The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-03-04
Sin-Its Powers and Penalties.


Rev. e. =. llckok, pastor or the Farming
ton fToshy ytcrldu church.
From the time of his separation
from Abraham, the story of lot is
an illustration of sin III its various
aspects. 1t gives MS II vivid picture
of the power and penalties Of sin
in all times. From this WE may
learn:
Sin, IN its promises, Is strong in
alluremrnt. Beneath Lot stretched
the fertile plain, promises of pas
turagc for herd and flock aud in
creased prosperity. Dotted by
cities, it promised pleasure to the
prosperous. Ever does sin make
its appeal with such promises 1t
finds in our characters their weak
est places and directs against these
the attack In strength it aSsaIIS
appetitcs and passions its call is
answered in our own greed, luOr.
dlnatr love of pleasure, unre-
strained ambition Sin is Il light
which. though false, leads the wild
desires OF the soul to certain DIES.
tructiOn, 1t is the false beacon on
the shore that allmes the vessel to
the shoals and ruins, lis wreckage
Il prey to the vulturrs. 1t Is the
magnet that draws to itself the
hascr lmclluatiOns that are within.
Sin is seen in this story in its
degrading force. 1t is more ap-
paraut when Lot = association with
the pure Abraham is remembered.
We find him in Sodom with his
family, allied to its sinful people
and life through marriage of his
daughters and the effects of his sur.
rouudings upon him evidenced III
his Offering to sacrifice his two re-
mining daughters to the low de-
Sires of mob clamoring at his
door. Sin has dragged the human
race from its close communion with
God, its purity, to what it is to-
day. Varying in degree only, deg
radiation through sin is everywhere
apparent.
The bondage Of sin is IN old and
often used figure, but one that is
true. We find in this record of
Lot the chains binding him hand
aud foot, the shackles of his desires
that held him to the wicked city.
Warned of the impending destruc-
tiOn he nevertheless must lie taken
by the hands of the God sent mes
scngers and almost forced from the
city. Out in the broad plain he
begS aud receives permission to en-
ter Zonr, II little city is it not n
little city" DO you hesitate to
acknowledge the bondage in which
sin holds its caplivcs2 Ask the one
bound by evil habits, by appetiteS,
by passion. See the number who,
fleeing from the greater danger,
endeavor to hold some SO called
little evil of the past.
Sin offers II false security. When
Lot warns his sons in law they
hold him as one who mocks. The
impending destruction did not in
terfere with pleasure or business
because the eyes could not see, the
ears would not hear and the heart
was hardened. Gods Judgment is
pronounced against sin and to-day
men, foolish men, dospisc the warn.
ings. Warnings, not Of human
origin, but from God.
The cost of sin is also apparent
in this sketch of Lot. He took his
family with him into Sodom. His
married daughters and their hns'
bands refused to attempt fight.
His wife's heart reaching back to
the city, she was lost. His two re-
naming daughters, spared to seek
safety in the mountains, lived to
commit that sin unmentiOnable. II
is not the loss of your possessions
by which you are to count the cost
of sin; nor the effects upon your
own life and soul only; it measures
its cost in the loss of those near and
dear to you, those bound to you by
ties of blood or friendship.
Thank God that in this vivid pie