The Washington herald., 1918-01-31
Without the Death Of
Jesus Christ There Is
No Atonement for Sin
EVENING SERMON
"Behold | Stand at the Door

in Christ. not philanthropy, not cul-
ture. which are in themselves all
right, commendable. but they will
never bring you back TO God. Christ
is the sinners only way of return
ing to the Lord.
Some say 1t Is hard to get ac-
quainted with God. Wrong! Wrong!
1t is easy! 1t is the easiest thing
in the world! II God has never
come into your life, it Is because
you don't want him to come into
your life.
How am I to know IL God comes
into my life? I will answer your
question by asking you one. If you
knew that God wanted to come into
your life. are you decent enough to
let him? II you knew that God
wanted you to go to Heaven. are
you man enough and woman enough
to do it? If you knew that God
wanted you to pray, are you decent
enough to do 1t?
If you knew that God wanted you
to get up and walk down that aisle
and acknowledge your faith in Jes-
us Christ. have you the grit to do
it? If you knew He did. would you
do It? You answer that question
and 1 will go on with the argument.
That crying out of mans nature
for something that he does not pos
sess, by all the sweet memories of
your childhood, by all you have felt
and all you have seen and hoped
for. that which brings you here
night after night is God saying.
Behold I stand at the door and
knock. let me come in"
Now, when we speak OF Christ as
the way, the truth, and the light
and life, we speak of the personal
Christ, the Messiah. the one who
has power on earth today to forgive
sins.
without the life OF Jesus Christ,
there is no perfect teacher. With
out the death of Jesus Christ, there
is no atonement for sin. And with
out the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
have staked my salvation on a
dead Jew sleeping In the tomb Of
Joseph of Armathea. But in Jesus
Christ, I have my way, my truth, my
life made clear.
He says. Behold. I stand at the
door and knock, and If you will let
me come in, I will change the foun-
tains OF your life. Where it is Bit
ter I will make II sweet. Where
it is dark. will make 1t light. And
through you, will reveal to the
world what real true religion is"
Prayer in Distress.
The service that God wants. my
friends.1 is service to humanity in
the name OF Jesus Christ. That's
what God wants. Oh, but a fellow
says. 'T serve God" What do you
do? 'T go to church." so does the
devil and he beats you there every
day. too. They never opened the
door nor rang the bell that the
devil wasn't Johnny
You say. Il pray" so does every
body pray. Every man-if you have
mot prayed, you will pray. unless
God knocks you down so quick you
haven't time to draw your breath.
When the Titanic went down
there was a raft scheduled to carry
two hundred people and Col. Dar-
cey. who was on it said there were
thirty some odd on it, and the
weight of their bodies pressed them
down into the water up to their
arm pits. There they stood for
hours on the raft in the cpld water.
He said every man prayed. Some
of them hadn't prayed a prayer
since they knelt at their mothers
knee. and the only prayer they
could remember was, Now I lay
me down to sleep"
The incongruity of praying Now
1 lay me doyn to Sleep" while
standing in ice water up to your
arms! They prayed! They prayed!
Read your Bible?5 Yes. when you
are sick. A body will then. Sup
posing a man works for a farmer
When he ought to be out in the
field at work. he is seated at a table
shoveling grub down his esophagus.
The farmer says to him. when
do you feel that you are going to
go out to work?
| He said. Don't 1 praise your
wifes cooking? Don't 1 eat as much
as any man you ever had on your
! farm? Don't 1 sleep in the bed
| provided? Don't I come when you
! call me for the meals? What more
do you want?"
The farmer said, Il didn't hire you
and agree to pay you so many dollars
month and feed you three meals a
day for you to enjoy yourself. I ex-
pect you to go out in the field to work
and pay me back. In other words. l
want some return for what I am do
ing for you"
Oh, you say, I'VE understand that
/ in these material matters" and
don't you know that the church of
Jesus Christ has been a hundred
years trying to learn the same COM
nonsense lesson in religious things?
They think they are serving God be-
cause they take two meals on Sunday