The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-03-01


and count US worthy of his favor and
OF eternal life? Surely not. The Law
Of the Lord is perfect. Justice l.
Justice. Not the hearer of law, not
the well-wishing. receives the reward.
but the doer. the obedient! Here, then.
our hearts. our minds, we approve
Gods Law and desire to be obediert
to him, but find, as st. Paul says. that
many things we wish to do we fail
to accomplish; and many of the things
we do not wish to do we cannot avoid.
1--WE cannot do the things that we
would" We approve the excellent de-
mands of Gods Law. We disapprove
the imperfections of our own flesh.
Like st. Paul, we cry out. 20 wretch
ed man that l ami who shall deliver
me from this dead body?-this body
that is imperfect through inherited
sin and weaknesses. With our minds
we serve Gods Law and approve it,;
but with our bodies we come short
What is our hope? How shall we be
delivered? Can we prevail upon God
to change the reasonable requirement
of our text so that it shall read, What
doth God require of me but to will
justly and do imperfectly? We can
not hope for such a change in the
Divine Law. Are we then hopeless as
respects Divine approval and eternal
life? (Romans vii, 17-24)
The Gift of God Is Eternal Life.
In our moment Of perplexity we
hear Gods message speaking peace
through Jesus Christ our Lord" The
message of peace is that what we
could not do for ourselves in the way
of lifting ourselves up to Divine ap-
prevail God has provided shall be done
for us through our Lord Jesus Christ
Our failure to keep the Law marks us
as unworthy of eternal life. and
worthy of the wages of sin-not eter-
nal torment. but death. God in mercy
concluded to offer us eternal life as
0ift-beeause of our not actually merit
ing 1t under his legal requirements
Thus we read. THE wages of sin is
death: but the gift Of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our LORD
Romans vi. 23l What we could not
obtain legally under the Divine re-
quirements God proffers to us as a
gift. But the gift is conditional one
as expressed in the words, through
Jesus Christ our Lord" Only those
who accept Jesus Christ as 1.-The Way,
the Truth. and the Life" may have
Gods gift of eternal life. Hence 1t
will be seen that it is wholly mistake
to suppose that the heather at home
or abroad can get eternal life, the gift
of God, in ignorance of Christ. All the
Scriptures confirm this and declare not
only that we cannot save ourselves by
obedience to the terms of Gods Law,
but that there is none other name I'M
der heaven given among men, whereby
we must be sayed"-through faith in
his name-through faith in his blood
(Acts iv. 12).
But how is this done justly? and,
why does God so limit his gift Of eter-
nal life?
Gods Law represents himself and
cannot change. He cannot require less
than perfection. To do so would be to
fill the Universe to all eternity with
depraved and imperfect beings. God
has higher plan than this and de-
elares, "As the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways" isaiah ", 81. He explains
that his ultimate purpose is that there
shall be no imperfect creature in all
his Universe. All whose hearts are
loyal to him and the principles of his
government shall be perfected, and all
others shall be destroyed In the Second
Death. Thus. eventually, every knee
shall bow and every tongue confess to
the glory of God. Then every creature
which Is in heaven, and on the earth,
and under the earth. shall be heard
saying. Blessing. and honor and glory
and power be unto him that stitch
upon the throne. and unto the Lamb
forever Revelation V. 49,.
You Are Bought With a Price.
Possibly God could have arranged
some other way Of dealing with sin
and sinners which would not have re-
quired the death of Jesus as the Ran
som price. the purchase price, the re-
demption price for sinners. But the
fact that this method was adopted by
our great Creator assures us that no
other method would have been so
wise. so just. so beneficial. No other
method would have so fully demon
strated Gods Wisdom, Justice, Love
and Power
In brief, then, Gods arrangement is
that all of his human creatures shall
have opportunity of full return to har-
mony with himself. provided they wish
to do so. provided their hearts. their
wills, are fully responsive to the letter
and spirit of his Law-the require
ments set forth in our text. God has
provided in Jesus for the satisfaction
Of Divine Justice as respects all Of the
condemned race who desire to return
to bis favor.
We agree with all the orthodox
creeds of Christendom that only re-
pentance from sin and an endeavor to
put 1t away from our thoughts and
words and deeds, combined with faith
in the Redeemer's sacrifice and a full
conservation of heart and life to do
the Fathers withholding short OF
this attainment will gain the salvation
which God is now holding out to man.
kind. To such the Apostle explains that
the righteousness, the full demands OF
the Law of God, his full requirement.
lis fulfilled in us who are walking not
after the flesh. but after the Spirit
Romans viii, A. From the moment of
our conservation and begetting of the
holy Spirit God deals with this class
as with sons. He trains them in the
School of Christ. disciplining, chasten-
ing, proving them, testing the sincerity
Of their conservation Vows and the
loyalty of their hearts. To those who
prove faithful the great reward is
promised-glory, honor, immortality,
joint-heirship with the Lord Jesus
Christ in his Millennial Kingdom and
its work of blessing all the families OF
the earth Galatians iii, %; Revelation
ILL., 21l
Our disagreement with all "orthodoz
creeds" is In respect to what shall be
done with the insanity those
who do not present themselves to Goo
and who are not begotten again Of
the holy Spirit. Our creeds of tht
dark ages misrepresented the teach
ings of the Bible in respect to these
and told us that they are all to be con
signed for hundreds or thousands o.
years to Purgatory or for all eternity
in hell torment Not such is the teach