The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-01-18
PHILIPPIAN JAILER.
A s. rmon Which Appeals to the un-
controverted Everywhere.
The Query: "Sirs, What Must 1 Do to He
Saved ?"--This Was the Cry of an Agi-
tated soul-Df. Talmage Discourses %
on q Question of Incofnparas
BILE Importance.


For the closing discourse of the year
Rev. DIR. Talmage chose subject
which appeals to the unconverted
everywhere-viz., The Philippian Jail
err" The text selected was, "Sirs, what
must do to be saved?" Acts xvi, 80
Incarcerated in Philippian peni-
Tertiary, place cold and dark and
damp and loathsome and hideous, unil-
lumined save by the torch of the official
who comes to see if 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 comforta BILE room of that
same building and amid pleasant sur
roundings is paid officer of the gov
eminent whose business it is to super
wise the prison. 1t is night, and all is
still in the corridors of the dungeon
save as some murderer struggles with
a horrid dream, or ruffian turns over
in his chains. or there is the cough of
a dying consumptive amid the damp
ness, but suddenly crash go the walls!
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, fambeau in hand, he
rushes through amid the falling walls.
shouting at the top of his voice, "Sirs,
what must do to be saved?''
stand now among those who are
asking the same question with more or
less earnestness, and l 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;
there are in this audience those before
whom / would willingly bow as the in
ferior to the superior, but l yield to no
one in this asse mblage in desire to
have all the people saved by the power
of an omnipotent gospel
/ shall proceed to characterize the
question of the agitated Jail keeper.
And, first, characterize the question
as courteous. He might have rushed
in and said paul and Silas, you vag-
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-
bondsp He said no such thing. The
word of four letters, "sirs," equivalent
to lords" recognized the majesty and
| the honor of their mission. Sirs! If a
man with captious spirit tries to find
| the way to Heaven, he will miss it. II
man comes out and pronounces all
Christians as hypocrites, and the re-
| ligion of Jesus Christ as a fraud, and
asks irritating questions about the
mysteries and inscrutable, saying;
Come, my wise man, explain this and
explain that; if this be true, how eau
| that be true?' no such man finds the
way to Heaven. The question OF the
text was decent, courteous, gentleman
ly, deferential Sirs!
| Again, characterize this question
of the agitated Jail keeper by saying
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 the
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 prac-
tical? But know multitLdes Of peo
pie who are bothering themselves
about the non-essentials OF re.
ligion. What would You think
of man who should, while dis
cussing the question of the light and
heat of the sun, spend his time dowr
in a coal cellar when he might come
out and see the one and feel the other
Yet there are multitudes of men who
in discussing the chemistry of the gos
pei, spend their time down in the dun
reon of their unbelief when God al
the while stands telling them to come
ont 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 Arminius wa
right, not whether handful of waite
in holy baptism or baptistery is tn
better, not whether Generalization ant
free agency can be harmonized. Tn
practical question for you to discus
and for me to discuss is, Where will
spend eternity?"
Again / characterize this question o
the agitated Jail keeper as one persona
to himself. / have no doubt he ha'
many friends, and he was interested il
! their welfare 1 have no doubt b
found that there were persons in tina
prison who, if the earthquake had de
stroyed them. would have found thei
.sssase desperate. He is not questioning
q scout them. The whole weight of hi
question turns on the pronoun II.
what shall do?" OF course, whe
a man becomes Christian, he imms
. diately becomes anxious for the saliva
ton of other people, but until tina
point is reached the most importan
question is about your own salvation
what is to be my destiny?" ''Whs
} are my prospects for the future?
: where am l going?" What sha
/ do?'' The trouble is we Snuff
the responsibility of upon other
+ We prophesy bad end to that inebr
) ate and terrific exposure to that d,
I faulter and awful catastrophe to tbs
, profligate. We are so busy in weigl
! ing other people we forget ourselvt
to get into the scales We are so bus
{ watching the poor gardens of othe
: | ,,eonle that we let our own doorvar