The Tupelo journal., 1904-06-10

- 49, ~
knew. The reason all Christians are
not p%ersuaders of men Is because they
have not wildly before them the aw-
full reality of sin, the certainty OF its
punishment, and the salvation there
is in Christ Jesus. The story is told
of a minister who once asked an emil
nent actor why people would flock to
a theater to hear fiction. while they
neglected church, where they could
hear the truth. Because we treat fiction
as though it were truth; you treat
truth as though it were fiction" was the
reply. And is not this indictment true
and general in its application? Are
not Christians, yea, many, many min
listers, too, treating Gods solemn and
eternal truth as though it were fiction?
Gods one declaration as to the condi-
ton of the world is that AL have
sinned and come short OF the glory OF
God" God says that 1.-The wages of
sin is DEATH" and that 1.-The soul that
sinneth it shall de-" yea, it goes still
farther in defining the condition of the
sinner, and declares that he is already
dead in trespasses and sins"
WHAT would you think of a man
w who would stand on the bank of
Niagara river, a mile above the falls,
and watch a man row by into the aw-
full current and certain death, and
never warn him of his desperate peril,
or seek to turn him from his course
before it was too late? Suppose he
should talk to the man as he sped on
to destruction OF the handsome boat
he was riding in, of his splendid oars
m%anship, of the charms of nature all
about, of the common, secular in
terests of life, with never a word of
the falls ahead and the awful death
that awaited him? When his man
gled, battered body vas taken from
the waters after it had plunged over
the brink and had been sucked over
the rocks and through the furious
swirl of the whirlpool, you would point
your accusing finger of contempt and
condemnation at that man, and charge
him with the responsibility for the
poor mans death. And what think you
must be the judgment upon the Chris
tan who indifferently watches sinners
go o their way to destruction and
eternal death and never warns them
Of their danger? Is it not because the
Christian does not believe the truth
of what God says in reference to the
sinner, treating Gods truth as fiction,
or, believing it. he forgets it and lets
important things of eternity?
GODS Word tells of the way Of
~ salvation. OF the Christ Who
came into the world to save sinners.
OF the Christ Who knew no sin, but
Who became sin for us that lost
souls might become the righteousness
of God through Him. 1t tells us that
there is salvation in none other than
in Jesus, and that He is able to save
unto the uttermoSt. It tells US that
God want all men to come to a knowl-
edge of the truth and be saved, not
wishing that any soul should perish.
We believe that man is a lost sinner,
and that Jesus is the only way Of
salvation, but we do not act as though
we believed any such thing. What
would you think of a man who had
escaped from a burning building by
the way of an iron bridge to the build
ing opposite, who would turn about
and calmly witness the peril, the suf-
fering and the death of the mar who
did not know of the way OF escape, but
was falling back helplessly into the
seething furnace of flames behind him ?
What jury is there that would not find
such a mar guilty of criminal neglect,
if not manslaughter or murder? When
charged with his wicked and cruel in
should look at you in blank surprise and
exclaim: why, l never thought of it;
l was safe, you know. and felt quite
comfortable and at ease" Such conduct
in reference to physical peril cannot be
conceived of, and yet is not this exactly
every day? Before the judgment seat
of God how many of us who have escaped
the awful peril of soul death because we
have accepted Christ will hear some
friend, some loved one, some %acquaint-
ance, some one we have met in business
or social life or on the journey, say:
"You never told mel? Saved, but in
different to the salvation of others!
Glad because we belong to Christ, but
careless whether others are brought to
Him or not! Surely, the fear of God
cannot be known and realized, or this
could not be true of so many, many
Christians!
THIS may be true of us now, but it
need not be true of us, if we will
only know Gods truth and then act as If
we believed that it vas true. We must
see souls and not men. We must
not become so %engrossed in time, that
we forget the eternity towards which
we are rushing. We must see as God
sees, and not with the natural vision
which only is conscious of e%xternalities
and mistakes goodness for Goodness.
and religious forms and activities for
salvation through the cleansing power
of Jesus blood. Paul saw sin written
on every man, woman and child with
whom he came in contact unless the
cleansing power of Jesus blood was
sprinkled there. Paul felt the infinite
love and mercy of God reaching out after
the lost soul as he came in contact with
people. 1t was as though Christ were
standing at Paul's side as he went here
and there, waiting to receive those whom