The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-30
THE REV.MARABLEAT .ST. PAUL'S CHURCH
Minister Speaks on "The
 Means of Repentance
SERMON IN TWO PARTS
Shows That Confessions and Forgive ness Are Chief Means of Repent ance and Cites Many Biblical
 Texts to Support Him

Means of Repentance was the subject of the Rev c. S. Marable at St. Paul. S Methodist church yesterday morning MT Marable took for his text the following scripture: Luke 13:2 Suppose ye that these Gailieans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things. tell you nay. but except ye repent. ye shall all likewise perish"
 The sermon was divided into two parts first, Confession as a means of repent ance; second, Forgiveness as means of repentance. The sermon made a visible impression upon the largest congregation that had gathered in the church for some- time. It was MT. Marable's first ser mon in three weeks.
 The following Is the discourse In full
 Sermon On Repentance When the children of Israel could no longer endure the serpents of fire that were sent into their camps as a result of their sins, they cried out: We have sinned for we have spoken against the Lord and they asked Moses to plead with the Lord that He take away the serpcnts from them. Without this confess sion they would have all died in their sins and shame.
 Darkness upon the pathway of life and of daily strife; because there is uncon- fessed sin pounding away at the con- science of mortal man.
 David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord Here we see the great king with eyes that will not look straight into the face of his fellowman, and a eountenance that will not be lifted up, all because of unconfessed sin. Your sin is ever before you, and you would feel better to confess it. thereby making life one grand sweet song.
 And Joshua said unto Achan, my son, give l pray thee glory to God and make confession unto him, and tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me. These words were spoken after Israel had gone to battle and utterly failed. When the sin was traced to Achan he was commanded to confess it. You have failed as a business man and you lay the trouble at the door of misfor- tune without stopping to calculate the i'm peditive forces that worked against yo;i from within. The forces that work with in are stronger than the forces that work without The 10 spies that returned with adverse reports, were defeated without the crack Of a gun, or the flash of d bayonet, W nile the other two were vic- torious, because the forces within them With greater than the forces without.
 'Job said, I have heard of Thee by |. L. IL. eye seeth Thee. wherefore l abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes While the sores covered the body of this man, causing pain too dreadful to mention, yet there was a counteracting influence from within Better be right than to take 10 cities great man has said, I have the strength of 10, because I am right
 Prodigal Sons Reliance
 "The prodieal son had but one bank account to fali back on when he con ternplated the return to his fathers house. and he relied on that all the way home and that was his confession. When every flower hao lost it's sweetness, every lott ering place it's charm, and when music failed to entice, he could extract from his confession power that put spring in his step. and glcw in his eye. He that cov- ereth his sin shall not prosper There Is a prosperity of fools that ends in disas- ter.
 "The Psaimist seemed to reach the epitome of his experience when he said According to the multitude of thy ten der mercies, nlot out my transgressiens, wash me thoroughly-from mine iniquity, cleanse ne from my sin, for I acknowl- edge my transgression and my sin is ever before me
 "one day two mem walked into the temple to pray, one of them commended II. I.. l..k ono d publican standing afar off would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven. but smote upon his breast, say ing God be nnercifu to me a sinner, never theless when he went home Christ went with him
 But if ye forgive not men their tres passes, neither will your father forgive your trespasses.
 These are the woSds of the Savior and are of the most paramount mean ing. It Is clearly shown in the scrip lures that forgiveness Is a means con- dtion of repentance If the person that allows an unforgiving spirit to dwell with him IS right then we will have to have a new Bible. because the one we have ccndenins that kind of people.
 "'And when ye stand praying. forgive, If ye have ought against any. that your Father also which is in heaven may for give you your trespasses.
 According to the Bible there remains no hope for the person that will not for give The unforgiving spirit springs frova self-love, which is a dangerous product to huban society. When men and women love themselves more than anything else in the world, they will not allow any disruption of that love. and the natural consequence is unforgiveness. Neverthe- less the Savior is clear on this point. and should you entertain the thoughts of living in better world than this after this life, you might as well begin to learn to forgive. and think less of self and more of other people. Men say 1t is . difficult thing to do. but that depends
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