The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-01-31

reverently. declaring that all mankind
recognize two great facts: a. that all
are sinners, imperfect, willingly or I'M
willingly; and CO that all realize the
proprety of just penalty for sins i'll
proportion to their wilfulness, knowi
edge being a prime factor. All this can
be admitted by even those who deny
that we have in the Bible an inspired
message telling us the origin of sin, its
penalty and the conditions governing
the Divine judgment of sinners.
He would not indulge in speculations,
but he would stand by the Word Of
God. If we have Il Message from the
Creator on the subject of sin and its
punishment, none should either take
from nor add to that testimony. He
believed, however, that our forefathers
had added to the Word of God without
realizing it.
Many hold that in bygone days Chris
tian people, in their anxiety TO brighten
their fellow men into church member
ship, so exaggerated Gods Word that
they foiied their very purpose of help
ing the ungodly. Many upright people,
nauseated ut the distorted misrepre-
seutatious of Divine Justice, have
thrown away the Bible as we'll as the
creeds and are hearkening TO Higher
Criticism. Evolution. New Thought,
Spiritism, etc. Hence the usual small
congregations ut the churches-and a
minority of these thinking men and
women. Many are church attendants,
creeds. but because they desire to ex-
I ercise a moral influence upon the low
er classes These they burden with
horrible doctrines Of Divine injustice
which they themselves have long since
discarded-inw ardly. if not Outwardly.
! The Baptist underworld"
! Our Baptist friends. in bringing for
| ward a new translation of the Bible,
have sought to reconcile matters by
the use of the term underworld in
stead of haH. as the translation of the
Hebrew word Sheol and of the cor
responding Greek word HadeS. This
| is a step in the right direction. but too
conservative. All educated people
know that Sheol and Hades signify the
tomb, the death state. Sheol is translat-
ed grare and pit in our Common Yer
sion Bible more frequently than it IS
translated hoH. Why should Christian
ministers spend years in colleges and
seminaries to learn these things. and
then fear to tell the people the facts
Do they realize that the misunderstand-
ing of this subject of he'll is emptying
their churches and stumbling thinking
people into Higher Criticism lnfidelity,
etc. leading on to atheism and anarchy
What the Bible Does Teach.
The Bible declares that all transgres-
sion of the Divine Law is sin, and that
all sin is punishable with the same
peualty-death. Thus Adams disobe-
dience in eating the forbidden fruit
brought upon him the sentence of
death, which by the laws Of heredity
| he has transmitted to all mankind All
our sin and sickness, sorrow and death,
| therefore. come as the penalty of
Adams sin. ST Paul specifically says
! that by one mans disobedience sin
entered into the world and death as the
! result of sin: thus death has passed
upon all men, because all are sinners.
Romans 5:12. 49, Although men may
multiply the transgressiOns, they can
not increase the penalty, because the
Divine Law has only one penalty for
sin-the death extinction.
But Divine Mercy has arranged for
mans redemption by providing that
Jesus should pay the penalty for
Adams sin. This He did when He of
fered Himself and died. "the Just for
/ the unjust" The life of Jesus. as q
corresponding price for the forfeited
life of Adam, guaranteed the cancella-
ton of Adams sin; and this means an
opportunity for Adam to return to the
\ Fathers house as son, in due time
under the assistance of Messiah's King
dom. Or, neglecting these privileges
when they shall come to him. Adam
would be counted as refusing the grace
Of God and would die the Second
Death. from which there will be no re
demption and no resurrection.
Il But before Adam can refuse Gods
grace. he must be made intelligent,
amare Of it, He could not know Of II
during the nine hundred thirty years o.
lis diving under the curse because 4