The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-09-20

tree in the garden. He declared she
might eat and not die, but learn and
"be as gods" She parieyed with the
Wicked One. She listened to his per-
suasions, his beguiling talk, and the
result was eternal death, unless a Sa-
vIous should come. There is a lesson
for all ages, all peoples. Beware Of sin.
Take heed how you hear. Have no
parleying whatever with evil, or any of
the faintest suggestions OF sin or n
doubts as to what God is, what He de-
mands, what He has declared. The
person who dallies with sin-who be-
gins to say can it be wrong-is there
any evil connected with it'll do o see
how it can offend God or wound con-
science-the person thus dallying and
coquetting is playing with an adder
whose sting is death. Let the answer
the adorable Son of God himself gave
to Satan when he dared to try his
powers for evil against the Divine, the
| Holy One, be ready with accents OF
| sternest refusal-"Get thee behind me,
Satan The evil first suggests, in
dictates a doubt, and the next step to
deceive and delude is to try a direct
falsehood-"Ye shall not surely die,"-
thus fatty contradicting God Almighty
and injecting into the mind of a too
credulous and receptive woman a most
perillous f~alsehood. How many who
may read this have listened to evil
~- 60 .
How many have heard God solemnly
declaring that your sins shall find you
out, who have listened to the Evil One
as he stood at your ear and said in
whisperings hat this was not true,
that you can do this or that and if it
be wrong it will bring to you no sting,
no remOrse, no SorroW-that o may
sin safely against Gods law and be
good and happy. Satan through false
! teachers and false friends tells millions
of people that God is love and too
| good and too merciful to ever punish
| transgressions of law. He even goes
farther and through false t~heologians
| and INSCRIPTIONS writer's he tells the
children of men that they shall not
! surely die but live, for Christ's sacri-
fetal death is too efficacious, too RENE
| dial, too powerful to allow any sinner
to perish and go to hell. This is an
awful crime against the soul. 1t is pos
sibly the most damning, guileful lie
that the Father of Lies ever perpe-
trates through his wicked instruments.
It is to call the infinite, holy God a lier.
The next step of the Devil in the
temptation in Eden was to censure God
for what He said to Adam and Eve.
This is a common thing among wick
ed, fallen people. They blame, censure
God, find fault with His measures, His
dealings and declare that His COM
mandments are oppressive and most
grievous. When Satan comes with
this game to allure you to destruction
flee from him at once. If you bravely,
promptly resist he will do the fleeing
and quickly; but if you yield and listen
you are undOne and forever. The fall
came to Eve and then to Adam through
the subtilty of the Devil. They eat Of
the forbidden tree and were driven out
Of their Paradisaical home. Eve want
ed to be wise and she took of the
fruit" Sin and death have been in this
world ever since. The Christian man
earnestly seeks to do all to the glory
of God and lives a life of faith in the
Son of God. Which is the better way?
Ponder.