WHY JESUS DIED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 19 July 1913, Page 3

WHY JESUS DIED.

A RANSOM-PRICE FOR SINNERS WAS NECESSARY UNDER THE PENALTY—HOW .JESUS SUFFERED THAT PENALTY HE REDEEMED NOT ONLY THE CHURCH, BUT ALSO THE WORLD-THE GLORIOUS OUTCOME. (Inserted by Arrangement.) Pastor Russell's topic last Sunday was "The Necessity for Jesus' Death." His text was: "In due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans v; 6). The Speaker stated that while the Bible everywhere declares the importance of Jesus' death, Christian people in recent times seem to be perplexed upon the subject. Some dispute the Bible statement of the necessity for the death of Jesus, and claim that his life and death were no different from that of other men. Others claim that Jesus came into the world and passed through various trying experiences, not n order to redeem mankind from anything, but in order to show his followers how they should live and die for a good cause. Others/ again, in bewilderment declare that they can see mo relationship between Jesus' death arid what they have been taught is the penalty for sin, viz., eternal torment. In general, said the Pastor, there i« confusion upon the subject,, and only those who get the proper Scriptural focus upon the question of why Christ died can he mentally at rest, and able to enter sympathetically into the various features of the great plan of God of which the death of | Jesus for human redemption is a part. The Pastor protested against the too common practice of accepting ja portion of the Bible and rejecting the remainder. He declared that any man wise enough to criticise the inspired Word should be accepted as ••in inspired authority. o»toable-of writ, ing a letter statement'of the Divine plan. Fnr his own part, he believed that the Scriptures, a«~, St. Paul dedares, written aforetime for the admonition of the Church. ' IIi» that this was done because (Jod wished His. 'people to understand Fiis Divine purposes and arrangements, and sympathetically to enjov them and co-operate in their fulfilment. We should hold fast "th? faith once delivered to the saints," and should not allow either our own wisdom. or- the wi.-dom'of other men make the Word of God of none effect. He remolded his h <arers of how Jesus ■had reproved the Pharisees for their neglect of Gorl's Word and for takiHg instervc! of it the traditions of ■men. „ ' JESUS DIED TO MEET MAN'S* PENALTY. There is no dispute apiongst the various orthodox creeds that ther; was a penalty against mankind which needed to be met. before the Divine . blessing could to any member of our race. These creeds all agreed, the Pastor said, that Adam, llie father ofHhe race, was created perfect, in the image, in the moral likeness of his Maker,.-tut that lie had sinned, and come'under a penalty or curse, on account of the sin. Hence all of his race inheriting life from him, shared his weaknesses and his condemnation to death. God, having sentenced man to death as unworthy of life, could not consistently have any dealings with him, while still condemned. Hence His provision that Jesus as the son of God should recover Adam and his ritce from the sentence, in order that all might have an opportunity to return to harmony with God, and thue to everlasting life. This, said the Pastor, is clearly set forth in both the Old Testament and the New. The misconceptions of our forefathers on tho subject of punishment for sin were bwilt upon mistranslations, or literal statements meant to be understood symbolically. For instance, we read, of our. Lord, "He opened his mouth in parables and dark sayings." When our Lord illustrated the utter destruction of the finally incorrigible by the destruction of the offal of Jerusalem, cast into the Gehenna fire outside the city wall, it was not torment that he taught, but annihilation. Nothing; was tormented in the fire of the Valley of Hinnom. In the book of Revelation, wholly symbolical, the plain "statement is made that , the lake of fir© represents the Second Death. "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH." Most emphatically the Bible declares the wages of sin to be death—not torment. Lest anyone should think of this as meaning merely the death of the body, while tlie soul would continue to live, the Scriptures expressly state more than once that the death of the soul is meant. "The soul that' sinneth it shall die." "God is able to destroy both soul and body" in Gesenna —the Second Death. The penalty against Adam, "dying, thou shalt die," signifies the death of his soul, his entire being. Under that sentence, unless redeemed, Adam and his race would have no future life. God from the very beginning, however} - purposed to redeem man from this death sentence. In due time He sent forth His Son to pay man's redemption price—to die for his sins. His redemptive work will restore man to life privileges—restore man's soul from the power of the tomb, "by a resurrection of the dead. Therefore, even before Jesus had died f.oi* our sins, He said to some of the listening* people, "Fear not them which can kill the body" and thus take from you all that remains of the present Adamic life. Fear rather God, with whom are the issues of the future life, for He is able to destroy not merely the temporary life of the present time, but also your prospective life, which He purposes to secure for you through the Redeemer's sacrifice, and by the resurrection from the dead. ! We see, then, that God rested every feature of His plan for mankind upon the great work which from the beginning He intended that Jesus should accomplish for our race. St. Paul, said the Pastor, expresses this

whole matter in a s'cu- words, saying, "As by a man came, death [not eternal torment]) by a twin also comes the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die. even so in Christ shall all be mado alive, every man in his own order." Search carefully the Old Testament Scriptures—every word of God througTr Mosee and the Prophets—and we find not a hint of any other penalty for sin than -this death penalty. , WHAT THE DEATH PENALTY INCLUDES. Tli© Pastor declares that many fail to grasp the full import oP the death penalty. According to the Scriptures, it is not a future curse, but a present one, which will be lifted in the future. We should not think of the death penalty as merely the moment of death, or a few dying hours or days. It includes not only the final act of dying, but all the steps leading thereto. Had there been no sin and no penalty, there would have been no qying process—no aches, no pain, no sighing, no crying, nor dying., I • Man lived in Ms earthly Eden paradise as happily as angeis on the spirit plane are living in their Heavenly home, hecaase he is an earthly being, adapted to earthly conditions. ■Besides, had it not been for sin, God would not have permitted the curse, nor brought thorns, thistles, stroma, cyclones, brought, and 'deluge, which in death-dealing powei- have been permitted to come to man, because lip is a convict. He is already under sentence of death, and not entitled to any consideration. The favours that God has- promised to him through Christ will come in their due season. I T|ey r will j majce a. Paradise ] aga-in," with nothing -to -hurt or. destroy. The lfivine blessing will bring to all mankind the privilege and opportunity for the return to the image and likeness of God, and to everlasting life, under the New Coven-, ant.