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The
gospel, according to Isaiah, is, "Incline your ear, and come unto
Me:
hear, and your soul shall live." It is ours, then, to give men
something
worth their hearing; in fact, to instruct them. We are sent to
evangelize, or
to preach the gospel to every creature; and that is not done unless we
teach
them the great truths of revelation. The gospel is good news. To listen
to
some preachers, you would imagine that the gospel was a pinch of sacred
snuff
to make them wake up, or a bottle of ardent spirits to excite their
brains.
It is nothing of the kind; it is news, there is information in it, there
is
instruction in it concerning matters which men need to know, and
statements
in it calculated to bless those who hear it. It is not a magical
incantation,
or a charm, whose force consists in a collection of sounds; it is a
revelation of facts and truths which require knowledge and belief. The
gospel
is a reasonable system, and it appeals to men's understanding; it is a
matter
for thought and consideration, and it appeals to the conscience and the
reflecting powers. Hence, if we do not teach men something, we may
shout,
"Believe! Believe! Believe!" but what are they to believe?
Each exhortation
requires a corresponding instruction, or it will mean nothing.
"Escape!" From
what? This requires for its answer the doctrine of the punishment of
sin.
"Fly!" But whither? Then must you preach Christ, and His
wounds; yea, and the
clear doctrine of atonement by sacrifice. "Repent!" Of what?
Here you must
answer such questions as, What is sin? What is the evil of sin? What are
the
consequences of sin ? "Be converted!" But what is it to be
converted? By what
power can we be converted? What from? What to? The field of instruction
is
wide if men are to be made to know the truth which saves. "That the
soul be
without knowledge, it is not good," and it is ours as the Lord's
instruments
to make men so to know the truth that they may believe it, and feel its
power. We are not to try and save men in the dark, but in the power of
the
Holy Ghost we are to seek to turn them from darkness to light.
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