Siberia and Norway
and Sweden. On the south three gates.
That means pardon for Hindostan and
Algiers and Ethiopia. On the east three
gates. That means salvation for China
and Japan and Borneo. On the west
three gates! That means redemption for
America, It does not make any differ
ence how dark skinned or how pale
faced men may be, they will find gate
right before them. Those plucked bananas
under a tropical sun. These shot across
lean plateau. from Roman campania, from
Chinese teafleld, from Holland dyke. from
Scotch Highlands they come. they come.
Heaven is not monopoly for few precious
souls. 1t is not Windsor castle, built only
for royal families. 1t Is not small town
with small population, but John saw it, and
he noticed that an angel was measuringit, and
he measured it this way and then he meas
ured it that way, and whichever way he
measured it it was 1900 miles, so that Baby
lon, and Tyre and Nineveh and ST. Peters,
burg and Canton and Pekin and Paris and
London and New York and all the dead cities
present added together would not equal the
census of that great metropolis.
Walking along street, you can, by the
contour Of the dress or Of the face, guess
where a man comes from. You say: THAT
is Frenchman; that is Norwegian; that is
an American" But the gates that gather In
the righteous will bring them In irrespective
Of nationality. Foreigners sometimes get
homcsick. Some of the tenderest and most
pathetic stories have been told of those who
left their native cline and longed for it until
they died. But the Swiss, coming to the high
residence Of heaven, will not long any more
for the Alps, standing amid the eternal hills.
The Russian will not long any more for the
luxuriant harvest field he left now that he
hears the hum and the rustic Of the harvests
Of everlasting light. The royal ones from
earth will not long to go back again to the
earthly court now that they stand in the
palaces of the sun. Those who once lived
among the groves Of spice and oranges will
not long to return now that they stand under
the trees Of life that bear twelve manner Of
fruit.
While speak an everlasting throng is
pouring through the gates. They are going
up from Senegambia, from Patagonia, from
Madras, from Hong Kong. What you say.
mdo you Introduce t1 -, all the tSa heather int
ity Of the people of those climes die in in
fancy, and the infants all go straight int,
everlasting life, and 80 the vast majority OF
thnsa hn 10 L., nj In thn Il