Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-09-14
Pastor Russell's Sermon

with emphasis the contrast so force
fully stated IN this most precious text
mot perish, but have everlasting life"
Certainly whoever gets the everlasting
life will not perish; whoever does not
get 1t will perish. How plain Coos
Word!
Notice again the various terms used
In respect to the Savior and His work.
The word Savior signifies Life-Giver.
We would have seen the beauty Of this
II we had not been befogged as re-
spects the penalty, death Whoever
secs that the wages Of sin is death
must perforce see that the great need
of the world Is a Life-Giver-to rescue
them from the death penalty by res
direction. Again, our Lord represents
Himself as the Great Physician who is
able not only to rescue from the tomb,
but to heal all diseases, all the i'm
perfections which come to mankind as
lncldentals Of the death penalty.
Hear again Jesus words, "He that
hath the Son hath life; he that hath
not the Son shall not sec life, but the
wrath Of God (as expressed in the
death penalty abideth on him"-to him
It becomes the Second Death. This ex-
plains also the meaning Of Jesus
words, "Ye will not come unto Me that
ye may have Hfe" And again, Il am
come that they might have life, and
that they might have II more abun-
dainty" What can be palmer than
that "The wages of sin is death, but
the gift OF God Is eternal life, through
Jesus Christ our Lord?" = Romans
vi, %.
"lnto Everlasting Punishment"
we are asked, Does not the word
everlasting as applied to the goat class
signify as long a period as the same
word applied to the sheep class2 We
reply. Most assuredly so. The punish
ment Of sin is to be everlasting, and
the reward Of righteousness is to be
everlasting There is no question on
this point The question is, What Is
the punishment for SIM The thought
less at once will say, Fire, torment,
smoke, blazes, devils with horns and
tails and pitchforks, la Dante's In
ferno.
But we ask for a Scriptural answer.
What does the Bible say is the punish
ment for sin? Nothing like Dantes
answer is to be found in the Bible,
however much we might imagine that
1t was printed In every page and that
we have read 1t scores Of times The
Bible is most explicit. 1t declares,
"The wages of sin is DEATH" "All the
wicked will God destroy" "The soul
that slnneth, It shall die" punished
with everlasting destruction These
abundant and redundant Scrlptural
testimonies on the subject should set
tie the matter of future punishment to
every reasonable mind-especially when
, there is not n Scripture to the con-
trary either In the Old or In the New
Testament
/ do indeed remember certain Of our
Lords parallels which, taken literally,
might mean the literal cutting Off Of
a hand or foot, the literal plucking out
of the eye, the biting worms possessed
q OF immortality, and literal blazes un'
+ quenchable. These we have already
q discussed and may yet again refer to
a but not now. We content ourselves
i with the generally accepted and rea
t sonable proposition that parallels are
d never to be accepted as teaching doc
a trines, but at very most as Illustrating
e them.
Q The Bible contains not single sug
e gestlon Of eternal torture as penalty
# for sin. 1t tells Of no place beyonC
:. the bounds Of time and space wher'
n Dante's poem will find its fulhlment
d 1t does tell Of a God Of infinite Justice
Wisdom, Love and Power, whose de
a cree is that eventually all the wicket
1t shall be destroyed; that eventual,
It there viii not be one inharmoniou
Is note throughout the Universe to ma
,e the glorious harmony and perfection
10 that every knee shall bow and ever
le tongue confess to the. glory of God
n that there shall be no more dying, cry
* ing, signing: that Gods will shall b
If done on earth even as II Is done y
ID heaven; that eventually, EVERY crea
d ture in heaven and in earth and unde
IS the earth shall be heard saying. Praise
glory. dominion and might be unit
In Him that sltteth upon the Throne an
m unto the Lamb forever"
I'd Analysing It Carefully.
N Let us look still more deeply int
"a our text: Let US note this word puI
le lshment in the Greek. 1t is kolasii
rs Its usage In the Greek classics sign
s, fles. TO prune, to cut Off A secondar
e' meaning Of the word is, to restra'i
Is Death is most effectual restrain
VI The punishment which God has pr
III ylded for sinners is that they shall |
C. cut Off from life cut of from all q
a blessed privileges which God provides
lu no, for them. not for rebels, but 4
us sons in fellowship with Himself.
nu The punishment against Faith
Adam was cutting or from Eden al
~ its blessings, from being the king
gh earth, from fellowship with His Or
lot ator. from being the son of God fro
nd enjoying everlasting life. All this cr
;" ting or was included in his death SC
De- tence. Jesus came that Adam and =
&c. race might not everlastingly perish