_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
 
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).
 
(c) He is forgiven ALL things.
 
(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).
(c) Abounding peace (v.7).
(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).
(c) Every longing satisfied (vs.5-6).
 
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).
 
(c) Jesus as our light (v.8).
 
(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).
 
(c) The believer does not make a practice of sin
(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?
 
(c) Where 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.
 
(c) Let what is found be stated as accurately and
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.
 
(c) Go through the analysis already made, and
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.
 
(c) The truth most emphasized in 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.
 
(c) Things to be imitated. That is, things
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.
 
(c) Discover and study parallel passages and note
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.
 
(c) Christ's love for souls. 2_Corinthians 3:18.
 
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.
 
(c) Prayer obtains an insight into and
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.
 
(c) Worship is a blessed privilege again because
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}
 
(c) Again, true joy is the fruit of the Holy
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.
 
(c) We must know how to use our 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.
 
(c) Eternal life is a life of the highest
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.
 
(c) To save is to save from the eternal
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.
 
(c) The Gospel can save scholars.
 
(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.
 
(c) Third, "He rose again."
 
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.
 
(c) Awful punishment. Hebrews 10:26-31. {409}
 
#    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.
 
(c) He did not acknowledge himself a sinner.
 
(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.
 
(c) The fear of man.
 
(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.
 
(c) They have no guarantee of continued life.
 
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.
 
(c) No hope of pardon.
 
(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.
 
(c) But not only is the hope that God is too good
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.
 
(c) Many who love money, when they are awakened to
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.
 
(c) A third penalty of sin is a loss of grip. It
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.
 
(c) Joining the church 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.
 
(c) Jesus Christ not only saves from the guilt of
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.
 
(c) But as there is no salvation from the guilt of
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.
 
(c) By His Word.
 
2. He can save.
 
(a) From guilt of sin.
 
(b) From power of sin.
 
(c) He came to seek the utterly lost.
 
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.
 
(c) Surrender of our life to Him.
 
(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.
 
(c) Work. 1_Timothy 4;13-14.
 
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.
 
(c) A clothing of the believer in Christ with the
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.
 
(c) Put away hindrances. The great hindrances, sin
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.
 
(c) Through going back on our consecration.
 
(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.
 
(c) Work. The exercise of the gift increases the
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.
 
(c) It is absolutely unrivaled in its power of
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.
 
(c) Be exact.
 
(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.
 
(c) The sufferer is stricken for the transgression
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.
 
(c) Retiring. Avoiding notoriety. Isaiah 42:2.
 
(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.
 
(c) Scourged, insulted, spit upon. Isaiah 50:6.
 
(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.
 
(c) The various things mentioned as occurring at
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}
 
(c) The last days and the time of the coming again
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."
 
(c) Drink as well as food. Jehovah leads His sheep
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.
 
(c) Then Thomas was governed by his senses. John
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}
 
(c) The third cause of Pilate's skepticism was a
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."
 
(c) Should be "patient," or, as the RV has it,
"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.
 
{End of Book Three, End of CDLF etext of _How to
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