The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-01-10


Rev. DR.. Talmage chose a subject
which appeals 70 the unconverted
verywhere-viz, The Philippian Jail
err" The text selected was, "Sirs, what
must do to be saved?' Acts xvi, 80
Incarcerated in a Plilippian peni-
Tertiary, a place cold and dark and
damp and loathsome and hidsous, until
lumined save blythe torch of the official
who comes to see IL they are alive yet,
are two ministers of Christ, their feet
fast In instruments OF torture, their
shoulders dripping from the stroke OF
leathern thongs, their mouths hot
with Inflammation of thirst their
heads faint because they may not lie
down In a comfortab BILE room of that
same building and amid pleasant sur
roundings is a paid officer of the gov
eminent whose business it is to super
wise the prison. It is night and all is
still in the corridors of the dungeon
save as some murderer struggles with
a horrid dream, or a ruffian turns over
in his chains. or there is the cough of
dying consumptive amid the damp
ness, but suddenly crash 60 the wallsl
The two clergymen pass out free. The
| jail keeper, although familiar with the
| darkness and horrors lowering around
the dungeon, is startled beyond all
bounds, and. hambeau in hand, he
rushes through amid the falling walls,
shouting at the top of his voice, 'Sirs,
what must / do to be saved?"s
/ stand now among those who are
asking the same question with more or
less earnestness. and 1 accost you in
this crisis Of your soul with a message
| from Heaven. There are those in this
audience who might be more skillful
| in argument than am; there are those
| here who can dive into deeper depths
| of science, or have larger knowledge;
1 there are in this audience those before
whom would willingly bow as the in
ferior to the superior, but yield to no
one in this assemblage in desire to
have all the people saved by the power
of an omnipotent gospel
I shall proceed to characterize the
question of the agitsted Jail keeper.
And, first, I characterize the question
as courteous He might have rushed
| In and said paul and Silas, you var-
abonds, are you tearing down this
| prison? Aren't you satisfied with dis
turbing the peace of the city by your
infamous doctrines? And are you now
going to destroy public property?
Back with you to your places, you vaga.
| bondsw lie said no such thing. The
word of foar letters, ''sirs," equivalent
TO lords, recognized the majesty and
the bDnor of their mission, Sirs! If q
mEn with a captious spirit tries to find
the way to Heaven, he will miss it. II
man comes out and pronouuces eli
I Christians as hypocrites, and the re.
hgiOn of Jesus Christ as fraud, and
asks irritating questions about the
| mysteries and inscrutable, saying
Come, my wise man, explain this and
explain that if this DC true, how car
that be true2" no such man finds the
way TO Heaven. The question of the
text was decent, courteous, gentleman
", dcferentiaL Sirs!
Again, characterize this question
of the agitated jail keeper by saying
that it was practical question. He
did not ask why God let sin come into
the world, he did not ask how Christ
could be God and man in the same per
son, he did not ask the doctrine of Tie
DEGREES explained or want to know
whom Cain married, or what was the
cause of the earthquake. His present
and everlasting welfare was involved
in the question, and was not that prae
teal? But know multitudes Of REQ
pie who are bothering thamselve:
about the neasessentials of re.
ligion. What would you thinl
of man who should, while dis
cussing the question of the light and
heat of the sun, spend his time dewr
in a coal cellar when he might come
out and see the che and feel the other
Yet there are multitudes of men who
in discussing the chemistry of the Cos
pei, spend their time down ia the dNhi
geon Of their unbelief wheA Tod al
the while stands telling them to come
out into the MONDAY light and warmth
of the sun of Righteousness. The ques
ton for you, my brother, to discuss i:
not whether Calvin or AFminius was
right, not whether handful of water
In holy baptism or a baptistery is the
better, not whether REORGANIZATION and
free agency can be harmopized. The
practical question fer you to discuss
and for nae TO discuss is, Where will ]
spend eternity?"
Again / characterize this question OF
the agitated Jail keeper as one personal
to himself / have no doubt he had
many friends, and he was interested in
their welfare. / have no doubt b
found that there were peFsehs in that
prison who, II the earthquake had de-
stroyed them, would have found their
case desperate. He is not questioning
about them. The whole weight of his
| question turns ca the pronoun 81. -
What shall do?" OF course, when
a man becomes Christian, he imme-
diately becomes anxious for the saliva.
ton of other people, but until that
point is reached the most important
question is about your own salvation.
What is TO be my destiny?" What
are my prospects for the future7''
Where am 1 going2' What shall
| 1 oo?" The tronble is we shuttle
the responsibility off upon others.
We prOphesy bad end to that inebri-
ate and terrific exposure to that de-
faulter and awful catastrophe to that
profigate. We are so busy in weigh
ing other people we forget ourselves
to get into the scales. We are SO busy
watching the poor gardens of other
people that we let our own dooryard
go TO weeds. We are so busy sending
off other people into the lifeboat we
sink in the wave. We cry "Firep' be-
cause our neighbor's house is burning
down and seem to be uninterested, al
though our own house is in the con-
| hagration- o wandering thoughts.
disappear to-day. Blot out this entire
audience except yourself Your sin, in