The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-25

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study are sprnging up all over the world,
These have recently adopted the name OF
"lnterna tional Bible Students associa-
tion." God is blessing them, not only
with the opening of their own eyes more
ana more widely, but also in using them
them to bring others out OF darkness
into his marvellous light IL Peter H.. 81
The Scriptures speak OF a famine,
not for bread nor for water. but for hear
ing OF the word OF the Lord This fam
tian people hungry and thirsty for the
bread OF life and tho water OF life. but
many OF the worldly are feeling long
ing, for something better than the husks
which they have. We do not know that
all church members. nor all OF any one
church membership, are thus hungerine
churches of all dcnominations there is a
hungry class which cannot be satisfied
10 dishonesty mIsrepresent itself as In
harmony with the creeds. These bcwil-
dered sheep are. OF late years finding the
green pastures and still waters OF divine
truth and grace-near to thcm-in the
word OF God-hidden under the rubbish OF
ignorance and superstition. nistranslation
and miSlnterpretation.
| But as for the masses OF all denom-
nations. alas. they arc falling into un-
belief, The popular form of infidellty
known as higher criticism has already
ministry and of the most intelligent PAL I
OF the laity. The only hope for any OF
these is in leaving the chaff and huslts
of medieval misinterpretations uf God s
word and in finding its true meaning. IN
! which is refreshment, strength and new
life.
"The Wages of Sin Is Death
| However we read our Bibles in the
past. we read into them from the crecGs
of a darker time the miscnevous error
that when the Bible declares Il death
penalty for sin il really means the re-
verse of this-life-eternal life IN eter-
nal torture. Who had the right TO
twist the inspired words in such a dew
ilish fashion? Who had the right to
add TO the word OF God and to make
void its true teaching in this manner?
Hear the words of the apostle, The
wages of sin is death; but the gift or
God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ. our Lord" tRomans vi, 23l What
statement could he more simple? Thc
wicked will not he granted life at ali.
either In pleasure or In pain. Iney are
under sentence Of death-destruction
Eternal life is a gift. And 1t viii be
given only to those to whom ii will he
a blcsSnG-to those who Will accept II
through Jesus Christ. our Lord.
Let us turn TO Genesis and note the
statements made 10 our first parents re-
spccting sin and its penalty. Let us note
that, without the twistings OF theology,
we should have no difficulty In under
first parents evidently had no difficulty.
The sentence upon Father Adam for dis.
obedience was. Dying. thou shalt die;
Dust thou art. and unto dust shalt thou
return Cursed Is the ground for thy
sake" 'Thorns and thistles shall it bring
forth unto thee until thou return unto
the ground from which thou vast taken
Genesis ILL.,, ., 8. 1919. 2D.
Thus we see that the penalty Tor sin
upon Adam and his race was that they
should return to the dust. AS we read
ton psalm xc,. 81. And this penalty
Is sufficiently awful when. we think OF
what it means TO die. TO lose mental
moral and physical perfection and grad
ually go into the tomb-into the Bible
hell (sheol. throughout the Old Testa-
menD, And this sheol, the grave. the
and bad. rich and poor. holy and un-
holy, was the only hell known among
any OF the people of God for the more
than four thousand years represented by
Then came the New Testament times
and the teachings OF Jesus and the apos-
| ties TO the same effect. In the New
Testament the Greek word hadcs. repre-
! scnting the tomb. the death state, takes
the place OF the Old Testament sheol in
every passage translated from the Old
! Testament into the New Testament
II was nearly three hundred years after
Jesus ard The apostles after the writing
o of the New Testament, before the doc
( trine Of purgatory was invented. And
| for this reason neither the word purea-
/ tory the purgatory thought is
pressed in the Scriptures. But Bibles
were few. and the people could not have
read them even If they had possessed
them: hence for lopg centuries the teach
I ines of tho clergy We're accepted without
| Bible proofs. and the doctrine OF purga-
/ tory spread all over Christendom, All OF
our forcfathcIs believed in II. 1t became
| tho teaching OF Christians everywhere
/ that the more handful of saints. instead
of dying when they seemed to die, went
! TO heaven and that the great mass OF
! humanity, instead Of dying when they
seemed to die, went in some mysterious
! manner to a mysterious place called
/ purgatory, OF which nobody knew any
I Thing except wha. they were taught. The
/ teaching is that practically all OF human
/ ity go 10 DurGatory. there TO be roasted
/ and otherwise tortured for centuries
ultimately to gain release from the tor
! turc. WHOM fitted for heaven, Upon this
! doctrine in turn sprung the doctrine Of
! saving ''masscs for the dead who were
| believed not To he dead but intensely
alive. The fear Of purgaory drew the
/ people very close to the priests as the
supposed counsclors Of the Almighty and
! the mass money drew tho priests very
close 10 the people. They were all hon
/ cSl1y intentioncd but all deceived by the
great decever-Satan.
A Bad Matter Made Worse.
J BY and by priest. "A Catholic theo-
|
leccs. by name Martin Luther. accident
ally ran across a copy OF the New Tcsta-
ment in the Latin language. Being an
/ educated man, he was able TO read il :
| Tor lhorc WAS not one copy III the Ger
! man language anywhere. Luther tells
] us OF his perplcXity IN not finding purga-
| Tory in the New Testament. He tried
! io interest the pope in Bible study. but
/ tailed. and instead was branded "A hcrctc
/ lie protested. and others protested, hence
/ came The name ProteStants.
| These Protcsiauis were undoubtedly
as sincere before their protest as they
were afterward; hence their protest was
! against the very doctrines which once
/ they had proclaimed as the truth. Their
| minds were fun of the thought thai Il
dead person is not dead but more alive
| than before nc died, and that some oC
| these at death went 10 heaven while the
great majority went to pursatory. They
did not see the teaching of thc Bible
that "thG wages OF sin Is death''-that
all so into death. good and bad and that