Nevada County picayune., 1889-06-26

eternal life and this life is in his Son.
 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.-l lUth llth and l2th verses The First Epistle General Of John.
 Immortality and eternal life are synonymous terms-they mean the same thing. The object of the gos- pei is to hestow eternal life upon all who embrace it's glorious provisions. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. If all men were already immortal, or were already possessed of everlasting life, by virtue of an inalienable and understandable birth-right, then there would be no necessity for an atone ment to purchase for them that un- unspeakablc gift, and the sacrlllcial offering of the Son of God would be robbed of its chief glory and excel lcncy. If the object of our Savior was to invest the everlasting life; of which men are naturally possessed, with happy accompanlments, and to render it in every way more attract i've and desirable, surely there would have been some specific and unequly- ocal mention of this fact ill the Cos pei record. Instead of this, how ever, we find on careful investigation, not only that the Scriptures are silent concerning this view of the atone ment, but they actually and repeat edly declare the mortal and perisha- ble nature of man, and set forth in unmstakable language the necessity of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to secure eternal life.
 It IS very remarkable that when Adam and Eve were driven out of l the Garden of Eden, means were employed to prevent their access to 1 the Tree of Life, lest they should partake of its fruit and live forever; q gracious and merciful arrangement, the design of which was doubtless to avert the terrible consequences of eternal sin and misery, which such immortality would have involved, especially in the case of all who re-
 iected the offer of recovering grace.
 In the Hebrew language, in which the old Testament was written, the word translated life" in King James version of those Scriptures. where the creation of man was described, was in the plural number and should have been translated ''liyes,' doubt less having reference to the two 1 kinds of lives with which man was endowed, the soulical or animal life and the spiritual life The penalty of the loss of spiritual life, was exc
 cuted the same day on which Adam fell, and his exclusion from the Gar den, and especially from the tree of ! life, exposed his lower, or animal life, to the processes of decay and dissolution. It is reasonable to sup pose that, if Adam and Eve had re-
 tained their integrity in Eden, their 1 obedience would have secured the perpetuity of their spiritual life, while the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life would have guaranteed the perpetuation of their natural life.
 The natural and inherent immor- taiity of man is very popular doc trinc it is not on y advocated by the so-called orthodox churches of the day, but is very generally endorsed l by ee-thinkers and infdels the world over but, as our Savior says, 1 the things in high esteem among men are an abomination in the sight of God" This doctrine ilatters and pampers the pride of the human heart, and pride is the greatest foe to true religion; it is the principle which ourlloving Father seeks to de- stroy, and he would substitute for it that humility which entertains ra- tional, sober, and Scriptural views of the nature and destiny of frail, finite beings, If any man thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
 It is strange, too, that this dogma of mans natural immortality should have obtained almost universal cre- dence in the christian church, when we remember that there is no au- thority for it in the word of God. h. stead of supporting this theory, the Scriptures abound with numerous passages. both in the Old and in the New Testament, which assert not only the mortality and perishableness
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