The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1901, Page 6

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

(For the LUTHERAN PIONEER.)

The Sixth Commandment.

(Concluded. )

The Sixth Commandment concerns, not only
the married, but also the unmarried. It is ad-
dressed to all men. Luther says in his expla-
nation: ‘‘IWe should fear and love God, that
we should lead a chaste and decent life in word
and deed.’? This Commandment, then, de-
mands chastity, temperance, and decency in
all men, and condemns every kind of unchas-
tity and indecency in thought, word, and deed.
Eph. 5, 3. 4 St. Paul sums up the sins against
this Commandment: ‘‘But fornication, and all
uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be
once named among you, as becometh saints;
neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jest-
ing, which are not convenient: but rather
giving of thanks.’’ Besides these sins which
St. Paul here mentions there are yet others,
of which the apostle tells us, ‘‘It is a shame
even to speak of those things which are done
of them in secret,’’ Eph. 5,12. All these sins
should not be once named among us, says the
apostle; that is, we Christians should not be
guilty of them. We are the temples of God,
and as such we should keep ourselves pure and
‘tabstain from fleshly lusts, which war against
the soul,”’ and deprive us of the inheritance of
the saints. In every temptation to sin against
this Commandment let us say with Joseph:
“(How can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God?” Beware of the first step, and
ever remember that to give the devil an inch
means that he will soon have a yard. Above
all, think not that nothing depends upon your
thoughts, that it is only necessary to be chaste
in word and deed. Nay, the evil thoughts are
already adultery and fornication. Unrestrained
unclean thoughts will soon be followed by in-
decent words and deeds.

But how shall we quench the evil thoughts
of our hearts? First, by means of God’s Word
and by prayer. Search the Scriptures, and
learn how greatly God is displeased with all
unchastity and uncleanness, how the fleshly
lusts war against the soul and condemn you
to hell; behold your Saviour in His agony and
anguish, hear His groans and cries, see Him
in the agony of death on the shameful tree,
and learn to abhor sin which pressed out the
bloody sweat on His brow, gaye strength to
the cruel blows, and nailed Him to the cross.
O, do this, I say, and learn to pray:

“Jesus, grant that balm and healing
In Thy holy wounds I find,
Every hour that I am fecling
Pains of body and of mind.
Should some evil thought upstart,
Let Thy cross defend my heart,
Show the peril, and from sinning
Keep me ere its first beginning.”

Secondly, remember that idleness nourishes
and kindles the fire of unchastity. Had David
gone about his duties; had he, as he should

ave done, led his army in person against the
Ammonites, instead of giving the command to

Joab, he never would have committed adul-
tery with Bathsheba. Had Dinah, the only
daughter of Jacob, remained at home and done
her household duties, instead of going about
visiting the daughters of Canaan, she would
not have brought shame upon her family, Gen.
84, 1.2. The mind must have something to
do, and if we give our mind nothing useful
to think of, it is bound to turn its attention
to evil. ‘‘An idle brain is the devil’s work-
shop.’’

A third means to quench the evil desires of
the heart is temperance. Intemperance, glut-
tony, and drunkenness nourish the fires of lust.
“(Chambering and wantonness”’ are the natural
consequence of ‘‘rioting and drunkenness,’
Rom. 13, 13. Solomon, therefore, warningly
says: ‘*Look not thou upon the wine when it is
red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when
it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and
thine heart shall utter perverse things,’’ Prov.
23, 31—33.

Finally, let us flee and avoid all opportu-
nity for unchasteness. Avoid all unchaste and
doubtful company. ‘‘My son, if sinners entice
thee, consent thou not,’’ says the wise man,
Proy. 1, 10. Avoid all dangerous intimacy
with persons of the other sex. Hold yourself
aloof from the dancing floor, be it as a par-
ticipant in the dance or only as a spectator.
The dance has been the ruin of many a young
person! ‘‘Flee all youthful lusts!’’ 2 Tim.
2,22. Do not frequent the theater, for the
stage of to-day, almost without exception,
makes it its object to cater to the unchaste
and adulterous taste of modern society, by pre-
senting plays in which adulterers and people
of like stamp pose as the heroes and heroines.
And what is true of the modern stage is like-
wise true of the great majority of novels writ-
ten in our day. A modern novel which does
not present more or less unchaste love on its
pages is about as diflicult to find as a needle in
a haystack. Even the beautiful arts of music,
painting, and sculpturing most largely serve
to inflame the passions and nourish the fleshly
lusts.

for Rob. J. Ingersoll, thinking that he could

aid me in my unbelief. But, behold, one day

as I was walking about the city of Spring-

field, I came to a little church. I looked at

this building and thought within myself, here

is a place where the devils come together to

preach lies; I thought, if I could I would kill
the last one of them. ‘Three days after this I
was at the home of C. C. Brown, a lawyer, and
the thought came into my heart that I should
go and see the preacher of the little old church,
the members of which I wanted to kill. There
were two German girls working at Mr. C. C.
Brown’s, so I asked them, if they knew any-
thing of this church and the preacher, and if
so, would they please tell me his. name and
where he lived. This they did. So after dark
I went to his residence and was admitted. The
venerable pastor asked me what I wanted, and
I said, I did not know, and that I only wanted
tosee him. The venerable servant of God was
none other than the Rev. F. Lochner, now of
Milwaukee, Wis. As he could not speak Eng-
lish well, he sent me to Mr. B. Gotsch, the
teacher. After this I left Springfield, and went
to Bates, Ill. While I was in Bates I read
something about one Dr. M. Luther. I at once
became so interested in this name that I wrote
to Rev. F. Lochner, asking him if he knew
anything about this man Luther. Up to that
time I had never heard of Dr. M. Luther. The
dear old servant of God sent me a letter tell-
ing me that he was a Lutheran minister, and
that I should come back to Springfield, and
stay in his house a while. So I at once re-
turned, and found in his family a kind father
and a loving mother; therefore I call him
Father Lochner, for such he was and is to me.
After having been instructed, I was baptized
and confirmed on the 9th of April, 1882, in the
German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church,
Springfield, Ill., by Rev. F. Lochner. Every
true Lutheran should pray for the Lutheran
Zion, which is the Bible church of God on
earth. If I forget thee, O Lutheran church,
and thy Bible teachings, let my right hand
forget its strength; if I do not remember the
Lutheran church with a thankful and faithful
heart, let my tongue cleave to my mouth! To
all my colored brethren I say, Be strong in the
Lord, in the faith and doctrine of the Holy
Bible as it is taught and believed in the Evan-
gelical Lutheran church. Let us all thank God
for the work being done by these Lutherans
among our people. P.N.L. BuRKHALTER.

“Therefore let us watch and pray
Ever without ceasing,
For we know, with every day
Dangers are increasing;
And the end
Doth impend,
When the trumpet calleth,
Earth in ruins falleth.’’

Christ is All.
A Letter.

We have all things in Christ, and Christ is
all things to us: if we are sick, Heis a physi-
cian; if we fear death, He is life; if we are in
darkness, He is light; if we are in want, He
is rich; if we are hungry, He is food; if we
are thirsty, He is drink; if we are miserable,
He is mercy; if we are longing for heaves
He is the way. —St. Ambrose.

Dear LuTHERAN PIONEER :-—

In the latter part of 1881, I left my home
and went to Springfield, Ill. I had heard so
much false preaching among my people, and
had seen so much bad living among my colored
brethren, that I could not have faith in them
as Christians. I had started out on the hunt