The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1903-07-03
The REVEALS.
Eternal Punishment.


, of Eternal Punishment Despite tn,
threatening weather a large congrega
tion heard the discourse, which was q
mastery and logical exposition of the
subject DIR. McFerrin took for his
text the 46th verse of the 25th chapter
of the gospel according to ST. Mat
thew: And these shall 60 away into
everlasting punishment; but the
righteous into life eternal.
There are some few things, said he,
which humanity is pretty generally
agreed upon. One is the immortality
of the soul All who have lived, still
live-somewhere ana their eternal
state cannot be matter of unconcern
to us. So far as he knew, no one
claims that the reward of the righteous
| will come to an end. But there are
some who claim that the punishment
of the unrlghteous will come to an end.
He said that those who had studAed
the subject deepest, the best men OF
the world, the pest biblical scholars
of the world, all agree that the doom
of the wicked Is final, amending and
| hopeless. He saia that the teachings
of Christ showed no hope for the
wicked in ths world to come. There
wss no logical ground upon which such
a belief could be based. He said it
was an awful thing to think that the
| wicked who die out of Christ are be-
yond hope; ii ls not pleasant sub
ject, by any means, and God knew
that Ii he could he would blot hell
out of the future; that it he could
give any hope to the lost soul he
would do it. 1t was subject from
which humanity's heart naturally
reooiis, because OF the Iearruinoss Of
the punishment. There are people
VINO would have us believe that God ia
cruel tyranI; they represent him as
with his own hand mixing together
every Ingredient of SIN and putting 1T
into our mouths and then punlshing
us for it; they represent him as put
ting us on hot grid irons, to broil
forever throughout endless ages. Such
issues, he said. degrade God, and
bring him down to the stature OF an
enraged tyrant. The doom of the
wicked, he asserted. was as natural as
cause and effect, ana those who are
lost go out of the world self doomed,
and self damned. Every mau who goes
out OF the world goes just to his own
place. There are some who believe
that God is the author OF 8 mans sin,
his sorrow, and everything that
affiicts humanity, and that therefore
punt shment ia out OF the question.
Man here IN this world is under the
Kingdom of God. God has two KING
doms in this world-a spiritual
kingdom and natural kingdom.
When man violates a law in the
natural world he suffers the full pen
atty for it. But man Is something |
more than subject of Gods natural
kingdom; he is subject OF his spirit
ual kingdom. And when he violates the
laws Of the spiritual kingdom he
must suffer for it, just the same. DIR.
McFerrin SPOKE of the vastness OF
eternity. He said that it was beyond
human conception. What is timer he
asked. Only parenthesis mark, SO to
speak. in eternity. Though time
might embrace millions OF ages, 1t only
involves short space in the limitless
realms of eternity. Ii our magma
tion could take wings and start out
to night and travel for unnum
bered ages, it could not reach any
side of eternity. A mans life Is
not limited to the present time; 1t
stretches beyond. and every particle OF
MS nature points to a judgement and a
hereafter
There are some who believe in the
doctrine of utter annihllation that
here is but one punishment, and when
t is melted out, mans soul dies with
lis body. They base their belief on
he words "destroy, and run and
lost in the Bible. But those WORDS
MY meant ruin so far as the divine
deal Of man, and the outcome of man,
vas concerned He referred TO the
,arables of the lost sheep and the :
woman who lost her coin. In both OF !,
hese instances the lost objects were
Dst to the owners, and unless they had
een found, they would have been :
,st forever, but because they were !:
)sf, did not mean that they ceased to
xist. Even though lost they still !
xisted, which was evident because
hey were found again. They were !
)st for the time being only. They G
yere lost for the purposes for which !,
hey were intended. God made man !
Or his own glory, to exist forever. and y =
} increase In his expanding powers.
a the beginning man lost his estate !,
ecause of sin. but Christ came to re-
Gem man from sin, and whoever Z
elieved on Him had the promise OF
,gaining the high estate which was q
ct In the beginning. Aud the i'm =
enitent, unless they repent and be- q
eve, lose that promise. The wages = =
Sill is death, and the gift OF God 10 -
fe eternal. Man is here represented :.
dead III SIN and trespasses. and the - p
virtual state in which he finds him :,
If here Is a premonitlon OF the :,
como state In which he will find - =,
mself In the next world. He re- -
rred to the vision of John on the Isle ~ ~
Patmos, when the dead were raised ., =.
}, and heaven and bell were opened. '"
i'd all whose names were not written
the Book OF Life were cast in the poJ
ke of fire. He referred to the fact Ga
ut all the books of mythology OF the VI
reeks and Romans taught the belief or
a punishment for the wicked and WI
ward tor the Just. the doctrine OF Sc
limitation ls contrary to the teach Sd
gs Of science. Science teaches that hi
thing is destroyed. What makes n lol
auf IL IT his bodyY No; its his WI
srnal soul. You tell me that You "a
q kill my body, and by that kill my Al
all Along this line comes the state ga
mt that man 10 naturally mortal. W
no theory makes life and mere exis-