The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-10-08
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
"a NARROW ESCAPE"

W0uderful Indeed u tne Fish " SsA'e
ton For tho Sinner. Yot Exceedingly
simple-ro Have Christ Save Us We
Must Believe In Him.
NEW YORK CIrY.-The following reada.
bic and helpful sermon is by the Kew. Dr.
J. Wilbur Chapman, the best known evan.
Relist in the country and one OF the most
popular pulpit orators Of New York. 1t
II entitled "A Narrow Escape" and was
preached from the text, How shall we
escape, if we neglect so great salvation! :!
Hebrews Q: 3. -.
The wonder of wonders in this world is
the plan of salvation for the sinner
through Jesus Christ. 1t is 50 wonderful
that the man with the greatest mind the
world has ever known has never yet been
able to think his way through it., and at
the same tine it Is 30 simple that the
smallest child in your home can appreciate
enough OF it to be saved.
The first chapter OF Hebrews presents to
Us the dignity Of Christ. He is at the right
hand OF God; He is better than the an
gels; when the elements have melted with
. fervent heat, He still exists; when the
heavens have been rolled together as q
scroll, He shall still be the very power OF
God. With such description as this in
the first chapter we come naturally to the
first part Of the second chapter. There
fore we ought to give the more earnest
! lest at any time we should let them slip.
A Cunard steamer was making her way
across the Atlantic Ocean when the pas
seneers were startled with cry Of man
| overheard" Immediately every one was
| filed with excitement. One man sprang
| to the edge of the vessel and shouted, Il
will give a thousand pounds to any one
who will save the man that is sinking, for
he is my brother" Every sailor was ready
to throw himself into the sea il only he
could win the reward and save the man.
The captain manned the lifeboat, and soon
q cheer went up because they had laid
hands upon the sinking one. The hfeboat
came near the great steamer, ropes were
was given to lift him up. Just as they
were reaching out their hands to make his
salvation sure the ropes slipped, and fall
ing he struck his head upon the lifeboat,
bounded into the sea and was gone for.
ever. The writer OF the Epistle to the He
brews must have had some such picture as
| this in his mind when he said, 1--WE ought
to give the more earnest heed lest at any
time VIC should let them slip" have
known OF people coming nearer to the
kingdom Of God than that, just one step
and they would have been saved, but they
slipped away, and then gave up. hope.
There are three words around which my
thoughts would centre, Great, Escape and
Neglect.
I. It is q great salvation because it dis.
closes to US a great Saviour, shows US how
we may be saved from great Gin, and also
reveals how we may be restored to great
holiness and happiness.
| ,g "a
Of an author will frequently sell book:
and the name of the author OF the plan OF
salvation ought to commend it to every
one. II He is the author two things are
true. First that we need not be afraid OF
Him, For God SO loved the world that he
gave His only bcgotten Son"
Luther tells us of the little girl, the child
OF the man who printed his first Bible
He was a member Of the Church Of Rome,
and the child had been taught that. God
could only be approached by means OF pen
ance and sacrifice. One day In the PRINT
er's Office she found little crumpled piece
verse, which Luther called the Gospel in
q NUTSHELL" all she found was, God sc
loved the world that He gave" II
produced great impression upon her. One
day her mother heard her singing and
asked the secret Of her happiness. She an
swered by showing her the little piece Of
paper, and her mother said, What does j,
mean" for, she said, at does not tell US
what He gave" The child's reply was
"If He loved Us well enough to give Us
anything, we need not be afraid Of Him"
Again, If God is the author, His is the
only way OF salvation. Men decide to
come to God by the way OF reformation, OF
By the power OF resolution, but this profits
l
present, and may possibly avail for the tu
ture, but it cannot touch the past II q
man is in your debt $500 and comes tc
tell you that he has decided never to &c
into debt again, you may tell him that he
is making q fine resolution, but you will
not tell him that his good resolution pays
his Indebtedness to you, for that is trans
action of the past The wonderful thing
about the plan of salvation is that it pro
vides an atonement touching the sins oil
the present, makes provision for the tu
ture, and blotting out the transgresslons
of the past. It is great also in its sacrifice
The way back to God has always been
sprinkled with blood. Study the Old Tes
lament and you will find this Is true. but
| when the sins of men became so great that
the blood OF bulls and goats would not
suffice then Christ died for our sins, &C
cording to the Scriptures.
It was my privilege some time ago to
preach to the convicts in the State Peni.
tentiary of Tennessee. j said to them
can give you the secret OF getting almos,
any amount OF money, and their faces in
stantly were a study, for the most OF them
were in prison for trying to get money IN
their own way. But this Is the secret !
gave them. Take piece OF paper and
write down upon it the amount Of money
you want, the length Of time you want It,
sign your name to it and carry it TO the
cause you have not found the secret. 1t Is
thus frequently that men stand before
God and ask to be saved. II you will take
that piece OF paper TO some one whose
name stands for money, then have him
write his name upon the back OF it and
carry it to the bank, you will be surprised
to see what different position you Fave,
and YOU will receive the money, not be-
cause OF what you are, but because OF what
your security is. 1t is thus we have our
standing before God; our security Is per-
feet, and simple faith unites US to Him.
! 1t is great also in its pardon and for.
givencss., Pardon means more with God
than with men. With men pardon may
open the prisc: doors and send the guilty
one back to his nome, but if he is muir
derer the chances are he will have few
peaceful nights, and then in his dreams as
we'll as in his waking moments his sin will
be before him. This is because he is par.
doned and not justified. When God par
dons us He justifies freely and forever:
And forgiveness means more with God
than with man. When we forgive We con.
stantly remember the one who has sinned
against us, but God forgives and remem-
bers against US our traAsgressons no more
forever.
A distinguished minister, in preaching
to mon specially. told the story Of his own
life. how he had almost broken his moth
| .r', be,rt made her hair gray before the