Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1914-10-29
that MOURN" to tell them of the oil Of

tHdL MOURN, TO Tell them OF the OIL OF
JOY which the Lord is willing to be-
stow for their spirit of heaviness and
sorrow for sin. isaiah 61:1-3) AS the
Master expressed no reproof of those
engaged in any sory of moral reform,
even asceticism, so it is with us. We
desire to oppose no one who Is doing
any good work, whether or not he fol-
lows with us in every particular. There
are so many engaged in doing evil
works, and so few engaged in doing
good, that not one of the latter class
can be spared from the ranks of the
service of righteousness.
AS the Master did not give His time
to temperance reform or to social re.
form or to political reform, but gave
1t to the instruction Of the people in the
doctrines of the Word Of God, so let us
be intent to follow His example In this
matter, not teaching for doctrines the
precepts Of men," but the Word Of
God, which liveth and abideth forever
-expounding to the people the Scrip
lures and assisting them to see the
length and the breadth and height and
depth Of their meaning.
Tho Disciple Not Above His Lord.
Nevertheless, as the religious teach
ers of the Masters day hated Jesus
and His disciples for this cause, "be-
cause they taught the people," and as
they prosecuted the Master and His
followers because they did not walk
In the beaten paths Of their day, so we
may expect that the Scribes, the
Pharisees and the Doctors Of the Law
today will be grieved because the peo-
pie are taught, because the hight Of the
knowledge of the glory Of God shining
in the face Of Jesus Christ is presented
to the people as an incentive to love
and obedience, instead Of the doctrine
of eternal torment.
1t matters not that all the educated
ministers today well know, and would
not for moment deny, their disbelief
In the doctrine Of eternal torment, If
cross-questioned. Nevertheless, many
of them hate us and oppose us because
we show the people the true interpre-
tations of the Word of God and lift be-
fore the eyes Of their understanding a
God of Love, just, merciful. righteous
altogether, and fully capable both in
Wisdom and Power to work out all the
glorious designs which He ''purposed
in Himself before the foundation Of
the world"
Q) They perceive that the teaching
nP ho doctrines Ofy ,y,rro tnru ord okor
nal torment has not had sanctifying
influence upon mankind in all the six
teen centuries in which these doctrines
have been preached. But they fear
that to deny these doctrines now would
only make bad matter worse. They
fear that If the Gospel Of the Love Of
God and the fact that the Bible does
not teach eternal torment for any were
generally made known, the effect upon
the world would be to increase its
wickedness, to make life and property
less secure and to fill the world with
blasphemies still more than. now
~ They fear also that certain
amount of discredit would come to
themselves because, knowing that the
Bible does not teach eternal torment,
according to the Hebrew and Greek
original, they secreted the knowledge
from the people. They fear that this
would forever discredit them with their
hearers. Hence they still lend their In
fluence outwardly to the doctrine of
eternal torture. which they do not be
lieve, and feel angry towards us be-
cause we teach the people the truth
upon the subject, which they know
will bring to them hundreds Of Ques-
lions difficult to answer or to dodge.
Gods Love constrains Us.
We ask you, dear fellow Christians.
Were you constrained to become chill
dren of God and to render to the Lord
the homage and obedience of your lives
through fear or through love? We are
not asking you whether you never
have feared; but what brought you to
the point OF consecrating your life to
God? Surely it was not fear! We are
aware, OF course. that there is proper,
cody fear. reverence; and that the
Scriptures declare 1.-THE fear [rev-
erence] of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom" psalm :lO) But this is
not the fear Of eternal torment. which
tends to drive out love. How could we
love or esteem or truly worship God
who purposed the eternal torment of
His creatures from before their cres
ton!
We could give you many PROOFS of
the power of love over the human
heart, in contrast with the ungodly
fear of the error God says to us In
SO many words. Their fear toward Me
is taught by the precept of men,"
(Isaiah 29:13) AS an Illustration:
Some years ago at Bible Students
Convention In Ohio well-dressed gen.
tleman in attendance told me Of how
his heart had been touched with our
presentation Of the
"Love Divine, All Love ExceIlino."
He said. For years have been a
member of the Presbyterian Church
without being really Christian at all
Occasionally / went on sprees, some
times | pamblad and drank atc NOT