The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-04-01
HOW OLD SINNERS
CAN BE SAVED"
DR.. STUART'S TOPIC
mo Sinner Is so Hardened
That He Cannot Be Saved
by Proper Instrument
talities,' Said Speaker

II don't believe that there is an
old sinner in this town that has
gotten so hardened that he can
not be saved by the proper hui
man nstrumentalities," said DIR.
George X. Stuart, in the course of
his sermon to the great crowd
which filled to capacity the First
Methodist church last night.
How Can Old Sinners Be Saved?" was
the subject chosen by DIR. Stuart for the
evening, and he took for his text the in
cident in the life of Christ where he
resurrected Lazarus after being dead and
buried for four days, and of the cere-
mony attending the resurrection. The
main point of the talk was that
sinner never gets too hardened to be
saved.
This was the third of series of SER
mons having to do with the three resur-
rections performed by Jesus while on
earth, the first being that OF little
child, and the second that of a young
man. Everything that Jesus did had q
spiritual significance said DR.. Stuart.
I'm his miracles may be seen both the
spiritual and the physical side We saw
the lack of ceremony surrounding the
resurrection of the little child. The res
direction was made Immediately after
death-during the time in which her
father went out of the room death came,
and Jesus revived life Immediately after
ward.
THREE RESTRICTIONS
In the case of the young man there
was more ceremony. He was being borne
| out of the gates of the city after hav-
ing already been prepared for burial. He
was older in death than the child.
Then came Lazarus. Lazarus was not
only dead and prepared for burial, but
had actually been placed in the tomb
and had been there for four days. A
| large stone was placed in the front of his
grave and he was stinknig decay had
| started in when Jesus came with Mary.
Resurrection from this death of body
| is similar to this resurrection from a
death in sin which is going on today.
The children. almost pure and innocent.
| are saved Immediately, and there Is less
| need for ceremony. Their sins, like the
death of the little child are not of long
! standing.
young people are deeper In sin than
the cnlldren ana require more ceitihoily,
| just as did the young man who was
| dressed for burial but not buried. They
have not been quite given up by the
| world in general as hopeless-have not
| arrived at the sinking stage.
| Hardened old sinners require still
more time, for, like Lazarus. they have
been buried under their sins for so long
that they have begun to stink.
MISSION OF CHURCH
1.-THE mission of the church is to reach
out and save these men and women who
have been rejected among their own
people" said DIR. Stuart. He told of many
| to man whom the world had Stunned
land given up as irrevokably lost had
| been the means of his salvation.
There are men in this town who have
not had a Christian word spoken to them
| in years" said the speaker. There are
places in this town where Christian peo-
pie do not go-houses which Christian
people let alone In this connection he
told of a peculiar incident at former
meeting which he conducted in which a
deaf mute lead banker, who was a
hardened sinner to the altar
/ Remove the impediments. give God
| a. chance" shouted the speaker Roll
| the stone from the door and let one have
| n chance at the heart. Don't get in the
way of anyone on the road to God.
ut has been said to me. Brother
| Stuart. what do you want to keep on
getting more members for all the time,
YOU have your church filled to capacity
every Sunday in the year. what are
YOU going to do with them?' Well Ill
tell you. 1t is the sinner that we want
to get a chance at There are some
i dear. good old sisters here that come to
church every service. rain or shine; they
are all right: they have wings and could
never come to church again, yet sail
right on through the gates of Heaven
II ia the sinners we want to get into the
lcburch We want to get them to going
to church regularly.
! UNUSUAL THING
at is an unusual thing to save hard
ened old sinner. They may get all filled
with religion at revival and still re-
main unsaved They remind me of an
old soaked log lying on the bank of a
r,ver They with the tide, rock little,
and then everyone SAYS, Well, the old
log is rocking now: surely it will float
away with this tide The log keeps
rocking until finally It Is completely COW
cred with the stream and yet It does
mt float away The water goes down and
the log is left. The same old mud sticks
about it and more gathers gripping the
old log and holding it tighter than ever
before. What the log needed was some
one to help it get out into the stream
again. and leave the mud behind.
II don't think that we go after the
l-.--~~ anouph. give him I'D too