The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1881, Page 10

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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 <p

Costly, but not Dear.

The Chief of Police, of New York, says, that} An Englishman visiting Lutheran Sweden,
three-fourths of the abandoned girls in that city|and noticing the-care in educating children,
were ruined by dancing. Young ladies allow | inquired if it was not costly. He received the
gentlemen privileges in dancing for which, if| suggestive answer: ‘‘Yes, it is costly, but not
taken under any other circumstances, these|dear. We Swedes are not rich enough to let a
gentlemen would be reported as improper per-| child grow up in ignorance, misery and crime,
sons. It requires neither brain, good morals, | to become a scourge to society as well as a dis-
nor religion to be a good dancer. .. Dancing} grace to himself.’’

2 0-0
On Dancing.