The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1911-01-12
Blood That Makefh an |
Afcnement for
the Soul |
gy PASTOR RUSSELL
of BROOKLYN Tabernacle

| TEXT-The life of the flesh is in tho
| blood; and 1 have given 1t to you upon
the altar to make an atonement for your
souls; for it is the blood that maketh
decentralization XVII, 2
Ours is day in which, more than
ever before, the statement of our text
Is -disbelieved-by Jews,
Gentiles and Christians. The great
Christian author, st, Paul, agrees ex-
actly with the words of Moses in our
| text, saying: without the shedding
| of blood there is no remission of sins"
| hebrews 1929. The orthodox Jew
and the orthodox Christian, therefore,
are in substantial agreement as to the
| foundation of things and the unortho-
| dox are in agreement of opposition.
| The latter agree that there is no ne
! cessity for sin atonement-that the
later thought of all the wise men Of
/ the earth, the greatest ministers and
rabbis, is that there is no such thing
as original sin; hence could be no
/ such thing as necessity for canoeing
| it-of making an atonement or salts
/ faction to justice on behalf of it.
All the worldly wise of Christen-
! dom have reached the point Of repu.
| dating the testimony OF the Old Tes-
lament and the New respecting the
/ need of a sacrificial death for the sat
isfaction of divine justice, the cancel
/ latiOn of sin and the restitution Of
the sinner to divine favor. The claim
of the sO-called new theologists repu-
dates the fall, repudiates the ransom
and repudiates restitution to all that
was lOst-Claiming that nothing was
lost aud all that we have is gain.
/ Thus the world and its wisdom know
not God and appreciate not his ar
rangement that, as death came upon
mankind through the sin of one man
/ CAdam), even so a restitution to life
should come to all men through
Christ-that as all in Adam die, even
so all in Christ shall be made alive"
These worldly wise cannot deny the
fact that there is sin in the world and
that there is death in the world and
/ that the tendency of all sin is toward
/ death. They cannot deny that death
is gaining a greater hold than ever
/ before upon our race. Insane asy-
lums, prisons and reform schools show
/ that. notwithstanding our educational
/ facilities and wonderful achievements
under the enlightening influences Of
the new dispensation now dawning-
/ nevertheless. the insanity statistics
and the prison statistics and the phys
zeal statistics show that, in spite OF
everything, our race is becoming men
/ tally. morally and physically weaker
/ day by day. 1t is for them to explain
/ how these facts fit to their theory Of
evolution.
By the term Christian we refer to
those who inteligently believe the ex-
| PLANTATION of the Bible respecting sin,
that it is a violation of the divine law
and carries with it a penalty-that
| Father Adam was created as sinless
/ as are the angels and as perfect as
| they, only on a little lower plane of
/ being Obedience was required of him
| as the price of divine favG- and ever
| lasting life. .Disobedience thrust him
/ from paradise into the unprepared
| earth to wrestle with the thorns and
| thistles, where the decree, Dying
| thou shalt die" accomplished his exc
! cution. His race was in his loins and
! naturally shared by heredity his weak
! nesses and death penalty, so that the
entire race is a dying race. But the
/ Creator was unwilling that Adam and
! his children should die as brutes, God
did not revoke his decree Of death nor
give any intimation that he had done
unjustly in condemning his creature.
He did, however, provide a way for
their relief He provided that, as the
first man alone had sinned actually, so
one Redeemer alone would be neces-
sary for the race. And to him he Of
fered a great reward, so that his sac
rifice for sins would work out to his
own advantage as we'll as to the SIN
ner's. part Of the reward was the
| high eyaltatiOn to the heavenly ma
ture-far above angels, and the gift
Of the kingdom of earth necessary for
the overruling and subduing of the
spirit of rebellion in the world and for
the exaltation and uplifting from sin
and death conditions of all the willing
and obedient of Adams entire race.
But why should God require the
death of a victim as a basis for the
forgiveness of the sins Of Adam and
his race? We reply that Gods law
was intended to be an illustration OF
the exactness of divine justice. JUS
tica could not punish Adam nor his
children with everlasting torture or
any other of the horrible things we
once imagined. The severest penalty
of the divine law is represented in our
common law, which, as an extreme
penalty. requires the death Of the
transgressOr.
After the divine reconciliation
comes human reconciliation. The great
Messiah will not require sacrifices
of humanity but on the contrary, will
open the blind eyes and cause the
knowledge of the grace of God to
reach Adam and every member of his
race. Then all willing for reconcilia-
ton will be helped by the great Medi-
ator of the New Covenant and by Is
rael, his chosen people and earthly
representatives The object to be &C