Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1941-10-30

us our sins. and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.- John 1:9.
Sin is an appalling reality, hideous
and horrible in itself, and bearing
with it the gravest consequences
both in this life and in the life to
come. Man does not find it pleasant
TO face that fact, and so he makes
light Of sin and even may go so far
as to deny its existence. Obviously
such an expedient does nothing to
solve the difficulty or to meet the
gnawing distress of a heart facing
and fearing the judgment Of God.
Far better to meet the reality of
it, admit its awfulness, and seek
Gods way of full deliverance. Sin,
which came into the world when
man listened to Satan and disobeyed
God in the Garden of Eden, has
gone on to mar and to mark all
mankind. We note that
1. Sin Brings Corruption (Gal. 6:
z, 81.
Seedtime is followed by harvest.
This is the law of nature, the. law
of God. The farmer who sowed
wheat in the spring looked for wheat
when the harvest time came. The
same principle holds in the spiritual
realm. Just as the one who sows
to the Spirit reaps eternal life, the
one who sows to the flesh reaps cor
ruption, and death.
A life of self-indulgence (Which is
sowing to the flesh) brings moral
decay. The weakened will yields
to desire. and it ''bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death" Games liza, 15). This
death is spiritual. bringing. separa-
ton from God, loss of fellowship
and communion with Him. Spiritu-
al death as well as physical death
came upon mankind through Adams
sin.
II. Sin Loves Darkness Il John
ESD.
There is not a bit of darkness in
God. He is light. When Jesus
came into the world, He came as
the Light of the World. But ''men
loved darkness rather than light. be-
cause their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light
lest his deeds should be reproved'
(John 3:17-2D.
The corollary of that truth is that
a man who says he has fellowship
with God, but continues to walk in
darkness. brands himself a liar "
g.. Compare Revelation 2l:27-28 for
what God thinks of liars.
The light still shines. and the one
who is walking in darkness has only
to step over into the light ". y
where he will find fellowship with
all Gods people and know the
cleansing of the blood Of the Son of
God.
III. Sin Is an Undeniable Fact
Il John 1870.
It seems impossible that a man
who knows himself and knows the
life he lives would ever deny sin,
for it is one Of the most evident of
all facts. Yet men have denied it,
or sought to explain it away, calling
it error, or a fall upward" or a
step In mans development, or the
evidence Of mans self-conscious-
ness and desire to learn.
There Is no hope for q man as
long as he assumes such an att.
tude, for he not only lies himself.
but he makes God liar. He denies
the truth Of Gods Word about sin.
makes meaningless or wicked Gods
dealings with sin. and reveals that
Gods Word Is not in him. Those
who make such statements declare
that they do not belong to God and
do not accept His Word. 1t is evil
dent that they ought never to be per-
mitted to teach such things in the
church. or in the name Of Chris
tianity.
Nv. Sin Calls for . Saviour Il
John 2:1-6.
Christ the Precipitation. the mercy
seat covering for our sins, is the
only Saviour. He paid the price,
and made it possible for God to be
just and at the same time q justi-
fer Of the ungodly. The sinner
needs such a Saviour.
Sin in the life Of the believer also
calls for a Saviour, one who will
cleanse us Q:0 and who will In
His own blessed name plead our
cause eff we SIM" He is our Advo-
cate (2:D pleading His righteous
ness in our behalf when we do fall.
This does not mean that we may
then become Indifferent or careless
about sin. If we say we know Him
and do not keep His commandments,
we lie about our professed relation
ship to Him. The mark Of a true
child is a spirit of obedience.
Gods children prove their love
to Him by keeping His command
ments. Talking about our devo-
ton to Him. giving our service for
Him, or sacrificing for His cause
mean nothing II we do not obey
Him. We only pile evidence upon
evidence Of our untruthfulness by
making claims and doing things