Page:Three Thousand Selected Quotations from Brilliant Writers.djvu/554

546 The Greek word for wickedness is lawlessness.

Sin is the insurrection and rebellion of the heart against God; it turns from Him, and turns against Him; it takes up arms against God. —.

He that hath slight thoughts of sin, never had great thoughts of God. —.

Sin is an awful fact. It beggars description. Like the shirt of Nessus, it burns one alive. As that poisoned garment ate away the muscles of the victim in his vain attempt to rid himself of it, so sin will destroy the power of him who becomes its victim. Eternal death is eternal sin; sin through all the ages. —.

Sin! Sin! Thou art a hateful and horrible thing, that abominable thing which God hates. And what wonder? Thou hast insulted His holy majesty; thou hast bereaved Him of beloved children; thou hast crucified the Son of His infinite love; thou hast vexed His gracious Spirit; thou hast defied His power; thou hast despised His grace; and in the body and blood of Jesus, as if that were a common thing, thou hast trodden under foot His matchless mercy. Surely, brethren, the wonder of wonders is, that sin is not that abominable thing which we also hate. —.

Retribution, atonement, grace, redemption, a great perdition, a great salvation, a great and Divine Saviour, all become credible when there is truly realized the idea of sin. They all rise as it rises in the moral estimate; they all fall as it falls. When it goes out, they become incredible.