W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
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the Sinai Gospel is not preached conviction evanesces from the community and wickedness in very form and<br />
phase comes in like a flood. I have heard a great holiness evangelist, preaching in the largest campmeeting in the<br />
world, say that he read several books on future punishment which cost him $1.00 apiece, and afterwards got<br />
more light and help on the subject by reading this dime booklet than all of them. Oh, how we need millions to<br />
scatter throughout all Christendom to wake up the people before they awaken in Hell! So wicked is the human<br />
heart that all need the Hell-scare to bring them to a real, genuine repentance, which is the only antecedent of that<br />
experimental salvation and radical holiness which is the only guarantee against damnation.<br />
(14.) ”MATRIMONY” This is the only institution which survived the fall and came down to brighten this<br />
dark, fallen world with a perpetual souvenir of the lost Paradise. Where this institution is not held sacred and<br />
appreciated in the fear of God, Christian civilization topples and falls. There is so much reckless deportment in<br />
connection with the matrimonial relation, and horrific, diabolical abuse of this sacred institution, that it is<br />
transcendently important that we give special attention to this fundamental Bible truth. Whereas Judaism was<br />
infantile Christianity, Moses provided for divorcements in case of irreconcilable uncongeniality and<br />
incompatibility, which disqualified them to live together in peace and harmony. But our Savior swept all of that<br />
away and restricted divorcement to the sin of adultery alone, which, in its very nature, destroys the matrimonial<br />
unity, which is the fundamental truth of the institution. In that case the divorcement is only for the protection of<br />
the innocent party. The wicked usurpation of this privilege is awfully condemnatory in the sight of God and all<br />
good people. Yet the wicked have the audacity recklessly to avail themselves of the divorcement privilege for<br />
the perpetration of the vilest sins. The signification of divorcement has been woefully misunderstood, arising<br />
from the erroneous translation of Matt. 5:31, 32, “But it has been said whosoever may put away his wife let him<br />
give to her a divorcement. But I say unto you that every man putting away his wife, except for the cause of<br />
fornication, makes her commit adultery, and whosoever may marry the cast off woman commits adultery.” In<br />
the English Version, the Greek word apolelumenen, which means “the cast off woman,” is erroneously rendered<br />
the “divorced woman,” which is positively untrue Great confusion and domestic mal-administration have<br />
supervened from this incorrect reading. The Savior did not say that the man who marries a divorced woman<br />
committed adultery; but you see at once the clearness of the case, when he marries her who had been driven<br />
away by her husband and is still his wedded wife. They had a quarrel and perhaps he whipped her and drove her<br />
from home, but she had not yet been divorced, therefore, of course, the man marrying her is guilty of adultery in<br />
its most literal sense. Whereas in case the woman had been divorced a man would have a perfect right to marry<br />
her and would not be guilty of adultery, because the end for which the divorcement is given is to liberate the<br />
innocent party for another marriage, ad libitum. God believed in matrimony. It is <strong>His</strong> own institution and<br />
prevents more sin than anything else. Divorcement (for sin of adultery) is also God's institution. It is right and<br />
proper In its place, and not to be wickedly usurped, but only used at the option of the innocent party.<br />
N. B. God's work is not shoddy like man's. When He grants a divorcement, it utterly ratifies the preceding<br />
nullification of the matrimonial covenant, which covenant unified the parties till destroyed by the sin of<br />
adultery.<br />
Our Savior's word for “divorcement” is apostasion, I. e., apostasy, now a plain English word, whose meaning is<br />
well known. A backslider is one who has lost ground and depreciated spiritually, but has not necessarily<br />
forfeited his justification. When this takes place, he has crossed the line and has gotten back in Satan's kingdom<br />
where he was before his conversion and is now an apostate and will have to get converted again, justified and<br />
regenerated, or drop into the Hell of the apostate along with Judas Iscariot. Of course the divorcements given by<br />
the courts are of no value unless there is a scriptural guaranty. A second marriage without a scriptural<br />
divorcement is utterly null and void, leaving the parties living in adultery. In that case they should separate and<br />
repent, but of course will never be free to marry another unless the truly wedded consort should be removed by<br />
death. It is of the greatest and most vital importance that all people should understand the true signification of<br />
Christian wedlock and also that of the scriptural divorcement, which invariably returns the innocent party back<br />
to celibacy where matrimony found him or her. We should all encourage matrimony in its right place as it is a<br />
most effectual breakwater against sin. Celibacy through life is only justifiable when utilized in the interest of<br />
God's kingdom, (Matt. 19: I 2).<br />
(15.) ”SIGNS OF HIS COMING” This booklet, containing about fifty or sixty page, available compendium of