The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-29

Icy of procrastination is surrender TO sin.
IL would seem TO be temporary avoidance
ghteousness adm n OF eo DELAY s 6eiay
atlliates you with the forces Of evil. 1t
gives the devil lien upon your soul which
ne Will not forget to foreclose.
The so-called seif-sufficent life is also
a surrender TO sin. You would not commit
yourself to either side: You propose to your
moral life: you will mind your own bust
ness. meet the obligations of society," i've
uprightly: but you will not take part in the
asonizing conflict between sin and right
, eousnesS; you will not bear the suffering and
sacrifice which are the price of the worlds
progress in Righteousness. Such a life is a
and selfshness is sin. Righteousness de-
mands that you be your brothers keeper.
Let man choose such course. if he will.
but let no man imagine that in choosing
such a life he is choosing righteousness or
even avoiding the necessity of choice Let
us face the fact: Surrender to one of the
Two Kingdoms is inevitable.
Surrender to Sin is Slavery and Death
This lies back of the apostles exhortation.
PAU could see the ultimate. far-away out
come of the conflict. The stamp of defeat
lives which have surrendered to the serv-
Ice and dominion of evil? They. too. must
share IN the shameful defeat and failure of
their cause Yield not. therefore. yourselves
unto sin. Slavery and death are not always
mentioned in the articles of the souls sur.
render Rather do you find promises of lib
! erty, power, pleasure. knowledge. life. But
! here is one hlear-eyed. tottering, dressed in
rags: his body is weakened: his mind shat
tered; his imagination blishted: money.
credit, business prospects. friends, self-rc-
| spect are all gone Poor fellow! Years ago
he surrendered his life to the demons of
intemperance and vice. Here is another
Well dressed. with a name Of some influ-
ence: he has welded power; he has enjoyed
fame; he has possessed wealth: but You
come closer to his life. and then you find
a heart shriveled with selfshness so that
friendship is impossible feelings perverted
by Jealousy so that sympathy is impossible.
capacities wiihered by ambition so that
pened? Years ago he surrendered his life
to selfishness and ambition, and now these
have brought slavery and death. ~
This, too. lies back of the apostles exhor-
tation. He is speaking here out of his own
life's experience. Paul yielded himself 10
! erty from the guilt of sin. The peace OF
! heart that he had been unable to find with
! all his Pharisaic endeavors filled his heart
! when he surrendered his sins to God ana
| accepted Christs finished work of atone
ment for him. Surrender to God brought
him also liberty from the dominion of sin.
! diers was sin shall not have dominion over
| you. Not that while on earth he did not
/ have many fierce conflict with temptation,
and he even testifies TO an occasional re.
| gretful defeat, but the steady dominion OF
| sin was broken. His was the liberty. OF a
son of God with the assurance OF ultimate
4
| temptation. Surrender to God also brought
to Paul life. And what is life? Is 1t not the
! quickening of all our powers, SO that they
shall flow. not like sluggish streams, 4I.
! apostle with his surrender to God.
I'm order to fullness of life completeness
of surrender is necessary. Surrendered lives
| display differences which range all tne way
| from the cold. inactive. self-satisfied Chris
| tian, who gets into heaven. saved as by
! fire. with nothing to show for his so1ourn
| upon the earth save wood, hay and stuopie'
which the judgment fire burns; and the he ne,
which affords him an abundant entrance
into heaven Why this difference? Be
! cause the fullness of life is commensurate
with the completeness Of the surrender TO
| God How much of your life is surrendered
| to God? You have surrendered to God your
| past sins. and by the death Of Christ they
| have been carried away, so that you shai u
see them never again. 1t Is well, Tor II
| frees you from condemnation. But you can
| do better than that. That alone is pitnui
| surrender. and it results In pitifui NE.
| God wants life completely surrendered.
! He wants you to surrender tnat besettiHs
sin. He has power to deliver you from II.
| He only waits for you to surrender II 10
| him Give up that compromise with 1t, that
making provision for the lusts of the hesn.
that tritiiug with the things which border
| upon it, that morbid attempt to see now
| near you can come to the fire without being
| burned. Nor let us stop here. Let US sur
| in the great conflict of sin and righteous
ness. How little it is We have to show tol
| all the strivings of our lives; now sim Is
| the harvest that results from all our plant
| iugi 1t is because our lives, with their
activities and powers and plans and facul-
ties. have never been fully surrendered 10
| God. Across nineteent centuries the apostlte
| sends us the secret of liberty and power OF
| fullness of life: Yield not your members
as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin;
| but yield yourselves unto Co...