St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1935-11-08

AS a prophet Of God certain re-
sponsibilities were imposed upon
him. There is a sense In which
every disciple Of Christ is a witness
for him and therefore Is responsible
for the giving Of his testimony to
sinners. His responsibility Is set
forth under the figure Of a watch
man. Two things were required Of
q Waterman.
1. To hear the words Of Gods
mouth. ". y. The source Of the
message of every minister and Sun
day school teacher Is Gods holy
Word. Just as the prophet did
not originate his message but re-
ceived it Of Gods mouth, so it should
be with every minister and Sunday
school teacher.
2. To sound the warning ". y.
After hearing Gods message he was
to speak it out and proclaim it to
the people. A Waterman today Is
both to hear and to speak. The peO-
pie are to be warned Of the impend-
ing danger. Failure to sound the
alarm makes the Waterman guilty
Of the blood of the sinner.
w. Gods Attitude Toward the
Sinner wv. 10, 11).
God has declared In his Word
that unfaithfulness on the part Of
his people would cause them to
"perish among the heathen," that
they would pine away in their In
iQuity" Uev. 26 :SS, 39). In view Of
this pronouncement some are dis
posed to say that their case is hope
less. To meet this attitude Of des-
pair the prophet assured them that
God had no pleasure in the death
Of the wicked, but that his sincere
desire was for the wicked to turn
from their way and live. Regard
less of what their past had been,
they were given the assurance that
the future was bright If they heed
ed Gods command and plea. No
one need to despair because Of sin,
for Gods grace is greater than hu-
man sin.
v. The Sinners Personal Respon.
sibiIity wv. 1920.
God created the members Of the
race personal beings, giving them
freedom Of choice. They have moral
discernment enabling them to dis
tinguish between the right and the
wrong. They choose, therefore, &C
cording to the quality of their be-
ing. Whatever may be ones pres
ent condition through sin, 1t can be
changed by divine grace.
The following principles govern
the sinner:
/. Past righteousness will not
avail for present sins ". 12). When
a righteous man turns to iniquity,
his past seeming righteousness will
be of no avail. No one can do more
than that which is required Of him
at any given time.
2. Past sins do not make impos-
sible present acceptance with God
wv. 12-15). By virtue Of the OPP
GRAFTON of the law of habit, every
sinful act makes it harder for the
sinner to repent, but Gods grace
is such that If the sinner repents
God will forgive and restore.
8. Restitution required wv. 10,
16). The proof Of penitence is that,
so far as possible, the sinner makes
amends for wrongs dom. There is
no merit in the act of restitution,
but such action helps the individ-
ual to overcome his besetting sin.
4. Gods ways are equal wv. II
2O). God holds man responsible
for his own deeds. The child is not
condemned because Of the deeds of
his father, nor can it be said that
the fathers have eaten sour grapes
and the children's teeth are set on
edge. This does not do away with
the law of heredity. Regardless Of
what ones past life has been, Gods
grace in Jesus Christ blots out his
record and he stands accepted in
the Beloved.