Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-12
BY REV. HUGH t. STEVENSON

BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.
Our Lord said nothing about the
origin of sin. He recognized the ex-
iStence of its presence in the lives Of
men. History, experience and conscience
demonstrates it's existence today. Prob.
ably there was no need for the Master
to speak of the source of sin because
of the valuable legacy that was con-
tanned in the record of Genesis One
has we'll said that there is a hereditary
element in the origin and propagation
when he said that I'm Adam all die, ,
but that statement contains. as Mackay
puts it. "a scientific truth which RENE.
dialism' in theology only emphasizes
more strongly. At the root of the
malady of evil there lies a hereditary
faint. a bias or disposition, without
which the solicitation of temptation
would have no power of appeal" Medi-
| cine proves that physical diseases, which
have a close connection to the spiritual
life. like intemperance, criminal senSu-
| atty and insanity, are strongly heredi-
| tary. This gives the scriptural teach
ing of the origin of sin evidently a
strong scientific foundation.
Our Lord did not define sin. He de-
scribes it. From the New Testament
description of the symptoms of sin we
learn something about what sin is.
Paul graphically illustrated it in his
description of the Gentle worlds
idolatry, sensuality and immortality.
They had knowledge of God from
nature and their conscience. They re-
! fused to worship God as the giver of all
life's blessings. They gave themselves
up to idolatry. starting in worshiping
creature rather than the Creator.
They then worshiped in a descending
scale, human images, birds, beasts and
finally reptiles. Their false views of
God and their wrong ideas of their re-
lationS to men resulted in their degrada-
ton to the grosSest sensuality and low
est forms of immortality.
Character of Sin.
Mans conception of God has an i'm
portant part to do with molding of
his character Last week we considered
the highest revelation and conception
of the Everything One ever given to
man in our study of Him as our Father
and the privilege of fellowship with
Him as His sons. Sin breaks that fell
lowship with Jehovah, who is light, and
cannot have intimate relationship with
men whose life is full of darkness. BY
committing sin we become transgres-
sors, passing over a boundary that was
made for our guidance and good BY
sin We leave the straight course and
commence to follow in our inquity a
zigZag course. We miss the mark, both
officially and religiously, going aside
from the goal. which God desires us to
reach, by our sin. Paul held that sin,
or missing the mark, was unrighteous-
ness due to a lack of conformity to
Gods will He insisted that it was law
leSSneSS because a sinner fails to live in
accordance with divine law.
The person who INDUCES in sin does
it of his own voluntary act. He exer-
ciseS his right of choice, and there is
the ever-present danger that by con-
slant repetition it may become the per-
manent state of his mind. While sin is
antagonistic to Gods law, it reacts upon
the sinner so that by sin he becomes a
moral suicide. Mans disobedience of
the divine law produces in the sinners
own life a spirit of Self-condemnation
He feels the rebuke of conscience. His
reproach of himself may result in a
gnawing remorse. which makes life it.
self miserable. He realizes that he has
promoted discord, diSobedience and re-
bellion against God in His universe. BY
living for his own pleasure and profit,
bent on having his own will and the
qualification of his own appetites, he has
destroyed his better self. His moral
ruin is the result, through his lack of
love for God. He had shown no graft
tude to the Father. He refused to recog-
nize His will or heed His laws that He
gave for our good We may sin in our
thought. word action, omission and de-
sire, but by our sin we influence the
lives of others. God cannot nermit our
sins to go on without impotslg a PEN
atty to serve as moral sanitation, to
prevent soul contagion Of evil and stop
spiritual relapseS.
Curing Spiritual Diseases.
While next Sundays lesson will center
upon the Lords work as a Savior, our
lesson texts call for us to consider the
cure of sin. Against the dark back
ground of the results of sin, destroying
mans fellowship with God, John paint
ed a picture of the remedy that God
had provided to cure sin and enable a
saved sinner to walk worthy of the
Lord Jesus Christ. No one can DELHI
erately do the things that would dis
honor our Savior and Redeemer II he
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to follow Christ and do His will.
John presents to his Christian
friends a picture of the Lord and His
salvation, which he hoped would keep
them from SHINING. A Christian is not
free from the danger of SHINING but he
demonstrates his Christian life by a
sincere repentance when the fact of his
sin is seen in the light of Gods will.
Christ, who Is our example. as we'll as
Savior, is the light. He is free from all
darkness. He is the Truth, for light is
symbol of truth. He recalls to them
that Jesus was the Light, Truth and
Love, SO that If their lives lacked these
characteristics, they should cultivate
them. He insists that their daily life
was a revelation of their faith. Their
fellowship with the Lord would be seen
| in their fellowship with those who had
been saved. He knew that few lived UP
| to the Christians high calling, and he
assured them that confession of Their
mistakes, sins and errors would result
in their cleansing and forgiveness.
Christ has given us in the Holy
Spirits presence moral power by which
we can keep the thoughts, desires anc
sinful tendencies under control. We
demonstrate that we have been with
Jesus and learned of Him by the life
of love we show in our daily labor 70,
the glory of Christ and advancement Of
His kingdom. If we place our souls ir
His keeping, He will save. us by Hi
blood, shed as the Lamb of God on the