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Temperance
listen to the tempter. And in the place of all the attractions that Satan
presents they have woe and misery. Adam and Eve had everything
given that their wants required, but they listened to the tempter and
disobeyed God.
When God came to inquire of Adam, He laid all the blame upon
Eve. God said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.” The enemy cannot touch you unless you let
him. But here is the enmity which God puts against the serpent.
There is no enmity between evil men and the angels, but there is
enmity between those that serve the Lord and the hosts of darkness.
A Tremendously Important Question
—The temperance ques-
tion is of tremendous importance to each one of us. It is far-reaching.
I have spoken twenty-one times in succession on this subject, and
then only touched on it. But here we must take up just a few ideas.
When this first gospel sermon was spoken in Eden by God Himself,
it was as a star of hope to illuminate the dark and dismal future. The
pair in Eden should not be left to hopeless ruin.
When Christ came into our world as a babe in Bethlehem, the
angels sang out, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men.” “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.”
Satan with all his synagogue—for Satan claims to be religious—
determined that Christ should not carry out the counsels of heaven.
After Christ was baptized, He bowed on the banks of Jordan; and
never before had heaven listened to such a prayer as came from His
divine lips. Christ took our nature upon Himself. The glory of God,
in the form of a dove of burnished gold, rested upon Him, and from
the infinite glory was heard these words, “This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” The human race is encircled by the human
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arm of Christ, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the
Infinite One. The prayer of Christ cleaved right through the darkness
and entered where God is. To each of us it means that heaven is open
before us. It means that the gates are ajar, that the glory is imparted
to the Son of God and all who believe in His name. Our petition will