_PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD

_PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD_: Book

Three (of 3) comprising _HOW TO WORK FOR CHRIST:_

A Compendium of Effective Methods

By R. A. Torrey

Etext, last modified June 16, 2001, edited by

Clyde C. Price, Jr.

{CLYDE.PRICE@CDLF.ORG} for the Christian

Digital Library Foundation

from a printed book (used by CCP as a

textbook at the Atlanta School of

Biblical Studies) published by....

Fleming H. Revell Company

{no date, but first published shortly after 1900}

Printed in the United States of America

{ Etext editor's comment

on Book Three of R.A.Torrey's _How To Work For

Christ_: "Preaching and Teaching the Word of God"

Torrey himself says that this is not a textbook on

homiletics, and it is not. BUT it is a wealth of

practical suggestions and resources which are

either immediately useable or easily adaptable for

contemporary use.

Most of my "comments" in the first two volumes

also apply to this one. I assume that the three

sections will be distributed both together and

separately. This volume required enough

typographical corrections to mention it

(especially with Bible references). I also made

some punctuation changes. Spelling in the whole

book is slightly updated (Americanized), but not

fully.

A disadvantage of this work is that it is OLD: The

cultural context and resources cited are a century

out of date.

An ADVANTAGE of this work is that it is OLD: It

contains much genuine wisdom which grows out of

real-world experience of ministering the Word of

God in (by our standards) a non-technological

society, and giving a variety of ways, methods and

strategies for feeding God's children their

Father's bread. The "quaintness" adds an

interesting flavor, and the aspects that are

culturally-specific are much easier to spot than

in a "contemporary" book.

When Torrey cites other authors/ workers

concerning how they did something, he repeatedly

exhorts the reader not to _copy_ the source (too

much), but to see how they did what they were

doing, and then figure out how to accomplish the

same thing. In 2001, our rapidly expanding

technological resources (tools, toys) make many

innovations possible which were not a century ago

(such as the easy sharing of this work and other

Christian resources in digital form). Torrey

exhorts us NOT to copy any example slavishly, but

to look for principles more than techniques. He

also offers us his sermon notes as EXAMPLES on how

to prepare sermons, and exhorts readers NOT to

take these unchanged or undigested and simply use

them without personal adaptation. In retyping this

material, I found many places where I wanted to

quibble, or would have done it differently. That's

GOOD. That's the way Torrey WANTED us to handle

this material. I fully intend to _adapt_ much of

this treasure for my own public use, but not until

after I have digested it and made it my own.

If you use this volume as a primary textbook in

homiletics, you'll flunk, but it makes a wonderful

resource for people who are actually preaching and

teaching the Word of God, and would be a valuable

ancillary resource in a class where Torrey's

specific content could be discussed, evaluated,

and UPDATED.

An old edition of Broadus' _On the Preparation and

Delivery of Sermons_ is on CDLF's "to-do shelf",

although this work is longer and harder to read

than many 21st century students would appreciate.

Worldwide, culture is changing (cultureS ARE

changing), and the world is becoming much smaller.

I urge those who would communicate the eternal

truths of God's Word to study the principles,

techniques and tools of COMMUNICATION,

particularly "expository speaking" (look up the

term), "persuasive speaking", and principles of

logic and debate.

I will echo and underline Torrey's advice to gain

experience ministering to children. I have heard

several enthusiastic young men exclaim, "God

called me to PREACH! He didn't call me to

_teach_KIDS_!" (as if "teaching kids" were some

sort of second- or third- class occupation for

"losers"). From the beginnings of the Church,

those who would be servants of the Word have been

employed as catechists and teachers of children.

If you dislike children, then you really dislike

PEOPLE, and you probably shouldn't try to be a

minister. If you learn how to communicate with

children effectively, you can communicate with

ANYBODY. Seminary graduates --appropriately--

learn "theological jargon" and complex concepts in

their studies, but to communicate the truths of

the Scripture to ordinary people requires effort

and study and practice. It is NOT "effective

ministry" to inflict your theological jargon on

your local church hearers. --It takes some people

several years to "get over" their seminary

studies, even if they went to a GOOD seminary.--

Ministry to children, and to adults with limited

education and/or language skills (in the language

in which you are ministering) is very valuable

PRACTICE in communicating.

Some of the methods detailed in this work have

fallen into disuse, and some have changed names. I

personally believe that ALL the methods described

by Torrey could be used profitably if used wisely

and well.

During the 20th century, there has grown a

tremendous wealth of Bible study resources in

English (and other major languages) which would be

profitable to consult and employ (as well as many

which are not profitable). MOST of what Torrey

details can be used in circumstances where there

are fewer "other" resources, perhaps including

other-language situations into which resources

have not been translated.

AN APPEAL: If you and/or your co-workers are

capable of translating _How To Work For Christ_

into another language, perhaps "adapting" it

somewhat for your target audience and documenting

such adaptations, PLEASE prayerfully consider

DOING SO. (And please inform us at CDLF of your

project.) The original work and this etext are in

the public domain, so there will be no fees

charged you from us, and you can --and should--

claim a translator's copyright on your work. We

simply want to KNOW about the availability of

books we like in other languages.

Strangely, during the 20th century we have also

witnessed an increase IN THE CHURCH of BIBLICAL

ILLITERACY: Professing Christians have not read

the Bible for themselves and are unfamiliar with

its contents. Remedying this will require not only

encouragement from the pulpit, but personal

encouragement. I know a Methodist pastor who

encouraged his congregation to read through the

Bible every year, using a public domain Bible

reading calendar which he had reprinted (and the

text of which is available on the CDLF website).

After a decade, he had FULLY HALF the

congregation, including youth, actually reading

through the Bible every year. I know of another

church which downloaded the etext of this schedule

from the CDLF site, and each month published the

OT & NT readings in their multi-paged church

bulletin, encouraging everybody to READ THE BIBLE

TOGETHER AS A CHURCH. This one thing could be more

important than many other means of "spoon feeding"

spiritual babies: Believers MUST learn to feed

themselves!

Since Torrey published HTWFC, the number of

English Bible translations has multiplied

confusingly. He often notes differences between

the Authorized ("King James") Version, "AV", and

the (English) Revised Version of 1885, "RV". The

American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV) was a

further revision of the RV, all of these being

very literal. In English in the early 21st

century, our bookshelf of available versions gives

much more opportunity for comparison. Comparison

of a "standard" or more literal (more "formal

equivalence") version with a less literal (more

"dynamic equivalence") version can be very

profitable. Most people, including some ministers,

NEED an explanation of the varied approaches to

Bible translation and the uses and limits of

various types of translations. A personal word to

workers: If you have opportunity to study Biblical

Greek and Hebrew, DO IT. The Bible was not written

in English, and the Body of Christ needs to be

peppered with folks who have access to the _real_

Bible.

This book is NOT "inspired", but it IS "inspiring"

and challenging. Take this material from Torrey in

the spirit in which Paul wrote, "...but I give you

my opinion, and it is that of a man who, through

the Lord's mercy, is deserving of your

confidence." (1_Corinthians 7:25 Montgomery).

Torrey was a man whose mind was saturated with the

Scriptures and who had spent his life applying

God's Word in practical pointed ways to his

hearers, and in bringing MANY people to personal

faith in Christ. His words are WORTHY of study!

All of HTWFC should be handled and used

_thoughtfully_, with continual review of our own

"cultural context" and that of our "target

audience" and --most importantly-- of the

Scriptures themselves. Perhaps if this THOUGHTFUL

use is emphasized strongly enough, this great old

book would not need to be "updated" at all.

God bless you richly as you seek to know Christ

and to make Him known as the Way, the Truth and

the Life.

--Clyde Price

June 2001

Alpharetta, Georgia, USA

}

PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD; BOOK THREE

of How To Work For Christ by R.A.Torrey

CDLF Etext edition edited into digital media by

Clyde C. Price, Jr. {clyde.price@cdlf.org}

{ccpcdlf@netscape.net} from the undated Revell

edition.

Contents:

BOOK THREE -- PREACHING AND TEACHING THE

WORD OF GOD

Chapter Page

1. How to Prepare a Sermon 321

2. Preparation and Delivery of bible

Readings 332

3. Illustrations and Their Use 337

4. Teaching the Bible 344

5. Textual Sermons in Outline 356

6. Topical Sermons in Outline 454

7. Expository Sermons and Bible Readings

in Outline 486

BOOK THREE

PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD

{321}

@01 CHAPTER ONE

HOW TO PREPARE A SERMON

There is no intention in this chapter of

presenting an elaborate treatise on homiletics. It

simply aims to give practical suggestions for the

preparation of sermons that will win souls for

Christ and edify believers.

I. FIRST GET YOUR TEXT OR SUBJECT.

A great many neglect to do that, and when they get

through preaching they do not know what they have

been talking about, neither does the audience.

Never get up to speak without having something

definite in your mind to speak about. There may be

exceptions to that rule. There are times when one

is called on suddenly to speak, and one has a

right then to look to God for subject matter and

manner of address. There are other times when one

has made full preparation, but it becomes evident

when he is about to speak that he must take up

some other line of truth. In such a case also, one

must depend upon God. But under ordinary

circumstances, one should either have something

definite in his mind that he is to speak about, or

else keep silent. It is true God has said in His

Word, "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it"

(Psalm 81:10), but this promise, as the context

clearly shows, has nothing whatever to do with our

opening our mouth in speaking. Most people who

take this promise as applying to their preaching,

and who make their boast that they never prepare

beforehand what they are going to say, when they

open their mouths have them filled with anything

but the wisdom of God. Christ did say to His

disciples, "Take no thought how or what ye shall

speak; for it shall be give you in that same hour

what ye shall speak. For it {322} is not ye that

speak, but the Spirit of your Father which

speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:19-20); but this

promise did not have to do with preaching, but

with witnessing for Christ in circumstances of

emergency and peril. In all cases of similar

emergency, we have a right to rest in the same

promise, and we have a right also to take the

spirit of it as applying to our preaching. But if

one has an opportunity to prepare for the services

before him, and neglects that opportunity, God

will not set a premium upon his laziness and

neglect, by giving him a sermon in his time of

need.

How shall we select our text or subject?

1. ASK GOD FOR IT. The best texts and topics are

those which a man gets on his knees. No one should

ever prepare a sermon without first going alone

with God, and there definitely seeking His wisdom

in the choice of a text or topic.

2. KEEP A TEXT BOOK. I do not mean the kind that

you buy, but the kind that you make for yourself.

Have a small book that you can carry in your vest

pocket, and as subjects or texts occur to you in

your regular study of the Word, or in hearing

others preach, or in conversation with people, jot

them down in your book. Oftentimes texts will come

to you when you are traveling somewhere or going

about your regular work. If so, put them down at

once. It is said that Ralph Waldo Emerson would

sometimes be heard at night stumbling around his

room in the dark. When his wife would ask him what

he was doing he would reply that he had a thought

and he wanted to pin it. Oftentimes when you are

reading a book, a text will come to you that is

not mentioned in the book at all. Indeed, one of

the best ways to get to thinking is to take up

some book that stimulates thought. It will set

your own mental machinery in operation. Not that

you are going to speak on anything in that

particular book, but it sets you to thinking, and

your thought goes out along the line on which you

are going to speak. Very often while listening to

a sermon, texts or subjects or sermon points will

come to your mind. I do not mean that you will

take the points of the preacher, though you may

sometimes do that if you will thoroughly digest

them and make them your own, but something that he

says will awaken a train of thought in your own

mind. I {323} rarely hear a man preach but his

sermon suggests many sermons to me.

Put but one text or subject on a page of your text

book. Then when points or outlines come to you jot

them down under the proper text or subject. In

this way you will be accumulating material for

future use. After a while texts and topics and

outlines will multiply so rapidly that you will

never be able to catch up with them, and will

never be at a loss for something to preach about.

3. EXPOUND A BOOK IN ORDER. Take a book of the

Bible and expound it. You should be very careful

about this however, or you will be insufferably

dry. One of the best preachers in an eastern State

undertook to expound one of the long books of the

Bible. He made it so dry that some of his

congregation said they were going to stay away

from church until he got through that book, they

were thoroughly tired of it. Study the masters in

this line of work, men like Alexander Maclaren,

William H. Taylor, and Horatius Bonar. F.B.Meyer's

expositions on Abraham, Jacob, Elijah, Moses, etc.

are very suggestive.

4. READ THE BIBLE IN COURSE, AND READ UNTIL YOU

COME TO A TEXT THAT YOU WISH TO USE. This was

George Muller's plan, and he is a safe man to

follow. He was wonderfully used of God. When the

time drew near to preach a sermon, he would take

up the Bible and open it to the place where he was

reading at that time, first going down upon his

knees and asking God to give him a text, and then

he would read on and on until he came to the

desired text.

II. FIND YOUR POINTS.

I do not say make your points, -- find them, find

them in your text, or if you are preaching on a

topic, find them in the various texts in the Bible

that bear upon that topic. It is desirable often

to preach on a topic instead of on a single text.

Never write a sermon and then hunt up a text for

it. That is one of the most wretched and

outrageous things that a man who believes that the

Bible is the Word of God can do. It is simply

using the Word of God as a label or endorsement

for your idea. We are ambassadors for Christ,

{324} with a message. Our message is in the Word

of God, and we have no right to prepare our own

message, and then go to the Word of God merely to

get a label for it.

How shall we find our points?

1. BY A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT. Write down

one by one the points contained in the text.

Suppose for example your text is Acts 13:38-39:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,

that through this man is preached unto you the

forgiveness of sin, And by him all that believe

are justified from all things, from which ye could

not be justified by the law of Moses."

By an analysis of the text, you will find the

following points taught in it:

(1) Forgiveness is preached unto us.

(2) This may be KNOWN (not merely surmised, or

guessed, or hoped, or believed).

(3) It is known by the resurrection of Christ

(this comes out in the "therefore" and the

context). Forgiveness is not a mere hope, but a

certainty resting upon a solid and

uncontrovertible fact. The one who here speaks had

seen the risen Christ.

(4) This forgiveness is through Jesus Christ. In

developing this point, the question will arise and

should be answered, How is forgiveness through

Jesus Christ?

(5) Every one who believeth is forgiven. Under

this point there will be four special points:

(a) He IS forgiven (not SHALL be).

(b) EVERY ONE that believeth is forgiven (RV).

(d) The meaning of justified.

2. ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEXT. For example,

suppose you take Matthew 11:28 as a text:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy

laden, and I will give you rest." {325}

You might ask questions on that text as follows:

(1) Who are invited?

(2) What is the invitation?

(3) What will be the result of accepting the

invitation?

(4) What will be the result of rejecting the

invitation?

One of the easiest and simplest ways of preaching

is to take a text and ask questions about it that

you know will be in the minds of your hearers, and

then answer these questions. If you are preaching

upon a subject, you can ask and answer questions

regarding the subject. Suppose, for example, that

you are to preach upon the subject of the new

birth; you could ask the following questions and

give Bible answers to them, and thus prepare an

excellent sermon:

(1) What is to be born again?

(2) Is the new birth necessary?

(3) Why is it necessary?

(4) What are the results of being born again?

(5) How can one be born again?

If you answer the questions that suggest

themselves to your own mind, you will probably

answer the questions that suggest themselves to

the minds of others. Imagine your congregation to

be a lot of interrogation points. Take up their

questions and answer them, and you will interest

them.

3. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PREACH UPON A TOPIC, GO

THROUGH THE BIBLE ON THAT TOPIC AND WRITE DOWN THE

VARIOUS TEXTS THAT BEAR UPON IT. As you look

these texts over, they will naturally fall under

different subdivisions. These subdivisions will be

your principal points. For example, suppose you

are going to preach on "Prayer." Some of the

passages on prayer will come under the head of

"The Power of Prayer"; that can be your first main

point. Others will come under the head of "How to

Pray"; that will be your second main point, with

doubtless many subordinate points. Other passages

will come under the head of "Hindrances to

Prayer," and this will make your third main point.

{326}

III. SELECT YOUR POINTS.

After finding your points, the next thing is to

select them. You will seldom be able to take up

all the points that you find in a text, or upon a

topic, unless you preach much longer than the

average congregation will stand. Few ministers can

wisely preach longer than thirty or forty minutes.

To a person just beginning to preach, twenty

minutes is often long enough and sometimes too

long. At a cottage meeting fifteen minutes is

certainly long enough, and usually too long. The

more you study a subject the more points you will

get, and it is a great temptation to give the

people all these points. They have all been

helpful to you, and you wish to give them all out

to them, but you must bear in mind that the great

majority of your congregation will not be so

interested in truth as you are. You must

strenuously resist the temptation to tell people

everything you know. You will have other

opportunities to give the rest of the points if

you give well the few that you now select; but if

you attempt to tell all that you know in a single

sermon, you will never have another chance. In

selecting your points, the question is not which

points are the best in the abstract, but which are

best to give to your particular congregation, at

this particular time. In preaching on a given text

it will be wise to use certain points at one time

and certain other points at another time. The

question is, which are the points that will do the

most good and be the most helpful to your

congregation ON THIS SPECIAL OCCASION.

IV. ARRANGE YOUR POINTS.

There is a great deal in the arrangement of your

points. There are many preachers who have good

points in their sermons, but they do not make them

in a good order. They begin where they ought to

end, and end where they ought to begin. What may

be the right order at one time may not be the

right way at another time. There are, however, a

few suggestions that may prove helpful:

1. MAKE YOUR POINTS IN LOGICAL ORDER. Put those

first that come first in thought. There are many

exceptions to this rule. If our purpose {327} in

preaching is not to preach a good sermon but to

win souls, a point will oftentimes be more

startling and produce more effect out of its

logical order than in it.

2. DO NOT MAKE YOUR STRONGEST POINTS FIRST AND

THEN TAPER DOWN TO THE WEAKEST. If some points

are weaker than others, it is best to lead along

up to a climax. If a point is really weak, it is

best to leave it out altogether.

3. PUT THAT POINT LAST THAT LEADS TO THE IMPORTANT

DECISION THAT YOU HAVE IN VIEW IN YOUR SERMON. It

may not in itself be the strongest point, but it

is the one that leads to action; therefore put it

last in order that it may not be forgotten before

the congregation are called upon to take the

action that you have in mind.

4. _Give your points in such a way that the first

leads naturally to the second, and the second to

the third, and the third to the fourth, etc._

This is of great importance in speaking without

notes. It is quite possible to so construct a

sermon that when one has once gotten well under

way everything that follows comes so naturally out

of what precedes it that one may deliver the whole

sermon without any conscious effort of memory.

When you have selected your points and written

them down, look at them attentively and see which

point would naturally come first, and then ask

yourself which one of the remaining points this

would naturally suggest. When you have chosen the

two, in the same way select the third, and so on.

V. PLAN YOUR INTRODUCTION.

One of the most important parts of the sermon is

the introduction. The two most important parts are

the introduction and conclusion. The middle is of

course important; do not understand me that you

should have a strong introduction and conclusion

and disregard all that lies between, but it is of

the very first importance that you begin well and

end well. In the introduction you get the

attention of the people; in the conclusion you get

the decisive results; so you should be especially

careful about these. You must {328} catch the

attention of people first of all. This you should

do by your first few sentences, by the very first

sentence you utter if possible. How shall we do

this? Sometimes by a graphic description of the

circumstances of the text. Mr. Moody was

peculiarly gifted along this line. He would take a

Bible story and make it live right before you.

Sometimes it is well to introduce a sermon by

speaking of some interesting thing which you have

just heard or seen -- some incident that you have

read in the paper, some notable picture that you

have seen in a gallery, some recent discovery of

science. In one sermon that I often preach, and

that has been used of God to the conversion of

many, I usually begin by referring to a remarkable

picture I once saw in Europe. I start out by

saying, "I once saw a picture that made an

impression upon my mind that I have never

forgotten." Of course everybody wants to know

about that picture. I do not care anything about

the picture; I only use it to secure the attention

of people and thus lead directly up to the

subject. If you have several good stories in your

sermon, it is wise to tell one of the very best at

the start. Sometimes a terse and striking

statement of the truth which you are going to

preach will startle people and awaken their

attention at the very outset. Sometimes it is well

to jump right into the heart of your text or

subject, making some crisp and striking

statements, thus causing everybody to prick up his

ears and think, "Well, I wonder what is coming

next."

VI. ILLUSTRATE YOUR POINTS.

Illustrate every point in the sermon. It will

clinch the matter, and fasten it in a person's

mind. Think up good illustrations, but do not

over-illustrate. One striking and impressive

illustration will fasten the point. More will be

said about illustrations in a future chapter.

VII. ARRANGE YOUR CONCLUSION.

How shall we conclude a sermon? The way to

conclude a sermon is to sum up and apply what you

have been saying. One can usually learn more as to

how to close a sermon by listening to a {329}

lawyer in court than he can by listening to the

average preacher in a pulpit. Preachers aim too

much at delivering a perfect discourse, while a

lawyer aims at carrying his case. The sermon

should close with application and personal appeal.

It is a good thing to close a gospel sermon with

some striking incident, an incident that touches

men's hearts and makes them ready for action. I

have often heard men preach a sermon, and right in

the middle they would tell some striking story

that melted and moved people, then they would go

on to the close without any incident whatever. If

they had only told the story at the close, the

sermon would have been much more effective. It

would have been better still if they had had that

moving story in the middle, and another just as

good or better at the close.

A true sermon does not exist for itself. This, as

has already been hinted, is the great fault with

many of our modern sermonizers. The sermon exists

for itself as a work of art, but it is not worth

anything in the line of doing good. As a work of

rhetorical art it is perfect, but as a real sermon

it is a total failure. What did it accomplish? A

true sermon exists for the purpose of leading some

one to Christ or building some one up in Christ. I

have heard people criticize some preachers, and

say that they broke nearly all the rules of

rhetoric and homiletics, and that the sermon was a

failure, when the sermon had accomplished its

purpose and brought many to the acceptance of

Christ. Again, I have heard people say, "What a

magnificent sermon we have just heard!" and I have

asked, "What good did it do you?" and they would

say, "I do not know that it did me any good." I

have further asked what good it did any one else,

what there was in it that would particularly

benefit any one. It was a beautiful sermon, but it

was a beautiful fraud. A few years ago a

well-known professor of homiletics went to hear

Mr. Moody preach. He afterwards told his class

that Mr. Moody violated every law of homiletics.

Perhaps he did, but he won souls to Christ by the

thousands and tens of thousands, more souls,

probably, in one year than that professor of

homiletics ever won to Christ in his whole

lifetime. A scientific angler will get a fishing

rod of remarkable lightness and elasticity, a reel

of the latest pattern, a silk line of the finest

texture, flies of the choicest assortment, and he

will go to the brook and throw out his {330}

line with the most wonderful precision. The fly

falls where he planned that it should, but he does

not catch anything. A little boy comes along with

a freshly-cut willow stick for a rod, a piece of

tow string for a line, a bent pin for a hook, and

angle worms for bait. He throws out his line

without any theoretic knowledge of the art and

pulls in a speckled trout. The boy is the better

fisher. The man has a perfect outfit, and is

wonderfully expert in throwing his line, but he

does not catch anything. A good deal of our

pretended fishing for men is of the same

character. Let us never forget that we are fishers

for men, and our business is to catch men alive

for Christ. Let us not try to save our sermons,

but to save men's souls.

VIII. THINK YOUR SERMON OUT CLOSELY.

I would not advise you to write your sermons out,

because what you have written might afterwards

enslave you, but I would advise you to do a great

deal of writing, not for the sake of preaching

what you have written, but for the sake of

improving your style. Most emphatically would I

advise you never to read a sermon. The more

preachers I listen to, the more firmly convinced

do I become that a sermon ought never to be read.

Of course, there are advantages in writing the

sermon out and reading it, but they are

counterbalanced many times over by the

disadvantages. I once heard a man deliver an

address, who said before beginning, that as he

wished to say a great deal in a very short time,

he had written his address. It was a magnificent

address, but he had no freedom of delivery, and

the audience did not get it at all. So far as

practical results were concerned, it would have

been a great deal better if he had said less and

spoken without his manuscript. Furthermore, it is

not true that a man can say more without a

manuscript than he can with it. Any one who really

has a call to preach can train himself to speak

just as freely as he writes. He can be just as

logical. He can pack his sermon as full of matter

and argument. His style can be just as faultless.

It will be necessary, however, that he should

think out closely beforehand just what he is going

to say. After thinking your sermon all out

carefully, when you come to preach, your mind will

naturally follow the lines along which you have

been thinking. You set the mental machinery {331}

going, and it will go of itself. The mind is just

as much a creature of habit as any part of our

body, and after one has thought consecutively and

thoroughly along a certain line, when he takes up

that thought again his mind naturally runs in the

grooves that have been cut out.

{332}

@02 CHAPTER TWO

PREPARATION AND DELIVERY OF BIBLE READINGS

I. DIFFERENT KINDS OF BIBLE READINGS.

There are many different kinds of Bible readings,

and it is well to bear in mind the distinctions

between them.

1. THE WHOLE BIBLE TOPICAL BIBLE READING. By this

we mean the Bible reading that takes up some topic

and goes through the whole Bible to find its texts

for the study of the topic. For example, if the

Bible reading is on the subject, "The Power of

Prayer," passages for the illustration and

exposition of the subject are taken from any book

in the Bible where they are found.

2. THE BOOK TOPICAL BIBLE READING. By this we mean

the taking up of a topic as it is treated in a

single book in the Bible; for example, the Holy

Spirit in John's Gospel, or the Believer's

Certainties in the First Epistle of John. These

subjects are handled simply as they are treated in

these individual books.

3. THE CHAPTER TOPICAL BIBLE READING. In this the

subject is handled simply as it is found in a

single chapter in the Bible; for example, the

Freedom of the Believer in Romans 8; or, the

Priceless Possessions of the Believer in

Philippians 4; or, the Glory of the Believer in

1_John 5; or, Christ as seen in 1_John 2.

4. THE GENERAL SURVEY OF A BOOK BIBLE READING. In

this form of Bible reading there is a rapid survey

of the salient facts or great truths of some book

in the Bible. {333}

5. THE GENERAL SURVEY OF A CHAPTER BIBLE READING.

This varies from the preceding one, in that a

single chapter is considered instead of an entire

book.

6. THE RUNNING COMMENTARY BIBLE READING.

7. THE MUTUAL HELP BIBLE READING.

II. THE CHOICE OF SUBJECTS.

The first matter of importance in the construction

of Bible readings is the choice of subjects. The

following suggestions will help in this choice of

subjects:

1. There are some great subjects that every pastor

and teacher and evangelist should take up, such as

the following:

(1) The Power of the Blood of Christ.

(2) The Power of the Word of God.

(3) The Power of the Holy Spirit.

(4) The Power of Prayer.

(5) How to Pray Effectually.

(6) Justification.

(7) The New Birth.

(8) Sanctification.

(9) God's Plan for Every Believer's Life.

(10) Assurance.

(11) Faith.

(12) Repentance.

(13) Love.

(14) Thanksgiving.

(15) Worship.

(16) Future Destiny of Believers.

(17) Future Destiny of Impenitent Sinners.

(18) The Second Coming of Christ.

(19) Fulfilled Prophecies.

2. Go through Bible Text Books and Concordances,

noting subjects for Bible Readings. {334}

3. GET SUGGESTIONS FROM SUGGESTIVE BOOKS OF BIBLE

READINGS. For example, Inglis' "Pegs for

Preachers and Points for Christian Workers." Do

not adopt these plans outright, but simply get

suggestions.

4. Keep a blank book and note down such subjects

as occur to you from time to time.

5. Get your subject for the meeting immediately in

hand by prayer.

III. THE GETTING TOGETHER OF MATERIAL FOR BIBLE

READINGS.

Having chosen your subject, the next thing to do

is to get your material. This can be done in the

following way:

1. LOOK UP IN THE CONCORDANCE THE PASSAGES HAVING

THE WORD OR SYNONYMOUS WORDS IN IT. Suppose, for

example, that the subject is "The Power of

Prayer"; look up passages in the concordance under

the words pray, prayer, intercession,

supplication, ask, cry, call, and synonymous

words. Some of these passages you will reject at

once; many will not relate to prayer at all;

others will relate to prayer, but not to the power

of prayer; other passages you will note, to be

used or rejected later. It will save time, if,

instead of writing the passages down on first

going through the concordance, you mark them by

some sign on the margin of the concordance.

2. LOOK UP THE SUBJECT AND RELATED SUBJECTS IN

YOUR TOPICAL TEXT BOOK. Suppose, for example, the

subject in hand is "The Power of the Blood"; look

up passages under the following subjects:

Reconciliation, Atonement, Redemption, Death of

Christ.

3. Look up the subject and related subjects in the

book, "What the Bible Teaches."

4. _In your general Bible study be always on the

watch for passages bearing on the subjects upon

which you intend to teach._ There are many

passages which bear upon a subject which you

{335} will find neither in a concordance nor a

text book; but if you study your Bible with an

alert mind, these passages will be noticed by you

and can be jotted down as you come to them.

5. PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP AND SEE IF YOU CANNOT

CALL TO MIND PASSAGES ON THE SUBJECT IN HAND.

Sometimes it is well to construct a Bible reading

absolutely without reference to concordance or

text book. Of course this will be impossible for

one who has not a good general knowledge of the

Bible, but a Christian worker should always be

growing into a walking concordance and Bible text

book.

IV. THE SELECTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF MATERIAL.

1. _Having gotten your material together, see what

you can dispense with, and strike it out at once._

The following four points will be helpful in the

exclusion of material:

(1) Substantially the same material in different

forms.

(2) Comparatively unimportant material.

(3) Material not adapted to the needs of the

congregation for which you are preparing.

(4) Material about which you are uncertain.

2. FORM YOUR PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS AND ARRANGE YOUR

REMAINING MATERIAL UNDER THEM. When you have

excluded all the material that you can dispense

with, look carefully at the material remaining. As

you look at it, it will begin to classify itself.

Some of it will fall under one division and some

under another. When you have obtained your main

divisions, look at the material in each division,

and this oftentimes will begin to arrange itself

in subdivisions.

3. _Get your divisions in the best possible order,

and the subdivisions under them also in the best

order._ The following suggestions will help in

this:

(1) Bring together points that naturally go

together.

(2) As far as possible have each point lead

naturally up to the next point.

(3) When possible, have a climax of thought with

the strongest point last. {336}

(4) Put the points that lead naturally to decision

and action last.

V. THE DELIVERY OF THE BIBLE READING.

1. SOMETIMES GIVE THE PASSAGES OUT TO OTHERS TO

READ.

(1) Write them out on slips of paper and hand them

out. In such a case, be sure that those who take

the passages will really find them and read them

in a clear tone. Have them stand up to do it

unless the audience is very small.

(2) OFTENTIMES READ THE PASSAGES YOURSELF. In

order to do this you will have to acquire facility

in the use of your Bible, but this comes readily

with practice. Some find it helpful to write in

red ink in their Bible at the close of the first

passage where the next one is to be found, and at

the close of the second where the third is to be

found, etc. If this is done, an index should be

made on the fly-leaf of the Bible of subjects, and

of the first text under a subject. When the same

text comes in a number of Bible readings, use

various colored inks, or number the marginal text

that follows it, so that you will know which

applies to the particular subject in hand.

{337}

@03 CHAPTER THREE

ILLUSTRATIONS AND THEIR USE

Nothing goes further toward making an interesting

and effective speaker than the power of

illustration. All preachers who have been

successful in reaching men have been especially

gifted in their power of illustration. Much of the

power of Spurgeon, Moody, and Guthrie lay in their

power of apt and impressive illustration.

I. THEIR VALUE.

1. TO MAKE TRUTH CLEAR. No matter how clearly an

abstract truth is stated, many minds fail to grasp

it unless it is put in concrete form. Ministers

are probably better able to grasp abstract truth

than any other class of people, and yet I have

noticed that even they, in order to understand

truth, need to have it illustrated in concrete

form. It was once said of a certain minister by

one of his parishioners, "He is a remarkable man:

he is so profound that I cannot understand him."

This was said in honest admiration and not as a

criticism, but obscurity is not a mark of

profundity. It is possible to take the profoundest

truth and make it so plain and simple that a child

can understand it. Obscurity is rather a mark of

intellectual weakness than of intellectual power,

for it requires brains to make a profound truth

clear and simple. But nothing will go further to

make clear a truth which is of difficult statement

and profound, than the skillful use of

illustrations.

2. TO IMPRESS THE TRUTH. It is necessary in a

public speaker that he not only make the truth

clear, but that he impress it upon his hearers. A

truth may be so stated as to be clearly

understood, and yet make but little impression on

the mind. There is perhaps {338} nothing that

will do more to impress the truth upon the mind,

than the wise use of illustrations. Take for

example Romans 1:16:

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for

it is the power of God unto salvation to every one

that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the

Greek."

This verse may be clearly understood and yet make

little impression upon the mind of the hearer,

until you tell the story of some poor degraded

wretch who has been wonderfully saved by the

Gospel. Then the truth is not only understood but

impressed upon the mind.

3. TO FASTEN THE TRUTH. How often you have heard a

sermon, and the only thing that fastened itself in

your memory was the illustration. You cannot

forget an illustration, and with the illustration

you remember the truth which it was used to

illustrate.

4. TO ATTRACT AND HOLD ATTENTION. There is little

use in talking to people unless you have their

attention. Nothing is more effective in

accomplishing this object than the apt use of

illustrations.

5. TO REST THE MIND. If you talk continually for

twenty minutes without an illustration, people

begin to get very tired. Most people are not used

to thinking consecutively for twenty minutes, and

when you require them to do so without giving an

illustration to rest and refresh the mind, they

become very weary; but if here and there you drop

in a good illustration it serves to rest the mind.

A two-hour sermon by a man successful in

illustration will tire you less than a ten-minute

sermon by others. I once heard a man talk two

hours to children. He held their attention

spell-bound from beginning to end, and they did

not seem to be tired at the end, but would have

liked to have him go on. The whole secret of it

seemed to be that he had marvelous power of

illustration. When you find that your audience is

growing tired or listless, drop in an

illustration. This was Mr. Moody's constant

practice. When he found his audience was heavy or

getting restless, he would bring in one of his

best stories out of his inexhaustible fund of

anecdotes. {339}

II. CLASSES OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. That is, incidents from

the Bible and pictures of Bible scenes. Christ

made much use of this kind of illustration. There

is reason to believe that it is the very best

method of illustrating a sermon. One of Mr.

Moody's greatest gifts was his power to make a

Bible incident live before you; Zaccheus, the

woman who was a sinner, the woman with an issue of

blood, and many other Bible persons, became

living, breathing beings in whom your deepest

interest was aroused. In order to acquire this

gift, study Bible incidents carefully, then write

them out; study them over and over again and

rewrite them; tell these incidents to others,

especially to children; endeavor to make them as

living and interesting as you possibly can. The

power to do this will grow rapidly. About the only

genius there is in it is the genius of hard work.

This is true of almost any form of genius. There

is scarcely anything that a man cannot accomplish

if only he puts his mind to it. Hard work will

accomplish almost anything. If you are going to

gain this power of Biblical illustration you must

try and try and try again. Never be discouraged.

You can certainly cultivate this faculty if only

you work hard enough.

2. INCIDENTS FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. There is

power in an incident that happened in your own

experience that there is not in an incident which

you have taken from somebody else. There is also

great danger in the use of this class of

illustrations; the danger is that you will make

yourself too prominent. One has to be on constant

guard against that. Unless one is very careful, he

will soon find himself parading himself, his

excellences and wisdom and achievements. It is a

very subtle snare. In using these incidents from

your own experience, you must put yourself in the

background just as far as possible. Cases are not

rare where the imagination, in use of incidents,

has grown to such an extent that workers have been

found borrowing incidents from the experiences and

lives of others, and transferring them to their

own experience. Within the past month I have

received information of one who is going up and

down the country telling of things which are known

to have happened in the life of Mr. Moody as

though {340} they had happened in his own life.

There is danger too that as you repeat a story

again and again it will grow in its proportions,

and at last there will be little likeness between

the incident as you tell it and the event as it

really occurred. And yet you will yourself get to

believe, unless you are scrupulously truthful,

that it actually happened that way. It may not be

that "all men are liars," but most storytellers

get to be liars unless they are on their guard.

When it is once found out that a man is given to

exaggeration (lying), and it will always be found

out sooner or later, his usefulness is at an end.

3. ANECDOTES. Almost every one is interested in a

story. The great power of one of the best-known

after-dinner speakers in our country lies in his

power to tell a good story. Lawyers and

politicians and platform speakers generally make a

large use of the anecdote in their speeches.

Preachers of the Gospel do well to make use of the

same form of illustration. Anecdotes may not be as

dignified as illustrations from science and

poetry, but they are more effective, and

effectiveness is what the true preacher is aiming

at. There is, however, great danger that the

matter of storytelling be much overdone. One hears

sermons which are simply a string of anecdotes,

and after a while this becomes disgusting to an

intelligent hearer.

4. HISTORY. Illustrations from history have the

advantage of dignity as well as forcefulness. The

question is often asked me by young men preparing

for the ministry and evangelistic work, "What do

you think a man ought to study outside the Bible?"

and I always advise them, whatever else they

study, to study history. It is a most useful

branch of knowledge in itself, but is of special

value to the public speaker. Very few people know

much about history, and if you can bring forward

from history well-chosen incidents, both the truth

and the illustration will be interesting,

instructive and effective. It serves furthermore

to awaken the confidence of the people in the

speaker. An argument from authentic history is one

of the most unanswerable of arguments.

5. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM SCIENCE. The natural

sciences afford many beautiful and suggestive

illustrations. Striking and impressive {341}

illustrations of Bible truth can be found in

astronomy, botany, chemistry, geology, physics,

and other natural sciences. But this is a form of

illustration in the use of which one needs to

exercise great care. Be very careful that your

illustration illustrates. I have heard scientific

illustrations used when the illustration needed

more explanation than the truth it was intended to

illustrate. Be very careful that your science is

correct. What is considered scientific knowledge

today is likely to be found to be scientific error

tomorrow. I have heard much scientific falsehood

used in illustrating sermons. Do not use exploded

science to illustrate Gospel truth. One great

fault with the use of scientific illustrations is

that the average preacher is likely to accept a

scientific doctrine just about the time the

scientific world gives it up.

6. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE POETS. An apt quotation

from the poets often serves to illuminate and fix

the truth. These are very easy to get, for there

are excellent collections of classified quotations

from the poets.

7. ILLUSTRATIONS BY VISIBLE OBJECTS. It is

sometimes well to use objects, not only in talking

to children, but to grown-up people as well. For

example, Rev. E. P. Hammond makes a very

successful use of the magnet and different kinds

of nails; small nails, large nails, straight

nails, and crooked nails, in illustrating the

doctrine, "I if I be lifted up from the earth will

draw all men unto me."

III. HOW TO GET ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THEM. Cultivate the habit

of watching for thoughts, watching for texts,

watching for points, and watching for

illustrations; in other words, go through the

world with your eyes and ears open. One of the

greatest faults in the training of children in the

past has been that we have not trained the child's

faculty of observation. Cultivate your own power

of observation. Henry Ward Beecher was a striking

example along this line. He was one of the most

gifted men in the power of illustration. Wherever

he went, he was always on the lookout for

something with which to illustrate the truth. He

would talk with all {342} classes of men and try

to get from them illustrations for his sermons.

James A Garfield was another example of the same

thing. One day he was walking down a street in

Cleveland, Ohio. He heard a strange noise coming

out of the basement of a building he was passing.

He said to the friend who was with him, "I believe

that man is filing a saw. I never saw a saw filed,

I am going down to see how he does it." Spurgeon

was a most illustrious example. He not only went

through the world with his own eyes open, but it

is said that he kept three or four men in the

British Museum all the time looking for

illustrations for him. The one who would be a

mighty preacher to men must associate much with

men.

2. KEEP A BOOK OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Take this book

with you wherever you go. Whatever you see on your

travels that seems to afford likely matter for an

illustration, jot it down. Whenever you hear a

good illustration in a sermon or address, jot it

down. The book of illustrations that you make for

yourself is far better than the book of

illustrations that you purchase; too many others

have that book, and sometimes when you are telling

some of the stories in it you will see a smile

pass over the faces of your congregation at the

familiarity of the story. And some one may come up

to you at the close of the sermon and say, "I

always liked that story."

3. STUDY THE MASTERS OF ILLUSTRATION; Such men as

Moody, Spurgeon, Guthrie. Do not adopt their

illustrations too extensively, but see how they do

it.

4. CULTIVATE THE HABIT OF TALKING TO CHILDREN. I

do not know of anything that will make a man more

gifted in the power of illustration than talking

to children. You are simply obliged to use

illustrations when you talk to children, and thus

you acquire the power to do it. By talking to

children you will not only cultivate the gift of

using illustrations, but also a pure Anglo- Saxon

style.

IV. HOW TO USE ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. BE SURE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ILLUSTRATE. Do

not preach a sermon for the sake of the

illustrations. One hears many sermons where it is

hard to avoid the conclusion that the sermon was

gotten {343} up for the sake of the stories that

are told in it rather than for the sake of the

truth it professes to teach. Indeed, it is

sometimes hard to tell what the truth is that the

man is trying to illustrate. A literary friend

once come to me in great disgust after a service

he had attended. I asked him how he enjoyed the

service. "It was all bosh. The man preached his

whole sermon to work up to the point of getting

off a quotation from Scott's 'Marmion' at the end.

He did that well, but the whole performance was

disgusting." Yet this preacher was considered by

some a great pulpit orator.

2. _Be sure that your illustrations illustrate._

3. AVOID THREADBARE STORIES. But it is well to

bear in mind that a story that is threadbare in

one place may be perfectly new in another. It is

well, however, to be overcautious rather than

undercautious in the matter of threadbare stories.

4. DO NOT MAKE UP STORIES. If you make up a story

and tell it as if it were true, it is a lie. There

are religious adventurers in our country,

sometimes calling themselves by the noble name of

evangelists, who go here and there making up the

stories that they tell. It is time this sort of

thing was stamped out. True evangelists are

suffering much injury from this class of men.

5. WHEN YOU TELL A TRUE STORY, TELL IT EXACTLY AS

IT IS, OR DO NOT TELL IT AT ALL. There are some

who exaggerate their stories because they think in

this way they will be more impressive. Perhaps

they call this a pious fraud, but pious frauds are

the most impious and blasphemous on earth.

6. _Do not take a story that some one else told of

his friend, and say, "A friend of mine" did so and

so._

7. OFTEN BEGIN YOUR SERMON WITH AN ILLUSTRATION.

In this way you get the attention and gain the

interest of your audience at the very outset.

8. OFTEN CLOSE YOUR SERMON WITH AN ILLUSTRATION.

This, if wisely done, will serve not only to fix

the truth, but to touch the heart.

{344}

@04 CHAPTER FOUR

TEACHING THE BIBLE

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF BIBLE TEACHING.

1. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD. The man who is

really teaching the Bible may be confident that he

is doing a good work, for beyond a doubt he is

teaching the truth of God.

2. THERE IS A GREAT DEMAND IN OUR DAY FOR BIBLE

TEACHERS. The man who takes up the teaching of the

Bible, and does it in an interesting way and in

the power of the Spirit, is bound to get a hearing

and to do great good. In the city of Chicago

popular evening Bible classes have been in

operation for four years. The first year there was

one class, the second year four classes, the third

year five classes, and the fourth year it was

necessary to reduce the number of classes in order

that the teacher might go two evenings in the week

to Detroit and St. Louis. In the five classes

there was a weekly average attendance of about six

thousand. The great interest people have today in

studying the Bible is illustrated by the Saturday

evening class at the Chicago Avenue Church. People

come out at five o'clock and remain until nine.

From five until six there are about seven hundred

in attendance, from seven until nine between

twenty and twenty-five hundred. Similar interest

in Bible study has been shown in other cities. In

every city and village there should be systematic

Bible teaching; nothing else will draw and hold

such large and interested audiences.

II. METHODS OF BIBLE TEACHING.

1. EXPOUNDING THE SCRIPTURES.

This consists in the simple reading of a passage

of Scripture with such comments as illuminate its

meaning and enforce its {345} teaching. Mr.

Spurgeon had a great gift in this direction. Mr.

Moody used to say, "I would rather hear Mr.

Spurgeon expound the Scripture than preach, I get

more out of it." The following suggestions are

offered to aid in expounding the Scripture to

edification:

(1) MAKE THOROUGH PREPARATION.

There are those who think that it takes no

preparation to expound the Scripture, that all

that is necessary is to go into the pulpit and

read a chapter and make such desultory comments as

come to mind. There may be some profit even in

that slipshod way of expounding the Scripture, but

it has done much to bring Bible exposition into

disrepute.

(2) AVOID RAMBLING.

There is a great temptation to the expositor, when

he has started out upon one line of thought, to

branch from that on to another and from that still

on to another, until it is almost impossible to

get back to the chapter.

(3) AVOID TEDIOUSNESS.

(4) SEEK FOR CONNECTED LINES OF THOUGHT.

Suppose, for example, you are expounding the

fourth chapter of Philippians; instead of reading

through with disconnected comments, go through the

chapter with this line of thought: Seven Present

Privileges of the Believer:

(a) Constant joy (v.4).

(b) Absolute freedom from care (v.6).

(d) An ever-present friend (v.9).

(e) Never-failing contentment (v.11).

(f) All-prevailing strength (v.13).

(g) Inexhaustible supplies for every need (v.19).

Or take for example the 23rd Psalm; it can be

divided as follows:

(a) Every need met (vs.1-3).

(b) Every fear banished (v.4).

Or take Psalm 1:1-3. Entitle your exposition,

"God's Picture of a {346} Happy Man." Three

leading features of this picture will be, in the

first verse, the happy man's separation from the

world, the second verse, the happy man's

occupation in the world, and the third verse, the

happy man's fruitfulness before the world. A still

different division would be, the first verse, the

happy man's separation unto God; the second verse,

the happy man's communion with God, and the third

verse, the happy man's fruitfulness in God.

Or suppose you are expounding the second chapter

of 1_John. Your exposition might begin with the

introduction, "This chapter presents to us seven

comforting views of Jesus":

(a) Jesus as an advocate with the Father (v.1).

(b) Jesus as a propitiation for our sins (v.2).

(d) Jesus as the anointer with the Holy Ghost

(vs.20-27).

(e) Jesus as the Christ and Son of God (vs.22-23).

(f) Jesus as the great promiser (v.25).

(g) Jesus as the Coming One (v.28).

If you are using 1_John 3, you could begin with an

introduction like this, "This chapter brings to us

seven great facts about believers":

(a) Believers in Jesus are now children of God

(vs. 1-2 RV).

(b) Believers shall be like Jesus when He comes

(second part v.2).

(vs. 5-6, 9-10).

(d) The believer knows that he has passed out of

death into life (v.14).

(e) The believer has boldness before God (vs.

19-21).

(f) The believer may have power to obtain from God

by prayer whatsoever he asks (v.22).

(g) Believers is Jesus have the gift of the Holy

Spirit (v. 24).

Of course these are only outlines, and the points

made are the headings for different divisions of

our exposition.

(5) _A Bible with a wide margin, or an interleaved

Bible is very useful in expository work._ {347}

(6) The _Synthetic Bible Study Course_ (from

Genesis to Revelation), by James M. Gray, D.D.,

LL.D., is replete with sermonic suggestion for one

who would know how to expound the Scriptures

interestingly and profitably. (Send for

literature.)

(7) _The Book of Psalms is a good book with which

to begin your expository work._

Of course we do not intend by this that every

Psalm should be expounded.

2. THE CONVERSATIONAL BIBLE CLASS.

This is a very interesting method of teaching the

Bible.

(1) _Have the class meet in a very informal way,

if possible around a long table._

(2) _Take some book in the Bible and assign a

portion for careful study._

(3) _Read verse by verse and give each one an

opportunity to state what he has gotten out of the

verse, or ask questions upon the verse._

(4) _Hold your class to the passage and subject in

hand._

(5) _Avoid trifles._

In almost every class there is likely to be some

empty-headed member who will want to spend all the

time in discussing some trifle.

(6) _It is often well to assign questions before

hand to be looked up by individual members of the

class._

3. THE TOPICAL OR DOCTRINAL BIBLE CLASS.

Such a class is of immense importance in a church.

Very few people in our day are being carefully

indoctrinated in the great fundamental truths of

the Bible. In consequence of this they are likely

to be led off by any errorist that comes along,

provided he is a bright talker, or skillful in

producing the impression that he has an unusual

amount of Bible knowledge. The following are

suggestions as to how to conduct these classes:

{348}

(1) _Make a careful list beforehand of the great

doctrines that you wish to teach._

Take these doctrines up in systematic order.

(2) _Arrange all the Scriptures that bear upon

these doctrines in an orderly and logical way.

(3) _In the class you can either read from the

Bible and expound what the Scripture says on these

doctrines, or you can have the different passages

of Scripture read by members of the class, and let

the class put the contents of the Scripture into

systematic form for themselves._

The latter is the better way provided your class

is of sufficient intelligence to do the work well.

Sometimes it is better yet to give out the

Scripture beforehand, and have the class bring in

the results of their own study and thought in

systematic shape. Three important points must be

borne in mind in all this work:

(1) Be systematic.

(2) Be thorough.

(3) Be exact.

The book, "What the Bible Teaches" is the outcome

of a topical doctrinal Bible class conducted

through two years, and may be suggestive to others

as to how to do this work.

4. STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL BOOKS.

This is the best and most important of all methods

for continuous work. By this method of study a

class can be continued from five to ten years, or

indefinitely.

(1) INTRODUCTORY WORK.

Assign the lessons to the class beforehand; have

them find and bring in answers to the following

questions:

(a) Who wrote the book?

(b) To whom was it written?

(d) When written?

(e) Occasion of writing?

(f) Purpose for which written? {349}

(g) Circumstances of the author when he wrote?

(h) What were the circumstances of those to whom

he wrote?

(i) What glimpses does the book give us of the

life and character of the author?

(j) What are the leading ideas of the book?

(k) What is the central truth of the book?

(l) What are the characteristics of the book?

(2) _Have the class divide the book into its

principal sections.

(3) Take it up verse by verse and study.

At each lesson have the class bring in an analysis

of a certain number of verses. Insist:

(a) That nothing shall be in the analysis that is

not in the verse.

(b) That as far as possible everything that is in

the verse shall be in the analysis.

To accomplish this, when any member of the class

gives an inadequate analysis, ask him if that is

all there is in the verse, and keep on asking him

questions until he has brought out all that you

see in the verse.

concisely as possible.

Do not be content when a member of the class puts

something into his analysis somewhat like what is

in the verse, but demand that it be a precise

statement of what is in the verse.

(4) _Have the class bring together all the

teachings on the various subjects scattered

through the book._

(a) To this end, have them first make a list of

subjects treated in the book.

(b) Arrange these subjects in their principal

subdivisions.

bring the points in the analysis under the proper

headings in the classification of teaching.

5. CLASSES FOR THE RAPID SURVEY OF ALL THE BOOKS

IN THE BIBLE.

This is sometimes called "the Synthetic Method of

Bible Study." Assign the class a certain number of

chapters, wherever {350} possible an entire

book, to read over and over again, and then when

they come together, go over the book rapidly,

bringing out the salient points about it and its

teaching. Dr. James M. Gray's book, "The Synthetic

Study of the Bible," will be suggestive for this

work.

6. CLASSES FOR THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE BY CHAPTERS.

(1) These classes can be conducted in a variety of

ways. Perhaps the simplest method is to give out

four questions for the class to be prepared upon,

writing answers to these questions for each

chapter. The Bible can be covered in about two

years in this way if two chapters are prepared

each day. The questions are:

(a) The subject of the chapter. (State principal

contents of the chapter in a single phrase or

sentence.)

(b) The principal persons of the chapter.

(d) The best lesson in the chapter.

(e) The best verse of the chapter (memorized).

(2) A somewhat more elaborate, and much more

valuable method is to give out eight questions:

(a) The leading facts of the chapter and the

lessons they teach. These facts with the

corresponding lessons should be given one by one

and written out.

(b) Wrong things done and mistakes made. That does

not mean mistakes made by the author of the Bible,

for there are none, but the mistakes which are

recorded in the chapter as made by various

persons.

different persons have done as recorded in the

chapter that are worthy of our imitation.

(d) Most important lessons in the chapter. It is

best to restrict the number of lessons to not more

than five (or not more than ten) or such number as

you deem best.

(e) The most important lesson in the chapter.

(f) The great texts in the chapter (written out in

full).

(g) The truth most emphasized in the chapter.

{351}

(h) The personal blessing received from the study

of the chapter.

This is an especially helpful way to study the

Acts of the Apostles. The author has obtained one

of the greatest blessings that he has ever

received from Bible study in the study of the Acts

of the Apostles in this way.

(3) A still more elaborate method for the study of

the Bible by chapters is to give the class the

following twenty questions and suggestions:

(a) Read chapter five times.

(b) Note any important changes in RV from AV.

variations.

(d) Date of events in chapter?

(e) Name of chapter?

(f) Outline of chapter?

(g) Best verse? Mark and commit to memory.

(h) Verses for meditation; note and mark.

(i) Verses for thorough study; note and mark.

(j) Texts for sermons; note, mark and outline the

sermons.

(k) Characteristic, striking and suggestive words

and phrases; mark and study.

(l) Leading incidents?

(m) Persons; what light upon their character and

lessons from their lives?

(n) The most important lessons in chapter?

(o) The most important lesson in chapter?

(p) Central truth?

(q) Places; locate and look up their character and

history.

(r) Subjects for further study suggested?

(s) Difficulties an chapter?

(t) Personal blessings received from the study of

the chapter.

First. What new truth learned?

Second. What old truth brought home with new

power?

Third. What new course of action decided upon?

Fourth. Any other blessing received from the study

of the chapter?

Of course these suggestions and questions can be

varied to suit the class and the judgment of the

teacher. {352}

7. CLASSES FOR THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE FOR USE IN

PERSONAL WORK.

Such a class should exist in every church and

mission. Book I of this volume will give hints for

the conduct of such a class.

8. TEACHING THE INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL

LESSON.

Whatever other lines of Bible teaching we may take

up, we cannot afford to exclude the International

Lessons. Whatever imperfection there may be in the

lessons assigned by the international committee,

they have one advantage which cannot be

overlooked; they are studied by the great mass of

evangelical church members throughout this country

and Great Britain. The minister or Christian

worker who is not studying these lessons and

teaching them will be out of line with the Bible

thinking of the great mass of the church of Jesus

Christ. Helps for the study and teaching of these

lessons are so abundant and so excellent that

there is no need that anything be added in this

book. The author's own method of teaching the

lessons is sufficiently indicated in his book,

_The Gist of the Lesson._* {Now edited by Ralph G.

Turnbull. Fleming H. Revell Company, publishers.}

It might be added, however, that he teaches the

lessons, not by lecturing to his class, but by

asking them questions. It is far better to get

people to see the truth by asking them questions,

than it is to tell them the truth. We give for

illustration his questions as prepared beforehand

on the following lesson:

JESUS AND CAIAPHAS

(Matthew 26:57-68)

I. PETER WARMING HIMSELF AT THE ENEMIES' FIRE,

57-58.

57. What did they do with Jesus when they had

arrested Him? Did they lead him first to Caiaphas?

To whom? Why not to Caiaphas first?

Who were assembled with Caiaphas? What was the

name of this body? What was there illegal about

their assembling?

58. What are we told about Peter that sounds well?

What two words are added that make it sound badly?

If we follow Jesus, how should we follow Him? How

are {353} many professed Christians today

following Jesus? Did Peter really follow Jesus at

all? What followed Him? What did not follow Him?

(cf. Matthew 16:24). How far did Peter follow?

What led Peter to follow Him? What foolish thing

did Peter do? (cf. Ps.1:1; Ps.26:4-10; 2_Cor.

6:14-17). Into what trouble did Peter's following

Jesus get him? What will be the usual result of

following Jesus without following Him with the

whole heart? What ought to have kept Peter from

following at this time? (John 13:38; John 18;8;

John 13:36).

What had Peter done with all the warnings of

Christ? What question had he asked of Christ when

He said, "Thou canst not follow me now"? (John

13:37). What boast had Peter made? What is he now

undertaking to do? Which knew Peter better, the

Lord or Peter himself? Why did not Peter sit by

himself instead of with the enemies of the Lord?

What arguments are produced today for conformity

to the world? How much value is there in them? How

much of the peril that he feared did Peter escape?

How alone did he escape finally? What is the only

way that any one can escape who seeks to make

friends with the world? (James 4:4; 1_Cor. 15:33

RV; Prov. 13:20; Eph. 5:11-12). When, alone,

should we associate with bad company? If we do not

go with them for the definite purpose of leading

them to Christ, how will our association with them

result? Did Peter have such a purpose in

associating with these servants? (John 18:18).

When a follower of the Lord Jesus seeks to warm

himself by the enemies' fire, what will you soon

hear about his doing?

II. THE SON OF GOD SLANDERED AND SILENT, 59-63a.

59. What was the one fixed purpose of Jesus'

judges? In order to carry out this purpose, what

did they not hesitate to do? Were these judges

respectable men as the world goes? Were they

religious men? Of what have we an example here?

(Jeremiah 17:8; Romans 8:7).

60. With what success did they meet in their

attempt to find false witnesses against Jesus?

Were there any who were willing to curry favor

with the authorities by swearing falsely? What was

the trouble with their testimony? (Mark 14:56).

What conclusive proof have we here of the

spotlessness of Jesus' character and life? How did

Jesus feel about these false testimonies against

Himself? {354} (Psalm 35:11-12 RV). What is

there today that parallels the utter unfairness of

these judges? When all the other false witnesses

failed, who came?

61. To what did they swear? Was there any truth in

that to which they took oath? (v.61, cf. John

2:19). What is the most dangerous of all lies?

62-63a. What reply did Jesus make to these false

charges? Why did not Jesus reply? What prophecy

did He fulfill? (Isaiah 53:7). To whom did He

commit His case? (1_Peter 2:23). What example is

there in all this for us? (1_Peter 2:21; Psalm

37:5-6). How was the high priest affected by

Jesus' silence?

III. THE SON OF GOD REVEALED AND REJECTED, 63b-68.

63b. What did the high priest finally say to

Jesus? What was the intention of the question? Did

it result in entrapping Jesus?

64. In what did it result? What was Jesus' answer?

If Jesus is not divine, what is He?

How did Caiaphas feel when he heard Jesus'

unequivocal assertion of His Deity? Why was

Caiaphas glad? What did Jesus add that changed the

gladness of Caiaphas into fear? In that coming

judgment day, who will be the judge, Caiaphas or

Jesus? What position will Caiaphas occupy? What

should all who are now sitting in judgment on

Christ remember? (Acts 17:31; John 5:22-23). What

is meant by saying that He is coming "on the

clouds of Heaven"?

65. How did the High Priest treat this claim of

Jesus? Upon what charge was Jesus sentenced to

death? Who today practically assent to the justice

of this charge?

66. What was the sentence pronounced?

67-68. What did they do with Jesus after

pronouncing this sentence? (cf. Luke 23:11; Mark

15:16-20). For whom was it He suffered so? (Isaiah

53:6). What was fulfilled in all this? (Isaiah

50:6; 53:3). What is revealed about the human

heart in its treatment of the Son of God?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

What lessons do we learn from Peter's action? What

proofs have we in the lesson of the Deity of

Christ? What proofs of the {355} desperate

wickedness of the human heart? In what points does

Jesus set us an example in this lesson? In what

points did the Jewish rulers do wrong? What is the

most important lesson of the passage?

{356}

@05 CHAPTER FIVE

TEXTUAL SERMONS IN OUTLINE

We print in this chapter a number of outlines of

textual sermons. It is not intended that these

outlines shall be used exactly as here given; they

are simply offered by way of illustration and

suggestion. We first give outlines of sermons for

Christians, and afterward outlines of sermons for

the unsaved.

# LOVE TO CHRIST

"I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die

at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts

21:13.

INTRODUCTION.-- This text reveals the secret of

the beauty and untiring activity and matchless

success of the life of Paul. This secret can be

put in three words, LOVE TO CHRIST. The Lord Jesus

had Paul's whole heart. There have been many great

men and great women in the history of the church

of Jesus Christ. Some of their names we know. Some

of their names we do not know now, but we shall

some day. These great men and women are the men

and women who have had a great love for Jesus. A

man may have great gifts, but, if he has not great

love for Christ, he is after all as a sounding

brass and a clanging cymbal. Men and women who

have a great love for Jesus -- that is what the

church needs today. And a great love to Christ is

what each one of us needs in our own heart.

I. WHAT LOVE TO CHRIST WILL LEAD TO.

1. To Obedience to Christ. John 14:15.

To the one who loves Jesus the words of Jesus

will be his most precious treasure. John 14:21,23.

The one who loves the Lord Jesus will not be

content with doing the will of {357} Jesus when

the knowledge of that will is forced upon his

attention. It will be his constant study to

discover more and more about the will of Jesus.

2. Purity.

Jesus is the Holy One of God. He is infinitely

pure. He hates sin. He hates sin in the life. He

hates sin in the heart. If I love Him I will wish

to be all that pleases Him.

3. Study about Him.

We all wish to know all we can about those we

love. If we love Jesus we will study about Him. We

will study the four gospels and the prophecies and

the epistles and the Revelation of Jesus, Not from

a sense of duty but because we want to know about

Jesus.

4. Communion with Jesus.

We always delight in communion with those we

love.

5. Love to Christ will lead to likeness to Christ.

We grow like those we love.

6. Love to Christ will lead us to work for Christ.

7. Love to Jesus will lead to sacrifices for

Jesus.

Listen to the catalogue of what Paul gladly

bore for Christ. 2_Corinthians 11:24-27.

8. If we love Jesus we will proclaim Jesus.

II. HOW LEARN TO LOVE HIM.

Some of us have said in our hearts, "I wonder if I

do love Christ?" Well, the Bible tells how to have

love.

1. We learn to love Christ by dwelling upon His

love to us. 1_John 4:19.

2. To learn to love Jesus we must study much of

Him in the Scriptures. The way to learn to love

Him is learn to know Him.

3. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us to love

Jesus. He takes of the things of Jesus and shows

them unto us. He bears witness of Jesus. He

imparts to us His own love for Christ.

4. We learn to love Jesus at the Lord's table.

There we see Jesus. {358}

# LOVE FOR SOULS

"Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space

of three years I ceased not to warn every one

night and day with tears." Acts 20:31.

INTRODUCTION. -- This text gives us a look into

the life and into the heart of Paul that stirs

one's soul to the very depths. It is one of the

most wonderful pictures in the Bible. (Picture.)

It opens to us one of the great secrets of Paul's

power.

I. The Importance of Love for Souls.

1. Because love for souls is an essential element

of Christlike character. Not to have a love for

souls is to be radically unlike Christ.

2. Because love for souls is necessary to

successful efforts for their salvation.

3. Because lack of love for souls reveals either

great hardness of heart or inexcusable ignorance.

II. How Manifested.

1. In a deep concern for their salvation.

2. In earnest efforts for their salvation.

3. In our being in a constant lookout for

opportunities to have some one.

4. In going out to seek for them.

5. In joy over lost souls saved.

6. In sacrifices made to save them.

7. In deep sorrow of soul for those who will not

be saved. Too often we are provoked rather than

sad.

III. How Obtain.

The great fact to bear in mind in seeking an

answer to this question is that love for souls is

the work of the Holy Spirit. This we all believe

theoretically. I wish we might be made to see it

vividly and feel it to the very depths of our

soul. Feel it deeply that the Holy Spirit alone

can impart to you this glorious grace.

But on what conditions does He impart it?

1. A deep and genuine desire on our part for a

love of souls. {359}

2. Prayer. Luke 11:13. The prayer should be

definite. Not merely for the work of the Holy

Spirit in general, but for this specific and

definite work of the Spirit. It seems to be a law

of the Holy Spirit's operation that He only gives

that which we definitely see to be His work and

definitely seek. Prayer. Expectant. Personal.

3. The Spirit works through instrumentalities. The

Truth. What Truth?

(a) The value of the soul.

(b) The peril of the soul.

4. The Spirit works more largely as we put into

operation what He has already wrought. Go to work.

# SOUL WINNING

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and

he that winneth souls is wise." Proverbs 11:20.

INTRODUCTION: -- Men's answers to the question who

is the wise man. God's answer, "He that winneth

souls is wise." Every wise man will make

soul-winning the business of life.

I. Because it is the work Christ has appointed us

to do. Matthew 28;19; Mark 16:15.

This is Christ's commission to His disciples. Not

to apostles only. The apostolic church undoubtedly

understood that the commission was for the whole

church and not merely to the officials. Acts 8:4.

The idea of the church so prevalent today that

soul winning is the business of a few officials in

the church is utterly foreign to the New Testament

ideas of the church. There every believer is a

soul winner.

II. Because it was the business of life with Jesus

Christ and by making it the business of our lives

we are following Him. Luke 19:10.

No one has a right to call himself a follower of

Christ who is not a soul winner, who is not going

out to seek and save the lost. {360}

III. Because it is the work in which we shall

enjoy the unspeakable privilege of Christ's

personal presence. Matthew 28:20.

It is a wonder that men pay so little attention to

the very clearly stated condition of the promise.

It is when we go His way that He goes ours. It is

when we go forth with Him that He goes forth with

us.

IV. Because it is the work for which the gift of

the Holy Spirit is bestowed and in which we enjoy

the fullness of the Spirit's power. Acts 1:8.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is bestowed for a

special purpose and enjoyed in a special work.

That we may be witnesses, that we may have power

in soul winning, not merely for our own personal

blessing and enjoyment.

V. Because it is the work that produces the most

beneficent results. James 5:20.

It saves souls from death. Three things here to

notice.

1. The value of that which is saved, a soul. Mark

8:36.

2. The second thing to notice is the awfulness of

that from which the soul is saved, "from death."

Not a mere cessation of existence but the

degradation of existence, eternal shame and

infamy, agony.

3. That to which the soul is saved.

To happiness.

To holiness.

To glory.

To fellowship, and likeness to God.

VI. Because it is the work that brings the largest

and most enduring reward. John 4:36; Daniel 12:3.

Many wish to shine here on earth. I would rather

shine up there in eternal splendor. The brightest

star in any galaxy of earthly glory soon fades.

Earthly glory is not worth the seeking. But it

pays to shine up there, to shine as the stars

forever and ever.

CONCLUSION. -- Will you make soul-winning the

great business of your life? Oh for a church of

men and women who would {361} say, and say

honestly, "From this time I live for one purpose.

I live to seek and save the lost. As God gives me

health, by consecrated living, by earnest and

unceasing praying, by unwearied working, I will do

what lies in me to rescue the perishing."

# SAVING SOULS FROM DEATH

"He which converteth a sinner from the error of

his way shall save a soul from death." James 5:20.

I. The Glory of the Work.

Those are stirring words. -- Startling words. Are

there souls in danger of death? There are. Where?

About us everywhere. Every soul that has erred

from the truth is in the way of death and unless

converted will perish forever. The darkness

eternal and eternal death will soon close in upon

him. But if we arise and by the power that God

gives us convert that soul from the error of his

way we will have saved a soul from death. It is a

great privilege to save a human life. But what is

that from saving a soul from death? The life we

save must soon be given up after all. But when I

save a soul I save its eternity. One soul saved

for eternity is worth a million lives saved for

ten, fifteen, twenty or fifty years. And how much

more fearful is that from which the soul is saved.

When the soul finally dies there is no hope

beyond.

II. Who Can Save Souls?

Every one of us. It is God of course in the last

analysis who converts sinners and saves souls. But

the text makes it very plain that He does this

glorious work through us. There are some who would

sit down and wait until God saw fit to convert the

sinner. The farmer might as well sit down and wait

until God saw fit to give a harvest. God saves no

souls without us. The number of unsaved men on the

earth today who will be saved depends entirely

upon the faithfulness of those who are already

saved.

III. How Can We Convert Sinners.

1. First of all by prayer. 1_John 5:16. Prayer

avails more than any other thing for the

conversion of sinners. {362}

2. In the next place we can convert others from

the error of their ways, and so save them, by

taking them to the place where they will hear the

Word of God preached in purity and in power.

3. We can convert sinners from the error of their

ways and so save their souls from death by

ourselves giving them the Word of God in the power

of the Spirit. You may not be able to preach, but

you can do personal work.

4. We can convert sinners and so save their souls

by giving our testimony of what the Lord has done

for us.

5. By the use of tracts and books. If you cannot

talk much you can give others a good tract and get

them to read it.

CONCLUSION. -- These are some of the ways to save

souls. There may be others but these are enough to

begin with. Now begin. Begin today and then keep

it up as long as you live.

# WHY EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD WORK WITH ALL HIS

MIGHT FOR THE SALVATION OF THE LOST

"He which converteth a sinner from the error of

his way shall save a soul from death." James 5:20.

INTRODUCTION. -- Every Christian should work with

all his might for the salvation of the lost. There

is something seriously wrong with any professed

Christian who is not working constantly and

working hard to get men to forsake sin and to

accept Jesus. Such a person is fearfully

backslidden. One of the most important marks of a

true and satisfactory Christian experience is an

earnest desire to see others saved, and constant

efforts to that end. Luke 19;10.

I. Why?

1. Because God is glorified by the salvation of

the lost. Nothing glorifies God more than the

conversion of a sinner. John 17:4; John 3:16.

2. Every Christian should work with all his might

for the salvation of the lost, because God has

commanded us to do this work.

3. Every Christian should work, etc., because of

love to them. It is an awful thing to think of

what it means to be lost. It {363} is an awful

thing to think of what it means to be lost now, to

say nothing of what it means to be lost hereafter.

What can we do for others like saving them from

sin and from its consequences? How our hearts are

stirred when we hear of millions whose bodies are

starving in India and elsewhere, but what is this

to millions whose souls are starving, who are in

sin away from God and without Christ? It is better

far to save one perishing soul than to save ten

million starving bodies.

4. Every Christian should, etc., for his own sake.

Our eternal reward depends upon our earnestness

and untiring activity in soul winning. Daniel

12:3. Every new soul won is a new jewel in our

Savior's crown and a new jewel in our crown.

II. How?

1. By prayer. Praying for the lost is not only our

duty toward the lost, but it is our first duty. We

can accomplish more in that way than in any other

single way.

2. By effort. Prayer is the first thing but not

the only thing. Begin trying to lead men to

Christ.

3. By training. We must train for the work in

order to do the best work.

4. Seek and obtain God's power. Acts 1:8. This

power is for us all. Luke 11:13; Acts 2:39; Acts

5:32. Every Christian man and woman here can have

the power of the Holy Ghost. Give yourself wholly

to God. Ask, believe, claim and go to work.

# WITNESSING

"A true witness delivereth souls." Proverbs 14:25.

INTRODUCTION: -- Our text today tells us one way

and a most effective way of saving souls, that is,

by witnessing, "A true witness delivereth souls."

By testifying to the truth, especially to the

truth concerning Jesus, we bring men to accept

Jesus and thus deliver them from guilt and sin and

from eternal death. This was the work of John the

Baptist. John 1:7. This was the work of the

apostles. John 15:27. This is the work of the Holy

Spirit. John 15:26. This was the work of Jesus

Himself. Isaiah 55:4; John 18:37. {364}

I. Who Should Be a Witness?

To this question the answer is very plain, every

one who knows Jesus. If you have found Jesus,

there rests upon you a solemn obligation to tell

others about Him. What would you think if people

were dying by the thousand of a plague and some

man had knowledge of a sure cure and kept it to

himself for fear some one might not listen to him

or might laugh at him?

II. To What?

1. First of all and most of all to Jesus Christ.

Acts 10;43; John 15:26. It is not so much of

doctrines as of a person that we should speak, of

Jesus, His death, His resurrection, and the power

of His death and resurrection, as we know them in

our own lives.

III. When and Where?

Testify wherever you get a chance and whenever you

get a chance. Paul is a pretty good example. We

find in giving his testimony in the synagogue, in

the market places, from house to house, in the

open air, by the riverside, in jail, on shipboard,

in camp, at his work, at meals, to Jews, to

Gentiles, to theological professors, to

ecclesiastical courts, to governors, to kings and

queens, to jailors, to soldiers, to sailors,

everywhere and all times of the day and night, and

to everybody. A few specific places:

1. In our homes. Mark 5;19.

2. In our places of business.

3. On the streets.

4. The church meetings for testimony.

IV. What Are the Conditions of Effective

Witnessing?

1. The first condition is a true life back of the

testimony. If a man is not straight in his

business, the more he keeps his mouth shut about

Christ, the better it is for the Christ and His

cause.

2. The second condition of effective testimony is

personal knowledge of the facts. If we are to be

effective witnesses {365} for Christ and His

truth we must seek the largest and clearest

possible knowledge of Him and of the truth as it

is in Him.

3. The third and crowning condition of effective

witnessing is the enduement of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8. There is great power in Holy Ghost

testimony. There is little power in our testimony

if the Holy Ghost be not upon us.

# SPREADING THE GOSPEL

"Therefore they that were scattered abroad went

everywhere preaching the word." Acts 8:4.

INTRODUCTION. -- Seven years after Pentecost the

church and the Gospel were still very largely

confined to the city of Jerusalem. Then God

stirred up the nest and sent them forth. The

Gospel was spread by preaching it. There are four

things in the text to notice. Who preached, what

they preached, why they preached, where they

preached.

I. Who Preached?

"They that were scattered abroad," i.e., the rank

and file of the church (cf. Acts 8:1). They simply

spoke the Word. Wherever they went they told the

story of Jesus and salvation in Him and what He

had done for them. This is the most effectual and

the most needed kind of preaching. This is the

only way the Gospel will ever have that spread

that Christ intended it should have, by everybody

who knows it and believes it and has felt its

power telling it out among those with whom they

come in contact.

II. What They Preached.

Notice what they preached. "Preaching the Word,"

or if we were to translate literally, "telling the

good news of the Word." They declared God's own

Word.

III. Why They Preached.

1. First of all they preached the Word because

they believed it. 2_Corinthians 4:13. How can any

one believe this book and the wonderful promises

it contains and not speak? {366}

2. They preached in the next place because they

believed men were perishing. That was what the

Word told them. John 3:36.

3. Because they had themselves been blessed by the

Word. How can any one who has tasted the blessings

of the Gospel and keep it to himself?

4. Because their Master had so commanded them.

Matthew 28:19.

IV. Where They Preached.

They preached "everywhere."

# PENTECOSTAL POWER

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,

they were all with one accord in one place. And

suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a

rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the houses

where they were sitting. And there appeared unto

them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it sat

upon each of them. And they were all filled with

the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other

tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts

2:1-4.

INTRODUCTION. -- The second chapter of Acts forms

one of the most inspiring, if not the most

inspiring, page of Christian history. There is a

hush. Then suddenly there comes straight from the

throne of the ascended Christ a sound of a mighty

rushing wind. They know what it means. Startled

and yet filled with unutterable joy at the

fulfillment of the promise for which they had so

long waited they look up. A strange sight fastens

their gaze. Describe. Summarize rest of chapter.

This Pentecostal power is the subject of our

study.

I. The Character of Power.

Acts 1:8. It was power for testimony and service.

II. The Source of the Power.

Acts 1:8. The Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God

Himself wielded the Sword of the Spirit. {367}

III. The Human Conditions of the Power.

In other words, what had the 120 done that

prepared the way for and made certain the coming

of the Holy Spirit in this Pentecostal Display of

Power?

1. The disciples were wholly surrendered to

Christ.

2. The disciples were obedient. Ch. 1:4, comp.

2:1.

3. The disciples recognized their need. Ch. 1:14.

There must be a clear recognition.

4. The disciples intensely desired. Ch.1:14; ch.

2:1. For ten days they bent their thought and

prayer largely to this one point.

5. The disciples prayed. Ch. 1:14. Luke 11:13.

6. The disciples believed. They expected. 1_John

5:14-15.

IV. How Manifested.

1. Spoke in the Spirit's power. v. 4. Gave up

their own strength and wisdom and used God's.

2. Testified to "the mighty works of God." No talk

of self. Self was lost sight of.

3. Preached CHRIST. vs.22-35.

R. Results.

1. Multitude, amazed, marveled, perplexed. vs.

6-7, 12.

2. Some mocked. v.13.

3. "Men pricked to their hearts." v.37. Genuine

conviction. The need of this day.

4. Genuine conversion. vs. 41-42.

CONCLUSION. -- Can we have this power and similar

results? Yes, if we will meet the conditions.

Hebrews 13:8. Acts 2:39.

# THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN

"The supplication of a righteous man availeth much

in its working." James 5:16 RV.

INTRODUCTION. -- The Revised Version is a decided

improvement upon the Authorized Version. First,

because it brings out the character of the prayer,

"supplication." Secondly, because the {368}

Authorized Version produces the impression that

the petitions of a righteous man avail much when

they are offered in fervency, while the Revised

Version correctly gives the impression that all

petitions of a righteous man are effective.

The central thought of our text is that there is a

great force or power, great ability to effect

results, in the prayer of a righteous man. The

word translated "Availeth" is precisely the same

word translated "can do" in Philippians 4:13. If

it were translated the same here the verse would

read, "The prayer of a righteous man can do much

because (or while) it worketh." The prayer of a

righteous man can do much.

I. For Whom can the Prayer of a Righteous Man Do

Much?

1. First for himself.

If we wish anything for ourselves the most

effective way to get it is to ask for it. Prayer

avails much in our own lives. It obtains what can

be obtained in no other way, and things that can

be obtained in other ways are oftentimes obtained

in a less questionable way and in a way much more

to God's glory by prayer.

(a) Prayer can get victory over besetting sin.

(b) Prayer obtains wisdom. James 1:5.

understanding of the Word of God. Psalm 119:18.

Prayer will remove more difficulties in the

understanding of the Word than the Commentaries

will.

(d) Prayer brings Christ to dwell in our hearts by

faith. Ephesians 3:14,17.

(e) Prayer avails to bring the Holy Spirit in all

His fullness, with all His graces and bestowments

of power into our hearts and lives. Luke 11:13.

In every direction prayer avails for our spiritual

welfare and strength and growth as almost nothing

else does. Isaiah 40:31.

(f) Prayer not only avails in spiritual lines but

in temporal as well. Philippians 4:6.

2. The prayer of a righteous man can do much not

only for himself but for others. {369}

(a) It can do much for the unsaved. 1_John 5:16.

(b) Prayer can do much for your preacher. It will

bring him wisdom, and the power of the Holy Ghost.

Ephesians 6:19-20.

There are other directions in which prayer can do

much for the church, for missions, for civil

government.

CONCLUSION. -- In closing, note whose prayer it is

that so avails. "The prayer of a righteous man."

That is the prayer of a man who orders his life

according to God's will as revealed in His Word.

John 3:22.

# A MIGHTY PRAYER

"Then the fire of God fell." 1_Kings 18:38.

INTRODUCTION. -- This world has been witness to

many mighty prayers -- prayers that have wrought

marvelous results. But there have been few prayers

recorded in the world's history that have produced

more marked and astonishing results than the one

whose answer is described in our text. Describe

circumstances and scene. That prayer brought the

fire of God down to this earth. A mighty prayer.

He was a man with "like passions with us." James

5:17 RV. So we can by prayer effect as great

things as Elijah did.

How Elijah Prayed.

1. We notice first of all that Elijah's prayer was

to the true and living God.

2. Elijah's prayer was the prayer of a man who was

obeying God. (v.36). God demands reciprocity. If

He is to do what we ask of Him, we must do what He

asks of us.

3. Elijah's prayer was for God's glory ("Let it be

known this day that thou art God in Israel").

4. Elijah's prayer was for something God had

promised or had stirred him up to ask for. ("Let

it be known," etc., "I have done all these things

at thy word.")

If you wish to pray as Elijah did, wait upon God

as he did to teach you by His Word or by His

Spirit what to pray for.

5. Elijah's prayer was based upon shed blood.

{370}

6. Elijah's prayer was earnest.

7. It was a believing prayer. Elijah had no doubt

that he would get what he asked.

# WORSHIP

"The hour cometh and now is when the true

worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and

in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship

him." John 4:23.

INTRODUCTION. -- This text informs us that God is

seeking worshippers (RV). The one thing above all

else that God desires of men is worship. It is

sometimes said "we are saved that we may serve."

This is true, but it is still more profoundly true

that we are saved that we may worship.

I. What is Worship?

It is a definite act of the soul in relation to

God. The term is used in our day in a very vague

and general and unscriptural way. The worship of

God is the soul bowing down before God is absorbed

contemplation of Himself. "In our prayer we are

occupied with our needs, in thanksgiving we are

occupied with our blessings, in worship we are

occupied with Himself."

II. The Duty and Blessedness of Worship.

1. We owe worship to God. It is our first duty

toward Him. There is definite commandment in the

N.T. as well as the Old that we worship Him. If we

do not worship God we are robbing Him of that

which is His due.

2. But worship is not only a duty, it is a

privilege, a privilege full of blessing.

(a) There is no deeper joy, no purer joy than that

which springs from the adoring contemplation of

God.

(b) It also brings likeness to Him. It is by

looking at Him we are made like Him. Our complete

transformation into His likeness will come through

the complete and undimmed vision of Himself.

it brings power, power for life, power also for

service. {371}

III. How to Worship Acceptably.

1. "In the Spirit." This means in the Holy Spirit.

Compare Philippians 3:3 RV. The only true worship,

the worship which is acceptable to God, is the

worship which the Holy Spirit inspires.

2. The only acceptable worship is worship offered

through Christ. John 14:6.

3. "In truth." That is, in reality.

CONCLUSION. -- Shall we not say that there shall

be more of worship in our lives from this time,

and that our worship shall be of that character

that God seeks from us?

# SEPARATION

"Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye

separate, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean

thing; and I will receive you, and will be to you

a father, and ye shall be to me sons and

daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2_Corinthians

6:17-18 RV.

INTRODUCTION. -- In this text we have a very

precious promise, but also a very plain and

explicit commandment.

All of Israel's ills in the Old Testament arose

from the fact that they did not heed Jehovah's

call to separation. Psalm 116:34-36, 39-42. The

believer's failure to heed God's call to

separation is the cause of the powerlessness and

lack of blessing in the individual and the church.

I. First of all it is clear that we must separate

ourselves from every form of sin. Ch. 7:1.

II. In the next place there should be separation

from the methods and practices and fashions of the

world. Romans 12:1-2.

A Christian is a citizen of another world, and has

no right to take his pattern from this.

(Philippians 3:20 RV.)

III. There should be separation from worldly

affiliations.

This comes out clearly in the words which precede

our text. Vs.14-16. The child of God has no right

to enter into any partnership with the unsaved. A

woman who is a believer, {372} i.e., who has a

saving faith in Jesus Christ, has no right to

enter into a matrimonial yoke with an unbeliever,

i.e., one who has not a saving faith in Jesus

Christ. Nehemiah 13:26.

A Christian has no right to be yoked together in

business partnership with an unsaved man.

IV. There should be separation from everything

that entangleth. 2_Timothy 2:4.

V. There should be separation from professed

Christians who are living in known sin.

1_Corinthians 5:11.

VI. There should be separation from professed

Christians who walk disorderly, i.e., who refuse

to obey the teachings of the Word. 2_Timothy

3:6,14.

This does not mean that there should be separation

from a brother who is merely {weak} in the faith.

VII. The Commandment is not, "come out from the

church."

It was coming out from unbelievers and idolaters

that Paul was talking about. Read vs. 14:18.

Nothing was further from Paul's thought than

telling people to come out of the church. True

separation is not merely separation from but

separation to. Our separation is from all

uncleanness UNTO CHRIST.

VIII. True separation will not only be a

separation unto Christ but also a separation unto

all those who belong to Christ.

# A REMARKABLE ROBBERY

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me."

Malachi 3:8.

INTRODUCTION. -- When the strange question of the

text is first put to us, we are disposed to answer

at once, "No, certainly not, certainly no one will

reach such a pitch of blind and desperate

wickedness as to rob God." But God gives a

different answer. He says, "Ye have robbed me."

{373}

I. How Can a Man Rob God?

A man can rob God by holding back from Him

anything that is His due.

1. The gifts and offerings that are His due. All

our money belongs to God.

2. The time that is His due.

3. The service that is due Him.

4. The surrender that is due Him.

5. The glory that is due Him. No glory is due to

ourselves for any of our achievements, physical,

mental or spiritual. No one of us has a right to

boast of anything we accomplish. The Glory all

belongs to God, and to Him we should render it. If

we take to ourselves this glory that rightfully

belongs to God we have robbed Him of His due.

6. The confession that is due Him. We owe to God

the Father and to His Son Jesus Christ to confess

them as our God and Savior before the world.

7. The thanksgiving that is His due.

8. The worship that is due. Worship is due to God

from man. This is God's first great claim upon

man. This is His supreme right. If you do not give

it you rob Him.

II. The Monstrous Guilt of Robbing God.

"What of it?" "What of robbing God?" To rob God

is infinitely more monstrous than to rob man.

1. God's rights are the supreme rights. All our

modern moral philosophy is out of joint because it

puts the rights of the finite above the rights of

the infinite -- the rights of the creature above

the rights of the creator.

2. The monstrousness of robbing God is seen if we

think of the way in which God has dealt with us.

God is love and all His ways with man are ways of

love.

III. The consequences of Robbing God.

Malachi 3:9. "Ye are cursed with a curse." The

whole land of Israel was cursed because they

robbed God. The fundamental {374} cause of the

want and misery and ruin that fill this land today

is that the nation has robbed God. What is true of

the nation is true of the individual. Our robbery

of God is withholding from us the fullness of

blessing God has for us.

CONCLUSION. -- We have seen some of the ways in

which man robs God, we have seen the enormity of

this sin, we have seen the curse and blight that

come into our own lives from it. The practical

conclusion of the whole matter is self-evident.

Let us repent of our sin today, let us confess it

to God today, let us render to Him today and from

this time on the full measure of that which is due

Him, and He will open the windows of heaven and

pour into our lives a blessing that there shall

not be room enough to contain it, an overflowing

blessing.

# WALKING WITH GOD

"Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God

took him." Genesis 5:24.

INTRODUCTION. -- This is one of the most

fascinating and thrilling verses in the Bible. It

sounds more like a song from a heavenly world than

a plain statement of an historic fact regarding a

humble inhabitant of this world of ours.

I. What is it to walk with God?

To walk with God means to live one's life in the

consciousness of God's presence and in conscious

communion with Him, to have the thought constantly

before us, "God is beside me," and to be every now

and then speaking to Him and, still more,

listening for Him to speak to us. In a word, to

walk with God is to live in the real, conscious

companionship of God. Enoch walked with God not on

a few rare occasions of spiritual exaltation, such

perhaps as most of us have known, but for 300

consecutive years after the birth of Methuselah.

Genesis 6:22. It is possible for us to have the

consciousness of the nearness and fellowship of

God in our daily life, to talk with Him as we talk

to an earthly friend -- yes, as we talk to no

earthly friend -- and to have Him talk to us, to

commune with Him {375} too in a silence that is

far more meaningful than any words could be.

II. The Results of Walking with God.

1. Great joy, abounding joy. Psalm 6:11.

In one of the loneliest hours of His lonely life

Jesus looked up and said, I am not alone because

the Father is with me. John 16:32.

2. Abiding peace. Psalm 16:8,11.

3. Spiritual enlightenment.

Communion with God rather than scholarship opens

to us the mind and thoughts of God.

4. Purity of heart and life. Nothing is so

cleansing as the consciousness of God's presence.

5. Beauty of character. We become like those with

whom we habitually associate.

6. Eminent usefulness.

Enoch has wrought out immeasurably more good for

man than Nebuchadnezzar, who built the marvelous

structures of Babylon; than Augustus, who "found

Rome brick and left it marble"; than the Egyptian

monarchs, who built the pyramids.

7. We please God. Hebrews 11:5 RV. This is more

than to be useful.

8. God's eternal companionship. "Enoch walked with

God: and he was not; for God took him."

III. How to Enter into a Walk with God.

1. First of all we must trust in the atoning blood

of Christ. Hebrews 11:5, cf.v.4.

God is holy and we are sinners. Sin separates as a

deep and impassable chasm between us and Him.

There can be no walking with Him until sin is put

away, and it is the blood that puts away sin.

Hebrews 9:22.

2. If we would walk with God we must obey God.

John 14:23 RV. {376}

3. If we would walk with God we must cultivate the

thought of His presence. We must "practice the

presence of God."

# THE BELIEVER'S DEAREST TREASURE

"Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for

the excellency of knowledge of Christ Jesus my

Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things,

and do count them but dung, that I may gain

Christ." Philippians 3:8 RV.

INTRODUCTION. -- It is evident from this text that

the believer's Greatest Treasure is Christ

Himself. To the true believer Christ is infinitely

dearer than all else. He counts all things but

refuse in comparison with Christ. But why is

Christ the believer's Dearest Treasure?

I. Because of What He has Done for Us.

When we learn the meaning of Paul's words, "He

loved me and gave himself for me," then we cannot

help but cry with Paul, "I count all things," etc.

II. Because of What He has Brought to Us.

1. First of all, Christ has brought us pardon.

2. He has brought us peace.

3. He has brought us victory. He has brought us

victory over sin.

4. He has brought us fruitfulness.

5. Eternal life. ETERNAL LIFE. _E_T_E_R_N_A_L_

_L_I_F_E_.

III. Because of What He Himself is.

Jesus Christ is vastly more than anything He has

done or brought. If we must lose all and

everything and could have Jesus He would satisfy

every longing, and fill every crevice and corner

of the heart. Do you know the most precious

promise of this Book? Listen! "We shall see him as

he is."

# CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

"Christ loved the church," etc. Ephesians 5:25-27.

I. Christ's Relation to the Church.

Christ's relation to the church is summed up in

one word. He LOVED it. That love has manifested

itself in the past in one {377} way. It is

manifesting itself in the present in another way.

It will manifest itself in the future in still

another way.

1. Christ's love for the church in the past has

manifested itself by His giving Himself for it.

2. The love of Christ is manifesting itself in the

present in sanctifying it and cleansing it. In

separating it from the world unto God, and in

cleansing it from its sin. This He does by His

Word. This sanctifying and cleansing by the Word

is really effected by Christ Himself coming to

dwell in us. So we may say that Christ manifested

His love for us in the past in giving Himself FOR

us, and He is manifesting His love to us in the

present by giving Himself up TO us.

3. Christ's love has not completely manifested

itself even yet. It has a future manifestation.

This same epistle tells us that the great

manifestation of His love lies in the future. That

it is "in the ages to come" that God is to "show

the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness

toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:7. What is

to be the future manifestation of Christ's love

for the church? Read v. 27 RV. He is going to take

the church by the hand and present it to Himself

as His own bride -- all glorious -- not having one

single spot -- not having one smallest wrinkle --

not anything of that sort -- but holy, and without

blemish. Oh, stand and contemplate the Bride of

Christ as Christ Himself shall make her in the

future manifestation of His love at His coming. "A

GLORIOUS CHURCH."

# GRIEVING THE SPIRIT

"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye

were sealed unto the day of redemption." Ephesians

4:30 RV.

I. Meaning of the Text.

1. These words bring out very clearly the

personality of the Holy Spirit.

2. The words again bring out the love of the

Spirit. The Holy Spirit's deep personal love for

the children of God.

3. The words of the text bring out very forcibly

the absolute holiness of the Spirit. {378} The

Holy Spirit is grieved by our foolish and wicked

words and deeds and thoughts, not merely because

He loves us, but because He is holy, and abhors

all that is unholy, and grieves when anything

unholy touches those He loves.

II. To Whom does Paul Write these Words?

To Christian people, to saved saints. In our text

itself he speaks of those to whom he writes as

being "sealed unto the day of redemption." It is

the child of God who grieves the Holy Spirit of

God. He does not leave us when we grieve Him. It

is not the Bible, but modern perversion of the

Bible that speaks of the "grieving the Spirit

AWAY." We are sealed by Him not for a day or a

week or a year, but "unto the day of redemption."

# GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD

"Grieve not the holy Spirit of God." Ephesians

4:30.

INTRODUCTION. -- The fact that our wrong acts,

words and thoughts cause such deep grief to our

great friend and constant companion, the Holy

Spirit, is a mighty motive for a life pure in

word, deed and thought.

By just what sort of acts is the Holy Spirit

grieved? The Apostle mentions some of them very

definitely in the passage of which our text is the

keynote.

I. First of all, lying is one of the things that

grieves the Holy Spirit. v.25.

The Holy Spirit is "the spirit of truth," and He

hates with immeasurable hatred all falsehoods

--all lies-- black lies and white lies. It causes

great grief to Him when a lie escapes the lips of

a child of God. {379}

II. We grieve the Holy Spirit by uncontrolled

anger. v.26.

III. The next thing that is mentioned as grieving

the Holy Spirit is stealing. v.28.

Some of you think, That surely doesn't mean me.

Are you quite sure about it? What does it mean to

steal? To take something from another without

giving him a just equivalent.

IV. The Holy Spirit is grieved by corrupt

conversation. v.29.

"Corrupt speech" literally translated would read

"rotten speech." But you will note that it is not

enough to abstain from corrupt speech; we must

speak "such as is good for edifying, as the need

may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.

" The Holy Spirit is grieved not only over our use

of corrupt speech, but also over our neglect of

good speech.

V. There is a whole class of actions, words and

feelings that grieve the Holy Spirit.

You will find them in v.31.

1. Bitterness.

2. Wrath, sudden anger.

3. Anger, settled anger.

4. Clamor. That means the noisy assertion of our

own rights and wrongs.

5. Evil speaking.

6. All malice. That is the root of all the rest of

the evils mentioned.

In contrast with these actions that grieve the

Holy Spirit cited in v.31, verse 32 sets forth the

attitude of heart and life toward one another that

is well pleasing to Him. Unless we are thus "Kind,

tender hearted," the Spirit is grieved.

CONCLUSION. -- Let me say in closing there is one

way in which we may always be sure of pleasing

Him, i.e., by surrendering to Him the absolute

control of all our thoughts, words and acts, by

being "filled with the Spirit" in every realm of

our being and life. {380}

# GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT

"Grieve not the holy Spirit of God." Ephesians

4:30.

INTRODUCTION. -- These words should be so deeply

engraved upon the heart of every child of God that

they should never be forgotten. They are words

that should ring in our ears day and night, in all

our temptations to do unholy things; in our

personal lives, in our home life, in our social

life, in our business life, in our church life.

Reflection upon these words will help us to solve

many perplexing problems. Ought I to do this

thing? many a Christian has often to ask. Always

settle such questions in the light of the text,

Will it grieve the Holy One of God, or will it

delight the Holy Spirit of God if I do it?

I. Why not Grieve the Holy Spirit?

1. First of all we ought not to grieve the Holy

Spirit out of consideration for Him.

The claims of the Holy Spirit upon each of us are

infinitely greater than those of a mother. We

should have a more tender consideration for Him

than for her. Not only is He a being of wondrous

dignity and glory, a Divine being, whose rights

are supreme, but He is a being of wondrous,

matchless tenderness and love. A mother's love is

nothing to the love of the Spirit.

2. We ought not to grieve the Holy Spirit out of

consideration for ourselves.

The results of grieving the Holy Spirit are very

grievous to ourselves. What are they? The Holy

Spirit cannot do His whole work when He is

grieved. He is hindered from doing in us what He

would do. For any measure of blessing and power in

any direction we are absolutely dependent upon the

Holy Spirit.

(a) If the Holy Spirit is grieved, our prayers

will be hindered.

(b) The great secret of profitable Bible study is

studying the Bible under the Holy Spirit as our

teacher. If then the Holy Spirit is grieved, we

lose something of our joy in Bible Study and

almost all of our profit. {381}

Spirit. Galatians 5:22. If, then, the Spirit is

grieved, our joy will be hindered. We may even

lose altogether the joy of our salvation.

(d) Power in service is lost by grieving the

Spirit. The warning of our text is a very

important and very solemn one. How much depends

upon our heeding it!

II. How We Grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

Anything that is unholy or wrong in deed or word

or act grieves Him.

# BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

"Be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18.

I. The Exact Meaning and Force of the Words.

1. Look at the word "filled." That is a big word,

and it grows upon one as he looks at it. "Filled."

"Be filled with the Spirit." How many of us can

deliberately and honestly say, "I am FILLED with

the Spirit"? "Filled." To be filled with the

Spirit means to have the Spirit pervading with His

holy and glorious presence every chamber and nook

and corner of your being, controlling every

purpose, every affection, every thought, every

fancy, every action, every utterance.

2. The tense of the verb is the present, which

indicates that the process of filling must be

continuous and constant. It will give Paul's

thought, to translate it, "Be continually getting

filled." Yesterday's filling will not do for

today. We must be like glasses that are kept full

of water by being kept constantly under the

ever-flowing fountain. And each new filling should

be larger than the last.

3. Notice the word "with." Literally translated

the passage would read, "be filled in the Spirit."

The thought is that the sphere of the believer's

life is "in the Spirit," and he must let this Holy

Spirit in which he is and lives get into him and

fill him. If we are believers in Christ we are "in

the Spirit." He surrounds us and rests upon us

with His glorious and holy presence, but He may

not be in us yet in any {382} large measure. We

may be half full still, or nearly full still with

the muddy water of our own pleasures and notions

and purposes and ambitions. Paul's thought is to

let this water of life in which you float flow in

and expel all else until the tumbler itself is

full of that in which it floats.

II. The Obligation.

Having found the exact meaning of the words, let

us look at the solemn obligation of obedience to

them.

1. Paul's words are a command. They are in the

imperative mood.

2. But there is a further obligation to be filled

with the Spirit because if we are not filled we

dishonor Jesus Christ. Every Christian who is not

filled with the Spirit dishonors Jesus Christ.

3. Not being filled with the Holy Spirit is not

merely a serious lack, it is a grievous sin.

It is a sin out of which many other sins spring.

The only way to prevent the flesh bringing forth

its awful brood of vices and sins is by being

filled with the Spirit.

III. The Results of being Filled with the Spirit.

1. The first result would doubtless be new love.

Galatians 5:22.

2. The second result will be great joy. The fruit

of the Spirit is first love, then joy. The Holy

Spirit is "the oil of gladness." Get filled with

the Spirit and you will be filled with gladness.

3. Other graces of character will follow. "Peace,

longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

meekness, temperance. Galatians 5:22-23. A

spirit-filled man will be a lovely man and a

spirit-filled woman will be a lovely woman.

4. Thanksgiving. v. 20.

5. Power in prayer. Eph. 6:18.

6. Power in service. Acts 1:8.

IV. How?

The truth is, the Holy Spirit is dwelling in each

one of us {Christians} and wants to fill us if

only we will let Him. Our chief business in the

matter is to let go the hindrances. {383}

1. The first one is sin. The Spirit is holy. The

Holy Spirit.

2. The second hindrance is pride.

3. The third hindrance is everything that is of

self or of the flesh.

Having done this, having let go every sin, having

let go all pride, having let go everything that is

of self and the flesh, just look to the Holy

Spirit to come in and fill every part of your

being, to take complete possession of everything,

of every thought and purpose and affection and

plan and act, and word. Ask Him to do it, expect

Him to do it. Wait patiently, quietly upon Him.

That is all; He does all the rest.

# TRAVAIL FOR SOULS

"For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth

her children." Isaiah 66:8.

INTRODUCTION. -- This text applies primarily and

historically to Israel, but it states a great

principle that has been illustrated over and over

again in the history of the church and of

individuals -- that travail of soul is necessary

if souls are to be born into the kingdom of God.

I. The Need of Travail for Souls.

Every great religious awakening has been born out

of travail of soul on the part of some one. Martin

Luther, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, James

Brainerd, Finney, the Irish Revival, Moody. It is

doubtful that ever a single soul is born again

without travail of soul on the part of some one.

II. Absence of This Travail of Soul Today.

That this travail for souls does not exist widely

today is evident from several things:

1. The comparatively small attendance of the

membership of the church upon special meetings.

2. The small effort made to bring others out to

the meetings.

3. The conduct of Christians who do attend the

meetings.

4. The small amount of agonizing prayer that is

going up to God. {384}

III. How This Travail of Soul may be Brought

about. Two things are evident:

1. That travail of soul is necessary if there is

to be a great work.

2. That this travail of soul does not exist to any

great extent today.

The question then that confronts us is, How can we

secure this all-needed travail for souls.

1. By confessing its absence -- confessing it to

God. God forgives our sins when we confess our

sins. He supplies our lack when we confess our

lack.

2. By being willing to endure agony of soul that

others may be saved. Many want an easy, happy

religion. Many a woman never has a child because

she is not willing to pay the price of having a

child. Many a Christian, etc., because, etc.

3. By giving ourselves up to do all in our power

to save the lost.

4. By prayer. Romans 8:26-27; Luke 11:13.

5. By dwelling upon the truth that will bring us

to realize the wretched condition and awful peril

of those who are out of Christ.

# HOW TO SECURE HEAVENLY TREASURE

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth

where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where

thieves break through and steal: but lay up for

yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth

nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not

break through nor steal." Matthew 6:19-20.

INTRODUCTION. -- It is one thing to be saved and

another thing to gain a reward. It is one thing to

get to heaven and quite another thing to lay up

for ourselves treasures in the heaven we are to

enter. Earthly treasures have little worth. How

can we use these years, how can we use our lives

so as to make eternity richer? How can we secure

heavenly treasure? We go to the Word of God for

our answer to this question, and we easily find

it. {385}

1. The first of the answer we find in Matthew

19:21.

By using the means we have, not for ourselves but

for others, we secure heavenly treasure. If you

would secure heavenly treasures, give, give, give.

II. The second way of securing heavenly treasures

is very closely akin to the first. Matthew 19:29.

By forsaking the things that are naturally dear to

us for Christ's name's sake we secure heavenly

treasures.

III. We can secure heavenly rewards or treasures

by suffering persecution and reproach for Christ's

sake. Matthew 5:11-12.

IV. We gather fruit unto life eternal. We secure

heavenly treasure by reaping souls, i.e., by

winning souls to Christ. John 4:36; Daniel 12:3.

V. We gain a heavenly crown, a crown of

righteousness, a most desirable heavenly treasure,

by loving His appearing. By looking forward with

glad, joyous anticipation to His coming again.

CONCLUSION. -- The way to secure heavenly

treasures is simple enough. The Word of God makes

it plain.

# AN APPROVED WORKMAN

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a

workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly

dividing the word of truth." 2_Timothy 2:15.

INTRODUCTION. -- These words were originally

addressed to a minister of the Gospel, but they

properly apply to all Christians; for every

Christian should be in some sense, and in some

sphere, a preacher of the truth. So the

exhortation of the text is an exhortation intended

for us.

I. The first thought it contains for us is that we

are to seek to present ourselves "approved unto

God."

The approval of men we are not to seek. {386}

The approval of God we are to always bear in mind

and to seek in all we do and all we are.

II. The second thought our text contains is that

in order to present ourselves approved unto God we

must "give diligence," or make it a matter of

earnest study and effort. There is no possibility

of drifting into a life or work well pleasing to

God.

III. The third thought our text contains is that

in order to be approved of God we must be workmen.

God is a worker, and He desires all His children

to be workers. There is a kind of teaching

nowadays that seems to say, "It is not so

important that you work. The important thing is

that you get right with God yourself." But our

text says that you cannot get right with God

unless you become what He Himself is -- a worker.

IV. But our text teaches us that in order to be

approved of God we must not only be workmen, we

must be certain kind of workmen, "a workman that

needeth not to be ashamed." It is not enough to

work, you must do good work.

V. The fifth thing our text teaches is that in

order to be workmen who need not be ashamed we

must "rightly divide," or "handle right,"

literally "cut straight," the word of truth. In

other words, we must know our Bible and know how

to use it.

It is useless for a man to seek to be a workman

that needeth not to be ashamed and neglect the

constant, prayerful, thoughtful study of the Word

of God.

# THE TRIUMPHANT CRY FROM THE CROSS

"It is finished." John 19:30.

INTRODUCTION. -- What did this dying utterance of

our Lord and Savior mean? What was finished?

{387}

I. First of all, His own sufferings were finished.

Luke 12:50.

The horrible dread of all these years, yes of the

ages, was over.

II. The mission upon which God had sent Him into

this world was finished. John 17:4.

III. The prophecies concerning the sufferings and

death of the Messiah, which angels and the

prophets themselves desired to look into (1_Peter

1:11-13), were finished.

This is the immediate thought of the context where

our text is found.

IV. The work of atonement was finished. There is

absolutely nothing left for you or me to do to

atone for sin. It is all done.

V. Another thing still was finished, and that is

the Mosaic law -- so far as its claims on the

believer are concerned. Colossians 2:14, Romans

10:4; 7:4.

VI. There was one thing more that was "finished"

at the cross, i.e., Satan's power. Hebrews 2:14

RV; Colossians 2:15 RV.

CONCLUSION. -- How full of meaning are the three

words of Christ's triumphant cry from the cross.

# JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST

"If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and

joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer

with him, that we may be also glorified together."

Romans 8:17.

INTRODUCTION. -- This text is one of the most

remarkable in this book which is so full of

remarkable statements. Few of those who read it

and reread it take in its stupendous import.

I. What Does it Mean? JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST.

What can it mean? What does it mean? It means

precisely what it says. It means that we are heirs

of God in the precise {388} sense and to the

full extent that Jesus Christ is. It is true that

Jesus Christ is the heir of God by His own eternal

sonship, and that we are heirs of God only because

of our relation to Him, because we are in Him; but

being in Him we are so identified with Him by the

union of faith that His entire inheritance becomes

ours. All of God's that belongs to Christ belongs

also to me by virtue of my union with Christ. I am

a joint heir with Christ. Let us come more to

specific things in which Christ and we are heirs

of God.

1. First of all Christ is an heir of God's

infinite wisdom, and therefore so are we.

Colossians 2:3; compare 1_Corinthians 13:12.

2. Christ was an heir of God's infinite power, and

therefore so are we. Matthew 28:18; compare

1_Corinthians 15:43.

3. But there is something better yet in God than

His omniscient wisdom and His almighty strength to

which Christ and we are heirs. Christ was heir to

God's goodness, to His infinite holiness, and

therefore so are we. 1_Peter 1:16; Ephesians 5:27.

4. Christ was heir to God's glory and therefore so

are we. Hebrews 1:3. In John 17:22 Jesus

distinctly declares, "The glory which thou hast

given me I have given unto them." RV.

5. We are heirs of God's dominion. Revelation

3:21.

II. Who are Heirs of God and Joint Heirs with

Christ?

1. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and

joint-heirs with Christ." But who are children of

God? Turning back to John 1:12 we get God's own

answer.

2. The fourteenth verse of the chapter from which

our text is taken puts it in a different way. The

one "led by the Spirit" is the son, and so the

heir and the joint heir with Christ.

3. There is one more thought upon who are

"joint-heirs with Christ" in the very verse from

which our text is taken. "IF SO BE THAT WE SUFFER

WITH HIM, that we may also be glorified with him."

RV. The heirs with Christ hereafter are evidently

those who suffer with Christ here. WITH CHRIST.

{389}

# THANKSGIVING SERMON

"And Jesus said, were there not ten cleansed? but

where are the nine?" Luke 17:17.

INTRODUCTION. -- This is one of the saddest

utterances that ever fell from the lips of Jesus.

Jesus loved men, and like every one who truly

loves, He desired love in return. When those He

helped returned, as the poor Samaritan, with

thanksgiving, it filled His heart with joy; when

those He helped forgot to return thanks, it filled

His heart with sorrow. The day should be

pre-eminently what it professes to be, a day of

thanksgiving to God.

I. The Duty.

1. We are commanded again and again to give

thanks. Psalm 100:4; Ephesians 5:4; Colossians

3:15,17.

2. The rendering of thanks unto God is more

acceptable to Him than costly sacrifices. Psalm

69:30-31.

3. The early Christians gave themselves

continually to praise and thanksgiving. Acts

2:46-47.

4. Thanksgiving was habitual with Jesus Christ,

our example. John 11:41; Matthew 11:25.

5. Giving thanks unto the Father, is one of the

inevitable results of being filled with the

Spirit. Ephesians 5:18-20.

6. Thanksgiving is a necessary accompaniment for

prevailing prayer. Philippians 4:6.

II. How to Render Acceptable Thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:20.

1. It should be "in the name of our Lord Jesus

Christ."

2. It should be "to the Father."

3. It should be constant.

4. It should be for all things.

III. For What to Return Thanks Today.

We have today many causes for thanksgiving,

national and individual. Specify some of them.

Each of us should go alone with God some time

today, and think over the general blessings that

we have received with others, as a nation, and the

{390} specific causes that there are for

thanksgiving in our national life and the

individual blessings that we have received.

# GOD IS LOVE

"God is love." 1_John 4:8.

INTRODUCTION. -- That is the most wonderful

sentence ever written or spoken. We owe this great

truth wholly to the Bible. Not merely announced in

the Bible, it runs through the Bible. Ask me to

put into one sentence what the Bible teaches and

this is the sentence, "God is love."

I. How has God Shown that He is Love?

1. By creating us and the universe. Creation was

an act of love. The story of creation in Genesis 1

is a love story.

2. By punishing sin as soon as it entered the

world and ever since. God's unsparing and, if need

be, endless punishment of sin is because God is

love.

3. By forgiving sin when it is repented of. Isaiah

55:7. With the first pronouncing of doom upon Adam

and Eve there is also a message of mercy.

4. By giving His Son to die in our place. This was

the supreme manifestation of God's love. 1_John

4:10; John 3:16. The measure of love is sacrifice

and God made an immeasurable sacrifice.

II. What is Our Duty?

We see, then, God is love. What is our duty in

view of that great and glorious fact?

1. To accept His love. There can be no greater sin

than to despise and reject the love of God. There

can be no clearer revelation of the utter badness

and wickedness of our hearts than to despise and

reject the love of God.

2. We should return God's love with love. 1_John

4:19.

3. Surrender absolutely to Him.

# GOD'S WONDERFUL LOVE

"God so loved the world that he gave his only

begotten Son: that whosoever believeth on him

should not perish but have everlasting life." John

3:16. {391}

INTRODUCTION. -- No other verse in the Bible has

been used to the salvation of so many sinners as

this.

I. The Objects of God's Love.

The world. God's love is limited to no race, no

class. There is not a man or woman in the world so

vile that God doesn't love them. Therefore we

ought to love them too.

II. The Greatness of God's Love.

The measure of love is sacrifice. What sacrifice

has God made for us? Gave His only begotten Son.

For some reason it was necessary that God give His

Son to suffer if you and I were to live eternally.

And God gave His Son to die. No one can fathom the

agony it cost the Father.

III. The Offer of God's Love.

The offer of God's love. What is it? Eternal life.

Love of man to man has prompted great gifts, but

there is no gift like this. Any one who believes

gets this gift. "Whosoever."

IV. Our Treatment of God's Love.

But what are we doing with this love of God? This

too is wonderful.

1. Some deny it.

2. Some only mention the God who so loved them,

etc., to take His name in vain.

3. Some are conscious rebels against God.

4. Some trample His love under foot and despise

it.

5. Many neglect His love.

6 Some accept it. Will you now?

# WANTED -- FIGHTING CHRISTIANS

"Fight the good fight of faith." 1_Timothy 6:12.

"Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus

Christ." 2_Timothy 2:3.

INTRODUCTION. -- Christian life is a warfare, not

a picnic. There are battles to be fought, enemies

to be conquered, victories to be {392} won. Of

course, there are wonderful feasts to be enjoyed

all along the way, but fighting and not feasting

is our special business.

Three things to know if we are to obey our text.

First -- Who our enemies are.

Second -- How to fight them.

Third. -- The conditions of success in our

warfare.

I. Our Enemies.

Who are our enemies? Who and what is it that we

are to fight?

1. The devil. Ephesians 6:11-12.

2. The world. 1_John 5:4. The world has its ideas,

its ambitions, its usages, its disposition, its

aims; and the ideas of the world, the ambitions of

the world, the usages of the world, the aims of

the world are contrary to the mind of God.

The world seeks to bring us all under its sway,

under the dominion of its ideas, etc. It is our

business to fight the world, to resist its attempt

to bring us into bondage to itself.

3. The flesh. Our third enemy is the flesh, our

own flesh.

4. Sin. Sin will attack us. We should fight it

back. We need not yield to it or be overcome by it

for one single moment. If we are knocked down by

it we should jump up at once and renew the fight

and conquer. But it is not enough to fight sin in

your own life. Fight it in the lives of others.

5. False doctrine. We must resist error of

doctrine in ourselves; we must not ourselves argue

it with others. Jude 2 RV.

Some think that false doctrine is not worth

fighting against. It is more worth fighting

against than political tyranny in its worst forms.

True doctrine is salvation and life. False

doctrine is damnation and death.

II. How to Fight.

1. First of all we must fight to win. No Christian

has a right to expect defeat or to be defeated.

2. We must fight energetically. {393}

3. We must fight wisely. The way to get wisdom for

our holy war is by prayer. James 1:5. Much of our

fighting must be done upon our knees.

4. We must fight persistently. This warfare is

never done until Jesus comes or God calls us home.

The trouble with many a Christian warrior is that

he fights intermittently.

III. Conditions of Victory.

1. First, faith in Jesus Christ. 1_John 5:4-5.

2. We must be strong. Ephesians 6:10; Ephesians

3:16; 1_John 2:14.

3. We must be ready to "endure hardness" or

"suffer hardship." 2_Timothy 2:3.

4. A knowledge of weapons.

(a) We must know what the best weapons are. The

great weapon of our warfare is the Word of God.

(b) But we must not only know what the best

weapons are; we must actually have these weapons.

# ETERNAL LIFE OR THE WRATH OF GOD --WHICH?

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting

life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not

see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

John 3:36.

INTRODUCTION. -- One of the most meaningful and

glorious phrases that ever were uttered is that

which was so often upon the lips of Jesus Christ

-- "eternal life." One of the most awful and

appalling phrases ever uttered is this other that

Jesus uses in our text, "the wrath of God." It

cannot be put into words, it cannot be conceived

even in fancy, all the wealth of glory that is

wrapped up in those two words, "eternal life."

Neither can it be put into words, nor conceived by

human imagination, the depth of horror, shame and

woe that are wrapped up in that other phrase --

"the wrath of God." It is between these two that

each of us is called to take his choice. {394}

The Things Contrasted.

1. "Eternal life" -- what is it?

(a) First of all, it is really life. 1_Timothy

6:19 RV.

(b) Eternal life is fullness of life. It is life

abundant. John 10:10 RV. It is full of beauty,

full of peace, full of satisfaction, full of joy,

full of glory.

knowledge. John 17:3. Eternal life is knowledge of

the Infinite.

(d) Eternal life is the life of God. 1_John 1:2.

Eternal life is the life of the holy, blessed God,

the infinite life imparted to us.

(e) Eternal life is endless life. Endlessness is

not the most essential characteristic of eternal

life. Its quality is more than its duration, but

nevertheless it is endless.

2. "The wrath of God" -- what is that? It is just

what the words express. It is the intense and

settled displeasure of the infinitely Holy Being

who created us and all things, and who has the

absolute control of all the powers of the

universe.

"The wrath of God," "the wrath of God" -- there

is nothing more awful than that. To have yon Holy

One, yon Holy Being before whom the seraphim veil

their faces and cry, Holy, holy, holy; to have yon

omnipotent and infinite Ruler of this universe,

yon mighty One who holds the sun and moon and

stars, all the stupendous worlds of light that

stud the illimitable expanse of heaven, in the

hollow of His hands, as well as shapes the whole

history of this tiny ball that we call the earth,

to have Him displeased with us, to incur His

wrath, His intense, deep-seated, settled

displeasure -- "eternal life" or "the wrath of

God" -- which will you choose.

I. How Decide.

By what act do we determine whether eternal life

or the wrath of God is to be our portion? Listen

to God's own answer to this question. It is not

the answer of all modern philosophers. It is not

the answer of all modern theologians. It is {395}

not the answer of all modern preachers, but it is

God's answer, and it is sure. (Quote text).

The act by which we bring upon ourselves "the

wrath of God": "He that believeth not the Son

shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth

upon him." It makes no difference who or what you

are.

# HOW TO BECOME SONS OF GOD

"But as many as received him, to them gave he

power to become the sons of God, even to them that

believe on his name." John 1:12.

INTRODUCTION. -- If I could tell how to become a

son of a monarch or a millionaire I would get many

eager listeners. To be a child of God involves

much more: much more in the life that now is --

much more in the life which is to come.

I. What is Involved in being a Child of God?

1. Our absolute security in this present life.

2. The supply of every real need. Matthew 6:8. Not

every fancied need.

3. Joy. The child of God must be happy, for this

is God's world.

4. Peace.

5. Likeness to God. The one who becomes a child of

God must ultimately become like God. 1_John 3:1-2.

6. Infinite joy hereafter. Romans 8:17.

II. How may We Become Sons of God?

But some one may say, "Are we not already sons of

God?" We are not. We are all God's offspring (Acts

17:28), i.e., we are His creative work, and man

was originally made in God's image, but we are not

all sons of God in any such full sense as involves

the things just mentioned. John 1:12; Galatians

3:26; John 8:44.

Any hopes built upon the supposition that all men

are God's sons, are built upon the sinking sand,

and they will fall some day and crush you.

How, then? John 1:12. Simply receiving Jesus makes

us sons {396} of God. What is it to receive

Jesus? We cannot afford to make any mistake here,

too much depends upon it, too much in the life

that now is -- too much in the life to come.

What is it--etc.? What is it to receive any man?

It is to take him as that for which he offers

himself. If a man offers himself as a physician,

to receive or take him, is to take him as your

physician, and to put the care of your health into

his hands. If any man offers himself as a husband,

to receive him or take him is to accept him as

your husband. Any young man or young woman knows

when a young man says to a young woman, "I want to

be your husband, will you take me?" just what he

means. Now, to receive Jesus is just to take Him

as He offers Himself.

1. He offers Himself as our atoning Savior, as the

one who bore our sins in His own body on the

cross. Matthew 20:28. Will you take Him as that?

2. He offers Himself as our deliverer from sin's

power. John 8:36.

3. He offers Himself as our rest-giver. Matthew

11:28. Will you take Him as that?

4. He offers Himself as our teacher. John 13:13;

Matthew 23:8. Will you take Him as that? Will you

submit your mind to Him for Him to teach you what

He will, accepting of His teaching as the truth of

God?

5. He offers Himself as our way of access to God,

and as the incarnation of the truth, and as our

life. John 14:6. Will you take Him as this?

6. He offers Himself as our King. John 1:12. Will

you take Him as your King?

7. He offers Himself as our Lord and God. John

5:22-23. Will you accept Him for all that He has

offered Himself, or may offer Himself, studying

more and more to know all that He does offer

Himself to be? Of course this is an act of faith,

but it means that you will become sons of God.

III. Who may Become Sons of God in this Way?

Any one (read the text). How sweeping it is. It

leaves no one out. You may be the ripest scholar,

or you may be utterly without {397} education,

but if you receive Jesus, instantly you become a

child of God.

You may be a person of amiable, attractive and

lovely character, or you may be the vilest sinner.

I know a man who was deep in sin, utterly

enslaved; he was deep in unbelief also, but one

day he received Jesus -- took Him for all He

wished to be to him, and he became a child of God.

God gave him evidence of sonship by setting him

free from the bondage of sin, sending His Spirit

into his heart bearing witness, etc.

CONCLUSION. -- It is possible for any one to

become a child of God this moment. Do you wish to?

You must accept Jesus, that is all. Will you do

it? Ah, some of you hesitate! How foolish! Can

this world offer anything so good, so glorious,

for time and eternity as becoming a child of God?

I know a man who once had this same opportunity

put before him. At first he thought he would

accept it, but then he thought again and said,

"No, I better not, I am a lawyer, and it may

interfere with my practice." He rejected the

opportunity. He went right down and became an

infidel, as so many become who resist God's Spirit

and God's love. He sank lower yet. From a place of

prominence he became despised for his low acts,

and could get no clients. He became the laughing

stock of the community. It was a life thrown away.

Yes, and an eternity thrown away.

# GOD-GIVEN CONVICTION.

"They were pricked in their heart." Acts 2:37.

INTRODUCTION. -- It is not a pleasant thing to be

pricked in one's heart with a conviction of sin.

Indeed it is a most distressing experience, but it

is an experience which if rightly received leads

to very great blessing. The very worst thing that

can happen to you is to be able to sit here

entirely unmoved by what you hear.

There are three things to consider about our text.

I. Why they were pricked in their heart.

II. How they were pricked in their heart.

III. The results of their being pricked in their

heart. {398}

I. Why these Men were Pricked in their Heart.

They were pricked in heart because their

conscience long asleep was at last awake, and they

saw the appalling enormity of the sin they had

committed in crucifying Jesus Christ. They were at

last awakened to the fact that God had raised

Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to His own

right hand. They understood that Jesus whom they

rejected was both Lord and Christ.

Every one in this audience who is rejecting Jesus

Christ will some day awake to the fact of who

Jesus is, the dignity, majesty and glory of His

person, and then you will be pricked in your

heart. It may be too late then, but it will not be

too late now.

II. How they were Pricked in their Heart.

1. By the preaching of the Word of God. Peter's

sermon did it and that sermon was pretty much all

Bible.

2. By Peter's testimony to a risen and exalted

Savior.

3. By the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. John

16:7,9).

III. The Results of their being Pricked in their

Heart.

There are many who do not wish to be pricked in

their heart because it is not a pleasant

experience, but we will see that though it is a

bitter medicine, the results are glorious.

1. The first result of their being pricked in

their heart was that they turned from their awful

sin.

2. The second result of their being pricked in

their heart was that they publicly confessed their

sin and their acceptance of Christ.

3. The third result was that they were saved.

v.47. To be pricked in heart now and to yield to

it means that you will be saved from having your

heart gnawed through all eternity by the worm that

dieth not.

CONCLUSION. -- This is a great text, "they were

pricked in their heart." Let us wait a few moments

silently and prayerfully, and see if the Holy

Spirit will not prick some here in their hearts.

You have committed the same awful sin that those

mentioned had committed. {399} You have

crucified the Son of God. Think of that. Say to

yourself, "I am guilty of the awful sin of

crucifying Christ." Ask God to make you feel it.

Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see your

appalling guilt. Is something pricking your heart

now? Then yield. Repent. Turn from sin, accept

Christ, begin to confess Him. Who will?

# WHAT TO DO WITH JESUS

"What shall I do with Jesus, which is called

Christ?" Matthew 27;22.

INTRODUCTION. -- No man ever asked a more

important question than Pilate asked here. A

question that confronts us all. Pilate made a

great mistake. He asked man what he should do with

Jesus instead of asking God. But Pilate not only

went to man with his question, he went to enemies

of Jesus Christ and they cried out, "Crucify him!"

And it is to the enemies of Christ that many of

you are going.

I. This Question is a very Personal Question.

It is, "What shall _I_ do with Christ?" No one

else can decide this for you. You will accept

Christ for yourself or reject Christ for yourself.

And you will go to heaven for yourself or go to

hell for yourself.

II. The Question is furthermore, "What shall I do

with JESUS?"

Not what shall I do with some creed, not what

shall I do with the church, but, "What shall I do

with Jesus Christ?"

III. The Question again is, "What shall I DO with

Jesus?"

Not what shall I think about Him. God tells us

very plainly in His Word what we ought to do with

Jesus.

1. First of all we should listen to Jesus.

2. But it is not enough merely to listen to Jesus

Christ. We should also accept Him (John 1:12) as

our atoning Savior Who gave His life in our place,

as our Deliverer from sin's power, as our Teacher

to whom we shall surrender the control of our

thoughts, and as our Lord to whom we shall

surrender the control of our lives. {400}

IV. The next thing which God bids us do with Jesus

is to be baptized in His name. Acts 2:8.

V. Obey Him. John 14:21,23.

VI. Serve Him. John 12:26.

VII. Follow Jesus Christ. John 12:26.

VIII. Worship Him. Hebrews 1:6.

# FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS

"False Christs and false prophets shall rise, and

shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it

were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed:

behold, I have foretold you all things." Mark

13:22-23.

INTRODUCTION. -- These words of the real Christ

are very solemn. In them He tells us that false

prophets are coming and warns us to be on our

guard against them. The false prophets and the

false Christs are here. There are many who take it

for granted that if any man or woman makes great

claims, those claims must be true, especially if

they support those claims by reports of sickness

healed and other wonders wrought. But Christ not

only told us that false Christs and false prophets

would appear, but He has told us that signs and

wonders so remarkable would be wrought that they

would mislead, if possible, the very elect.

I. How escape?

How can we escape from the snare of these false

Christs and false prophets if they show such signs

and wonders. This all-important question is

answered in the Bible. There are five simple rules

which if followed will save one from the snare of

any or every false Christ and false prophet.

1. You will find the first rule in John 7:17. A

will wholly surrendered to God gives clearness of

vision to detect error.

2. The second rule is in 2_Timothy 3:13-17. When

one has surrendered his will wholly to God the

safeguard against deceivers and false prophets is

the study of the Word of God. Acts 20:29-30. Study

the whole book. {401}

3. The third rule is found in James 1:5-7. Prayer

to God for wisdom will save us from many a snare.

4. The fourth rule is found in Matthew 23:8-10.

Call no man master, acknowledge no man as

authority, accept the authority of no one and

nothing but Christ and the Bible in matters of

faith and religion.

5. The fifth rule is found in Proverbs 29:25. If

you wish to escape the snare of all false prophets

and false Christs put away all fear of the devil

and trust in God.

# MAN'S RIGHT ATTITUDE BEFORE GOD

"Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest

against God? Shall the thing formed say to him

that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"

Romans 9:20.

INTRODUCTION. -- There can be no more important or

fundamental question than that of our right

attitude before God. If we are in right relations

to God we are in the way to be in right relations

to all God's creatures, to all men and all things.

If we are in wrong relations to God we are bound

to be in wrong relations to all men and all

things, to the whole universe that God made and

governs.

I. First of all we should have a sense of our

comparative nothingness.

God is infinite, we are finite. Isaiah 40:15,17.

This sense of our comparative nothingness should

have three phases:

1. We should bear in mind God's infinite majesty

and our utter insignificance.

2. We should bear in mind the infinite wisdom of

God and our utter ignorance.

3. We should bear in mind the infinite holiness of

God and our utter vileness in comparison with Him.

II. The second characteristic of our attitude

toward God should be trust.

We should trust God perfectly, we should have

absolute unquestioning confidence in Him. "Blessed

is the man who {402} trusteth in Jehovah."

Jehovah is infinitely great. An awful gulf yawns

between us and Him, but Jehovah is infinitely good

and is worthy of the absolute confidence of the

smallest and the greatest of His creatures.

III. But there should be one more characteristic

of our attitude toward God. Not only humility and

trust, bet boldness.

Hebrews 10;20. He is infinite in majesty, infinite

in wisdom, infinite in holiness; but the atoning

blood of Jesus has put away our sins and made us

sons of God, so that we no longer receive a spirit

of bondage again unto fear, but a spirit of

adoption, and look right up into the face of that

infinite majesty, that infinite wisdom, that

infinite holiness and call Him Father.

# INFAMOUS INGRATITUDE

"Even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring

upon themselves swift destruction." 2_Peter 2:1.

INTRODUCTION. -- There is no sin more heartily and

universally despised among men than ingratitude.

The basest of all ingratitude is the denial of

Jesus Christ, who bought us, bought us at the cost

of immeasurable agony and pain, bought us at the

cost of His own blood. There is no one to whom we

owe so much as to Jesus Christ. No one has ever

brought so much to us. He brings us pardon for all

our sins, if we will have it. He brings us peace

that passeth all understanding. He brings us joy

such as the world never dreamed of, joy

unspeakable and full of glory. He brings us an

inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that

fadeth not away, laid up in store for us in

heaven. He makes us heirs of God and joint heirs

with Himself. Not only has He brought to us

infinitely more than any other ever brought, or

all others put together even brought, He Has

suffered more for us than any other ever suffered.

Philippians 2:6-8.

I. Who are Denying the Lord?

1. First of all the infidels, agnostics, skeptics

and Unitarians are denying the Lord.

2. There are many who believe in Jesus Christ, who

believe {403} that He is the Son of God, who

believe all the Bible says about His life and

death, about His atonement and His salvation, but

they have never confessed Him publicly before the

world. You are denying the Lord that bought you.

3. Many church members deny the Lord that bought

them. You deny Christ in your business, you deny

Christ in your social life, you deny Christ in

your politics, you deny Christ in many places.

When religion is sneered at in the place where you

work you haven't courage to stand up like a man

and say quietly but firmly, "Men, I don't agree

with you. I believe in this Bible and in this

Christ you sneer at. I know Jesus Christ is a

Divine Savior. He has saved me, He fills my life

with joy, and He is my Lord.

4. Men who profess to be ministers of Christ, who

set the authority of those whom they regard as

scholars above the authority of Jesus Christ, and

who care more for a reputation for originality and

scholarship than they do for the honor of Jesus

Christ their Lord. There are men in the pulpit who

are itching for that applause and are denying

their Lord to get it. They would rather be untrue

to Jesus Christ than to be considered behind the

times.

II. Why Men Deny Their Lord.

1. Many do it out of cowardice.

2. For gain.

3. From pride.

4. Love of man.

# A STRANGE HATRED

"They hated me without a cause." John 15:25.

INTRODUCTION. -- No other man has lived on this

earth who has been so unanimously and so bitterly

hated as Jesus Christ.

I. Hated by Men of His Own Day.

1. When He was here on earth He was hated by all

classes of society.

2. The hatred of Jesus Christ was as bitter as it

was universal. {407}

3. This hatred of Jesus Christ was without a

cause; it was wholly gratuitous.

II. Hatred of Men Today.

As we read this history of the past it seems

incredible that the men of Christ's day should

have so hated Him; but He is just as bitterly

hated today. The hatred of Jesus Christ today is

not usually so outspoken as when He was here on

earth, but it is no less real. There are many ways

in which men show this hatred of Jesus Christ.

1. One of the commonest ways in which men show

their hatred of Jesus Christ is by the delight

they take in the fall of any man who bears the

name of Christ or professes to be His disciple.

2. Hatred of Jesus Christ also shows itself in

talking about and magnifying the inconsistencies

of Christians.

3. Hatred of Jesus Christ shows itself in the

persecution of those who believe in and confess

Him.

4. Hatred of Jesus Christ is shown by attempts to

disprove the truth of the record of Christ's life

found in the four Gospels.

5. Hatred of Jesus Christ is shown by attempts to

rob Him of the glory that is rightfully His. To

Jesus Christ belongs divine honor, glory and

adoration.

6. Men sometimes show their hatred of Jesus Christ

by a simple refusal to have Him rule over them.

Luke 19;14. This hatred of Christ is still without

a cause. It is wholly gratuitous.

(a) It is true that Jesus Christ does condemn sin

and demand that men should forsake it, and that is

the reason many hate Him.

(b) It is true that Jesus Christ demands absolute

surrender, and that is why many hate Him. There is

no just cause for hating Christ. There is abundant

cause why we should love Him.

(1) What He brings.

(2) What He has sacrificed. {405}

# SALVATION FOR EVERYBODY

"The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto

salvation to every one that believeth." Romans

1:16.

INTRODUCTION. -- There are some people who think

that God has provided salvation for just a chosen

few. That is a great mistake. God has provided

salvation for everybody. There are three great

truths in our text:

I. There is something that has power to save

anybody and everybody.

II. That something that has power to save anybody

and everybody is the Gospel.

1. Some of you may ask how I know the Gospel of

Christ has power to save anybody. (1) Because this

book says so. (2) Because I have seen it save men

and women of all classes.

2. What is it to "save"?

(a) To save, first of all, is to save from guilt.

(b) To save is to save from the power of sin.

consequences of sin.

3. But whom can the Gospel of Christ thus save?

Anybody and everybody.

(a) First of all it can save outcasts.

(b) The Gospel can save infidels, the most

determined and bitter infidels.

(d) The Gospel can save deluded people.

(e) The Gospel can save moralists.

4. Nothing but the Gospel has this power to save.

It takes the power of God to save, and the Gospel

of Christ is the only thing that has the power of

God in it.

5. What is the Gospel? Gospel means glad tidings

or good news. What is the good news that saves?

Turn to 1_Corinthians 15:1-4.

(a) The good news is, then, first, "That Christ

died for our sins." Galatians 3:13; 2_Corinthians

5:21. {406}

(b) The good news is, second, that Christ was

buried. He was buried and my sin was buried with

Him.

He is a living Savior and has all power in heaven

and on earth, and however weak I am when I have to

fight the world, the flesh and the devil, I can

look up to this living Almighty Savior and trust

Him to give me victory.

III. The Way to Experience this saving power of

the Gospel in our own lives is by simply believing

the Gospel.

"To every one who believeth." Believes what? The

Gospel.

# WHAT MUST I DO TO BE DAMNED?

"He that believeth not shall be damned." Mark

16:16.

INTRODUCTION. -- The word "damned" has largely

fallen into disuse partly because it is used so

much by profane people, partly because we live in

an easy-going way that recoils from a vigorous

statement of unpleasant truths. Damned means

condemned, condemned of God, but damned is a much

more vigorous word than condemned; it carries much

more meaning to the average mind. It summons at

once before our imagination all the awful

consequences of being condemned of God. We will

let the text stand there as it reads in the AV,

"He that believeth not shall be damned." Any man

who hears the Gospel and persistently refuses to

believe it and receive it shall be damned. All any

one needs to do to be saved, saved to the

uttermost, is to believe on the Lord Jesus. All

that any one needs to do to be damned, damned to

the uttermost, is to refuse to believe on the Lord

Jesus. It is not necessary in order to be damned

that one be what the world calls a wicked person.

1. First of all the man who does not believe the

Gospel and believe in Jesus Christ must be damned,

because every man is a sinner and God is holy, and

if a man does not find some way in which the sin

that separates him, a sinner, from the Holy God

can be obliterated, he must necessarily be

separated from God forever, and separation from

God is damnation; and the only way in which sin

can be put {407} away from between us and God is

by the atoning death of Jesus Christ, and the one

condition upon which that atoning death avails for

you and me is that we believe on Him who died;

therefore if we will not believe on Him we must be

damned.

2. Refusing to believe on Jesus Christ is in

itself a damnable sin and reveals a damnable state

of heart.

# GOD IS LOVE

"God is love." 1_John 4:8

INTRODUCTION. -- The world would never have known

that God is love had not God revealed it in His

Word. We must go, then, to the Bible for the

interpretation of it. How, according to the Bible,

is the love of God manifested?

I. God's love manifests itself in His ministering

to our needs and joy. Isaiah 48:14, 20 -21.

II. God's love manifests itself in His chastening

us, in His sending us trial and pain and sorrow

and bereavement. Hebrews 12:6-11.

III. God's love is manifested by His sympathizing

with us in our afflictions. Isaiah 63:9.

IV. God's love is manifested again in His never

forgetting those He loves. Isaiah 49:15-16.

V. God's love manifests itself in His forgiving

our sins. Isaiah 38:17; Isaiah 55:7.

God will not pardon sin if we hold on to it. There

is a fancy about God's love that because God is

love He will pardon and save all men whether they

repent and believe on Christ or not. It is wholly

unscriptural. To believe it you must give up the

Bible, but if you give up the Bible you must give

up your belief that God is love, for it is from

the Bible we learn it, and there is no other

proof. One of the most illogical systems in the

world is universalism. {408}

VI. God's love is manifested in His giving His own

Son to die in our place. John 3:16; 1_John 4:10.

This manifestation of God's love is stupendous; it

is almost past believing, but it is true.

CONCLUSION. -- Such is the love of God. What are

you going to do with that love?

# THE MOST WONDERFUL THING IN THE WORLD

"God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16.

INTRODUCTION. -- The most wonderful thing in the

world is the love of God.

I. The Objects of God's Love. "The World."

1. Men of all races.

2. Men of all classes.

That God should love the good we can understand,

but that God should love the vile, the outcast,

the worthless, the vicious, the criminal, that is

the thing that is hard of comprehension, but that

is what the Bible tells us. That is what the Bible

emphasizes. Romans 5:7-8.

II. The Character of God's Love.

1. It is a pardoning love. Isaiah 55:7; Psalm

32:3-4.

2. It is a chastening love. Hebrews 12:6.

3. It is a sympathizing love. Isaiah 63:9.

4. It is a long-suffering love. 2_Peter 3:9.

5. It is a self-sacrificing love. John 3:16.

III. Our Treatment of God's Love.

1. Accepting His love. The result of yielding to

God's love is eternal life. John 3:16.

2. Rejecting His love. What is the result of

rejecting His love?

(a) First of all, awful guilt.

(b) The loss of eternal life. John 5:40.

# GOD LOVES THE WHOLE WORLD

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16.

INTRODUCTION. -- This is perhaps the most

remarkable statement the world ever heard. There

are volumes packed into that little sentence. The

verse tells us God's attitude toward the world,

God's attitude toward sin, God's attitude toward

His Son, God's attitude toward all who believe in

Jesus Christ, and God's attitude toward all who do

not believe on Jesus Christ.

I. God's Attitude toward the World.

Love.

II. God's Attitude toward Sin.

Our text shows us that God's attitude toward sin

is hate.

III. God's Attitude toward His Son.

"HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON." God's attitude toward His

Son is love. But God gave that Son He so

infinitely loved, that Son who from all eternity

has been the object of His delight. God gave that

only begotten Son for the world, for you and for

me.

IV. God's Attitude toward Believers and

Unbelievers.

1. God's attitude toward believers is to give them

eternal life.

2. God's attitude toward those who will not

believe. With great grief and reluctance God

withdraws from them the infinite gift He has

purchased at such cost and which they will not

have. He leaves them to "perish."

# A "GOOD MAN" LOST AND A BAD MAN SAVED

Luke 18:9-14.

INTRODUCTION. -- Some of you may think I have this

subject twisted, and that it ought to read: A good

man saved and a bad man lost. But it is right just

as it is. Jesus Christ Himself has given us the

picture of the good man and the bad man, and Jesus

Himself {410} is responsible for the statement

that the good man was lost and the bad man saved.

I. The Good Man Who was Lost.

1. We notice first of all that he was a moral man

in his personal habits.

2. Square in his business relations.

3. Highly respected member of society.

4. The Pharisee saw no flaw in himself. He was the

best man --in his own estimation-- that he knew.

(RV)

5. This Pharisee was a religious man.

6. This Pharisee was a generous man. He could tell

God that he gave a tenth of all he made. But he

was lost. Why? For precisely the same reason that

many here tonight are lost.

(a) He trusted in himself, v.9.

(b) He despised others.

(d) He did not cry to God for mercy.

II. The Bad Man Who was Saved.

1. First note he had been an immoral man.

2. He had been irreligious.

3. He was looked down upon by his fellow men.

4. He saw many faults in himself.

III. Why was this Man Saved?

1. He saw himself a lost sinner.

2. He saw he could do nothing to save himself.

3. He saw that there was a God of mercy.

4. He just cried to this God to have mercy upon

him.

5. He was in earnest.

# FOUND OUT

"Be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers

32:23.

INTRODUCTION. -- No man can escape his own sins.

No man ever committed a single sin that he did not

pay for it in some way. {411} No man ever

committed a single sin by which he was not a

loser. There never has been a sin committed on

this earth that paid.

I. How Men's Sins Find Them Out.

1. Men's sins find them out by the execution of

human laws.

2. Men's sins find them out in their own bodies.

3. Sin finds us out in our characters. For every

sin you commit you will suffer its character.

Every sin breeds a moral ulcer.

4. Again your sin will find you out in your own

conscience.

5. In your feelings.

6. In your children. That is one of the most awful

things about sin; its curse falls not only upon us

but upon our children also.

7. Your sin will find you out in eternity. This

present life is not all. There is a future life,

and our acts and their consequences will follow us

into it.

CONCLUSION. -- Is there a man here tonight

contemplating sin? Don't do it. But many of us

have sinned already and our sins are finding us

out already. What shall we do? Fly to Christ.

Galatians 3:13.

# NO PEACE

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

Isaiah 57:21.

INTRODUCTION. -- It is better to have peace in

one's heart and deep poverty than to have

overflowing plenty and no peace. To have no peace

means to be in hell.

I. Who are the Wicked?

All men and women who refuse to bow to the

rightful authority of Almighty God and obey Him

whatever He may command are wicked. God's first

and fundamental demand on men is that they believe

on His Son Jesus Christ and accept Him as Savior

and Lord. 1_John 3:23; John 6:29. Every one

therefore who does not believe on the Lord Jesus

Christ and accept Him as his Savior and Lord is a

rebel against God and belongs to that class whom

God designated as "the wicked." {412}

II. No Peace for the Wicked.

1. First of all there is no peace with God.

2. In the next place there is no peace in their

own souls. There are several things that rob the

wicked man of peace:

(a) Conscience.

(b) The fear of calamity.

(d) The fear of death.

(e) The fear of eternity.

3. There is no peace for the wicked in the life to

come.

# NO HOPE

"Having no hope." Ephesians 2:12.

"Others which have no hope." 2_Thessalonians 4:13.

INTRODUCTION. -- There are no words in the

language more dreadful than those two: "No hope."

I. Who have no Hope.

There are three classes who have no hope:

1. The man who denies or doubts the existence of a

personal God, a wise, mighty, and loving ruler of

this universe, has no hope. He may cherish fond

wishes about the future, but wishes are not hope.

Hope is a well-founded expectation.

2. The man who denies the truth of the Bible has

no hope. He has no expectation for the future that

has a solid and certain foundation underneath it.

3. The man who believes in the Bible but does not

accept and confess the Christ it presents as his

own personal Savior and Master has no hope.

The Bible holds out absolutely no hope to any

except those who accept the Savior whom it is

man's purpose to reveal. John 3:36; Hebrews

10:26-30.

II. In what Sense have these three Classes no

Hope?

1. They have no hope, no well-founded and sure

expectation of blessedness for the life that now

is. {413}

(a) In the first place they have no guarantee of

continued prosperity.

(b) They have no guarantee of continued capacity

to enjoy prosperity even if it continues.

2. But infinitely worse than this is the fact that

they have no hope for the life that is to come.

(a) The man out of Christ has no hope of

blessedness after death.

(b) No hope of glad reunion with friends who have

gone or may go.

(d) No hope of escape from the wrath of God

against sin and unbelief. Romans 6:23.

III. The Believer in Christ has Hope.

1. He has hope for the life that now is. Romans

8:28; Philippians 4:6-7, 19; Romans 8;32.

2. Hope for the life to come. Titus 1:2.

CONCLUSION. -- Which do you prefer tonight, the

no-hope of men out of Christ, or the glorious hope

of Christians? You have your choice. Which will

you take?

# FALSE HOPES

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have

we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name

have cast out devils? and in thy name have done

many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto

them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that

work iniquity." Matthew 7:22-23.

INTRODUCTION. -- We see clearly from this text

that there are many who expect to enter the

kingdom of heaven who will not succeed, many who

expect to spend eternity in heaven who will spend

eternity in hell.

I. What are some of the False Hopes Men Entertain?

1. The hope that "God is too good to damn any

one."

(a) A very sad confession for any man to make who

is living a life of sin is that he believes in the

goodness of {414} God. What shall we say, then,

of the man who is living in sin, who tramples

God's holy will under foot, who breaks God's laws,

and makes God's goodness an excuse for doing it?

(b) What proof is there in the Bible or history or

experience that God is too good to punish the

wicked? 2_Peter 3:9.

to punish men for sin and the rejection of Christ

contrary to Scripture, it is also contrary to the

teachings of history and experience.

2. The hope of being saved by our own goodness.

Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10.

3. The hope that a man can be saved by a mere

religious profession. This is the false hope of

the text quoted.

4. The hope that a man can be saved by a faith

that does not lead a man to quit sin. James 2:14

RV; 1_John 5:4-5.

5. The hope that a man can be saved without being

born again. John 3:3.

# SPEECHLESS BEFORE GOD

"And he was speechless." Matthew 22:14.

I. What is the wedding garment? Revelation 19;7-8;

Ephesians 4:24; Revelation 13:14.

The wedding garment is righteousness and true

holiness of character. It is Christ Himself. If we

are to appear at that supper and keep our places,

then we must be clothed with righteousness of

heart and life, we must be clothed with true

holiness, we must put on Christ Himself so that

the beauty of Christ is seen in our lives.

II. Why the one not having on a wedding garment is

cast out.

1. First because he is not fit for heavenly

society. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared

people, a holy place for holy people.

2. Because it is his own fault that he has not on

a wedding garment. {415}

CONCLUSION. -- Have you on the wedding garment?

The time for the wedding supper is fast drawing

nigh.

# PATHS TO PERDITION

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the

gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to

destruction, and many there be which go in

thereat." Matthew 7:13.

I. The shortest path to perdition, the straightest

and quickest way, is suicide.

II. The second path to perdition is impurity.

1. First of all impurity breeds unbelief in God

and Christ and the Bible.

2. Impurity entangles people in relations that it

is hard to get out of, and that one cannot remain

in and be saved. Hell will be crowded with

adulterers and adulteresses.

3. The next path to perdition is the love of

money. 1_Timothy 6:9.

(a) It leads to dishonest methods of acquiring

money.

(b) The consuming love for money blinds many men

to the fact that there is anything but money worth

striving for, so they leave their souls and their

eternal interests utterly neglected.

the fact that they have a soul and that it is

lost, won't come to Christ for fear they will have

to give this money up if they do.

4. Love of pleasure is another path to perdition.

5. Infidelity. 2_Thessalonians 1:7-9; Mark 16:15

RV.

6. Reliance upon a mere profession of religion.

Matthew 7:21-23.

7. Putting off your conversion. Proverbs 27:1;

Proverbs 29:1.

# THE FAILURE OF JESUS CHRIST

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the

prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto

thee, how often would I have gathered thy children

together, even as a hen gathered her chickens

under her wings, and ye would not!" Matthew

23:37-38.

INTRODUCTION. -- These are among the most tender,

pathetic, painful and passionate words that ever

fell from the lips of Him {416} who spake as

never man spake. It is the utterance of a heart

that was aching for a love and trust that were

denied it, and well-nigh breaking with a sense of

disappointment at the utter failure of cherished

desires.

I. The First Lesson is that All Christ's Efforts

sometimes Fail.

II. The Second Thought of the Text is Why Jesus

Christ Fails.

It is put in the text in three words, "ye would

not." "I would; ye would not."

III. The Results of failure.

"Behold your house is left unto you desolate." The

result of the failure of Jesus Christ is utter

desolation for the one in whom He fails.

# AN IDIOTIC BARGAIN

"What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the

whole world and lose his own soul?" Mark 8;36.

I. Note First the Things Which are Contrasted.

1. The things which are contrasted are not the

present and the future.

It is true that the man who loses his soul does

lose the future --the eternal future-- but he does

not gain the present. The one whose soul is saved

does not lose the present to gain the future. He

does indeed gain the future, the eternal future.

He does not lose the present to gain it.

2. The things which are contrasted are the world

and the soul. The world, the seen, tangible world,

the world of sense and all it can give, money,

pleasure, honor, "the lust of the flesh and the

lust of the eye and the pride of life" (1_John

2:16). That is the one thing. The other is the

soul, or the life. The man himself, the unseen,

inner, real man. To lose our soul or life, is to

lose ourselves, to lose true manhood, to fail of

what God created us and intended us to be, to have

the image of God rubbed out and the image of the

devil stamped in its place, to lose all that is

divinest and grandest about us, and with it to

lose true peace, true joy, {417} true and

abiding glory and renown, the esteem of God,

co-heirship with Christ, the "inheritance

incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not

away which is laid up for us in heaven."

3. Many are trading their souls for far less than

the whole world.

II. Is there any Danger of Losing our Souls?

Yes. How do men lose their souls?

1. By persistence in sin.

2. The rejection of Christ.

CONCLUSION. -- Every one out of Christ is losing

his soul. Every year the ruin becomes more

complete. And it will go on until the last spark

of true manhood is extinguished, until the last

trace of the divine image is obliterated, until

the last breath of peace is vanished, until the

last note of joy is silenced, until the last

glimmer of glory is gone out, until the last

whisper of approval has died away, until the last

phantom of hope has disappeared, until this

glorious and undying soul which God made in His

own image and which Christ died to save, in

hopeless discord with itself, contorted into the

very image of Satanic evil, tempest tossed with

vile and insatiable passions, scorned by its

fellow victims and itself, agonizing over its

fathomless woe, nursing to its bosom its

inconsolable despair, passes out "into the outer

darkness where there is the weeping and the

gnashing of teeth." Is the whole world worth such

a sacrifice?

# A BRILLIANT AND BITTER INFIDEL CONVERTED

"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and

slaughter against the disciples of the Lord." Acts

9;1.

"What shall I do, Lord?" Acts 22:10.

INTRODUCTION. -- The texts set before us two

scenes in the life of Saul of Tarsus. In the one

we see Saul of Tarsus filled with hate of Jesus

Christ, breathing threatening and slaughter

against His disciples; in the other we see the

same Saul of Tarsus on his face before Jesus

Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord and surrendering

the whole control of his life into Jesus' hands,

Saul of Tarsus was the most brilliant and most

bitter disbeliever in Jesus {418} Christ the

world ever saw; he became the most devoted

believer in and servant of Jesus Christ of whom

history informs us. We are to study the thrilling

conversion of this remarkable man.

I. Why He Was Converted.

1. First of all he was converted because he was

sincere.

2. Saul of Tarsus was converted because he studied

the Scriptures. Many a skeptic and infidel is not

converted because he won't study the Scriptures.

3. In the third place, Saul of Tarsus was

converted because he yielded to the light when it

came.

II. How the Bitter and Brilliant Infidel Was

Converted.

1. First of all the life, character and testimony

of Stephen led to his conversion.

2. The second thing that led to the conversion of

Saul was prayer. Stephen prayed for him.

3. The third thing that led to Saul's conversion

was that Jesus Christ met him. That was the

decisive thing.

4. He cried and cried honestly, "What shall I do,

Lord?"

III. The Results of the Conversion of the

Brilliant and Bitter Infidel.

1. Saul of Tarsus became a completely transformed

man, a gloriously transformed man.

2. Became a mighty power for good.

3. He obtained priceless possessions for himself.

CONCLUSION. -- Such were the results of his

conversion, such will also be the results of your

conversion. Will you not then be converted now?

# A HARD ROAD

"The way of the transgressors is hard." Proverbs

13:15.

I. In the Life that now is.

1. Sin makes an uneasy conscience.

2. Sin will inevitably be followed by exposure.

3. Wherever there is sin there will also be

penalty. {419}

(a) One of the penalties of sin is the loss of the

confidence of our fellow man, and the consequent

loss of opportunity.

(b) A second penalty of sin is the physical

penalty. There is the most intimate connection

between our bodies and our characters.

is a well-known fact that when sin gets into the

lives of business men they oftentimes lose their

grip on business, and hurry on to financial ruin;

when it enters the lives of artists they often

lose their genius and skill; when it enters into

the lives of authors their minds become clouded.

(d) A fourth penalty of sin is bondage.

(e) Blindness. Sin robs the sinner of the vision

that is most priceless, -- moral and spiritual

vision.

II. In the Life to Come.

The penalties of sin do not end with the life that

now is. Sin and suffering forever go hand in hand.

If we die sinners we shall go into the next world

sinners, and being sinners we shall be sufferers.

In this life we may get the first fruits of our

sin, but there we get the full harvest.

CONCLUSION. -- What, then, shall the sinner do?

Isaiah 55:7.

# HOPLESS CASES

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,

neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest

they trample them under their feet, and turn again

and rend you." Matthew 7:6.

INTRODUCTION. -- It is evident from the text that

there are men and women in the world whose cases

are hopeless. Men and women who are so wedded to

sin and swill that it is a waste of time, and

worse than a waste of time, to preach God's truth

to them; you might as well cast pearls before

swine, you will only be torn for your trouble. As

hogs want corn and swill, and not pearls, so these

want animal gratification and sin, not truth.

Who are the swine that it is useless and worse

than useless to cast pearls of God's precious

truth before? {420}

I. Those Who Are Not Hopeless Cases.

1. The men of no race upon earth are hopeless

cases simply because they belong to that race.

2. Great sinners are not hopeless cases. 1_Timothy

1:15.

3. Skeptics are not hopeless cases.

4. Men who are morally weak, or morally impotent,

men who have no will power. 2_Corinthians 12:9.

II. Cases that Are Hopeless.

1. First of all, the cases of men and women who

have died without Jesus Christ are hopeless. John

8;21.

2. The case of any one who has committed the

unpardonable sin is hopeless. Matthew 12:31-32.

3. The blindly conceited man. Proverbs 26:12.

4. The man who will not give up sin is a hopeless

case.

5. Those who won't give up their unbelief are also

hopeless cases.

6. The man whose conscience is seared by

persistent resistance to the Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION. -- Some of you who have thought

yourselves hopeless cases are not, so turn to

Christ and He will save you. But there are some

who do not think their cases hopeless, who indeed

are not much concerned about themselves, who are

fast hurrying toward a position that is hopeless.

# WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?

"Whither goest thou?" John 16:5.

INTRODUCTION. -- The most important question that

can face any man when he comes to leave this

present world is, "Whither goest thou?" or, "Where

will you spend eternity?"

I. First of all remember there is an eternity.

II. In the next place remember you must spend that

eternity somewhere. {421}

III. Remember, in the third place, that the

question where you will spend eternity is vastly

more important than the question where you will

spend your present life.

IV. It is possible for us to know where we shall

spend eternity.

V. Bear in mind that we will spend eternity in one

of two places-- in heaven or in hell.

VI. Where you will spend eternity will be settled

in the life that now is. John 8:24, 21;

2_Corinthians 5:10.

VII. Where you will spend eternity will be

determined by what you do with Jesus Christ. John

3:36; 2_Thessalonians 1:7-9.

# GOD'S LAST INVITATION

"Whosoever will let him take the water of life

freely." Revelation 22:17.

INTRODUCTION. -- This is God's last invitation.

With it this great book of invitations closes.

I. What is the Water of Life?

1. The water of life is the Holy Spirit. John

7:37-39.

2. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person who is ready

to come into any man's being and take possession

of it and rule it and fill it with joy and peace

and beauty.

II. Why the Holy Spirit is called the Water of

Life.

1. First of all because He satisfies thirst. John

4:14.

2. Because He not only satisfies but brings life.

John 4:14. The moment you take the Holy Spirit you

get everlasting life.

III. How to Get this Water of Life. "Whosoever

Will let him Take."

Two words to emphasize then, "will" and "take."

# THE NEW BIRTH

"Ye must be born again." John 3:7.

INTRODUCTION. -- Describe circumstances and ---

{422}

I. The Necessity of the New Birth.

1. The necessity of the new birth is absolute. "Ye

must be born again." There is nothing that will

take the place of the new birth.

(a) A moral life will not take the place of the

new birth.

(b) Quitting your sins is not enough.

(d) Being very religious is not enough.

2. This necessity of the new birth is universal.

Absolutely no man will enter the Kingdom of God

without the new birth. John 3:3,7.

II. What is the New Birth.

1. Baptism is not the new birth. Acts 8:13, 21-23.

2. Church membership is not the new birth. Acts

5:1-11.

3. Reform is not the new birth.

4. What is the new birth? 2_Corinthians 5:17.

III. How to be Born Again.

John 1:12; John 3:14-15.

CONCLUSION. -- This doctrine of the new birth

sweeps away FALSE hopes, but it substitutes a TRUE

hope.

# SAVED

"For by grace are ye saved through faith."

Ephesians 2:8.

I. Who are Saved?

Every one who believes in Jesus Christ is saved.

Every one who really believes in Jesus as the Son

of God and shows that he really believes by taking

Jesus to be his own personal Savior and his Lord

and Master. To every such a one God says, as He

says in our text to the believers in Ephesus, "by

grace ye ARE saved."

II. From What we are Saved.

1. From all guilt. 2_Corinthians 5:21; 1_John 1:7.

2. From God's displeasure. {423}

3. I am saved from the condemnation of my own

conscience; from remorse.

4. From the power of sin. John 8:36.

5. From future judgment. John 5:24; Acts 17:31.

III. To What we are Saved.

1. To peace and joy. Romans 5:1; 1_Peter 1:8.

2. To a true and pure and holy and useful life.

3. To God's favor.

4. To Sonship. John 1:12.

5. To eternal life. John 3:16.

IV. How we are Saved.

1. We are saved by grace.

2. Through faith.

# NO SALVATION EXCEPT IN CHRIST

"And in none other is there salvation; for neither

is there any other name under heaven given among

men wherein we must be saved." Acts 4:12 RV.

I. There is Salvation in Jesus Christ.

1. In the first place it is certain because the

Bible says so.

2. It is certain because experience proves it.

(a) Jesus Christ saves from the guilt of sin.

(b) Jesus Christ also saves from the power of sin.

sin and the power of sin, but from the future

penalty of sin.

3. This salvation is for all who will accept it.

Acts 10;43.

II. There is no Salvation out of Christ.

1. This is plain from Scripture. Text:

2_Thessalonians 1:7-9.

2. Experience proves the same thing. Where is the

man who has found salvation out of Christ?

(a) Where is the man out of Christ who has found

salvation from the guilt of sin? {424}

(b) There is no salvation from the power of sin

out of Jesus.

sin or the power of sin out of Christ, there can

certainly be no salvation from the penalty of sin.

3. How great, then, is the folly of those who ask

us to give up Christianity because of the

difficulties of one kind or another!

III. To be Lost, all that is Necessary is simply

to Neglect this Salvation that Jesus Christ

Brings.

1. In order to be lost it is not necessary to

commit any grave offences against decency or

morality.

2. No conscious or outspoken rebellion against God

is necessary in order to be lost.

3. No speaking against, contempt or spitting upon

the salvation God has so graciously provided is

necessary in order to be lost.

4. It is not even necessary to make a decided

refusal to Jesus Christ's invitation to come to

Him and be saved.

# FORGIVEN

"Thy sins are forgiven." Luke 7:48.

INTRODUCTION. -- These are very simple words but

they are very blessed words and very wonderful

words. They are specially wonderful when we

consider who spoke them and to whom He spoke them.

Picture scene Matthew 11:28; Luke 7:36-50. They

teach us several very important lessons.

I. That Jesus Christ has power to Forgive Sins.

Many claim this power. Jesus has it.

II. There is Forgiveness for the Vilest Sinner.

III. This Forgiveness is to be had Now.

IV. All that one has to Do to Get this Forgiveness

is just to Believe. v.50. {425}

# WHY I AM GLAD I AM A CHRISTIAN

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

2_Corinthians 9:5.

INTRODUCTION. -- The unspeakable or indescribably

great and glorious gift of this verse is Jesus

Christ. Jesus is God's greatest gift and in Him

all other good gifts are included. John 3:16;

Romans 8:32. My heart and all that is within me

echoes the words of Paul. I do thank God for Jesus

Christ and am so glad that I have taken Him for my

Savior and surrendered to Him as my Lord and

Master.

I. Why I am Glad I am a Christian.

1. In the first place I am glad I am a Christian

because I know that my sins are all forgiven. The

Christian knows that every sin that he ever

committed is blotted out. How does he know it?

(a) First by God's own statement to that effect.

Acts 10;43; 1_John 1:9, 1_John 1:7.

(b) By the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Acts

10:43-44.

2. Because Jesus Christ has set me free from sin's

power.

3. Because I know that I am a child of God. John

1:12.

(a) I know it, first, because His book says so.

(b) I know it, for the Spirit of God bears witness

with my spirit that I am a child of God. Romans

8:16.

4. I am glad I am a Christian because I have been

delivered from all anxiety and fear. Philippians

4:6-7.

5. Because I have found a deep and abiding and

overflowing joy. 1_Peter 1:8.

6. Because I know I shall live forever. 1_John

2:17.

7. I am glad that I am a Christian because I know

that I have an "inheritance, incorruptible," etc.

1_Peter 1:4-5.

# GOD'S TESTIMONY TO JESUS CHRIST

"And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my

beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew

3:17.

INTRODUCTION. -- The most fundamental and

important question in religion is, Is Jesus Christ

the Son of God? If He is, your {426} duty and

mine is clear. If He isn't, then while our duty on

many great questions may not be clear, some things

at least are settled. On many occasions and in

many ways God has testified that Jesus Christ is

His Son. It is not only in times lying in the

past, of which we have a record in that unique

book the Bible, but also in our own day, that God

bears testimony that Jesus is His Son.

I. God Testifies that Jesus is His Son in the

Passage before us.

With an audible voice from heaven. (Describe

scene.) That settled it. There is no more room for

controversy or debate or doubt. "But," some will

say, "suppose this didn't happen, suppose the

record here in Matthew and the other Gospels is a

fabrication, what then?"

The testimony of such witnesses as those to whom

we owe those records and who were present and who

sealed their testimony with their blood is to be

received against the testimony of those who don't

even claim to have been there, and who didn't live

until centuries afterward, and who admit that they

know nothing about it, and who spin their theories

not out of any recorded facts but out of their

inner consciousness. It is a question of observed

fact against speculative guesses. Which will you

believe? Another place where God gave His

testimony to Jesus by an audible voice:

Transfiguration. Matthew 17:5.

II. God bore Testimony to Jesus Christ by the

Miracles He gave Him to Do. John 3:2.

For centuries the enemies of Christ have been

trying to invent a theory to discredit these

Gospel stories. Every effort has failed utterly.

One theory is set up simply to give way to

another. But if Jesus did these things, His claims

are established by facts.

III. God has borne Witness to Jesus Christ by the

Resurrection from the Dead.

The certainty of the resurrection. This settles

the question. Jesus' claims. Put to death for

making them. Claims that God would set His seal to

this claim by raising Him. God did this. God's

testimony by the resurrection absolutely

unanswerable. {427}

IV. God Himself bore Witness to Jesus Christ by

Has Ascension. Luke 20:50-51; Acts 1:6-9.

To this there were many witnesses. At least

eleven. This Ascension settles the question of

Christ's Sonship.

V. God bore Witness to Jesus Christ by the Gift of

the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:32-33.

The coming of the Holy Spirit was a conclusive

proof of Jesus' claims that He was the Son of God

and that He was going to the Father. When the Holy

Spirit came upon them so unmistakably the

disciples knew for a certainty that Jesus was with

the Father and had received for them the Holy

Spirit as He promised.

VI. Not only did God give the Holy Spirit at

Pentecost in Testimony to Jesus' Divinity! God

gives the Holy Spirit today to those who Accept

Him as Divine and Surrender their Wills to Him.

Acts 5:28-32.

VII. God bears Testimony today that Jesus Christ

is the Son of God in another way, and that is by

the Transforming Power of Christ in the Soul.

Jesus Christ proves Himself Divine to those who

accept Him as Divine. The question of whether or

not Jesus is the Son of God may be settled by an

appeal to God's testimony to Jesus Christ in the

past, but it may be also settled by an appeal to

God's testimony to Jesus Christ today.

CONCLUSION. -- In seven ways, then, God has borne

testimony to Jesus Christ that He is His Son.

This, then, is the question that confronts every

one here tonight who is out of Christ, "What shall

I do with the Son of God?"

# LOST-SAVED

"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that

which was lost." Luke 19:10.

INTRODUCTION. -- That verse contains two short

words that have a world of meaning in them. One of

the words has a whole world of light in it. The

other word has a world of darkness in it. {428}

I. Lost.

Our text suggests the great truth that every soul

out of Christ, every soul that Christ has not

definitely saved, is lost.

1. In that you are a sinner.

2. Slaves of sin. John 8:34.

3. All out of Christ are lost in that if they do

not turn to Christ they will be lost eternally.

Every man out of Christ is lost now and he will be

lost eternally unless Christ saves him.

II. Saved.

Here our text comes in with its message of hope

and joy. You are lost, but the Son of Man came to

seek and to save that which was lost.

1. He is seeking to save you.

(a) by His providence.

(1) That is why you are here tonight.

(2) Death of child.

(3) Sickness, etc.

(b) By His Spirit.

2. He can save.

(a) From guilt of sin.

(b) From power of sin.

CONCLUSION. -- Every man or woman will go out of

here tonight lost or saved.

# A CONVERTED INFIDEL'S PREACHING

"And straightway he preached Christ in the

synagogues, that he is the Son of God." Acts 9:20

RV.

INTRODUCTION. -- There was perhaps never a more

amazed audience than that one that heard Saul's

first sermon in Damascus. (Describe

circumstances.) The first thing I want you to look

at is {429} the preacher in the text, the second

thing to look at is the preacher's message.

I. The Preacher.

Three good reasons why this particular preacher's

message should command attention and be accepted;

taken together they prove that the message is

undoubtedly true.

1. First of all, he had been an enemy of Jesus

whom He now proclaimed to be the Son of God.

The doctrine that Jesus was the Son of God was not

something that Saul had taken up without any

thorough thought. Saul had opposed this doctrine

with all the vigor of an intense soul. When a man

like that turns completely around and says, 'I was

wrong, utterly wrong; Jesus is the Son of God," we

ought to give his change of opinion careful

attention.

2. Saul's testimony ought to have great weight for

another reason, because of what he sacrificed for

his opinion. Saul's change of opinion cost him

much; it cost him everything of a worldly

character that he possessed. When a man of brains

and education like Saul of Tarsus makes sacrifices

like that for a change of opinion, his new opinion

must command great consideration.

3. But there is a third reason, and a better one

yet, why Saul's opinion must have weight; indeed,

the reason is so absolutely conclusive that if we

are thoroughly honest we must say Saul was

certainly right in what he says, and Jesus, as

Saul says, "the Son of God." That reason is the

way in which Saul came to change his opinion.

Saul tells us why he changed his opinion. He says

it was because as he came near to Damascus at the

noon hour he saw Jesus Himself in such glory that

it blinded him, and he heard Jesus say, etc. (Acts

9:5-6; 22:16-18). Now if Saul really saw Jesus

thus in the Glory, and Jesus said this, and Saul

was commissioned to be His authoritative

representative, then Jesus certainly is the Son of

God; there is no more room for debate.

Did Saul really see Jesus and hear Him say these

things? {430} He says He did. Then Saul either

lied, or made the story up, or else he was

mistaken, or had a sunstroke or something of that

sort. Did he lie and make the story up? Men do not

manufacture lies for the sake of sacrificing home,

position, money, comfort, ease and everything dear

in life for them. Was Saul the victim of delusion

and fancy through sunstroke, or overwrought

imagination or something of that kind? The

recorded and well-attested facts in the case make

this theory impossible.

Some one may say that the whole story in Acts is a

fiction. Let him study it. I challenge any honest

lawyer or historical critic to study these stories

and say they do not bear the unmistakable marks of

truth. We arrive, then, at this point: that Saul

of Tarsus changed from a bitter infidel to a

believer and preacher, that Jesus is the Son of

God because Jesus Himself appeared to him in glory

as the Son of God. Saul actually saw Him, and He

appointed Saul His authoritative representative.

It is then absolutely settled not as a theological

speculation but as an established fact that Jesus

Christ is the Son of God.

II. The Message.

1. It is not that Jesus is a good man or even the

best man that ever walked the earth. "Jesus is the

Son of God."

2. Not merely Jesus is a great teacher, but Jesus

is the Son of God.

3. Not merely Jesus is a perfect man and our

example, but Jesus is the Son of God.

4. Jesus is the Son of God. What does that

involve?

(a) Absolute and whole-hearted trust in Him.

(b) Trusting Him for salvation.

(d) Surrender of our thought to Him.

(e) There is a saving power in the doctrine that

Jesus is the Son of God. It will save any man who

believes it from the heart and acts upon it.

(1) It will bring him life eternal. John 20;31.

(2) It will bring victory over the world. 1_John

5:5. {431}

# THE APPALLING SIN OF UNBELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST

"He that believeth not is condemned already,

because he hath not believed in the name of the

only begotten Son of God." John 3:18.

INTRODUCTION. -- The failure to put faith in Jesus

Christ is not a misfortune, it is a sin, a

grievous sin, an appalling sin, a damning sin.

I. Unbelief in Jesus Christ is an Appalling Sin

Because of Whom Jesus Christ is. Because of the

Dignity of His Person, Jesus Christ is the Son of

God.

A dignity attaches to Jesus Christ that attaches

to the person of no angels, or archangel, to none

of the principalities or powers in the heavenly

places. His is the name that is above every name

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord. An injury done to Jesus Christ is, then, a

sin of vastly greater magnitude than a sin done to

man.

II. In the Second Place Unbelief in Jesus Christ

is an Appalling Sin not only Because of the

Dignity of Christ's Person but also Because Faith

is the Supreme Thing Which is Due to Him.

Jesus is worthy of many things. But first of all,

underlying all else, Jesus Christ is worthy of

faith; man's confidence is due Jesus Christ.

III. Because Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of

all the Infinite Moral Perfections of God's Own

Being.

"God is light and in him is no darkness at all."

This infinite absolute light which God is, this

infinite holiness and love and truth, is

incarnated in Jesus Christ; and the refusal to

accept Him is the refusal of light and choice of

darkness.

IV. Unbelief in Jesus Christ is an Appalling Sin

Because it is Trampling Under Foot the Infinite

Love and Mercy of God. John 3:16.

Jesus Christ is the supreme expression of God's

love and mercy to sinners. {432}

CONCLUSION. -- It is as clear as day that unbelief

in Jesus Christ is an appalling sin. Theft is a

gross sin, adultery is worse, murder is shocking,

but all these are as nothing to the violation of

the dignity and majesty of the person of Jesus

Christ, the only begotten Son of God, by our

unbelief. Give up your awful unbelief in Jesus

Christ and accept Him tonight.

# THE SECRET OF A HAPPY LIFE.

"Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say

rejoice." Philippians 4:4.

INTRODUCTION. -- Every one wants to be happy.

Every one ought to be happy. Every one can be

happy. God has provided a way in which we can have

joy every moment of our lives.

The secret of a happy life is a wonderful secret.

The prescription is simple.

I. The First Ingredient in the Prescription is,

Obtain the Forgiveness of Your Sins by Repenting

of Them, Confessing Them and Accepting Jesus

Christ as Your Savior. Psalm 32:1; Isaiah 55:7;

Acts 10;43.

II. The Second Ingredient in the Prescription is

to Obtain the Holy Spirit by Absolute Surrender to

God. Acts 5:32.

III. The Third Ingredient is Prayer. Frequent

Prayer. John 16:24.

IV. The Fourth Ingredient is Bible Study. John

15:11.

# DAVID'S SIN

"The thing that David had done displeased the

Lord." 2_Samuel 11:27.

INTRODUCTION. -- The story is too horrible for

public recital, though if one will read it in

private with earnest prayer he may find

exceedingly precious lessons in it. It was one of

the most horrible and dastardly crimes of history.

The record of it and its consequences has held

many back from contemplated sin, and has brought

hope to many a despairing heart.

The history of David's sin teaches seven great

lessons.

I. That a very good man, if he gets his eyes off

from God and His Word, may easily fall into very

gross sin. {433}

II. That God never looks upon any man's sin with

the least degree of allowance.

III. That whatsoever a man soweth that he shall

also reap, and like the farmer he will reap much

more than he sows.

IV. The fourth lesson of David's sin is that the

sin of God's servants gives great occasion for the

enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.

V. That the sin of God's people is base

ingratitude toward God.

VI. That there is full and free and abundant

pardon for the vilest sinner.

VII. Pardon is found by the confession of our sin.

Cf. Psalm 32:1-5; Luke 18:10-14.

# JOYS OF THE CHRISTIAN

"Rejoice always." 1_Thessalonians 6:16.

INTRODUCTION. -- There are three things that

Christians should do constantly: rejoice, pray,

and give thanks. 1_Thessalonians 5:16-18. Constant

rejoicing, unceasing prayer, continual

thanksgiving -- this is God's will in Christ Jesus

regarding us. "Rejoice always." That is our duty,

that is also our privilege. God has made it

possible for us to constantly rejoice. How much

more our lives and our testimony would count for

Christ if only we did rejoice always.

I. Joy of Sins Forgiven. Psalm 32:1.

II. The Joy of Communion With God.

1_John 1:3; Psalm 16:11. Not only in heaven is

there fullness of joy in God's presence, but in

the present life there is fullness of joy in God's

presence, in communion with Him. There are three

methods of communion with God.

1. The first of these is prayer, breathing out to

God the desires of our hearts.

2. The second method of communion is the method of

thanksgiving. {434}

3. The third method of communion with God is the

method of worship. Worship is different from

either prayer or thanksgiving. In prayer we are

asking for something; in thanksgiving we are

returning thanks for something; in worship we are

just b owing before God, contemplating and adoring

Him and His Son Jesus Christ.

III. The Joy of Feasting on the Word. Jeremiah

15:16.

IV. The Joy of Victorious Service.

There is great joy in serving one we love, and

especially is there great joy if our service is

effective. The Christian loves Christ; his service

of Christ may always be successful and victorious.

V. The Joy of Winning Souls.

Few joys this side of heaven so great as the joy

of bringing someone else to Christ.

VI. The Joy of Suffering for Christ. Acts 5:40.

VII. The Joy of the Holy Spirit. 1_Thessalonians

1:6.

# SINCERE BUT NOT SAVED

"Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon... who

shall tell thee words, whereby thou shalt be

saved." Acts 11:13-14.

INTRODUCTION. -- A man may be a sincere and

earnest seeker after truth and still not be a

saved man as yet.

I. The Character of Cornelius.

1. He was "a devout man." It is evident that his

devotion was genuine, for it affected his whole

household, the soldiers under him and his kinsman

and his near friends.

2. But Cornelius was not only a devout man towards

God, he was also righteous towards man. v.22.

3. Cornelius was a generous man.

4. Cornelius was a man of prayer.

5. Cornelius was an eager seeker after more light.

{435}

6. Cornelius was ready to obey the truth when he

found it, whatever it might require of him.

Altogether this man Cornelius was a man of

singularly lofty character, yet with all this the

inspired record tells us that Cornelius was not

yet saved, that he needed salvation.

II. How Cornelius was Saved.

1. First of all he prayed for light. Acts

10:31-32; comp. 10;22 and 11:13-14. Cornelius felt

that he had not the whole truth. He knew he had

not peace. He knew that for all his excellencies

he was a sinner and needed pardon, and he sought

God to find where pardon could be found.

2. He obeyed the light that God gave him step by

step. There are some who will not take a step

until God shows them the whole way. Such people

never find the way. But if we are ready to take a

step at a time God will lead us into the perfect

day.

3. The third step toward salvation was that he

heard the simple Gospel of Christ crucified and

risen again, and of remission of sins through

simple faith in Him. The sermon Cornelius heard

was very short. Peter simply told him a few facts

about Jesus. How God "preached peace by him." How

He was "Lord of all." How He had wrought wonders

delivering people from the power of Satan. How He

had been crucified and raised again. How He had

been appointed of God to be "the judge of living

and dead," and then would up by saying, "To him

bear all the prophets witness, that through his

name whosoever believeth in him shall receive

remission of sins." That was all he heard and you

have all heard it.

4. Then Cornelius took the decisive step. He

believed in Christ right there and was saved at

once. As good and exemplary as Cornelius was, he

was saved in the same way that the coarse, brutal,

prayerless, godless Philippian jailer was saved,

by faith in Jesus Christ for the pardon of sin.

When Peter spoke of the forgiveness of sins he

knew he needed it. When Peter said, "Whosoever

believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,"

Cornelius said that means me, and he believed and

received remission then and there. {436} One

more thing, the Holy Ghost came upon Cornelius

then and there in testimony that God had accepted

him, and he began to magnify God in the power of

the Holy Ghost.

# AN OPEN DOOR

"I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he

shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall

find pasture." John 10:9.

INTRODUCTION. -- Wide-awake men are always on the

alert for open doors. Some are seeking an open

door to wealth, others an open door to fame,

others still an open door to power and others an

open door to wisdom and learning. One of the

chief differences between the men who succeed and

the men who fail in this world is that the former

are quick to see the doors which stand open and

quick to enter them, and the latter are so slow to

see, or so slow to enter, that the door slams in

their face while they are standing wondering

whether they would better go in or not. An open

door which if entered leads to more that is good

and glorious than any other door that men have

ever entered. John 10:9. Jesus Christ is the Door.

I. To What Is He The Door?

1. He is the door to salvation. "By me if any man

enter in he shall be saved."

2. He is the door to life. John 10:10 RV.

3. Christ is also the door to liberty and

security. "By me if any man enter in he shall be

saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find

pasture."

4. Jesus Christ is also the door to pasture.

"Shall find a pasture." Food, satisfaction. It is

in Christ alone that the soul of man can find

pasture, find food, find satisfaction.

II. To Whom is the Door Open?

"I am the door; by me IF ANY MAN enter in, he

shall find pasture." That door is open to any man,

to every man.

CONCLUSION. -- The door stands open to all here.

The door will not always stand open. Luke 13:25.

{437}

# A PLAIN ANSWER TO A GREAT QUESTION

"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I

do to be saved?" "And they said, Believe on the

Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and

thy house." Acts 16:30-31.

INTRODUCTION. -- The question and answer are found

in the sixteenth chapter of Acts.

I. The Importance of the Question.

II. The Plain Answer.

1. Note first the confidence of this answer. Thou

SHALT be saved. What made Paul so confident?

(a) God had revealed it to him. Galatians 1:12.

(b) Paul had tried it.

2. Note second the completeness of the answer,

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt

be SAVED." Not helped, not made better, not

patched up, but "saved."

3. Note third and lastly the simplicity of the

answer. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and

thou shalt be saved." Can not any one understand

that? To believe on any one is to commit yourself

to them. To believe in a doctor when you are sick

is to put your case in his hands, to surrender

yourself to his directions. To believe in a

lifeboat when you are on a sinking ship is to

commit yourself to it, get into it, to surrender

yourself to its keeping. 2_Timothy 1:12. "Believe

on the LORD JESUS CHRIST." Paul said Believe in

Him as LORD, the Divine One to whom we cry as did

Thomas, "My Lord and my God." Believe in Him as

JESUS, i.e., SAVIOR, the One who bore our sins in

His own body on the tree, the One who, as a risen

One in the place of power at God's right hand,

saves from the power of sin day by day. Believe in

Him as Christ; God's anointed king, to whom we

shall render our homage and obedience. The One to

whom we shall render absolutely the control of our

lives. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou

shalt be saved." {438}

# AN IMPERATIVE AND IMMEDIATE NEED

"We must be saved." Acts 4:12.

INTRODUCTION. -- Every one here who cannot say, "I

have been saved," should say with that intensity

of emphasis that comes from depth of conviction,

"I must be saved." You need a Savior more than you

need anything else. That is your most imperative

and most immediate need.

I. Why We Need a Savior.

1. You need a Savior because you are a sinner.

Romans 3:22-23.

2. You need a Savior, in the second place, because

you have not only sinned but because you have

committed the greatest sin a man can commit. Cf.

Matthew 22:37-38.

3. You need a Savior, in the third place, because

you are under a curse. Galatians 3:10.

4. You need a Savior, in the fourth place, because

you are in bondage to sin. John 8:34.

5. You need a Savior because you cannot save

yourself.

(a) You cannot save yourself from the guilt of

sin.

(b) Can we save ourselves from the power of

present sin?

6. You need a Savior because if you are not saved

you must spend eternity in hell. Revelation 20:15.

# A KING'S FOLLY AND WHAT IT COST: A TRAGEDY

"Thou art weighed in the balances and art found

wanting." Daniel 5:27.

INTRODUCTION. -- The Bible is the most dramatic

book that was ever written, etc. (Picture scene.)

I. Belshazzar was Weighed in the Balance of God.

He had been weighed in other balances and not

found wanting. Balance of his own judgment?

Balance of public opinion? Balance of worldly

philosophy.

We, too, each one of us, are being weighed in

God's scales. {439} The great question is, What

do we weigh there?

II. Belshazzar was found Wanting. Why?

1. "Thou hast not humbled thine heart." v.22.

2. Belshazzar had refused to humble his heart in

face of God's known dealings with others. "THOUGH

THOU KNEWEST ALL THIS."

3. Belshazzar had lifted himself up against the

Lord of heaven. v.23.

4. "The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose

are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." v.23,

last half.

III. The Consequences of Belshazzar's Folly. What

it Cost.

1. His kingdom. v.26. You too have a kingdom.

James 2:5.

2. His life. v. 30. So with us. Romans 6:23.

# THE WONDERFUL JESUS

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is

given; and the government shall be upon his

shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,"

etc. Isaiah 9:6.

INTRODUCTION. -- The prophet Isaiah with a mind

illumined by the Holy Spirit looked down 710 years

and saw the coming of Jesus of Nazareth and

uttered the sublime words of our text. In them is

wrapped up a world of meaning concerning the

Divine Glory, the Matchless Character, and

Wonderful Offices of our Lord. In the Bible names

have meaning, especially when applied to God the

Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost. The name is a

revelation of what one is. Jesus is called

wonderful because He is wonderful.

I. Jesus is Wonderful in His Nature.

1. He is a Divine Being. He is Divine in a sense

in which no other man is divine. The Bible is full

of that great truth.

2. While He is Divine, He is at the same time a

Real Man. 1_timothy 2:5.

II. Jesus is Wonderful in His Character.

His character was absolutely perfect. He was

absolutely without blemish and without spot. He

was not only blameless but {440} every possible

perfection of character rested upon Him. There is

not a perfection of character of which we can

think that is not to be found in Him, and found it

its fullness. His character is indeed wonderful.

He is the wonder of the ages. He stands out

absolutely peerless and alone. When any man

ventures to put any one else alongside of Jesus

Christ he at once loses the confidence of all

candid and fair-minded men.

1. Jesus was perfect in holiness.

2. He was also perfect in love.

There are many other perfections in the character

of Jesus; e.g., the perfection of His meekness and

gentleness and humility and patience and courage

and manliness.

III. Jesus is Wonderful in His Work.

1. In the first place He makes a perfect atonement

for sin. Isaiah 53:6.

2. He also saves from sin's power. Indeed Jesus

completely transforms men. 2_Corinthians 5:17.

3. Jesus will do more wonderful things still in

the future.

CONCLUSION. -- Jesus is indeed wonderful in the

infinite glory of His Divine nature. He is

wonderful in the matchless, absolute perfection of

His character. He is wonderful in His work,

blotting out all sin by His death, delivering from

all sin by His resurrection life, transforming us

from all remaining imperfection into the full

glory of Sons of God by His living again. Jesus is

the Wonderful. Now, what will you do with Him?

What will you do with this wonderful Jesus? Will

you accept Him or reject Him?

# THE GREAT QUESTION OF THE DAY

"What shall I do with Jesus?" Matthew 27:22.

INTRODUCTION. -- If I should ask this audience

what is the great question of the day, I presume I

would get a great variety of answers. Some would

say, etc.

But there is a question of vastly more importance.

A question upon the right decision of which

immeasurably more depends. The question is this,

"What shall I do with Jesus, which is called

{441} Christ?" It is not a new question. Pontius

Pilate asked it more than 1900 years ago.

Thousands upon thousands have asked it since. Upon

a right decision of that question everything that

is really worth having for time and for eternity

depends. If you do the right thing with Jesus you

will get everything that is worth having for time

as well as for eternity. If you do the wrong thing

with Jesus Christ you will lose everything that is

really worth having for time as well as for

eternity.

I. What we will Get if we Do the Right Thing with

Jesus Christ.

1. If you do the right thing with Jesus Christ you

will get forgiveness of sins. Acts 10;43.

What an unspeakable blessing the forgiveness of

sins is! Psalm 32:1.

2. You will get peace of conscience by doing the

right thing with Jesus Christ.

3. You will get deliverance from the power of sin

by doing the right thing with Jesus Christ.

4. You will get great joy by doing the right thing

with Jesus Christ. 1_Peter 1:8.

5. If you do the right thing with Jesus Christ you

get eternal life. John 3:36; 1_John 5:12.

Eternal life. What has the world to put in

comparison with that? Do the right thing with

Jesus and you get eternal life; do the wrong thing

with Jesus and you lose it.

6. There is something even better than eternal

life that you get by doing the right thing with

Jesus Christ.

By doing the right thing with Jesus Christ you

become a son of God and heir of God and joint heir

with Jesus Christ. John 1:12; Romans 8:17.

II. What is the Right Thing to Do with Jesus?

1. First of all to receive Him as your Savior.

John 1:12.

2. Let Him into your heart. Revelation 3:20.

3. Enthrone Him in your heart. He is the Christ,

God's anointed King. Acts 2:36.

4. Confess Him before the world as your Lord and

Master. Matthew 10;32-33; Romans 10:9 RV. {442}

# HOW TO BE SAVED

"And [he] brought them out, and said, Sirs, what

must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on

the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,

and thy house." Acts 16:30-31.

INTRODUCTION. -- God has not left us to guess how

to be saved. The question has been asked and

answered. The way of salvation is here made as

plain as day. Notice the positiveness of the

statement. All any one then has to do to be saved

is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Cf. John

3;16.)

I. Trust in Him for the Pardon of all my Sins.

(Cf. Acts 13:38-39.)

"Believe on the Lord JESUS."

II. The Surrender to Him of the Control of my

Entire Life.

"Believe on the LORD Jesus."

III. Confession of Him as my Lord. Romans 10:9 RV.

"Lord Jesus."

IV. The Surrender to Him of the Control of my

Thoughts.

"Lord."

V. Looking to Him for Guidance.

VI. Study of His Words in order to Know His Will.

John 14:23.

VII. Dependence upon Him for Strength to Do His

Will. John 15:5.

CONCLUSION. -- The first step of faith is possible

right now, and it is absolutely sure that the

moment you take it you will be saved.

# THE ONLY FOUNDATION

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is

laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1_Corinthians 3:11.

INTRODUCTION. -- Philosophers and wise men have

tried hard to lay some other foundation than Jesus

Christ, but have failed {443} utterly. Still

they keep at it. They are bound in their foolish

wisdom to find some other foundation than God's

and in this way they are dooming themselves and

their followers to wretchedness, failure,

disappointment and sorrow here, and to shame,

degradation and anguish hereafter.

I. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation for

Obtaining the Forgiveness of Sin.

II. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation for Peace

of Conscience.

III. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation of Peace

of Heart.

By peace of heart as distinguished from peace of

conscience, we mean freedom from anxiety and

worry.

IV. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation upon which

to Build a Successful Attempt to Get the Victory

over Sin. John 8:36.

V. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation for Comfort

in Sorrow. Matthew 11:28.

VI. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation for Deep,

Abiding, Overflowing Joy.

VII. Jesus Christ is the only Foundation for Hope.

VIII. The only Foundation for Eternal Life.

IX. The only Foundation for Social Regeneration.

# WHEN IT PAYS TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

"My God shall supply all your need according to

his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians

4:19.

INTRODUCTION. -- If there is anything in this

world that pays it is to have a living faith in

Jesus Christ. Just listen to that text. There is a

guarantee to the believer on Christ to have every

need supplied and that guarantee is good.

When it pays to be a believer in Jesus: {444}

I. In Health and Strength.

It pays to be a Christian when one is well and

strong. What has a strong man who is not a

Christian to do that is worth doing? Without

Christ there is nothing worthy for a well and

strong man to do.

II. In Sickness.

It pays in many ways.

1. In the first place faith in Jesus Christ

promotes restoration to health. It does this in an

indirect way. Nothing is more conducive to health

than a peaceful, contented, joyful, hopeful frame

of mind. It is a certain fact that many people are

well today who would be sick or dead if it had not

been for direct answers to prayers for their

healing.

2. It brings joy and blessing in the midst of

sickness.

III. In Sorrow.

Happy is the man or woman who in the time of deep

sorrow, the time when loved ones are taken away

and the heart is lonely and aching, believes in

Jesus Christ.

IV. In Adversity. Romans 5:3-4; Romans 8;28.

It makes one to rejoice and praise God in the

midst of the loss of all one's property, and the

complete overturning of our plans.

V. In Prosperity.

No one needs faith in Jesus Christ more than a

prosperous man.

1. Prosperity will eternally ruin any man who is

not stayed and guided by a living faith in Jesus

Christ.

2. In order to really enjoy prosperity.

VI. In Death. Philippians 1:23; 2_Timothy 4:6-8.

How dark is the hour of death if one has not a

living faith in Jesus Christ. How bright is the

hour of death if one has, etc. {445}

VII. In the Judgment. Romans 14:12.

It will pay to be a believer in Jesus Christ in

the Judgment.

VIII. Eternity. John 3:36.

In eternity to have believed in Jesus Christ will

mean eternal life, eternal joy, eternal glory. In

eternity not to have believed in Jesus Christ will

mean eternal death, eternal darkness, eternal

shame, eternal agony, eternal despair.

# ETERNAL LIFE, WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO GET IT

"The gift of God is eternal life." Romans 6:23.

I. What Eternal Life is.

1. Eternal life is real life. 1_Timothy 6:12, 19

RV.

2. "Eternal Life" is abundant life. John 10;10 RV.

3. Eternal life is joyous life. 1_Peter 1:8.

4. Eternal life is a life of true knowledge. John

17:3.

5. Eternal life is endless life. John 10:28.

II. Who can Have it? Revelation 22:17.

Anybody.

III. How to Get it.

1. First it is a "gift."

2. It is "in Jesus Christ."

3. In order to get eternal life you have simply to

take Him in whom it is. 1_John 5;12.

# REFUGES OF LIES

"Judgment also will I lay to the line, and

righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall

sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters

shall overflow the hiding place." Isaiah 28:17.

INTRODUCTION. -- In the preceding verses of the

chapter God has announced to Israel that there is

a day of judgment coming for them. But the rulers

of Israel regarded this warning with scorn. They

spoke just as the obstinate fools today talk. The

Assyrian army came and destroyed the stout-hearted

princes of Israel. Now God has declared there is

to be another judgment, another {446} hail,

another day of dealing with ungodly and

Christ-rejecting men. What these princes of Israel

did: strengthened their proud and wicked hearts

and sought comfort in refuges of lies, in false

hopes. Many are doing so today.

I. How to tell a Refuge of Lies.

Five common sense tests by which you can tell a

true refuge, one that will stand fast in the Day

of Judgment from a false one, a Refuge of Lies,

one that the tempest of hail shall sweep away and

leave you exposed to the pitiless fury of the

storm of eternal judgment.

1. The first test is this: Does the refuge in

which you are trusting satisfy the highest demands

of your own conscience. If not it will of course

not satisfy God. 1_John 3:20.

2. Is the refuge in which you are trusting

delivering you from the power of sin? The refuge

that cannot save us from the power of sin here

cannot save us from the consequences of sin

hereafter.

3. Will the refuge in which you are trusting stand

the test of the dying hour?

4. Will the refuge in which you are trusting stand

the test of the all-seeing eye of God in the

judgment?

5. Will it stand the test of Scripture? A refuge

that will not stand the test of Scripture is

utterly unreliable. The Bible is the book that the

ages have tried and tested. Through these ages one

philosopher after another has set up his opinions

against the Bible. But the philosophers each have

had their day and gone down, but the Bible has

withstood the wreck of the centuries.

II. Refuges Tested and Proven Refuges of Lies.

1. Universalism. Apply tests.

2. Infidelity. Apply tests.

3. Spiritualism. Apply tests.

4. Refusal to consider.

5. Morality.

6. Religious ceremonies.

7. Orthodoxy of belief. {447}

CONCLUSION. -- Is there a sure refuge? Yes.

Isaiah 32:2. Jesus Christ. Apply tests.

# HARDENED

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called

today; lest any of you be hardened through the

deceitfulness of sin." Hebrews 3:13.

INTRODUCTION. -- There is not a more solemn

warning in the Bible than this. There is not a

more timely warning in the Bible than this. All

around us we see men and women who are being

"hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Three

times in this one chapter God pleads with men,

"Harden not your hearts."

I. Indications that one is Hardened.

1. The truth does not move us as it once did.

2. Jest about sacred things or listen approvingly

to others when they jest about them.

3. Not deeply moved by thoughts of God's love.

II. Results of being Hardened.

1. The first evil that results from a hardened

heart is a corrupt life. The hardening of the

heart against the truth and against Christ leads

inevitably to sin.

2. Spiritual blindness.

3. Loss of joy.

4. Utter despair.

5. Eternal death. Romans 2:5. There is no hope in

the life that is to come for the man whose heart

is finally hardened against Christ.

# THE JUDGMENT DAY

"He hath appointed a day in which he will judge

the world in righteousness, by that man whom he

hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance

unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the

dead." Acts 17:31.

INTRODUCTION. -- Two events in the future are

absolutely certain, the coming of Christ for His

people, the coming of a judgment day for the

world.

Note five things about this judgment day: {448}

I. The Certainty of it.

The resurrection of Christ from the dead is a

certain, incontrovertible fact, and it is a

guarantee that there is a day of judgment coming.

When Jesus was here upon earth He said that in

coming days He would judge the world. (John

5:22-23.) Men scoffed at this claim. They put Him

to death for making it, and the other claim

involved in it, that He was the Son of God. But

God set His seal to the claim by raising Him from

the dead. The resurrection of Christ from the dead

makes it absolutely certain that there is a

Judgment Day coming.

II. The Universality of it.

"He will judge the WORLD."

III. The Basis of it, or About What the Judgment

will be.

1. It will be about the deeds done in the body.

2_Corinthians 5:10 RV.

2. The secret things will be judged. Romans 2:16.

3. The great basis of that judgment will be what

men have done with Christ. John 3:18-19.

IV. Who will Sit as Judge.

That same Jesus whom you are rejecting today will

be the judge in that day.

V. The Issues.

They will be eternal.

# ETERNITY

"For our light affliction, which is but for a

moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and

eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the

things which are seen, but at the things which are

not seen; for the things which are seen are

temporal, but the things which are not seen are

eternal." 2_Corinthians 4;17-18.

INTRODUCTION. -- The apostle Paul had to endure

some things that to most men would seem very hard

to bear, and some of these afflictions continued

through years. But in speaking of these

afflictions {449} in our text Paul speaks of

"our LIGHT affliction" and our affliction "which

is FOR THE MOMENT." Is thirty years but "a

moment"? Yes, when compared with eternity. And is

the loss of friends, the loss of ease, the loss of

admiration and applause of man, the loss of home

and native land, the loss of all men ordinarily

hold dear, and imprisonment and shipwreck and

scourging and wandering and hunger and stoning, is

all this "light affliction"? Yes, when compared

with the joy and honor and glory which is to be

revealed to us. And when all the wealth, and

pleasures and honors, that one can possibly get in

this world are put in comparison with the eternal

agony and ruin and despair and shame that it costs

to live for the world they too are nothing.

I. There is an Eternity and we Must Go there.

II. When and How we shall spend Eternity is

Settled in the Life that now is.

III. How to Secure a Blessed and Glorious

Eternity.

1. Believe on Jesus Christ. John 3:16.

2. We must serve Jesus Christ.

3. The sufferings we endure, the sacrifices we

make for Christ, make eternity richer. Matthew

5:11-12; Romans 8:18; 2_Timothy 2:12.

CONCLUSION. -- The greatest practical question

that confronts you and me tonight is, Where shall

we spend eternity, and how shall we spend

eternity?

# HELL

"If thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck

it out, and cast it from thee: for it is

profitable for thee that one of thy members should

perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell."

Matthew 5:29 RV.

INTRODUCTION. -- Text is from Sermon on the Mount.

Many persons say they do not believe the whole

Bible but do believe the Sermon on the Mount.

I have also taken my text from the Revised

Version, for some so-called liberal preachers are

proclaiming today that the RV {450} has done

away with hell. There seems to be a good deal of

it left in our text.

I. The Certainty of Hell.

Hell is a certainty.

1. Hell is certain because God's Word declares it.

Matthew 25:41; 2_Thessalonians 1:7,9; 2_Peter

2:4,9; Jude 14-15.

Listen. Jesus spoke after He Himself had gone down

into the grave and risen again and ascended to the

right hand of God. He certainly knew now what He

was talking about when He spoke of the future

life. Revelation 21:8.

2. Experience, observation, common sense also

point to the existence of hell.

II. The Character of Hell.

1. Hell is a place of Physical anguish. This is

plain from the Bible description of the future

destiny of the impenitent. "Death" and

"destruction" are the terms most frequently used

of the future punishment of sin. Both of these

terms are defined in the Bible. Revelation 17:8;

cf. Revelation 20;10, Revelation 21:8.

In the next world we are not disembodied spirits.

We have bodies. Not these same bodies, it is true,

but bodies. The bodies of the damned will be the

fit partner of the degraded spirits that inhabit

them and partakers in all their shame and agony.

2. Hell is a place of remorse of conscience. Hell

is a place of memory and remorse, remorse without

a moment's rest, endless remorse.

3. Hell is a place of unsatisfied and consuming

desires. Hell is a place where passion and desires

exist in their highest potency, but where there is

absolutely no gratification for them.

4. Hell is a place of ever-increasing moral

degradation. It is a "bottomless pit."

5. Hell is a place of shame.

6. Hell is a place of vile associations.

Revelation 21:8.

7. Finally, hell is a place without hope. {451}

# A CHEERING PROMISE ABOUT HELL

"All liars shall have their part in the lake which

burneth with fire and brimstone." Revelation 21:8.

INTRODUCTION. -- The subject of hell is one of the

most awful subjects that any man can contemplate.

There is but one subject that is more awful and

that is sin. Sin is worse than hell. The suffering

and misery that sin causes are not so awful as the

sin which causes them. Hell with its vast ages of

agony and shame is a frightful subject to

contemplate, but even hell has its pleasant side.

It is found in the text.

It is a comforting thought that there will not be

one liar in heaven. There will be men in heaven

who have been liars and have repented, but there

will not be one man or woman there who persisted

in their lying. I am sorry that there are any

liars in the world, but there are, and as long as

there are I am comforted to think that there is a

hell for them to go to. A liar is a son of Satan,

for the devil is a liar and the father of lies. A

liar is the most hopeless case on earth. He can be

saved only by faith, and it is hard for a liar to

have faith in God. He is such a liar himself that

it is hard for him to put confidence in any one

else. Men, you, that is the reason why so many

liars are infidels. The case of the liar is very

dark indeed, and we need not wonder that it is

written that "all liars," etc.

I. Classes of Liars.

1. The slanderous liar, the liar who slanders his

fellow men.

2. The atheistic liar. The slanderous liar

slanders man, the atheistic liar slanders God.

3. The infidel liar. The slanderous liar slanders

his fellow man, the atheistical liar slanders God,

the infidel liar slanders the Bible, God's Word,

infinitely the best book the world ever had; and

in slandering God's Word he slanders the God who

is the author of it.

4. The fourth class of liars are those who deny

the Virgin Birth. The slanderous liar slanders his

fellow man, the atheistical liar slanders God, the

infidel liar slanders the Word of God and the God

who is the author of it, and {452} he who denies

that Jesus is the Christ, the apostle John tells

us, is the liar of liars. 1_John 2:22.

5. They, too, are liars who say that there is no

hell and no future punishment for sin. Any man who

says this is a great enemy of his fellow man. He

holds out false hopes to his fellow man, and lures

him on to eternal ruin.

6. The sixth class of liars are those who make

false excuses for not coming to Christ.

II. How to Escape Hell.

There is but one way in which you can escape hell.

That is by the personal acceptance of Jesus Christ

as your Savior and Lord and the open confession of

Him before the world. Acts 4:12; John 3:36;

Matthew 10:32-33; 2_Thessalonians 1:7-9.

# "GOD'S BLOCKADE OF THE ROAD TO HELL"

"The Lord is... not willing that any should

perish, but that all should come to repentance."

2_Peter 3:9.

INTRODUCTION. -- If any man perish it is not God's

fault. God has done and is doing everything in His

power to bring men to repentance. If men will not

repent they must perish. Sin and destruction must

ever go hand in hand. Men must choose between sin

and life. They cannot have both.

Any scheme of salvation that proposes to save a

man while he continues in his sin is an absurdity

on its very face. God will not and cannot save a

man unless he repents. But God is doing all in His

power to bring men to repentance. God has

blockaded the read to hell, and if any man goes

there it is of his own choice in spite of God's

blockade. How has God blockaded the road to hell?

I. The Bible.

The first great obstruction that God has put in

the road to hell is the Bible. The Bible with its

warnings and its invitations and its promises is

constantly calling every one of us to a holy life.

The Bible is a constant protest against our sins

and our unbelief and our impenitence. {453}

II. Mother's Instructions.

A second obstacle that God has put in the road

that leads to rein is a mother's instructions.

III. Mother's Prayers.

A third obstacle that God has put in the road to

hell is a mother's prayers.

IV. Sunday School Teacher's Instructions.

V. The Sermons that We Hear.

VI. Providential Occurrences.

Another obstruction that God places in the road to

hell are various providential occurrences.

VII. The Holy Spirit.

One of the mightiest obstacles that God places in

the road to hell is the striving of the Holy

Spirit.

VIII. The Cross of Christ.

But the greatest obstacle of all that God has

placed in the road to hell, the one without which

all others would count for naught, is the cross of

Christ.

{454}

@06 CHAPTER SIX

TOPICAL SERMONS IN OUTLINE

# THE BIBLE: WHEREIN IT DIFFERS FROM ALL OTHER

BOOKS

INTRODUCTION. -- The Bible stands absolutely

alone. It is an entirely unique book. It is not a

book, it is THE Book. Wherein the Bible differs

from all other books:

I. In its Depth.

The Bible is the unfathomable and inexhaustible

book. It is unfathomable not because of the

obscurity of its style, but because of the

profundity of its teaching. The style is so simple

and clear that a child can understand it, but its

truth is so profound that we explore it from

childhood to old age, and can never say that we

have reached the bottom.

1. There are whole volumes of meaning in a single

and apparently simple verse.

2. The Bible is always ahead of man. What other

book ought to command the attention, the time and

the study that this book does which is deeper than

all other books, ahead of all other books and

ahead of every age?

II. In the Absolute Accuracy of its Statements.

The Bible is the only book that always says all it

means to say, and never says any more than it

means to say.

III. In its Power.

There is perhaps no place in which the supremacy

and solitariness of the Bible shines out as in its

power. {455} In what direction does the Bible

show a power that no other books possess?

1. Saving power.

(a) The Bible has unique saving power in

individual lives.

(b) It has saving power in national life.

2. The Bible has a comforting power no other book

possesses.

3. The Bible has a joy-giving power no other book

possesses.

4. The Bible has a wisdom-giving power that no

other book possesses. Psalm 119:130.

5. The Bible has a courage-giving power no other

book possesses. No other book has made so many and

such peerless heroes.

6. The Bible has a power to inspire activity that

no other book possesses.

IV. In its Universal Adaptability.

Other books fit certain classes, or certain types,

or certain races of men, but the Bible fits man

universally.

1. It fits all nations.

2. It fits all ages.

3. The Bible fits all classes.

4. The Bible fits all experiences. It is the book

for the hour of gladness, and the book for the

hour of sadness, the book for the day of victory

and the book for the day of defeat. The book for

the day of clearest faith, and the book for the

day of darkest doubt.

V. In its History.

1. The Bible has been hated as no other book.

2. Loved as no other book.

3. Studied as no other book.

4. It has been victorious as no other book.

VI. In its Authorship.

Finally, the Bible differs from every other book

in its authorship. Other books are men's books,

this is God's book. {456}

# IS THE BIBLE IN DANGER?

INTRODUCTION. -- Many consider that the Bible is

in grave danger. Many think so because they are

glad to think so; it gives their conscience some

little consolation in a life of sin. Others fear

so with great reluctance. They love the Bible;

would be glad to believe, they are afraid that the

old book must go. So let us honestly face the

question, "Is the Bible in danger?"

We will not deny that the Bible has enemies and

most gifted ones. Six reasons why the Bible is not

in danger:

I. Because the Bible has already Survived the

Attacks of 1,800 Years.

II. The Bible is not in Danger because it Meets

and Satisfies the Deepest Needs of Man.

1. First of all the need of pardon and peace.

2. The need of man is deliverance from sin's

power.

3. The need of comfort in sorrow.

4. Need of hope in the face of death.

III. The Bible is not in Danger because there is

Nothing Else to Take the Place of the Bible.

The Bible contains all the truth of moral and

spiritual subjects that other books contain, it

contains more than all other books put together,

and it contains all this in portable compass.

IV. The Bible is not in Danger because it has a

Hold that Cannot be Shaken on the Confidence and

Affection of the Wisest and Best Men and Women.

The Bible has the distrust and hatred of some, but

it has the confidence and affection of the wisest

and especially the best and holiest of men and

women. The men who know the Bible best are the men

who trust it most and love it best. The Bible is

distrusted and hated by those whose influence dies

with them; the Bible is loved and trusted by those

whose influence lives after them. {457}

V. The Bible is not in Danger because it is the

Word of God.

Many things prove that this book is the Word of

God: its fulfilled prophecies, its unity, its

Divine Power, its inexhaustible depth, the fact

that as we grow in knowledge and holiness -- grow

Godward -- we grow toward the Bible.

VI. The Bible is not in Danger because any Honest

and Earnest Seeker after Truth can find out for

Himself that the Bible is God's Word.

CONCLUSION. -- The Bible is in no danger. But

while the Bible itself is in no danger those who

vent their spleen upon it are in danger. It is no

small sin to ridicule the Word of all-holy and

all-mighty God. There are others who are in

danger. Those who listen to the fascinating

eloquence of an Ingersoll and allow it to lull

them to repose in a life of sin.

# INFIDELITY: ITS CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND CURE

I. Causes

1. The misrepresentation of Christianity by its

professed disciples. Two kinds of

misrepresentation:

(a) In doctrine.

(b) In life.

2. Ignorance. Ignorance of what the Bible contains

and teaches. Ignorance of history.

3. Conceit. Men become infidels because they find

things in the Bible they cannot understand,

because there are apparent contradictions which

they cannot reconcile. To think that our finite

minds could take in in a day or a month all the

truth revealed by an infinite mind; to think that

because I can't take a statement in it the

statement can't be true; to think because I can't

find a solution to a difficulty none can be found,

all this is to think that my mind is infinite,

that I know all things, that I am God.

4. Sin. This is the commonest and most fundamental

cause of infidelity. In two ways:

(a) Men sin and betake themselves to infidelity to

find comfort in their sins. {458}

(b) Sin blinds their eyes to the truth of the

Bible and makes it appear foolishness.

II. Consequences.

1. Sin. Infidelity breeds sin; there is no doubt

of that. It is caused by sin and in turn begets a

progeny like its ancestry.

2. Anarchy. Anarchists are always infidels.

3. Wretchedness and despair.

4. Suicide.

5. Hopeless graves.

6. Eternal ruin.

III. The Cure.

1. Christ-like living on the part of professed

Christians.

2. A surrendered will on the part of the infidel.

3. The study of the Will of God.

# WHY I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

INTRODUCTION. -- There is nothing more important

for a man for the life that now is and for the

life that is to come than a faith in Jesus Christ

that is intelligent, clear and firm.

I. I Believe in Jesus Christ first of all because

of the remarkable Fulfillment of His prophecies.

Jesus Christ was a prophet. He made some

astounding predictions regarding the future.

Predictions that seemed incredible and in some

cases absurd, but which history has fulfilled to

the letter. Take for example His prediction of a

world-wide conquest by His disciples. (In Matthew

28:18-20.); Matthew 24:1-2,5,7,10,16,26,28; Luke

19:41-44; 21:20-24.

II. I believe in Jesus Christ, in the second

place, because of His Fulfilled Promises.

Jesus Christ was not only a prophet but a

promiser. He made promises of a most extraordinary

character, but promises the truth of which any man

could test for himself, and all who have tested

the promises have found them true. E.g., Matthew

11:28; Acts 1:8; John 7:17. {459}

III. I believe in Jesus Christ, in the third

place, because of the Wholesome Character of His

Laws.

IV. I believe in Christ again because of the Way

He Fits into and Fulfills all O.T. Types and

Prophecies.

V. I believe in Jesus Christ because of the Fact

of His Resurrection.

VI. I believe in Jesus Christ because of the

Uniqueness of His Claims and the Way in which He

Substantiates Them.

VII. I believe in Jesus Christ because of His

Demonstrated Power to Save.

I believe that Jesus can save because He does

save. I believe that Jesus can save because I have

seen Him do it.

# SOME ABSOLUTE CERTAINTIES

INTRODUCTION. -- We live at a time when the

religions and philosophies of all ages and all

lands are being brought together for comparison.

What an inextricable tangle there seems to be --

Christianity, Mohammedanism, Buddhism and

Zoroastrianism; all the various forms of

materialistic and spiritualistic philosophy.

Within Christianity itself what a conflict of

rival theologies! Where is truth to be found? What

is truth? It is a great relief and joy to find

some certainties among this endless maze of

uncertainties, to find something to stand upon and

be able to say here at least I have solid rock

underneath my feet.

A few of the fundamental truths about which there

can be no honest question:

I. The first absolute certainty is that there is

an absolute difference between right and wrong.

II. The second certainty is that a man ought to

make an honest and diligent search for the truth

and to follow every possible clue that promises to

lead to it.

1. Here prayer comes in. It is a possible clue.

{460}

2. The Bible is at least another possible clue.

Many very credible witnesses claim they have come

to this book, not all prejudiced in its favor but

honestly seeking truth, and have in this book

found what they sought. These two clues should be

followed together.

III. The third certainty is, a man ought to obey

so much of the truth as he finds and as fast as he

finds it.

IV. The fourth certainty is that every man is a

sinner and needs a Savior.

V. The fifth absolute certainty is that Jesus does

save those who put their trust in Him.

VI. The sixth absolute certainty is that there is

no Savior from the guilt and power of sin but

Jesus Christ.

VII. The seventh absolute certainty is that the

life of the one who accepts Jesus Christ as Savior

and who surrenders to Him as Lord, believes the

promises and obeys the precepts of the Bible, is

the noblest, fairest, happiest and in every way

the most satisfactory life.

# WHY I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF

GOD

INTRODUCTION. -- There is no subject more

important than that of the Divinity of Jesus

Christ. If Jesus Christ is not Divine, then

Christians are idolaters. If Jesus Christ is

Divine then all who do not acknowledge Him as such

and accept Him as their Divine Savior and Lord are

guilty of the awful sin of rejecting the Son of

God and denying Him the honor due to His name.

I. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God

because of His own Claim to be the Son of God, and

the Way in which He Substantiates that Claim.

Christ's claim to be divine is substantiated:

1. First, by His character. {461}

2. His claim to be divine is substantiated by the

miracles which He performed.

3. Christ's claim to be divine is substantiated,

in the third place, by His influence on the

history of the world.

4. Christ's claim is substantiated, in the fourth

place, by His resurrection from the dead.

II. Because of the Teachings of the Bible besides

His own.

III. Because of the Divine Power He possesses

Today.

It is not necessary to go back to the miracles of

Christ when upon earth to prove this. He has

divine power. He exercises this power today and

any one can test it.

1. He has power to forgive sins.

2. He has power today to set Satan's victims free.

IV. I believe that Jesus Christ is Divine because

of the Character of those who Accept Him as

Divine.

V. I believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ

because of the Result of Accepting His Divinity.

The religion that accepts God the Father but

rejects Jesus Christ His son has no such deep and

lasting moral power as the religion that accepts

Jesus Christ as divine. Unitarianism does not save

the fallen. Unitarianism does not beget a

missionary spirit. Faith in Jesus as divine makes

missionaries and martyrs; it produces men of

prayer and faith. It produces consecrated living.

The denial of the divinity of Christ tends to

prayerlessness, religious carelessness, unbelief,

worldliness, selfishness and easygoing living.

# UNTO PRAYER

INTRODUCTION. -- The great need of our day in our

church life is more prayer. Passages that put this

call in an especially impressive and instructive

way: 1_Peter 4:7 RV. The closing words, "BE SOBER

UNTO PRAYER." The word translated "be sober" means

to be "calm and collected in spirit." To be

clear-headed. The thought is that prayer is a

matter of greatest importance as the days go fast

flying toward the end, and that it demands a man's

best thought, {462} and that a man needs a clear

head before all else, in order that he may

approach the great God acceptably in prayer.

Prayer demands our best moments and our best

thought.

I. "That ye may Give Yourselves unto Prayer."

1_Corinthians 7:5 RV.

Here Paul says that there are certain duties

incumbent upon married people that they may by

mutual consent give up for a season that they may

give themselves to prayer. That is, prayer is a

matter of such vast importance, and for its proper

prosecution demands such concentration of thought

and disentanglement from other concerns, that

matters of very great weight may properly be laid

aside to attend to this weightier matter of

prayer. The words translated "that ye may give

yourselves unto prayer" mean literally 'that ye

may have leisure unto prayer." That is, prayer

cannot be properly prosecuted by a preoccupied

mind. It demands leisure. It demands the putting

of all other things aside and attending absolutely

and wholly to this.

II. "Continuing steadfastly in prayer, watching

therein with supplication." The third passage is

Colossians 4:2 RV.

The words translated "Continue steadfastly in

prayer" mean give constant attention to prayer,

make a business of prayer. It is the same word

used in Acts 6:4, where the apostles wanted some

one to be appointed to look after the poor in

order that they might GIVE THEMSELVES CONTINUALLY

to prayer and the ministry of the Word; and in

Acts 10:7, where it is said of certain soldiers

that they WAITED ON Cornelius CONTINUALLY; and in

Romans 13:6, where it is said of officials that

"they are God's ministers, ATTENDING CONTINUALLY

upon this very thing." It evidently means to make

a business of a thing. We should make a business

of prayer. It is Jesus Christ's business. That is

what He lives for. Hebrews 2:25. When the Church

of Christ does make prayer its business our eyes

shall behold such great things in conversions and

progress in life at home and missionary conquests

abroad as we have never dreamed of. Our verse says

something else about prayer than making it a

business. "Continue steadfastly in prayer,

WATCHING THEREIN." It must be a wide-awake

business. {463}

III. "That ye strive together." Romans 15:30.

We should strive in prayer. The word translated

"strive" means to "contend" or "fight" or

"struggle" against opposition. To put forth

intense and determined effort. The noun from which

it is derived is translated "conflict" or "fight,"

as for example in 2_Timothy 4:7. God demands the

same earnestness in prayer that He does in work.

We get the best things in work only by hard

working, and we get the best things in prayer by

hard praying. There are obstacles to be overcome

by prayer, real obstacles; there are enemies to be

conquered by prayer, live enemies, strong enemies,

and the prayers that win take a vast outlay of

soul energy.

CONCLUSION. -- Four practical suggestions.

1. Set apart time from everything else for

praying. A certain portion of every day and

frequent special seasons.

2. Prepare for prayer.

(a) Examine your heart and life to see if you are

in praying trim, and if not, get into it.

(b) Think carefully over the things that you are

to pray for. Find the best, the most needy, most

urgent causes.

3. When you undertake to pray summon all your

spirit and energy and pray it through.

4. Look to the Holy Spirit to guide every step of

the way, "praying in the Holy Spirit."

# THREE FIRES

I. The Fire of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 3:11; Acts

2:2-4.

1. First of all fire reveals. 1_Corinthians 3:13.

What does it mean to be baptized with fire? The

answer to this is found in considering what fire

does.

2. Fire refines and purifies. Isaiah 44; Zechariah

1:3,9; Malachi 3:1-3.

3. Fire consumes. It refines by consuming. Ezekiel

24:9-11. There is much in all of us that needs to

be consumed, pride, vanity, love of money, love of

pleasure, fear of man.

4. Fire illuminates. When one is baptized with

fire, truth we did not see at all before becomes

as clear as day, the Bible becomes a new book,

glory shines from every page. {464}

5. Fire also warms; it makes to glow.

6. Fire imparts energy. All forms of energy can be

transformed into heat and by heat we can generate

the different forms of force and motion.

7. Fire spreads.

II. The Fire that Tries Our Works. 1_Corinthians

3:13-15.

Not a judgment regarding salvation. The persons

whose works are here burned up are saved. It is a

judgment regarding the works we do as Christians

and the reward we shall receive for them. All the

works we do for Christ, or professedly for Him,

are to be tested. They are to be put to the severe

test, the fire test. All that will not stand the

fire test will be burned up.

III. The Fire of Eternal Doom. 2_Thessalonians

1:7-9.

Every one of us shall know fire from God. Some of

us, I hope, will know the fire of the Holy Ghost.

Many of us, I know, will know the fire that tries

and consumes our work which is not of the right

sort in God's sight. Some shall know the fire of

eternal doom. There is a fire of eternal doom. For

whom is it?

1. To them that know not God.

2. To them that obey not the Gospel of our Lord

Jesus.

CONCLUSION. -- There are these three fires, one of

which we all must know. Which shall it be?

# THE BAPTISM WITH FIRE

(Matthew 3:11.)

The interpretation that makes the fire of future

judgment untenable.

1. In that case it should read "or fire."

2. The way coupled with Holy Ghost, not two

"withs," as in AV and RV.

3. Literal translation, "With Holy wind and fire."

4. Fulfilled at Pentecost. Acts 2:2-4. {465}

What is it to be baptized with fire? The answer

found in considering what fire is said to do in

Scripture and what came to the disciples at

Pentecost.

1. Refines. 1_Corinthians 3:13.

2. Refines and purifies. The apostles after

Pentecost compared with before. Isaiah 4:4;

Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:1-3.

3. Consumes. Ezekiel 24:9-11; John 5:35.

4. Illuminates. James 16:13; 1_Corinthians 2:14.

5. Fire warms, it makes to glow.

6. Fire imparts energy, generates power and

motion.

7. Fire spreads.

The great need of ministers and Christian work, of

individual Christians and the Church is a baptism

with fire.

II. How Received.

How did the apostles receive it?

1. They recognized their need.

2. They believed it was for them.

3. They really desired it.

4. They continued steadfastly in prayer.

5. They were wholly surrendered to God's will.

6. They expected it.

One gets the baptism with fire in pretty much the

same way as one gets water baptism. You wish to be

baptized with water, you go to one qualified to

baptize with water, tell him what you want and put

yourself in his hands for him to baptize you, you

being willing to take upon yourself all the

consequences of that baptism. Do just the same in

this. There is but One qualified to baptize with

fire. Jesus Christ, the risen Christ, is the sole

and only baptizer with the Holy Ghost.

III. Stirring up the Fire.

1. This clearly implies that after one has

received the baptism with fire it may burn low and

must be stirred into a flame. Experience

abundantly proves this. 2_Timothy 1:6. {466}

2. How kindle into a flame?

(a) Study of the Word. Ephesians 5:18-19; comp.

Colossians 3:16. Just as soon as any one neglects

his Bible study the Holy fire burns low. Jeremiah

23:29.

(b) Prayer. Acts 4:31.

CONCLUSION. -- Have you been baptized with the

Holy Spirit and fire? Will you be today? Have you

been and is the fire burning low? Will you kindle

it into a flame?

# POWER: ITS SOURCE AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT

Text. "God has spoken once... power belongeth unto

God." Psalm 62:11.

INTRODUCTION. -- The great need in Christian work

is power. The father and mother in the home. The

Sunday-school teacher. The personal worker. We

preachers of the Gospel. We must have power. We

can have power. How can we get it?

I. The Source of Power.

Power belongeth unto God. All real power is from

Him. We get power by getting in contact with Him,

in union with Him. How often you see a man whom

you supposed to be a comparative ignoramus doing a

mighty work for God. Why is it? Somehow he has

gotten into contact with God. He has got hold of

God's power. If you have not the power nobody is

to blame but yourself. God is not to blame, for He

longs to give; the devil is not to blame, for he

can't hinder. You are to blame.

II. How Power Is to be Obtained.

What are the conditions upon which God bestows

upon us the power that belongs to Him?

1. We must put away sin. Isaiah 59:1-2.

2. We must be separated and stay separated unto

God. Judges 16:15-17; cf. Numbers 6:1-2,5.

3. We must get down low before God. 1_Peter 5:5-6.

When we give up our own wisdom we get God's. When

we give up {467} our own power then and only

then we get the power of God. Isaiah 40:29.

4. We must have faith. Hebrews 11:32-34. How to

get faith. Romans 10;17.

5. If we are to get God's power we must ask for

it. Luke 11:5-10. The place of prayer is the place

where power is obtained. Isaiah 40:31; James 4:2.

6. If we are to have power we must have the Holy

Ghost. Acts 1:8; 4:31,33. Luke 11:13; Acts 2:39.

# THE CHRISTIAN WORKER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

INTRODUCTION. -- There are three passages in the

Bible regarding the Holy Spirit that every one who

wishes to be used of God in winning souls should

ponder very deeply.

I. Luke 24:49.

1. WHAT IS THIS ENDUEMENT OF POWER?

(a) A definite experience.

(b) Separate and distinct from regeneration.

power of God.

2. How received. Can be variously stated.

(a) Must believe there is such an enduement. Acts

19:1-6.

(b) Must desire it. Isaiah 44:3.

and self-sufficiency.

(d) Absolute surrender. Acts 5:32.

(e) Prayer. Luke 11:13; Acts 4:31.

(f) Faith -- claim. Mark 11:24 RV.

II. These words are addressed to believers. The

Holy Spirit is here set forth as a fire.

Significance. There is danger that this fire be

quenched. Not enough to receive this fire. Must

see to it that it is not quenched. 1_Thessalonians

5:19.

1. How the Holy Spirit is quenched. {468}

(a) Through not yielding to the Spirit's

suggestions. See context.

(b) Through incoming of sin.

(d) Through self-indulgence.

(e) Through pride.

If one has quenched the Spirit what shall he do?

Go alone with God and find the cause. Then have

done with it. Can power be renewed? Yes.

III. Here again the Holy Spirit is compared to

fire. The verse tells us it is not enough not to

quench the fire. We must feed the fire and stir it

into a flame. Here is where many fail. 2_Timothy

1:6.

1. How?

(a) The study of the Word. Ephesians 5:18-19;

compare Colossians 3:16.

(b) Prayer. Acts 4:31.

power of the gift. 1_Timothy 4:14 (see context,

vs.13).

# THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD

INTRODUCTION. -- The one who would be an efficient

worker for Christ must know the power of two

things. The power of the Spirit of God and the

power of the Word of God. These two are most

intimately related to each other.

I. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Word.

2_Peter 1:21; 1_Peter 1:11; Hebrews 3:7; John

4:26; 1_Corinthians 2:12-13.

II. The Holy Spirit leads men to the Word. Luke

1:67 (and which follows Scripture), 2:25, compare

2:32; Acts 2:4, 14-17, etc. (25-28); 6:5, compare

ch.7. (Whenever a man was filled with the Holy

Spirit he was full of Scripture.)

III. The Holy Spirit is the interpreter of the

Word. 1_Corinthians 2:14.

IV. The Holy Spirit enables the preacher to

communicate with power to others the truth he

himself has been taught. Acts 4:31,34;

1_Corinthians 2:1-5. {469}

V. The Word is the instrument the Holy Spirit uses

in all His blessed work.

1. John 15:26, compare 5:39.

2. John 16:8, compare Acts 2:37.

3. John 3:5, compare 1_Peter 1:23; John 1:18.

4. 1_Peter 1:2, compare John 17:17.

5. 1_Corinthians 12:9, f.cl., Romans 10:17.

6. Romans 8:16, compare 1_John 5:13.

7. Galatians 5:22, compare Jeremiah 15:16; John

15:11.

8. Romans 15:13, compare v.4 (hope).

9. Acts 9:31, compare Romans 15:4 (comfort).

The Spirit of God works through the Word. If we

wish the Spirit to do His work in our hearts we

must study the Word. If we wish Him to do His work

in hearts of others we must give them the Word.

Ephesians 6:17. But the Word alone will not do it.

It is the Word and the Spirit. We must look to the

Spirit to make His Word effectual. 2_Corinthians

3:6.

# SOME REASONS WHY EVERY SENSIBLE MAN SHOULD BE

A CHRISTIAN

I. Every sensible man should be a Christian

because the teachings of Jesus Christ are true and

right and ought therefore to be obeyed.

A learned man is a man who knows a great deal, a

sensible man is a man who acts upon what he knows.

A man may have much learning and very little

sense. The man who knows and believes the

teachings of Christ to be true and doesn't act

upon them has the least sense of all.

II. Every sensible person should be a Christian

because the acceptance of Christ brings salvation.

Two things are perfectly clear to every candid

person who considers the facts in the case. 1st.

That men need salvation. 2nd. That Christ does

save those who accept Him. The first of these

certainties every man knows from experience. The

second of these certainties, that Jesus Christ

does save those who put their trust in Him, any

one can know not only from {470} the sure Word

of God that asserts, Romans 1:16, but from

observation as well. It is a simple,

incontrovertible fact that Jesus Christ has saved

men.

III. Every sensible man should be a Christian

because Christ brings a deeper, purer, more

lasting joy to those who accept Him than can be

found in any other way.

Ask any one who has ever been a real Christian if

he finds in Christ a deeper, purer, more lasting

joy than he ever found elsewhere and he will tell

you yes, far deeper, immeasurably deeper. 1_Peter

1:8.

IV. Every sensible man should be a Christian

because real faith in Christ prepares one for

every emergency of life that can possible arise.

Philippians 4:11-12; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 8:28.

# IMPORTANCE OF BIBLE STUDY

INTRODUCTION. -- There is nothing more important

for the Christian than Bible study. There is

nothing as important except prayer, holy living

and work. And the one who rightly studies his

Bible will pray powerfully, live holy, and work

earnestly and efficiently. Bible study is also

important for the one who is not a Christian.

I. Bible Study is Important as a Means of

Intellectual Development.

No other study offers the material for such an

all-round development of the mental powers as the

study of the Bible.

1. The Bible is the profoundest book that ever was

written.

2. The Bible gives a wider scope for the

legitimate use of the imagination and fancy than

any other book, or all other books. It goes back

into the eternal past; it looks forward into the

eternal future. The greatest masters of literature

have allowed their fancy to drink in its highest

inspiration at the Bible fountain.

3. The Bible is the world's great masterpiece of

style.

(a) It is the world's marvel of condensed thought.

Volumes are packed into a single verse. {471}

(b) It is the peerless model of simple, chaste,

strong, Anglo-saxon.

terse and incisive statement.

(d) It has a power that no other book possesses of

saying things in a way that so penetrates the mind

and fastens itself in the memory that they cannot

be forgotten. Any man or woman who desires to

write well or speak well should study the Bible

above all other books.

4. Bible study affords such opportunity as is

found nowhere else for the cultivation of the

powers of observation, analysis, synthesis,

inference, memory and recollection.

II. Bible Study is of the Highest Importance for

the Promotion of Growth in Christian Character.

1_Peter 2:2.

III. Bible Study is Important for the Production

and Development of Faith. Romans 10:17.

1. Faith as opposed to unbelief.

2. Faith that prevails in prayer.

3. Saving faith.

4. Faith that expects and receives great things

from God in work.

IV. Bible Study is Important as a Safeguard

against Sin. Psalm 119:11.

V. Bible Study is Important as Filling the Heart

with Joy. Jeremiah 15:16.

VI. Bible Study is Important as a Safeguard

against Error. Acts 20:29-20, 32; 2_Timothy

3:13-15 RV.

VII. Bible Study is Important to Make one Wise.

Psalm 119:130.

VIII. Bible Study is Important as an Equipment for

Christian Service. The Bible is the one Instrument

God Honors in Christian Work. 2_Timothy 3:16-17.

CONCLUSION. -- You will miss every richest

blessing in life if you neglect your Bible. {472}

# HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

I. Study the BIBLE.

1. Not about the Bible, but the BIBLE ITSELF.

Satan kept men for years from any Bible study; now

there is an interest, etc., he keeps them from

real Bible study. Questions of authorship, date,

etc., are quite important, but studying these

things is not studying the Bible.

2. Not helps and commentaries on the Bible, but

the BIBLE.

3. Not devotional books. They are good in their

place, but learn to go right to the fountain for

yourself. The Bible itself the richest gold mine

in the world.

II. STUDY the Bible.

Not merely carry it. Not merely praise it. Not

merely glance over it. Not merely read. Study

means close mental application. The Bible is

profitable only by the truth in it, and that you

must digest. Take its books, its chapters, its

verses, its individual words and study them.

Ponder them. Look closely at them. Turn them over

and over. Weigh them. Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8.

One great hindrance to real study is having so

many chapters you must read in a day. Leads to

skimming, thoughtless reading. Have a definite

amount of time for study, but not a definite

number of chapters or verses. Go fast or slow,

according to what you are studying. Sometimes one

verse, sometimes many chapters.

III. Study the Bible Daily.

IV. Have a Definite Amount of Time Set Apart for

Bible Study and a Definite Time in the Day for it.

Don't trust to chance. Give the Bible the first

place. Let all other books and all magazines and

papers have a secondary place. One of the greatest

enemies of profitable study is hurry. One of the

greatest secrets of profitable Bible study is

undisturbed concentration of thought. The best

time, other things being equal, is the early

morning. {473}

V. Study Prayerfully. Psalm 119:18.

VI. As the Word of God. 1_Thessalonians 2:13.

1. Humbly and meekly. Cf. James 1:21.

2. Unquestioning acceptance of its teaching when

definitely and clearly ascertained.

3. Absolute reliance upon its promises.

4. Prompt, exact, unquestioning obedience to every

commandment.

5. As in God's presence. "God says this to me."

VII. Have some Intelligent and Definite and

Systematic Method of Bible Study.

1. Study of the Bible in course.

(a) Five points on each chapter.

(1) Subject of the chapter. State principal

contents of a chapter in a sentence.

(2) Principal persons.

(3) Leading lesson. Truth most emphasized.

(4) Best lesson.

(5) Best verse. Ponder it and mark it.

(b) Synthetic.

(1) Read continuously.

(2) Read repeatedly.

(3) Read independently.

(4) Read prayerfully.

2. Thorough study of individual books.

3. Topical.

(a) Be systematic.

(b) Be thorough.

(d) Write down your results.

4. Study for personal work.

# FIVE PLAIN RULES FOR HOLY LIVING

INTRODUCTION. -- The Bible is a plain book for

plain people. It is true that the Bible sometimes

takes us up to heights where our {474} heads

swim at the prospect that stretches before us. It

is true also that there are places in this book so

deep that no scholar's plummet has ever yet struck

bottom. But the book abounds in plain, simple

directions for everyday living. I come to you

today with four simple rules for holy and healthy

and happy living. It may seem to some of you like

milk for babes, but it is well to remember that

there are babes in most families, and even those

who are sure they are full grown need plain

victuals occasionally lest they get the dyspepsia.

The fact is there are many spiritual dyspeptics in

our day, and they are always grumbling at the food

unless it is prepared by their own spiritual cook.

I. "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." John

2:5.

These words were spoken on a certain occasion

concerning Jesus by His mother. They gave

directions as to the way out of an emergency then

at hand. But they point the shortest and best way

out of all emergencies that ever aries. There is

no better rule for holy, healthy, and happy living

than this, "Whatsoever Jesus says unto you, do

it." Whenever in a quandary what to do, just find

out what Jesus says and do it. Never mind what it

is that He says, do it. The thing that He says to

do may seem very insignificant, a matter of no

great importance. Never mind that, do it.

Something else may seem very like it, or "quite as

good," but don't you do that something else. Do

the thing, the exact thing that Jesus says. How

many people are robbed of blessing by doing

something "just as good" as what Jesus said,

instead of doing the very thing Jesus says. "Do

it." "Whatsoever." "Whatsoever." How are we to

tell what Jesus says? He is here in the written

Word, the words which He Himself spoke directly

and the words which He spoke by His Spirit through

apostles and prophets. Besides that He is present

personally. Matthew 28:20. If we are fully

surrendered to His will He is always at hand to

make known that will to us. Don't ask Him to make

clear by His Spirit what He has already made clear

by His Word.

II. "Do as Jesus Did," or, to put it another way,

"Do as Jesus would Do if He were in Your Place."

1_John 2:6. {475}

III. "Whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin." The Rule

is this: "Do Nothing that you have Doubts about."

Romans 14:23.

IV. "Whatsoever ye Do, do All to the Glory of

God." There are really two Rules in that one. The

First is, Do Nothing that you can't do to God's

Glory; that Settles a good many Questions. Second,

When you Do the things that you could Do to His

Glory, actually Do it to His Glory. 1_Corinthians

10:31.

V. Throw your Soul into Everything you Do; as unto

the Lord, heartily. Colossians 3:23.

# GREAT THINGS, AND HOW ANY ONE CAN GET THEM

INTRODUCTION. -- There are many who think that

only a few men can ever attain unto great things,

that the great mass of men must rest content with

small things. This is not so. The very greatest

things, the things of infinite and eternal value,

are open to all men. There is not a man or woman

here tonight who cannot have great things, the

very greatest, those of the most priceless worth.

I. First of all any one can have Great Joy.

1_Peter 1:8.

II. Great Peace. Philippians 4:6-7.

III. Great Position. John 1:12.

IV. A Great Hope. Titus 1:12.

V. A Great Inheritance. 1_Peter 1:4-5; Romans

8:17.

# D. L. MOODY: THE UNITY OF HIS LIFE

"This one thing I do, forgetting those things

which are behind, and reaching forth unto those

things which are before, I press toward the mark

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ

Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14.

INTRODUCTION. -- Mr. Moody loved to urge men to

concentration of purpose and effort. He practiced

it even better than he {476} preached it. His

life was a constant and unanswerable argument for

the power of concentration of purpose and action.

His life was one of marvelous unity. There was in

it a seven-fold unity.

I. First of all, he was a man of one passion, love

for Jesus Christ.

II. A man of but one aim, that aim was to please

God.

III. He was a man of one book, the Bible.

IV. A man of one work, soul-saving. Mr. Moody did

many things, but he always had one definite end in

view, the salvation of the lost.

V. A man of one idea, "God is love."

VI. A man of one source of power, the Holy Ghost.

VII. A man of one endeavor, "to do what he could."

# MESSIANIC PROPHECIES

INTRODUCTION. -- Importance of subject. Peter's

argument on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2. Paul's

argument. Acts 9:22; 1:3. Christ's argument. Luke

24:27, 44. There are said to be 333 prophecies and

references to Christ in the Old Testament which

are expressly cited in the New Testament.

I. Classes of Messianic Prophecies.

1. Explicit prophecies that refer directly and

wholly to the coming Messiah.

2. Explicit prophecies that have an immediate

reference to contemporaneous or nearly

contemporaneous persons and events, but which have

their final and complete fulfillment in the

Messiah.

3. Passages the Messianic application of which is

not explicitly noted but which are fulfilled and

marvelously fulfilled in Christ. {477}

4. Types.

To the first class of prophecies -- those that

refer directly and wholly to the Messiah belong;

e.g., Isaiah 53; Genesis 49:10; Micah 5:2. A very

strong attempt has been and is being made to show

that Isaiah 53 is not Messianic. It is said to

refer to suffering Israel. This chapter cannot

refer to Israel.

(a) The sufferer is represented as perfectly

innocent and suffering for the sins of others. Vs.

5,6,8,9.

(b) He is a voluntary and unresisting sufferer.

V.7.

of another than himself, viz., God's people. V.8.

But Israel is God's people, so the suffered cannot

be. This 53rd chapter has been accepted by the

Jews themselves as Messianic in the Targums, the

Talmud, the Zohar. In the Jewish prayers on the

Day of Atonement and by the Jews at the present

time.

To the second class of prophecies those, etc.,

belong; e.g., Isaiah 7:14; Psalm 72:45.

To the third class of prophecies belongs Psalm 22

(vs.1,6,8,14,18).

To the types belong all the sacrifices and

institutions and personages; e.g., the Passover,

Exodus 12; the goats on Day of Atonement,

Leviticus 16. The typical personages, Joseph,

Genesis 37, David, Solomon; e.g., 1_Kings 4:24-34;

10:1-9.

II. The Development of Messianic Prophecy.

Messianic prophecy in the Bible like everything

else in God's world and Word grows. First we have

only the seed of the woman shall bruise the

serpent's head. Genesis 3:15.

Next it is Shem's descendants. Genesis 9:26-27.

Then it is the seed of Abraham.

Then it is the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10.

Then the Son of David.

Other particulars also being constantly added.

{478}

III. What is Prophesied of the Messiah in the Old

Testament.

1. His family. Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16. Of the

family of David. He was to be born at a time when

that family had been cut down and lost its glory.

2 State of family at His birth. Isaiah 53:2; 11:1

RV.

3. The time of His appearing. Genesis 49:10;

Haggai 2:7-9; Daniel 9;25.

4. The place. Micah 5:2. Bethlehem.

5. His nature.

(a) Divine. Micah 5:2; Psalm 45:6; Psalm 110:1;

Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 9:6.

(b) Human. Isaiah 53:3.

6. His character.

(a) Meek. Isaiah 53:7.

(b) Gentle. Isaiah 32:3.

(d) Full of the Spirit. Isaiah 42:1; 11:2.

(e) Persevering. isaiah 42:4.

(f) Righteous and faithful. Isaiah 11:5.

(g) Absolutely sinless. (Implied also in vs.

5,6,8,12.) Isaiah 53:10, 9, 4.

7. Manner of birth.

Born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14. (See also Psalm

69:8; 86:16; 116:16.)

8. How treated by men.

(a) Despised and rejected. Isaiah 53:3; Psalm

118:22.

(b) Kings of the earth, etc. Psalm 22:3.

(d) Sold for thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah

11:13.

(e) Details of His death. Isaiah 53:7-8. Killed.

Zechariah 13:7.

(a) Pierced. Isaiah 53:5. (Heb.) Zechariah 12:10.

(2) Psalm 22:14,17.

(3) Mocked while dying. Psalm 22:7-8.

(4) Garments parted while dying. Psalm 22:18.

(5) Given gall vinegar. Psalm 69:21

(6) Made intercession for transgressors when He

bore their sins. Isaiah 53:12.

(7) Heartbreaks. Psalm 69:20; 22:14. {479}

(8) Numbered with transgressors, made His grave

with wicked and with the rich. Isaiah 53:12,9.

(f) His people will offer, etc., Psalm 110:1,3 RV.

(g) His Resurrection. Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm

16:10.

(h) Ascension and seating at the right hand of

God. Psalm 68:18 (24:7); Psalm 110:1.

(i) Two advents.

(1) Once born as a man to be cut off. Micah 5:1-2;

Daniel 9:26.

(2) Once coming in clouds. Daniel 7:8,10,13-14;

Psalm 2:8-9.

(j) His work.

(1) He should die in the place of others. Isaiah

53:6,8,12. Isaiah 53:10 RV margin.

(2) He should be made a guilt offering for sin.

(3) Isaiah 61:1-3.

a. Preach good tidings, etc.

b. Bind up broken-hearted.

c. Proclaim liberty to captives, the opening of

prisons, etc.

d. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and

the day of vengeance of our God.

e. To comfort all that mourn.

f. To give unto those that mourn in Zion a garland

for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the

garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

(4) To reign as king and to execute judgment and

justice in the earth.

Character of His reign. Zechariah 9:9.

a. Eternally. Psalm 45:6; 72:5,17.

b. Psalm 72:2.

c. Psalm 72:4.

d. Psalm 72:7.

e. Universal. Psalm 72:8.

f. Absolute. Psalm 72:9-11.

g. Psalm 72:12-14. {480}

(5) A priest. Psalm 110:4.

(6) A prophet. Deuteronomy 18:15-18.

(7) A light of the Gentiles. Isaiah 42:5-6; 49:6;

60:1-3.

IV. Is Jesus of the New Testament this Prophesied

Christ of the Old Testament?

# THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (1)

I. The Certainty of His Coming Again. John 14:3;

Hebrews 9;28; Philippians 3:20-21; 1_Thessalonians

4:16-17; Acts 3:20.

The coming again referred to in these passages is

not an event that has already occurred.

1. Christ's coming at death, not the coming

referred to.

(a) Whatever the coming of the Lord to meet us

there may be at death -- and there may be in a

sense such a coming -- He does not descend from

heaven with the voice of the archangel and the

trump of God, and all those who sleep in Christ

are certainly not raised from their graves at the

death of the individual believer. To refer this

language to what occurs at death is to transform

an inspired apostle into a crazy rhetorician.

(b) Jesus clearly and definitely distinguished

between death and His coming again in John 21:22.

2. Not the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The coming of the Holy Spirit is in a very real

sense a coming of Christ. John 14:15-18, 21-23.

But it certainly is not the coming referred to in

the passages under consideration.

(a) This is clear from the fact that all of these

promises but one (John 14:3) were made after the

coming of the Holy Spirit and referred to

something still in the future.

(b) It is clear again from the fact that Jesus

does not receive us to be with Him at the coming

of the Holy Ghost.

His coming are all wanting at the coming of the

Spirit. {481}

3. Not the destruction of Jerusalem. The

destruction of Jerusalem was in some sense the

precursor, prophecy and type of the Day of the

Lord that is to come. But God's judgment on

Jerusalem in its destruction is manifestly not the

event predicted in the passages given.

Years after Jerusalem had been destroyed we find

John still looking forward to the Lord's second

coming as an event lying still in the future. Not

any of these three events, death, the coming of

the Spirit, the destruction of Jerusalem, nor all

of them together, nor any other event of history

that has as yet occurred, fulfills the very plain,

explicit and definite predictions of Christ and

the apostles regarding Christ's coming again.

II. The Manner of His Coming.

1. His coming will be personal. It is Jesus

Himself. John 14:3; 1_Thessalonians 4:16. "I

myself." "Himself." Acts 1:11 RV. The Lord Jesus

Christ. Philippians 3:20 RV.

2. Bodily and visible. Hebrews 9:28; Revelation

1:7; Acts 1:11. So beheld, beheld.

3. With great publicity. Revelation 1:7; Matthew

24:26-27.

4. With great power and glory. Matthew 24:30;

Matthew 16:27.

5. Sudden and unexpected. Matthew 24:42 RV;

Matthew 24:44; Revelation 16:15; Luke 21:34-36.

# THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (2)

I. The Purpose and Results of Christ's Coming

Again.

1. Jesus Christ is coming again to receive His own

unto Himself, that where He is, there they may be

also. John 14:3.

2. Jesus Christ is coming again to fashion anew

the body of our humiliation that it may be

conformed to the body of His glory. Philippians

3:20-21.

3. Jesus Christ is coming again to bring us unto

perfect conformity with Himself. 1_John 3:1-2.

4. Jesus Christ is coming again to reckon with His

servants and to reward them according to their

works. Matthew 25:19 and 16:27. 1_Corinthians

3:13-15.

5. Jesus Christ is coming "to be glorified in his

saints, and to be marveled at in all them that

believed." 1_Thessalonians 1:10. {482}

6. Jesus Christ is coming again to deliver Israel

and to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Romans

11:26; Zechariah 12:1-13:6; Ezekiel 37:23;

36:25-27,29; Zechariah 8:3,7-8; Ezekiel 36:37-38;

Jeremiah 31:3-7; Ezekiel 36:33-37; Zechariah 8:3-5

RV; Zechariah 8:23: Isaiah 49:22-23.

7. Jesus Christ is coming again to "execute

judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly

of all their works of ungodliness which they have

ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which

ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude

14-15 RV. He is coming to render vengeance to them

that know not God, and to them that obey not the

Gospel of our Lord Jesus 2_Thessalonians 1:7-8.

8. Jesus Christ is coming to reign as a King. Luke

19;12,15; Matthew 25:31; Zechariah 14:9; Jeremiah

23:5-6; Psalm 2:6; Revelation 19:12,15-16; 11:12;

Isaiah 11:1-2,4-5.

The coming again of Jesus Christ is the solution

and only solution of all social problems.

Oppression, poverty, crime, greed, injustice, will

be at an end. "The earth shall be full of the

knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the

sea." Isaiah 11:9.

# THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (3)

I. When is Christ Coming Again?

1. The exact time of Christ's coming again no man

knows, the angels do not know, and even Jesus

Christ in the days of His humiliation and

self-limitation of knowledge did not know. Jesus

Christ wished so to emphasize the utter folly of

all attempts to fix the date that as a man He put

away the knowledge of it Himself. Mark 13:32;

Deuteronomy 29:29; Acts 1:7.

2. While we cannot set the date of our Lord's

return, the Bible does describe the character of

the times.

(a) It will be at such a time as when His

disciples think not. Matthew 24:44.

(b) The world will not be looking for some great

catastrophe, but will be absorbed in their usual

pursuits. Luke 17:26-30. {483}

of the Son of Man will be a time of apostasy,

grievous times, and faith will be hard to find.

1_Timothy 4:1; 2_Timothy 3:1-5 RV; Luke 18:8.

3. The Lord may, for anything we know, come any

time, any day, any hour. Mark 13:34-36; Luke

12:36; Matthew 25:13; Matthew 24:42,44.

"Is not the world to be converted before He

comes?" Revelation 1:7; Matthew 25:31-32;

2_Thessalonians 2:2-4,8; Luke 18:8; 21:35;

2_Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:14.

Preaching for a witness is not the conversion of

the world. Furthermore, this is before "the end"

comes, but the coming of Christ in the air is not

the end but the beginning of the end. Further

still, the Gospel has in a sense, a biblical

sense, too, been already preached to all nations.

Romans 10:18; Colossians 1:23 RV.

The day of the Lord is not the coming of Christ in

the air for His church, but His coming with His

church to the earth in judgment. 2_Thessalonians

2:1-4. There may be, probably will be, an interval

of several years between these two. It is doubtful

that the Man of Sin can be revealed until the

church is taken out of the way. v.7. There is

nothing whatever revealed in the Bible that must

take place before Christ comes.

II. Our attitude Toward the Coming of Christ.

1. We should be ready for our Lord's coming.

Matthew 24:44. This is the great Bible argument

for a pure, unselfish, devoted, unworldly, active

life.

2. We should be watching and looking for the

coming of our Lord. Luke 12:36 RV.

3. We should earnestly desire the coming of our

Lord. 2_Peter 3:12 RV; 2_Timothy 4:8. {484}

# THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

I. The Certainty of the Resurrection.

The resurrection of those asleep in Jesus is

certain because it is certain that Jesus Christ

Himself arose. 1_Thessalonians 4:14 RV;

2_Corinthians 4:14. The resurrection of Jesus

Christ is the sure guarantee of our own.

II. The Character of the Resurrection, or How are

the Dead Raised?

1. The resurrection body will not be precisely the

same body that is laid in the grave. It may be

like it in many respects, but in others it will be

very unlike it, infinitely superior. We shall

recognize our loved ones in the world to come.

2_Corinthians 15:35-38. "Together with them."

1_Thessalonians 5:13-15.

2. The resurrection body will be incorruptible.

1_Corinthians 15:42.

3. The resurrection body will be glorious and

mighty. 1_Corinthians 15:43; Philippians 3:20-21;

Daniel 12:3. Shine forth as the sun. Matthew

22:30; Luke 20:35-36.

4. Will be a heavenly body. 1_Corinthians

15:47-49. Earth has nothing like it. Romans 8:23;

Philippians 2:6; John 17:5.

5. Will be like the body of Christ's glory.

Philippians 3:20-21 RV.

# HEAVEN: WHAT SORT OF A PLACE IT IS AND HOW TO

GET THERE

INTRODUCTION. -- There are many who think we know

nothing about heaven, that it is all guess work.

This is not so. God has revealed to us very much

about it, and what He has revealed about it is

very cheering and eminently calculated to awaken

in every wise and true heart a desire to go there.

If we reflected more about heaven it would help us

to bear our burdens here more bravely, it would

incite us to holier living, it would do much to

deliver us from the power of the greed and the

lust that is blighting so many lives, it would

make us cheerier and more sunshiny. Those are very

{485} shallow philosophers who tell us that our

present business is to live this present life and

let the future take care of itself. You might as

well tell the school boy that his present business

is to live today and take no outlook into the

future life of manhood, that he might wisely

prepare for it on the one hand and feel its

stimulus on the other. True thoughts of the life

that is to come clothe the life that now is with

new beauty and strength.

I. Heaven is a Place. John 14:3.

II. What Sort of a Place is Heaven?

1. It is a place of incomparable external as well

as internal beauty. This appears from such

descriptions as we have in the 21st and 22nd

chapters of Revelation. The God of the Bible is a

God of beauty.

2. Heaven will be a place of holy and ennobling

companionships. On the other hand there will be no

unpleasant and degrading companionships. The devil

will not be there. The lewd and the vulgar and the

obscene will not be there. The avaricious and the

scheming and the selfish will not be there. The

liar and the slanderer and the backbiter and the

meddler and the gossip will not be there.

3. Heaven will be a place that is free from

everything that curses or mars out life here.

There will be no sin. There will be no servile,

grinding toil. There will be no sickness or pain.

Revelation 21:4.

4. Heaven will be a place of universal and perfect

knowledge. 1_Corinthians 13:12.

5. Heaven will be a place of universal and perfect

love. 1_John 3:2; 1_John 4:8; Proverbs 15:17.

6. Heaven will be a place of praise. Revelation

7:9-12.

7. Heaven will be a city which hath foundations, a

continuing city. Hebrews 11:10; Hebrews 13:14.

CONCLUSION. -- Is no heart stirred with a longing

for that "better country"? Hebrews 11:16. We may

all gain an entrance there. There is but one way,

but that is very simple and open to all. John

14:6; 10:9. Accept Christ at once, and gain a

right to enter and live forever in heaven.

{486}

@07 CHAPTER SEVEN

EXPOSITORY SERMONS AND BIBLE READINGS IN OUTLINE

# GOD'S PICTURE OF A HAPPY MAN

(Psalm 1:1-3.)

INTRODUCTION. -- God is a great artist. There is

no one that draws such perfect pictures as He.

Some of God's pictures He Himself labels, others

He leaves us to put the titles to. In the first

Psalm, the first three verses, God has drawn a

picture and labeled it, "The Picture of a Happy

Man." "Blessed is the man," or rather, "O the

happiness of the man," etc. There are three

leading features to this picture. In the first

verse we see the Happy Man's separation from the

world. In the second verse we see the Happy Man's

occupation in the world. In the third verse we see

the Happy Man's fruitfulness before the world. Or,

to put it in another way, in the first verse we

see the Happy Man's separation unto God, in the

second verse his communion with God, and in the

third verse his fruitfulness in God.

I. The Happy Man's separation from the world or

separation unto God.

There are three points mentioned in which the

happy man walks alone or separate from the world.

1. He walks not in the counsel of the wicked.

2. He standeth not in the way of sinners. If he

finds that by some mistake he has got into the

sinner's way, he gets out of it at once.

3. He sitteth not in the seat of scorners. He has

no fellowship with irreverence, with jesting upon

serious subjects, with {487} murmuring against

God, or frivolous and light and critical treatment

of God's Word.

II. The Happy Man's occupation in the world, or

communion with God.

1. He delights in the law of the Lord. He must

find great pleasure in God's Word. Jeremiah 15:16;

Job 23:12.

2. He meditates in God's Word day and night. Note

the word "meditate." It means deep, intense

reflection upon what God says. And then note "day

and night."

III. The Happy Man's occupation in the world or

his fruitfulness in God.

The man who maintains the separation from the

world described in verse one and the communion

with God described in verse two will be like:

1. A tree, i.e., he will have life, foliage and

fruit, or life, beauty and utility.

2. He will be like a tree PLANTED, not like one

grown wild; i.e., he will be an object of care and

culture, and the caretaker will be God Himself.

3. He will be like a tree planted by streams of

water; i.e., there will be flowing around his

roots a constant source of life, freshness,

beauty, and fruitfulness. No fear of times of

drought and barrenness for him.

4. He will bring forth fruit in its season.

5. His leaf shall not wither. There will be

unfailing life and unfading beauty.

6. He shall never fail in prosperity. "Whatsoever

he doeth shall prosper."

# THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

PART I

INTRODUCTION. -- The twenty-third Psalm is a great

deep. It is an unfathomable ocean of truth. It is

the first Scripture that most of us ever learned,

but no one in the course of a lifetime has ever

exhausted it, or gotten to the bottom of it. There

are two methods {488} of dividing the Psalm.

According to the first, we divide it into two

parts. The first part, verses 1-4, Jehovah, my

mighty and tender Shepherd; the second part,

verses 5-6, Jehovah, my bountiful Host. According

to the second method of dividing the Psalm, we

divide it into three parts. Part one, verses 1-3,

every want met; part two, verse 4, every fear

banished; part three, verses 5-6, every longing

satisfied.

I. Every want met. 1-3.

1. The foundation thought of this part as well as

the next is found in the opening words, Jehovah is

my Shepherd. The figure of the Shepherd. It stands

for love and care and protection and provision on

God's part, and trust and obedience and following

on man's part. Luke 15:4-6; John 10;11, and John

10:3-4. The conditions of being Jehovah's sheep

are: first, that we hear His voice, and second,

that we follow Him; third, that we heed not the

voice of strangers but flee from them. MY

Shepherd.

2. I shall not want. Psalm 84:11; Psalm 34:9-10;

Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:33; Romans 8:32;

Hebrews 13:5-6.

3. The Psalm leads us on from the general

statement, we shall not want, to specific wants

supplied. In verse 2 we have four wants supplied.

Rest and food and drink and leading provided.

Literally translated, "He maketh me to lie down in

pastures of tender grass, He leadeth me beside the

waters of rest.

(a) There is a two-fold rest in this verse, the

passive rest of the sheep lying down on the soft,

young, spring grass; the active rest walking

beside the waters of rest. There is a two-fold

rest in the Christian life; passive rest just

lying on Jesus' bosom, active rest in serving the

Lord "without fear in holiness and righteousness

before him all the days of our life." Luke

1:74-75; Matthew 11:28-29.

(b) There is food as well as rest. "Tender grass."

right beside "the waters of rest which our

Shepherd gives us to drink? Jesus Himself {489}

has interpreted it. John 4:14 and John 7:37-39.

The Holy Spirit is the water we drink. "Waters of

rest." Galatians 5:22-23.

(d) Guidance too. "He leadeth me." Jehovah leads,

not drives, His sheep. In this and the following

verses there are four places into which He leads:

(1) By waters of rest; (2) paths of righteousness;

(3) into and through darkness and sorrow and

testing; (4) into His own house forever. A fifth

want supplied is healing or reviving. "He

restoreth" (or reviveth) "my soul." A sixth want

supplied, "guidance." We have already had guidance

in verse 2, but this is different guidance. There

it was guidance by the waters of rest, here it is

guidance in a holy walk. Notice the order of God's

supply of our wants in this Psalm. Rest and food

and life- giving water and the invigorating of our

lives, precede the holy walk. All this "for his

name's sake."

# THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

PART II

II. Every Fear Banished. 4.

1. The Lord's sheep is now taken into new

experiences. Having been made "to lie down in

pastures of tender grass," and been led "in paths

of righteousness," he is now led into the "valley

of the shadow of death." The word translated

"shadow of death" is of frequent occurrence in the

Old Testament to express the deepest darkness. The

Psalmist has not merely the experience of literal

death in mind, but all experiences when the

darkness is thick and profound.

2. In this dark valley Jehovah's sheep have no

fears. "I will fear no evil." A true trust in God

banishes all fear, under all circumstances, for

all time. Isaiah 12:2 26:3; Psalm 3:5-6; Psalm

27:-13; Psalm 46:1-3; 118:6; Isaiah 41:10,13;

Philippians 4:6-7; Romans 8:28,31-32, 34, etc.

3. The reason the Psalmist gives why he will not

fear, "for thou art with me." Not because there is

no danger there. {490} but because there is One

mightier with us than any possible enemy. Isaiah

43:2; Romans 8:31; Hebrews 13:5.

4. "Thou art with me." What difference does it

make whether it is the pastures of tender grass or

the valley of the shadow of death, if He is there?

5. "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." The

rod and staff are the Shepherd's implements for

quieting and guarding the sheep. The word

translated rod means most frequently in the Bible

usage, "a rod of correction." Our Shepherd's

correction is most comforting to us. Then it means

"a sceptre," and nothing is more comforting to a

Christian than Christ's sceptre, and every true

Christian is longing for the day when it shall

sway throughout the earth. Then it means a

shepherd's crook, which is doubtless the meaning

here. Both the crook and staff with which Christ

guides His sheep and wards off the enemy, the Word

of God. Nothing comforts the Lord's sheep like the

Word. Romans 15:4.

III. Every Longing Satisfied. 5-6.

Jehovah Jesus appears no more as a Shepherd, but

as a bountiful Host.

1. "Thou preparest a table before me." As to the

general character of the feast read Psalm 63:5;

81:16. The best things on a table. First, His

Word. Jeremiah 15:16; Psalm 19:10. But there is

something better than the Word to feed upon, and

that is Jesus Himself. John 6:55,56.

2. Notice where we are feasted. "In the presence

of mine enemies." John 15:19; 2_Timothy 3:12.

3. "Thou anointest my head with oil." Acts 10:38;

Hebrews 1:9. The anointing with which our Host

anoints our heads is the anointing of "the oil of

gladness," the Holy Spirit. 1_John 2:20 RV.

4. "My cup runneth over." John 7:37-39.

5. Now we leave the feast for our earthly

pilgrimage, but we are not unguarded. "Surely

goodness and mercy shall follow me." Notice how

long this will continue. "All the days of my

life."

6. Now we come to the end of our pilgrimage and

pass out of {491} time into eternity. "I will

dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

# THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP

INTRODUCTION. -- The tenth chapter of John is one

of the most beautiful, comforting and cheering and

instructive chapters in this wonderful book.

I. The Sheep.

There are seven things told us about Christ's

sheep.

1. "They know His voice." v.4.

2. "My sheep hear my voice." v.27.

3. "They follow me."

4. "They know not the voice of strangers." v.5.

5. "A stranger they will not follow."

6. "They will flee from" a stranger.

7. Christ's sheep know Him. They not only know His

voice, they know Him; know Himself.

II. The Shepherd.

This chapter tells us seven things the Shepherd

does for the sheep.

1. He knows His sheep.

2. "He calleth His own sheep by name." v.3.

3. "He leadeth them out." Psalm 23:2; Revelation

7:17.

4. He "puts forth all his own." Sometimes the

sheep hesitate to follow the Shepherd. In that

case He does not leave them behind, but thrusts

them forth. Christ has many ways of thrusting

forth from the fold into the pastures, from the

resting place into the feeding place, His laggard

sheep.

5. "He goeth before them."

6. He "giveth his life for the sheep."

7. "I give unto them eternal life." v.28. He gives

life to the sheep. He gives absolute and eternal

safety. They shall NEVER PERISH. {492}

# THE DRAMA OF LIFE IN THREE ACTS

INTRODUCTION. -- Jesus Christ is the author of

this drama. It surpasses anything ever put on the

stage in conciseness, in point, in graphic

delineation, strength of characterization, in

pathos and in fullness, height, depth and beauty

of meaning. Its _dramatis personae_ are God, two

men, and Satan. There are three Acts, which may be

described as: 1st Act, Wandering; 2nd Act,

Desolation; 3rd Act, Return. There is a fourth

act, which we will not enter into tonight.

I. First Act. Wandering.

Scene 1. A beautiful home. An elderly,

white-haired father. The boy has become tired of

restraints of home life. He longs for a life of

untrammeled independence and freedom.

Scene 2. Home leaving.

In these two scenes we have a picture of the

beginning and growth of sin. The father of the

drama represents God. The son, man wandering from

God.

1. In the first scene we have the picture of the

beginning of sin. The young man desired to be

independent of his father. Desired to do as he

pleased. There is where sin begins; in a desire to

be independent of God.

2. The father granted his son's request, and this

is precisely the way in which God deals with men.

3. In the second scene we have a picture of the

growth of sin. The boy did not go away from father

and home at once. So it is with men when they

wander from God into the far country of sin.

II. Second Act. In the Far Country, or Desolation.

The scene shifts. Hard times have struck the gay

capital. Famine stalks the streets. The scene

shifts again. A desolate field, a lonely carob

tree with its long brown pods covered with dust

from the arid land, hungry hogs. Our friend in

ragged clothes, with hungry face, emaciated from

famine, looking up into the carob tree, for "he

would fain have filled his belly with the husks

that the swine did eat." In these {493} three

scenes of this act we have a vivid and suggestive

picture of the fruits of sin.

1. The first fruit of sin is pleasure. Hebrews

11:25.

2. The second fruit of sin is want. "He began to

be in want." The pleasures of sin have been

followed by the want of sin, high times have been

followed by hungry times. There is other hunger

than physical hunger. There is soul want and soul

hunger.

3. The third fruit of sin is degradation and

abject slavery. "He went and joined himself to a

citizen of that country; and he sent him into his

fields to feed swine." This young man god rid of,

it is true, his father's guidance and control, but

he became the bondsman of a stranger. So it is

with every one who throws off God's paternal

control. He becomes Satan's swineherd. Hog tender

for the devil. Each man here tonight has the

choice to be a son of God in filial, joyous,

ennobling and abundantly rewarded obedience, or

Satan's slave in degrading and unrequited

drudgery. Cf. Deuteronomy 28:47-48. Which will you

choose?

III. Last Act. The Wanderer's Return.

There are two scenes. The first is still the

barren field. In this scene we have a picture of

the remedy for sin and its bitter consequences.

Note the steps.

1. He began to think. Note what he thought about,

the better lot of his Father's servants.

2. The second step was, he resolved, "I will

arise." All our thinking will do no good unless it

ripens into resolution. His resolution was

three-fold. To "go to his Father." To confess his

sin.

3. "He arose and came to his father." That is the

final step. Just come.

The final scene of the third act. The boy had

forgotten the father, but the father had never

forgotten the boy. We forget God, God never

forgets us. He is waiting for your return tonight.

Of what have we a picture here? Of God and God's

attitude toward the wanderer that returns to Him.

Have you {494} wandered from God? Come back to

God tonight. There only can joy be found. There is

famine, degradation, want away from Him. Come

home. Come just as you are. A welcome, a robe, a

kiss, a ring, a feast await you.

# ABIDING IN CHRIST

(John 15:1-16.)

INTRODUCTION. -- These are wonderful words. There

is marvelous music in them. There is also

inexhaustible meaning in them.

I. What is it to Abide in Jesus?

To abide in Jesus is to be in the same relation to

Jesus as a living fruit-bearing branch to the

vine.

No one is abiding in Christ that is not drawing

his life constantly from Him. When a branch abides

in a vine, its buds, blossoms and fruit are all

the product of the vine, the life of the vine in

the branch. So when we abide in Christ, all our

thoughts, feelings and choices are the result of

the life of Christ in us. They are His thoughts,

His feelings, His choices, not ours. Jesus is

willing to thus live His life out in us, and this

is abiding in Jesus. Galatians 2:20.

II. How to Abide in Jesus.

How do we go about it practically, to thus abide

in Jesus?

1. Renounce our own self life. We cannot live our

own life and abide in Jesus at the same time. It

is either our own life in us or His in us.

2. We must also look to Him and expect Him and

trust Him to actually impart His life to us.

3. To abide in Christ we must feed upon His words.

v.7.

4. To abide in Christ we must obey His words. John

15:9-10.

5. To abide in Christ we must spend much time in

prayer. John 14:12-14.

III. Results of Abiding in Jesus.

1. Much fruit. John 15:5. Our fruitfulness does

not depend upon what we are naturally. It depends

upon the life of {495} Christ in us. There will

be fruit in our own lives. Galatians 5:22. There

will be fruit in others. v.16.

2. Power in prayer. v.7. Abiding is the great

secret of power in prayer. Our prayers will be the

outcome of the life in us. It will be Christ

praying in us and the Father hearing Him always.

John 11:42.

3. Fullness of joy. v.11.

4. Love. v.12.

5. We become Jesus' friends. v.14.

6. God is glorified. v.8. Nothing so glorifies God

as a Christian who is really abiding in Christ.

Shall we not today enter into this blessed and

glorious life of abiding in Christ? If we know

something of it, shall we not know it in its

fullness?

# FOUR SKEPTICS

INTRODUCTION. -- Many people have an idea that all

skeptics are pretty much alike, and that they are

all a pretty hard crowd. But if every one will

study his Bible carefully he will find that this

is not so. He will find that skeptics differ very

widely from one another, and that many of them so

far from being a very hard crowd are a very

respectable company. Now, there are pictured in

the Bible four typical skeptics:

I. Nathanael. John 1:45-51.

1. Note the kind of man Nathanael was. He was a

thoroughly good man. He was a sincere man, a pure

man, an especially honest man, a religious man,

but he was a skeptic.

2. He was a skeptic because he did not know the

facts in the case. His skepticism did not come

from badness of heart, but from ignorance. He was

not ignorant about other things.

3. Note what Nathanael did. See the honesty and

humility and sincerity of the man. Philip said,

"Come and see. Just let me introduce you to

Jesus." And Nathanael accepted the offer at once.

4. Note the outcome. Nathanael becomes a

thoroughgoing believer. He met Jesus. Jesus spoke

to him. His eyes were {496} opened, and

Nathanael cried out, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of

God, thou art the King of Israel." That is always

the final outcome with the Nathanael type of

skeptics.

II. Thomas. John 20:24-29.

1. Thomas was a good fellow in many ways.

Kind-hearted, generous, noble impulses. John

11:16.

2. Thomas had some grand faults, and his

skepticism came from those faults.

(a) He absented himself too much from the society

of people of stronger faith than his own. John

20:24.

(b) Thomas was a man who was inclined to take a

dark view of things. John 11:16. It is a bad

disposition, this of always looking on the dark

side.

20;25. He lived in the basement of his being. He

believed only what he could see with his eyes, and

feel with his hands.

(d) The next failing of Thomas was that he was

unwilling to take anything on any one else's

testimony. John 10:25. When a man thinks all the

world are liars but himself, he is himself

probably the greatest liar extant.

(e) He was stubborn. He said, "Except," etc., "I

WILL NOT believe."

3. But for all of Thomas' stubbornness he was

honest at heart. The next Lord's Day he was not

away moping by himself, he was with the disciples

when the Lord came. Poor, slow, dull, melancholy,

stubborn Thomas was convinced at last. Saw more

than any of them had seen, and he cried, "My Lord

and my God."

III. Pilate. John 18:38.

1. The causes of Pilate's skepticism.

(a) The first cause of Pilate's skepticism was

Pilate's wicked heart.

(b) Second cause of Pilate's skepticism was the

entanglements of his life. {497}

lack of moral earnestness. Pilate was a trifler.

2. The result of his skepticism. The result was

ruin for time and eternity.

IV. The King's Courtier.

Seventh chapter of 2_Kings.

1. The cause.

(a) The principal cause of this captain's

skepticism is not at all hard to discover. It was

simply self-conceit, scornful self-conceit. He

could not see how God could do what He promised to

do, and he had an idea that if he could not see

how it could be done then it couldn't be done at

all, for didn't he know everything? Could God

possibly know anything he didn't?

(b) He had a lack of due consideration and respect

for others and their opinions.

2. How the skeptic was treated.

Elisha made no attempt to deliver him from his

doubts. He simply answered: "Behold, thou shalt

see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat

thereof." That was wise treatment. There is no use

wasting time upon a skeptic of this class.

3. The outcome.

Everything came to pass just as God said it would.

So shall it be to every skeptic of this class who

does not speedily repent. The promises of God will

all come true. Those for this life come true in

this life, those for the life to come shall come

true in the life to come; but he will have no part

in them. They shall see, but not enjoy.

# STEPHEN

INTRODUCTION. -- There is no fairer life recorded

in history than that of Stephen, excepting, of

course, the life of Him of whom Stephen learned

and after whom he patterned. The character of

Stephen presents a rare combination of strength

and beauty, robustness and grace. Stephen occupies

but small space in the {498} Bible, two

chapters, and two verses. Yet in this short space

a remarkably complete analysis of his character

and the outcome of it is given.

I. Stephen's Character.

He was a remarkably full man.

1. He was "full of faith." Acts 6:5.

2. He was "full of grace." Acts 6:8 RV. This is

the reason why he was so much like Christ Himself.

Christ was just living His own life over again in

Stephen.

3. "Full of power."

4. Full of the Word of God. There is but one

sermon of Stephen's reported. You will find it in

the seventh chapter of Acts. What a sermon it is!

Bible from beginning to end. He was full of the

Word. This goes far toward explaining why he was

also full of faith and grace and power.

5. He was "full of the Holy Ghost." 6:5; 6:10.

6. Stephen was also full of love. Acts 7:57-60.

7. Stephen was full of courage. Acts 7:51-52.

8. He was a man of prayer.

II. The Outcome.

1. His face shone like an angel's.

2. He preached with unanswerable wisdom and power.

3. He wrought great wonders and signs, and the

Word of God increased, and the number of the

disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly.

4. Men were "cut to the heart" by his preaching.

5. But this conviction in this case did not result

in conversion. They gnashed upon him with their

teeth.

6. The heavens were opened and he saw Jesus and

the glory of God.

# FIRST CORINTHIANS 13

INTRODUCTION. -- The chapter naturally divides

itself into three parts.

First part, verses 1-3, Love Contrasted, or the

Absolute Indispensability of Love. {499}

Second part, verses 4-7, Love Described, or the

Everyday Manifestations of Love.

Third part, verses 8-13, Love Exalted, or the

Peerless Preeminence of Love.

I. Love Contrasted, or the Absolute

Indispensability of Love.

1. The first thing that Paul contrasts with love

is the gift of tongues and the gift of tongues in

its highest conceivable form. "Though I speak with

the tongues of men and angels."

2. The second thing Paul contrasts with love is

the gift of prophecy.

3. Faith, miracle-working faith, miracle-working

faith in the highest conceivable form, faith so as

to remove mountains.

4. Magnificent giving. "Though I bestow all my

goods to feed the poor."

5. Martyrdom. "If I give my body to be burned,"

but have not love, it profiteth me NOTHING.

II. Love Described, or the Everyday Manifestations

of Love.

Love has fifteen marks which are never wanting

where love exists.

1. The first mark of love is that it "suffereth

long."

2. It "is kind."

3. "Love envieth not."

4. "Vaunteth not itself."

5. "Is not puffed up."

6. "Doth not behave itself unseemly;" i.e., does

not do rude, ill-mannered, boorish things.

7. "Love seeketh not its own."

8. "Love is not provoked."

9. Love "taketh not account of evil."

10. Love "rejoiceth not in unrighteousness."

11. Love "rejoiceth with the truth."

12. "Love beareth all things."

13. Love "believeth all things."

14. "Love hopeth all things."

15. "Love endureth all things." {500}

III. Love Exalted, or the Peerless Pre-eminence of

Love.

To sum it all up in a few words, prophecies,

tongues, knowledge have their day. Love has

eternity. God is Love, and love partakes of His

eternal nature. "Love never faileth." All other

things are partial. Love is complete, perfect.

There are three abiding things, faith, hope, love;

but of even these three the greatest is love.

# THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS

INTRODUCTION. -- The Epistle to the Galatians is a

short book but a wonderfully instructive one. Its

principal teaching is concerning God's way of

justification. But it is very rich along other

lines. One of the principal lines of thought is

the contrast between living in the flesh and

living in the Spirit, i.e., living in our own

natural strength and living in the power of the

Spirit of God. According to this book the great

secret to a holy, happy, noble Christian life is

living in the Spirit, crucifying the flesh with

the passions and lusts thereof and walking by the

Spirit of God. Let us look at some of our blessed

relations to the Holy Spirit that are set forth in

the book.

I. Here we have the believer Receiving the Holy

Spirit. Galatians 3:2.

This receiving the Holy Spirit is a definite,

conscious experience. Also Acts 19:2; 8:15-17. How

received? "Hearing of faith."

II. Here we have the Spirit Ministered to or

Continually Supplied to the believer. Galatians

3:5.

This is quite different from v.2. There the Holy

Spirit is given once for all, a definite

experience in some definite moment of past time.

The tense of the verb plainly and unmistakably

shows that. But here we have a continuous supply

of the Spirit's power.

III. Here we have the Holy Spirit Witnessing in

our Hearts to our sonship, crying out in our

hearts, Abba, Father. Galatians 4:6. {501}

IV. Here we have the believer Walking by the

Spirit. Galatians 5:16.

V. Here we have Bearing of Fruit in the Spirit, or

rather the Spirit Bearing Fruit in us. Galatians

5:22-23.

What beautiful fruit it is! Love, joy, etc.

VI. Here we have Sowing to the Spirit. Galatians

6:7-8.

How can we make it sure that we shall sow to the

Spirit? By surrendering the whole life to His

absolute control. Yield to Him the control of your

will, of your affections, of your thoughts, of

your imagination, of your actions and your words.

Yield your whole being up to be filled with His

presence and His power.

# SEVEN PRIVILEGES OF THE BELIEVER

(Philippians 4.)

I. It is the Privilege of the Believer in Jesus

Christ to have CONSTANT JOY, to REJOICE ALWAYS.

v.4.

II. Undisturbed Freedom from Care. v.6.

How to realize this: "But in everything by prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving let your

requests be made known unto God." "In

everything."

III. Abiding and Abounding Peace. v.7.

"The peace of God which passeth all

understanding."

IV. An Ever-present Friend. v.9.

V. Never-failing Contentment. v.11.

VI. All-prevailing Strength. v.13.

VII. Inexhaustible Supplies for Every Need. v.19.

"EVERY NEED of yours" -- "SUPPLY." The RV reads

"fulfill," i.e., fill full. {502}

"Riches" is a great word anyhow, but when you put

"His" before it, "His riches," who can measure it?

But Paul does not stop there -- "His riches IN

GLORY." Perhaps some one wishes me to define that.

Define that! I would as soon think of measuring

the heavens with a foot rule. Notice one thing

more, this filling full of every need is in Christ

Jesus (RV). There is no filling full outside of

Christ. There is nothing but emptiness outside of

Christ.

It must be admitted that many Christians do not

actually have every need "filled full." Why is it?

Two reasons: First, they do not claim it. They are

afraid to ask large things. They seem to be afraid

of impoverishing God, that the great ocean of love

and grace will run dry.

There is another reason. God's pouring in is

conditioned upon our giving out. It was to

believers who were giving out, constantly giving

out, generousl0y giving out, that Paul wrote, "My

God shall," etc. v.15.

The one thing that prevents many of you from

having "every need of yours" filled full by Paul's

God, "according to his riches in glory," is

downright stinginess. Claim a full cup today and

make it possible for God to fill it by filling the

cup of some one else.

# GOD'S PATTERN FOR A CHRISTIAN WORKER (1)

(2_Timothy 2.)

INTRODUCTION. -- The text is a whole chapter --

the second chapter of 2_Timothy. In this chapter

we have a marvelous picture, drawn by the hand of

God, of the Christian worker. What he is. What he

should be. What he should avoid. What he should

do. And his reward.

I. What the True Christian Worker is.

1. He is a soldier. v.3.

2. The Christian worker is also a "husbandman."

v.6.

3. The Christian worker is also a workman. v.15.

4. The Christian worker is "a vessel." v.21. He is

some sort of a household utensil, as a dish, or

pitcher, or a cup, or a vase, something for the

adornment and use of the Master's house. Many

professing Christians are mere bric-a-brac in the

church. {503}

5. The Christian worker is a "servant of the

Lord." The word servant here used means "bond

servant or slave," and the thought is that we

belong to another, we are not our own: Christ is

our owner.

II. What the Christian Worker Should Be.

1. He should be "dead" -- dead with Christ. v.11.

2. The Christian worker in the next place should

be "strong." v.1.

3. Should be taught of the Lord. v.7.

4. There are three more things we should be. You

will find them all in one verse. v.24.

(a) We should be "gentle."

(b) We should also be "apt to teach."

"forbearing." "Patient of ills and wrongs."

# GOD'S PATTERN FOR A CHRISTIAN WORKER (2)

I. What he Should Not Do.

1. He should not entangle himself with the affairs

of this live. v.4.

Some of the things that entangle: Marriage to an

unconverted person, or even to a worldly

professor. Business partnership with an

unconverted man. The entrance upon speculative

business enterprises. Running in debt. Romans

13:8. The accumulation of wealth is to most men

entanglement. 1_Timothy 6:9,11. Secret societies

and questionable pleasure are entanglements that

hinder our testimony and impede our welfare.

2. The Christian should not "strive about words."

v.14.

3. The servant of the Lord should not strive at

all. Content vigorously he may for the great vital

truths, but always in a spirit of meekness,

gentleness, patience and persuasiveness. v.24.

II. What he Should Do.

1. Aim to please God. v.4 RV. {504}

2. We should "study," or exert ourselves, "be

diligent" to present ourselves approved unto God.

v.15.

3. "Endure hardness."

4. The one who names the name of Christ should

depart f rom unrighteousness. All sin. v.19 RV.

5. Flee youthful lusts. v.22.

6. While there are some things for the Christian

worker to run from, there are others for him to

run after. Righteousness, faith, love, peace. How

these four are to be pursued the last part of the

verse indicates, "with them that call on the name

of the Lord out of a pure heart." By prayer.

# HEBREWS 11

INTRODUCTION. -- The subject of the chapter is

faith. What the chapter teaches about faith can be

summarized under five general heads:

1. What faith is.

2. How faith acts, or how faith shows itself.

3. What faith gets.

4. What faith accomplishes.

5. How to get faith.

I. What Faith is.

It is clearly and simply defined in the first

verse. The Revised Version rendering of this verse

is easier to understand than the Authorized

Version. {"Now faith is the assurance of _things_

hoped for, the proving of things not seen." RV.}

Faith is the assurance and unshaken confidence

that what God says is so even though at present

there is no other evidence that it is so than that

God says so.

II. How Faith Shows Itself.

1. Faith shows itself by standing unwaveringly on

what God says. v.3.

2. Faith shows itself in another way, i.e., by

doing just what God bids. v.4.

3. Faith shows itself again by cheerfully

suffering affliction with the children of God.

v.23.

4. Faith shows itself by stopping at no sacrifice

that God demands. Abraham, v.17. {505}

III. What Faith Gets.

1. Faith gets testimony right from God that the

believer is righteous in His sight. v.4.

2. Faith gets salvation. v.7.

3. Faith gets life. v.31.

4. Faith gets power to bring forth children for

God. v.11.

5. Faith obtains a heavenly and eternal home.

v.16.

IV. What Faith Accomplishes.

1. Faith overcomes difficulties that seem

insuperable. vs.2,9.

2. Faith wins victories over enemies that seem

fortified behind impregnable walls. v.30.

3. Faith accomplishes a host of things that the

inspired author of our chapter was forced to bunch

together and that we must bunch together.

vs.32-34. Faith is the great conqueror, the great

achiever. The man of faith is the man who moves

the world and leaves his permanent impress upon

it. Faith is the mightiest thing within the reach

of man. It links man to the omnipotence of God.

V. How to Get Faith.

The chapter gives a short and simple answer to

that question. The way to get faith is to listen

to what God has to say and then just stand upon

it, risk everything upon it. Read your Bible a

great deal. Pay very careful attention to what it

says. Ask God to make it very clear what it means.

Then when you find a promise, no matter how big it

is, believe it in all its height and depth and

length and breadth, and stand upon it. When you

find a commandment meant for you, no matter how

hard it seems, just obey it. Do exactly what it

says, and do it at once.

# A FOUR-FOLD VIEW OF CHRIST IN HIS RELATIONS

TO US

I. The first view of Christ and His Relation to

us. 2_Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13.

Here we see CHRIST FOR US. The Bible is full of

this thought of Christ. Isaiah 53:6; 2_Corinthians

5;21; 1_Peter 2:24; Matthew 20:28. {506}

II. Second view of Christ in Galatians 2:20.

(Am.Ap.R.V.) The view of Christ we have here is

CHRIST IN US.

{I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no

longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and

that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live

in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God,

who loved me, and gave himself up for me.

(Galatians 2:20 ASV)}

III. Christ on us. Romans 13:14.

Christ clothing us with His own likeness, so that

we are outwardly like unto Himself.

IV. Christ, the Living, Personal, Visible Christ

with us. John 14:1-3.

# WHAT ONE GAINS BY FAITH IN CHRIST

(1_Peter 1:3-8.)

I. A New Birth. v.3

II. A Living Hope.

"Unto a living hope."

III. A Substantial, Glorious and Eternal

Inheritance.

The character of this inheritance.

1. It is "incorruptible."

2. "Undefiled," unsoiled.

3. "It fadeth not away."

4. Sure, it is kept, "reserved in heaven."

IV. Absolute Security.

"Kept by the power of God through faith." "Kept by

THE POWER OF GOD." "KEPT by the power of God.

V. "Power and Honor and Glory at the Appearing of

Jesus Christ." v.7.

VI. "Joy Unspeakable and full of Glory." v.8.

# FIRST JOHN 1

INTRODUCTION. -- This chapter sets forth seven

present and priceless privileges and possessions

of the believer in Jesus Christ. {507}

I. Precious and Certain Knowledge.

1. What the believer knows. The believer knows

eternal life. "I declare unto you the life, the

eternal life, which was with the Father and was

manifested unto us.

2. The certainty of what he knows. The knowledge

of the life is certain. That which we HAVE HEARD;

that which we HAVE SEEN WITH OUR OWN EYES; that

which we HAVE BEHELD, i.e., not merely seen but

gazed at intently and studied; OUR HANDS HANDLED.

II. Glorious Fellowship.

Fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus

Christ.

III. Fullness of Joy.

"That your joy may be fulfilled" (filled full).

v.4 RV.

IV. A Wonderful Message.

The message is this, "God is light, and in him is

no darkness at all." v.5.

V. A Holy Walk.

It is our privilege to walk in the light, to walk

in the knowledge of and obedience to the truth, to

walk in holiness. v.7.

VI. Cleansing from all Sin. v.7.

The cleansing spoken of in this verse is cleansing

from the guilt of sin. Wherever in the Bible

cleansing is spoken of in connection with the

blood, it always has reference to the removal of

guilt, i.e., to pardon and not removal of the

actual presence of sin that comes in v.9.

VII. Cleansing from all Unrighteousness. v.9.

Not only is it our privilege to be cleansed from

all guilt by the blood, it is also our privilege

to be cleansed from all unrighteousness in our

life. {508}

# FIRST JOHN 2

INTRODUCTION. -- This chapter presents to us seven

comforting views of Jesus.

I. Jesus as an Advocate with the Father.

The first view of Jesus that the chapter gives us

is found in the first verse. Here we see Jesus as

our Advocate with the Father. Jesus always

represents the believer before the throne of God.

II. Jesus as a Propitiation.

The second comforting view that the chapter gives

us of Jesus is in the second verse. Here we see

Jesus Christ as a "Propitiation." A propitiation

means "a means of appeasing." Jesus is a

propitiation because by His atoning death on the

cross God's wrath at sinners is appeased.

III. Jesus as an Abiding Place, or as our Life.

v.6.

Here we see Jesus as an Abiding Place, or as our

life. It is our privilege to live in Christ, to

abide in Him, to live and move and have our being

in Him, to draw our very life from Him.

IV. Jesus as the Anointer. vs.20 and 27.

Here we see Jesus as the Anointer. The Holy One of

verse 20 from whom we receive the anointing is

Jesus, and the anointing that we receive from Him

is the Holy Spirit. Jesus pours out the oil of the

Holy Spirit upon our heads. Acts 2:23.

V. Jesus as the Christ and Son of God. vs.22 and

23.

Here we see Jesus as the Christ and the Son of

God. This is also a comforting view of Jesus.

Indeed, it is a view that gives comfort to all

other views.

VI. Jesus as the Great Promiser. v.25.

Here we see Jesus as the Great Promiser. He

promises us eternal life. {509}

VII. Jesus as the Coming One.

There is one more comforting view of Jesus given

us in this chapter, verse 28. Here we see Jesus as

the Coming One. Jesus came once. He is also coming

again.

# FIRST JOHN 3

INTRODUCTION. -- This chapter declares to us seven

great facts about believers.

I. Believers in Jesus are now Children of God. vs.

1 and 2.

The great fact set forth is that we are now

children of God.

II. Believes shall be like Jesus when He Comes.

The second great fact, etc., in verse 2. The great

fact he declares is that when Jesus comes again we

shall be like Him.

III. The Believer does not make a Practice of Sin.

vs. 5, 6, 9, and 10.

Here we see this great fact about believers in

Christ: Those who have been born again, and abide

in Christ, do not make a practice of sin.

IV. The Believer knows that he has Passed out of

Death into Life. v.14.

How he knows. v.14-18.

V. The Believer has Boldness before God. vs.19-21.

The believer can come into God's presence and look

up into His face and pour out his whole heart

before Him. When is it that we have this boldness

before God? When our own heart does not condemn

us.

VI. The believer has Power to Obtain from God by

Prayer whatsoever he Asks. v.22.

When has he that power? {510}

VII. The Believer has the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

v.24.

The great fact about believers set forth is that

believers in Jesus Christ have the Spirit given to

them, i.e., they have the gift of the Holy Spirit.

# FIRST JOHN 4

INTRODUCTION. -- This chapter teaches us seven

great lessons about love.

I. Love is of God. v.7.

"Out of God."

II. God is Love. vs. 8 and 16.

The great lesson about love taught here is that

God is love. Not only is love of God but "God is

Love." Love is the very essence of God's

character. God is Love. That is the great central

truth around which the whole system of Bible truth

revolves. That is the great foundation truth upon

which the whole superstructure of Christian

doctrine is built. We owe our knowledge of this

truth to the Bible. Take away the Bible and the

facts therein recorded and made known and we have

no sure proof left that God is Love.

III. Jesus Christ is the Supreme Manifestation of

the Love of God. vs. 9 and 10.

God manifested His love, showed it in a visible

way.

1. By sending His Son into the world. v.9.

2. God manifested His love in Christ in a still

further and more wonderful way. v.10. He not only

sent His begotten Son, but He sent Him to be a

propitiation for our sins. We had sinned. God was

holy. God's holy wrath must fall upon us and

destroy us unless a propitiation is provided. God

provided it Himself.

IV. If God so Loved us we ought also to Love one

another. v.11.

V. He that Loveth others Dwelleth in God and God

in him. vs. 12-16. {511}

VI. There is no Fear in Love. v.18.

The sixth great lesson about Christ taught here is

that "there is no fear in love, but perfect love

casteth out fear." Learn to love God and you will

be delivered from all dread of God.

VII. "We Love because He first Loved us." v.19.

The great lesson about love taught us here is that

"we love because God first loved us." Love does

not begin with our loving, but with God's loving.

Not with our loving God, but with God's loving us.

# FIRST JOHN 5

INTRODUCTION. -- This chapter sets forth the

seven-fold glory of the believer in Jesus Christ.

I. The Believer's noble Parentage.

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is

born of God." v.1. Every true believer in Jesus

Christ can boast of the eternal, all-wise,

all-holy, almighty God as His father.

II. The Believer's splendid Victory. vs. 4 and 5.

Victory over the world.

III. The Believer's priceless Possession. vs. 11

and 12.

The believer has eternal life. Not only has the

believer eternal life, it is his privilege to know

that he has eternal life. v.13.

IV. The Believer's sure Confidence. vs. 14 and 15.

The believer's sure confidence is that if he asks

anything that is according to the will of God he

will obtain it.

V. The Believer's wonderful Power. v.16.

The believer has the power to save by his prayer

his erring brother's life. The death spoken of in

this verse is eternal death, and the life spoken

of is eternal life. {512}

VI. The Believer's perfect security. v.18 RV. {"We

know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth

not; but he that was begotten of God keepeth him,

and the evil one toucheth him not." RV.}

He that was begotten of God (i.e., Jesus Christ)

keepeth him that is begotten of God from the

practice of sin and from the clutch of Satan.

VII. The Believer's glorious Knowledge. v.20.

The Son of God gives to every believer an

understanding to know God. The knowledge of God,

the supreme knowledge.

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Work For Christ_ by R.A.Torrey}

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R. A. Torrey, PREACHING AND TEACHING THE

WORD OF GOD: Book Three (of 3) of HOW TO

WORK FOR CHRIST: A Compendium of

Effective Methods