A GENTLEMAN visited a French town in the neighborhood of which he had been born, but in which, by reason of long absence, he was a stranger. Wishing to reach the post office he inquired of a lady the way to get to it.
“I am going past it, and will gladly guide you there,” was her courteous reply.
As they walked together, the lady remarked, “Monsieur is a stranger?”
“Yes, madame,” he replied, “yet I was born in these parts.”
“Indeed,” she replied, her curiosity aroused, “and of what family?”
When the gentleman mentioned the name, she exclaimed, “Oh that is the name of an old Protestant family. Is Monsieur a Protestant?”
“Something far better than that, madame,” he replied.
“A Catholic, then” the lady ventured.
“Something far better than that, madame,” was the answer.
Fairly puzzled, the lady inquired, “And what may that be?”
“A true Christian, madame―a follower of Christ,” he replied.
Reader, the devil is well pleased if he can persuade you that a nominal profession of religion is sufficient to ensure you heaven in the next world. He cares not whether it is Protestantism or Roman Catholicism, that you embrace, as long as it is only nominal.
May I ask, are you a true Christian? It is a vital question. There are plenty of mere professors about.
“Yes,” you say, “that is my difficulty. There are so many hypocrites, mere professors, that I am disgusted with the whole business.”
But is this a wise attitude?
I once saw a leaflet which came from America. It put the matter in a nutshell.
It ran something as follows: ―
“Did you ever see a counterfeit twenty dollar bill?”
“Yes.”
“Why was the twenty dollar bill counterfeited?”
“Because it was worth counterfeiting.”
“Have you seen a counterfeit piece of brown paper?”
“Never.”
“Why is brown paper not counterfeited?”
“Because it is not worth counterfeiting.”
“Have you ever seen a counterfeit Christian?”
“Often.”
“Why is a true Christian counterfeited?”
“Because he is worth counterfeiting.”
“Did you ever see a counterfeit infidel?”
“Never.”
“Why is an infidel not counterfeited?”
“THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUS?”
To refuse to be a Christian because there are so many mere professors, is as sensible as refusing a good half-crown because the forgers have flooded the country with counterfeit coins.
The Bible does not ask you to be a hypocrite, a mere professor. The mere fact that such exist only proves the real article, and the more numerous the false exists the more it demonstrates the value of the real. God wants you to be real.
Let us come to the naked truth;
Do you want to be a Christian? Is your will involved to the matter? A real live Christian is not popular in this world, and this is the test People put up with mere nominal Christians. It is a fashionable cult and does not force any to take up a cross in order to follow the Lord. Just let them avoid the really gross evil things and the rest is all right.
Avoid the hypocrites to such an extent that you refuse the real article and you insure your eternal companionship with them in the lake of fire, for hypocrites don’t go to heaven.
No, my friend, this is a serious business and demands serious thinking. You must think beneath the business and not wipe out Christianity because of its false professors.
Let me tell you of a Parisian Jew who thought beneath the surface. In the gay capital of. France many years ago the claims of Christianity exercised him. Was Jesus the long-promised Messiah of the Old Testament after all?
He decided to go to headquarters in order to prosecute his inquiry, and to Rome he went. He was amazed to find that the Pope and Cardinals were leading shameless lives of profligacy, and that the way to gain favor or preferment in the church was to obtain the help of their partners in guilt.
He decided to be a Christian. He said, “A religion, that can exist spite of the shameless inconsistency of its chief shepherds, must be upheld by God’s Spirit or else it would quickly fall to the ground.” Wise decision!
Do you want to be a true Christian? Don’t get away from the question. Consider the claims of Christ. His claims are tremendous.
Think of His being “God... manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:1616And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)): think of His dying on the cross; think of God’s mighty love being thus expressed. The Lord Jesus wrought redemption at the cross so that God could righteously offer you in mercy the forgiveness of all your sins, one of which is enough to condemn you for all eternity to banishment from God’s holy presence.
Will you not be a true Christian? The first step is to come to God as a poor, lust, guilty sinner, and accept the Lord Jesus as your own personal Saviour. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)), is plain enough for any who are anxious to be right with God.
May God so raise the question with you as to bring you to a happy and wise decision. Decide for Christ just now.
THE EDITOR.