in Christ has been settled upon the as- surance of God's Word, but the fact needs to be made plain; the person is not to wait for such an experience, or to rest upon it if it comes to him; urge him to im- mediately accept Christ and to rest upon Him for salvation. Probably one of the greatest hindrances in the way of the salvation of men has been the testimony of many to a wonder- ful state of feeling, an ecstacy which came to them at the time of conversion; the inquirer looks therefore for such an experience, and lacking this concludes that the time of his acceptance on the part of God has not yet arrived and so waits more or less anxiously this expres- sion of God's Divine favor and blessing. God has already made expression of His love and grace in the person, death and resurrection of His own dear Son. God asks for personal belief and acceptance of the fact and not some emotion connected with it. Feeling, ecstacy, emotions of themselves are worthless as a basis or a proof of salvation; the devil can m&ke a sinner "feel good" and thus deceive him. Urge men to immediate and definite acceptance of the Lord Jesus. Could men who believe cease to harp upon themselves and their experiences and simply testify to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; the sin- ner would cease to be bothered by this form of deception, while the believer would bear witness to his Lord in a scrip- tural and therefore in a convincing, sav- ing manner. The person who believes and rests in the death and resurrection of the I-iord Jesus possesses life and salvation and justification and peace " in Him." The consciousness that He meets all the de- mands of God and the needs of the sinner should be enough for any one of us; this consciousness springs from the work of Christ and the assurance of His word. This may be termed " i nwa rd peace, joy, assurance, experience," but the fact re- mains that wherever manifested it follows faith and never precedes it. Scripture Proof: Eph. 1:13— First—Hearing the Word of Truth, the Good News of Salvation. Second—Trusting the Christ who wrought it for us. Third—On Believing, Sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. Gal. 5:22-23—
who have broken their hearts in sorrow over sins,; i. e. Judas, Felix, et al. (d) Feelings and emotions are like the seasons, the weather and the winds: changeable in their courses and manifesta- tions; but God's Son and God's Word, upon which men are to believe and rest for salvation are unchangeable, (e) Feelings and emotions often beeome the devil's counterfeit for Faith which is God's requirement on the part of the sinner. Note 3.—The Method of Dealing. (1) Dealing with the Class who desire to feel that they are awful sin- ners. (a) State a Fact: All men are awful sinners, whether they may or may not feel it. (b) Because one does not feel " l o s t " it must not be taken as a fact that he does not need salvation as truly as one who does so feel. (c) Because one does not feel the vent of God's wrath is no sign that such wrath does not exist and that escape is needed on the part of the sinner. (d) Because one does not " f e e l " dan- ger is no sign that danger does not exist. The paralytic, the freezing, the dying man may not be conscious of impending death, yet in great danger from the human standpoint. (e) The great need of the sinner is not a feeling concerning his danger, but a deliverance from it. ( f) Show this class God's Requirement: Faith, not Feeling; Trust not Tears; Be- lief not Emotions. Jno. 1:12, 3:36, 5:24; Rom. 1:16; Eph. 2:8; 1 Jno. 5:11-12. (2) Dealing with the class who are an- xious for the feeling of ecstacy that believers often talk about. (a) Emphasize the Fact: Feeling good does not save any more than feeling bad. (b) Emphasize the Truth: The need of sinner and saint is to rest upon The un- changeable Christ and His Unchangeable Word. (c) But the question will arise, "How about experience?" Will the believer ever obtain a "feeling?" A feeling of restfulness, peacefulness, satisfaction often comes to the human mind when the matter of eternal salvation
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