me, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). Unbelief is the chiefest
of sins. It is to reject Jesus Christ, it is to close in our own faces
the door of hope, it is to trample the blood of the Son of God under
our feet, and it means also to insult the spirit of grace.

One morning in the city of New York a man dashed down the street and
past three men standing on the pier. They could not tell how old he
was, nor how he was dressed, but they saw him jump upon the bulkhead
near by, strip off his overcoat, coat and hat, and, before they could
stir to save him, plunge off the end of the pier. There was a short
rope lying near by, and seizing this a man ran with his companions to
the point from which the man had jumped. They threw the rope toward
the struggling figure that they could just make out below them. The
rope fell a foot and a half too short. Then they ran back to the gas
plant and got a longer rope. The ice was running so thick in the river
that the man's head and shoulders were still to be seen above the water
when they returned. Taking careful aim they threw the rope squarely
across the struggling form, shouting, "Catch it and we'll pull you
in." The unknown man, however, making a last effort, threw the rope
aside and shouted back: "Oh, to h--- with it! I'm through!" Then he
sank out of sight. That is a picture of the man who, having offered to
him mercy and grace in Jesus Christ, spurns all that God offers, and is
therefore hopeless.

Sin separates us from God.

Sin separates us from each other.

Sin pollutes us and we become impure.

Sin deceives us and we are in danger and know it not.

A friend of mine walking along the streets of Cincinnati early one
morning saw a young girl standing upon the very edge of the roof of one
of the highest office buildings. She was carefully balancing herself
and every moment it seemed as if she would fall. The elevator was not
running, but he made his way hurriedly to the roof of the building,
walked carefully across it, seized her by the hand, drew her back and
found that she had risen in her sleep and all unconsciously was
standing on the very brink of eternity. This is what sin does for us,
and it is a solemn thought that for all such the text is true, "The
wicked shall not be unpunished."

II

I do not make my appeal, however, on the ground that the punishment is
all for the future, for that is indeed