Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-04-26
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
PLEA TO ALL To ACCEPT THE Cos
PEI INVITATION.
Text from the Fourteenth Chapter of
Luke: And They All with One Com
sent Began to Make Excuse''-Ths
Necessity for Religion.

Copyright. 1902, Louis Klopsch. N "
Washington, April 13.-In the fol-
lowing discourse, prepared by DR.. Tai
mage before his illness, the folly and
danger of postponing the acceptance of
the gospel of invitation are exposed on
the text, Luke, xiv, Is, And they all
with one consent began to make ex-
cuse."
After the invitations to a 1evee 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 invita-
tions were circulated, and now the re-
grets come in. The one gives an agri-
cultural reason. the other stock deal
er's reason, the other a domestic rea-
son. 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 hemispheres, and
the Invitations go out, and multitudes
come and sit down and drink out of
the chalices of Gods love. while other
giving this apology and the other Civ
ing that apology, "and they all with
one consent begin to make excuse" |
propose, so far as God may help me, to
examine the apologies which men
make for not entering the Christian
life.
Apology the first: 1 am not sure
there is anything valuable in the
Christian religion. There is so much
quackery in physics. in ethics. in poll
tics, that men come to the habit of in
credulity, and after awhile they allow
that incredulity to collide with our
holy religion. But, my friends, l think
religion has made d pretty good record
in the world. How many wounds it has
salved. What promises ii 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 morni
There is nothing in religion? Sick
ness will come upon you. Roll and
turn on your pillow; no relief. The
medicine may be bitter, the night may
be dark. the pain may be sharp, no re-
lief. Christ never comes to the sick
room. 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 take
fiight-whither. whittier? There is nc
God, no ministering angels to conduct
no Christ, no heaven, no home. Moth
ing in religion? Oh. you are not will
ing to adopt such dismal theory,
And yet the world is full of skep-
tics. And let me say there is no class
of people for whom l have a warmer
sympathy than for skeptics. We dc
not know how to treat them. We de-
ride them. we caricature them. We
instead of taking them by the soft
hand of Christian love, clutch them
with the iron pinchers of ecclesiasti
cism. oh, if you knew how those mer
had fallen away from Christianity ant
become skeptics you would not be sc
rough on them!
There is man who says, MY part
ner in business was conspicuou:
in prayer meeting. and he was Off
cfous in all religious circles, but hs
cheated me out of $4,000. and 1 dom
want any of that religion" Their
there are others who go into skepti
cism by natural persistence in ask
ing questions. why or how? How
can God be one being in three per
sons? They cannot understand it
Neither can L How can God be
complete sovereign and yet man a fres
agent? They cannot understand it
Neither can /. They can not under.
stand why a holy God lets sin come
into the world. Neither can L The,
say: Here is a great mystery; here
is a disciple of fashion, frivolous an6
goddess all her days; she lives on tt
be an octogenarian. Here is a Christ
ian mother, training her children fol
God and for heaven. self-sacrificing
Christ-like. indispensable seemingl,
to that household; she gets a cance
and dies" The skeptlc says, Il can
explain that Neither can l.
/ can see how men reason them
selves into skepticism With burn
ing feet have trodden tha
blistering way know wha
it is to have hundre.
nights poured into one hour Their,
are men in the arid desert of doub
who would give their thousands o
dollars If they could get back the oil,
religion of their fathers. Such mel
are not to be caricatured, but helped
and not through their heads. bu
through their hearts When thes
men really do come into the kingdom