ul way of showing kindness; and that, on the other hand,
it is the most selfish, heartless, and cruel unkindness to let sinners,
whether they are religious, moral, reformed, or otherwise, to go on in
an unconverted state, and perish."
"Do you believe, then," said my visitor, "in the fire of hell? Do you
think it is a material fire?"
"I do not know; I do not wish to know anything about it. I suppose
material fire, like every other material thing, is but a shadow of
something real. Is it not a fire which shall burn the soul--a fire that
never will be quenched--where the worm will never die?"
"Do you really believe all this?"
"Yes," I said, "and I have reason to do so." I remembered the anguish of
soul I passed through when I was under conviction, and the terrible
distress I felt for others whom I had misled. "When our blessed Lord was
speaking to the Jews, and warning them against their unbelief and its
fearful consequences, He did not allow any 'charitable hopes' to hinder
Him from speaking the whole truth. He told them of Lazarus, who died,
and went to Paradise, or Abraham's bosom; and of Dives, who died, and
went to Hell, the place of torment" (Luke 16).
"But," he said, interrupting me, "that is only a parable, or figure of
speech."
"Figure of speech!" I repeated. "Is it a figure of speech that the rich
man fared sumptuously, that he died, that he was buried? Is not that
literal? Why, then, is it a figure of speech that he lifted up his eyes
in torment, and said, 'I am tormented in this flame'(Luke 16:24). My
dear friend, be sure that there is an awful reality in that story--a
most solemn reality in the fact of the impassable gulf. If here we do
not believe in this gulf, we shall have to know of it hereafter. I never
saw and felt," I continued, "as I do now, that every man is lost, even
while on earth, until he is saved, and that if he dies in that unsaved
state he will be lost for ever."
My unknown visitor remained silent for a little time, and I could see
that he w
Notka biograficzna
wiersze domy z drewna domy z drewna domy z drewna Wojtkiewicz Lempicka Zak
maszyny - Catering - Perfumy - Lokaty inwestycyjne - Podgrzybek