The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1904-01-15

reasonable to believe that the Gospel
would reach every person in the world
within the present generation. But we
are not faithful, we are disobedient to
the high calling and Indifferent to the
perishing souls all about us and in the
dark and unknown places of the world.
And our neglect and Indifference de-
| lays the time of the coming of Christ
| 1t is still the day of grace. Gods mercy
is extended towards sinful man. He is
still calling: Look unto Me and be
ye saved, all the ends of the earth
VIZ HILE there is a single soul in the
| w world th>t has not heard the mes
sage and has not finally rejected the
mercy of God, the light of the day Of
grace will continue to shine. This is the
terminative factor in the matter. Jesus
Christ will be lifted up before the world
as the Crucified One, as the One who can
| cleanse from all sin, as the only Saviour,
| just as long as there is dying soul to
lift the eye of faith and look and be
saved. How long did Moses continue to
keep aloft the brazen serpent? Surely
| it was as long as there was single suf-
| fering, dying Israelite to be saved and
the God Who longs to have all men saved
| and come to knowledge of the truth
will not terminate the day of grace while
there is a single precious soul to receive
the blood of Jesus Christ. But the time
will come some day when the people OF
the world will all either have accepted
or rejected the Christ, and when that
time comes the day of grace will termin-
late. But there is a sense in which it
may be said that individually the day
of grace terminates when the soul rejects
finally the appeal of God and His Spirit
leaves the soul to its own devices. God
has declared that His Spirit shall
not always strive with man." and
the Spirit does cease striving with the
soul of man after it has rejected last
appeal of God to look and live. Just
when that time may be only the person
concerned may be able to tell. Two cases
in point illustrate my thought.
IT HE other day l listened to the testi-
mony of young man with whom
the Spirit of God had long striven. Time
and time again he had stified the voice
Of the Spirit and rejected the just claims
of God upon him. On the night of his
conversion, God came to him, and, as
distinctly as though the person sitting
at his side had spoken, he heard God
say TO him: 1T is now or never" He
was Overwhelmingly impressed with the
thought that the eternal welfare of his
soul depended upon the decision which
ba fb,t MI ha
victory over his rebellious soul, and
looked TO God for salvation. The other
case was that of an old man who years
before had come face to face with the
crisis of his relations to God. Gods
Spirit had striven with him again and
again. At last what he was deeply
conscious was the final appeal of God
came to his soul. He refused to yield.
The Spirit left him. The day Of grace
was past. The years came and went.
His hair whitened and his step grew
feebler, but no desire for God ever
moved his soul again. He came into
meeting once towards the close of his
life. The minister who was present at
that meeting and who afterwards told
me the awful story labored long and
earnestly with him. He was unmOved
by every appeal, he was Indifferent to
the welfare of his soul. He was as un-
responsive and dead as the stones which
formed the building in which he stood.
He told the story of the crisis in his
life, of Gods last appeal to him, of his
blatant and blasphemous rejection Of His
claims, and how in all the years which
had followed he had been as utterly void
of any religious sense or emotion as a
piece of pulseless clay. He said he had
tried to, and had felt at times that he
would like to-, come to God and be
saved, but he could not, and he had no
deep concern over his lost condition.
And as he ended his story, which had
moved deeply with its awfulness those
who had listened, he passed out into
the night and the blackness of his souls
despair. which could never know re-
lief The day of grace had passed He
was waiting for the judgment. And how
is it with you, dear friend out of Christ?
Are you returning deaf ear TO the call
of God to look and be saved?' Re-
member, He Who pleads with you now
to come to Him and be saved, solemnly
warns your soul that the day of grace
will soon end and that stubborn heart
of yours be forced to bow before Him
in the judgment, for every knee shall
bow, and every tongue confess. Oh,
why not bow the knee to your God and
Saviour now, while the day of grace still
is yours? Soon, too soon, it may be
too late!