The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1922-11-09

1t is q forgotten art these days. The
real test of Il thing, after all, Is not
how 1t will look before men, but how
1t Will appear in the hour Of death,
the morning of the resurrection, the
day of Judgment, the light of eternity,
ana the presence Of the Lord Every
thing therefore should be tested in the
light of tha; day, even our religious
professions; for except the Lord
build the house they labor in vain that
build it," IL the all important con-
Germs Of the soul no one should take
anything for granted certainly no one
should let the question Of his SOULS
salvation hang on Il peradventure
when there are SO many "thus saith
the Lords" to anchor to.
The people Of the text were sur.
prised, then startled, then dumfound.
ed First it Is mot everyone"-there
may be profession without salvation.
Then the "not-every-one" becomes the
"nlany-will- l-say-to-me in that day." 80
there may be great works without sal
walton. Then both classes are dis.
owned and summarily dismissed from
the presence Of the Lord and the very
works they were trusting in ] beled
iniquitous.
Isn't the whole thing startling!
Here they had gone long way in
religion, and had kept it up long
while without the deadly mistake
coming to light until they were ush-
cred into tie presence of the Lord,
and made the awful discovery Of their
FRO, fhf,
One they had been so freely calling
LORD. i say. isn't the whole thing
Startling!
The question naturally arises, Whnt
was the matter with them, wherein
was their error? Did they not make
an open profession? Did they not
undertake Christian service of n high
class? Did they nse from all appear
nnce obtain remarkable success? Did
they not do all their many wonderful
works in thoroughly orthodox man
ner-in the name of the Lord? And
did they not cling to the hope Of en-
tering heaven to the very last? Most
certainly they did, and herein hangs
the tale Of their terror and crushing
disappointment For some reason the
Lord tells them, II never knew YOU"
Not that I once knew you and cannot
own you now, but I never knew you
rs real pentitents, humble believers,
true followers.
Their trouble was an old one as old
rs the sacrifice Of Cain. Their wor-
ship was mere will worship, which is
MS truly idolntrous rs heather idol
worship. 1t consists In substituting
something to take the place Of obedi-
cnce to the known will Of God. That
iS they made practice Of doing what
they wanted to do instead of what
they ought to do Like the Samaritans
of old they feared the Lord but served
their own gods. They were great.
cr at doing than living. They were
industrious, indefntigable workers. but
not humble, obcdient worshipers.
They were working wonders but not
making the name Of Jesus wonderful.
TO all such the sentence goes out.
II never knew YOU" and all their
work is declared iniquitous by the
Lord himself. He knows us only by
what lie has done In us, not by what
we 40 for the church or society in
His name. The mark Is not outward,
1t is inward. "My sheep hear nv
voice, and know them, and they fol-
low me and give unto them eternal
life." TO the rich young ruler the
crucial test was, Take up your cross
md follow me-" He becomes the
source Of eternal salvation to those
only who obey Him. "Ye are nv dis.
ciplcs If ye do whatsoever command
YOU" The heart Of the whole mot.
ter, then, is personal obedience to n
personal Christ. Does your profession,
dear reader, measure up to this stand
ard?
The story Is told Of n certain can
tain who, essaying to enter the harbor
| Of Liverpool with storm threatening
and ignorant OF the danger involved
was allowing his vessel to drift into
the flats where 1t would be impossible
to handle the boat when the saorm
broke. The pilot. who was assigxed to
bring 1t to port. demonstrated with the
captain, and pointed out that he wo.
endangcring his vessel and the lives
of all on beard and commanded him
to call all of the sailors forward AS
soon rs they were gathered together
he said, Men, It Is either deep water
or DEATH"
would leave the pilots sharp chi.
gram with you. If YOU have not ol
| ready done so will you now launch out
INTO the deep H personal, conscious
ana complete obedience to the Wilt Of
Goo, through acceptance of J.sus
! Shrist as Your Savior and Lord