Proverbs 14:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor. I. IN ITS NATURE. Its evil is most strikingly represented by contrasting it with the character of God, against whom it is committed; and with the law of God, of which it is the transgression. 1. God is a Being of the most perfect excellence, possessed of every attribute that can excite the admiration, love, and esteem of His intelligent creatures. Holiness is the chief and brightest attribute of the Godhead. Sin aims at the destruction of all the perfections of God. 2. The law of God is a transcript of His perfections. It is not only holy and just, but likewise good, calculated to promote the happiness of those who are subject to its authority. Sin is the transgression of the law, and therefore must contain in it a malignity and vileness proportioned to the purity and excellence of the law of God. Sin is the greatest of evils because it is opposite to the greatest good. II. IN ITS EFFECTS. Within us and around us we contemplate the baneful consequences of this mortal evil. No sorrow or misery of any kind can be named that does not spring from this root of bitterness. 1. See mischief done to the angels who kept not their first estate. 2. Man, formed after his Maker's image, is likewise become a fallen and sinful creature. The calamities of earth bear marks of man's fatal apostasy from God. The whole creation groaneth. 3. The effects of sin are even yet more serious in a future and eternal state. III. THE VIEWS WHICH PERSONS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS ENTERTAIN CONCERNING SIN. These differ according to their different moral characters. The more profligate a man becomes, the less evil he perceives in sin. The purer a man is the clearer and deeper are his convictions of the guilt and danger of transgressing the law of God. (David Black.) Parallel Verses KJV: Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.WEB: Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will. |
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