The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-04-22

times have ounces for children. and
It Is no uncommon thing for men to
set in church for 80 years and yet be
unConverted. Some of the most gos.
pei hardened characters are those
who have been brought up by pious
parents and have the creed on their
tongues end There are reprobates
who know the catechism from begin
ming to end and plenty of men who
can argue on points of doctrine who
have not an iota of religion in their
hearts
Gospel.l1ardened Fields.
The minister who is anxious for
converts avoids the fields which have
been burnt over by revivals, till they
are as dry as Sahara desert, and
goes to men who are not so familiar
with the gospel but that it comes to
thcm with the freshness of new dis
coYery. The places that are proverbi-
ally the hardest to move in evangelis-
tic effort are the old, conservative,
hide-bound, New England parishes
where points of doctrine are discussed
at every corner grocery and the most
eesy-going characters can discourse
eloquently on the five points of Cal
vinism and who can detect heresy in
a sermon as quick as a doctor of d.
vinity Il does not by any means fol-
low that proximity to religion always
results in conversion. The light may be
so bright as to dazzle the beholder.
Old Time Examples.
II was much that way with some
of the cities of Galilee in the time OF
Chris. lie was a resident in Caperni-
un. He did many mighty works in
Chorazin, yet those cities in whose
streets He was familiar figure did
not stampede into His kingdom. they
did not turn 10 Him en- masse. They
entertained Him, but they did not cast
in their lot with Him. They did not
revile Him. neither did they crown
Him. They simTly treated Him
courteously. listened to what He had
to say, saw His mighty. works with
wide-eyed wonder and then politely
bowed Him out. They would not en-
thuse a particle. They would neither
laugh nor cry If He piped to them
they would noj dance; if He mourned
to them, they would not lament. They
simply would not warm up to any
thing.
Fear Legitimate Motive.
Such conduct was an amazement to
Christ and He said to them one day,
"Why, if the mighty works that have
done here, had been done in Tyre and
hxy
people who have never heard the gos-
Eff l had gone to them instead of
you. they would have repented long
ago in sackcloths and ashes. And l
say unto you, that in the day of judg-
ment they will stand a better chance
than you." What terrific indictment
it was for those cities! 1t was like
one starving for food while sitting at
a banquet. or drowning when single
effort would put them in the life boat.
II will be noticed that Christ does not
object to using the motive of fear in
his message. We have fallen upon a
time when an appeal to fear is tabooed
in many pulpits. They say, if men
will not be drawn by love nothing can
reach them. But Christ did not SO
reason. He used a double motive, an
attracting and a pushing force in or
der that every possible motive might
be used to bring men into right rela-
tions with God. 1t is perfectly legiti-
mate to warn men of the peril of delay
and to put pressure upon them to flee
from the wrath to come. 1t is not nee
essary to take men by the shoulder
and shout at them, Be christian,
sir. or your days are numbered! but
II is proper to put before them the
loss. the ruin, the subtraction, the
failure to complete a perfect life
structure without the help of Christ,
But Christ does not bear on one
motive exclusively. Jonathan Ed
wards used the sword of the spirit In
one direction only. His masterpiece
was the famous sermon entitled Sin
ners in the Hands of An Angry God"
in which he compared men to flies
which the Almighty was about to
sweep off into eternal perdltion and
ne made the people realize their dan
ger so dramatically that they caught
hold of the pillars of the church lest
they should slide In hell. He uttered
more terrific language than Christ
ever thought OF. But even then, multi
tudes in Edwards day decided to take
the risk.
The Love Motive.
Christ turns in another direction
and invites the world to His arms.
Never were such words as these ut
tered before. Come unto Me all ye that
labor and are heavy laden and | will
give you rest. That was precisely
what they needed-rest. and for multi
tudes II was not necessary TO give a
second invitation. That was what this
weary world had been looking for for
thousands of years in vain. Heavy
laden-that is the universal condition.
What load we carry, our sins, our
habits our cares, our sorrows. re-
morse for the past, anxiety for the
future. losses. sicknesses, disappoint-
ments. inability to find work, debts,
business perpleXities. and a host OF