Omaha daily bee., 1906-12-03
EXCUSES FAIL TO SUFFICE
Or. Torrey Shows the Weakness Of Many
Refusing to Take the Step,
AUDITORIUM WELL FILLED WITH MEN
slow In Responding TO Appeal, but
Thirty Finally Come Forward
Plans for Third week of
the Mission.

and they all with one accord began to
make excuse. Luke Kills.
This is the text from which Rev. Mr.
Torrey preached 20 an audience OF men
at the Auditorium last evening. The
audience for the Sunday revival meeting
was divided the women coming to the
afternoon meeting and men to the even
ing service.
Jesus gave in His parable three excuses
which men Of His time gave for not at
tending a wedding feast. They are all
excuses which at first appear reasonable,
but which. upon closer examination, show
their really absurd nature One man
said. I have bought a piece of ground
and I needs must go and see It, Very
we'll man ought to see land which
he buys. But this man had already
bought the ground, so there was no
urgent reason why he should go and see
It at once.
Another man replied to the invitation
by saying that he had bought five yoke of
oxen and must needs go and prove them.
But he had already bought them and there
was no urgent reason for proving them
at once. A third said that he had mar
ried a wife and therefore he could not
come. That was no excuse at all. He
could have brought his wife with him.
And today men have just as absurd
excuses TO offer for not coming to
Christ One Of the most common ex-
cuses made today is that there is too
much that has to be given up. Did you
ever stop to ask whether God would ask
you to give up anything that is good for
you? Did He not send Hts only son TO
earth to redeem you? Then He would
never ask you to give up anything that
& For Tpyag
so much that he sacrificed His own son
for you. Furthermore you give up very
little in return for what you get, and you
give up very little in comparison with
what Christ gave up when He came here
to earth and died for your sake
Must Account for self
Another common excuse made by those
who refuse to Join the Christian church
is that there arc so many hypocrites in
the church. That is true and l am glad
st is true, for Christ said that there would
be many hypocrites in His church. But
you are not responsible for the hypocrites
You must account to God only for your
self Would It not be better to spend
few years here on earth in the church
with the good people and a few hypocrltes
than to spend eternity I'm hell with all
the bad people and all the hypocrites?
1t is also true that while few of the
people who belong to the church are
hypocrites, the majority of the good peo-
pie in the world are in the church.
have found that true all over the world
'"The fact that they are not very bad
sinners is advanced by some men as a
reason for their not coming out openly
for Christ. They reason that II they had
been as wicked as some people they
know they would repent and lead a
Christian life But to those l can only
say that they have committed the great
est sin in rejecting God and His saliva
tion. That is a greater sin than to have
fractured all the moral codes in the
world.
There are others who say that they do
not accept Christ because there is so
much in the Bible which they cannot be-
lieYe. That is very foolish. Just be-
cause man does not see clearly through
the first chapter of Genesis is no reason
why he should refuse Christianity 1t
is as though a man would sit down 30 a
table and because there was one dish
which he did not like, would refuse to
partake of any of the others which he
did like and which he needed to sustain
life.
"others say they are not quite ready.
They intend to turn some time but they
do not know just when. This, to say the
least, is dangerous"
Slow in Responding.
For time after the invitation was given
at the close Of the sermon it seemed that
there would be no responses. This, the
speaker declared, was due to cowardicc
and the fear of man and to a lethargy
which the people had been thrown into
by the wickedness which exists in Omaha
The Auditorium was nearly filled with men,
but when the responses TO the invitation
started, they were generous and more than
thirty men came forward, together with
three women from the choir.
On the remaining two Sundays Of the
revival the division of the meeting will be
maintained TO accommodate the crowds
better, the women only attending the 3
o'clock meeting and the men only the even
ing meeting.
The noon meetings win be held at the
Burwood theater this week, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Dr.
Torrey will on Tuesday conclude his series
of talks on why Believe the Bible to Be
the Word of God" and at the remaining
three meetings OF the week will speak on
Did Jesus Christ Really Rise from the
Dead?'
There viii be Auditorium meetings every
afternoon at o'clock and every evening
at 7.so. Wednesday Is to be day Of fast
ing and prayer.
Next Sunday at both the main meetings
DR.. rorrey will preach his sermon on
Heroes and Cowards." i was after this
sermon was preached In Liverpool that l2
women ana 44O men were converted, anC
Or. Torrey considers It one Of his strong
est
The following is one Of the letters re,
ceived by The Bee regarding its report,
Of the TOrrey mission meetings:
To the Editor OF The Bee I want I,
thank you for the good accounts you civ,
OF the meetings at the Auditorium. II f
the first thing / look for In The Bee, and
doubt. hundreds Of others do the same
On account OF sickness In my family l wa
kept away from the meetings, and you