The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-08
DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF SIN.
Sermon OF DIR. Stansfield at Meridian
Street M. f. Church.

Street M. T.. Church.
1.-THE Destructive Power of Sin," was the
subject of the sermon of the Rev. Joshua
NJ. Stansfield at the Meridian-street NJ. E.
Church last night. His text was, HE
that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own
SOUL" He said:
while throughout the chapter, wisdom
is speaking, yet the teaching a whole
leads to the conclusion that the wisdom
Is but the expression and voice of God.
Therefore we may take the text as per-
sonal utterance of the divine. He that
sinneth against God sinneth against his
own SOUL
text are; each Of them such as to challenge
earnest severe thinking on the part of
every honest man! If you will look in
your revised version of the scriptures you
will find that the American revisors in
their marginal notes render the text like
this: He that misseth Me wrongeth his
own SOUL Now the whole teaching of the
chapter is clearly this, that in the begin
ning-whenever that was, far back beyond
the tracings Of legendary history-God laid
the foundations of the physical and moral
world in highest wisdom. When He put
bound to the waves of the sea and laid
the foundations of the earth and later
created man and woman one pair with the
sacred power of propagation for the preser-
walton of the race. He laid the foundations
in wisdom. Because of this tremendous
and glorious fact all violations of divine
law III the physical, mental and mOrdl
realms wrong the soul.
Perhaps never in the history of the
world has there been time when men so
shamefully missed God as now. Few men
selves would call themselves infidels or
atheists; but our colleges and universities
are full of bright, brainy young men and
women who seem to pride themselves on
they find thousands of people who are able
to look up to the stars and beyond and to
commune with God, vet they find thou
sands of others who are not able to get
beyond a material astronomy. In view OF
| the conflicting opinions of men, they tell
us, they are not able to dogmatize upon
| of others. They are agnostics-'no-O-ists
| All their philosophy of life is based wholly
| upon material facts and forces. They
| know only that which may be distinguished
| by the five senses.
But what an awful thing it is to leave
| God out of ones life! For who is GOD
| Take the conceptions of God formed, by
| the earliest and most primeval peoples OF
| whom you have any knowledge, even those
| of the American aborigines, and who and
| what is God? With each and all of them
and holier than his worshippers. Thi:
| means for the worshipper. by such con,
/ temptation, juster, purer, truer, hole:
| life. A great God makes a great man, ant
therefore, any conception of life thai
| leaves God out, wrongs the soul. The mar
| who violates any of the laws of life
| physical mental or moral Injuries his soul
| This we can readily trace in the physica
realm where the penalties come fast upor
| transgresson. AS one stands in the
| thoroughfares of a city, how many phys
| ical wrecks may he see Not men crippled
| in accidents, but men shattered ans
| wrecked by sin. But the wreckage of sir
| in violations of mental and moral law!
| are as sure and as certain and as terribl,
as they are in the physical realm Tn,
| higher realm and the finer the mechanism
| of the parts, the swifter and more sweep
| ing is the destruction. The great wrong
| ing of sin is not in the visible penaltlc
| IL exacts. 1t Is in the awful state int
1 which it plunges the soul Of man.
| The teaching is this: He who sins agains
| God and violates the laws of divine wis
| dom not alone brings upon himself tn
| physical and other penalties. but-and thi
| is the awful part of tit weakens, blunts
paralyZes, enervates and DESTROYS tn
highest and hottest powers of life"