S C R I B N E R ' S M A G A Z I N E Important ... - Rparchives.org

October 29, 1913.
A KA.MILY PAPER.
born on foreign soil, Avhile only one was
born of native-born parents.
These three facts, the multitudes of the
incoming tide, the source from which they
come and their consequent character, and
their distribution after they land on our
shores, suggest something of the problem relating
to the immigrant that is to be solved,
and emphasize the importance of g'iving the
most careful attention to everything that looks
towards the solution oi the problem. It is
a vital part of the great Home Mission problem
that the churches have before them, and
to the solution of Avhich they have need to
bring all the consecrated energies that they
can command.
Hemet, Calif.
IF A MAN DIE SHALL HE LIVE
AGAIN*,—Job. 14:14,
By the Rev, H, G. Patterson.
(Concluded from last week)
Man Avas created in the image of God.
But God is a spirit and has no bodily form.
Therefore it must be in man's spiritual and
not in his material nature that he is like God
One of God's attributes as a spirit is immortality,
Man in his spiritual nature being
created in his image has this attribute of
God, Immediately after it is said that man
was made in the image of God the statement
is made that he Avas given dominion over
the beasts of the earth; and so there are
some Avho think that the image of God in
man consists in his dominion over the creatures.
If that is true, then he who has the
most contro! over the beasts of the earth has
the most of the image of God. The God hating-,
blaspheming lion trainer Avho subdues
those ferocious beasts has more of the image
of God than the martyr saint who is
torn in pieces and devoured by them.
The Bible gives us this view of man as
such, not of a particular order of men; of
man as he was created and continues to be,
not of man in one particular stage of his
history. Nowhere does it speak of the immortality
of the spirit as a gift added to nature,
or as a latter bestowment of grace. It
does not say that Christ gave immortality
through the pospel, but brought it to light,
made it known, made certain our faith in it.
It was believed before, but like other Old
Testament truths it was dim, now it is clear
hght. 'What Christ gave by the sacrifice of
himself upon the cross, was an opportunity
•Of the immortal spirit to spend eternity in
heaven rather than in hell.
rhose who oppose the doctrine of the immortality
of the spirit of man, which at his
death according to scripture returns to God
*ho gave it, admit that the spirit of the
"•'Pteous man is immortal, and even that the
spirit of the wicked is immortal enough to
"ve through death and on for thousands of
y^i'still after the judgment, but they deny
*Requested for publication.
that it is immortal enough to live forever.
This idea says one "is too childish to be entertained
beyond the httle school of literalists
who delight in it," The rational mind
is content to believe that that which proves
its powers to live beyond death claims its immortality.
The dissolution of death is the shock that
seems to dash the crown from man's head.
The evidence for his survival of that is evidence
for much more. In no place does the
Bible declare or suggest that the victory
over the grave which meant life for the righteous,
meant extinction for the unrighteous.
Annihilation is not taught in the Bible as the
opposite of eternal hfe.
Those Avho believe that it is rely upon the
fact that the Bible uses the terms, death, destruction„
perdition, and kindred terms to desciibe
the fate of the unrighteous. They insist
on taking these literally, Avhether the
destiny of the body be in view, or that of
the soul, or that of the man.
But the scriptures written in the language
of men use words as men are accustomed
to use them, literally and figuratively, and in
senses suited to the nature of the subjects to
which they are applied. The Avord life means
one thing when used of plants, another when
used of animals, and another when spoken
of in reference to the soul of man. The
death of a plant is one thing, the death of
an immortal soul is something en'tirely different.
That the words life and death are not
confined to the limited sense in which annihilationists
Avould take them hardly needs
to be proved. The scriptures everywhere recognize
the distinction, in reference to men,
between animal, intellectual, and spiritual life.
A man may have the two former and be destitute
of the latter. He may have animal and
intellectual life and be destitute of spiritual
life. God quickens those dead in trespasses
and sins; that is He imparts spiritual life to
those who are in full vigor of their animal
and intellectual being. Therefore Ave are
told that, "the favor of God is life;" that,
"to know God is eternal life;" that, "to be
spiritually minded is hfe;" and that, "to be
carnally minded is death." Are we to understand
that to be carnally minded is annihilation?
I have seen a number of carnally
minded men this morning, and as far as
I could judge they Avere about as real and
tangible as any of us. The Apostle said to
the Colossians,, while they were living and in
the exercise of all their physical and intellectual
faculties, "ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God." Did he mean
they were annihilated? He said to the Galatians:
'T live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me." Those who "live in pleasure" are
said to be "dead while they live." Are those
who are today satiating the desire of their
wicked hearts for pleasure annihilated? No
one believes that the word life in- such scripture
phrases as "the bread of life," "the water
of life,'' "the tree of life," "the crown uf
life," means only continued existence. The
Avord when used of the spirit of man, means
not only conscious being, but a natural state
of being in the likeness, fellowship, and enjoyment
of God, And it like manner the
word death when spoken of the soul, means
alienation or separation from God; and when
that separation is final it is eternal death.
This is what is meant Avhen it is said, "the
soul tbat sinneth shall die;" "the wages of
sin is death," This is so plain that it has
never been doubted, except for the purpose
of supporting the doctrine of the annihilation
of the Avicked, But some one may quote the
poetical language of the 139th Psalm as a
proof that it is impossible to be separated
from the favor and enjoyment of God,
"From thy spirit whither shall I go ?
Or from thy presence fly?
Ascend I to heaven, lo, thou art there;
There if in hell I lie,"
But the same psalmist prays: "Cast me not
away from thy presence, and take not thy
holy spirit from me," If it is impossible to
be shut out from God's presence Avhy does
the psalmist pray that he might not be? We
also read in another place: "Then my anger
shall be kindled against them in that day,
and I will forsake them, and I will hide my
face from them, and they shall be devoured,
and many evils shall befall them; so that
they will say in that day, are not tbese evils
come upon us because our God is not among
us? And I will surely hide my face in that
day for all the evils which they have wrought
in that they are turned unto other Gods."
(Deut. 31:17-18,) And again: "T will hide
my face from them, I AviU see Avhat their end
shall be." (D'eut, 32:20.) "The Lord is Avith
you while ye be Avith him; and if ye seek
him he Avill be found of you; but if ye forsake
him he will forsake you." (2 Chron,
15:2.) We are not able to hide from God
but God is able to hide from us.
The apostle in speaking of the end of those
Avho "know not God and obey not the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ;" tells us that they
"shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from
the glory of his power," (2, Thes, 1:9,)
While this is a somewhat ambiguous passage,
the most natural meaning and what the
best authorities understand it to mean, is
that the everlasting destruction consists in
everlasting separation from the presence and
glory of the Lord.
AVhat is true of the AVord death is also
true of the Avord destruction.
To destroy is to ruin. The nature of that
ruin depends on the nature of the subject
which is said to be ruined, A thing is ruined
Avhen it is rendered unfit for use; Avhen
it is in such a state that it can no longer answer
the end for Avhich it is designed. The
Titanic is destroyed as a ship but it is not
annihilated. It is everlastingly destroyed. So