"I Will Be a Christian Sometime"

once

HE devil has four chief servants,-"There's no danger," "Only this once," "Everybody does it," and "By and by." A man dreamed that he was in a council of devils who were trying to devise plans to catch men. One said to his master, "I will go and tell men the Bible is a fable and not from God." Another said, "Let me go and tell men there is no God, no Saviour, no heaven, no hell." A third said: "No, that will not do. I will go and tell men that there is a God, there is a Saviour, there is a heaven and a hell; but I'll tell them there is no hurry, that to-morrow will do." They sent him! In our day, all three of these devils are reaping a large harvest; but the last one is most successful of all.

In answering your excuse, "I will be a Christian sometime," permit me to begin where you stand. You are lost! You admit it, although you do not like to think long upon it. Go out alone under the stars tonight, and repeat to yourself: "If I remain where I am, I am lost. I am without God and without hope in the world." Keep on saying it. It will do you good.

Then picture yourself in a small boat on the Niagara River, a little way above the falls. The current there is very gentle. At your feet is a strong pair of oars. If you wish, you can yet pull out of the current to the shore. But you sit there and drift, gently at first, then faster and faster.

Now you are almost at the head of the rapids. Men on the shore see your peril. They run along the bank, and throw you a long, strong rope. It falls at your feet. Strong arms are ready to haul you ashore if you will take the rope.

What is necessary for you to do in order to be saved? You know that you must lay hold of the rope. What must you do to be lost? You do not need to take

up the oars and pull with the current. You do not need to refuse to take the rope. You do not need to jump out of the boat. If you will sit still and do nothing thirty seconds longer, the current will sweep you over the falls.

This is a picture of every man and woman out of Christ. The current of sin is so swift and strong that no man can pull against it in his own strength. God, standing on the shore of eternity, has, because of His infinite love, thrown out a rope the gospel of His Son. It has fallen at the feet of all. To neglect it, means to be swept on to eternal ruin.

Talmage says of those who make this excuse: "They make me think of Cæsar on his way to assassination, fearing nothing. Though his statue in the hall fell crashing into fragments at his feet, and a scroll containing the names of the conspirators was thrust into his hands, yet he walked right on to meet the dagger that was to take his life. Sin is so mighty in many a man that, though his fortunes are crashing and his health is crashing and his domestic interests are crashing, and we hand him a long scroll containing the names of perils that await him, he goes straight on to physical, mental, and moral assassination."

"But," you say, "I do not intend to do that; I mean to be a Christian sometime." Nine times out of ten, this excuse is only something wherewith people quiet their consciences. My friends, do not think you can toil for the prince of darkness all the long day of your life, and then sup with the Prince of Light at the evening of death. Starting for heaven on a gravestone is risky business. Deathbed repentance is burning the candle of life for the devil and then giving the smoke to God. If God's to-day is too soon for your repentance, your to-morrow may be too late for God's acceptance. "Will be" has not yet come. "Was" is past. "Now is the accepted time; . . . now is the day of salvation."

A Persian prince, having grown to manhood, divided his life into four periods: ten years for travel, ten years for government affairs, ten years for pleasure and friendship, and ten years for God. It seemed a good plan, but it was marred by one unexpected event he died in the first ten years.

The dangers of putting off salvation are many. You can not always repent at your own convenience. It is the goodness of God that calls to repentance. Your very life is uncertain. God may say, "This night thy soul shall be required of thee." Illustrations of this may be seen everywhere. I will recount a few:

A famous surgeon performed before his students a very critical operation. It was a success so far as his part was concerned. As he finished, he turned to the class and said: "Six years ago a wise way of living might have prevented this disease. Two years ago a safe and simple operation might have cured it. We have done our best to-day as the case stands; but nature will have her word to say. She does not always repeal her capital sentences." The next day, the patient died, reaping the fruit of his excesses and waiting.

A lawyer was under deep conviction of sin. He was in great mental distress, and friends urged him to forsake and confess his sins and find pardon. But an election was approaching, and he was a prominent candidate. To all their entreaties, he replied, "I know I have a more important election to secure than this one I am a candidate for; and when the political canvass is over, I will seek the salvation of my soul." He was warned that such a course was grieving the Holy Spirit, but he refused to turn then. The voting ended. He was defeated. Under the influence of shame and remorse, he began to drink, plunged deeper and deeper into wickedness, and finally became a drunken sot, an outcast from society. It is a dangerous thing to put

off salvation when we know our duty and the Spirit of God calls.

Quenching the Spirit is putting out the fire of the Holy Spirit in the life. When this fire is out, only the ashes of sin remain. A young man was aware that his end was approaching. His pastor, standing at his bedside, tried to get him to seek cleansing from sin even at that late hour. His only response was: "It is useless to speak to me about these things. I do not care to listen to them. I know that I shall soon be lost forever; but I do not seem to care. Two years ago I felt concerned; but I tried to drive all such thought from me, and succeeded only too well. Since that time, nothing has seemed able to touch my heart; nor do I care even now, while I know what awaits me."

A man said: "One cold night, while slowly walking home, I stopped and leaned against a wall. The thought came, Why don't you move on? I said to myself, What does this mean? In a moment, I saw my danger, and cried, 'O Lord, I'm freezing!' Arousing myself, I started to run for my life. I urged myself on, and my blood finally began to course freely, and with a glad heart, I exclaimed, 'Thank God, I am saved!'"

How many more days do you wish to spend in rebellion against God? A little boy ran for his train only to see it move off as he neared the platform. He stood there panting, and a man said to him, "You did not run fast enough." The boy replied, "I ran with all my might, but I missed the train because I didn't start soon enough." The time is coming soon when many will want to escape the punishment of the wicked, but they will find it too late.

It is not after a storm has arisen or the ship has been reported wrecked, that the merchant runs to insure his goods. He takes out his insurance while the sun still shines and the air is still calm. Strange thought! Men will insure their goods, their cars, their homes

-every