The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-04-17
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
PLEA TO ALL TO ACCEPT THE COS
PEI INVITATION.
Text from the Fourteenth Chapter Of
Luke: "And They All with One Con-
sent Began to Make Exouse''-The
Necessity for Religion.


sent Began to Mako Excuse''-The
Necessity for Religion.
Copyright, 1902, Louis Klopsch, N, 70
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 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 a
great banquet was spread. the invita-
lions were circulated, and row 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 great banquet.
It Is the gospel feast, and the table
reaches across the hemispheres, and
the invitations go out, and multftudes
come and sit down and drink out of
the chalices Of Gods love, while other
multitudes decline coming, the one
giving this apology and the other CIV
Ing that apology, "and they all with
one consent begin to make excuse" l
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, think
religion has made pretty good record
In the world. How many wounds 1t has
salved! 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
80 many heroes. To give new wings to
the Imagination and better balance to
the judgment and more determination,
to the will and greater usefulness to
the life and grander nobility to the
soul there is nothing in all 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 unuttera BILE agony you
put away into the grave, you will never
see him again nor hear his sweet voice
oor feel the throb of his young heart.
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
while 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
flight-whither. whittier? There is no
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 have. a warmer
sympathy than for skeptics. We do
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 men
had fallen away from Christianity and
become skeptics you would not be SO
rough on them!
There is man who says. my part
ner in business was conspicuous
in prayer meeting, and he was Off
cious in all religious circles. but he
cheated me out Of $4,000. and don't
want any Of that religion" Then
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 I. How can God be
complete sovereign and yet man free
agent? They cannot understand it.
Neither can l. They can not UNDER
stand why holy God lets sin come
into the world. Neither can I. They
say: Here is a great mystery; here
is disciple Of fashion, frivolous ard
goddess all her days; she lives on s.
be an octogenarian. Here is a Christ
Ian mother, training her children for
God and for heaven. self-sacrificing.
Christ-like. indispensable seemingly
to that household; she gets cancer
and dies" The skeptlc says, II can't