The log cabin Democrat., 1916-03-27


 lNs# $AsM A AgI pect to compen- sate God for eternal life, when the text says that the free gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life-what is it? It is the opposite of eternal death. Not eternal death does not mean noneXistence any more than eternal life means con tinued existence. Gods word teaches that the soul never dies in the sense Of going out of existence. It does say that The soul that snneth, it shall die" but we must interpret the words of the Bible by the Bible The Bible, you know, is not only a book that gives us the truth, but 1t defines the truth that it gives, and when it talks about eternal death it does not mean the annihilation of the soul. It is a truth that whatever exists always ex- ists, so the scientists tell us, and the Bible says that the human soul lives forever. Well. what is eternal life then, and what is eternal death? Per haps we might say that eternal life means being born of God, having the life of God, It is not our natural life prolonged into endless duration. It is the divine life imparted to us, the very life of God himself communi cated to a human soul To put it in another way, we might say that etern- al life is right existence, while eternal death is wrong existence, or, to put it in still another way, eternal life is living in the presence of God, while eternal death is having the wrath of God abiding on one.
 Now, Gods gift is eternal life. Our text says that he offers us this life through Jesus Christ our Lord, that whom eternal life comes What a wonderful thing it is to know that God has planned to give the human race dead in trespasses and in sins, eternal life through his son. What is involved in that truth? A great deal, my friends.
 First of all, that on the cross Christ died for our sins.
 Secondly. that there upon the cross God laid upon Christ all our sins.
 Thirdly, that all our sins will be forgiven us on condition of our simple acceptance by faith of his Son, and the one who thus receives his Son, we are told. is born, mot of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" I have met many people who were striving to get etern- al life. I have even met Christians who have had the idea that eternal life becomes theirs, not through faith, but by works of righteousness which they do.
 I shall never forget preaching in a little church in the Catskills and talk ing about the way of salvation. when a brother arose and controverted what l said about the simple way of having eternal life through the acceptance by faith of Jesus Christ as ones Savior. Another brother, thinking he would pour oil on the water, which was very troublous just then, told about two tNeologians who were crossing a stream. One of the theologians was arguing that salvation was by works, and the other that salvation was by faith, when the oarsman, listening to the argument, began to row with one oar, and the boat went round and round, when they said, What are you doing?" and he replied, Don't you see that oar with which I am rowing is works, and don't get anywhere" and then he took the other oar and rowed with that, and went round and round in the other direction, and he said That oar, you see. is faith, and when I row alone with that we do not get across the stream. To reach the oth' CT shore we must row with both oars. That was a good story, but poor H. lustration for, while it sounds very plausible, the trouble is it is not scriptural The Bible tells us that il is mot by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us" Change the illus tration and have it true to the Scrip lures. Jesus Christ is the oarsman and is rowing the boat of salvation from earth to heaven. and if we would ! reach the other shore what we must 1 do Is by simple faith to get on board | go down to the ferry slip in New | York Now, if l wish to go across tt 1 the other side. what I must do is tt i step upon the ferry boat. The mo ment I do that I have trusted mysel to the ferry, and it is for the ferr. ! now, by its own power, to take mt over. This crudely illustrates Christi work of salvation for us. We commi ourselves to him. and he, by his owl 1 power and work saves us.