Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1902-04-16
Folly of Postponing Acceptance of
Gospel Invitation Exposed
DIR. Talmnge Examines Apologies of
Men for Not Entering the Chris
tim Life-SympRthy for
the Skeptics.
Copyright. 1902, by Louis Klopsch, y. "

they all with one consent began Ia
make excuse"
After the invitations to "A levee are
sent out the regrets come in. One man
apologies for nonattendance on one
ground, another on another ground.
The most Of the regrets are founded
on prior engagements. So in my text
great banquet was spread, the in
vitations were circulated, and now the
regrets come in. The one gives an
agricultural reason, the other Il stock
dealers reason, the other domestic
reason. All poor reasons. The fact
was, they did not want to go. And
they all with one consent began to
make excuse"
So now God spreads a great banquet.
1t is the Gospel feast, and the table
reaches across the hemisphere, and
the invitations GO out, and multitudes
come and sit down and drink out of the
chalices of Gods love, while other null
titudes decline coming, the one giving
this apology, and the other giving that
apology, and they all with one con
sent began to make excuse" l pro-
pose, so far as God may help me, to eX-
for not entering the Christian life.
Apology the first: | am not sure
there is anything valuable in the Chris
tan religion. 1t is pleaded that there
are so many impositions in this day; so
many things that SCENE to be real are
sham. A gilded outside may have IA
hollow inside. There is so much quack-
cry in physics, in ethics, in politics,
that men come to the habit of incred-
ulity, and after awhile they allow that
incredulity to collide with our holy
religion. But. my friends, | think re-
ligion has made a pretty good record
in the world. How many wounds it
has salved! How many pillars of fire
it has lifted in the midnight wilder
ness! How many simoom struck des-
erts it hath turned into the gardens of
the Lord! How it hath stilled the
chopped sea! What rosy light it hath
sent streaming through the rift of the
stormcloud! What pools of cool wa
ter it hath gathered for thirsty Hagar
and lshmael! What mamma whittier
than coriander seed ii hath dropped
all around the camp of hardly bested
pilgrims! What promises it hath sent
out like holy watchers to keep the
lamps burning around deathbeds.
through the darkness that lowers into
the sepulcher! What flashes of resur-
rection morn!
Besides that, this religion has made
so many heroes. 1t brought Summer
field, the Methodist, across the Allan
tic ocean with his silver trumpet to
blow the acceptable year of the Lord
until il seeemd as if all our American
cities would take the kingdom of
heaven by violence. 1t sent Jehudi
Ashmau into Africa alone, in n CONT
nent of naked barbarians, to lift the
standard Of civilization and Christian
ity. 1t made John Milton among po-
cts, Raphael among painters Christie
pher Wren among architects, Thor
waldsen among sculptors, Handel
among musicians, Dupont among mil
itary commanders, and to give new
wings to the Imagination and better
balance to the judgment and more de-
termination to the will and greater
usefulness to the life and grander no.
bility to the soul there is nothing i'm al
the earth like our Christian religion
Nothing in religion? Why, then, all
those Christians were deceived when
In their dying moment they thought
they saw the castles of the blessed
| and your child, that with unutterable
agony YOU put away into the grave
you will never see him again nor hear
his sweet voice nor feel the throb of
his young heart. There is nothing in
religion? Sickness will come upon
you. Roll and turn on your pillow;
no relief. The medicine may he bitter
the night may be dark. the pain NAV
| be sharp; no relief. Christ never comes
| TO the sickroom. Let the pain stab.
let the fever burn; curse it. and die
| There is nothing in religion? After
| awhile death will come. You will hear
! the paving Of the pale horse on the
threshold. The spirit will be breaking
away from the body and IT will tax,
| night whittier. whittier? There is no
God, no ministering angels. to con.
! duct, no Christ, no heaven. no home
] Nothing in religion? Oh. You are moi
! willing TO adopt such dismal theory
! And yet the world is fun Of skeptics
| And let me say there il mo- class u.
! people for whom have warmer sym
PATTY than for skeptics We do not
| know how TO treat them We dcrid,
them. we caricaturc them. We. i'm
| stead of taking them by the soft han,
Of Christian love. clutch them viii
the iron pjncbers OF cccIeeiasticisn
Oh. if YOU knew how those men ma,
fallen away from Christianity and be
come skcptice you would not bc s.,
rough OH them! Some were brought
up in homes where religion was over
done. The most wretched dav i'm th,
week was Sunday. Religion was driver
into them with triphammer. The,
had a surfeit ~ prayer meetings
They were stuffed and choked witt
catechisms. They were told by theit
parents that they were the worst chill
dren that ever lived because they liked
10 ride down Hill better than 10 reac
| "PilRrifn's Progress" They never