# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1881_S10 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 10 The Lutheran Pioneer. (For the ‘‘Lutheran Pioneer’’.) The Sixth Commandment. “Thou shalt not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God, that we may lead a chaste and decent life in word and deed, and each love and honor his spouse.’’ (Luther's Small Catechism.) This commandment demands of everybody, of every man, woman and child, that they “Jead a chaste and decent life in words and Of the married people it asks that Let us We should lead a chaste and decent life in ‘“‘words.”” That is, not a word, expression, or sentence should be uttered by our tongue, about which there is It is unneces- sary to mention and describe here the nasty, filthy language that is said or sung by so many Surely God is patient, or else He would strike dumb the tongue that Further- deeds.”’ they ‘‘love and honor’’ each other. learn what it demands of us all. anything unchaste or indecent. old and young people. utters unchaste and indecent words. more, we should not take pleasure in the foul, indecent talk of others; we should not be silent when others use such language, but rebuke it; we should not seek nor remain in the company of those that will not listen to our warning, and protest against such language—otherwise we become partners to their sin, just as guilty of unchaste, indecent conversation as they that use it. We must, therefore, not only avoid all indecent and unchaste words ourselves, but also shun those that utter them. A chaste and decent life in ‘‘deeds,”’ is what this commandment next requires of everybody. We should commit none of those beastly acts which make women harlots, rob maidens of their virtue, ruin men, and destroy body and soul. We should also avoid every unchaste and indecent motion, sign, arrangement of dress, embracing, flirting, indeed everything that has but a shade of indecency in it. We should not take pleasure in the unchaste and indecent actions of others, nor keep the company of such people. We should, in short, avoid all unchaste and indecent deeds on our part, and also flee from those that do them. We must remember, however, that, when we avoid unchaste and indecent words and deeds, then we only lead a chaste and decent life outwardly. not. We must also inwardly lead such a life. The inner life of man also consists of words and deeds. The words are unspoken, namely the thoughts. The deeds are the desires and in- tentions of the heart. We must, therefore, in order to make up a wholly decent and chaste life, be chaste and decent in our thoughts and desires also. Do not be content with being chaste outwardly before men, while inwardly your heart is full of unchaste thoughts and de- sires, which, though known only to God, bring the same condemnation upon you as unchaste words and deeds. Herein all have violated _ this commandment. Though chaste in words But is that enough? Certainly and deeds, no man can say that his sinful heart} will not mix with religion any more than oil did not, at times, call up within him unclean, | will mix with water. As the love of one in- indecent thoughts and desires. The heart of| creases, the love of the other decreases. How man is given to all sins, therefore also to this.} many distinguished Christians are eminent It must be checked and ruled. Above all,} dancers? As certainly as the atmosphere around every occasion must be avoided, that will cause | the thermometer at zero will freeze things, as such wicked thoughts and desires to rise in us. | certainly as the wind that is swelling the sail Keep out of bad company. Their talk and| will drive the boat, so certainly will dancing manners will surely tempt your heart to give| freeze the religious sentiments out of the soul. way to bad thoughts. Do not read bad books. | It will drive its devotee out of the church; it If you do so, the consequence will be that your} is a wind that blows in that direction. In old - heart and mind will not despise unchaste things} times the sexes danced separately. Now, sex is as you ought, or even be filled with the deadly | the spirit of the dance. Take it away and let the poison of unclean thoughts. Turn your eyes|sexes dance separately, and dancing would away from all unchaste indecent pictures and}shortly be out of fashion. Parlor dancing is sights, lest they by way of the eyes come into} dangerous too. It leads to ungodly balls. It your heart. Avoid dance-houses and balls. | sows to the wind and will reap the whirlwind. Dancing is one of the greatest temptations to ee unchaste thoughts and, but too often, to un- . . chaste filthy actions. Perhaps over one half of Enis) W03 GRIST the people that dance attend balls for no other reason than to experience the abominable pleas-| what a man believes, just so he is sincere.’’ ure caused by the unchaste thoughts and desires} Solomon had a different saying. He says, which are awakened in them by the embracing| ‘There is a way that seemeth right unto a of the other sex, the unchaste dress of dancers}man, but the ends thereof are the ways of and the excitement of the dance. Avoid also|death.”? The words of the wise man hold the intemperance. Drunkenness makes man a beast, | truth; the popular saying teaches a hurtful lie. and a beast will have beastly thoughts and} A man’s sincerity will not save him from the desires. In short, let us not only crush out of| evil consequences of believing a falsehood. To heart all that is unchaste in thought and desire, | believe in a lie in moral and-spiritual things is but also shun, flee, hate everything that will| hurtful to my soul’s interest, however sincere give our heart a chance to break away from|I may be. It is truth that saves, not sincerity. control and to soil itself. God help us to keep} Christ’s prayer was that mech might be sanc- body, tongue, all our acts, heart and soul free} tified through the truth, not sincerity. The and unsoiled from all uncleanness. What this| truth blesses; falsehood damns. ‘The truth commandment asks of all married people, a few | makes free; falsehood brings bonds and shackles. words will suffice to state. They should ‘‘love] Away with the hateful error—that sincerity and honor” each other. That will keep them, | will answer for truth! God has not so spoken. with God’s help, from that adultery, which even the laws of our state forbid and which would be a good (and the only) cause for divorce. To love and honor each other means that they be} All hope of salvation by our own good works patient with each other, peaceful, gently re-|is a foolish attempt to make an empty sack proving each other’s faults. It means that they | stand upright. We are undeserving, ill-deserv- keep to the very letter those vows made ating, hell-deserving sinners at the best. The their marriage before God. Let the husband |law of God must be kept without a single fail- do as he promised, namely love, comfort, honor, | ure if we hope to be accepted by it; but there support and keep his wife as a Christian hus-} is not one among us who has lived a day with- band is bound to do, and all this in health and| out sin. No, we are a lot of empty sacks, and in sickness, in prosperity and in adversity. Let] unless the merits of Christ are put into us to the wife do as she promised, namely love, | fill us up, we cannot stand in the sight of God. The popular saying is: ‘‘It makes no difference An empty sack cannot stand upright. obey, comfort, honor and keep her husband as|'The law condemns us already, and to hope for a Christian wife is bound to do, at all times and | salvation by it is to run to the gallows to pro- in all circumstances of life. Read 1 Peter 3, 7.| long our lives. There is a full Christ for empty Col. 3,19. Ephesians 5, 22. 1 Peter 3, 5. 6. sinners, but those who hope to fill themselves F. B. will find their hopes fail them. Cc. W. 8. 9+ 2