The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-13

ture of God shall be so perfect as to need no forgiveness, no allowance. The angels were created perfect, hence there was no need to provide forgive ness for them, because there would be no excuse for their shining. Likewise man was thus created perfect, in the image and likeness of the Creator, and was without excuse, and therefore needed no provision TOT mercy so yong as he was in relation with his God.
 When temptation came, man fell from obedience into sin, and from divine favor and life into disfavor and under the death sentence. But another feature of the divine character, love, while not in control, was brought into exer- else for mans relief. But divine love or mercy could not override or interfere with divine justice. In other words, God could not forgive a sinner whom He had. sentenced to death. What He could do. and did do, was to proviuo in due time for mans redemption. All the divine mercy therefore, flows through the channel of redemption. The Philosophy of the Forgiveness of Sins
 Applying this principle to our Savior and to His teachings, we ask, how could He forgive sins when divine jus tice could not forgive sins, nor set aside the penalty of sin? The answer is, Jesus was the representative of di- vine mercy, and was at that time amongst men for the purpose of giv- ing His life as a sacrifice on mans account, and therefore to Him belonged the distinctive honor of forgiving sins. But someone answers that Jesus had not yet died for mans sins, that He had not yet risen for mans Justification, that He had not even appeared in the MI ttI- I..~yI x.f faith"
 We answer that while it is true that He had not accomplished this work, and indeed has not yet fully accom- plished His work Gas redeemer and re- storer of men), nevertheless, He had begun the work He had presented Himself as mans atonement price at Jordan, at the time of His baptism. According to the scriptures and the type, He. at that moment, surrendered His earthly all on mans behalf.
 However, His surrender of His all did not give Him the authority to for give sins. It was the heavenly Fathers acceptance of His consecration-divine acceptance of Jesus sacrifice, that counted Gods acceptance of Jesus sacrifice was manifested in His inn | partation of the holy spirit, which | lighted upon Jesus like dove, and also | testified by divine power which there after operated in and through Jesus for the healing of diseases. We see, then, that our Lords words to the palsied man, Thy sins be forgiven thee.' were justified by the fact that He was in the position of making sat isfaction for the sins of the whole world, and that the Father had already indicated the acceptance of the sacrifice which was then in process.
 How the New Creature Is Healed The text for this study comes from the Psalms and is most interesting. The Prophet David may have appropriated the words to himself as a Jew and may have thought of his own physical healing and blessing as evidences of the Lords favor under the law GOV enant. But the prophetic application of this Psalm to spiritual Israel is still more interesting. The spiritual Israeli ties are new creatures. spirit begotten, and have this treasure in earthen yes sells
 With these it is the new creature that recognizes his healing, his forgive ness, his reconciliation to God; and, according to Gods promise, all things are working together for good to him, because he loves God and has been called according to the divine pur- pose.