DR. HENRY'S MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 800, 25 April 1910, Page 3

DR. HENRY'S MISSION.

■ THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN. Tho blustering wet weather was far from favourable to Dr. Henry's mission meetings yesterday, and it says mufth for the impression .the evangelist has made, ,that the attendances were so large as thoy were; About 800 • men were present at tho men's meeting in tho afternoon. Dr. Henry gave iin eloquent address on ''Mail,, the Glory and Scandal of the Universe." . Mr. Potts sang a very dramatic solo, "The Great Judgment Morning." At tho evening service the largehall was practically filled. In his address Dr. Henry quoted three texis from the Old and New" Testaments, dealing with tho . unforgivable sin against tho Holy Ghost, which he said were fn some respects the most awful texts in tho Bible. It was stated in the Old Testament, "My Spirit shall not always strive, with man," and Jesus said, "Whosoevor shall blaspheme, the Holy Ghost hath novo(■ forgiveness, but is guilty of eternal sin." At first sight it might seem impossible that, man could commit any sin which would estrange' him for • ever from God, but Christ himself stated that whosoever should blaspheme the Holy Ghost had never forgiveness. That sin was not so much a single offenco as ; the culmina--tion of a career of opposition, to God. The Gospel message as given us in Scriptures was a Spirit-inspired message, and simply to. neglect that message was to sin against tho Holy Ghost. But to neglect God's messago:was the; milder u form of . tho . sin ; a graver, ! 'moro awful! form . of it. was ■to resist the Spirit; which 'was 'to transgress deliberately against life. Joseph Cook, of Boston, ' speaking from the point' of view of scionce and philosophy, rather than of revelation, said ,that to resist the Spirit' was to kiss a burning, light. The greatest offence of all was 'defined in tho Bible as "vexing tho Holjv Ghost," and "lying against tho Spirit." When a. man's heart was lillcd with Satan he was prepared to lie to-God. This was the 1 sin of Ananias a'nd' Sapphira. . It was : the sin of those who pledged themselves, at the meetings to live, a new life,-and promised to attend ..a later conference, but did not come. There were even people at such meetings, who had the . temerity, the presumption to stand up with tho Christians, when they, knew that their heart was as .black, as hell, and their lifo full of secret sins that wou'd send them to everlasting condemnation if thoy .did not repent. After the sin of lying against tho Holy Spirit came tho culminating sin of blaspheming tho Holy Ghost, for which there was no forgiveness, He urged the tremendous seriousness of dealing in that mannsr with tho Spirit of God. Before a malt blasphc-med. the Holy Ghost, he must have cast out God, in all tho per--, sons of the Trinity, from his life. Such a man was just'as senseless and irresponsible to religious fc-eling as. one of the pillars of. that hall, livery desire for good, overy yearning for righteousness must have departed, from him. It might lis urged that blaspheming against tho Holy Ghost meant simply Raying "No" to God once too often; no one could tell when the constant hardening of his will against religious influence would render him so callous that his heart would not be reached. Thegreat majority of- conversions were mado in early years.'" To demonstrate • this, statement tho preacher asked members of the audience to stand who were converted, between various ages. It appeared, from the result, that ninetentlis of those prcseut were converted before their twentieth year. The circumstance was urged by Dr. Henry as proof of. the - supremo importance of Sunday-school v/orlc. An appeal for converts to declare themselves was- made at the conclusion of tho service, and several persons responded.

' The last four nights of the HenryPotts mission are advertised. At the Town Hall to-night Dr. Henry will give an address on the subject of "God's Blockade to a Lost World."