The age-herald., 1902-03-10
THE SOUL AT ONCE
 GOES ID GLORY The Rev. Dr. Curry Says There Is No Intermediate State DELIVERS ABLE SERMON Question In Every Mind Is Where Does Man Go When He Leaves
 This Earth-Hls
 State?
DELIVERS ABLE SERMON

At the First Presbyterian church yes- terday a large audience heard an elo- quent sermon by Dr. A B. Curry, his theme being the future destiny of man What becomes of him when he leaves this earth. Dr. Curry's text was from Matt. 25:46: But the righteous into life eter- nal" Dr. Curry held that for the souls of the righteous there was no such place as purgatory an intermediate place but that they pass imm ediately into glory.
 Tt Is an undisputed fact" said pr. Curry, that mans existence on earth is not permanent. He remains here but a few years at most and passes away. We are all pilgrims and sojourners as all our fathers were The question is forced on every thinking mind, where does man go when he leaves the earth? What becomes of him? It is evident that information on this point must be found in reyela- tion. Science cannot touch 1t, for the sphere of science Is observed phenomena. When science goes beyond this 1t ceases to be science, or knowledge, and becomes mere conjecture. If we have no revela- tion on this subject of the future of man, then are we in absolute ignorance re- specting it.
 But we have the revelation. The Di- vine Teacher speaks on the subject at length in the chapter from which our text Is taken. He represents man as continuing to exist after leaving the earth; as possessed of moral character, reason and memory; as entering upon an eternal destiny He represents men as divided into two classes, and only two. In this life we divide men into many classes, according to the basis of classi- fication; but in the future world there are only two classes. the righteous and the unrighteous. 1 speak today of the future of the righteous. I divide this fu- ture into two periods-the period between the death of the body and its resurrec- ton and the period after the resurrection of the body.
 Few of us but have loved ones who have gone from earth. Where are they now? We all In a few years expect to leave the earth Where shall we go? This Is not an idle question, for its an- swer decides our hopes and fears, and these in turn bear upon our happiness and character
 Do the righteous at once enter heav- en? We are told nothing unclean can enter there, and few claim to be perfectly holy in this life. and none really are. But we believe this perfection is accom- plished at death Much sin has its source and its occasion in the appetites and passions and wants of the body, the flesh. At death the spirit leaves the body and is free from It's influence. It is the truth that purifies and sanctifies. as says our Lord: "Sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth" But in this life we perceive the truth but dimly; there i've shall see face to face, we shall know as we are known" And this full perception and apprehension Of the truth will be mighty in the sanctifying of the righteous soul that yields to 1t. Then
 
 has a marvellous effect. AS says the Scripture: "Now are We the sons of God and 1t doth not yet appear what we shan be, but we know when He shall appear we shall be like him Tor we shall see Him as he is." In the beatific vision we shall be changed into his image by the Spirit of the Lord from glory to glory. All this Is the work of the Holy Spirit, given through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 Being made perfect the souls of the | righteous pass immediately into glory. Many passages of Scripture teach this. Christ said to the thief on the cross: This day shalt thou be with me in Par adise, and in the New Testament, para disc is synonymous with heaven, as ap- pears from Corinthians una Revelation. St. Paul says, for him to depart is to be with Christ Again he says: For We know of our earthly house of this taber- nacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, house not mace with hands eternal in the heavens. Whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body ana to be present with the Lord From those passages and others we learn that the souls of believers. being made perfect In holiness. immediately pass into glory"
 Dr. Curry then showed at length that this view was opposed to three false doc trnes: viz, the doctrine of Purgatory, the doctrine of an intermediate place, and the doctrine of soul-sleepng Con- tinuing he said:
 After the resurrection glorious in- corruptible, spiritual bodies, delivered from the paran of death and the grave will be given unto the righteous and they will enter into life eternal Then prac- tical reflections come to us here:
 First. Our departed loved ones, who | have died in the Lord, made perfect by | his grace. have passed into glory They | are present with the Lord We should | not mourn for them.
 Second The believer should not be over his approaching departure from earth, for to depart is to be with Christi
 Third. We should all seek to be num- bered among the righteous. to possess the righteousness of God. which Is b, faith of Jesus Christi