The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-02-18

srnacle. l remind you now, however,
that the Bible assures US that Noah
and his family were of pure Adamic
stock. In the words. Noah was just
man and perfect in his generations"
Divine Patience Manifested.
As we review the situation, we are
amazed at the exhibition given us OF
Divine patience We are reminded OF
st. Peters words that God is not will
ing that any should perish. How easily
He could have b;otted out of existence
our first parents and have created an
other pair! How easily He could have
hindered Satan from presenting the
temptation How easily He could
have warned the angels against a
course Of disahedience. and, If neces-
sary, have sl.own them His Power at
any timel
These incidents illustrate to us gen.
eral principle of Divine Character and
dealings God wishes not to have the
heavens and the earth populated with
evil beings Creating angels and men |
in His own image and likeness. on diff |
terent planes, He desires them to main |
lain their own station. and in loving !
loyalty to learn to trust His Wisdom. |
Justice, Love and Power. Moreover. |
He does not wish to have any children
or servants in all His domain obedlent
merely because of fear. merely be
cause of ignorance Jesus words give
us the key to the Heavenly Fathers
Character in this respect. He says.
The Father seeketh such to worship
Him as worship Him in spirit and in
truth.-John 1923.
God had indeed glorious Dominion
before sin entered the world And He
could of course, have hindereG any
spread of the disloyaI ambition Of
Satan by destroying him. or He could
have coerced him into obedience as
slave. But such He desires not. God
most evidently has the very highest
ideals in respect to His Government
and all Of His subjects All His work
is perfect. and He will not allow 1t to
| get away from the perfection in which
| He created His intelligent creatures.
Every variation from the perfection.
therefore, must be the result of dis
obedience; and the unalterable Law is
that the disobedient shall perish.
Mans Experiences a Lesson.
We may say, then, that God not only
foreknew that the conditions under
which man was created would result In
temptation, in sin; but without causing
the temptation, and without giving any
excuse for the disloyalty, He deter
mined to permit it. Some suppose that
the permission Is to be everlasting. but
the Scriptures assure us to the con.
trary. The reign of sin and death he
purposed to permit for six thousand
years. Then by bringing in the Mes
sianic Kingdom, He purposes to abol
ish sin and death, lifting to human per
lection the willing and obedient and
destroying in the Second Death all tht
unwilling and disohedient.
The sending of His Son was part Of
Gods Plan. He put the death penalty
upon humanity, knowing at the time
that it would require the death OF al
obedient Sacrifice for human redemp
ton, and purposing in advance tina
He would provide such Redeemer al
would willingly. gladly, become mans
surety, mans Ransom-price. Thus ths
permission Of evil has resulted In the
manifestation of Gods Love in man
ner that otherwise would hardly hav,
been revealed. The infietion Of tht
death sentence for SO long has, like
wise, demonstrated the persistence o.
Divine Justice and its penalty.
The recovery of the dead by resur
rection will demonstrate, as nothing
else could, the Power Of God. Ant
when the entire Plum of God shall
have been outworked, and shall hav,
= been made known to angels and men
as whole it will demonstrate the Wis
5 dom of God as 1t never could hav.
been known, had He not adopted tn,
5 plan He did of temporarily permitting
reign of sin and death.
"Many Sons to Glory"
Another thing made possible by thu
permission of sin has been the specia
call of an Elect Church during thii
Gospel Age. The Bible declares tina
the Elect Church are begotten Of tn,
Spirit throughout this Age, and mus
be born of the Spirit In the Resurrec
? ton. Flesh and blood cannot inheri
I the Kingdom Of God" The need Of ,
Redeemer opened the way for the Lo
, gos to leave the Heavenly nature and
become man. This opened the wal
/ for Jesus to demonstrate His love and
loyalty by obedience unto death, "evel
unto the death of the cross" philip
plans 2:8.) And this great sacrifc,
and the obedience constituted not onl,
the Ransom-price for Adam and hIl
race, but also the basis on which thu
Heavenly Father highly exalted Hi
Son far above angels, principalltiei
and powers, to His own right hand
to the Divine nature.
Similarly the exaltation Of tn,
Church to be the Bride Of Christ. Hi
joint-heir In the Kingdom, and par
taker with Him of the Divine Nature
was made possible by the permission
of sin. The Heavenly Father coulC
justly permit members Of the faller
race, Of the same disposition as Jesus
and justified and sanctifled through
Him, to specifically lay down theil
lives as members of the Body of Christ
and by thus suffering with Him to bt
accounted worthy also of reignIng with
Him in glory, honor and Immortality
in His Kingdom
"Halielujahl What savieri"
"What God. Infinite In Wisdom
Justice, Love and Power"
Is 1t any wonder. in view of this
work that God has outlined for Hil
Son and the Church, that He should
consider it necessary to give US lessons
and tests In faith, in loyalty, in ODE
dience? Is 1t any wonder in view Of
the work which He has for us to do fol
mankind, that the Redeemer Himself
was given experiences in suffering, that
He might be a merciful and faithful
High Priest in the things Of God In re.
lation to humanity?
The better we understand the Bible
the more clearly we see that the re.
demption which God has provided
through Jesus sacrifice is to be world