Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-03
SUNDAY breaches
ON MORAL lEP[RS
POWERFUL SERMON TAKEN
FROM DREADED DISEASE OF
THE ORIENT.
MORAL LEPRosY LIKE
PHYSICAL LEPRosY
Uses the Story of the Curing of the
Syrian Captain Naaman as essi.
of sermon-shouts Warning
Against Moral Leprosy and Tells
How 1t May Be Cured.

which he attracted from the streets
and the homes, on Saturday night. He
took as his text part of the last
sentence of the first verse of the fifth
chapter of Second Kings "But He Was
a Leper."
He pictured in all it's loathsomeness
the lepers of old, and especially Naa-
man, the mighty captain of Syria. who
was the subject of the story from
which the text was taken. He de-
scribed how the disease first appeared
and how it spread, taking it's victim to
certain death.
On direct comparison he held up
moral lepers, and how they con-
how it dragged them down to DOOM
Tells Naaman's Story.
Rev. MFR. Sunday opened his sermon
by telling OF Naaman, the great cap
tain of Syria, who was mighty man
OF vaior, but who was a ieper. He
learned thru a maiden of Israel, who
waited upon his wife, of a man in
Israel who was healing the 1epers, and
he started with his caravan and went
to the king of Israel, who sent him to
the prophet Elisha. Elisha ordered
him to wash in the river Jordan seven
times. Naaman was enraged when
this message reached him, but he fin
ally did as instructed and he was
cleansed and cured.
He described how the disease was
peculiar to the orient, and how it
started with only a minute pimple
or tester. BY and by it spread until
all parts of the body and the tissues
were affected.
So It Is With Sin.
$50 it is with SIM" he said. IT go to
that boy and say be careful, do not go
with that man who is SOOTHING and
railing against God, lest you contract
moral leprosy. I say to that girl, do
not go with that boy that sneers at
God and drinks, lest you contract NOR
al leprosy.' I say to that girl, my girl
do not. goS to that dance The dance
is the most iniquitous harlot produc-
ing institution on earth''
Referring to young people buggy
riding late at night and the moral dam
gers attendant thereto, he said: '.lf
some of the buggies and hacks in
these livery stables could talk, there
would be something doing"
He explained the growth Of evil
habits which creep thru the body as
does leprosy, until the individual who
once was able to control the habit is
no longer free, but is bound hand and
foot by it.
Lepers Were UncIean.
1T was a law of the land that wher
the lepers walked upon the street then
We're compelled to cry "unclean," ane
to go to the windward of all whom
they meet lest the public be infected
They were denied all communication
with others, and finally they wer.
driven out Of the city into the tomb.
where they rotted away and died.
'As leprosy is infectious so is sin in.
fectious Sin spreads from the sinner.
among those whom they meet in bust
ness. in the lodge and wherever the,
come in contact"
Beginning OF Sin.
He described how sin began with lit
tie sins that were not thought to b,
bad, and he told how society paid nj
attention to the boy and girl who wer,
on the downward path, but when the,
had reached the depths then societ,
cast them out as unfit to associat,
with.
THE leper was forced to cry 'un
clean and advertise himself to tn
world. Suppose every man who wa.
a moral leper was forced to make pub
| lie his moral leprosy. Suppose ever,
J young woman was compelled to max
revelation Of some uncomfortable i'm
pulse. She may be clean outwardly
but inwardly she is moral leper.
Naaman obsyed.
"Altho Naaman was wroth whel
ELISHA told him to battle in the Jor
dan seven times, he obeyed. Mama,
was like many a man of today, whel
God tells him what to do to keep GU
of hell instead of being glad he /
wroth. Don't find fault with YOU
physician until you have tried hi
remedies. But finally fNaaman went t
the Jordan and bathed''
The evangelist gave most laughabl
description of Naaman's visit to tn
prophet and how the old warrior too
his first bath in public. He made hi
audience shrek with laughter by hi
representations.
Meaning of Complete Cure.
: ''What does this seven times NEAR
1t means completeness. 1t means 70
have not got religion enough to saw
: yourself. Naaman dipped seven time
and his flesh became as little child.
When? When he did as God told hir
to do he received the cure. That I,