Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-11-02
NJ ~ ,PLYMOUTH-BETHE 81
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Is called upon to develop the fruits and graces
Of the holy spirit and is assured. AZ st. Peter
declares, 'lf ye do these these things, ye shall
never fall For entrance shall be min
istered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. y
IL. Peter I'll.
But we hold that it is not only unscriptural,
but irrational, to believe that call minkind eX-
in purgatory eternity OF torture IN a
worse and hopeless place. Let us take the
scrlptural proposition, the only consistent one,
the one which agrees with our five senses anu
with the Bible-that the dead are dead anu
that resurrection from death is what they neeo
and what Lords death will secure Tor eeyry
member of our raice. Let us accept TINS STATE
ment of the Bible: BLESSED and holy Is ne
that hath part in the first resurrectiOh' on
such the second death hath no power, put tney
shall be priests Of God and of Christ, ana snsli
reign with him thousand years. (heV' zV:o'J
Let us accept the scriptural explanation OF tnal
thousand years, that millennial reign OF Messiah
that II will be a time of blessing, OF upilit-
ing mankind, and that therein the elect saints
of this age Will be privileged to cooperate
with their glorlfied Reedemer in bringing ABOUT
fhe uplift, the resurrection, the restitution OF
all who will then prove willing and obedient.
The term saints not a sectarian one. 1t oc
ours one hundred times in the Bible most
" IN the plural form, saints Our text
speaks Of a sanity, sanctified class, ana de-
clares our Redeemer to be one OF these-lhelr
Head their Lord. He declares that all the
sanctified of this gospel age are One-oI one
spirit and figuratvely OF one body. As for IN
stance. the house Of lords is one body under
a chairman. and the house OF commons Is an
other body. The United Sta,es senate is an
other; and the house Of representatives Is an
other. SO the church is the body of Christ
over which He is the Head, the Presiding or
ficer end Member. But the point specially 10 De
noticed is that all who Will belong ultimately
to this church class which the Lord is now call
ing and drawing from amongst men Will every
one Of them be saints, every one of them be
sanctified. The word "sanctified" signifies tC
be set apart to holy usage or services, as dis
tinct and separate from any earthly AMBITION
calling business. Nevertheless these sane
titled not merely the clergy or those
without earthly responsibilities. While oul
Heavenly Fatrer is great King, the King OF
the Universe, He nevertheless has made a plan
which enables even the humblest Of His Great
ures to approach Him through the merit OF
the blood OF Jesus, and by faith and obedience
to the extent of his ability in sacrifice, to
become a 1oint-heir with his Redemer in the
heavenly kingdom. Thus the present call IL
confined to a call 10 specification As st. Paul
, declares, This is the will of God concerning
you), your sanctificatiOn.''-1 Thess. 4:3.
The word saint" signifies holy one ''sanc
/ titled one" "set apart" or, taken as whole
IT signifies one set apart to holy usages, serv
these are a comparatively small number at the
present time: as the scriptures declare "a
little flock" and again, mot many and
again "fcw there be that find it,
, When we say that God is now selecting spe-
clal class to be jolnt-heirs with Christ and
that be has determined that this special class
us not be misunderstood TO mean by this that
in the next age God will accept to his favor the
unsanctioned. the wicked. The conditions dur
ing the Millenlal Age will be much easier foI
mankind than are present conditions or the
church, the elect. the saints. Now we must
walk by faith; then will walk by sight, be
cause Satan and sin and darkness will have
passed away, and the light Of truth will flood
and cover the whole earth, that as th5
| prophet says They shall teach no more every
man his neighbor. saying, know the Lord. fol
| they shall all know me, from the least or them
unto the greatest Of them, saith the Lord.
| der 31:34D The rewards for obedience to the
divine requirements in the Millennium will bC
the earthly rewards. eternal life the earthly
or restitution plane. The reward prOffered q
those who now walk the narrow way by self
sacrifice is a spiritual one. glory honor anC
] Immortality the spirit plane, like unto thu
holy angels-and higher than this-like unit
: our Lord Jesus In his glorifled state; as seer
! by the Apostle, Shining above the brightness
\ of the sun at monday ACTS 26:13.)
we must guard also against the thought thai
the total number OF Gods elect would be a
small a number the calendar Of the saints
/ recothized by our Christian friends might imply
We hold that none is able to Judge definitely
on this subject except the Master. He ha
given us general limitations Of the lines O
| his decision. but he has not permitted us 4
, determine the matter. saying, Judge nothin,
before the time We are to content ourselves
/ therefore with the thought that 'the Lor,
| knoweth them that are is" and that he will
accept none that in any degree are disloya
in heart and that he will overlook and neglec
, none who nre OF the proper attitude Of heart
/ We understand. too that our Lord is no res
! hector Of UNCONVENTIONAL lines but that. fl
every sect, he who loves God, and who accept
the merit Of Christ by faitn, and who present
his body living sacrifice daily unto dealt
in the Lords servce-an such are his disciple
and. stated I'm text. He will not b
ashamed to call them brethren" But all o
this be 1t noted. is based not upon their earth
| " church relationship but upon their sancti
| fication Of heart. their relationship to thei
Redeemer and Head, Jesus. Not only may thes