The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-07-15
PEOPLES
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL.
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

Brooklyn Tabernacle. New York,
preached today from the above text
He said in part
In order TO use telescope to adj
vantage we need first to obtain a
proper focus on the object to be ex.
amined And so it is with the Divine
Plan and Purpose. Looking at it with
the eye of faith through the Telescope
of Gods Word. adjustment of the To-
Gus is necessary. This focusing of the
have very generally overlooked. As
result the Divine Plan has a blurred
and indistinct appearance TO our sight.
The various word-pictures. symbols.
types. allegories and tplain statements
of the Scriptures without this focusing
together. make n very unsatisfactory
and nondescript matter of the Gospel
of Christ. one that is unsatisfactory to
everybody. one that the learned of our
day have repudiated entirely-an am
biguous collation. that is a source of
Grated people. The difficulty is that
the Telescope was tempered with dur
ing the dark ages and the proper TO-
Gus was lost. Since then Christian
people have feared to readjust it, They
have gloried in the fact that they never
changed the focus. However. they
have overlooked the fact that some one
else did change it for them long ago
and that the unsatisfactory view we
have gotten is the result of this and
is entirely out of accord with the clear
and beautiful vision of Gods Grace
and Truth and Mercy and Love and
Wisdom and Power as seen by the
Apostles in the early Church.
international Bible Students Assoeia-
Some of us. dear friends instead of
throwing away the Telescope of the
Word of God. are taking pleasure in
cleaning the lenses of the dust of
the dark ages and adjusting the focus
by careful endeavor to speak where
the Word of God speaks and to be
silent where it is silent, and to bring.
as the Apostle suggests. our every
thought into captivity TO the will of
God in Christ as outlined in the Bible.
The result, we all can testify. is not
only comforting. but happifying: not
only eniigbteDing, but refreshing.
Truly. as the Apostle suggests. we
have come To Times of Refreshing
from the presence of the Lord" And
all this. we perceive. is exactly what
the Scriptures foretold. namely, that
falling away and darkening of the IN
Outstanding would follow the death Of
the Apostles bnt that in the end of
the age he dark neSS wOuld begin to
scatter before the Oncoming light OF
the Sun of righteousness in the morn
ing of the New Dispensatiop of Mes
siah's reign.
Ia accord with all this. note the fact
that for centuries we have been over
looking certain Scriptures while ac-
cepting others. We accepted the ApOs-
ties statement in our text respecting
the reconciliation OF the Church. but
we overlooked entirely other Scriptures
which speak of still different recon
ciliation-"God through Christ recon
Cling the world unto himself" Gil Co
rinthianS V. 19). We should have noted
the difference between the Church and
the world in this and many other pas
sages of Scripture, We should have
remembered the Lords words. "Ye are
not of the world even as am not of
the world" We should have seen that
the salvation and reconciling of the
Church is one thing and the salvation
and reconciling of the world is quite
another thing: that these are two diff
ferent salvations-the first to heaven
". spiritual conditions and ioint-heir-
ship with Christ in his Kingdom; the
other to an earthly Inheritance. 70
earthly perfection and life everlasting
and an Eden that is to be worldwide
Paradise restored. Gods foOtstool
made glorious.
Gods Purposes to Be Accomplished.
Nevertheless nothing has been lost.
No feature of the Divine Plan has
been thwarted. for these two saliva
tons do not progress at the same time
During this Gospel Age none are
saved, nor DESTROYS TO be saved except
those drawn of the Father" called
of God" These have been privileged
20 approach God through the Son.
whose name is ''the only name given
under heaven or amongst men whereby
we must be saved (Acts iv, 20 Only
those who take up their cross and fol
low the Lamb through evil report and
good report. faithful unto death. can
now be spirit-begotten; in the resur-
rection. these will be spirit thorn. mem
bers of the Bride of Christ, the Lambs
Wife and ioint-heir with him in his
Kingdom 1t does not matter TO the
remainder of mankind that they have
been allowed to remain in ignorance
of the great fact that God is about to
pour out upon humanity great bless
ing: about to pour out his holy Spirit
upon all classes; about to establish the
Kingdom of his dear Son for which we
pray. Thy Kingdom come:" about to
cause the knowledge of the Lord to Gil
the whole earth: about to give TO every
son and daughter of Adam one full.
fair. righteous opportunity to come to
a knowledge of the Truth that they
may be saved.
If tba EnouIodoo of Cod,s yraco has