Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-09-22

be baptized by Immersion / shall be
| aHved And they tried II and n worked
/ Something was done and they were
-ayed just a. they believed they would
be. Another has said Il will join this
church or that. and believe that II
do I will be saved. and they tried Il and
Il worked. just as they believed Il would,
and they didn't have 10 go under the
water at all. They made their own little
plan and God looked into their hearts,
and saw that they were walking in all
the light they had. and He let II go at
that Another said: III can only get
out OF bed and get down on my knees
and pray I believe / will be saved" and
he tried Il and II worked. And another
said: III can only take the communion
! shall be saved" and he tried II and II
worked. and some OF these who made
their own plans the best they could and
tried them and found salvation by doing
II. were our fathers and our mothers, and
they are In heaven now. because Jesus
knew what they meant as He looked into
their poor, hungry hearts and He blessed
them because they did the best they
knew. and He will do It with you. my
brother. and with you. my sister. II you
will only take the step you believe in
your souls you ought to take. and will
take Il now.
Yes. all the little plans Of which have
been telling your and a great many more,
worked, and yet every theologian knows
they were all wrong; and you say 20
yourself when you take them all TO pieces
and look into them like a botanIst looks
at a flower; but thank God. He can and
does save people. and He does Il in a
hurry, In spite OF wrong theology. The |
oiogy may stand up and tell you until
II IL black In the face that all the water
In the world can't save n sinner by his
being baptized in Il; for water has moth 3
ing to do with II; II Is the blood OF Christ
that saves, and yet everybody who has
got Into the kingdom IN that way knows
that theology IL talking through its hat. |
for they tried II and II worked. Theology
will tell you that Joining the church won't
lift you toward heaven an inch-and /
say II. too. II there is no faith In Christ
behind it-and yet people Join the church
because they know they must do some
thing or be lost, and so they bIunder
toward God the best they know how, and
in their doing It they get a touch from
Christ that saves them through and
II II thousand times better to blum
der toward GOD in the worst kind of n
way than II Is to do nothing at all. The
ology will also tell you that there "a
nothing In a mouners' bench, and that
you may pray to your dying day; for
prayers alone can't save; and that you
may take the communion without getting
any help. or whatever else you will, and
yet never get rid OF your sins, because
these things are all nothing In them
selves and II IL true. every word OF II,
just as theology says, but poor sinful
souls have tried them. some one, and
some another, and they worked with
them, and they were saved because they
just stepped out and Numbered toward
God the best they could, as the poor
timid woman did. Thank God that Jesus
wasn't hair-splitter that He wasn't
and dead set on having every
thing done in an iron-clad and legal way,
M was the case with the men with broad
philactertes who nailed Him to the cross,
Just because He wouldn't do their way.
want to ne Christians.
III lie sees US coming to Him heart
foremost He don't care how much we
slip and slide with our feet. He will
reach right out and take hold of us with
HIS hfe-givins hand and make US strong
and we'll. He always let's the virtue go
out OF Him to heal the folks who are
willing to do the right thing. no matter
how much they may tremble ana limp
In trying TO do II.
There are any number OF people who
honestly and earnestly--yes. longingly-
want to be Christians for years. just as
his poor woman never wanted to be
NICK at ali. but she couldn't help II, on
account of her going 30 much to the
wrong doctors; but at last when every
body else failed her she took her case
. Jesus the best she knew. So say.
here are people who want to be Chris
lans lust as much as she wanted to be
'ound and well. They have felt that they
we're losing life; that II was going from