Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1916-10-06

lQASQR RUSSElOl scarlet, they shall
be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson.
they shall be as wool."--Isaiah 1913.
The Pastor averred that nearly all
of the doctrinal teachings given to
mankind in the name of the Lord must
be swallowed without mastication or
not at all; for they are too unreason-
able to be received by any logical mind.
On the contrary, Gods Word appeals
to mans reason; and every feature OF
the Divine Plan. when understood, Is
reasonable and worthy OF
our great Creator. When God invites
His people to reason with Him. he
means that we are to search the Bible
to find therein the explanation OF mans
present condition. to find Gods pur-
poses concerning man, and to exercise
our minds in regard to these.
The speaker reminded his hearers that
while the lower animals can reason TO
a very limited degree, yet man alone
Of all the animal creation has the abil-
ity to reason upon high plane. He
alone possesses moral faculties. and
can reason with his Creator through
that Creators revealed Word. 1t IS
only reasonable to expect that God,
having endowed man with reasoning
faculties, would give us revelation
of His will and His purposes which
would appeal to our reason. In mans
present fallen condition, some can rea-
son better than can others. Neverthe-
less, God still appeals to mans power
to reason, as shown by our text.
For the past few centuries the LORDS
people have been gradually emerging
from the Dark Ages. For twelve hun
,dred years before the Reformation
they had been practically without b.
BILE study. Then the Bible came back
into the hands of Gods people, and
they began to study again. But their
brains were more or less confused
with the errors of the creeds formulat-
ed during the centuries when they
were without Gods Word. We have
inherited many Of these errors. We
were born with our reasoning facul-
ties more or less twisted; and these
twists were accentuated by our teach
ings at home, in the Sunday School
and In the pulpit. We imbibed them
in our reading. When we wished to
reason, we were told, "You must not;
IL you do, you will become an iniidel!"
Reason DivineIysGuided Blessing.
The Pastor added that many who
became infidels respecting the teach
ings held out to them found that it
proved a great blessing to them in
that 1t led them to study the Scrip
lures for themselves. There they
learned what the real character OF
God is-that He is not monstrous
Devil, but a God Of Love, OF Reason.
with q Plan for human salvation
worthy of all acceptation.
Their own imperfect reasoning, per-
verified for centuries by false teach
ings, would be very unreliable as
guide, would lead them astray. But
reasoning according to the instruc-
lions Of Gods Word clarifies the mind,
and leads the earnest searcher after
Truth into the light of God as 1t
shines from the face Of our Lord and
Redeemer. There is beautiful har-
mony in the Bible which is found no
where else, when Gods Word is fright
~ divided."-2 Timothy 3:15-17: 2:15.
As long as we reason within the
lines Of Divine Revelation we are safe.
| No human being knows anything OF
mans origin and destiny save as he
Is instructed by the Lord No matter
how much any man may boast Of his
knowledge and wisdom, he knows
nothing about these important sub
jects except as it is revealed from
Heaven. If we go beyond the in
! spired Word of God or outside Of 1t,
we shall soon be adrift on an unknown
sea. We must have THUS saith the
Lord" for every item Of religious truth
that we receive.
All Bible theology relates to sin
how it entered the world, how man
! is to get rid of it, what its effects are,
how God views it, how we should
view it, what means God will use to
lift mankind out Of their present deg
| radiation up to human perfection and
everlasting life. This Is the sum total
Of Bible theology. God created man
perfect, "a little lower than the an
gels" This perfect man sinned, and
brought death upon all his unborn pos.
terity. Our Lord Jesus died a CORE.
spending price for Adam and his race
Because He died, our race will live
aGain In the resurrection.