South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-01-15
SP |R|TUAL CHEAT
IS OWN WORST FOE
Man Trying to Deceive God
Hurts Himself Most Says
Rev. 6. w. Allison.

The man who in actual life plays
the role Of a spiritual cheat may
think that he is depriving the or.
binary institutions of religion OF his
means and influence and cheating
them to that extent but as a mat
ter of fact. instead Of cheating God
or the church or his fellow men, he
is really cheating himself worst Of
all
So declared Rev. George William
Allison in his sermon last evening
at Hope Presbyterian chapel on "A
Spiritual Cheat" This sermon was
followed by moving pictures depict
ing the betrayal. remOrse and death
of Judas. with which incidents the
sermon was linked. Rev. Allison
said in part:
Not all spiritual cheats are as
honest with themselves or their fell
low men as the literary figure of
Faust, who deliberately sold his
own soul into the hands OF the devil
in order to know for brief time
such happiness that he might wish
TO cry Halt and let the world stand
stock still forever. Most Of them
are at least as Indifferent TO their
own future welfare as Esau. who
sold his birthright for pot of
beans; and they find no lack of
crafty Jacobs ready and willing for
the transaction.
Judas False Philosophy.
But of course the classical in
stance of a spiritual cheat was
Judas-the treasurer OF the group
of disciples who followed Jesus. Not
only diG he. make away with the
funds they kept i'm common cor he
kept for them. but he cleared 30
additional silver pieces i'm the deal;
paid him 10y the Jews for the act of
betrayal. 1t seemed 10 him a profit
able piece of business and money
easily made. lie had little hesitancy
about cheating the disciples out of
the money they had entrusted 10 him
to him, or about accepting that paid
him by the priests. He seemed to
think that though he was cheating
others. he was profiting by the deal
himself This is always a false phil
osophy. No man can cheat another
and not suffer for il himself, no mat
ter in what deal it may be. And I
think if the truth be known he
cheats himself out of that which is
of more value by far than which he
sold in exchange for it. There is no
price adequate to purchase honesty.
integrity. purity, manhood or
womanhood, No. though Judas
thought he was sailing his Lord for
80 pieces OF silver; in fact, he was
selling his own soul
RetributiOn Comes.
Now 10 give this a plain. blunt
Interpretation for your life; it
means this II YOU are Withholding
your life from the active work of
the church OF Jesus Christ. you
may feel and think that YOU are
cheating the church. Well, YOU are.
And what is more. YOU are cheating
God. But if the truth of the matter
were fully known, YOU are cheating
yourself worst of ALL There ought
to be no allurement. however at
tractive. sufficiently compelling 20
lead YOU 10 sell your own soul. Ret
ribution and remorse will not al
ways come as suddenly or as strike
ingly as in the case of Judas; but it
cOmeS--it comes inevitably and in
escapably. Better put your heart
into the keeping OF Christ tonight.
lest YOU ne tempted by either much
or little to sell il TO the devil"
The use of the moving picture
protector at the Presbyterian chapel
will feature every Sunday evening
sart-fpa from this tiuna on