The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-05-01
DECLARES EVERY Sin
HAS ITS ANTECEOtNI
Rev. r. W. Long Tells Cowarftn-
Avenue Congregation of Good
Examples and Bad.
SAYS BOTH ARE USED TO TEACH.
Righteous Suffer Injury Perpctrated
BY the Evii-When Religion Be-
comes Aggressive Then Begins Per-
secutioIi-Lessons In Cllrist's Death.

Taking as his text the following
words, from Mark s:29: And when
His disciples heard OF 1t. they came
and took up His corpse and laid IL In
a tomb" the Rev F. Wayne Long
preached the following sermon before
a large and interested congregation
last night in Cowardin-Avenue Chris
t!an Church.
DIR. Long said:
God teaches the world by bad e1e~
ample as we'll as by good. The good
are like the little tug boats that guide
ships safely into harbor; the bad aSo
Ike shattered wrecks on a sand bar
which say, Turn to the right or the
left or stay far from here A.
hideous as is this tragedy Of the text
il nevertheless speaks warning mes
ge to all who refrain from the bt-
ter experiences taught in tho school
OF sin. Let us gather a few OF the
many lessons taught by the incident
Of the death OF this man of God.
The Good Must Suffer.
Prom the beginning until now the
righteous have suffered injury per-
petrated by the hand of the wicked.
Abel from Cain: Noah from his own
wicked generation; Joseph by his own
envious brethren. az we'll as the cruel
officials of an Egyptian prison system:
Daniel and the Hebrew children ~
a Persian king; Elijah by Shah: Jesus
by the Jews: the Apostles by ths
sects; the early church by naughty
and ambitious potentates. Time and
space alike forbid the mention c6
countless others, suffice to say tho
modern Christian, devoted. uncompro-
missing. must also suffer as others be-
fore him have. In the words Of HIM
who was Chief among the sufferers:
Yea. and all that will live cody IN
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution
From the moment John exposed tho
crime OF Herodias, she planned re-
venge; nor was her passion for
vengeance satisfied until she caused
his death. go long as our religion II
passive it will not be resented, but che
moment II begins TO be aggressive that
moment our persecution begins A
mans value is frequently measured
by the character and the number OF
his enemies, We suffer in proportion
to the proximity Of our lives to Jesus.
To live as He lived means to die as
He did
Each Sin Has It's Cause.
The beheading of John was a cul-
! mination Of plot climax Of q
number OF wicked deeds. HerodIas
had been divorced from her formsr
husband to marry her uncle, the king.
Ihls was Illegal. II WAS wrong in the
sight OF God and man. John warned
her of her sin. The rebuke Of an
inferior subject. the exposure of her
corrupt life and the remorse of con-
science made her resolve upon q still
! greater crime, the climax of all The
plant OF sin, already thriving needed
but little encouragement to bring
( forth abundant fruit
I Back OF the murder lay a licen-
tious.z dlsloyal life. Every sin has its
antecedent. The prodigal boy, the
fallen girl. can attribute their condi-
ton to a definite cause. The gam
bier can trace his record back to the
first game Of chance. the rejected
/ girl to her debut in the dance hail.
Parents often wonoer why their
children are so maynard, little real
izing that It was primarily due to
their carelessness and lax discipline
at stated times in the chi1d's life.
ut Is the mission of the church Of
! Jesus Christ to remove from the path
way OF men the stone or STUN bling.
! the cause OF sin. so that their careeE
I may be one ever upward and onward.
Reward OF Evil.
Tradition says that Herod and
Heredias died miserable deaths in
! Spain. having suffered from shame
and sorrow for their conduct.
Be sure your sin will find You
out We may cover up our sin from