The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-12-27

through Christ. the gracious promise
that God shall wipe away all tears
from all faces" aud there shall be no
more curse, neither sorrow, nor sigh
ing. nor crying; for the former things
shall have passed away,
Many Stripes and Few Stripes.
The Bible clearly Indicates that The
Adam condemnation against our race
will be fully offset by the merit OF
Christ'S sacrifice. But on the other
hand. ii tells .,ls that every transgres
sion which is not purely OF Inherited
wea kness ist.harged To the account OF
the transgreSs0r and must be met by
him. .Iesns emphasizes this lesson.
saying. HE that knew his Masters
will and did it not. shall he beaten
with many stripes. INT ne TINT knew
it not and, yet did things worthy Of
stripes. shall be- npatHn with few
stripes il Some of these stripes. or
punishments. may indeed come to the
transgressor In the present life: aud
| IL so he does we'll 10 pcotit by them.
But whether in the present life or in
the future. life. every wilful transgres-
sion will receive II just recompense Of
reward" The difficulty with our theo-
ries OF the Dark Ages on this subject
hns not been that they taught a pun
ishment for sin: hut that they taught
an unjust penalty. dishonoring TO the
Creator and stultifying to the believer.
The Records Of Witfui Sin.
1t is a mistake to say that increasing
sins would increase the paIlgs OF con-
science and that thus each would be
punished. We know to the contrary
that many. as they become steeped In
sin. lose all sensibility, st. Paul cor
rOborates this thought, saving of some
that their eonsciences become scared
--csltOused.
God provided that each individual
shall keep a. .record in himself ct his
own moral obliqnities Each violation
of conscience weakens. the character.
Character weakened, degraded. can be
reconstructed only with proporttouate-
~ great difficulty. Thus some. during
the period OF Messiah's Kingdom. will
be struggling against weaknesses
which they brought upon themselves.
aside from those OF Adamic heredity.
TIE assistance from the Royal Priest
hood will be proportionate to the
Adamic weakness. contrary to the hn-
man will Outside temptations will
be gone, Full knowledge will be there;
but character will be the thing OF para
mount Importance as Determining who
will attain everlasting life. -:
Our : Redeemer, gave = suggestion
along this line when He said to the
Rharisees, How can We escape the
CONDEMNATION OF Gehennaf" iMatthew
xiii. 3d., The Valley OF Hinnom tGe-
henna outside Jerusaiem. where the
ofsal was, finally destroyed. symbolieai-
~ represented the Second Death. a.
explained in Revelation x. n. Jesus
did not. eondemD the Pharisees to the
Second Death. His mission to the
world was not to condemn men; for
they were condemned already-nnder
the Adamic condemnation. The Son
of Man came mot to. condemn the
world: but that the world through
Him might be saved" tJOhn iii. III
At the dme. He spoke these words re-
speeding the Pharisees. He was laying
down His life on behalf OF all the chill
dren of Adam. They could not forfeit
their share in His resurrection work
until that work had been completed
and they. had enjoyed their share OF
the Redeemer's favor r.. r
The import of the Redeemer's words.
therefore. was that He perceived in
them So much OF dishonesty and hard
ness Of heart that He proPhesied that
they would have hard time to reform
character. even under, the favora bic
conditions of the Millennium. They
had seen the Master heard His teach
! ings. witnessed His miracles. and mist
have been reasonably convinced that
it. was a holy power which operated IN
Him. When. therefore. in bitterness OF
spirit they declared that His miracles
and teachings were Inspirations Of Sa.
tan. they were well-nigh without excuse
1t could hardly be supposed that such
peryersity OF spirit was the result
either OF ignorance or OF Adamic weak
ness. Evidently there was great viii,
fulness associated with II. Hence the
Master declared that persons who
could thus attribute. to, Satan things
which they recognized as good. pure
and holy. must have greatly perverted
their consciences. They will be oblig-
ed to suffer stripes accordingly. and
will have proportionately great difficult
ty in bringing themselves into harmo-
ny with the requirements Of the Mes.
sianic Kingdom. 4
"Preaeh the Word.' @
All of Gods people are preachers.
The begetting influence Of the Holy
Spirit is the only ordination necessary.
and without it no one has Divine au
thority to preach. Preaching. In its
broad sense. means 10 deelore. to make
kH0rn. Gods Book makes no division
OF His people into clergy and laity.
. He that hath Ny Word. let him speak
. My Word faithfully. saith the Lord.
Let us declare Gods Message III its
purity and simplicity. whoever hears
and whoever rress III. Let 'is
. not he disappointed that the worldly.
wise will think it foolish. . as In st;
Paurs. day; and let as not be surprised
If the preaching 0fHthis Message shall
bring odinm. as it did mon the Master