The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1894, Page 33

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pousrisnep BY THE EVANGELICAL LutHeRAN SyNopIcCAL CoNFERENCE oF NortH AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XVI.

St. Louis, Mo., September, 1894. No. 9.
Consider. to their feelings instead of the certainty of “Occupy Till | Come.”
ean God’s Word. The sum of it all is this, if you
onsider

The lilies of the field, whose bloom is brief;
We are as they;
Like them we fade away,

As doth the leaf.

Consider

The sparrows of the air, of small account;
Our God doth view

Whether they fall or mount—
He guards us too.

Consider
The lilies, that do neither spin nor toil,
Yet are most fair;
What profits all this cure,
And all this toil?

Consider
The-birds, that have no barn nor harvest weeks,
Got gives them food;
Much more our Father seeks
* To do us good.

Anon.
—_+ +o oo

Christ Died For Sinners.

Christ died for sinners; thatis just what you
are; so Christ died for you. And how may
you know this? By your own feelings? No;
but the same Bible which tells you that you
are a sinner, that you are ungodly, that you
are unjust, tells you that Jesus died for sin-
ners—He the Just for the unjust. Many do
not enjoy the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
because they try to make themselves some-
thing else than what they are before they will
accept the Saviour. ‘hey are unwilling to
give up the thought of some preparation in
themselves. Ah! if they were anything else
than sinners, what part could they have-in
Christ? Christ died for sinners! They that
accept Him have peace, but the ground of
their peace is not in their own heart, but in
Christ; and the proof that they have peace
is not in their own feelings, but in the Script-
ures. ‘Christ died for our sins,’’ according
to the Scriptures. ‘He was buried and rose

_ again,’’ according to the Scriptures. There

is, indeed, joy to them who believe what the
Bible says of Jesus, the Saviour of sinners,
but they must not put their joy, their experi-
ence in the place of Christ, and must not look

have learned from the law of God that you
are a great sinner, a lost and undone sinner,
a leper, covered all over with the leprosy of
sin, then here is Jesus coming to you in the
Gospel and meeting all your need. . Christ
died for sinners! He died for you! His blood
cleanseth from all sin, and by Him all that
believe are justified from all things. And rest
assured that the more completely you take the
position of a poor sinner, and fix your heart
on Christ as He is presented to you in the
Scriptures, the more settled will be your peace,
the more joyful your experience.

+ +o oo

Receiving as Little Children.

Little children always trust in their parents’
love which shelters them and provides for
them. If a mother offers an apple to her little
boy, he will not raise any question about her
love or his desert. He willenot argue that he
must feel differently, before he can take the
apple. He will not doubt the sincerity of his
mother’s offer. No; he trusts her love, and
his hand is out at once to take the apple.

So in the matter of receiving Christ, eter-
nal life, salvation: it is simple trust which
takes God at His word and takes what He
gives in the Gospel. God has said.that He
‘so loved the world that He gave His only-
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.’’ And yet, with such statements through-
out God’s Word, sinners, instead of believing
what God says and simply receiving His gift,
stand reasoning about themselves, and do not
trust the love which comes to them in the
Gospel with its unspeakable gift. ‘The heart
must be brought to receive the gift of God in
simple trust, just as the child takes unhesitat-

ingly what a parent’s love offers. ‘*Whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as alittle
child, shall in no wise enter therein.’’
——_»--o-<a oo

Tue glory of Christianity is to see the hand
of God in all things and all events and calmly
to leave all results with Him.

A pious minister once came softly behind
a Christian of his acquaintance, who was busily
employed in tanning a hide. When the pas-
tor gave hima tap on the shoulder, the man
startled, looked behind, and with a blushing
countenance said, ‘‘Sir, I am ashamed that
you should find me thus.’’ The pastor replied,
‘*Let Christ, when He cometh, find me sd do-
ing.’’ ‘*What!’’ said the man, ‘‘doing thus?”’
‘*Yes,’’ said the pastor, ‘‘faithfully perform-
ing the duties of my calling.’’

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Strange Excuse. .

Thére is a certain class of unbelievers who
are forever telling us that the reason why they
do not become Christians is that there are so
many hypocrites in the church. This is the
strangest excuse, for it is not a reason. Sup-
pose there are hypocrites in the church, what
of it? They won’t be in heaven, but in hell,
when the judgment is concluded. And if man
refuses Christ, no matter what may be his rea-
son, he will be in hell, and then he and the
hypocrites will be together. It is in effect to
say: ‘‘Rather than be a Christian and church
member in which there are some hypocrites,
with whom I must live in outward fellowship
for a few years, I will reject Christ, lose my
own soul and live with the hypocrites in hell
forever.’’ ;

———- oo

The Two Planks.

Suppose it is needful for you to cross a river,
over which two planks are thrown. One is
perfectly new, the other is completely rotten.
How will you go? If you walk upon the rotten
one, you are sure to fall into the river. If you
put one foot on the rotten plank and the other
on the new plank, it will be the same; you will
certainly fall through and perish. So there is
only one method left. Put both feet on the new
plank. Friend, the rotten plank is your own
unclean self-righteousness: He who trusts in
it must perish without remedy. The new plank
is the eternal saying work of Christ, which is

| given to every one that believeth in Him.