the provisions of the gospel of Christ may well be compared to a supper
"a great supper," is descriptive of salvation if we consider the greatness of the provision
how much love and mercy from God has displayed towards men in the person of Christ Jesus
how much power and gracious working has been shown by the Holy Spirit
a great supper it is if we think of the richness and sweetness of the provision-- it is a feast fit for a king
a great supper it is, when we consider the number of guests invited [all the world]
no other king ever sent out an invitation so broad as this
is it not strange that when the householder made so great a supper, that when he offered it without money or price, all his neighbors with one consent begin to make excuse
He did not call them to prison or to misery
how is it that they were so unwilling to obey the summons
where did this unanimous rejection come from
not one of them had enough respect for their generous friend to sit at his table and receive his bounty
we have a picture of the universal depravity of man
all men are thus vile, and refuse the mercy of God
we never know how bad man is till the gospel is preached to him
the gospel is preached to thousands, and all make excuse – 18
is there not one whose free-will is inclined towards Christ
is there not one who has a naturally good disposition so that he will come to Jesus: "No, not one "
what fools as well as rebels we are to refuse to partake of the banquet of love
we are altogether become unprofitable; there is none who seeketh after God – Romans 3:11-12
there were other men besides those who made excuse, these were in the highways and hedges
those who do not hear the gospel, are no t guilty of rejecting it
nevertheless they are far off from God by wicked works
those in the highways need to be "compelled" to come in; they had a natural reluctance to feast at the good man's table
the two characters represent all mankind, and we find all to be enemies of God
why did they make excuses
it is a sad fact that men so readily make excuses rather than to receive the Word of God
they made excuses because they did not want to go to the feast (did not want to be saved)
if man’s heart were not so deceitful, they would not make excuses, but plainly speak their mind
we do not feel our sinfulness, we will not accept pardon
we believe that we can work out our own salvation with our own doings
we are content to take our chance, we do not want salvation
excuses are so transparent, that it is easy to see that those who make excuses are at enmity with God
this truth may be hard to swallow; but nevertheless, it is the truth
they made excuses because they wished to be on good terms with their own conscience
they felt that they ought to go, because He had a claim upon them
feeling that they ought to go, and yet intending not to go, they compromised by making an excuse
conscience is a very unpleasant neighbor to men who live in sin
we cannot extinguish our conscience, therefore we put it under the basket of an excuse
some make excuses to satisfy customs
most people are not vehemently opposed to religion
for mom, dad, brother, sister, husband or wife’s sake they do not speak honestly what their soul feels
to spare the feelings of someone close they make excuses
while they make excuses, there is no hope for them at all
excuses are curses, and when we have no excuses left there will be hope for us
Satan is always ready to help men with excuses
excuse-making has been a habit in all ages and among all classes of people
the natural self-righteousness of man prompts him to make excuses
we are all the best men in the world according to our own gauge and measure
sinful self is hard to conquer, but righteous self is the worst enemy of the two
when we plead guilty, then God pronounces a dismissal of charges
while men give their excuses, there is little or no hope for them
what excuses did they make
many will not come to the great supper, and many will not become Christians form the same reason as those in the parable
they are too busy
they have business and family concerns to take care of
it takes all their time to earn bread to feed the family
nobody starves because he does not have time to eat
the things of this life have them so busy that they do not have time to think about death and eternity
if God has given us time to feed the natural body, surely He has given us time to feed our soul
f we do not have the time, which God given us, we must have misspent it
God gives us time as a steward; if we say to Him, "I have it not," He will reply, "I entrusted it to you; you must have spent it on yourself"
salvation is not a matter of time, because salvation is an instantaneous event
excuses are a sigh of the convictions of our neglect
the foolishness of making excuses
we must remember before whom we are making the excuses
we are not making excuses before a man who may be duped by them
we are making excuses before the heart-searching God
God can see through all the smoke and mirrors that we put up
Remember what it is that seems so unimportant
it is our own soul, the soul which can never die
we are counting as worthless a heaven, which we will never see, if we continue with our excuses
we are making light of a hell which must be our never-ending portion if we continue as we are
can you play with hell-fire; can you make sport of heaven
if we must play the fool, find something cheaper to play with than this
remember that these excuses will look very different soon: at the time of death
what will one do with their excuses at the bar of judgment
there the books will be opened, and then Christ will proclaim their doom
will there be any excuse that can bring comfort then
they will weep and wale for their sins as they arrive in hell
the only way to put an end to your excuses is not by praying nor resolving, but by looking to Christ
there hangs the bleeding Savior on the cross
He died the just for the unjust to bring us to God
He suffers there that sin may be forgiven
look to Him, trust in Him, and thou shalt be saved
