The following primary definitions are from the Standard Dictionary:--
Nothing can be clearer than that God did not pardon Adam's
transgression and remit its penalty: the facts all about us, in the
groaning and dying creation, no less than the testimony of God's Word
concerning "wrath of God revealed" -- the "curse" of death as the wages of
original sin, all testify loudly that God did not pardon the world -- did
not remit its sin-penalty under which it has suffered for over six thousand
years. He who confounds the justification of sinners through the
merit of the sin-sacrifice of Christ, the sinner's substitute or
ransomer, with pardon without payment, has not had his senses
exercised properly. Had God pardoned Adam he would have restored
him to the privileges of Eden and its life-sustaining orchard, and he would
be living yet, and his numerous family would not have died for "one man's
disobedience."
If at any time God were to come to man's rescue and pardon him, it
would imply his full release from all the blight, disease, pain and death:
it would mean full restitution to all that was lost. Evidently then God
has not pardoned the original sin, but still holds the resentment of his
holy law and sentence against the sinner. There is even no outward
evidence to the world that they have been redeemed, ransomed. Only
believers yet know of this and they receive it, not by sight, but by faith
in the Lord's Word; its many declarations to this effect we have already
cited. The sight-evidences proving the ransom will be discernible
during the Millennium, when the work of restitution is under way -- when the
Redeemer begins the exercise of his purchased rights as the Restorer.
The words forgive and pardon are used not in respect to the
world and its original sin, but in respect to those who through
faith in the Redeemer and his work are reckoned as having passed from death
unto life -- from sentence to justification. The great Mediator who
bought them, and who bought the charges which were against them,
freely forgives them and starts them afresh on trial for life -- under the
spirit of the divine Law and not under its letter. And more than this
forgiveness of the past, he continues to forgive them and to pardon all
their offenses (which will not be wilful so long as they have his new
spirit or mind -- 1 John 3:9; 5:18) -- counting all such unwilful blemishes
of thoughts, words and deeds as a part of the original sin and it
depravity, still working in their flesh through heredity. Similarly the
Heavenly Father is said to have mercy upon us, to forgive our
trespasses, and to extend his grace (favor) to us; but the
explanation is that all his grace is extended to us through our Lord Jesus'
sacrifice: we are "justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a
propitiation [satisfaction] through faith in his blood -- to declare his
righteousness for the remission [forgiveness] of sins." (Rom. 3:24-25)
Again, it is declared, "We have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." -- Eph. 1:7;
Col. 1:14
"We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son," i.e., God
ceased to resent our sins, because our ransom price had ben
paid, as provided by himself, who so loved us that he gave his Son to
redeem us. Thus, too, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them" (but unto his
beloved Son, who freely gave himself as our substitute). The sins were
imputed to mankind until Jesus died; then God forgave, i.e., ceased
to impute to us what had been paid by our Redeemer or Substitute.
God did not pardon, i.e., "refrain from exacting the
penalty," but "laid upon him [our Redeemer] the iniquity of us all."
(Isa. 53:6) "He bore [the penalty of] our sins in his own body on the
tree." (1 Pet. 2:24) And thus we see how God forgave us freely for
Christ's sake" -- because he paid the penalty which was the full
satisfaction of justice. -- 1 John 1:7; 2:12; Eph. 4:32; Acts 4:12; 10:43;
13:38; Luke 24:47
Let it not be misunderstood that God compelled the just one to die
for the unjust. Justice could not inflict the punishment of the guilty
upon the innocent unless the innocent one freely gave himself as a
substitute for the guilty. This our Lord Jesus did. The Scriptures
declare that he laid down his life of himself; not for fear of divine wrath;
not because compelled; but "for the joy that was set before him [the joy of
obedience to the Father, the joy of redeeming and restoring mankind, and of
bringing many sons to glory] he endured the cross." -- Heb. 12:2
The Greek words (apoluo, aphiemi and aphesis) translated
"forgiveness," "forgiven" and "forgive," in the New Testament, have the
save significance as the corresponding English words: "To release from
punishment, to cease to cherish resentment towards." But let us mark well
that the meaning is not as some seem to infer -- to send away without an
equivalent, as the English word pardon would imply. It is not
that God will let the sinner go unconditionally, but, as Scripturally
declared, God will let go the prisoners out of the pit (out of death),
because he has found a ransom. (Job 33:24) The man Christ Jesus
gave himself a ransom (a corresponding price) for all. (1 Tim. 2:6)
Therefore all that are in their graves (prisoners in the pit) shall hear
his voice and come forth, in due time -- when the Redeemer shall "take to
himself his great power and reign."
Though the word pardon does not occur in the New Testament, a Greek
word of nearly the same meaning does occur -- karazomai. It
signifies, to forgive freely. We will give some illustrations of
the use of this word, from which it will be seen that it does not oppose
but confirms the statement that our Father does not pardon, or
unconditionally set sinners free from sin's penalty. The word
karazomai occurs in all only twelve times, as follows: --
"Forgiving one another . . . even as Christ forgave you"
(Col. 3:13); "When they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them
both"; "He to whom he forgave most." -- Luke 7:42-43
Here are four instances in which free forgiveness or pardon is
meant. But notice, it is not Jehovah, but Christ Jesus and the disciples
who do the free forgiving. Our Lord Jesus was in the very act of
paying the ransom price of Simon, Mary and others, and realizing that
Justice would be satisfied by his act, he, as the purchaser, could
freely forgive them. The very object of his purchasing sinners was, that
he might freely release them from sin's condemnation. Had our Lord
Jesus been unwilling to pardon those whom he had purchased with his
own blood, had he still held against them the wages of Adam's sin, his
sacrifice would have been valueless to them; it would have left all
as they were -- "cursed" -- condemned. On the other hand, had the Father
pardoned us, Christ's death would have been useless, valueless, as
it would have accomplished nothing.
All will admit that God is just; and if so, he did not inflict too severe
a penalty on man when he deprived him of life. Now if that penalty was
just six thousand years ago, it is still a just penalty, and will be just
for all coming time. If the penalty was too severe and God pardons
the sinner (releases him from further continuance of the penalty) it proves
either that God was at first unjust, or is so now. If it was right six
thousand years ago to deprive mankind of life unless the pronounced penalty
were justly canceled by the payment of an equivalent price. And this could
only be accomplished by the willing sacrifice of another being of the
same kind, whose right to life was unforfeited, giving himself as a
substitute or ransom.
"Forever firm God's Justice stands
So, then, so far as Jehovah is concerned, we are forgiven through
his own provision -- through Christ. And so far as our relationship to the
Lord Jesus, who bought us, is concerned, he freely pardons
all who would come unto the Father by him. And so far as we are concerned,
the results attained by God's plan are most favorable -- to us it amounts
to the same as though the Father had pardoned us unconditionally and
without a ransom, except that a knowledge of the fact enables us to
reason with God, and to see how, though our sins were as scarlet, we are
made whiter than snow, and how God is just while justifying and releasing
us. Thus God has furnished us a sure foundation for faith and
trust.
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due
time." --1 Tim. 2:5-6
Whether this reasoning be true or false, it evidently is in violent
conflict with the Scriptures, which declare, to the contrary, our need of a
Savior, and that it was essential that he should give a ransom-price for
us, before we could be released from the penalty of Adam's sin, and have
any right to a future life. We have already referred to these Scriptures,
and they are too numerous to be now repeated, hence we will confine
ourselves to exposing the fallacy of the above claim; endeavoring to show
that correct reasoning on the facts is in absolute accord with the
Scriptural testimony, that the death of our Lord Jesus, as our
ransom-price, was essential, that God might be just and yet be the
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus, accepting him as his Redeemer.
Had the penalty against sin been merely dying -- had the Lord said
to Adam, Because of your sin you must experience the trying ordeal of
dying! then, indeed, the penalty would be met by Adam and others
dying. But such is not the penalty: the penalty is death,
not dying; and death is the absence of life, destruction. Hence for
man to pay his penalty would mean that he must stay dead, devoid of
life forever. "The soul [being] that sinneth, it shall die." As already
pointed out, this destruction of the soul (being), according to the
sentence, would have been everlasting, except for the redemption
accomplished by our Lord. It is in view of that redemption that death is
turned into what is figuratively termed a "sleep" -- in view of that
redemption there will be an awakening from this sleep of death in due time,
accomplished by the Redeemer, with the full consent of divine Justice,
whose demands he met. Thus, as we have seen, had it not been for the
redemption, Adamic death would have been what the Second Death is to be,
viz., "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and
from the glory of his power." When once the proper view of the subject is
obtained, there can be no further doubt in the mind of any reasonable
person that paying the penalty of sin takes all that a man has, and leaves
nothing either to suffer or enjoy. On the other hand, the more we
investigate from this standpoint, the more clearly we may see the
seriousness of the difficulty in which our race was involved under the
divine sentence; and the more will we appreciate the necessity for the
ransom. And seeing this feature of the subject clearly will show us
clearly also that when our Lord Jesus did become our Redeemer, when he did
give himself as our ransom-price, it meant to him what the original penalty
would have meant to us, viz., that "the man Christ Jesus" suffered for us
death, in the most absolute sense of the word, "everlasting destruction."
Hence we know Christ no more after the flesh. The flesh, the human nature,
was given as our ransom-price, and the fact that it was not taken back is
our guarantee that all the blessed provisions of that ransom are available
to the entire human family under the terms of the New Covenant -- that all
the perfections and rights which belonged to our dear Redeemer as a man
were given in exchange for Adam's similar rights, which had been
forfeited through disobedience; and that these, therefore, are to be given
to all who will accept them upon the divine terms, during the "times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all
his holy prophets since the world began." -- Acts 3:19-21
The vast majority of those who take hold of this "Universalist" error deny
the ransom in toto; but a few take hold of it because of faith in
the ransom -- whose operation, however, they fail to distinctly
understand. This class is very apt to seize upon the Scripture above
cited, and to satisfy themselves with the following process of reasoning:
"If God wills to have all men saved, that settles it; for the time is
coming that his will shall be done on earth as in heaven." Therefore, say
they, "We perceive that the ransom given for all by the man Christ
Jesus is to secure the will of God by securing the salvation of all." They
proceed to entrench themselves in their error by saying, "When we look at
it, since God accepted the ransom-sacrifice of Jesus, he is bound in
justice to save all the sinners, and to give back to them again the
eternal life lost in Eden." We state their position as strongly as
possible, to the intent that it may be answered to their satisfaction, and
beyond all cavil.
The difficulty with this reasoning is that it is not sufficiently
comprehensive. It takes hold of a few points of Scripture, and neglects
many which should be granted a hearing, and whose testimony should have
weight in reaching a conclusion. Besides, it only partially quotes, and
misinterprets, the Scriptures supposed particularly to support it.
Our Heavenly Father declares "I have no pleasure in the death of him that
dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." (Ezek.
18:32) This great favor of an offer of life through a Ransomer to the
condemned world is not a new thing on our Heavenly Father's part. He
changes not; he has always had this good will towards his creatures. He
could have made them mere machines, intellectually and morally, without
liberty to will or to do contrary to his good pleasure; but he chose not to
make human machines, but to make beings in his own image, in his own
likeness -- with liberty of choice, freedom of will, to choose good or
evil. He seeketh not such to worship him as could not do otherwise, nor
such to worship him as would do so under constraint, but, as he declares,
"He seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth" --
voluntarily, from love and appreciation of his principles of righteousness,
and of himself, which these represent. -- John 4:23
Nevertheless, it was while God had this same good will toward men that he
permitted Adam to take his own choice of obedience or disobedience, and
when he chose the disobedience, this same God, who has no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, pronounced the penalty, and for six thousand years
has enforced its execution. And now that he has provided a redemption in
Christ Jesus, and an opportunity for every member of the human family to
return to harmony with himself, and to obtain through Christ eternal life,
he at the same time most unquestionably sets up conditions necessary
to the obtaining of this eternal life. The terms of the New Covenant are a
renewed heart and right spirit toward God, and a full obedience to him.
And the fulfilment of the requirements of this New Covenant is only
possible through the help of the Mediator of that Covenant, and hence the
declaration is that, He that hath the Son may have the life, and he who
does not obtain an interest in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him. -- John 3:36
This is in perfect accord with the statement that God hath no pleasure in
the death of him that dieth, and also in accord with the statement in the
New Testament, that "God wills all men to be saved, and to come to a
knowledge of the truth." Nevertheless, the Scriptures point out that those
who reject the offers of divine mercy in Christ are thereby doing despite
unto divine favor, and will surely die the Second Death, the wages or
penalty of their choosing sin instead of righteousness.
Notice further: this text under consideration indicates merely that it is
the will of God that all mankind should be saved from the ignorance and
blindness and degradation which has come upon the race as a result of
Adam's sin. There is no reference here to an everlasting salvation,
but merely to a recovery from the loss sustained through Adam: and it
should not be forgotten that father Adam did not lose eternal life,
for although he had a perfect life, and was free from all elements of
death, he was, nevertheless, place in Eden on probation, to see
whether, by obedience to God, he would develop a character in harmony with
God, and so be accounted worthy of everlasting life. Consequently, when
Adam and his race are redeemed from the curse of death, this redemption or
salvation from the sentence of death does not entitle them to everlasting
life, but merely entitles them to the favorable conditions of father Adam,
and to a fresh trial as to worthiness for everlasting life.
This fresh trial secured for Adam and all his race will indeed be more
favorable in some respects than was Adam's original trial, because of the
large increase of knowledge. Man has had an opportunity to learn the
exceeding sinfulness of sin, and will have an opportunity to learn the
blessedness of righteousness and of God's grace in Christ. This knowledge
will be of service to all who will use it, during the fresh trial for
eternal life in the Millennial age -- when for a thousand years the whole
world of mankind shall be in judgment or trial for eternal life, before the
great white throne. -- Rev. 20:4
It is this salvation from the "curse," this recovery back to
favorable opportunities of knowledge, that God wills; and on account of
this he has appointed the Mediator between God and man, the man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
This statement, that it is God's will that "all men should be saved" from
the Adamic sentence, finds a parallel in the statement by the same apostle,
in Rom. 11:26, "And so all Israel shall be saved." The thought in this
last passage is not that all Israel shall be saved eternally, but
merely that all Israel shall be saved from their blindness -- in the
sense of being recovered from blindness which came upon them as a people as
a result of their national rejection of the Messiah. So the thought of the
text is also limited and applies only to the Adamic catastrophe: "God
wills that all men should be saved, not only from the just sentence which
he pronounced and which cut short Adam's trial (this he has already
accomplished in the death of his Son) but he also wills that all men shall
be recovered from the ignorance and blindness with which Satan since the
fall has darkened their minds: "the god of this world has blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Cor. 4:4) God
wills that all should be so saved from all the train of evils following
Adam's sin and curse, that they may come to a knowledge of the truth. Why
does he will this? To the intent that having a clear knowledge of the
truth they may make the very best possible use of the new trial for life
secured for them by their Redeemer's ransom-sacrifice. It is for the
carrying out of this, God's will, that the Redeemer will inaugurate his
Millennial Kingdom, which will first bind Satan (restrain all outside evil
influences) and then release man from his blindness -- as it is written,
"the eyes of the blind shall be opened." (Isa. 35:5) For the same reason,
viz., that the new trial shall be most favorable for man, it is the divine
arrangement that its work shall be done gradually and require a thousand
years.
The fact that the Heavenly Father disposed of the entire race to our Lord
Jesus does not imply any lack of interest on his part, but is so arranged in
order to meet the requirements of his law. The divine laws are inflexible,
and make no allowance for any degree of imperfection or sin; because those
laws are arranged for perfect beings: for our Heavenly Father never
created anything imperfect. Whatever there is of imperfection and sin has
been of depravity subsequent to his creative operation. If he should admit
of sin in mankind, and deal with imperfect man directly, it would mean (1)
that all would quickly be sentenced as imperfect and unworthy, or (2) that
God would pass over and fail to condemn our faults and condone our
imperfections, which would be in violation of the laws of his empire.
Hence it is for man's benefit as well as for the preservation of his own
laws inviolate that the Father has turned the entire race over to the hands
of Jesus, its Redeemer. Jesus can deal with the race so as to be
merciful (not just) toward the imperfect ones seeking perfection,
until he shall have brought them step by step, up, up, up to
perfection at the close of the Millennium -- when those who shall
have obeyed the great Prophet will be ready to be transferred out of his
Mediatorial hands into the Father's hands; having attained through Christ
the perfection approved of the divine standard; while all others will be
cut off in the Second Death. (Acts 3:23) It is in view of the fact that
even with past sins blotted out our present imperfections would bring
a fresh sentence of death if on trial before the Father's court of absolute
justice, that the apostle, cautioning us against trifling with the
opportunities afforded us in Christ, declares, "It is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:31) The divine
arrangement for sinners knows no mercy except in and through Christ and his
work of atonement and restitution as the Mediator: outside this provision
God's law is stern justice, with no allowances, ready to consume as a fire
everything blemished.
Who cannot see that if God could deal with the sinners, and condoning their
sins, accept their best endeavors, though imperfect, there would have been
no necessity for a Redeemer no for a New Covenant in his blood? Moreover,
every one of the holy angels might consistently, if they chose, say -- God
condoned one sin in the human family; he would be no less merciful toward
us; hence if we desire to do so, we will be at liberty to commit one sin,
and may rely upon divine mercy's forgiveness of it, and that God would not
cast us off from his fellowship. And thus, to all eternity, there might be
danger of sin on the part of those who had not already dabbled in it. Each
one who would thus venture on divine mercy, overriding divine justice, and
divine law, to the excusement of one sin, and be forgiven, would constitute
another argument why every one of the holy angels should take a trial at
sin, and experience divine forgiveness. Seeing this, it does not surprise
us that God, in the interest of all his holy creatures, as well as for his
own pleasure, decides that he will recognize nothing short of perfection in
any creature, and makes Justice the foundation of his throne. --
Psa. 89:14
Looking, then, to the Mediator, in whose hands has been placed "all power"
to save, we inquire whether or not he proposes that those whom he redeemed
shall all be eternally saved, or whether or not he has place limitations
upon the matter. We find that the Scriptures clearly state that there are
limitations: for instance, when describing the Millennial age as the time
when the Adamic curse shall be set aside, and be no longer in operation
upon men, and when it shall no longer be the proverb, The fathers have
eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge; the
declaration is that every man who then dies shall die for his own sin, and
not for the sin of another. (Jer. 31:29-30) We find the declaration also,
that when the Lord is the ruler amongst the nations, "the evil-doer shall
be cut off." (Psa. 37:9) We find that the Apostle Peter, after telling
about these "times of restitution," the Millennial age, declares that then
"it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hear [obey] that Prophet
[the Christ glorified -- head and body] shall be
Here we are clearly shown that adversaries of the antitypical Moses (the
glorified Christ)shall be devoured or destroyed in a still more severe
manner than were those who opposed Moses. But if those who opposed Moses
were punished with death, how can those who oppose Christ be more severely
dealt with? We answer, that the death inflicted by Moses merely affected
the remnant of Adamic life remaining, but could not affect the real being
or soul which God purposed to redeem and did redeem by Christ's
ransom-sacrifice. He, however, who after knowledge of his redemption
refuses to obey the antitypical Moses, will be punished more severely in
that he will not only lose a few years of his condemned life, but lose his
soul, his being, his existence forever, and that without hope of recovery
-- for such, and all adversaries, will be devoured as stubble, as thorns
and thistles, cumberers of the ground.
Similarly, throughout the entire New Testament, the testimony is conclusive
that the law of God against sin will be radically enforced by the Mediator,
and that the only deviations from its absolute rule will be allowances for
the weaknesses and ignorance of the people; that as these weaknesses and
ignorance are overcome during the Millennial age, by the process of
restitution, the requirements of the law of Justice will become more and
more exacting, until finally the judgment by which our Lord Jesus will in
the end of the Millennial age test all who still remain will be no less
severe, no less crucial, than that of the Heavenly Father: and under this
trial all will fall into the Second Death who either practice sin or
sympathize with it in any form or degree. Perfection having been attained
by the worthy of the race, through the processes of restitution, the
demands of Justice will be in full conformity to all the dictates of
righteousness, in word, in deed and in thought
We can see thus God's will shall be accomplished on earth as in heaven --
remembering (1) that it is God's will that all should be recovered from the
Adamic curse, and brought to a knowledge of the truth; (2) that it is the
will of God that eternal life should be given to all the obedient; (3) that
it is equally the will of God that all the disobedient "shall be
destroyed from amongst the people." This feature of God's will
shall be done on earth, also, and none can hinder it.
Some have assumed that since the ransom was provided to the intent that all
mankind should be recovered out of the Adamic transgression, therefore an
instantaneous restitution to full perfection of the human nature is
to be expected for the world of mankind. But such an expectation is
neither Scriptural nor reasonable. Nothing in the Scriptures intimates
that the restitution work shall be an instantaneous one, but on the
contrary, that it will be a gradual one. The inclination to look for
instantaneous restitution to absolute perfection of the human nature is the
result of false reasoning. It assumes that the race could not be properly
on trial for eternal life, under equally favorable circumstances with
father Adam, except by being made perfect, as he was, but we will
demonstrate that this is incorrect -- that they can receive a much more
favorable trial while imperfect. It assumes that the weaknesses and
imperfections common to all mankind through the fall would be
insurmountable barriers, which would hinder the redeemed ones from
rendering obedience to the divine law, but we shall see that God's
provision abundantly meets the necessities of the case. We answer, that on
the contrary, if mankind in general were placed back again, by an
instantaneous restitution, to the perfection of human nature as enjoyed by
Adam, it would mean: --
(1) That as perfect beings they should be required to obey the
perfect law of God perfectly; and that no excuse should be
made for them, as none was made for father Adam. While a few of the race
might pass such a trial favorably, because of present experience with sin,
and the lessons learned thereunder, yet we are to remember that the
majority of the race would be just as deficient in knowledge of sin
and its penalty as was father Adam, because the majority of the race have
died in infancy, and of the remainder a large proportion have died in
comparative ignorance of the distinctions between right and wrong.
(2) Such a procedure would, to a large extent at least, make void the great
lesson which God had been teaching the world for six thousand years,
respecting the sinfulness of sin, the undesirability of sin; for the
majority have thus far had comparatively little knowledge of righteousness.
Their course of instruction will only be complete to mankind by the lessons
on the opposite side of the question, the wisdom and profit of righteousness
to be inculcated during the Millennial age.
(3) The race, if restored instantly, would be practically a new race, to
which all experiences would be comparatively lost; because no member of it
would be able to thoroughly identify himself, a perfect being, with perfect
faculties and powers, with the being who now has such imperfect faculties
and powers: and with infants, who had never come to a knowledge even of
themselves, there could not be the slightest identification. So, if this
were God's plan, he might just as well have created millions of human
beings at first, in Eden, and have tried them all, as to adopt a plan which
would place millions in a similar position, by restitution, with no
benefit whatever from present experiences with sin.
(4) If each individual were thus instantaneously made perfect there would
be no opportunity for the operation of the Church, with their Lord, as the
seed of Abraham, to bless the world, to fulfil toward it the office of the
"Royal Priesthood." (Gal. 3:16, 29) The divine provision for a "Royal
Priesthood" implies weakness, imperfection, on the part of some whom the
priests are to help and instruct, and from whom they are to accept
sacrifice and offerings for sin, and to whom they are to extend mercy and
forgiveness of sins. There could be no room for such a priesthood, if the
plan of God were one of instantaneous restitution at the second advent.
(5) If the restitution were to be an instantaneous work, why should a
thousand years be appointed, as "times of restitution," when one year would
be an abundance of time for an instantaneous restitution to human
perfection and for a trial such as Adam passed through?
(6) If mankind were instantly brought to absolute perfection, it would
imply that there would be no room for mercy on their account. There could
be no plea for mercy for wilful, deliberate, intentional transgression.
Furthermore, each individual who would transgress, would individually bring
himself under the sentence of death, as a wilful sinner, and no redemption
for these would be possible: unlike the case of Adam, where "by one
man's disobedience" a whole race was involved, and another perfect man
became the redeemer of that race. In this case each individual would be a
personal transgressor, and come personally under the sentence of
death. To release again from the penalty of even one transgression would
require a life for a life for each individual transgressor: a million
transgressors would require a million sacrificial deaths of the pervect and
holy if their sins would be atoned for; but God having made a full
provision for all in Christ, has made no provision for any further
sacrifice for sins. Nor could these, aster being once restored to
perfection by Christ, claim anthing further under the merit of his
sacrifice, because they would have received all the gracious effects
intended and secured by his ransom. There would remain to them no further
share in the sacrifice for sins, if they had once experienced full
restitution.
But now let us consider the reasonableness of the divine plan of a gradual
restitution, progressing proportionately with man's growing at-one-ment
with the Creator and his law -- and the benefits of this plan to
mankind.
(1) All are to be awakened from the Adamic death, as though from a sleep,
by virtue of the ransom given: this will be the first step in restitution
blessings. They will then be under the care, charge, supervision, of the
Royal Priesthood, whose experience with sin, and with victory over sin, in
this Gospel age, will well fit and prepare them to be patient and helpful
toward those over whom they will reign, as Kings as well as Priests. --
Rev. 5:10
The identity of the individual will be preserved, by reason of his being
awakened to exactly the same conditions which he lost in death; and the
various steps of his progression out of sin and the weaknesses of the present
time will be most profitable lessons to him, as respects sin and as
respects the benefits of righteousness. Thus, step by step, the great
Redeemer will lift up toward perfection the world of mankind, which shall
make progress toward perfection im proportion as it wills so to do;
and those who will not progress, under all the knowledge and opportunities
then accorded them, will, at the age of one hundred years, be cut off from
the land of the living, in the Second Death, without hope of any future
recovery or opportunity; because having had the opportunity in their hands,
and having come to a considerable knowledge of right and wrong, they
spurned the grace of God in Christ, in that they neglected the instructions
of the great Prophet, and refused to make progress along the highway of
holiness. Isa. 65:20; 35:8) Nevertheless, as the Prophet points out, when
dying at one hundred years of age, they may be considered merely as
children, because all who will to make any progress might have continued to
live at least until the end of the Millennial age.
(2) In taking these steps upward along the highway of holiness, during the
Millennial age, the world, while still imperfect, will be to that extent
still covered by the merit of the ransom-sacrifice while learning
gradually valuable lessons, and cultivating various fruits of the Spirit:
and in the meantime breaks or blemishes, through indiscretion, or through
attempts to try other methods, would still come in as part of their Adamic
weakness, and to that extent be forgivable at the hands of the great
Priest.
To claim that either physical perfection or perfection of knowledge is
necessary to a trial for life or death everlasting, is to deny that the
Church is now thus on trial: whereas all must concede the Scriptural
declarations to the contrary. Nor will such perfections be essential to
the world's trial. The world will indeed, as we, be brought first to a
knowledge of God's grace in Christ before any trial can begin, and this God
has promised they shall have. As a covering for their inherited
weaknesses, they will have the merit of Christ, the Mediator, of the New
Covenant, while attaining perfection. Not until the end of Messiah's
reign will the obedient attain to a complete perfection.
(3) The Scriptures represent the Millennium as the Judgment Day for the
world saying -- "God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man [the Christ, head and body] whom he hath
ordained." (Acts 17:31) If it were God's plan to coerce all the world or
to everlastingly save every member of Adam's race, why call the coming age
a Day of Judgment? Judgment signifies trial, testing, and this
implies the rejection of the unfit as much as it implies the acceptance and
blessing of those proved worthy. And the judgment is unto life or death
everlasting.
Note our Lord's parable of the sheep and the goats, applicable not to the
Gospel age, but to the world in the Millennium. It opens with "When the
Son of Man shall come in all his glory" -- and sit upon his glorious throne
-- a time when, according to his promise, the bride, the "elect" Church
shall share his throne and glory -- "then shall be gathered before him
all nations," and he shall judge them, separating the sheep to the
right hand of his favor and the goats to the left hand of disfavor. This
separating and judging will occupy the entire Millennial age, and at its
close the "sheep" will all be welcomed to the Father's favor -- everlasting
life, and the disobedient "goats," with Satan their leader, and all evil
doers, shall be punished with "everlasting destruction," everlasting
cutting off from life -- symbolized by a lake of fire and brimstone -- the
Second Death.
The Scriptures represent the judgment of that great Millennial Judgment Day
as before a great white throne of purity and justice, and portray the
decision of the Judge to the effect that those who have, during that time,
cultivated and developed the spirit of the Heavenly Father, the spirit of
love, to perfection, shall be accounted as the Lord's people and be granted
"the Kingdom prepared for them [the earthly Kingdom] from the foundation of
the world." Others, who during that favorable opportunity, shall fail to
develop to the fullest extent the spirit of love as their character, in the
likeness of the Lord, shall be accounted the Lord's opponents, and, with
Satan, such shall be destroyed. -- Compare Rev. 20:9-13Ransom Not Pardon
The failure to discern the distinction between ransom and pardon has led to
considerable confusion of thought on the subject. Christian people of
general intelligence will quote texts relative to our being ransomed from
the tomb, redeemed from death, bought with a price, even the precious blood
of Christ, etc., and in the same breath they speak of the Father's gracious
pardon of all offenses. Seemingly few thin, though many must know, that
pardon and ransom express exactly opposite thoughts.
Now contrast with these the signification of
Notice here also the definition of another word which though closely
related to pardon is not exactly the same, viz.--
Webster -- "To refrain from exacting the penalty. In Law -- To release from
a punishment that has been imposed by sentence."
"The law knows no forgiveness."
The most ordinary mind must discern that the thought expressed by "redeem"
and "ransom" is opposed by and irreconcilable with the thought expressed by
the word pardon. But since all of these words are used in the
Scriptures in reference to God's dealings with fallen man, many Bible
students think of them as used carelessly and synonymously in holy writ:
and they then conclude that they may take their choice and either attach
the definition of "pardon" to the words "ransom" and "redeem" or vice
versa the definitions of "ransom" and "redeem" to the words "pardon"
and "forgive." This procedure is far from "rightly dividing the word of
truth:" it is confounding two separate and distinct matters, and the
result is confusion. With many the difficulty seems to be that they do not
want and therefore do not seek for the truth on the subject -- fearing that
their no-ransom theories would thereby be condemned.
As mountains their foundations keep."Does Not Death Cancel Man's Debt?
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." -- Rom. 6:23
When once it is recognized that "the wages of sin is death" -- not eternal
torment -- there is with many a tendency toward false reasoning on this
subject, which evidently is abetted by the great Adversary. This false
reasoning proceeds to say, "If the wages of sin is death, every man who
dies pays the penalty of his sin:" consequently, the argument is, there
would be no necessity for a Redeemer and a ransom price -- each one
ransoming himself, redeeming himself by paying his own penalty. The
argument is that Justice has no further claim upon man after death --
having expended its force -- having satisfied its own claims in his
destruction; hence it is claimed that a resurrection of the dead would be
next in order, and the proper thing. This view would make the divine
requirement of a ransom-sacrifice for man's sin an injustice, a double
payment of the penalty."Who Will Have All Men To Be Saved
"Who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth." -- 1 Tim. 2:4
Another danger of false reasoning on the subject of the ransom besets the
pathway of some. Many who at one time readily believed the testimony of
men, without Scriptural evidence, to the effect that the wages of sin is
eternal torment, and that all were sure to get that eternal torment except
"the pure in heart," the "little flock," the "elect" Church, having once
gotten free from that terrible delusion, are inclined to go to the opposite
extreme, and to accept in some shape or form the doctrine of universal
everlasting salvation.Justice Not Obligated By the Ransom
The claim that God is now bound, by his own justice, to restore every man,
is another mistake. On the contrary, we find that God has assumed no
obligation: he has merely sold the race to the Lord Jesus Christ,
who, as we have seen forgoing, "bought us with his own precious
blood." The Heavenly Father has assumed no responsibilities for the race;
he is not dealing with the race; he does not even propose that he will do
the judging of them, to see whether or not they shall attain to worthiness
of eternal life: on the contrary, we are assured that he has committed the
whole matter to the Son, who bought the race, and hence is Lord of
the race, its master, controller, owner, Judge, Prophet, Priest, King, and
who, in harmony with the Father's plan, is arranging to identify with
himself the elect Church of this Gospel age, for the great work of the
world's enlightenment and the restitution of the obedient."No Other Name - Whereby We Must Be Saved"
From this standpoint, we see more clearly than ever before that all divine
mercies toward the fallen race are extended in and through Christ -- that
the Heavenly Father extends no mercies personally, or independently of the
Son, and that "there is no other name under heaven given amongst men
whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) We see too that the work of the
Savior is not accomplished merely in purchasing the race, but that after
purchasing them it is necessary that he should be the Great Physician, to
heal them of sin-sickness, and to restore them to life and to all the
perfections of their nature, and thus eventually, through the processes of
restitution during the thousand years of his reign, to make ready as many
as will obey him for presentation to the Father, at the end of the
Millennium, in absolute perfection.