The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-08-08
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL,
Pastor Brooklyn
/ Tabernacle.

Russell of the Brooklyn Tabernacle
today addressed very large meeting
OF Bible Students in Celoron Audi
torium. The occasion was a 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.
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 sort of charm that
would placate Divine Justice and
bring us Divine favor Now we are
learning to read the Bible In a 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 lnfdelity 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-falth
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
80
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 I'm 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-
ginning-"A 6rst-fruits unto God Of
his creatures" Games /. lS). 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
the recovery OF the world from sin
and death conditions. to human per-
fection and Paradise restored.
LET Dead Bury Their Dead"
No Bible topic requires more careful
discrimination IN It's study than does
the subject of death. This Is mainly
because OF the general confusion Of
mind which came upon Christendom
during the long centuries of the
Churchs comparative darkness, when
Bibles (the Lamp of God upon the
Christians path were 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 stupidly respecting
death. They make confusion worse
confounded by telling us Of Adams
spiritual death and discussing mat
ural death and "the death that never
dies" etc. etc.
To get the Bible view Of death we
need to brush away such foolish bab
blings and confine ourselves to Bible
language and the rational thought con
nected Herewith. For instance, ac
cording to the Bible, there is no mat
ural death"-it is not natural for mar
to die. 1t Is according to the Bible ar
rangement and mans nature that b,
should live--live eternally, as do thu
angels, IL obedlent to the Divine com
mands. Death, therefore, is the un
natural thing! Do we think Of angels
as dying, and of heaven as filled will
cemeteries? Have they doctors anC
undertakers there? Surely not! Yet /
would be just as proper to speak o
natural death amongst the angels as II
respect to men.
The term spiritual death so frequent
ly used respecting Adam and his fal
Is wholly unscriptural. No such ex
preston is found in the Bible; neithe
such a thought. Adam could not di
a spiritual death. because he was no
spirit being. He was an earthly be
ing-not an angel, but man. AS tn
Scriptures declare of Adam, "Tho
madest him little lower than the al
gels; and crownest him with glory an
honor. and didst set him over the work
Of thy hands; "over the beasts O
the field, the fish of the sea and th
fowl Of the air" (Hebrews II, 7; PsalI
viii. o. o..
II is. therefore. absurd for us :
continue longer to speak of Adam dy
Ing a spiritual death, while admit
eing that he was not spirit being
1t was simply the man Adam tina
died. His death, however, did includ
the gradual processes of decay, an,
affected not only his bones and mus
cles, but also his brains-his ever
mental and moral quality The ser
tence. f"Dying. thou shalt die" too
hold of him as an entirety; henc
we find, as the Scriptures declar
that there is none righteous; N
not one"-none mentally, morally {
physically right All have slnne'
All come short OF the glory
God In which Adam was created