Earnest Hours! (eBook)

by William S. Plumer 

in ePub, .mobi & .pdf formats

If the Bible is not the word of God, then it is certain that man has no revelation from Heaven. The books esteemed sacred by the Mohammedans and Hindus are not worthy of even a good man, much less of God. The world has no true and saving light from Heaven, unless it is found in the holy Scriptures.

It is not the object of this chapter to give even an outline of the ordinary and irrefragable course of argument employed to establish the divine origin and authority of the Scriptures. The present design is to suggest a few trains of thought, which may be useful to plain people, who have but little time for reading or learned inquiry.

None will deny that the Bible claims to be the word of God. The phrase, "Thus says the Lord?" is of very frequent occurrence. A great variety of sayings of like import is found in the sacred volume; such as, "The word of the Lord came unto me," etc.

All these things are found in a volume, which reserves its heaviest woes and maledictions for false prophets and false teachers, who corrupt God's word, add to it, or take away from it. So that if the prophets, evangelists and apostles were not divinely inspired to write the various books of the Bible, they were, by their own showing, among the worst men that ever lived, and deserving of the sorest plagues reserved for atrocious sinners.

But does the history of Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John and Paul show that they were unprincipled and notorious liars and impostors?

If Christianity is not true, even its enemies admit that no delusion ever before produced so remarkably happy effects in subduing the fierceness of men, in awakening a spirit of improvement, in elevating the humble and in consoling the distressed.

One thing respecting Christianity has often and fitly been noticed. The more severe the trials and sufferings of its followers, the more abundantly have they been sustained. Many have manifested but ordinary strength and courage, until they were subjected to cruel mockings or terrible tortures. Then their heroism has been undaunted and their patience wonderful. False religions often promise well in prosperity; but in adversity their folly is commonly manifest.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Man, a Proof of the Truths of Natural Religion

Chapter 2. The Bible Is the Word of God

Chapter 3. The Scripture Is Unchanging and Unfailing

Chapter 4. God's Nature and Ways Are Unsearchable

Chapter 5. Practical Remarks on Chapter 4

Chapter 6. Human Accountability

Chapter 7. Deductions from Chapter 6

Chapter 8. The Responsibilities of Educated Men

Chapter 9. All Men Are Sinners

Chapter 10. Sin Is Horrible

Chapter 11. The Saint Excels the Sinner

Chapter 12. Noah, His Times, His Faith and His Ark

Chapter 13. The Life and Character of the Apostle Peter

Chapter 14. Lessons from the Life and Fall of Peter

Chapter 15. Nine Questions about Pleasing

Chapter 16. How God's People May Make Great Attainments

Chapter 17. The Privileges of Believers

Chapter 18. Good Works and Their Nature

Chapter 19. Vain Religious Rites Compared with Heart Piety Towards God, and Genuine Kindness Towards Men

Chapter 20. Instability in Religion

Chapter 21. The Falls of Good Men

Chapter 22. Self-deception

Chapter 23. Modern Missions

Chapter 24. The Right Temper for a Student of the Bible

By Topic

Joy

By Scripture

Old Testament

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

New Testament

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Revelation

By Author

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