The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-20
WAGES OF Sin IS DEATH
Rcv. George G. Jolinson'S Sermon in
l'enn Avenue Baptist Church.
TEMPTATION IS NOT EVIL
hut Yielding to 1t brings Awful Retribu-
tioI-Nced Of knowing the Result
as Well as the Begin
ming Of Things.

Rev. George G. Johnson, Of Balston
Spa, y. Y, preached yesterday morn
ing and night in the Penn Avenue Bap-
tist church. He is a young clergyman,
but in the thoughts of his two sermons
and by his manner of earnest, forcible
delivery displayed an ability which
would do credit to one of more mature
years
The two services were made especial
ly attractive by a repetition OF the
Christmas music under the direction of
Choirmaster G. +. Whittemore. The
programme of the music has been pub
lshed.
Mr.. Johnson's evening sermon was
simple but earnest plea for withstand
ing temptation. in which he endeavored
10 impress upon the congregation the
infallacy of the text James 1:l5: 80
And sin. when II Is finished bringeth
forth death" He said:
Where does it end? Is u question
we should constantly ask ourselves
II is especially important in a spiritual
sense, more important than in II bust
ness or worldly sense, for the one has ali
eternal aspect while the other is only
temporal. This, too, suggests the as
sertion that the end Is more important
than the beginning In cuasting down
a hill IL Is more essential tn know what
lies at the bottom than ut the top. and
no busines man begins a certain plan or
policy until he Is satisfied that the end
is to be favorable. So In lfe--we should
know what the end Is.
We Begin Our Life in Sin.
Let us start at the beginning. All
of us begin our life in sin. What is sin"
Sin Is defined by God i'm the same verse
that contains our text, Then when
lust hath conceived, it brought forth
fruit; that is. lust which might be
modernly termed evil desire If yielded
to- Is sin.
IF temptations We're sin, then the
Saviour would not have been guiltlesS
during the forty days and forty nights
in the wilderness when he was tempt
ed of the devil: yield not to tempta
tion for yielding Is sin. So the temp
tation to drink is not sin but the first
cup of liquor is evil. It's the old story
of Eden over again. when If Ewes de-
sire had not been yielded to, yielded
to,--mark the wOrdS-her's would have
been victory not tragedy.
I'VE might say fun grown instead
of finished in relation to when sin
brings forth death. When the Russian
thistle by some unknown means was
transplanted To our Western prair!es
the weed was looked upon as a curiosity
come full grown and 1t brought forth
death to the grain II mixed itself with.
1t was not a bad looking weed: really
ii was pretty and apparently harmless.
Well. 1t was harmless until II attained
its full growth That Is the danger
Gus point 1t Is the same with vice,
pleasurable at first but almost an in
durable growth when it finally absorbs
the heart and soul and brings forth
death.
Disciples Love OF Gain.
"There was one of the twelve disci
pies who had a growth of sin In his
breast. The growth was love of gain,
a malady not uncommon in the present
day. This disciple was offered thirty
pieces Of silver to betray his Christ.
There was but one decision under the
circumstances: the growth of sin was
so great that the offer of silver was
accepted and Judas Iscariot betrayed
the Christ by kiss. The curse of his
sin followed him to away out on the
desert, far from everybody and every
where, when he committed suicide.
Surely the wages of sin Is death
Every step away from Christ gives
sin new days growth in your heart
and life. and makes it harder to turn
back; somewhere, sometime, sin in its
full growth will bring forth DEATH
Let's hope that we may have a brighter
and more splendid picture for any soul
that will put aside temptation and look
to Christ before it is too late.
"A man once took a small lion cub
for pet. He kept the cub in his room
where he fondled and played with it,
He noticed its growth, and to accommo-
date the little thing he made it's bed
larger. One day, while reading a book
ha NJ, n xr,oc Iii
of its masters hands. The rough sur
face of the tongue finally scraped some
of the skin from the hand and the
blood began to oOZe only in a drop or
so through the skin. In an instant the
cub, now lion, grasped the hand firm
ly in its teeth. The master had suffi-
cient present of mind not to pull his
arm away, but with the other hand
grasped revolver which lay on a
nearby table and shot the beast
through the heart. The growth of the
playful cub into beast. in all the word
implies, illustrates the growth of sin.
1t is deemed pleasant in its infancy
when it's apparent harmlessness en-
courages one to caress and nurture it,
The protests of ones friends, the law of
God, even the dictates of conscience do
not influence one to put temptation be-
hind them. and finally the growth be-
comes so large that we are absorbed
and die with Gods penalty pronounced
upon our souls.
Ills Warnings Not Fiippant.
"Will we heed the warnings so plainly
held out to us? Gods warnings are not
tlippant: proportiOnately they are as
awful as the everlasting joys promised
for Christian living are good. Let us
take heed. The end Is plainly before
us and we have the advantage of know
ing that repentant sinner can be re-
deemed. Which course will we take?
One Is sin and leads to DEATH the other
is putting aside temptation and reap
ing everlasting reward"