"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye may not sin." -- 1 John ii, 1.
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all." -- James ii, 10.
The accompanying Chart clearly depicts the awful consequences of God's Law broken; the eternal joys of God's Law obeyed.
Every Law God has made is for our good, and disobedience to a single one is defiance to Him, injures His kingdom, and destroys the soul, because "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
The Law is like a looking-glass; by gazing into it we may see our real self, And while the glass is not made to wash the face, it does show the dirt. If one is a sinner, this glass shows him his soul covered with the dirt of sin. So the Law can save no one, nor make clean, but reveals the uncleanness which Jesus stands ready to wash away.
The River of Death and all its Branches, shown on the Chart, are filthy Streams, flowing through the Malarious Land of Sin, and all who are drifting in them will perish forever unless they grasp the lifeline of God's Word, and are rescued by Jesus, and washed and "made every whit whole."
The love of God is shown just as really in the giving of the Law as in the giving of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Sinai is as really divine as Calvary.
The Law forbids Idolatry, because children should love and obey and worship their Heavenly Father above all others. This is for their good as well as for His glory.
It forbids Profanity, because it is wrong for people to speak disrespectfully of Him who made them and loves them.
It forbids Sabbath-breaking, because God loves His children and knows they need weekly a Day in which to visit with Him and rest.
It forbids Disobedience to Parents, because Obedience is the corner-stone of lives of usefulness and happiness here and enjoyment hereafter.
It forbids Murder, because God loves people, and would not have them suddenly summoned by each other to meet the Judgment; and, if obedient, He will guard them as the apple of His eye, and put around them the everlasting arms of His love and protection, until He says, "Enough; come up higher."
It forbids Adultery, because lust is ruinous to both soul and body -- to the individual and to society -- and He would have His children pure.
It forbids Theft, because He loves His children with an everlasting love, and would protect them in the property interests which He trusts to their care.
It forbids Lying, because it is born of Hell, and imperils person and property, both of which are precious in His sight.
It forbids Covetousness, because, like a poisonous vine, it creeps through the soul, bearing the blossoms of pride, false ambition, and many other sins which are ruinous to soul and body.
God forbids all Sin, because it imparts to its possessor the very character of Satan, unfitting for usefulness and citizenship in this world and in the world to come.
Let us, then, be thankful to the Heavenly Father, who thus warns us of the Burning Fires of Sin, which will torture all who handle them throughout the cycles of eternity.
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