The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-08-20
more and more separated us from God
n-d 49, DtI,Io



We are now coming to understand
more fully the Bible doctrine of cleo
ton and we see it to be not unjust
and cruel as 1t once appeared, but
beautiful and blessed, for both elect
and non-elect The Divine Plan was,
and still is, universal Plaza Plan
granting universal opportunity to
Adam and to all his race for recov
cry from the penalty of sin-for a re-
covery from sin and death to all that
Father Adam had in the beginning
and which he lost through disobedi-
ence, and which Jesus redeemed for
him and his race at Calvary, and
which all the willing and obedient
may have back again at the hands of
the Redeemer, If they will, during the
period of His Messianic reign.
This is the Restitution which St.
Peter tells us God spoke through the
mouth of all the holy Prophets since
the world began" And the blessing
will not be merely revolutionary, but
indeed all the experiences of the pres
ent time with sin and sorrow, pain
and death will be blessed, helpful les
sons for the future-guards against
any repetition of the scenes of DISC
bedience against the Divine reguIa-
tons made for mans comfort, happi-
ness and everlasting Joy.
The work accomplished by our Re
deemer at Calvary was merely a pre-
paratory one. His death provided the
Ransom-price for Father Adam and
hence for all Adams race who share
his condemnation. The work Of Di-
vine grace which has progressed since
Jesus death and resurrection Is also
a preparatory work. During this pc
God has been gathering out Of the
world a special class, willing to pass
through specially severe trials and test
ings of faith and obedience, under the
inspiration of certain "eXcaeding great
and precious promises" Gil Peter 1, A.
Of share with Jesus in the divine ma
ture and glory, honor and Immortality.
This selecting work began with nat
ural Israel, and has extended now
gradually the world around, gathering
from every nation samples and repre-
sentatives, but all sanity; all In heart,
at least, copies of Gods dear Son, the
Redeemer. With the dawning Of the
Seventh Great Day-the Day Of Christ
this work Of electing or selecting
a special class Of saints to constitute
His Bride and joint-heirs in the King
dom will be complete. Then will be-
gin the salvation Of the world-the
reclamation or Restitution Of the world
from sin and death conditions, made
possible by the great redemptive work
Of Calvary
"Glory In the Highest"
From what we have seen Of the Dr.
vine provision for mans recovery we
grasp the force Of the prophetic dec
laration following the question of our
text-"What is man, that Thou art
mindful of him-the son Of man, that
Thou visitest him?" When we think
Of the greatness of our God, and the
nttleness of ourselves, even in our
best estate, and especially when we
think that we are all sinners, we are
amazed that our great Creator was
mindful of mindful of preparing
great Plan of Salvation-willing to pro-
vide for our redemption, and making
preparation for the Kingdom which is
to bless the race! Can we doubt that
He who has so loved the world while
they were yet sinners viii bring His
Plan % a glorious contamination
Can we doubt that He will do all that
dainty more than we could have asked
or thought ?-Ephesians Iii, 20.
Do not understand me to say that
the Bible teaches a universal saliva
ton Of our race to life eternal. No,
that would be unreasonable. That
would imply Divine coercion of the
human will, and such a coercion
would be contrary to the teachings OF
the Scriptures-that man Is created In
Gods image and likeness. An essen
tial feature Of the Divine likeness in
man is the freedom Of his will; his
body may be coerced or enslaved or
what not, but the human will Is In
AAhC lAdS VA AAO ~ OeAbOAs
It Is evidently not the Divine inten-
ton to destroy the human will. but to
educate ito allow 1t to develop as
will, along the lines Of experience, so
that 1t may be voluntarily submitted
to the Divine will because OF apprecia-
ton of the wisdom Of all the Divine
arrangements, regulations, laws, etc.
The Divine proposition, therefore, is
that as all mankind shared by heredi-
ty the sentence of death which came
upon the first man Adam, so the re-
demption accomplished by the Second
Adam shall be co-extensive with the
fall, so that all Adams race who will
do so may return to God and be abun-
dainty pardoned and finally restored
to all that was lost In Adam and re-
deemed at Calvary.
And what, you ask, will be the fate
Of those who wilfully, deliberately,
persistently, intelligently resist the
Divine will and refuse the glorious OPP
portunity Of Restitution? The Bible
answers that all will be on trial for
life eternal or for death eternal, and
that those who refuse the conditions
of heart loyalty and obedience will
bring upon themselves afresh the SEN
tence of death. But this second SEN
tence will differ from the first, not in
the kind of punishment, but in the
duration thereof.
The first or Adamic death God from
the first foreordained should be set
aside, and from the very beginning He
had made preparations for the Lamb
Of God to take away the sin Of the
world, and to consequently make pos
slble for our race a resurrection from
the dead and further opportunity or
trial for everlasting life. Wilful sin
ners under the light and opportunity
Of that day, when condemned to death,
win die no more thoroughly than be-
fore, but their death will be hope
less one; no Redeemer has been ap-
portioned for them and none will be
apportioned; no redemption for them
will be effected and no resurrection
will be granted. AS st. Peter declares,
they shall perish ''like natural brute
beasts made to be taken and destroy
ed."-II Peter II, IL.
Some at least In this audience, 1
trust have been mentally touched with
the thought of the great grace Of God
operating during this Age for the Sc
leot1on 81 joint-heirs with Christ In the
Kingdom. I trust that THIS high and
heavenly Calling to change of nature
from human to the divine offered to
the elect" meets with a response in
some hearts here present 1 would en-
courage you, that although the night is