The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-02-03
HE'LL 4 REALITY.
Rev. Claude Raboteau's Sermon
on the Punishment Of
Sinners.

Rev. Claud Raboteau. pastor Of the
Parmly Memorial Baptist Church, select
ed for the subject of his sermon last
evening ''The Modern View of HE'LL
'The theologies of modern times, he
said though they have performed an in
valuable service in Kidding the church of
those crude, semi-barbarous views of he'll
which for many centuries hung about our
necks Like millstones, have nevertheless
oVerstepped their bounds in attempting to
destroy the scriptural doctrine of punish
ment for the wicked after death. With
out entering into a theological discussion
1 propose to show that the question of
he'll Is by no means a Head one; but in
our age and time grandly replete with
all the embellishments of life there is no
more vital problem touching the interests
of humanity.
Now l have no bones to pick with our
Universalist friends. They believe in GER
tain punishments for sin and so do /.
They uphold above all things that every
crime against God merits a correspond
ing penalty; so do I. But if 1 differ from
Them on the question of the endlessness
OF punishment. / certainly do not differ
from them on the provision made by
our God for Furnishing those who nave
defied and ignored his mercy, and neither
sWdH | quarrel with our Andover theolo-
CLANS, Who claim a second probation after
death and a chance for those to accept
Christianity never had the chance in
this life.
what the churches need to do today
as 70 cease from sectarian quibblings
ana disputes on technichalities about
which the world cares little to know,
and bend their united energies to the
living problems of the day, to the crying
indifference of human societies on the
subject Of eternity. The professional dis
pute OF two doctors as to the true nature
OF the disease of a patient they both
know to be mortally sick didn't post
pone the funeral, and just so with the
churches. We know that the world is
mortally sick, and we further know that
the only remedy for the disease is found
IN the lfe-giving cordial of the Gospel of
Jesus; but instead of promptly admins
tering that cordial we waste our time
diagnosing the case and fall into hot
discussions over creeds and formulas,
aiming rather to maintain the correctness
OF our views than to relieve the sin-sick
world. While we are wrangling, behold
the world is dying and hell is still
= ssr,. - tkAA 90
sTne religion that meets the general
approval today is one of gush and sem
t TN OF softness and perfume; where
and the ears offended by harsh words
or the tastes shocked by repulsive sub
Jects. In short, where hell is exiting
ulshed. 1t has been said that the idea
of there being such a thing as hell was
exploded long ago in all denominations.
| appeal to all denominations, of what
ever creed or doctrine, all who, profess
to follow Jesus, to rise in all the majesty
Of their God-given power and refute this
ITO look upon the Creator as a iovial.
rollfeking sort of being who is all heart
ana ready to overlook every sin we COM
init is a gross, caricature of God. The
existence of he'll may be very shocking to
modern methods OF reasoning and to the
refinement of our times, but don't sup |
pose that "a God Is going TO wipe It out pc
mates It infinitely more than we do, and
yet his hatred of it does not remove the
tact that it, exists in spite of all the
machinery of the Gospel at work to des-
If there is no hell we have no further
use for Christ; his sacrifices and atone
myth, the revelation of God is untrue;
God becomes a liar. If there is no hell
Th oal, GS Cd could not be loye, for his love
there is no ncll then there is no terrible
enormity of sin, no need to get hold of
Christ to be saved from its consequences.
- q odo 11Sly III law /
against which an the waves of unbelief
beat in vain. but I am glad that the old
fashioned theology has given place to com
mon sense on this question; The fire
of our ancestors has passed away under
the investigation of a higher kind of
scriptural criticism. The literal flames
which used to characterize this dread
abode have been foun to be one of The
many 1gurative expressions In which the
Bible abounds and a gross literalness on
this and other subjects has ALWAYS ended
in a deterioration of divine truths. The /
scriptures do teach the awfulness of he'll,
but employ those strong descriptions, not
to describe its literal character, but only
to emphasize Its woe and misery.
Il can't believe any more in the literal
physical torture of hell than l can believe
in the literal mansions of heaven and the
literal golden streets and the literal
harps which the angels are supposed to
twang.
81 call. that state hell which is bare of
all the glories of the redeemed life,
that "hell'' which is devoid of all long
ing for higher things, of all hunger and
thirst after. righteousness, of all Interest
in Jesus Christ, of all love of God.