The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-08-19
Thoughts for the Thoughtful.
RELIGIOUS SELECTIONS.


Learn the individual character of
sin-its personal origin, and personal
identity. There can be no trausfer-
ence of it. It is individual and in
communicable. My sin cannot be
your sin, nor yours mine.
The life of Christ and the death of
Christ must he made the law of our
life. Reject that, and we reject our
own salvation; and, in rejecting that,
we bring on in rapid steps, for the
nation and for ourselves, the day of
ruin.
There was no germ of sin in Christ;
for sin is the acting of an evil will.
Sin resides in the will, not in the
natural appetites. There was no
germ of sin in Him; but there were
germs of feeling, natural and inno-
cent, which show that He was in all
points tempted as we are.
The faith of Thomas was not mere
ly satisfaction about fact-it was
trust in person. The admission of
fact, however sublime, is not faith:
we may believe that Christ is risen,
yet not be nearer heaven. It is
Bible fact that Lazarus rose from the
grave, but belief in Lazarus resur-
rection does not make the soul better
than twas. Thomas passed on from
the fact of the resurrection to the
person of the risen: 'My Lord, and
my God" Trust in the risen Saviour
that was the belief that saved his
soul
In the proper sense of the word,
Christ was victim. He did not
adroitly wind through the dangerous
forms of evil, meeting it with expe-
dent silence. Face to face, and front
to front, He met it, rebuked it, and
defed it; and just as truly as he is a
voluntary victim whose body, oppos-
ing the progress of the Car of Jugger-
naut, is crushed beneath its mon
strous wheels, was Christ a victim to
the worlds sin: because pure, He
was crushed by impurity; because
just and real and true, He walked up
the rage of injustice, hypocrisy. and
falsehood.
1t is to be observed there is diff
ference between sin and transgres-
sion. Every sin is transgression of
the law, but every transgression of
the law is not necessarily SIM
Whosoever committeth sin transgres-
seth also the. law. Now mark the
difference. 1t is possible for man
to transgress the law of God, not
knowingly, and then in inspired Ian
guage we are told that 'tsin is not
imputed unto him." Yet, for all that,
the penalty will follow whenever a
man transgresses, but the chastise-
ment which belongs to sin, to known
willful transgression, viii not follow.
There are persons who go through
life SHINING and sorrowing, sorrow
ing and shining. No experience
teaches them. Torrents of tears flow
from their eyes. They are full of
eloquent regrets. You cannot find it
in your heart to condemn them, for
their sorrow Is 30 graceful and touch
ing, SO full of penitence and self-con-
demnation. But tears, heart-breaks,
repentance, warnings, are all in vain.
Where they did wrong once, they
do again. What are such persons to
do in the next life? Where will the
Ellis of this world be? God only
knows. But Christ has said, sNot
every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven"
Says Robertson: There are mo-
| ments when we can soar above the
world; when, by Gods Spirit, we
deem nothing too high, too brave,
too true, to which we may not aspire;