The Penn's Grove record., 1909-06-18
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
REV. o. p. CACHES, D. D..
Theme: The Lost Sense of Sin.

Professor G.. r. Smith, of Chicago
University, in the reported discussions
of the Baptist Congress, finds almost
no place for the term sin in theologiI
cal thinking. His words are: What
does sin mean to the modern man?
1t certainly does not mean what our
systematic t~heologians define it to
mean. Sin is not thought of so much
as an offense against God as it is an
offense against men who deserve
something better than to know op-
preston and greed. 1t is the social
sins which make our blood hot to-
day." Professor Smith would put So
GEOLOGY in place OF theology. II the
time comes when sanitation shall be
perfect; poverty disappear, child
labor be a thing of the past, social
comforts abound, then the term sin
will be an obsolete word in our lam
guage.
There is an utter remove between
the teachings of the New Testament
and those of the divinity department
OF Chicago University. Jesus dwelt
on moral reconstruction, not on social
changes Two men out of three in
the Roman empire were slaves; the
sanitary arrangements in Jerusalem
then and now were wretched; social
injustice prevailed. Jesus had open
eyes and a wise mind and a tender
heart, but He emphasized the mean
ing of His ministry as that of saving
lost men. Sin was a very real and
serious thing to Him; He came to
save men from it.
A woman came from the slums, in
Luke z; Jesus forgaye her sins. Mic
odemus came from the S~anhedrin,
with fine social surroundings. Jesus
insisted on the necessity of a cleans
Ing and a changing. The prayer of
the publican and the prayer of the
prodiga1 alike-both of them the
words OF Jesus placed on human lips
reveal a strong of sin. It
was the penitence, the confession of
sin that got hold of Gods heart of
mercy and brought forgiveness.
A weakening of the sense Of sin
as a wrong against God will of neces-
s1ty weaken the desire for salvation,
destroy the power of the cross, make
the Christian life itself a superficial
thing. If there be no sin, how can
Jesus be a Saviour? why will men
need a salvation? A man may wrong
his neighbor; he can sin only against
God. The true conception of sin ap-
pears in Psalm 51:4: David had
wronged his own moral nature; had
wronged Uriah; had wronged Bath
sheba; had wronged society and the
godly commonwealth; but his chief
wrong was done to God. Against
Thee, Thee only, have I sinned."
A lost sense of sin will lead to a
lost Christ. Principal Forsythe, in
his Positive Element in Preaching"
declares that the weakness of modern
preaching, its lack of effectiveness, is
due to a diminishing sense of sin.
DR.. Henry G.. Norton said in print a
few years ago that one of the things
for which he vas profoundly thankful
was that God had granted him a sense
OF his personal sinfulness. Large
saintship always grows side by side
with a large sense of sinfulness.
The fundamental factor in theol-
ogy Is a right doctrine of sin. If
there be a superficial definition of sin,
there will be alongside of this a SUI
perficial definition of the person and
work of Jesus Christ; He will be not
a Saviour; a Redeemer, but only a
reformer of social wrongs.
The urgent need in modern life is
a clear view and profound conviction
of sin as lawlessness against God.
Until men are brought to see eharac-
ter and conduct and belief, in the
light of their relations and response
bility to the Divine law, all social bet
terment will be but superficial and
temporary. If there be a clear sense
of sin against God there will be the
accompanying sense of guilt, of con
demnation, the felt need of an atone
ment of forgiveness.
Wanted-A ministry, a preaching,
a theology, that will restore a fading
n of sin!