The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-09-29

time fn which iSatatf will be4hus priv
ileged to put darkness for light to de
ceive the world is limited. The Bible
prophesies that soon Christ will. take
His great power His first work will
he the binding Of Satan that he may
no longer deceive men. And then the
Redeemer will begin His great work
OF blessing mankind. In the thouSa1:!
years Of His appointed reign.
What Prison Statistics Show.
In all modern prisons statistics ars
kept which show the religious instruc-
lion received 10y tue prisoners earlier
il life. In almost every instance the
prisoners guilty Of the most serious Of.
lenses were from infancy trained to
think Of the Almighty as the great
Enemy Of His creatures. who fOrekneU
and fOreurranged for the eternal tor.
tnre Of all but a handful Did these
IreedS better those who confessed
hem? Did they inspire In the parents
Of these criminals heart-devOtIOn to
God? Nay. In almost every case where
the false. horrible cree1-Idol was wor-
shipped. fear prevailed instead OF love,
bedIam instead OF holiness. Is not
this the case even today In the major
Ity Of homes Of sO-called Christendom?
Foolish Fears, Vain lnasinations.
Little have we realized the foolish
ness Of such reasoning. The influence
" the creeds Of tie Dark Ages has
been the very reverse OF what has been
expected Of them! AEan naturally has
reverence for God. This may be
seen in the sllupe Of his head by those
who ran read phrenOioglcally. 1t is
seen also in the fact that in heather
lands worship is pracilSed. The true
knowledge Of GUd would incline men
to come to Him. The highest qualities
Of their hClng would find expression
in worship. praise, alteration. With
the enlightenment Of the Bible man
would Indeed learn that all are sinners,
that NIL come short Of that glorious
perfection which God originally Great.
I'd and which alone He can approve.
Guided by Bible instruction these
would realize that 1.-THE wages of sin Is
drath"-not eternal torment-Romans
3:1O.l9: G:23.
The desire for life everlasting per-
SiSts in every creature: and mans at
tltude would have been to approach
his Creator to ascertain II 1t would not
be possible for him TO return to rela-
tionShip with God and to regain the
gift Of life everlasting. Then would
have come the answer that no fallen
creature Is able to recover himself. but
that God has provided through Jesus
death Il reconciliation.
A Savior Able to Save.
As the repentant one would strive to
live up to the Divine standards and
find it impossible because Of inherited
imperfections, he would be drawn to
the merciful Father In Heaven, to
learn how to attain to the condition
which his heart coveted. Then he
would hear the answer through the
Scriptures that while God has provided
for the world IN, general a thousand
years Of Restitution. yet He is willing
now TO receive few choice characters.
on special terms. These must have
their Masters spirit. love for right
consness and hatred for lniQuity. Il
loyalty 10 God ready to lay down life
AMI every other thing in His service.
Such would he inducted by faith into
the elect Church. would he hGgOtten
Of the Holy Spirit. to be trained by
trials. difficulties. testinGs and polish
tngs. and eventually. If faithful. he
accorded Il change Of nature from
earthly to Heavenly, participation with
Christ in His great work Of blessing
and restoring humanity during His
thousand.year Reign.
Errors Effect the Opposite.
Our willy foe. Satan, well knew all
this. aud has worked in opposition to
it. BY hiding from men the true Cos
pei light, he has driven them IN dread
away from their best Frlend-Al-
mighty God. From infancy they hoped
to escape eternal torture, but as the
weaknesses Of their fullen nature yield
ed to the temptations OIL every hand,
they prayed forgiveness. As sins null
tipHed. doubts and fears gained con-
troll and in dread of God and In fear
OF the unjust and unmerCiful arrange
mentS of the future taught them from
infancy. they plunged headlouG into
sin. striving to forget God. Some were
led to one excess. some to another
gambling, drunkenness, frivOlity, pleas
ure.Seekiug.
One merchant told me OF his own eX-
perlence He said, MY good Methodist
wife told me | would surely 80 to hell.
/ replied. Mary. know 1t, know 1t!
And when get there. there will be
one sinner who. will deserve some
thing" He said. Pastor Russell. l
held the ordinary vlew-that all except
the sanity were sure to spend eternity
In torture. That seemed to me most
unjust-thut the Almighty had taken
advantage Of His power to crente us
under unfavOrable conditions, with the
fore.knowledge that we should spend
eternity in torment. ! concluded that
une person Mt least would deserve