The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-10-04


selves: 1t Is the gift Of God" (Ephe.
slams Ii. 81. He said In part:
Tue relationship between faith and
works In the lnatter of the Church's
salvation has been question Of con-
troversy for centuries However, this.
like other subjects once mysterious.
yields to the clearer light of our day.
Now we perceive the importance Of
both faith and works and the relation
ship they bear to each other. Faith
is the all-important factor in Gods
sight. because in our fallen condition
we cannot do perfect works and because
God cannot consistently accept and
reward any but perfect works. -
Gods arrangement for us. therefore.
in Christ. is that He will Judge us.
not according to our works. but accord
ing to our faith. Nevertheless. good
works are recognized as a demonstra-
ton OF our faith. So surely as we have
the proper faith In God and His prom
Uses 1t will manifest itself in works.
even though We cannot do perfectly.
So St james points out that Abra-
80
but was required to demonstrate his
faith by his works. even though they
were not perfect works and could not
have justified him.
Age of Faith-Ass Of Works.
If we call this Gospel Age the Age of
faith. none should misunderstood us to
mean that works are now wholly ig-
nored. hut rather that works take the
secondary place Likewise. when we
say that the coming Age Of the Mes
sianic Kingdom will be an Age Of
works. none should understand US as
meaning that faith will then be ig-
nored, Works will then be the basis
of the Lords judgment In dealing with
the world Thus we read that they
shall be Judged every man according
to his works." Revelation xii. l2l
Judgment according to works. yet not
without, faith. may perhaps appeal to
some Of our minds as being the more
reasonable. the more just form of judy
ment However, when we come to
note the difference between the condi-
tions. Of the trial Of the Church Of this
Age and the future trial of the world
during the Messianic reign. we can see
readily the reason for the different ba-
sis of Judgment 49,. +
The Present Grace Age.
In the present time the Lord is Sc
lecting from the world special class
to be the Bride of Christ. and He prop
erly makes faith the test. a. Because
in the Divine estimation faith in God
is one of the grandest elements Of
character, the one most essential to
such as will he entrusted with high
positions and authority in the King
dom. C2,' Because the Judgment accord
ing to faith meets the various cOndi-
tons Of the present time as Judgment
according to works would not do.
The Lord calls now for such as will
walk in the narrow way" demonstrate
ing that if they had perfect bodies as
Jesus body was perfect they would be
perfect In works as well as In faith,
In the next Age. the Divine plan will
not be the selection of self-sacrificing
ones for the Kingdom. but the bless
ing of humanity with an opportunity to
return to the full perfection of human
nature They will be required merely
to demonstrate their loyalty to God in
the use Of their lives faithfully in
obedience to His Law The reward for
the sacrifcers of this Age Is to be
glory. honor and immortality. the d.
vine nature and joint heirship with the
Lord Jesus in His Kingdom. The re-
ward for obedience to be given in the
next Age will be human perfection in
the image and likeness Of God. with all
the earthly inheritance originally given
to Adam-lost through sin and redeem
ed by the merit Of Christ's sacrifice.
And since the objective points of the
two Ages are different. so will he their
methods and conditions. .,-
We have already considered the con.
ditions of the Church's trial; let US
next notice how different will be the
conditions of the worlds trial. accord
ing to works. In the coming Age. The
reign Of Satan aud sin now prevalent
is to give way: Satan Is to be hound
for thousand years that be may de.
ceive the nations. no more for that pc.
Rod. The darkness. ignorance. super
stition and misunderstanding of God
and His plans. ETC.. which have pre-
vailed for. the last six thousand years
will pass away. Instead. 1.-The Sun of
Righteousness shall arise With hea ling
in His beams The darkness of igno-
rance. superstition. etc. which at the
present time covers the earth, and
gross darkness the heather, makes
faith in the present time very pre-
cious thing indeed which only compar-
atively few eau or will exercise.
But. when the shadows and dark
ness shall fee away, when the True
Light shall shine, when the knowl-
edge of the glory of the Lord shall
fill the whole earth as the waters COW
er the great deep"-then faith will not
be at it's present premium. because 1t
will then be very easy to exercise
faith. Moreover. while perfect works
are Impossible now, because Of our i'm
PROJECTIONS of the flesh. perfect works
will gradually become possible to the
world In the next Age. because as they
progress In the light and In obedience
to the laws Of that Kingdom they will
gradually be recovering the perfection
of the flesh. mental. moral and phys
zeal And fas they recover these pow