The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-06-18


report his discourse from the
text at the Lord thy God am
Jealous God, visiting the iniQuities of
the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them
that hate me; and showing mercy unto
thousands of than that love me and
keep my commandments" (Deuteron-
omy v, 9. 100. A report of the dis
course follows:
No one of experience can question
] the fact that our text is corroborated
, by all our experiences in life. How
ever unjust some may claim it to be
that the children should inherit the
weaknesses resulting from parental
designations and violations of the d.
vine law. the fact remains that how
ever atheism may question the exist
ence of a God or inf1delity doubt the
inspiration of his word, no one can
question the two facts of this text, %,
! that sin and its penalty can be Inherit
ed and CD the fact that God is merci-
| full to such as renOunce sin and turn
to him and seek to walk according to
his direction. However these bless
| ings upon evil doors and their children
| and these blessings upon well doors
and their posterity may be termed
| does not alter the fact. because the Al
mighty is the one who made these
| laws Of heredity.
| Under the delusion handed down to
us from the dark ages"-that God
| had condemned to eternal torment all
the children of Adam because of his
sin-we are all inclined properly
enough to feel rebellious against any
such matter and to assert that from
the standpoint Of human reasoning
| it would be entirely unjust to torture
the posterity of Adam eternaliy for
his gression-"original sin" But
as we get the eyes Of our understand
| ing opened to see what is the real
penalty for sin. that it is death ex-
| tinction, and that our perfect parents,
fully informed respecting the divine
will were culpable. worthy of death,
and when we learn further that what
ever is enjoyed by Adams posterity
| in the way Of life, however disad-
much of divine leniency and mercy
and comes so much short OF being
the full penalty, death, extinction
then we begin to see that life under
any conditions and disadvantages is
still boon, better than extinction.
In Wrath Have Mercy, Lord.
Recognizing the wrath of God as
manifested in the death penalty (not
| in an eternity of tortured we can see
that the scriptures everywhere de-
clare that the wrath of God is resting
upon our race; that every member OF
| it is subject to this very penalty which
came upon Father Adam and has been
entailed upon all of his posterity.
The Almighty Creator did not wait
for us to cry out for his pity and
| compassion, but from the very be-
ginning, foreknowing our fall into sin,
he had the plan arranged for our re-
| demption and ultimate recovery from
| this condition of wrath, curse, death
We are informed that our Lord Jesus
was the Lamb of God slain from the
! foundation of the world-in the divine
| purpose and arrangement = though
only now being made manifest to the
church and shortly to the world. Thus
4 viewed there has been no injustice
practiced against our race in permit
ting the children to share with their
| father Adam in his penalty. Rather
they had esteemed 1t and do esteem 1t
better than the sentence itself, ana
| Furthermore inStI1e Lords providences
! the worlds present experiences in the
| fall and later on in the recovery from
! the fall in the hands of the great Re
| deemer during the miilennial age, is
to prove a lesson, a schooling, In the
! exceeding sinfulness of sin, which the
4 race as a whole will never forget and
| out of which many (now the church,
later on the world) will draw lessons
of wisdom and grace.
Looking still more deeply into the
divine plan as it Is revealed in the
| Lords word for those who are his
4 psalm XIV, 40, we find a particular
reason why it was not only advisable
but necessary that this law of heredity
1 should operate in our race, even
/ though it brought in its train ter
rible list of experiences to our race
1.-THE reason for this is based upon one
4 element of divine character-justice-
the very element which at one time We