The Alaska citizen., 1915-12-13
Sermon to the People
 
BY THE REV C. G. BRUCE
AS THEY WENT.

were ltf'iSs li.AA4 HNpOI A'eA S'i and they lift d up their voices. and said Jesus. Master. have mercy on us. And when he saw them, h5 sad unto them. Co snow yourselves to the priests. And il came to pass that as they went they were c.eansed. Luke 17:12-14.
 One of the saddest sights that the human eye can behoiG is the dread disease of leprosy. To have the joints of the hands and feet fall away CT be affected with a Constan' flow of pus and filth with no hope of recovery, is to picture the most loathsome of affliCtionS. In all countries the poor unfortunates are segl egated from the friends and loved Cues to pass their dread exist ence in an isolated spot until death shall call them away from this direiul plague of the flesh. As they leave their putrid footprints along l,.e stones Of the highway they have pezstd. no onlooker would think to say that they had nothing the mat ter with them. and there is no di- sease Jesus Christ has likened sin to leprosy. because of it's ill curableness, it's filth, it's isolation of the person affected, and because i. is a fact These diseases of the body and soul have been cured only by His Divine power and He holds the key to unlock for liberty those who are plagued with the dread maladies
 As they went they were cleansed. things from the sinner as He cleans es him: three things at least, name !y: an honest effort to forsake sin a sincere desire to know the truth in order to do it; an open confes- sion of his new position with God. And as they go they will be cleans ed What does the analysis of these show?
 First. an honest effort to forsake sin, does not mean the sin you do n knew IS in life. but to forsake the sin you do know about, and that you will adopt the principle that as you find new sins you will for sake them also.
 Second, a sincere desire to know the truth in crder to do it. No am bition can be greater than that. Knowledge obtained in order tC make character is the acme of goo! things desired To be willing to take the steps as they are pointed out in the life of him who is seek ing knowledge for his own better ment, will bring about that which he seeks.
 Tn.rd ar open confession is sur'e- ly necessary. We cannot live alone. Every man is influenced by the man w.cn he touches. We are so con- stituted that if one member of the human family suffers, others are effected; if one is blessed others will be blessed also. If one confess es his wrong and lives for God his example will play on the lives Of others.
 Theory and practice are equally necessary, and if any street should be laid upon one or the other, prac- tice should bear that stress. To know how to do a thing and leave it undone, is far more culpable than lJ-t to know how to do and not do. Knowing how to do and doing has made the world what it is today and the opposite has held the world in ignorance and inactivity in the past. Most any man has the theory of salvation constantly before him and he will experience the healing powers of that theory only as he puts them into operation. "As they went they were cleansed."
 To the man who will carry out the knowledge he already possesses we find four splendid results:
 l. In his life 1t will lead to a knowledge Of sin, and sorrow for it. Any man will be convicted of sin who tries to do the will of God The nearer men get to God the more sensitive they become on the subject of sin. Calloused minds and hearts would not be so sensitive to sin as minds and hearts that were keen and pure because they were desiring to be freed from sin. A piece of white cloth will show the smallest of shady spots, while a piece of black cloth will not be ir tie least affected by that of it's own color Among the greatest of Chris tian workers of his day we find r. ul. When he first enlisted he re marked that he was not worthy to be called an apostle, later he remarked that he was the least oi all the apostles, and when he was nearing the end of his life he stated that he was the chief of sinners. We can scarcely believe that PauIs life was growing worse from year tc year His life was growing more susceptible to the power of purity