Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-06-06
The Great Sin of Doing Nothing

"But II ye will not do so, behold, yo have slnnod
against tho Lord aud be sure your Sin will find
you out" Mum. xxxli, 20.
What was this SIM What is this
sin about which the Spirit OF God
says by Moses, "Be sure your sin will
find you out" A learned divine has
delivered a sermon upon the sin of
murder from this text, another upon
theft, another upon falsehood. Now,
they are very good sermons; but they
have nothing to do with this text, il
il be read as Moses uttered it. II
you take the text as it stands, there
is nothing in it about murder, or theft
or anything of the kind. In fact, it
is not about what men do, but it is
about what men do not do. The in
EQUITY Of doing nothing is sin which
is not 80 often spoken Of as it should
be. A sin Of omission is clearly aim
ed at in this warning: IF ye will
not do so, be sure your sin will find
you out"
The nature of the SIN. It was the
sin of idleness and Of self-indulgence.
"We have cattle; here is a land that
yields much pasture; let us have this
for our cattle, and we will build folds
for our sheep with the abundant
stones that lie about, and we will re-
pair these cities of the Amorites, ard
we will dwell in them. They are
nearly ready for us, and there shall
our little ones dwell in comfort. We
do not care about lighting; we have
seen enough Of it already in the wars
with Sihon and Og. Reuben would
rather abide by the sheep-folds. Cad
had more delight in the bleatinR Of
the sheep and in the folding Of lambs
in his bosom than in going forth to
battle" Alas the tribe Of Reuben is
not dead, and the tribe of Cad has
not passed awayl Many who are Of
the household of faith are equally in
disposed to exertion, equally fond Of
ease. Hear them say: "Thank God,
we are safe! We have passed from
death unto life. We have named the
name of Christ; we are washed in his
precious blood, and therefore we are
secure" n Not hands turn
will they do. They grid on no
srmor; they grasp no sword; they
WELD no sling; they throw no stone.
No; they have gotten their possession
they know they have, and they SIT
down in carnal security, satisfied to
do nothing, They neither work for
life, nor from life; they are srrant
sluggards, as lazy as they are long.
Nowhere are they at home except
where they can enjoy themselves, and
take things easy. They love their
beds, but the Lords fields they will
neither pillow nor reap, This is tue
sin pointed out IN the text: If ye
do not go forth to the battle Of the
Lord, and contend for the Lord God
and for his people, ye do SIN against
the Lord; and be sure your sins will
find you out" The sin Of doing
nothing is about the biggest OF all
slne, for it involves most Of the others.
The sin OF sitting still while your
brethren 90 forth to war breaks both
tables of the law, and has 10 1t huge
idolatry of self, which neither allows
love to God or man. Horrible idle
nessl God save us from it,
II there be any in the Church who
have talent they do not use for God,
or money which they do not lay out
for Christ, or time which they do not
use for holy purposes, they are sim
ming, and their sin will fnd them out.
Your buried talent, will it not rust'
and rusting, will it not create within
your spirit most horrible disease,
and be peril to youi Must it not
be sol Are they not guilty Of an act
ed lie before high heaven who call
themselves servants to God, aud yet
do not serve him?-Rey q. Ii Spur