The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-07-20
UNPARDONABLE SIN.
NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME.
The Rev. Dr.. Talmage Comprehensive
lyExplains an Important Theme.

given him. hut whosoavar spaaketh against
the Holy Ghost it shal! not be forgiven him,
neither in this world. neither in the world TO
come. .'-Matthew xii. 81 80. 'He found no
place OF repentance. though he sought it
carefully with tears. Hebrews xii, II.
As sometimes you gather the whole family
around the evening stand to hear some book
read SO now We gather. great Christian
family group. to study this text and now
NAV one and the sam" lamp cast It's glow on
all the circle
You see from the first passage that I read
that there is sin asainstthe Holy Ghost for
which q man is never pardoned. Once
having conmitte it. he is bound hand and
foot for the dungeons Of despair. Sermons
may be preached to him. songs may be sung
10 him. prayers may be offered in his behalf.
but all t. no purpose. He is a cantive forthis
! world anil Il captive for the world that is to
come. Do YOU suppose tfat theJe IS any one
here who has committed that sin? All sins
are against the Holy Ghost. but nv text
speaks Of one especially. It is very clear to
my mind that the sin against the Holy Ghost
was the ascribing Of the works of the spirit
to the agency Gf the devil in the time Of the
apostles.
Indeed the Bible distinctly tells US that. In
other words. if a man had sight given to
him. orif another was raised from the dead,
AMI some one stantIing there should say,
''This man cot his sight by satanic power;
the Holy Spirit did not do this; Beelzebub
accomplished it. or This man raised from
Tie dead was r&isal by satanic influence.
tha man WHO sail that droppe1 down under
The curse o. the text and ha | committed tho
fatal sin against tha Holy Ghost
Now. do not think it is possible in this
dav to commit that sip. think it was pos
sbla only in apostolic tines. But it is very
terrible thing ever t. say anything against
the Holy GhoSt. an it is mar,<ed fact that
our race has been marrelousty kept back
from that profanity. Yol hear man swear
by the name Of the eternal Cod. an! by the
name Of JESUS Chcist. hut you never hear
! n au swear by the name cC tbs Holy Ghost.
There are those here to-day WHO fear they
aca guilty 0; the unprr'!ona5!e sin. Have
you such anxiety: Then l have to tell you
positively that yOl have not committed that
sin, becaus" tho very anxiety is n result OF
| the movement o. tho Cra"ioI5 Spirit. AMI
Your anXintyiS is proof positive, aS certainly as
anything that can he demonstrated in math-
| cmatirs that you have not committed tho
| sin that have been speaking Of. | can look
| OF unon this aI,lienc, aud feel that there is
salvation 10; AL. L is not like when they
rri. ont with those hfebDatS from the Loeb
! Elrn FOR tha Vile lie Harra. They knew
| mi they wAra going 10 do Is wAli as they
..,lhl. Bat TO- lay W. man tho lifeboat Of
! :!,n gospel an we cry oat ovar the sea,
"G2om fvr a'lr' %. that the Lord Jesus
Christ would this, hour bring You al out OF
! the l1o OF sin an! plant you On the deck OF
! The Slyrious old gospel craft.
| But whi!s do not think it is possible for
Us IL commit the particular sin spoken Of in
the Grst text have. by reason OF the second
| text. to call YOU: attention to ths fact that
there are sins which. though they may be
! par lionel. are in som" respects irrevocable,
! au you c,a nnl no pia"a for repentance,
though you sees. it carefully with tears.
Esau ha birthrisht given him. In olden
time: it meant not only temporal but spirit
| ual blessing. One day ESau took his birth
light all tra lei it of for something to ea',
o.. the folly! But lei us not be too severe
upon him. for some Of US have committed
the same folly. After he had made the trade
he wanted to get it back. Just as though
you to-: morrow morning should take all your
notes and bonds and Government securities
! and should 80 into Il restaurant and IN 4 lit
| ot recklessuess aud hunger throw all those
securities on the counter and ask fnr plate
Of food. maxim: that exchange. This wes
| ,',c one ESau made He sold his b rthright
! for p mess Of pcttage. and he was very sorry
about il aGterwIri. hat ''he found no place
! for repaatrnct. tho1gh h3 sought it care
! fully with tears
There is An impression in almost every
mans mind that somewhere III the future
| her" will be 2 chance where he can correct
! NIL his Ir istakes. Live as We may, if We
! only repent 10 time Go will forgive us, aud
! ,hen all will b. as we'll as though We In
never committed sin. Ny discourse SHALL
come in collision with that theory. l shall
| now YOU my friends. rs GDl will he'll ma.
| that there is such Il thing as unsuccessful
,cprulance; that there are things done wrong
hat always stay wrong. AMI for them you
may seek some place Of repentance AMI seek
t car.iullv. but never lnd it.
Belonging 10 this class OF irrerocablc mis-
! ta'i"S is the folly Of n misspent youth. We
may look back 20 our college days anil think
how "" neglected chemistry or geology or
p,tanv or mathematics. We may be sorry
! about it all our days. Can W. ever get tho
! dis cipline or tie a Vantage that We would
! hay III HI I've attenIe TO those duties i'll
; carly life! 4 MN wakes up at forty yeats
Of age AMI finds that his youth has been
wasted. an | he strives to get back his early
advantages. Does he get them bacI-tho
! days OF boyhood. the days in college. tn.
! days under his father roo? "Oh. he says.
III Icou!1 only GET those times oacH again,
! how I w1u! improve them" NY brother.
y -
! gone. gone. You may BE- very sorry about
| il. ani Gol may for4:iva. 50 that You MAJ at
! last reach heaven. but you will never ge!
| over some Of the mishap5 tha! hav. cone to
! your soul as Il result Of your neglect Of early
| duty. You nj: try to undo it: yoI cannot
! undo it. When you hal 4 boys arms. and a
! boy 5 eyes. and boys helrt. you ought to
! have atten'iei to those things. \ man says
/ At fifty years of age, 81 do wish could get
/ ove- these habits of indo!ence." When did
yoI get them? At twenty or twenty-five
years Of agn. You cannot shake them of.
i'Iey will hang to you to the very day OF
~3ur death, Ii young man through a long
AourSe Of evil conduct undermineS his phySi-
al health and then repents Of it in after life,
| the Lord may pardon him, but that does not
BRING back good PHYSICAL condition. sail
to minister Of the gospel one Sabbath at the
! close Of the service, Where are you preach
ing now?'' oh he says. II am not preach.
+ ing. am suffering 'front.' he physical effects
of earlys:n. can't preach now: am sick.
A consecrated man he is, and he mourns
bitterly over early sins but that does not
arrest their bodily effects
The simple fact is that men and women
often take twenty years Of their life to build
up influences that require all the rest Of
their life to break down. Talk about man
beginning life when he is twenty-one years
of age: talk about IL woman beginning life
when she is eighteen years Of agei All no!
In many respects that is the tins they close
life In nine cases out of ten all the ques-
tions of eternity are decided before that.
Talk about a majority Of men getting their
fortunes between ;hirtv anl forty years:
They get CT lose fortunes between ten an1
twenty. When YOU tell mo that n man is
Just beginning life. tell You he is just clos
iuc it. The next fifty years will not he OF u:
much Importance to him as the first twenty.
Now. why 90 1 say this? Is it for the
annoyance Of those who have only Il baleful
retrospcction? You know that is not my
way. say it for the benefit Of young men
aud women. Iwant them to understand that
eternity is wrapped up in this hour: that the
sins Of youth We never get over; that yoi are
now faShioning the mold in which your