their faith by their deeds, let them know
they are not God's children, not heirs in his kingdom, and therefore
are unquestionably heirs of the evil one in hell. He who is unmoved by
the threats of hell fire must truly be a stick or a stone; indeed, he
must have a heart like an anvil, as Job says.

17. The writer of the epistle passes unusually severe sentence upon
the covetous man, for he calls him an idolater, or a worshiper of a
false God. Plainly, Paul entertained special enmity against the
covetous, for in Colossians 3, 5 he defines this sin in a similar
manner. His reasoning, I judge, is this: All other sinners turn to use
what they have and make it subservient to their lusts. Fornicators and
the unclean make their bodies serve their pleasure. The haughty employ
property, art, reputation and men to secure honor to themselves. The
unhappy idolater alone is servant to his possessions; his sin is to
save, guard and preserve property. He dare not make use of it either
for himself or for others, but worships it as his god. Rather than
touch his money, he would suffer both the kingdom of God and of the
world to perish. He will not give a farthing to the support of a
preacher or a schoolmaster for the sake of advancing God's kingdom.
Because he places his confidence, his trust, in his money rather than
in the living God, whose promises concerning ample support are
abundant, his real God is his money, and to call him an idolater is
entirely just. And, in addition, he must renounce heaven! A shameful
vice, indeed! O contemptible Unbelief! what a dangerous vice art thou!

DECEPTION BY EMPTY WORDS.

"Let no man deceive you with empty words."

18. This applies to those who gloss their unchastity over, as if it
were but a trivial sin. And some have been even such vulgar teachers
as to consider no unchastity evil except adultery, and to accept it as
a normal function, like eating and drinking. The Greek philosophers
and poets were of this class. And Terence says, "It is neither a sin
nor a shame for a youth to commit fornication." To obey such doctrine
would be to know nothing of God and to live in the lust of
concupiscence, like the gentiles who know not God, of whom we heard in
the preceding lesson. All arguments of this character are vain words;
they may fascinate the reason after a fashion; yet they are vain and
futile, unable to profit their authors.

Covetousness likewise has much false show and glitter. When one
d