The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1910-05-12

/ DlDle lS tuOIbuSuly uuItlldDle. we uTe
living now In time of great falling
away from the faith; few intelligent
people any longer believe in the Bible.
Our colleges and universities and, sad
to say, our theological seminaries-are
busy turning out unbelievers-intdels
Nor are these people wicked or lmmor-
al in their unbelief: they are as we'll
meaning as ever. but have lost their
way. They reject the Bible because
they believe II to he the foundation of
the various Inconsistencies In their
creeds; they are stumbling for lack of
knowledge: they cannot believe that
mans hereafter is one of centuries OF
suffering, or OF eternal suffering.
Seeking the Old Paths.
The Lord. through the Prophet Jere-
miah. tells his people TO Inquire for
the old paths" and this Is the appro-
pirate lesson for each of us. We do,
indeed, need to discard the crepds of
the past. not because they contain
nothing OF truth. hut because error
commingles In them to such degree
as to make them perversiuns Of truth
as n whole. We need to take off the
creedal spectacles with which we have
hitherto been studying Gods Word.
and come to the Bible afresh. to hear
its message. Thus coming. many of
us have been surprised as we have
found its purity and consistency aud
harmony with itself. We have already
/ Al n Al.
death sentence. aud the Blble presen.
tation that Christ died for our rrdemp
ton. and the Bible assurance that as
consequence. in due time" "thp
knowledge of the glory Of tiud shall
ill the whole earth" We have also
the Bible assurance that not merely
the living will profit by III" provision
OF Gods grace. but that "all that ARE
In their graves shall come forth" to
share In and to be- blessed by the fn-
vorabe conditions which God viii u,
and by lnuugurate
The Bible declares that the penalty
for sin is being experienced by hu-
manlty at the present time--the death
penalty-and that the redemption price
of Christ's death Is sufficient for the
sins OF the whole world. II declares
that on account of this redemption.
ultimately the resurrection of the dead
shall take place-"all that are in their
| graves shall hear the voice OF the-Son
Of Man aud come forth" 1t Is he.
cause OF the Divine intention that
there shall be resurrection of the
dead that the Bible everywhere. both
in the Old and New Testamcnts. speaks
of those who have died. both good and
bad. as being asleep" and the prom
ise is that They that sleep In the
dust of the earth shall awake"
Nor will they come forth to similar
conditions of sorrow that now sur
round us all. On the contrary, the
First Resurrection is to he composed
Of the holy. the sanity. and they are
to be associated with their Rcdeemer
as his Bride and Consort. to assist I'm
delivering and restoring mankind.
Later the imperfect. who have not had
their full trial. the great mass Of man.
kind, will be brought forth. that they
may learn the ways of Righteousness.
that they may learn to know God, and
Jesus Christ, and in due time be up
lifted out of the conditions OF sin and
death. Then will come the time men,
toned In our text. The Hereafter for
the world. How joyful is the mes
sage, There shall be no more death.
neither sorrow nor crying. nor dying;
for the former things have passed
away" All, how different is Gods
proposition Of a general uplift of the
worthy and their assistance back to
perfection-to all that was lost In
Adam. How different is this from the
doctrines of demons" which have
perplexed us, which have divided
the Church of Christ into numberless
sects and parties, and which have al
most driven us from Christ and the
Bible.
Life, Not Immortality.
Thus we see that Gods provision In
Christ for mankind is that each indi-
vidual member of our race may yet, II
he will, attain to everlasting life
through the merit of Christ's sacrifice,
and through the operation OF his King
dom. Each may attain to all that was
lost in Adam and redeemed at Cal
vary; namely, human perfection and
Edenic blessedness. But additionally,
note the blessings which God has pro-
vided for the Church-a spiritual bless