hate sin: you who love the Lord, hate evil. He guards the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked (Ps. XCVI, v. 10). - Let love be unfeigned; abhor evil, cleave to good (Rom. XII, 9);

     flee from sin: fornication, and all uncleanness and covetousness, shall not even be called among you, as befits saints (Eph. V, 3).—And now lay aside all things: wrath, wrath, malice, slander, foul language in your mouth (Col. III, 8). - But the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal: the Lord has known His own; and let everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord depart from iniquity (2 Tim. II, 19);

     Turn away from sinners, that ye may escape their punishment: flee from the midst of Babylon, and save every man his own soul, lest he perish by her iniquity. For this is the time of vengeance with the Lord. He will repay him (Jer. LI, 6). - Let no one deceive you with empty words; for for this the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. Therefore do not be their accomplices (Eph. V, 6, 7).

The fatal fruits of sin:

      a) Sin makes prayer invalid: if I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me (Ps. LXV, p. 18). Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, to him also prayer is an abomination (Prov. XXVIII, 9). And when you stretch out your hands, I hide My eyes from you; and when ye multiply your supplications, I hear not: your hands are full of blood" (Isaiah 1:35). But we know that God does not listen to sinners; but whoever honors God and does His will, hearkens to him (Jn. IX, 31);

      b) Sin removes the blessings of God: oh, if you would heed My commandments, then your peace would be like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea (Isa. XLVIII, 18). - Your iniquities have turned it away, and your sins have taken away this good thing from you (Jer. V, 25);

      c) everyone will be punished for his sin: fathers should not be punished with death for their children and children should not be punished with death for their fathers; everyone must be punished with death for his own crime (Deut. XXIV, 16). - For each will bear his own burden (Gal. VI, 5);

      d) Sin leads to remorse: Thy arrows have pierced me, and Thy hand weighs upon me. There is not a whole place in my flesh because of Thy wrath; there is no peace in my bones because of my sins (Ps. XXXVII, 3:4).—And thou shalt groan afterwards, when thy flesh and thy body shall be emaciated, and thou shalt say, Why have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof, and I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor have I inclined my ear to my guides? V, 11-13);

      e) to shame: we lie in our shame, and our shame covers us, because we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God (Jer. III, 25);

      f) to tribulations: the foolish suffered for their iniquity, and for their iniquities (Ps. XVI p. 17). Thy ways and thy deeds have caused thee this: thy wickedness is so bitter to thee, that it comes to thy heart (Jer. IV, 18);

      g) to sickness: And I will do this to you: I will send upon you terror, stunting, and fever, from which the eyes will grow weary and the soul will be tormented, you will sow your seeds in vain, and your enemies will eat them up (Lev. XXVI, 16);

      (h) Sin is sometimes punished by premature and sudden death: these who spread evil fame about the earth died, having been smitten before the Lord (Num. XIV, 37). - Righteousness leads to life, but he who seeks evil seeks his death (Prov. XI, 19). - Suddenly, an angel of the Lord smote him (Herod) because he did not give glory to God; and he was eaten by worms, and died (Acts 2:10). XII, 23);