BUNYAN'S "PILGRIM'S PROGRESS."

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9527, 26 June 1909, Page 7

BUNYAN'S "PILGRIM'S PROGRESS."

ADDRESS BY THE REV. C. E. PORTER.

On Wednesday evening lash, in the Methodist Church, the Rev. C- E. Porter, in his weekly lecture, dealt with the contents of the "Burden" j which "Christian" had upon his back, j and how he got rid of it. In introducing his subject the sneaker referred to the various kinds I of burdens under which many peoplo j were bending in the journey of life—the burden of care, worry and anxiety—and enforced the great Christian obligation of endeavouring to he'p burdened people to bear their burdens, if we cannot assist them in losing them. The first thing in the "Burden" was a deep sense of sin. "Christian" had made the discovery by reading his Book that he was a sinner in the sight of God. That sense of sin was a twofold thing. (1) It was the discovery that his moral nature was diseased; his heart was unclean. Sin as a state or condition of the inner life was then dwelt upon. The Bible all through, the speaker said, insists on the unclean condition of the human heart that has not "been washed in the Blood of the Lamb." (2) The wilful transgression of the known law of God. This was illustrated from the story of Adam and Eve partaking of the forbidden fruit. Their sin did not consist in the eating of an apple, but in the conscious a"d wicked breaking of God's law. This work of convincing men of sin is the special prerogative of the Holy Spirit. Christ said of Him: "He shall convince the world of sin." It is difficult work. The average man justifies himself. His pride will not allow him to acknowledge that he is a sinner in the sight of Go 3. The sense of sin is not equally deep in all penitents; much depends on their antecedents and their past experience. Some like Peter go out into the dark night and weep bitterlyover their sins. Others realise the horror of sin by degrees. The next thing in the "Burden" was a fear of death. This is closely connected with the sense of sin. Sin and death are twins, or the one is the root, and the other bitter fruit. Sin is the cause of death; death is the result of sin. Death is man's enemy; and the last enemy to be destroyed is death. The sinner fears death because of the inmate conviction that beyond it mercy, opportunity and hope have t no placer He feels that death' does not end all, and that out in the invisible world he must stand full face with all he has been and done in this life. The third thing/in the burden was the dread of Judgment to come. This condition of a judgment in the .future is deeply rooted in the human mind. It restrains men who otherwise would know no limits to I their appetites and passions. We have to recognise that whilst the Pace of God is that of a lov ing Father, there is a "dark line" in that face which no unforigven sinner dare anticipate with ease. The compass ionate Christ spoke much about the shut doors, the outer darkness, the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and the punishment that is eternal. It is sheer madness so to emphasise the Love of God as to shut out these dreadful words of His dear Son. The speaker concluded by urging his hearers to live in the light of the great White Throne before which all must ultimately appear.