W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest

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