SUNDAY COLUMN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 45, 2 December 1939, Page 3

SUNDAY COLUMN

NEWS OF THE CHURCHES. (Conducted by the Ashburton Ministers’ Association). NO HERO. It is often said, “No man is a hero to his valet.” One preacher has' said: “If a man is not a hero to his valet, he is no hero in the sight ol God.” AGAINST SIN. A certain .President of the X 1 nited States of America was noted for his economy in words as well as in Government expenses. On one occasion he at r tended church unaccompanied by his wife. On his return to the White House his wife asked him whether the sermon was good, to which ho replied “Yes.” “What was it about?” “Sin.” “What did the preacher say about it?” “He was against it” of course. A PRAYER. “O Holy Spirit, Love of God, infuse Thy grace, and descend plentifully into my heart j, enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams; dwell in that soul that longs to be Thy temple; water that barren soil, overrun with weeds ancl briar, and lost for want of cultivating, and make it fruitful with Thy dew from heaven. Oh, come, Thou refreshment of them that languish and faint. Gome, Thou Star and Guide of them that sail in the tempestuous sea of the world. Thou only Haven of the tossed and shipwrecked. Come, Thou Glory and Crown of the living, and only Safeguard of the dying. Come, Holy Spirit, in much mercy, and make me fit to receive Thee. Amen. —St. Augustine. 9 THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. “The wages of sin is death; hut the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord.”—Rom. 6:' 23.

“The threefold Contrast in this verse is very impressive. There is the contrast between the two masters, Sin and God; the contrast between the two terms of engagement, contract issuing in wages paid and grace issuing in a gift freely bestowed; and the contrast between the things a man ultimately receives, death and eternal lily.” Wo can say many things about siir by way of condemnation and of warning. There are various reasons why we should beware of it, here are two—because of its nature and consequences. Siu has consequences, often far-reach-ing, unexpected, permanent, deadly. It issues in fruit. Sin is the seed. It pays wages. John Masefield quite rightly makes Saul Kane in “The Fiverlasting Mercy” say “The Devil’s tasks and iDevil’s rages were giving me the Devil’s wages.” I. What are some of the Consequences of Sin? There are consequences to oneself. Bodily health may bo impaired. One’s efficiency as an employee may be spoilt. Conscience, the compass of the soul, becomes disordered. Peace of mind goes. Sinful habits may settle upon one, one of sin’s worst consequences is more sin. The soul is damaged, and some of the fine things of the spirit die. But there are also consequences that pass on into £he lives of others. A father who sins in a certain way may hand on a. harvest of disease to his child. A young man who does wrong can break the heart of his mother and his sweetheart. A good name is of great value, but sin tarnishes this precious thing. Sometimes an innocent victim of another’s sin loses faith in God and man. The supreme witness to the truth that sin has consequences for others is the cross of Jesus Christ. What must ours mean to Him now? 11. Why do sins have Consequences? Well, we live in a cosmos, physically and mentally. Law and order, dependableness, cause and effect are to be found in the physical and mental realms. So also; there is a moral order in the universe. To break moral laws brings painful consequences, just as disregard of laws of tho physical order does, e.g., such a law as that of gravitation.

There is wisdom in this provision. If things were not so, then perhaps we would not so often as we do keep in the right way of living.- The way of the best life is hedged with thorns. There is justice in it too. Sin is a terribly serious thing. We should he concerned about it, greatly concerned. The consequences of sin help to bring this fact home to us: Only we should be more anxious about , sin itself than about its effects.

However, this is l not all that the Christian knows about this important matter. The Christian Church proclaims a gospel of forgiveness and of power. The forgiveness of sin is a fact. That is to say God removes our sense of guilt and gives us peace, when we repent and trust in His Son our Saviour. Some of the consequences of sin are arrested or removed. Some are not. Those that are not are looked upon more as chastisement than as punishment, not as penal but as disciplinary. Further, God, by His Spirit, gives grace and might and strength to the penitent sinner, yea, even eternal life. So with hope he moves forward to the conquest of sin in his own soul and life.