The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1891, Page 25

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~The Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PusuisHep By THE EVANGELICAL LuraeraN SyNopicaL ConFERENCE OF NorTH AMERICA.
R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

Vol. XIII. St. Louis, Mo., July, 1891. No. 7.

At the Mission-School.

= “Teacher ;’’ I turned to look, and there,
In well-worn cloak and hood,
A bundle in her arms held close,
A little maiden stood.

He “‘go loved the world that He gave His only-
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.’’
And what does the unbeliever do? He rejects
the Gospel and treats it as a lie.

The Bible says, ‘He that believeth not God,
hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not
the record that God gave of His Son”’ (1 John
5, 10). Oh, what a terrible thing is this un-
belief! Not to believe the word of a holy and
faithful God, but to treat Him as ‘‘a liar’’!
How awful it is to think that worms of the dust
should thus insult the great God! This is, in-
deed, the greatest of all sins—the sin of not
believing ‘“‘the record which God gave of His
Son.” It is the damning sin—the sin which
leads into eternal damnation.

There is only one way of salvation, but the
unbeliever will not walk in it. There is only
one fountain open for ain and for uncleanness,
but the unbeliever will not wash in it and be
clean. ‘There is only one righteousness pre-
sented to sinners that will justify them from
all guilt, but the unbeliever will not accept it,
put it on, and wear it. There is only one name
given among men whereby we must be saved,
it is the name Jesus, but the unbeliever de-
spises this name, he rejects the only Saviour
and rushes into eternal damnation. =

Beware of unbelief—the greatest of all sins!

A young man had become very unhappy
about his sins, and could find no peace of mind.
In his distress he went to a minister of the Gos-
pel, to see if there could be any hope for one
so bad as he. He showed the pastor a written
list of his sins, as many as he could remember,
classified according to the Ten Commandments.
The pastor glanced his eye over the sad list,
and then returned the paper, saying: “‘My
young friend, you have forgotten to put down
on this paper one great sin which I believe to
be worse than all these.”’

“Pray, what is it??? asked the young man

erly.
eri replied the pastor, ‘the sin of un-
belief —the sin of not bringing all these sins to
the Lord Jesus, and getting forgiveness for

”
a young man had not thought of that as

@ sin.

Only Two.

1. Only rwo ways. One broad, the other
narrow; one leads to destruction, the other to
life; many go by the one, few by the other.
Which is your way?

2. Only rwo sorts OF PEOPLE. Many sorts
in men’s opinion, only two in God’s sight: the
righteous and the wicked, the wheat and the
chaff, the living and the dead. Which are you?

3. Only rwo DEATHS: the death of the right-
eous and the death of the wicked. Which do
you think you will die? Which would it be if
you were to die this moment?

4, Only two ses at the day of judgment:
the right hand and the left. Only these two.
Those on the right will be blessed: “Come, ye
blessed of my father.’’ Those on the left will
be cursed: ‘‘Depart, ye cursed.’’ Al must ap-
pear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to re-
ceive the things done in the body, whether good
or bad. What words will be spoken to you?

5. Only two PLAcEs after death: HEAVEN
and HELL. The one happy, the other miserable.
In the one will be heard forever songs of joy
and praise; in the other weeping, and wailing,
and gnashing of teeth. Which of these two will
be your place? Which, if you were to die now?

“]’ve brought,”’ she said, with trembling lips,
‘Our baby’s shoes to you—

My mother thought it best I should—
And his white dresses too.

“One he was christened in, and one
He wore the night that we

Came here and found such lovely things
Upon the Christmas tree.

“These were his only pair of shoes
(He’d just begun to walk),

But he could sing like birdies sing,
And he could almost talk.

“(And mother says, please, let the things
To some poor child be given,

For our dear baby needs them not,
He’s gone away to Heaven.”

+o o>

The Sin of Unbelief.

Unbelief is a sin—a great sin. The Bible
treats it as the greatest of all sins. It is the
sin which leads to eternal damnation. When
the Lord Jesus speaks of the world being con-
victed of stn, it is BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT
on Hm (John 16,9). And, oh, solemn, awful
word! they who believe not on Him, ‘‘shall be
damned’? (Mark 16, 16).

God's Word tells us that men are ‘‘dead in
trespasses and sins.” They are all guilty be-
fore God, and have deserved to be banished
from His blessed and holy presence into the
darkness of hell forever. But God provided
& way of salvation for all sinners. He sent His
only-begotten Son into the world to be the Say-
iour of sinners. This Saviour took upon Him-
» Self the sins of the world and made satisfaction

for our sing by suffering the terrible punish-
Ment of God which our sins deserved. Thus
aces made provision for the blotting out
rife our guilt and sinfulness, through the sac-
= Gee Son upon the cross. And now God
accept pare invites all sinners to come and
Christ ‘ a free pardon on the ground of what
offers th as done for them. .He in the Gospel
a em the righteousness of Christ and be-

them to accept it. He tells them that

——s oa o> ao -
Is it for you?

God feeds none but the hungry, pardons
none but the guilty, gives rest to none but the
heayy-laden, comforts none but the mourners,
heals none but the sick, lifts up none but the
fallen, exalts none but the lowly, strengthens
none but the weak, gives sight to none but
the blind, salvation to none but the lost, peace
to none but the troubled, cleansing to none but
the polluted, and life to none but the dead.
They that are whole need not a physician, but
they that aré sick. Are you in need of Christ?

‘Just as L am without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me;
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
0, Lamb of God, I come.”

—2 oor oe
-Some people are dissatisfied because thorns
are put on roses; they ought to be glad that
roses are put on thorns. :