The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1902, Page 6

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

(For the LUTHERAN PIONEER.)
Actual Sins. i

As the earth since the fall brings forth
thorns, thistles, and weeds, and keeps the
husbandman busy every day keeping them
down, so also the root, original sin, will con-
tinually send out shoots and sprouts. ‘‘Out
of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies,’’ says Christ Matt. 15,19. The
heart is the source of all our desires, thoughts,
words, and deeds, and this fountain being
utterly polluted by original sin, all that flows
from it is evil. Man’s heart because of orig-
inal sin is a perennial spring sending forth an
unceasing flow of evil; it is like a bad tree
whose bitter sap brings forth nothing but
‘evil fruit. And this fruit, these evil desires,
thoughts, words, and deeds, we call actual sins

Let us remember, original sin is actually,
really sin; but it is not done, it is not an action
of the heart, mind, or body. Original sin is
rather a state in which all actual, or ‘‘doing’’
sins have their origin. Let me explain by
means of a few examples: Envy, malice, and
unchastity as permanent conditions of the evil
heart ‘are parts of original sin; but envious
thoughts, malevolent words, or unchaste deeds
are actual sins, flowing out of the envious,
malevolent, and unchaste conditions of the
human heart. This evil state of the heart is
permanent, but the evil thoughts, words, and
deeds change ; just as the bitter sap of the tree
is permanent, but the evil fruits are always
dropping off to make room for new ones.

Actual sins are variouly classified according
to their different aspect or appearance. We
speak of a sin of commission when something
evil is done; and when something good is left
undone, we call it a sin of omission. Thus the
robbers in the parable of the Good Samaritan
were guilty of a sin of commission, but the sin
of the priest and Levite was a sin of omission.
And the latter is just as much sin as the for-
mer, for James says, ‘'Therefore to him that
knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him

| it is sin,’”? James 4, 17.
| We also classify actual sins as sins of weak-
i ness and malice, voluntary and involuntary
sins, internal and external sins. —
’ Since all men are sinners, they are all under
the wrath of God. God is holy, and there-
fore sin is an abomination to Him; He is right-
eous, and therefore He must punish sin. God’s
‘wrath rests upon all sin, and His righteous-
_ ness demands the death of all sinners; for He
‘declares that the soul that sins must die, Ezek.
}) 20, die Maa ao peernalye

_ _|ing He looked forward when He sweat great|
drops of blood upon the mount of Oliyes—and
all the while He never ceased to be that

Extract of a Sermon

BY MASTER JOHN TAULER, WHO LIVED OVER
FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

Thankfulness.

If God refused us for a time the use of His
creatures; if He once withheld the sun from
shining, at another time imprisoned the air,
or, again, dried up the water, or quenched the
fire, then we would indeed eagerly give all our
money, and everything we possessed, to have
once more the use of these creatures. But be-
cause He lavishes His gifts and riches on us so
freely and so abundantly, we claim them as a

‘Dear children, there are many crosses that
we are called to bear in following the Lord.
We are called to bear about in our bodies the
dying of Jesus, and to take up our cross daily.
But there is only one cross upon which the work
of our salvation was wrought and finished —
the cross of Christ, of Him who is God and

“lis far beyond the mind of the high angels to

_|Me?’.

man. ‘There is no other way to be delivered
from the burden of our sins—no other way to
grace and holiness and blessedness— no other
way to come to God, than by the cross of Jesus.

‘By this way, and by this way alone, have
all the saints drawn near to God. How much
might I not say of this the cross of Christ, and
yet never could any man say enough! For it

understand how the eternal God in His great
love became a man and suffered the deepest
shame and the bitterest sorrow for us.

‘See Him, dear children, hanging between
two thieves, that the sin might be laid on Him;
for He, in His love, desired to bear it in the
place of His enemies. What greater and more
perfect love could He have shown us than to
take upon Himself the mighty burden, and
bear it, not for His friends, but for those who
hated Him?

‘*He who knew no sin bore Himself thy sin,
O sinner— bore it as if it were Hisown. And
thus thy sin was, as it were, His sin, and the
work He did for thee is the only work thou
canst bring toGod. ‘Thy sin His sin, His work
thy work, for He suffered for thy sin as if He
Himself had been the sinner.

‘And see, dear children, how the chains
were broken which bound us in our sins, when
He was bound on the cross for us—how the
curse and the wrath of God that lay upon us
was borne away, for He made peace between
God and sinners by the blood of His cross—

peace—perfect peace. And the sign that the ;

peace is made is the blessed gift of the Holy
Ghost come down from heaven.

“Therefore bear in mind, no works of ours,
no merit of ours, have any value in the eyes
of God, for all is of grace, and all the merit is
that of the Lord Jesus, flowing not from us to
God, but from God to us.

‘*Sec also how, by the Lord’s death of shame
and suffering, the devil was overcome, and
thus was the wisdom of God made known in
all its fullness. For it would seem as though
the deyil had gained the day when of all men
upon earth the Lord Jesus seemed to be the
accursed and forsaken one. When He cried,
‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken
He was forsaken as no saint has ever
been forsaken by God. It was to this forsak-

He is now in heayen—God over all|’?

tranged by this, but is ever doing us good.
He stinted His gifts, instead of lavishing and
showering them on us, we should thank Him
more.
one leg or foot, and only in our seventh year
received the second leg; at fourteen one hand,
at twenty a second, we might recognize more
the worth of the gifts for.a time withheld, and

right. Thus the unspeakably great abundance
of His countless benefits hinders and darkens
our faith.

If God were to say to the pope, the em-°

peror, kings, princes, bishops, doctors, rich
merchants, burghers, and farmers, ‘‘Thou
shalt die this very day, unless thou givest Me
a hundred thousand florins,’’ every one would
say, ‘‘Yes, with all my heart, if I may only
live.’’

But now we are such thankless creatures,

that we scarce sing Him thanks for the many
and great benefits which we daily receive abun-
dantly from His pure goodness and mercy.

Nevertheless, the gracious Father is not es-
If

For instance: if we were all born with

be more thankful.
We are so shamefully perverse that we are

unthankful for our present gifts and goods,
and only think of little deficiencies.
one go home and count the gifts which he has;

Let every

he will find far more gifts than deficiencies ;
and let him thank God for them. — Luther.

——>—- oo

Too Charitable.

An African preacher, speaking from the
words, ‘‘What is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’’
mentioned among other things that many lost
their souls by being too charitable! Seeing
the congregation astonished beyond measure
at his saying it, he very emphatically repeated
it, and then proceeded to explain his meaning.
‘‘Many people,’’ said he, ‘‘attend meeting,
and hear the sermon; and when it is over,
they proceed to divide it out among the con-
gtegation; this part was for that man, that
part was for that woman; and such denuncia-
tions were for such persons; these threats for
you sinners— and so,’? continued the shrewd
African, “‘they give away the whole sermon, and
keep none for themselves.”’
——>-aP o>

Tux holy Prophets are all of one mind.
They speak of Christ and His kingdom, and
he who knows this has the right knowledge of
their prophecies. —Luther.