And, again, the second lesson furnished by the holy Apostle is this: "Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." There is a mine of wisdom in that. Our religion not only tells us what not to do, it also tells us what to do; it is not only negative, it is positive. There are two ways of dealing with temptation. The one way is negative, the other is positive. "Thou shalt not commit adultery," that is negative. We are to eradicate vice, that is positive.
The effectual safeguard against drink is not prohibition. Neither the most cunningly devised laws, nor the most unrelenting persecution of liquor dealers, nor any other device of man can arrest this terrible evil. To successfully combat it, to make the poor victim a worthy and honored member of society, requires some stronger and firmer basis, some more controlling motive than mere earthly considerations. "Put on the Lord Jesus," is St. Paul's plain direction, "and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." The eye that has gazed upon the cross of Calvary with penitence and faith, the heart that has been regenerated by the washing of the Holy Ghost, and in whose soul is diffused the Spirit of God, and who strives to walk in the Spirit, he, and only he, can escape the temptations of the dreaded serpent of intemperance. And so, whatever the habit, you cannot wrestle successfully with a vicious habit, unless you cultivate a higher and different taste, a love for the things of God's Spirit. Life, to be safe, must stand for something, not simply against something, must express itself in the spirit, not simply suppress itself in the lust of the flesh.
From away back in the past comes to us a voice, the voice of a young man who, when tempted by the dark-eyed adulteress in Egypt, said: "How, then, can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Oh, that the young and the old would let these words of Joseph incessantly ring in their ears! A positive attachment, devotion to God will prompt us to be and to do what He wants you to be and to do, and as it inspires you to do what is right, it keeps you from doing that which is wrong.
And here again, to conclude, in our combat against this enemy of our soul we cannot stand upright unless we have some mightier power to sustain us. We know as Lenten Christians whence this power flows. How can any one who has looked up to that divine Sufferer in faith crucify Him anew by unholy living? The thought of what He has done for us, the love that prompted Him to shed His holy, precious blood for our sins, will restrain us from falling a victim to this insidious and wicked enemy. The Lord grant us repentance over past falls, gracious forgiveness, and strength!
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within.
Amen.
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT.
Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!—Matt. 18, 7.
It has grown a custom with us to regard on this particular Sunday some particular phase of sin. Now there is a sin which very many people think little about; that is the sin of making others sin. They feel that they are accountable for their own sins, the sins of their hands, tongues, and thoughts, but as to responsibility for what others have done, they feel no guilt that belongs exclusively to them. And yet, when one reflects on the matter; when we consider how we are all bound up with one another, what influence we exert, what our words and deeds cause others to do, how, without our knowing it, others have taken our example to encourage themselves in what is wrong, thinking they could not go wrong if following in our steps; when we reflect that the first sin committed in the world was the sin of making others sin, that of the devil tempting Eve to disobey God, and that the first evil consequence of man's fall was that Eve, when she had sinned herself, was to make her husband sin also,—we begin to realize that it is a real sin, and a common sin, the sin of making others do wrong; nor can there be any doubt or mistake as to our Lord's judgment concerning it.