The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-09-03


in the interest Of all, cuts or from fei
lowship and blessings all who delib-
erately 90 into sin, and fellowships only
such as are perfect Hence the sen
tence upon Father Adam for his dis
obedience cut him off from Divine fel
lowship and favor under the sentence
"Dying. thou shalt die" Genesis ii. III
mot. "Going to eternal torment. thou
shalt roast"
True, Adams children were never
thus condemned. but, born in sin and
"shapen in iniquity" psalm II. B., un
der the laws Of heredity they never
were perfect. never were fully In the
image Of God, never were, therefore
in harmony with God, but always shar
ed Father Adams alienation and con
demnatfOn. They were children Of
wrath" Ephesians IL. 3)-justly shar
ing their Father Adams penalty of
death. because imperfect-not worthy
of life under the Divine arrangement
Reconciliation a Necessity.
Whoever sees clearly these facts of
| Scripture must perceive that humanity
would have no hope Of everlasting life
except through Divine mercy-forgive-
ness But some one will say, Why
should there be any necessity for the
Logos to leave heavenly glory and be
made flesh and then to die, 1.-The Just
| for the unjust" TO make possible our
return to Divine favor2 why should
not God forgive the sins Of Adam and
his race even as we are directed to for
give those who trespass against us?
Gods attitude towards sin very prop
erly is different. His work Is per-
feet" deuteronomy xxi. A. He
created Adam in His own image We
sinners are not Gods creation direct
| but have merely come into existence
under laws Of heredity. Justice is I'M
der no obligation to us. All rights and
privileges granted to Father Adam
were forfeited and have been abrogat
ed. From the Divine standpoint OF
justice, our race is dead one. More
than this-the great Supreme Ruler
and Judge Of the Universe. having con
demned us as unfit for eternal life and
fellowship with Himself, could mo-
Justly set aside His own decree. Goo
could not. therefore, Justly, righteous
", change His verdict, for that woulC
imply that our sentence was an unJus
one.
The Divine Government refuses tt
be thus compromised. but instead hai
provided a salvation for humanity
through Jesus death. The method
adopted maintains the dignity Of tht
Divine Law to the full, and at the sam,
time reveals the fact that our Creator
Is the very embodiment of sympathy
and love-Qualities of His which neve
would have been so fully appreciated
by either angels or men unless Coz
had permitted human sin. had provid
ed the penalty He did, and then pro
vided the Redemption through tn
L0Oos-Jesus.
"Bstwesn God and Man."
A mediator Is one who stands be
tween two parties who are at vari
ance. for the purpose of bringing
about reconciliation. The two partie
mentioned In our text are not God ant
the Church, but God and the world
mankind in general. Man sinned
God Justly condemned the sinner Tn
Mediater's first work In reconciliation
must be to offer a substitute to Jus
lice for Adams sin. Our text tells IL
that the Man Christ Jesus did thi
very thing-He gave Himself to be
R0nsom-price for all mankind. He di'
this when He reached perfect man
hood, at thirty years Of age. when Fl
consecrated His life to God-even I'm
to death. He finished this giving o
Himself on Calvary when He cried
ut is finished" John XIX, 30) Tn
perfect spotless. uncontaminated lif'
Of the Man Christ Jesus, thus lait
down a voluntary sacrifice, constitutes
RaHsonl-prlce for Adam and his race
The word Ransom In our text has 1
very strict meaning, namely, a CORES
pOndin0 price. Adam In his perfection
was in Gods image-''very good" Tn
Man Jesus. who gave Himself a cor
responding price. was in Gods imag
VERY good" He correspended ex
actly to the perfect man Adam, ant
His sacrifice Of Himself In death cor
responded exactly to the penalt.
against Adam, which the entire rae,
has shared. This great transaction
accomplished nearly nineteen centu
ries ago, is not yet generally proclaim
ed, but will be testified to all in du'
time, our text declares. AS Jet onl!
the few, guided by the Word ana en-
lightened by the Holy Spirit, can ap
preciate this matter, because its detail
have not yet been fully worked out
when all It's mighty work 10 seen,
Praise shall all tongues employ"
St Paul declares that the calling ant
election of the Church to become th,
Bride of Christ and His Joint-heir IL
His Messianic Kingdom Is a Mystery
appreciated by few. The Mystery Il
that In the Great Jehovah's Plan thi
Elect Church. now In process Of selec
ton, is to constitute with Jesus he
Redeemer the great Mediator who
during the Millennium, win mediat'
the New Covenant between God an(
mankind In general The foundation
for all that Mediatorial work-the all
essential basis Of twas effected b!
our Lord Jesus alone when He, as tn.
Man Christ Jesus, gave Himself 1
RaRsoM-pT'tce for all But the grea
work Of reconciliation belongs to thu
future and Is to be shared In by thu
Bride class.
Well did John the Baptist point t.
Jesus and say, Behold, the Lamb o.
Godl which taketh away the sin of thu
world" John /, 20, 56) In Jesus re
sided the Ransom-price, ana not in Hi
Church; In Jesus work, and not in oul
work; In Jesus sacrifice. and not Ii
our sacrifice. was the potency for thu
cleansing away Of Adams sin and tn,
setting aside Of his death penalty
Whatever share the Church was grant
ed In the great work Of the world
reconciliation was oy grace and not b.
our merit, not by our sacrifice.
Mediation Not Yet Begun.
The Redeemer has not yet begun Hi
work Of Mediation between God ana
men. He merely provided the basis o
that reconciliation in His death at Cal
vary. The merit Of His sacrifice is II
Jehovah's hands. but is not yet appro
priated for the sins of the world TIL,
worlds sins are not yet forgiven
Hence God still treats the world as sin
ners. aliens. foreigners. enemies
through evil works.
Everything is in readiness for tbs
forgiveness of the sins Of the world
but the Redeemer waits until He shall
have accomplished another feature o.