Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-08-13
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL.
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

jamestown. N. Y, August 7.--Pastor
Russell Of the Brooklyn Tabernacle
today addressed very large meeting
OF Bible Students in Celoron Audi
torium. The occasion was General
Convention of Bible Students. The
audience was estimated at nearly
5000. Taking for his text the above
words, the speaker said:
The Bible, to be understood, must
be viewed from its own standpoint
This, as Bible students, we are learn
ing more and more particularly every
day. In the past we have read our
Bibles "up-side-down." Many read as
a duty; others as a sort of charm that
would placate Divine Justice and
bring US Divine favor. Now we are
learning to read the Bible in com
nonsense way, and to use our reason
ing faculties IN connection with its
statements and prophecies. AS a con-
sequence, while others are falling from
the faith-some into infidelity styled
Higher Criticism and Evolution; 9TH
ers into fanciful wrestings Of the
Word of God-we are coming to appre
ciate the Bible as the most safe and
sane Book in the world. Correspond
ingly our faith in God increases-faith
In his Wisdom. Justice, Love and Pow
er to accomplish all the good purposes
which he purposed in himself before
the creation Of our race. Correspond
ingly. too. we are coming to appreciate
more than ever the value of the great
Redeemer and of the great sacrifice
for sin which he accomplished at Cal
vary. We are coming TO see the truth
Of what we once considered poetic
license when we sang,
"There's a Wilderness in Gods mercy
Like the Wilderness Of the sea"
We are seeing more clearly as the
days go by the meaning Of the Scrip
ture which declares that eventually
the Redeemer shall see Of the travail
of his soul and be satisfied" We per
ceive now that the little handful of
saints walking in the Masters foot
steps from Pentecost to his Second
Advent and sharing in the First Res
direction" is not the end of Divine
Love for our race, but merely its be-
RinniDg-"A hrst-fruits unto God of
his creatures" Games l. 1S. We are
now seeing that according to the Di-
vine purpose, the calling and election
of the Church TO the spirit nature,
to the divine nature. must be COM
pleted before the second step In the
great Divine Plan Of Salvation begins
tho recovery of the world from sin
and death conditions. to human per-
fection aud Paradise restored,
a "Let Dead Bury Their Dead"
No Bible topic requires more careful
discrimination in its study than does
the subject of death. This is mainly
because of the general confusion of
mind which came upon Chrlstendom
during the long centuries of the
Church's comparative darkness, when
Bibles the Lamp Of God upon the
Christians path We're scarce, and
when few could read the truths of
priceless value, that were chained TO
lecterns. In consequence Of this CON
fusion we hear intelligent people talk |
ignorantly and stupidity respecting |
death. They make confusion worse |
cOnfounded by telling us of Adams
spiritual death and discussing nat |
ural" death and "the death that never
dies" etc, etc.
To get the Bible view of death we |
need to brush away such foolish bah
blings and confne ourselves to Bible |
language and the rational thought con
nected Herewith For instance, ac-
cording to the Bible, there is no "nat-
ural death"-it is not natural for man |
to die. II Is according TO the Bible ar |
and mans nature that he |
should live-live eternally, as do the
angels, If obedient to the Divine com
mands. Death, therefore, is the un-
natural thing. DO we think OF angels
as dying, and of heaven as filled with |
Have they doctors and |
undertakers there2 Surely not! Yet 1t
would be just as proper 20 speak OF
natural death amongst the angels as in
respect TO men.
The term spiritual death so frequent
ly used respecting Adam and his fall
Is wholly unscrlptural. No such ex-
preston is found In the Bible; neither
such thought. Adam could not die
a spiritual death, because he was not
\ spirit being. He was an earthly be-
lng-not an angel, but man AS the
Scriptures declare of Adam, "Thou
madest him little lower than the an
gels. and crownest him with glory and
honor. and didst set him over the works
OF thy hands; cover the beasts OF
the field. the FISH Of the sea and the
fowl Of the air" (Hebrews Il. Z; Psalm
via. 8. o..
II is, therefore, absurd for us 70
continue longer TO speak Of Adam dy.
Ing a spiritual death, while admit
ting that he was not spirit being,
Il was simply the man Adam that
died His death. however, did include
The gradual processes OF decay. and
affected not ouly his bones and mus
cles. hut also his bralns-his every
mental and moral quality, The sen
tence. Dying thou shalt die took
hold OF him as an entirety; hence
we find. as the Scriptures declare,
that there n none righteous: no.
not one"-none mentally, morally OF
nhvgically right All have ginned