The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1881, Page 37

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The Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pusuisuep BY THE EVANGELICAL LuruerAN SynopicaL ConrereNce or Nort AMERICA.
R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor. :

Entered at the Post Oflice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class maticr.

ol. II. St. Louis, Mo., October, 1881. No. 10.

rubbish of human works. But, thanks be to
God, through the Reformation of Dr. Martin
Luther it was again uncovered and brought to
light. And as the festival day of the Reforma-
tion comes around on the 31st of October, we
may well thank God for this ‘great blessing.
May we all, like Luther, and like all other true
believers before and since, learn to know our-
selves from the holy law of God as poor, lost,
and condemned sinners, and trust alone for
salvation in the mercy of God in Jesus Christ
our Lord, as it is brought to us in the Gospel.

=e

The Alarm Clock.

we stop when it says ‘“‘stop;’’ if we do what it
tells us to do, then we shall always hear it. But
if we get into the habit of not heeding its warn-
ing, and not doing what it tells us to do, then,
by and by, we shall cease to hear it. Our con-
science will sleep; its yoice of warning will be
hushed; and we shall then be like a vessel at
sea that has no compass to point out the right
way, and no rudder to keep it in that way.
T. C.

The true Way to Christianity.

Among the many blessings which God has
given to His Church through the Reformation
of Dr. Martin Luther is the knowledge of the
true way to Christianity. Let us hear the great
Reformer himself on this point. Luther says:
“The true way to Christianity is this, that a
man do first acknowledge himself, by the law,
to be a sinnér; and that it is impossible for him
to do any meritorious good work. For the law
saith: Thou art an evil tree, and therefore all
that thou thinkest, spenkest, and doest, is
against God. Thou canst not, therefore, de-
serve grace by thy works, which, if thou go
about to do, thou doublest thy offence, for since
thou art an evil tree, thou canst not but bring
forth evil fruits, that is to say, sins. For ‘what-
ever is not of faith is sin’, Rom. 14, 23. Where-
fore he that would deserve grace by works going
before faith, goeth about to please God with sins,
which is nothing else but to heap sin upon sin,
to mock God, and to provoke His wrath. When
a man is thus taught and instructed by the law,
then he is terrified and humbled, then he seeth,
indeed, the greatness of his sin, and cannot find
in himself one spark of the love of God; there-
fore, he justifieth God in His Word, and con-
fesseth ‘that he is guilty of death and damna-
tion. ‘The first part, then, of Christianity, is
the preaching of repentance and the knowledge
of ourselves.

«The second part is, if thou wilt be saved,
thou mayest’ not seek salvation by works, for
God hath sent His only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through Him. He
was crucified and died for thee, and offered up
thy sins in His own body. Believe in Jesus
Christ crucified for thy sins. If thou feel thy
sins and the burden thereof, look not upon them
in thyself, but remember that they are trans-
ferred and laid upon Christ, whose stripes have
made thee whole. This is the beginning of
health and salyation. By this means we are
delivered from sin, justified and made inheritors
of everlasting life.’”

* This is the true Bible-way to Christianity and
to heaven. It is the way pointed out by the
prophets and the apostles and by Christ Him-
self. For ages the pope had buried it under the

es 0 em 0 ee

“Come!”’

- “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And
let him that heareth say, Come. And let him
that is athirst Come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely,’’ Rev. 22, 17.
These words a pastor explained in the following
manner: % t

I have heard that in the deserts, when the
caravans are in want of water, they send on a
camel with its rider some distance in advance;
then after a little space; follows another; and
then another. As soon as the first man finds
water, almost before he stoops down to drink,
he shouts aloud, ‘‘Comie!’’ The next one, hear-
ing his voice, repeats the word, ‘‘Come!’’ while
the nearest again takes up the cry ‘Come!’’
until the whole .wilderness echoes with the
word, ‘‘Come!’’ So in that verse the Spirit
and the bride say, first of all, ‘“Come!”” And
then let him that heareth, say, ‘‘Come!’’ And
whosoever is athirst let him take of the water
of life freely.

——- <>  - o

Flee to Christ.

You know]what an alarm clock is? It isa
kind of a clock made, not to keep time all day
like other clocks, but to wake persons up at a
particular hour by making a loud noise. Sup-
pose you have one of these clocks, and you wish
it to wake you so that you may rise every morn-
ing at four o'clock; you wind it up at night, and
set the index finger on the dial-plate pointing
to four, then you place it on a table near your
bed, or on a mantlepiece, and go to sleep. The
clock keep$ on through the night, ticking away,
till four o’clock in the morning. Then it be-
gins to strike and ring, and it makes such a
noise as is sure to wake any ordinary sleeper.
This is a very convenient way of being aroused
from sleep. Yes, it is a sure way if only you
mind the clock, and get up when it calls you.
But if you turn over and go to sleep again, for
two or three mornings, the alarm clock will lose
its power, or rather you will lose your power of
hearing it, or of being awakened by it. No
change will take place in the clock; but a
change will take place in you. The clock will
continue tosound the alarm at the proper hour,
and it will make as much noise as it ever did,
but it will lose its effect. You will sleep quietly
on, just as if the alarm had not been given.

Now conscience is God’s ularm clock. God
has wound it up, so that it may warn us when-
ever we are tempted to do that which is wrong.
It givesthe alarm. It seems to say, ‘Take care.
God sees you. Stop!’’ How important it is to
have a conscience that will always warn us of
the danger of sin. But if we desire such con-
science, we must be willing to listen to it. If

How ‘can a man trust in his own righteous-
ness? It is like seeking shelter under one’s own
shadow. He may stoop to the very ground, and
the lower he bends he still finds that his shadow
is heneath him. But if a man flee to the shadow
of a great rock or of a wide spreading tree, he
will find shelter from the rays of the noon-day
sun. So human merits can not give salvation
and Christ alone is able to save to the utter-
most those who come unto God by Him.

+ oo >

SLANDER would very soon starve and die of

itself if no one took it in and gave it lodging.