By Reuben Archer Torrey

      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 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.

      # 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.

      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.

      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 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.

      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 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.

      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 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?

      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.

      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 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.

      (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.

      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.

      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, 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."

      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 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 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.

      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 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. 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.

      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.

      # 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.

      (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 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.

      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.

      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.

      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.

      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?

      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 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.

      # 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 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.

      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 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.

      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.

      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 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 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 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.

      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. 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.

      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.

      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 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 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.

      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.

      # 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.

      (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 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.

      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.

      # 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 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. 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."

      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.

      (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 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.

      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 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, 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 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.

      (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?

      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.

      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 ---

      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.

      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?

      (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.

      # 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 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.

      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.

      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 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? 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.

      # 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.

      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.

      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.

      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.

      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. 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.

      # 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."

      # 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. 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 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 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.

      # 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 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:

      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.

      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 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.

      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:

      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 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 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.

      # 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 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.

      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.

See Also:
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 1
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 2
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 3
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 4
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 5
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 6
   How to Work for Christ: Book 3: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God, Chapter 7