The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-08-27

increases on the pdluWdY the more Ted-
sonable the Divine Plan appears to US.
Why should God select one nation or
people of one religious cult for glory
and make preparations from the very
beginning of creation for the eternal
torture Of all others? Surely we have
been most inconsistent in our interpre
tations Of the Divine Message, yet just
as surely the all-wise One knew Of our
plight and permitted us to remain In
darkness until now; and He is able to
override our measure Of blindness so
that it will be of no injury to us.
Perhaps. indeed, the beauty of the
Divine Word and Plan Is much more
perspicuous now because Of the dark
ness In which we all were SO recently
involved, and perhaps the same prin.
ciple later on will apply to the whole
world. When all shall emerge out OF
the darkness and ignorance and su-
perstition into the glorious sunlight of
Divine truth and grace, undoubtedly
the contrast will make the blessings of
the future all the more precious, and
the more incline every knee to bow.
After Divine favor had first granted
opportunity to the Jews to accept the
Redeemer, shedding upon them first
the special light of the Gospel, then
the Message was sent forth without
restriction gradually through Asia
Minor. into Greece and into Rome.
and then favored chiefly the Germanic
| nations-and amongst these | include
the British people and the larger pro
portion Of our American population
In these peoples, too. the Reformation
Movement found its chief adherents.
The Message of Christ has made great
In civilization all the nations it has
touched. in proportion as they have
received the Message in simplicity and
purity, and In proportion as they have
| lived out their Christian profession as
footstep followers Of Jesus.
Less Favor, Not Less Worthy.
So far as human judgment can dis
| Germ, the Divine records show that these
| favored peoples were not superior to
others less favored. The Bible shows
US some noble characters amongst the
Gentle nations before the Redeemer's
day and plainly intimates that God
Intentionally bestowed His favor upon
a stiff-necked race, less tractable than
others of that time. We see the same
thing in respect to the operation of
Gods grace during this Gospel Age.
Apparently the peoples Of India and
China were more docile and of much
more likely soil for the Gospel Mes
sage than the fierce Cloths and Huns
and Franks to whom the Gospel was
more particularly directed. How un
likely 1t would be that the less-favor
ed nations should have no provision in
the Divine Plan!
On the contrary we perceive that a
special election, or selection, of saint
ly class was made during the Jewish
Age-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and
all the Prophets and sanity Jews
(Hebrews xi. 3S-40l And since the Sc
lection of the sanity Jews the calling
Of the Bride class, chiefly from the
nations Of Europe. Implies that when
this spirit-begotten, Spiritual Israel,
spiritual children of Abraham. shall be
| tuCl nitlOl3o wan "
alike favored in the distribution Of the
] coming blessings declared to be for all
other peoples. kindreds and tongues.
No Prsdestination to Misery.
While speaking last Sunday in the
great Victoria Hall of Geneva my mind
naturally welt back to the days when
that great and good man John Calvin
cut such sTRth in religious sentimeni
that 1t still influences about one-half OF
all Professionals | saw the monument
unveiled this very year by Calvin's fol
lowers to the honor of Servetus, whom
Calvin so horribly burned to death al
the stake. Indeed, am sure that the
monument, as 1t declares, was not %
much of tribute to Servetus as pro
test against Brother Calvin's atrocity
committed in the name of Jesus, the
Bible, and the God of Love.
We must give John Calvin credit fOI
emphasizing the doctrine of Election
although we cannot give him credit fol
making that doctrine, for Of course II
was Bible doctrine fifteen centuries
before his birth. Had he been con
tented with emphasizing the election
for the Church and had he said, %
know not what will be the fate OF ths
non elect" he would have deserved Il
this day our unstinted praise. But
alas! to err is human. Calvin was moi
content to leave the matter thus. He
reasoned out his theory. and, his head
being imperfect, his conclusions were
defective when he surmised that al
Of the non-elect, whether infants oil
gray-headed, were predestinated tc
eternal torture This feature, purely
Calvinistic, and strictly unscriptural
has been the cause of UNRELIABLE DIM
culties In the theology Of Christendom
from Calvin's day until now.
The Key to the Problem.
The key which solves the problem is
so simple that we wonder that we have
all so long overlooked it. The key Ii
found In the promise made to Abraham
that his Seed was to be the Elect
Jesus the Head and the Church His
Memberships the Bridegroom, typi
ned by Isaac, and the Church His
Bride, typified by Rebecca, Isaac's
wife. And this Seed OF Abraham when
completed, according to Divine prom
Ise, is to be the channel for blessing
all the families Of the earth-the living
and the dead. The blessing that Is to
come to all Is clearly stipulated by St
Paul, saying, "God our Savior will have
al men to be saved from the condem-
nation that came on them through
ADAM and to come unto the knowledge
OF the TRUTH Timothy II, SO.
The basis of the Apostles argument
is set forth in Romans V. II. He there
shows that Adam, and not his race,
was put on trial in Eden-that Adam
and not his race was directly condemn
ed-but that Adams race were involv-
ed through heredity, by inheriting the
weaknesses and dying conditions Of
their parent St Paul then shows forth
in the same argument that as condem-
nation and death thus passed from
Adam to all Of his race, SO Christ Jesus,
having become Adams Redeemer, Di-
vine mercy through Him extends be-
yond Adam to all the members Of his
race who were involved with him In
the death sentence by laws Of heredity.
The argument is plain. To see it is to
be convinced. because it is so logical
And it could not be suppOsable for a
moment that God would provide the
ransom-price for all mankind and fall
to make it operative, because the great
mass of mankind went down to death
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