The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-04-30

ext, r or Iod so loved the world, !:
that he gave his only begotten Son. that |!
whosoever believeth in him should |;
not perish, but have everlasting life" !:
Oohn iii, l6). +;
1t s'.ai::c be understood by all that
Gods Love for mankind, as well as
Divine Justice and Wisdom, prepared
mans penalty-"The wages of sin is
death" Romans vi. 23). 1t is in full
harmony with this that we know
when the Lord drove our first parents
out of the Garden of Eden and placed
the cherubim with flaming sword to
prevent their return thither. 1t was a
merciful provision, because had they
continued to have access to the trees
of life and thus to continued existence.
it would have meant everlasting life
for sinners. And to give sinners eter-
nal life and to perpetuate condition
of sin. rebellion, anarchy. In the uni
verse to all eternity would have been
diScreditable to the Divine Character
to his creatures. Gods determination,
therefore, from the very beginning
was that he would have clean uni
verse. and hence the law. 1.-THE soul
that sinneth it shall die''-a law which
ultimately must prevail as respects the
fallen angels and Satan. as we'll as in
respect to mankind.
Thus we have the assurance that ul-
timately nothing shall mar the har-
mony of the universe. What the Scrip
lures point out respecting the future
will prove true "And every creature
which is in heaven. and on the earth,
and such as are in the sea, and all that
are in them, heard l saying, Blessing,
and honor, and glory, and power, be
unto him that stitch upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever"
Revelation V, 49,. Thus the time will
come when sin and all who love sin
will be destroyed and when, as con-
sequence. the Scriptures assure us,
There shall be no more death. neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain; for the former
things are passed away. And he that
sat upon the throne said, Behold, l make
all things new" Revelation xxi, 4, 81.
"That He Gave His Son."
Gods love for sinners, as we have
seen, was so great that he toOuld not
dIlOW them to hare everlasting life. be-
cause that would mean to them ever
lasting imperfection and sorrow, etc.
But our text tells us of still further
step that the Lord took-and hence
shows still further love.
The Scriptures inform us that 1t was
in accord with the Fathers arrange
ment and the giving of his Son that he
made to him the proposition to become
mans Redeemer and uplifter and the
Head of the Church. to receive glory,
honor and Immortality. 1t was in
view of this proposition as whole
that we read of our Lord that he, ''For
the joy that was set before him, en-
dured the cross, despising the shame.
and is set down at the right hand of
God" Hebrews xxi. .. Again, "Who
gave himself a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time" Il Timothy ii,
g.. He left the heavenly glory and
took upon him the human nature and,
as the man Christ Jesus, gave himself
as the Ransom for all.
whatsoever BeIieveth In Him.
Gods love is not only large and
broad. but it is also deep and wide. In
blessing mankind he proposes the lar
gest blessing possible in the wisest man.
ner He will not justify the heather
in their ignorance nor justify willful
rebels. He limits his favor by two
conditions:
First-The blessing through his Son
shall go only to those who intelligently
know of 1t and by faith accept it.
Second.-It shall be available only to
those who desire to come into har-
mony with Divine laws as obedient
children.
This presents difficulty to our
minds until we come to understand
what the Scriptures call the Divine
Plan of the Ages. Until we under
stand that Plan, we are inclined to
find fault with the Divine arrangement
and with ourselves and with fellow
Christians and generally to be uncom-
Portable and disappointed in proportion
to the largeness of our hearts and our
interests in Gods character and in
humanity. We find fault with our
selves and others that the world has
not long ago been evangelical and
made acquainted with God. We fault
God that he is allowing the heather to
go down into death at the rate of nine
ty thousand per day, with no knowl-
edge Of the "only name under heaven