# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1882_S25 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) Che Autheran Pioneer. A MISSIONARY MONTHLY. PusBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LuruEerRan SynopicaL ConFERENCE OF Nort AMERICA. R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor. Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter. Vol. IV. True Freedom. Men rejoice that there is no slavery in our “land of the free.’ But there is a slavery more terrible than the slavery from which men are free in our country. It is the slavery of ‘sin. It is a terrible slavery; for Sin isa ‘hard master,” a cruel tyrant. It forces its slaves to do hard and ruinous work. The drunkard who serves the sin of drunkenness ruins his own body and soul, and brings misery and shame upon his family. And so it is with every slave of sin. And what wages does Sin pay its slaves? ‘‘The wages of sin is death,” says the apostle (Rom. 6, 23.). When man has served sin all his life time, he gets eternal death, that is, eternal damnation as his wages. Sin has its slaves in the mansions of the rich and in the cabins of the poor. Not only beg- gars but also kings and emperors are slaves of sin. Yea, by nature all men are in this slavery. In this respect all men are born equal. The apostle Paul says, ‘‘There is no difference; for all have sinned.”” And again the apostle tells us that we are ‘“‘sold under sin,” sold as slaves to do the will of sin. We know that there are many who, while they are the slaves of sin, still prate about liberty and delude themselves with the idea that they have dominion over their passions and lusts. Foolish men! They are bound by the chains of sin and they think themselves free! They are like the Irish sol- dier who thought he had taken a prisoner while he himself was the prisoner. He called out to his comrade, ‘‘Hollo! Pat, I’ve taken a pris- oner.’”’ ‘‘Bring him along, then; bring him along!’’ said the comrade. ‘‘ He won’t come.” «Then come yourself.’’ ‘‘ He won’t let me.” There is but one way of deliverance from the slavery of sin. It is by faith in Jesus. He, the Son of God, came into this world and, in our stead, conquered sin and led our captivity captive. He redeemed us from the slavery of sin not with silver and gold, but with His own precious blood and with his innocent sufferings and death. He redeemed us in order that we might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting right- eousness, innocence, and holiness. ‘‘He died for all, that they which live should not hence- St. forth live unto themselves, but unto Him who} wait for you. died for them and rose again,’’ 2 Cor. 5, 15. This true freedom, which Christ procured for| you by the hand, and lead you to Jesus, and us, is brought to all sinners in the Gospel. The Gospel does not tell sinners what they must do in order to free themselves. what God has done for them, that He has pro- cured freedom for them through the mission of His own Son. with true faith enjoy this freedom. sin is still in them as long as they live in this Louis, Mo., July, 1882. No. 7. When you come, oh, what a happy day that will be! Afterwards I'll take say to him: ‘Jesus, Jesus, this is the man I told you about’.”’ That happy day! No. It tells them Shining Lights Wanted. Those who accept this Gospel . LT once heard a conversation between a church It is true, member and an infidel. After arguments were urged at some length on both sides the infidel observed to his friend that they might as well drop the subject for conversation; ‘‘for,’’ said he, ‘‘I do not believe a single word you say, and more than this, I am satisfied that you do not really believe it yourself; for, to my cer- tain knowledge, you have not given for the last twenty years as much for the spread of Christianity—such as the building of churches, foreign and domestic missions—as your last Durham cow cost. Why, sir, if you believe one-half of what you say you believe, I would make the church my rule for giving and my farm the exception.’’—Presbyterian. world. But sin no longer has the mastery over them. The new man which is in them fights against their old sinful nature. Sin has no claim upon them. They have been made the children and servants of God. And to them the apostle Paul says, ‘‘ Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gifts of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord,’’ Rom. 6, 22. 23. a That Happy Day. — > 4 oa oe The Gospel. There are days of sorrow and care in the life of the missionary and in the life of every faith- ful laborer in the Lord’s vineyard. But there are also happy days, days which fill the heart with joy and gladness. It is a happy day when the Iaborer sees his work crowned with bless- ing, when he sees souls won for Christ and eternal life by his preaching of the Gospel. And one happy day will come—the happiest of all—when the weary laborer, whose work was a work of faith and a labor of love, will enter the reward of his Master and in the golden streets of the celestial city will find many a saint whom God through his preaching has brought to the eternal joys of heaven. That happy day! Not long ago, a South-Sea Islander was dy- ing. As he was talking about heaven, he said to the missionary who was standing near:| “When I get to heaven, I shall, first of all,| praise and thank Jesus for having saved a poor creature like me. Then Y’ll tell him about you; for it was you who first told me the way to heaven. Then T'll look about and see where the saints come in; and then I will sit and I have tried the Gospel, I have put it to the proof. I know what it is and what it can do. Tell me that food does not strengthen the weak; | tell me that water does not refresh the weary; * ~ tell me that light does not cheer the disconso- late, and then you may tell me that the Gospel does not help when all other help fails; and then you may tell me that the Gospel is not the thing above all other things with which men cannot afford to part. Men might better give up the sun than quench that light which was brought from Heaven, that light which cheers the home and dispels the darkness of the tomb.—Stanley. ———s +