Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1916 — The Gift of God [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Gift of God

By REV. W W. KETCHUM

Director of Practical Course Moody Bible Institute of Chicago

TEXT—The gift of God Is eternal life through Jesus jChrlgt our Lord.—Romans 6:23. A gift is something for which we do not work. It Is something that is

not naturally our just due. It is something that someone graciously gives us because he or she is Interested in us. This text in the revision speaks of this gift as the free gift of God. Now there are many people who expect to pay their way into heaven —many who expect to compensate God for

eternal life, when the text says that the free gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life —what is It? It •is the opposite of eternal death. Not eternal death does not mean nonexistence any more than eternal life means continued existence. God’s word teaches that the soul never dies, in the sense of going out of existence. It does say that “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” but we must Interpret the words of the Bible by the Bible. Tbe-Blble, you know, is not only .IL book,. .that gives us the truth, but it defines the truth that It gives, and when It talks about eternal death it does not mean the annihilation of tjie soul. It is a truth that whatever exists always exists, so the scientists tell us, and the Bible says that the human soul lives forever. Well, what is eternal life then, and what is eternal death? Perhaps we might say that eternal life means being born of God, having the life of God. It is not our natural life prolonged into endless duration. It is the divine life Imparted to us, the very life of God himself communicated to a human soul.- To put if ih another way, we might say that eternal life is right existence, while eternal death is wrong existence, or, to put it in still another way, eternal life is living in the presence of God, while "eternal death is having the wrath of God abiding on one. Now, God’s gift is eternal life. Our text says that he offers us this life through Jesus Christ our Lord, that is, Christ is the medium through whom eternal life comes. What a wonderful thing it is to know that God has planned to give the human race, dead in trespasses and in sins, eternal life through his son. What is involved in that truth? A great deal, my friends. First of all, that on the cross Christ died for our sins. Secondly, that there upon the cross God laid upon Christ all our sins. Thirdly, that all our sins will be forgiven us on condition of our simple acceptance by faith of his Son, and the one who thus receives his Son, we are told, is born; “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor. of the will of man, but of God.” I have met many people who were striving to get eternal life. I have even met Christians who have had the idea that eternal life becomes theirs, not through faith, but by works of righteousness which they do.

I shall never forget preaching in a little church in the Catskills, and talking about the way of salvation, when a brother arose and controverted what I said about the simple way of having eternal life through the acceptance by faith of Jesus Christ as one’s Savior. Another brother, thinking he would pour oil on the water, which was very troublous just then, told about two theologians who were crossing a stream. One of the theologians was arguing that salvation was by works, and the other that salvation was by faith,- when the oarsman, listening to the argument, began to row with one oar, and the boat went -round and round, when they said, “What are you doing?” and he replied, “Don’t you see, that oar with which I am rowing is works, and 2 ! don’t get anywhere,” and then he took the other oar and rowed with that, and went round and round in the other direction, and he said, “That oar, you see, ia faith, and when I row alone with that we do not get across the stream. To reach the other shore we must row with both oars.” That was a good story, but a poor illustration, for, while it sounds very plausible, the trouble is it is not scriptural. The Bible tells us that it is "not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his, mercy he saved us.” Change the illustration and have it true to the Scriptures. Jesus Christ is the oarsman, and is rowing the boat of salvation from earth to heaven, and <f we would reach the t other shore what we must do is by simple faith to get on board. I go down to the ferry slip in New York. Now. if I wish to go across to* the other side, _what I^must-dQ-M----step upon the ferry boat. The moment I do that I have trusted myself to the ferry, and it is for the ferry now, by its own power, to take me over. This crudely illustrates Christ’s work of salvation for us. We commit ourselves to him, and he, by his own power and work saves us.