The Devil's Partner

T H E W O R K S O F J A M E S M I L B U R N TAY L O R

THE DEVIL’S PARTNERS J A M E S M . TAY L O R

THE DEVIL’S PARTNERS By

Evangelist James M. Taylor AUTHOR OF “Defeats of the Devil,” “Ruth, and How She Fell,” “Associations,” “Why Teach Holiness,” “Doing His Will or Going to Hell,” “Hell,” “Baptism With the Holy Ghost,” “Little Nuggets,” etc.

First Fruits Press Wilmore, KY c2025

ISBN: 9781648173608 The devil’s partners James M. Taylor First Fruits Press, ©2025

Digital version at http://place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruitsheritagematerial/5/ First Fruits Press is a digital imprint of the Asbury Theological Seminary, B.L. Fisher Library. Asbury Theological Seminary is the legal owner of the material previously published by the Pentecostal Publishing Co. and reserves the right to release new editions of this material as well as new material produced by Asbury Theological Seminary. Its publications are available for noncommercial and educational uses, such as research, teaching and private study. First Fruits Press has licensed the digital version of this work under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/.

For all other uses, contact: First Fruits Press B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave. Wilmore, KY 40390 http://place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruits

Taylor, James M. (James Milburn), 1873The devil’s partners [electronic resource] / by James M. Taylor. – Wilmore, Kentucky: First Fruits Press, ©2025.

Reprint. Previously published: Louisville, KY: Pentecostal Publishing Company, ©1908. pages; cm. digital. (electronic) ISBN: 9781648173684 (paperback) ISBN: 9781648173608 (uPDF) ISBN: 9781648173691 (Mobi) OCLC : 1564432971 1. Witness bearing (Christianity) 2. Conversion. I. Title.

BV4520.T3 2025eb Cover design by Amanda Kessinger

First Fruits Press The Academic Open Press of Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave., Wilmore, KY 40390 859-858-2236 first.fruits@asburyseminary.edu asbury.to/firstfruits

---·

The Devil's Partner REV. JAMES M. TAYLOR

THE DEVIL'S PARTNERS BY

JAMESM. TAYLOR EVANGELIST

AUTHOR OF •Defeat, of the Devil," ..Asaociatio115," 11 Rutb," "Doins His Will.'' 8aptia111of the Holy Ghost," ' Hell/' ' Little Nua .. seu," 11 WbyTuch Holine,a?" "Knotty Poiota/' ..How to Ruch the MHaea," The Carnal Mind.•• ..Pkturee on tlae Wall.'' Home Pastime,'' .. A Voice froa the We,t Indies,'' '"Three Mother, Who 1

0

1

11

11

Prayed," ..The Peril• of the Y ouna Man."

---·

·--------------PENTECOSTAL

-~ PUBJ"ISHING

Louisville, Ky.

--

•••

COMPANY.

-

COPYRIGHT, 1908.

APOLOGY y only apology

for thrusting this booklet upon the public, where there are so many better books and such a mass of good reading matter, is that nearly everywhere I have preached this sermon for several years, leading men and women, especially ministers, have begged me to put it in print.

My subject has grown on my hands until I have so much more than I am ever able to give in a sermon that I have decided to put it in print, especially for use in my own meetings, where I intend to dis• tribute it in large quantities and allow the public to have it if they like.

M

JAMBS

October,

1908.

M. TAYLOR.

THE DEVIUS P ARTN·ERS.

You will find my text in the eleventh chapter ol Luke and twienty-1hird verse: "He that i.s not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." I invite your attention especially to the latter pa.rt of this verse, "H.e that gathereth not with me scattereth." ~Iy congregation will recognize these as the words of Christ. By short study of the gathering in which he was engaged we can better under.stand the gathering and scattering ref erred to in my text.

God created the human family on a moral p1ane with Himself. I do not mean to say that He crea• te<l man as good as Himself, yet God created in His own image; in the image of God creat¤d He him; male andl female created He them." God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our 1ikena%l." He created the human family on a moral plane ""'here He might associate with us, ,come down in the cool of the day to walk and talk with Adam anJ Ev•e. He serons to have launched the huma.n faimily to have a.n associate; to ha Ye those upon ·whom He might lavish His love; those with "1hom He might enjoy intercourse. Oih, the exalted ~ition from which we have fall en! The eYil one entered uhe Garden with hi& temptations, and the fir.st pair yielded and fell from. the moral plane of holiness and of purity, upon whioh they were created, into sin. They lost the image of God, the likeness df the Father.

The Devil'.i, Partner8.

To this rwredk the eye of the univ-erse was di• rected. From this wreck bhe eye of the uni ren,e has never been taken. I have -seen railroad wrook.s, where property w.as destroyed., ·where life was destroyed, where forms were mangleu, limbs were lost and 1men suffered; out thi.s wreok of which I speak this evening was where character was lost, virtue went down, honor was de$troyed, hearta.ches had their birth, sighs began to heave the breast, tears of anguish .sprang forth and unhappy homes, had their origin. It was a rwreck of such momentum that the pearly gates were jarred ,the vortex of damnation was thrown open, man was ehaken from his exalted state until now he is on the run from God rwith his back on heaven, facing ruin, s:orrow, anxiety, anguish and hell.

The ·old preachers used to grow eloquent in de• scribing the fall, and say the universe was searched for some one who would rescue man, but no one would undertake the wnt1k until Jesius stepped on the -scene. The more I have learned of the love of God the m,ore I am convinced that the old preachers had it right, for I know· if angels and archange1s, sera.ph~m and cherubim, loveo Hin1 like some of us in this congregation love Him they would gladly have suffered in IIis ~-tead.

J es'l1.i3/ eye of pity was turned to the .scene and His heart of compa.sision was moved a.s He saw the workmanship of His own ~1ands in this fearful plight. He foresa-w that t.o undertake the redemption of the human family, to g:.ather up this wreck, t.o gather m-en and ·women out of the debris of sin into whjch they had fallen and bring t.hen1 book to the ·"tate of ·pu1ity from whic,h they had fa.llen, it

The Devil's J>artneri.

'

wvuld be necessarv., for Him to '·come unto His

own,, even tho Hi~ own receive Him not. I-le knew if he undertook t:he work He \ronld be walking ..1h,)nt the footliills of Unlilce one day an<l see a fox S'kipping along when Ile must turn to His followers alld ;;ar ' ~-You .see that fox. 'The foxes have their hole.s, but the Son of man hath not whe-re to lay His head.'"

He knew it would be nece.;;:.sary for Him s·orne day, while tramping along under the trees as ';Ile went about doing good," to look up at the w·arb,ler on the boughs of the trees,, singing, flitting and chir-ping, and say, "You see them.

'The binl;s of the air haYe the,ir nests, but the Son of )fan hath not where to la .,r His head.'" .As His eye re.s·ted rnpon this wreok where you and I had gone down in tlie fall of foreparents, He s,1\\- that if He undertook the wo:r-k of gathering us up it would be necessary that memorable night in the garden, kneeling before the Father, pouring oui the grief of a broken heart a first time, a s·ec• ond time, a third time, to have His whole being so wrung with anguish and distress that great drops of blood would be forced out through bhe pores of His skin until it would drop off of His forehead like sweat until His seamless garment would be soaked with bloody sweat. He knew that if He undertook this wo~k of gathering us up He would get off His knee.s to be met by a howling molb, be betra.yed by the kiss of a traitor, be dragged to Pilate's ha11, mhere His back would be stripped and laceTated, the cruel crown of thorns would be crushed on His precious hrow. He knew before Re undertook it ,the angry mob of unsaYed church members would rush up, elap Him in the face, ,.

1

The Devil', JJa.rtner,.

8

smite Him on the back, spit in His face until the ulood and ~pittle would drop off of lfis bear<l, a11<l.with the crown of thorns on His hea<l Ile would be presented with a broken reed and ir.. a n1ol·king way they would cry, "Hail, l~ing of the Jew6." lie knew if He un<lertook it He would leave Pilate's hall with the timber on His s,hould¤rs to which He was to be nailed, with the blood dripping off His heels until He could be tracked up the rugged .steeps of Calvary where, with dull thud the hammer would <lrive the copper spikes through His precious hand~ and His feet, and then, while stretched between the heavens and the earth, the spea.r would be thrust in His side from " ..hich blood and water would spurt forth, and with an angry, mocking, howling mob about Him, a thief on either siue, lf.c would look about to find Hi.; few friend ..;:, including even ~Iary, with<lrawn to yonder s·pot.

He knew if He undertook the work of gathering us up He would turn toward the Father and find Himself not only forsaken of man, hut that eYen the Father Himself must. withdraw and leave Him alone to bear every sin of en~ry individual of every a.ge, when Ile would cry out, "~Iy God, n1y God, why haet rl'hou forsaken l\Ie ?"

He knew it all before Ile undertook it, but He loved us, bless I-Iis nam-e. He laid aside His crown, took off His robe. ~te.pped down from His thr-0ne, withdrew Him.-:ielffrom the presen~e of the Fath-er, the association and adoration of angels and ccame on this mission of mercy, to inaugurate a wrecking crew to gather this wrecked workman1

ship of His own hands. It was you, brothe.r; you, my sister; you and I, my friend, for whom He suffered.

While here on earth, fulfilling Ilis mission, He was engaged in the work of gathering up ~Iary ~Iagdalenas from a life of shame an<l oin, washing them in His own blood, bringing then1 back to the Father's embrace, to a life of purity; He was gathering up maniacs of Gadara, pulling them out of a life of sin, bringing ba<!kthe image of Godwhen one day Ile stopped long enough to say, "He that gathereth not with Me scattereth." \Ve would not place the emphasia on the word ga,therelh, but would dwell much on with me. \Ve would understand His gathering before we can understand the text. I would have you understand and remember He was not engaged in the w~k of gathering people into a church. He set His seal of approval upon this. rrhat is good, but it is not t.he best. You must remember al.so that He did not refer to water bapti.s.rn. "\Vhile He taught it, set His seal of approval upon it, yet He ~ptized none. Thec;e are good, but not the best. Let me remind you, also, I-Iis was not the work of education. Ile set His seal of approval upon it, He encouraged it, but He was not engaged in educational work. It wa.s not a work of refonmation.

One may lbe a suoce&-,in all of the things just mentioned-,may get many into chureh, baptize dozens, do wonders along the line of educaition ( and we certainly need real Christian education in these days when even church schools are filled and other with higher criticism, Unitarianism forms of infidelity) ; he may be a great church

10

The Devil', Partne1'1.

builder, a great ~uccess in relieving church property of <lebt~.;but unless the thing referretl to in n1y text is found. in his life all these other thing5, good as they are, will not amount to one iota in t,l1e e_yeof Jesus. ·;Ile that gathereth not ,vith me scattereth."

His gathe1·ing was that of bringing sinner3 out of sin to God; out of a life of transgre.-:-sionto a life of purity, the direc.;t woi,k of salvation. This is the all-important wotk. You may stew oysters, n1ake soup, quilt quilts, take part in church entertainments, get up lecture cour&es,raise the pastor\s salary, contribute to the new c,hurch building, sing in the choir, paSt3 the plate-in fact, boss the church; but if _you fail on this one all-im,portant thing of gathering with Jesus, getting sinners converted, turning them from a life of sin to a life of holiness, 1-Ie says you are engaged in sea ttering what Ile is gathering; undoing what He ha~ done; sending people deeper in sin, further from God, an<l to hell at the end.

It may not al ways s·¤erntrue, but. He has said it.

It often seems· as though He has n1i~sed it. but "'hen the problem is s.olved,. the mists cIeared a.way, and we s:ee as I-le .;:aw, we find t11at He was cor• re-ct; Ile knew. \Ye are not ]iYing a neutral life.

1'o my minu the text this cYening is the clo..sest. pa~sage of Seri ptnre in the Bible. I believe eYery word of Hebrews 12 :14, where the ,vord says, "\Yithout holines.s no man shall see the Lord." I grant you most people do not believe it. I grant you mo~t people 1nak0 fun ·of it, laugh at. it. grow ~a.r(·a.;;;tic ahont it. Bnt T take it for .grant<:\cl Goel '· knew what He was talking about, that I-Te1neant

The Devil's 1,artners.

11

what He said, and saiid what He meant. He knew who were to see IIim and I-Ie spoke the truth. l also believe that other pa~age of Scripture which has been a Lout cut out of our theology; you don·t hear it preached much more ;- 1watcr baptism has been substituted for it; church member.s.hip ranks higher than it does; peolJle laugh at you when you talk about it ;-I refer to that old-fashioned passage of Se:ripture where J"esua said, ''Ye must be born again." I believe that, and I believe half the people listening to me with names on church rolls have perhaps never been born again. But my text is a closer pa.ssage than any of these. Listen as I quote it again, ''He that gathereth not

with me scattereth."

Did you notice the tense in which it is written.

It is not the past tense; it is not the future tense.

Listen-"He that gather-ETH not with me scatter-ETH." This text deals with the present. It deals with what you are doing tonight. You hear people talk about being on the fence. ~Iy text takes people off the fer1ce. You hear folk.~ talk about having barren lives, they are not accomplishing anything. Jiy text declares there are no barren lives. You are accomplishing something. If you are not hearing fruit for God you are for the devil. If you are not bringing souls to Jesus, you are sending them to hell. You thought because I announced I wa.s going to preach on the Devil's Partners that I would pitch into the saloon-keeper, the bar-tender, the whoremonger, the harlot and dwell entirely on the outside crowd. But I will find more successful workers for the devil than these before we are through to-night.

12

1'he Devil' 1 Partn&rl.

My text draws a line through every COIIlllllunity; it divides every household; it draws a line through this congregation. It places on one side Gf the line, regardless of church membership, water baptism and past professions, those individuals who are at the present gath¤ring with Jesus. God help us, are we on that side? But it places on the other .side of the line every one who is not gathering with Jesus, and He declares every one such is scattering. You tell me you are doing no harm.

J esUBsays you are. You tell me you are not in the way of others. Jesus says you are.

My friends, grant me one request. Let us for about fifteen minutes forget, as it were, that we have ever been converted, that our names are on any ohurch roll, that ,we have ever been baptized, and let us honestly stand alone before God in the face 0£ this passage of Scripture and answer the question, ''Am I gathering with Jesus? ,vhere is the man I have led to Him? \Vhere is the woman I have influenced for God? .A.m I really doing the work J csus did?" If not, He says I a.m scattering. 1,hough in the church, though moral, t.hough a professor, I am really sending people fart.her from God, deeper into sin, and to hell in the end, if I am not, on the other hand, leading people to Christ Do not tell me you have been baptized; do not tell me you are a Baptist, that you belong to the Campbellites, that you are a staunc,h ~[ethodist; but stand rup like a man, look me square in the eye, like an honest woman, and answer the question of my text, Are you gathering with Jesus? Do not lie; your sO'Ulis at stake.

Do not lie; God is talking to you. Where is th,

Tke Devil', 1->wrtner,.

13

man you have led to Christ? Where is the child rejoicing in salvation as a result of your prayers or influence?

Do not begin with your child's play, Jour foolishness, and say, "I am not gifted in work of this kind; that is not my line of church work/' 'l'his is the only line. Everything e~.;e is the chaff; this is the wheat. It is not a que6tion of what you have done in the past. \Vhat have you done touay?

What are you doing now? \Vhat attitude is your heart in toward this service? Will somebody leave this church better because of your prayer, your exhortation, your invitation?

MINISTERS ARE SCATTERING.

The first crowd I notice referred to in my text is the ministers. Jesus says the preachen-; that gather not with Him .scatter. It is not a question of how we can preach, brell:iren. It is not a question of how we can raise our benevolences; not a question of how we can plea.se the congregation, build a new church or parsonage. Are we gather• ing with Jesus? Are we leading souls to Christ?

If not, He says that though we wear the cloth, preach the " 1ord and liYe respectable lives, we are scattering. \Ve are sending people further from God, deeper into sin and finally to hell. God help us. The hell of a preacher must be awful.

I knew a minister who said in laughing, joking way, "For the last ten years of my ministry if I have had a conversion I do not know it." I-Ie said it to make a gang of sinners laugh, and then he laughed -with the other sinners. \Vhen I heard it I aa.id I would rather take a revolver from my

14

11he Devil's Partners.

pooket, put a leaden bullet through a man's heart, and while he lay at my feet dying I would rather hold a smoking revolver in my hand, gloating over my bloody dee<l,and say in a joking way, "Didn't I fix him? I put out his light," and then laugh ove.r my murderous act than to boast of a barren ( ?) ministry and joke in regard to it. In my own case, I would only have murdered a man; but in the other case God declares he has not had simply a barren ministry, hut he has had years of successful work in scattering that whioh J ~us gat.hered, in sending men and women further from God, deeper into sin and to ruin.

The following incident will illustrate this point.

A clergyman was invited into the house of a dying pari.&hioner. As he entered the chamber where lay the dying man on his couch he was horrified as the man dropped his index finger in the face of the minister and said: "I am dying without riod: I will be in hell in a few minutes, but I will meet you at the judgment bar of God, and there hurl my damnation in your teeth. You are responsible for it."

The horri fled preacher threw up his hands crying, '"Vhat on earth do :v-011 1nean? I have loved your family, buried your rlrarl, baptized your children, marrie<l ~·our son~ nnd dau.g,hters. What ran vou me.an 1bythi ..;:heartless thrust?''

The dying man pointed to the physician by hia side and said: "I paid this ma.n to look after my health. take eare of my body, and he has done his work faithfully. When I WM run down, my digestion bad, my circulation bad, my nerves shattered, he uttered a note of warning, told me I mut have

The Devil' tJ Partners. & rest, must

15

takQ medicine, and he ha~ been faithful to me. I paid you as my pastor to look after my soul, t.o watch my spiritual needs. I was busy at the ma1ts of trade; I did not rea.d my Bible a-5 I should; I did not know my condition as it was.

You read your Bible; you knew my condition, but you loved my influence, you loved my money. You w~re afraid you would gain my ill-will, and in order to keep my influence and get my mon¤y you failed to warn me. You have allowed my sou~ to slip through your fingers without God. And now I am going into eternity without ho~ and without salvation. You are respoD.61blefor it."

The minister was no doubt a man with a clean record. Perhaps he preached a good goopel. No doubt his life was above reproach. \Vho could have said he was scattering simply because he was not gathering?

But Jesus knew. Brethren, we owe it to ri(!h people to preach them the truth and to privately exhort them and tell them the truth.

They expect it· of us and will respect us for it.

Some of them will get mad, and we will lose the friendship and money of a few of them; but in that day God forbid that I should have some rich sinner look me in the eve as he hears the awful words,"Depart from me into everlasting fire," and have him &ay to me, "Y-0u never told me. You failed to warn me."

I was being entertained by a very wealthy fa1nily, people who owned hundreds of thousands, on one occasion when I stopped eating at dinner, looked across the table into the face of my hostess and said, "Sister ---, I am going to make you

18

The Devil's Partnert~

so mad at me one of these days you will never want to see me again."

She set her cup down, put her elbow on the table, her palsied hand shaking, &hesaid: "What d,1 you mean, Brother Ta.ylor ?"

I rP-plied: "Si.ster, you are rich; I am a poor preacher. I am going to tell you the truth about your condition and some sins in your life and home, and you will not take it from me.''

I will never forget the look she gave me as tears fill~d her eyes, and she replied: "Brother Taylor, you cannot make me macr. We ha'V'ehad ministers here for years in our home who courted our good will, loved our wealth and, fearing they would offend us, they looked on our dancing and rard-plaJing and other sins with a smile, tried to compliment us, and I saw all the while it was our good will and money they were after, that they cared nothing for our souls. I have seen ever since you have been in our place that you will not countenance sin in me any quicker than you will in my colored S¤rvants; that you do not care anything about my influence, my good will and mone_y,but that you are after my soul and the souls of my family. I want to tell you right now you can say what you please a.nd you will not offend me, because I know you are talking for our good."

I did say what I pleased. I e-0ndemned the sins of their place; did it with no uncertain note of warning. But I did not even lose their good will, ano I went away with a good deal of their money.

Had I done otherwise than I did they would have looked upon me as a puny, little, ~ak.kneed cowarcl, fillirug a position of which I was not worth,.

Th~ DeV1Jl'sPartn~r,.

l'f

They expect it of us, brethren. We owe it to rich sinners as well as poor sinners, by the grace of God, to condemn their wickednes.; and tell them they must repent or they will all likewise perish.

Are we as ministers gathering for God? If not, my text sho~ us we are sending people to hell.

OFFICIAL CHURCH MEMBERS ARE SCATTERING.

The next thing that I gather from my text in its regular order is that church officials are gatheri11g with Jesus or they are scattering. It is not a certain sign of deep piety for a man to be a member of the Board of Stewards or pass the plate on Sunday. He may take part of the money out of the plate before Sunday night. I am sorry to say it, but it is the truth, in many quarte~ the leading officials of the ohurch have the least spirituality of any in the church. They usually have more money, but le.a:;of God. In many rpla'Cesif a m•an has a g-0oddeal of money and will attend church regularly for a few Sundays, he can get on the offi..

Dial board without any religion and with very little morality.

The business end of the church is run by this crowd, but when it comes to the prayer meeting a.nd to the al tar work in a revival, you never see many of these church bosses out. Perhaps it is not true in this place. I am not acquainted here; but the rule is the ''bossiest" church boss is the fellow who attends ohurch the least.

My text says, ref¤rring to church officials, ''He that gathereth not with Me scattereth." That churoh official who is not leading men and women to Jesus according to the Christ's own words, is

18

The Devil' i Pa.-rfflM'I.

eending them further from Him, yea, to hell.

It doesn't always ~eem so. Oftentimes it looks aa though Jesus had missed it, and that He made it too strong or did not know what He was talking a,bout. But "'11enyou boil it down to its last anal• ysis and begitk to see things as Jesus has seen them all the while, we find that He was right, and though the outward life may be respectable and upright, it may be above criticism, yet J eSUB saw that the church official was not leading sinners to Christ, who was not actively engaged in the work of gathering men in, but that he was actively scat1:ering. Think of a man standing high in the irhuroh and sending pe0tple to hell. Brother, are you doing that? Do not expre~ your opinions; do not tell me your ideas, but line your life up by what J esu.s Christ said. What does Jesus say about you? Does He say you are passing the plate on Sunday morning and damning sauls all week?

The following incident will illustrate this point.

In a certain town where I am well acquainted-it may be I have Ii ved there for all you know-we had a very fine church, the largest in town. It had the best carpet, the highest steeple, in fact, was the finest church in the pla,ce. On the official board there was a. certain doctor. He was a reputable man; his visible or outward life was above reproach. He helped take up the offering every Sunday morning.. In fact, he was one of the officials. But he was not ''very re]igiooti." He did not believe jn much excitement; he wanted things done "d¤Qent]y and in order." During revival meetings he stooit back in the rear of the chur.ch wHh oth~r sinners, or did not coone at all.

The Devil's Pa,rtners.

19

He never showed up around the altar or in tbt inquiry room. He said that was not his line of work; he was not gifted that way. He thought it was good to be religiou.s, and religion consisted of trying to do as near right as he knew how. But he did not believe in excitement. He thought it was all right for old women and dhildren, but he waa a v,ery serious-minded, sober, intelligent sort of a fellow-in fact, ihe had more sense than most people and never got excited.

It may have looked pretty hard for Jesus to say the Doctor, while he was not gathering, was certainly scattering. Of course, nobody accused him of gathering. He laid no claims to that. But to say he wrusactually scattering looked too hard.

I would not have said it myself, but J esll8 did, and, of course, we can quote what He says anyway. But Jesus knew the particu.l@rs.He underatood it all. He knew what He was talking about and talked of what He knew; meant what He said and said what He meant.

As the doctor sat in his office one day he re• ceived a note which read: ''Dear Doctor: Unless you send me a certain a mount of money today I will e~e you to the public. It was signed by somebodyin the town. My ! the doctor forgot he was a serious, une::reitablesort of a man! He waa nervousen-0ugh and so excited that if he had been in a meeting and dressed like an old woman you would have thought he was going to shout. He hurried up the street to a certain lawyer's office, who was also an official member of that church.. threw the note down and said : "What about this?''

The lawyer read it and a&id:''Wh.J. Doc.. ia tbert

20

Th, Devil'~ Partner,.

anything in it?" The doctor exclaimed : "Anything in it? I gu~ there is. That's the thing that is hurting me. 1.'here is a whole lot in it.''

The lawyer scratching his thinking place, studied a moment, looked up and said, "Why, I see a postmark on this. Did it come through the mails?" The doctor said that it had. "Ah!" said the lawyer, "I will fix that all right. A doc• u,1nent like this cannot be legally sent thTough the United States mails."

He hastened to write a little note, saying: "Dear Madam: Yours to Doctor --just received. I hasten to reply and say the doetor is an official member in --church. His character and reputation are established in this town. You sent a document through the mails for which we can prosecute you. Unless you leav·etown by a certain hour today I will proceed to indict JOU. Respectfully----."

I saw a hack driven up the street. It came back in a few minutes with a trunk in the back end, this woman in the middle seat and the driver on the front seat putting the la~h to the horses, doing his be.st to catch a certain train, before these two church officiala prosecuted this woman for telling the truth.

Now we can see the docter's case as Jesus saw it a.11the time. He had ·a wife and .several children living in a certain part of the little city and was paying eight ano one-third dollars per month rent for a howse up a certain street where this woma.n lived. He paid her grocery bills, bought her rlothes, etc. In other words, he was living a double 1ife, or, to make it dearer, he was not gathef•

21 ing, and, according to what J~us

had already

aaid,be was scattering.

Brother, do not lean on the fact that you have got on the official board, but answer the question of my text, Are you gathering with J e&Us? If you are not, there is no use in parleying and arguing about it~He who knows says you are scattering. You cannot get out of it.

CHURCH MEMBERS ARE SCATTER.ING.

I supp013ethe next crowd in their regular order would be the ordinary church member. It doe.;; not mean much these days to belong to the ohurch.

We have so many churches, with so many doctrines, the church "competition" is so close, and we have so many pastors who are more interested in getting members than they are in seeing souls saved, that most anything can join the church these days, and you can find almost anything in the ohurch---saloon-keepers, ba.r-tender.s, whoremongers, harlots, liars, thieves, drunkards-you will find them all in the church. I do not mean by this the church is made up of this kind. It is a rar~ thing to find some of these in the ohurch, I

hope. I trust there are none of the characters I mention in this church, but I would be surprised not to find some of them.

I am not askin.g if you are a staunch liethodist, a Baptist dyed in the wool, a water-soaked Can1p-

bellite, a stiff Presbyterian, a sturdy Episcopalian. or a sundown-Friday to a sundown-Saturday Seventh Day Adventist. It is not a question to me this evening whether you are a, member of eithet of these or any other church. But what about 111y

22

1'he lJevii' s Partners.

text? Are you gathering with Jesus? I am not asking it you are gathering people into your denomination. That is ea..syenough. But are you gathering with J e3us and getting sinners saved: lf you are not I have nothing to say about it whatever. I have not an opinion to express, no ideas concerning it; but Jesus says if you are not, you are scattering, sending people deeper int-0 .sin and further from God. To use every-day Engl it3h, you are damning souls, if you are not saving them.

W"hichside are you on? You cannot get out of it; you had just as well face the music. If you do not approve of what I am saying, have it out with God, I am not responsible for it. He said it, and I am just quoting Him. Here is an incident which I give by way of illustration. It was in a Southern town. The meeting had been in progress several days. God had already saved a multitude o-f souls, and I was invited inio the home of Brother and Sister B. to dine. They had both been saved in my meeting.

I was in the parlor admiring the paintings and picturM when Sister D. announced dinner. I ~as then standing in front of a life-size painting of a young man.

I said: "Sister D., this is a fine looking fellow.

Who is this young man ?"

"That is my brother, }Ir. Taylor," she replied.

"Oh!'' I said, "he is a fine looking fellow. How old is your brother?"

I got no reply, but turning around and found her sobbing. She answered, "ltiy brother is dead, Mr. Taylor."

The Devil's l'artners.

23

I said: "\Vill you please give n1e the particular! about this. I want then1 fro1u your own lips:' rrhis heart-broken sister .said, "I suppose it is just a8 you have heard it."

"I hope not,'' I replied. "Y Oll give it to me yourself."

"Brother Taylor," she said, '·'father is a good man. He loYes '-1esu~. The story is short. It is like this. A. reYiYal was in progress in our town, but it was not our church conducting it. Father did not assist, but opposed the meeting, though he was a leading chun·h 1nember. Brother and l got under conYiction, and we both went to the altar.

But father took us away and warned us never to return again, with the threat that he would wear us out.

"The next morning my brother got on his tricycle, went up the railroad to charge the batteries for the electric block system. I [e had finished his work, ·was returning horrte, when No. 2, a (louhleheaded express train behind time shot around a curYe an,1 war; on hin1 before lie knew it. They,· reversed the engine and blew the whi~tle. Ile tried to leap, but the train caught him. The two engines, baggage, express-, day and Pullman coaches ran over him. They picked ·up what was left, put it in a box and brought it home. Before the church bell rang that evening brother was a corpse; was ground up hy a train."

Then slie ga re a sc:rearn I will never forget, and said, "Oh! Brother 'raylor, n1y poor brother was in hell before the next service, and my own father .,flnt. hin1 there!"

Frienils. that was awful. A wf1tl if. no word to

express it; and yet this man w~ a church member.

You say he must have been a bad man. No, I think not. He was a very good man, but, like you, he had his prejudices. Perhaps he had more religion than .sense. He learned his lesson. He assisted me in my meetings, but what an expensive lesson !

"Oh, well," you say, "Bro. Taylor, I would not take my children away from the altar." Ah! stop your self.righteous talk! You may be meaner than this man, but for your influence you possiblJ keep your children from goinn- to the altar.

How about it, church member? Are you gathering? Are you leading people to Chri.st? \Vhat are you going to do during this meeting? You have to take a definite stand. You will be a success during this reviva.l; JOU cannot he anything else. You are either going to be a succ~ for God or a success for the devil. It is utterly impossible for you.r life to be a. blank during this meeting.

Come on, now, answer the question of the text.

Remember Jesus says, HJ/e that gatheretk not with me scattereth." The line is drawn; on which side are you?

FATHERS ARE SCATTERING.

Perhaps next in regular order would be the fathers who are se11ttering. I would dwell at greater length on this than I expect to but for the fact that I wait to preach a sern1on along this line during the meeting. You fathers listen to me for three minut&..

Father, you are not occupying neutral ground;

The Dev-i,l'$ 1-'artne-r,.

25

JOUare not on the fence.. You are a success, sir.

You are leading your children one way or the other-you cannot keep fron1 it. You will do it in s.pite of yourself. You will <lo it, even though ymi do not so intend. l e:an prove that to you without my text. But here i6 my text. Jesus says if you are not gathering your children you are scattering them. You are sending thein one way or the other. \Vhat are you doing in your home?

Allow me to illu.strate this with the following incident: I was conducting a meeting in West Virginia, and being entertained in the home of an old elder of the church. After returning home one evening I remarked, "Father E., I am very much concerned about your grandson E." He burst into a flood of tears and said, "Yes, so am I. I feel like I ought to go over and talk with my son and urge him to bring E. to the meetings."

Next morning he went. He returned in a few hours weeping and told me his son was very unkind in his remarks, though he was a member of the church. He simply said: "~ ow, father, there is no use in talking about this. I have promi.sed E. to help him cover his barn. I am going to do it. He can g-0 to church any time, but he cannot cover his barn just any time. We are going to do this work. You need not say anything more about 1't,, .

The meeting closed. E. was unsaved. His father did not gather him in. In about two week., I was engaged in a meeting in a town near that place, over in Pennsylvania, when one evening some one spoke to me as I was entering the pulpit

The Devil's J->a1·tner1. and asiked me to announce the funeral of J. E.'o oldest son. ·'\\'hy/~ I said, .:_youdo not mean to tell me that E. E. is dead !'' ·'l~ es," s-aitl my informant, "he died yesterday."

Then he e~plained, "They were at work on E.'t; barn when he was taken violently ill and was carried into a neighbor's house. As he got no oetter they put him in a carriage and took him home. By the ti me he reached his ho1ne he wa.s unconscious.

He remained in that conclition for several days and died without regaining consciousness. J m;t as he was during the meeting he went into eternity."

Look here, my friend, that n1an did not get his boy's harn covered and his boy never got to go to churc·h any more. He did not gather his son to the folcl, and although he would not belie"e J~us, ind insisted J et;us was not telling the truth, yet ~he text proved true, he was scattering during that meeting. II e sent his own child to hell. \Vhat a.re you doing, father? Do not get your mincl on something else; answer this question . .:\re you leading your children to Chri~t? If you are not. there i ..:; no way around it, you are leading them in the other <lirection. Do not forget my text-, "T--lcthat gathereth not with me scattereth." )£OTHERS

.\RE SCATTERTX<~.

""r , :ill next notice how 1ny text applies to the 1

motlier. \)other, yon hnYe a t-trong influence. \Ve helirrr in yon; we look up to you. ·You <'an u~c vonr i11f111rnre either way you rare to. Rut .Tr~n~ ~ays if you are not gathering your children into

The Devil's Partners.

27

the fold you are definitely engageL1 au<l successful:. ly working on the other side. You are scattering. l will neYer forget a wo1nan in a orthern State who took her daughter away fron1 the altar. \Yhen I saw what had been done I went after the daughter again and insisted on the mother allowing her to co1ne. The girl stood by the mother's r,ide weeping as the angry mother told me she &hould not go to the altar.

She kept her away.

She was not gathering.

Jesus said that night just what the mother found out in about a year, that she was scattering.

She came to me in a year from that time with strea1ning eyes, wringing her hand~\ and said: "Oh, ~Ir. Taylor, could I have seen the future on that memorable night when I stood in my daughter's way, how differently I would have acted. Can God forgive me? \Von't you pra_y for me?''

Ah, m-0ther, be careful, if you are scattering. It is not a question of what you are doing with your hand or yonr voice. Your influence is stronger than either of these.

SISTERS ARE SCATTERING.

Young woman, your brother needs a praying sist¤r. He has temptation to meet and difficulti~ in his way you know nothing on earth about. He needs a wall of prayer and godly influence as high as the clouds built around hin1. Oh, how I thank God that I had two praying sister~, who hung on my neck and pulle,l me into the kingdom.

Jfy text, _young lady, is just as true in your case.

If you are not leading your brother ..:;heavenward, you are leading them the other direction.

"What

18

Th~ Devil's PartneN.

about your influence over them, your talk before them, your actions, the places you frequent, the company you keep, the life you live? Are you gathering your brothers into the kingdom?

During a revival meeting a good many years ago I stood watching an old Baptist preacher as he plead with a wicked young man to go to the altar. The young man aStoodby his sister's side.

She was standing on the end of the bench. The preacher had about persuaded the young man to go to the altar when he looked up into his .sister's face and said, "Lucy, s.ihall we go?" She said, "No, brother, not tonight," and turned to the preacher and said, "No, ~fr. Sexton, we will not go. We are young yet, and want to enjoy life.

7 e will not go."

There is plenty time yet for us. 'Vl This old Baptist preacher continued to plead and the brother looked the aSecondand third time into his sister's face only to get a like reply. Ha(l that girl known that in six weeks her brother would be shot down in cold blood and would die drunk, she no doubt would have acted differently, but Jesus saw it, and when she wa~ using her influence the other way, .Jesus sniiL "If ycm are not gathering with me you are scattering. You cannot get out of it, young laoy..''

Do not forget my text. G-o home and study about it. It reads, "lie that gatheretk not with

me scattereth_,,

YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SCATTERING.

P. P. Bilhorn tells the following incident which took place in a meeting in which he was engaged.

The ~ermon had been preached, the altar <'all giv-

The Devil~, Partners.

29

tn, when Mr. Bilhorn walked down the aisle and plead with a group of young people, two young ladies and two young men. Three of them sat down with indifference. One of them, a young man, seemed interested. He finally decided he would go to the altar.

As he started to the altar, the young lady sitting by his side reached out her foot and tripped hin1 rnd then smiled, when the young man sat down and said, "No, not tonight." That girl did not know the importan<!e of her a.ct. She did not think about my text. Had it been quoted to her &he would have laughed.

The service was dismissecl, the young people got in their carriage and started home. One would act as the preacher, another as the singer, while another w,ould stand up in the carriage a., though going to the altar, then would sit down and say, "No, not to-night," and then all would laugh. They kept this up for a few minutes when the horses became frightened,ran away, overturned the carriage and the young people were thrown out. The young man who said, "No, not tonight," because a young lady by his side did not gather with Jesus, was hurled against the trunk of a tree, his brains spattered out and his .soul went into eternity without hope. She was not gathering that night, and she had to be scattering.

She could not do otherwise.

Oh, young people; young people, 1isten to your friend tonight. Listen to one who has gone your way, one who loves your soul. Please Ii.Btento 1ne tonight. Be careful, stop a minute and remember

80

my tat: l,reth.h

"HB that gathereth not with m, l'COI• BOATTERETH.

I ba-vepreached from this text a number of times. There is one incident I scarcely ever think of before I go inro the pulpit, but it always comes to me before I finish my sermon on this text. l can olose my eyes tonight, and it seems I can see a big, curly-headed, blue-eyed, big-hearted gambler, an old friend of mine, rising up in front of me. He was like most gamblers, a big-hearted fellow. God bless them, despite their sins they have a warm place in my heart.

I believe I had an influence with him. I could go to him and say: "Come, D., let's do this, let'..s go yonder, let's engage in that," and he never refu.sedme. I was able to influence him. I loved him and believed he loved me. I never tried to lead him to Christ; it is possible I might have failed, but it is possihle I could have directed him to the Savior. I never asked him to seek the Christ of his widowed mother; I did not gather, that is certain.

One day he left for quite an extended trip. He touched a number of towns and cities, ga1nbling everywherehe went, returned to a city near his home and rwas in what was known as the Central House Bar on Depot Street, ju.st after midnight on Saturday night. They were all drunk. He had a large amount of money, for which he had gambled. belted about his person, when "Calico Bill," a noted charact-er in the crowd, drew his revolver,

The Devil's JJarrtners.

31

threw it in D.'.s face and said, "D., I am going to shoot you."

"Ah," said my friend, with a smile on his face, "you cannot shoot me, I an1 your best friend."

But he lowered the revolver, took deliberate aim, touch¤d the trigger and a missle of death went through D.'s heart. He died drunk, a murdered man, with stolen money (gambled for) belted about him on Sunday morning.

He dropped in to hell heca use somebody had not gathered with Jesus. Was it I? Say, my friend, what about that man lying out there in that little cemetery? You know he died without God, and there is no question about it that he is in hell. Did you try to use your influence to get him saved ?

Did you give him the drink? Did you teach him to play cards, shoot craps, or teach him the ways of sin?

Do not for get my text, "He that gathereth not with me scattereth." It draws a line through this congregation. Which side are you on? You are on one side, tell me which. Do not say I am a church member, that doesn't count here. Do not tell me you have been baptized; what does that amount to now? I want to know whether you are gathering or not. If you are not, Jesus says you are scattering.

THE WORST HAN IN YOUR TOWN.

You have listened attentively. You have made me believe you were int¤rested in my sermon. In just about three minutes I will close. Should I point out to you men in this congregation some character who has spent the day firing building•

32

in thie town, destroying property, and I should say, "Gentlemen, there he is sitting on that seat,'" you men won.Id rise up and say the scoundrel shali have the full extent of the law. You ought to say that, and he ought to have it. But I believe I can show you a worse character in this congregation.

It is not the man who has been firing property and destroying wealth. But it is that individual in this congregation who has not only spent thfa day but has spent every day sticking the torch of damnation to the soul of your husband, your son, your daughter. He would be far from destroying property; but look at the criminal; he is destroying a soul. He would not destroy your house, but he i.s dragging the immortal soul of your loved one deeper into sin and on down to ruin.

In conclusion, let me tell you something I never want you to forget. When you go home, gather your family about you and relate to them what I am going to tell you. When you go to your place of business tomorrow, gather your companions a.boot you and relate it to them. In order that it may be written indelibly on your heart and mind, I wish you would go home and write it down in a little note book. You will possibly not remember my sermon, you will forget me, but never forget what I am going to tell you. Ever~·body listen! IIere it is: "HE THAT GATHERETH NOT "TJTfI ~fE SCA TTERETH." THE

END.

J

ames Milburn Taylor was born July 27, 1873 in Blount County in Eastern Tennessee. In 1887, at a camp-meeting, Taylor experienced salvation and became involved in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In January of 1895 he had his sanctification experience and became a part of the Holiness Movement as an active evangelist.

He preached throughout Tennessee and Kentucky through the early 1900s, while making Knoxville, Tennessee his main center of operations. He became associated with William Godbey and other Holiness figures, publishing a number of booklets independently for his ministry. Many of these were published by H.C. Morrison’s Pentecostal Publishing Company.

In the early 1900s Taylor was involved with the Interdenominational Missionary Prayer League and the Holiness Union of the South, which helped sponsor Taylor on an evangelistic tour of the West Indies in 1906 and 1907.

This included St. Thomas, St. Croix, Dominica, Antigua, Barbados, the British Guianas, and Surinam among other islands, making him one of the pioneer missionaries of the English-speaking Caribbean. In 1912, Taylor, along with S. W. Edwards of the Holiness Union of the South did an evangelistic tour of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama. This was one of the earliest Holiness missions to Central America. From January to June of 1914, Taylor did an evangelistic tour of South America including Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.

By 1917, Taylor had become the Secretary of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church Board of Foreign Missions and made missionary tours to Mexico and Asia, including Japan, Korea, China, India, Malaysia, Burma, and the Philippines. In 1921 Taylor became president of Taylor University, a position which he held for six months until he left under a scandal. Taylor then went on the Chautauqua circuit speaking about his many travels, at least till 1926, before finally disappearing from the pages of history.