St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-01
MINNEAPOLIS.
HE'LL AND HEAVEN.
Rev. w. j. Lhamon Enters Into
the Punishment Question.

the Punishment Question.
At the Church of Christ yesterday
morning Rev. w. j. Lhamon took up
the question of punishment after death.
lie argued also that both heaven and
he'll begin upon earth, his text being:
Judas fell that he might go to his own
peace. Acts l., XVI. Said he:
Why should there not be hell for
those who prefer it? Why should there
not be heaven for those who prefer 1t?
Why should not Judas go to his own
place? Why should not every one go to
his own place? Would a kind deity
compel bad man to go to heaven? Is
man not free? Does character count?
DO environments differ? What does
eternal mean? Does it applyto the good,
but not to the bad? Is God righteous?
Can we play fast and loose with Script
ure texts, yet protesting to honor them?
Is there no danger. and did Jesus die
for naught? Is eternity to be trified
with? Is it wise and Scriptnral to teach
mei that they may safely live and die
in their sins? Those who spurn repent
ance this side of the grave-are we sure
they would repent il they could on the
other side? May not choice be final?
Does not character tend to performance?
Questions like these come in troops
when we propose to ourselves such a
theme. Judas went to his own place.
so did James and John and Jesus. So
will all the myriads of men. This fit
ness of things, and an implicit trust in
God. should be sufficient for US. Other
wise the question would crush us; but
IN view oft, [, for one, cannot say with
our tender-hearted Whittier.
For the innumerable dead
Is my soul disquieted. -
For the ''innumerable dead'' God
cares properly. For the innumerable
not dead. for our careless children, and
our prayerless friends, and our indiffer-
ent neighbors, fol the nnumerable UNI
saved that pass and repass under the
shadows of our churches should we be
disquieted.
Hell is character and environment.
Heaven is nothing more. but other.
Salvation is escape from the formerand
the winning of the latter LII nature
seeks i'll surroundings The persistent
liar finds his level, and the fact that he
is liar is his incipient hell, the Begin
ming of his punishment. If he should
continue to lie in the next world he
would find his level there, and that, and
the fact that he was an eternal liar,
would be his eternal punishment. OF
Its place helps it. Between the two
misery is begotten and inflicted.
From this definition of he'll some con-
illusions follow. First: If hell consists
in sinful character and sinful environ
ment co-working, then it begins in this
life. No man will ever go to hell who
does not take he'll with him. Morning
there will begin where evening here
ends. There is but one way for bad
man to get rid of his present hell, and
that is by repentance and reformation.
There is no way to get rid of the future
hell but by getting rid OF the present
one. If the people who are so anxious
to rid the Bible of the doctrine of hell
would rid themselves and others of the
fact of hell, and sinners OF the father
hood of Satan, there would be some
IN it all. Milton was truer to our hui
man nature when he made his fallen
angel say:
Me miserablel Which way shall fly,
Infinite wrath, and infinite despair?
Which way l fly is hell; myself am hell;
And in the lowest deep. lower deep
St1li threatens to devour me open wide,
To which the he'll I suffer seems heaven"
again. our definition suggests the
everlaStingneSS of hell. Sin for an hour
may be sin forever. Jesus teaches this.
Again, If our definition is correct our
conclusions are not affected by lugglery
with words. The word eternal has an
ethical content, as every reverent stu
dent should know. But that its ethical
meaning is exclusive, that it has no ref
erence to duration, no reverent scholar
will affirm. Age-lasting is its original
meaning.
considering heaven, we have the
same principles, only they are working
God-ward. Heaven is character and
environment co-adjusted. The study of
moral concords and discords may yet
teach us that God is good in
sending sinners to their own places.
Whatever, wherever heaven may be,
there is no sort of heaven anywhere for
any but heavenly people. No being
was ever I'D heaven. or ever will be
there, who has not heaven in him.
Christian people should not be content
to wait for their heaven till death in
PRODUCES them to it. Why not make
little heavens of our homes, of our Offices,
OF our shops, of our leisure hours, OF
our social gatherings, and seasons of
worship, even of our trials, knowing
that they are intended to work the will
OF Goa in US?