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The Fundamentals (3) It also affords a sufficient answer to those who repre sent the doctrine as unreasonable and dishonoring to God, and who regard those who hold it as narrgw-jnjnded and hard hearted, to remind them that all the very expressions which are most fiercely denounced in the present day fell from the lips of the Saviour who died for us, and came from the heart of the Lover of souls.” Surely we have no right to seek to be broader minded than He was, or to nurture false hopes which have no solid foundation in His teaching; while to assume a greater zeal for God s honor, and a deeper compassion for the souls of men, is little short of blasphemy. (The current objections to the orthodox doctrine of hell are made by those who allow their hearts to run away with their heads, and are founded more on sickly sentimentality than on sound scholar ship. / I (4) In considering the subject as professing Christians, the words of the Master Himself ought surely to put an end to all controversy; and these are clear and unmistakable when taken in their plain and obvious meaning, without subjecting them to any forced interpretation. It is greatly to be re- gretted that they are not more frequently dealt with in the modern pulpit; but ministers are only human, and there is a strong temptation to preach' what is palatable, rather than what is profitable. In this case, surely, history repeats itself; for we read in Isa. 30:10 of those who said to the prophets of old: “Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” ; and a cowardly yielding to this de- mand has produced an emasculated Gospel and an enfeebled ministry in the present dayv j | | I 1 l i • Coming now to consider briefly Christ’s teaching on the subject, let us ask, first of all: 1. W h a t d id our lord t e a c h a s to t h e c e r t a in t y of f u t u r e r e t r ib u t io n ? The word “retribution” is to be pre ferred to “punishment” because the Bible teaches us that the \
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