The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-08-10
l EeNET gsV 2 EAEF III III VA TFEs
VOL..,XXXIX.s1is,y1H55.s ,1Hs ~.
.sERMON.y
Destiny ofthe Wicked.

O0StUy VI IUC vvICNOU.
ssHHffSA sfF&t---f 4nE -f1g f&stest II
The following sermon was delivered
last evening at the First Christian
Church. corner of Wabash avenue and
Sixteenth street, by the pastor, Rev. j.
s. Sweeney ItwasI delivered by re-
tquest Of several prominent citizens, not
members of his church. He selected
for his text Matt. XIV: 46--as follows
'sThess shall GO away into everlasting
tpunishnent, but the righteous into life
-fass
svad % bs3THE ssERMoN.T G95fss13a
What the final, destiny of the wicked
is to be is q question that has called
forth much earnest discussion among
believers in the Bible. That it will be
we'll with the righteous in the future is
| believe and affirmed with as great una
nimity as any other doctrine of Scrip~
ture. It is, in fact. proposition ques
| toned by no believer in the Bible - But
| the futtn e Of such persons as disregard }
ing the goodness and love Of God. live
! and die in unrepented ssin, is matter,
| important as it is on all hands conceded
to be, abont which persons claiming to
be alike devoted to the Bible teach very
| differently, and hence a matter which,
| in the jndgm entoof many, lies in uncer-
\ tainty. That the wicked are not happy
| in this world all agree Sin and misery
keep cornpsnyin this life. Will the man
who dies impenitent enter into Chappi.f
! ness ino another world in his sins p:
Scarcely any one will affirm. And that
many do so die no one can deny Will
/ such persons have an opportunity to re-
1 pent in the future life,y and. having such
opportunity, viii they Improve it and
become happy? These are questions
about which we have CONTROVERSY
questions over which many have hope
lessly lost their orthodoxy, and been
driven out of churches. But not being
particularly orthodox myself, nor deci
dedly hetcrodox, and caring very little
which / am called I shall speak to you
on this subject this evening as believe,
with freedom and boldness, and yet, /
hope, within the limits of the strictest
courtesy toward all. 81 "sn 9aS o -
| This question, think, should be dis
cussed strictly in the light Of Scripture
For il Scripture revelation does not af-
ford US sufficient and satisfactory light
upon it, then feel certain we are hope
lessly and helplessly in the dark. Wide
as is the range of reason, the question
Of mans destiny lies entirely Beyond its
utmost reach. The very idea Of eterni-
ty Is one under the tremendous weight
of which reason reels and totters like q
child in its first steps The only legiti-
mate Office of reason in the case is to
ascertain what tho Scriptures teach
Then, have we any clear Scripture rev.
elation as to the final destiny of the
wicked3s shall insist that we have
To my mind the phrase, These shall go
awsy into everlasting punishment is
just as clear a. revelation as the other
side of the antithesis, but the righteous
into life eternal / can understand the
one phrase just as easily as / can the
other. Both the wicked and the right.
eous shall go away at the same time,
the one into % unishment' and the other
into life and both the punishment a nd
the life are described by the same word
of duratiOn-in the one case rendered
everlasting, in the other eternal. 10 stg
81 In our investigation, deem it impor-
tant, in tho first place, that we deter
mine, If we can, the question, sOhen shall
the wicked go away into everlas ting
punishment +? z And, in considering this
question, let US assume the standpoint
occupied by the Great Teacher when he
uttered the words of the text This be
comes necessary, because some contend
that these words have already been ful>
fiiled--that is, that the wicked have al.
ready gone away into everlasting pun
ishment, in the sense that the Saviour
meant to teach that they should The
determination OF. this question, there
fore, will go towards determining the
main question, as to the duration of
punishment. Does the punishment of
the text relate to this or to the futnre
life Most, If not all, who deny end
less punishment will affirm that it re>
lates to this lie. r. And when they make
good this answer, they will, as they
claim, and as grant carry one of the
strongholds OF their opponents. When.
therefore, we ask, shall the wicked go
away into everlasting punishm ent -
This may be determined by the context
and other q pas sages of Scripture. Be
| ginning at tue 3lst Verse OF this chapter
We read as follows: When the Son Of
Man shall come in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him. then shall He
sit upon the throne of His glory, and
before Him shall be gathered all ma
/ tions; and He shsll separate them one
! from another &c Then follows the
ground or reason Of the Separation,
which I need not read, and then the
text, revealing the respective destinies
of the two classes. q This reading deter
mines that the separation of the wicked
! from the righteous, and the going away
/ Of the one class into everlasting pun
ishment, and the other into life eternal,
is to take place when the Son Of Man
| shall come in His glory and all the holy
( angels with Him. But this does not
settle only shifts-the question. When
! shall the Son of Man. come in His glory
/ and all the holy angels with Him ? It is
affirmed by. most of those who deny
eternal punishment that the Son of Man
has already come in His glory, with
His mighty angels, and that consequent
ly the separation and iud ement are past.