Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-04-24

! bold faced ana vile tOnSuCd. They
would stand around that corner. smok-
ing filthy cigarettes and insulting young
girls as they would pass by. Within
! the walls OF my own church | have
! seen this paralyzing or the moral scn-
! sibsiities by sin. have seen man
who once led noble woman to the
marriage altar not only sacrifice him
7 self. but sell HIS own child into sin. for
the qualification of queDching n drunk
! ards thirst. My brother and sister.
with such examples before you OF the
metamOrphoSing power OF sin. eau you
afford to run the risk Of soothing az sin?
Are you not afraid that. as In Circe's
/ palace. You may be changed into the
form OF human brute? Are you not
afraid that by the touch of sin your
conscience may become so hardened
that you shall have no moral sensibili-
ties left?
Evil temptations should not be de-
rided. The depths of human misery
into which they can ding their victims
this side of the grave are unfathoma-
bic. 1t is upon the dark side OF the re-
| suits of sin | would speak. The trou-
BILE with many OF our so called Chris
! dian teachers is that we put halo over
sin. We picture temptation rs a crca-
ture of beauty seated upon silver
cloud lined with gold. She holds i'm one
hand a pack of cards and i'm the other
| 4 goblet of wine. The color OF her
! check. the flowers caught in the folds
! Of her garment, clinging about her 1.-THE
form. make her look so innocent one
cannot help loving her even though she
may be bad. But I would tear away
| the beautiful robe. and under the rim
of that cloud | would show you a
crouching demon whose only music is
! the agoniZing cry of those whom he has
got in his clutches, whose only joy is
| in tantalizing those whom he is de-
| stroying and whose frightened, plead
ing eyes have no more effect upon his
stony heart than the cry Of the help
less fawn upon the boa constructor who
is wrapping its coils about the treIn-
bling body for the fatal hug.
First steps TO Destruction.
Tie first steps to moral destruction
may wind through garden. but that
| floral pathway soon changes into the
hilly road covered with jagged rocks
NAAh ny TIC SltiC VI NuN ulIlI
| precipices. The bracelets OF gold are
soon changed into the handouts of
steel. The merrymakers will soon hear
the echoes of their laughter in the
| shrieks of the doomed and the lost
There is no permanent happiness in
sin. Mark that, my brother no real
| happiness in SIM
Tell me, o drunkard, that you are
happy? No, no. Any one who has
heard John y. Cough describe the mis-
cries of his past life knows that no
drunkard is happy. Tell me that the
| libertine is happy when by his crimes
he lost the respect of all good men and
women? Tell me that the gambler is
happy? No, no! When he sat at the
gaming table, he not only lost his hon
or, but his home, his business, his all.
He cannot even buy pair of shoes for
his feet or a coat for his back Thorn
| as Guthrie once described the cup of
sin as a beautiful chalice filled with
wine, but at the bottom of the cup lay
co.led serpent. And so after we have
slipped for n little while the cup of
| pleasure, then the evil serpent will ap-
| pear and sting us and bite us as we put
the chalicc TO our lips. Let no man
consent TO be mocking fool by sup
! posing that an evil life ever brings hap
| pincss this side of the grave.
But how much more awful must be
the evil results of sin on the other side
Of the grave! Can n tiger change his
striped fur? Can a wolf have his hair
| bleached into the white wool of n
lamb? Can man born I'm sin. reared
In sin and living in sin and dying i'm
sin be emancipated from sin merely be-
cause his body sleeps for n little while
in The tomb? oh, no. The soul that
sinneth is the soul that must suffer the
results of its sins unless Christ forgives
those sins and washes them clean in
the blood of the Lamb. And whenever
there is sin, whether in this world or
the next, there is agony. do not care
whether you call the place of eternal
| punishment lake of fire and brim-
stone" great, heaving, molten sea of
burning lava, a dungeon or the haunt
ing caverns of memory. The sinner
dying unrepentant must suffer and suf-
! fer and suffer forever. The Bible de-
clares it, We must believe It.
Suicidal Folly OF the sinner.
The suicidal folly OF the sinner who
year by year adds TO the long record Of
his sins was wildly and imprcssively
compared 10y Mr.. Sturgeon TO black.
smith, who ut the command of an orr
entail tyrant forged for him long
chain. The blacksmith at his forge
worked week In and week out, month
IN nd L.
chain TO the fiend and said, Here is
the chain which thou didst order"
Make the chain longer" said the ty-
rant; longer, make it longer" When
at last the blacksmith answered, Il
cannot make the chain any longer, for
l have used up all my material" the
tyrant said TO his slaves, take it and
bind the blacksmith with his own chain
and cast him into furnace of fire."
SO Satan as n demon by the power OF
sin and by mans own acts will not
only destroy mans life for this world,
but also for the next
My brothers and sisters, who have
heretofore been hooking at sin as /
have been painting for you picture,
! with the dark background of warning.
VIII you not let me paint in the bright
foreground n sweet, divine love? VIII
you not let me describe for you the
Christ who is ready to stand between
you and all future temptation, the
Christ who will not only forgive the
past, but by his power Will keep you
in the future? Who is he? The I'm
changing Rock, the Lily OF the Valley,
the Bright and Morning Star, the One
who Is altogether lovely, the One who
is now standing by your side. VIII YOU
receive him? VIII you not let Christ
come into your heart?
Ye Knockers ut sin, | would plead
with you also. Come to the fountain
OF which il one drink he shall never
thirst again. | would plead as / have
never pleaded before. Why? Because
| know that under your sneers and
laughter you have breaking heart. /
know that you are mt heart weary OF