The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-02-17

physical aud intellectual parts Of our nature.
was the natural result from the nature Of sin,
| the legitimate effect Of tho moral poison In.
| fused BY sin into mans spiritual natuts &C.
| cording to the warning voice Of God. I'm the
daX thG an ent e thsre9 d THOU sha,ltsey Dr.
narcotic taken into the system will produce
coma and result in tho death Of the body,
SO sin is moral and spiritual death. in
volyng also physical diseass and disso-
luton. This Is tho, real nature Of
when 1t hath conceived, brngeth forth sin !.
and sin, when it is finished, brbgsth forth
death" The relation is intimate the connect
zion inseparnble, tho result inevitable And
,nent Of Almighty God upon 1t was not The
announcement simply that death would fol
low Us the certain consequence Of sin. for It
needed not the Divine decree to effect what
solemn and fearful decree that the eolise-
duence which was natural and Inevitable
should he eternal-a never ending agony. q
dying forever, a kind OF Immortality In death |
upon them, defiling their nature are never
tired OF boasting Of the natural powers of
their reasoning faculties and the ll-s,,t1feieney
of their moral qualifications, thus robbing
Christ OF every thing dear In His name or
valuable in His ministry as the great Re-
deemcr and ,dsspising tho condeseension Of
tho Holy Spirit u truth and grace, whose
Office 1t Ii to convince tien of sin, Of right
eousheHs, and Of Judgment to come" They
judge God by themselves, apd are unable to
discover any greater moral Significance In
His righteous laws than they find In human
enaetments. and when the Book of the Law Ia
opened to them and the word of truth is re-
vealed In plain aud uninistaknble terms they
cry out. "No, this can not be, it Is opposed to
reason. and to our rational conception OF God
Everlasting don't mean everlasting. and pun
ishtnent don't mean punishment"
But viii you not my hearers, understand
that the least eonttavention OF Gods conf
mandments is esn against the Absolute
Majesty Of High Heaven? And its guilt rs
enhanced In proportion to the purity mud holt
ness Of The Being against whom IL is com
Initted. Aud sin being. In it's true nature and
origin. All emanation from the evil one, and
holiness an eternal and immutabe attribute
of the Godhead. then. since sin and holiness
can never coalesee, 1t would be morally i'm
possible for God ever to adnlit the wicked and
unbelleying into His presence and favor with
out violating MI easentia5 attribute Of His
own divine nature.
All the attributes of that great being 10
whom we owe allegiance aro eternal and tn
mortal. Ineomprehehsible us He ID tous In
the secret plaeeof His dwelling. there Is. says
Prof. Lewis, "a depth and Intensity In His
attributes beyond the power of human Ian
guage or imagery to express; His mercy and
His Justice His love and His wrath. His aver
sion to sin and His delight In holiness must
have . burning intensity corresponding. to
His own inet1able greatness and glory And
God Is either wholly Indifferent to moral nc
ton. or else there Is In the wide universe no
wrath, as there Is indeed no love thnt can be
for intensity with that Of the Deity
They are measures of earl other,A4as Ia tho |
burning heat, go Is the melting tendea'ness
there is no love II there Is no aversion and
that aversion is nothing ut ALL or It is MI that |
the Scriptures include, and more than we can
conceive in those fearful words, the WRATH
or DOB" -A
But. il Is said, tho wicked will be reformed |
hereafter. After period of suffering in the
next world. for how long we ate not told, they
shall be purgnd from their iniq,lity, and re-
stored To holiness and God There il not ono
tortured to sustain such an opinion for 1t Is
4 mere opinion, and nothing else. Did you
aver hear Of an habitnal law breaker becoming
reformed without some moral influence around |
sity to steal in the life of n prison, sur
,sa eywf pp sSe murderer e vile ea4 ss
% hate aud rehounee this brutal passion and
become u promoter, OF peace, How. then,
life Of habitual disregard of Gods law be re-
claimed hereafter from his evil propensites
~ suffering under the Judgment Of the law?
How shall he. among the companion
Wicked al s1 sei ttao o"t tR"t Ao s"as
Without which no man shall see God and
which he failed to acquire here, In this life.
,nder the benign light and influence of tho
gospel OF peace and lover l.
hose who walked after their own eounsels, II
viii choose their tlel,tsions' And again
peakng bye His apostle st. Paul. He saith
God shall sShd them strong delusions, that
d kept from the delusions Of this present
inc. DO not wise in your own conceits"
fold fast by the words Of truth. Let not any
pDionso,f men despol you Of your faith in
esl's Christ, who il God from all eternity.
elicf of this, vital truth is the. root of
much that isevil, and tho ct,,tse Of much of
he error in the hearts of men: for let one bea
eIudcd into denying the eternal and absolute
ivinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and there is b
| the personality of the Holy Ghost, and His
Elective influence upon the minds anddlearts
I men After thA there are no depths of
piritual blindness 1nd error intoo which the
lali may not sink.
The natural qualities Of mind and henri ;
Which make up the sum of human virtue are
Try justly admired aud commended amongst
:; but they. IRE not to be accounted OBJ MS
assessing. OF themselves alone. q meritorious
lficacy that shall cntitle us TO justification
efo,e God. Men may boast Of their natural
overs Of intellect aud their wisdom God E
Nils us 'the wisdom of this world is foolish ]
ess. And SO, too, men may think highly Of
ne meritorlpus excellence. Of their own
ghteous deeds. but God calls them "lthy
ags;" and they cannot, by any natural
over that we possess. be transformed
ito those graces Of the Spirit (which shall
urify the soul and adorn 1t with tho "appa- !
d that is suited to the courts Of the heavenly
ing Faith in the atoning sacrifice of
hrist, and IN the enlighteleng and sanctify :
lg power of His Spirit, Is the root of all
races and "the mother Of ali heavenly vir-
les.' Apart from this. not all the intell-
enee. not all the wisdom. not all the virtue 4
all tho race, shall avail us at that daEe q
by angels TO "iudge the world in righteous !
,ss