The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-10-19

| OF the true knowledge OF the glory
| OF God in the face OF Jesus Christ"
| Now there IS a deprayity that is not
| negative. II would De the greatest
| boon granted 10 many a man If past
| sin was easily shaken Off: but there
is not a single act Of your life that
| has not left its deposit in your char
acter. Although, on the authority
| OF Huxley, the human body is COM
pletely renewed every twelve months.
yet the old scars remain as a pcr-
potual M mamorial So. dae0 down in
your moral nature, there is the rec
ord Of your first lie, first impure
thought and all that has blasted your
| life from then until now. II takes
the power OF Cod 10 break that bond
age and il is only through Jesus
Christ that YOU and I can shake or
the awful incubus Of the past.
There are vast differences In the
forms and degrees of sin. and there
are vast differences between becom-
Ing a Christian in early life, in ad-
vance1 life and i'm old age If rou
have not already become a Christian
the practical thing is 10 begin now.
There is no moment 50 absolutely
sane and solid. so certain or alto
gether UtiliZable, as the present.
There will never be another moment
so golden as the moment yOu are al
lowing 10 slip away. The longer the
devil has you in his grasp the more
deadly the strip becomes and the se-
verer Will be the struggle required
TO secure your freedom in Christ Je-
sus. IT ! were an Uusaved man, be-
fore 3ll other duties 7 would assert
the supreme duty OF saving my soul.
The supreme duty of life is 20 shake
ourselves clear Of the domination Of
sin by the help Of Almighty Cod.
But yOu say everybody does not see
il that way. II was so i'm the a0Ostle's
day, and here in the context it gives
the reason, "If our gosDol is hid II is
hid in them that are lost" Do you
cell a blind man to give testimony Of
the beauties OF an electrical display?
The devil has constructed many
kinds of wells TO blind the eyes OF
men. These are the wells Of selfish
ness, wOr!dlness, pride Of life, the
lust Of the flesh, avarice and many
others, to pull over the human heart
My friends, there is no more fatal
mistake than 10 halittle and UNDER
estimate the task Of the religious life
and what has to be done in order
that a human soul may be recreated
i'm the likeness Of God. 1t is a task
of infinite delicacy, requiring divine
power and wisdom ana one which. if
accomplished, ends in glories as eter-
nal as the throne of Coo. Thank
God that if Ne set the victory the
victory is one that shall become
greater and greater, certain and
more certain in the midst of all this
conflict we wage In this world with
the enemy Of our souls | was not
brought up to believe in the doctrine
OF final perseverance" ." but | honor
the doctrine and those who believe
in it. but since the day when I first
experienced the iOy of sins forgiven
| have been a fairly good soldier Of
Jesus Christ, and sometimes, in my
middle age | experience q JOY so
that | can scarcely contain
myself. That JOY seems to be ground
ed upon this hope: that | am going to
win the last fight and obtain the final
victory; that am in an euemy's land
and assaulted by n powerful foe who
hates me with diaholical hatred and
would ruin ne whom am setting my
feet on the footsteps of the throne:
that, by Gods grace, ! am going TO
win and celebrate the victory within
the gates and at the fOotstOOl Of Him
who sits upon the throne. God grant
that against all our spiritual foes we
NAV fight the good hght Of faith
and lay hold on eternal life"