Missouri Valley times., 1901-01-24

{ IN and drink and live. And whose.
ever will; yes If you only will. Any
sody. everybody, without money and
without price. take ye the water Of
lie freely, for you, for me. for all, and
nough for evermore. Come now, and
taste and see tnat the Lord is good ;"
HOW TO BE SAVED.
Plain Road to the Kingdom
of God.
Text Jno l:9 The first question
hat engages mans attention after
the conscious fact that he is unsaved
Is, How can be saved9 This is the
greatest and most vital question the
mind of man Shver considered. And
because of its importance many per-
sons have Thought it essentially COM
ples and mysterious. Many times the
direction given being more isleading
, md puzzling than illuminating and
pelpfnl. Often the way into tho King
dom of God is made as clear as it is said
seven year old Boston boy made the
way for q stranger who inquired,
"Where is Boylston street 2" The
Young Bostonian replied, "While your
mode of address, slr, seems TO me to
SAVIOR of undue, not to say unwarrant
able familiarity, you shall have the in
formation you seek. You will per.
chance descry, some distance up the
street, an imposing structure of COM
mingling renaissance and venetian
.rchltecture. The street for which
you enquire is Immediately contigu-
ous." That kind of direction Is cal
cu,ated to stimulate fellow to endure
he disease rather than to try the rem
-dy. Not infTequently the eminent
Doctor (of Divinity to whom the tink-
ing cymbol of faithless rhetoric and
fastidious pronunciation are of more
value than an immortal soul, will be
neard describing the results of his
philosophical exegesis. And if asked
ss to the results he no doubt would
ave to answer as did the specialist
Who had discovered new method of
'perating for appendicitis. He was
cling of twenty cases he had treated
hen bystander asked, "Did they all
get well?" NO. said the physician,
'ont the operation was splendid {"
This poor old sin-sick, ignorant hu-
man heart is longing and dying for
he plain truth of the Gospel of saliva.
ION from sin. When the heart, weary
.nd worn with its load of guilt, seeks
-st it wants rest not platitudes.
How may be saved? The word of
God makes 1t plain. While great is
ne mystery of Godliness," there is no
nystery about tho way to God "If
y- confess our SINS" Now there isn't
anything very ambiguous about that
1t means just what it says. Perhaps
with US there may be disposition to
limit the word 80 that 1t means very
little. 1t means more than simply tell
ing our Heavenly Father that we have
sinned. 1t involves the idea of SORROW
aud amendment. have done wrong,
am sorry for it. am 80 sorry for it
that l will quit it. am 80 sorry for
it that / will make restitution. A
confession that is all the talkee, talkee
kind is of little value either to heart
or pocket. When confession leads q
man to make right his wrong, it is
substantial evidence of his sincerity.
Too many people are rendering lip
service instead of lite service. Con-
fession, confession, that goes to the
depth of human need Too much of
what is styled confession, is of the
"Annanias" kind, keeping back part
of the price. When Jesus took Peter
back into the church he turned the
search light into his heart until it re-
yealed the sir cerity of an honest pur.
pose, in theimmortal confession "Thou
knowest that love thee" U, for q
confession that reveals an honest pur-
pose. il 1--WE confess" Too many
are like the dying man who sent for
his neighbor, whom he had wronged,
in order to set matters right prepara-
tory to taking his departure to the
home beyond, who after due consider
alton and formal reparation, said to
his neighbor who was about bidding
him adieu. "Neighbor, if die l wan,
you to know that this confession
stands good, but in case get we'll, the
matter is just as it was before" 1t
wouldn't be an unmerciful providence
that would let that sort of people die,
for about the only way to make the
confession of such people stick would
be to let them die in the height of q
revival, or sick bed confession. This
world needs . confession that takes
out the virus of sin. SO long as we
keep back or rather try to keep back,
our darling sins" there is no promise
or hope for our salvation. "If we con-
fefs our sin, He is just and faithful to
forgive US our sins and to cleans us
from all unrighteonsness. "Taste
snd see that the Lord 10 good"