The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-10-12

I
L would much rather be called cruel
for being kind. than be called kind
for being cruel. The cruelest man
on earth Is the man who believes the
stern things we are told in the Word
OF God about the future penalties of
sin, but keeps back from declaring
them because they are unpopular.
No Speculation.
| 81 shall not give you tonight my
own speculations about the future
destiny of the impenitent. My specu-
| lations would be worth as much as
those of other men. and no more.
That is they would be worth practic-
ally nothing at all. Mans specula-
tons on such a subject are absolute
| " valueless. God knows; we don't
but God has been pleased TO tell us
much of what He knows about ii. Let
us listen to Him. One ounce OF Gods
revelation about the future is worth
a hundred tons of mans speculation.
One hears on every side in these
days. 4 think so and so about the
future life What difference does II
make what you think? The question
is What does God say?
''You will find my text tonight in
Matt v 2s Revised Version): And
: IL the right eve causeth thee 10
stumble. pluck II out, and cast II
! from thee. for it IS profitable for thee
that one of thy members should per
ish, and not the whole body be cast
into hell You viii notice I take the
Revised Version I take II from the
Sermon on the Mount for two reasons
first OF all because IL exactly suits
my purpose: second. because a great
many men say in our day that though
they do not believe in the whole
Bible. they do believe in the Sermon
on the Mount. Well, l have taken
my text from that part of the Bible
THAT you all say you believe. And
lyiu will notice / have taken IL from
the Revised Version. / have done
that for two reasons. First of all.
because the Revised Version IL in this
instance a more accurate translation
than the Authorized version; and
second. because great many men
SAY that the Revised Version has
done away with hell Well. there
seems 70 be plenty OF Il left in the
text. But. you say. that text Is high
n Hrurzsive. Very well, let Il go at
'thIL i AZ least means this much,
Ithut almost anything = better than
r1lnr 10 hslL Al that is my chief
IlIrupnHitiun to1iE1l Amos anything
b. bssrier ths1 roi1g 70 he'll -
TIE CerSAinfy Of It.
Whit hare % say will come
under i've hszds First, the GER
tllrrF q hsll. second. the character
@ he'll and third. how TO escape
hsl
II g. absolutely certain that there
les he'll There are people in this
city who wiu tell you that all the
scholarly ministers and clergymen
ave given up belief in the orthodox
hfM That simply is not so. That
ki1d Of argument is a favorite argu-
uent With men who know that they
have a weak case. and try TO bolster
IuD a weak case by strong assertion.
Il is true beyond a doubt that some
sc holarly ministers have given up
belief in the orthodox hell, but they
never gave It up for reasons Of
IGreek or New Testament scholar
lshlp. They gave 1t up for purely
detrimental and speculative reasons.
No man can so TO the New Testa-
ment 70 find out what it really
teaches, and not to see how he can
twist it into conformity with the
speculations which he wishes TO be-
lieye. and not find hell in the New
Testament.
But suppose It we're true. Sup
pose that every scholarly minister
had given up belief in the orthodox
hell II would not prove anything;
for everybody that is familia- with
1.-THE history Of the world and the
history OF the church knows that
time and time again the scholars
have all given up belief in doctrines
that after all in the final outcome
proved to be true.
There we're no scholars in Noah
lday except Noah that believed there
would be food. but the food came
lust the same.
There were no scholars In Lots
day except Lot that believed that
God would destroy Sodom and Co
morrah, but He did.
Jeremiah and one friend were
the only leading men in all Jeru-
lsalem that believed what jeremiah
taught about the coming destruc-
ton of Jerusalem under Nebuchad-
nezzar, but history, outside the
Bible, as well as history inside the
bible, tells us that it came true to
the very letter, though there was
not scholar believed IL.
Every leading school of theologl-
cal thought in the days of Jesus
Christ, the Pharisees, the Sadducees,
the Herodians, and the Eessenes,
every one OF the four scoffed at Jesus
Christ's prediction about the coming
judgment of God upon Jerusalem,
but secular history tells us that in
spite of the dissent of all the scholars
LII came trua inst as Jesus Christ