Evening star., 1919-05-10
BY REV. HUGH T.. STEVENSON.

Every great religion has "a its
primary assumption that there is
something wrong with the world: and
to this disorder Christianity gives
the name sin. All trace the COM
mencement OF the race to some dis
tant period of the past when purity,
peace and concord existed with nature
and with God. The hieroglyphics of
Egypt the clay tablets of Babylon.
the legends of Tibet. the bas-reliefs
of ancient Rome. all tell the same
story of primitive blessedness. They
confirm the narrative OF last sundays
lesson concerning the garden of Eden.
The pictures of the dim distant past.
which all nations. even the most
primitive preserve always have the
tree, the woman and the serpent that
testify to the truth of this week $
study concerning the introductfon OF
sin into the world.
SOME look upon the selection chosen
from Genesis as symbolical. allegori-
cal or cryptic Others prefer to treat
IT as a true account OF the origin OF
sin expressed in simple. childlike
language. suitable for the time ana
people, Every creature. for the Bible
views all as sinners, m%y look into
this account and see picture of him
self. for the description Is true to life
and experience. Both the Old and
New Testament words that are trans
lated sin literally means missing the
mark. Man is a sinner because. like
a clock that fails to correctly tell the
time of day, he fails to perform tne
mission that God assigned to MIN.
When tested in the garden man 1aii-
ed when he was tempted of satan by
disobeying the commands of God.
There could be no excuse for man
trangression because he was tod NOT
to eat of the tree. The prohloitioh
served as a test to develop the splrlt-
ual life of Adam and Eve. the luxurl- m
Gus ease of the garden would not de-
velop strong characters. Every man
has a paradise about him until he
partakes of something which is at
tractive. alluring and apparently IN
nocent but concerning which Coo mas
it's refusal while all nature calls 1or
disobeying the commands. so that
man today is a sinper not so mucn py
what he does as what he is human
nature has inherited the spirit or SELF
ishness that has resulted in all men
breaking their personal relations with
God Disobedience separates men
from the joy of Gods fellowship;
The serpent. which from the New
Testament we learn was the evil one.
planned the temptation with consum
mate craftiness and cunning. He ap-
preached Eve at the hour when she
would be most apt to fall and in
way to disarm suspicion or dread. he
selected the hour when Adam was
absent and approached her In the
medium of a beautiful animal ne
commenced his attack by a simple
question that was full of subtflity
1t insinuated doubt of Gods word.
Apparently 1t appealed to a-sense
of injustice by 'insinuating that the
prohibition was absurd. unreasonable.
incredible" Eve made the mistake
of entering into a controversy with
Satan, for she opened the door for
the evil one to question her under
standing of the prohibition law OF
God Sin started when Eve listened
to the denial. when Satan said, ie
shall not surely die which he FOL.
lowed up by a promise OF profit II
she would disobey God.
Eve dallied with the tempter's sug-
eestions which appealed to her vani-
ty The threefold form of the hrst
temptation is seen in it's appeal to
her appetite. the look of the eye and
the pride Of life. It's the usual ones
of look, lust and larceny 1t is. n
mistake to heed any person who ques-
tfons Gods word. Eve tried it and
failed. 1t never pays to listen to
Satan. even when he appeals to one
in apparently innocent vd,, looking ing
with him he will deceive you SO that
you will obey him. He will have no
power over the man who refuses to
listen to him.
Overcome by the three-fold temp
tation, that Satan always employs in
his efforts to ruin men by his out
ward attention, inward agitation and
increase Of passionate desire. Eve,
by disobeyfng Gods prohibition law.
started that dark. dreary, dreadful
history of suffering, sorrow and sick
ness with which sin has handicapped