Jesus Christ on Future Retribution . If His Word is Authority, Ought There Not to Be an End o f All Controversy? DR. WILLIAM C. PROCTOR Croydon, England
JHERE are four reasons for confining our consideration of the subject of Future Retri bution to the teaching of our
the present day fell from the lips of the Savior who died for us, and came from the heart of the “ Lover of souls.” 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. 4. In considering the subject as pro fessing 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. 1. What did our Lord teach as to the certainty of future retribution? The word “ retribution” is to be preferred to “ punishment” because the Bible teaches us that the fate of the wicked is not an arbitrary (much less a vindic tive) infliction, but the necessary conse quence of their own sins. Taking the passages in their order, in Matt. 5:22 Christ speaks of causeless anger against, and contemptuous condemnation of, others as placing us “in danger of the hell of fire,” while in verses 29 and 30 He utters a similar warning concern ing the sin of lust; and these are in the Sermon on the Mount, which is the most generally accepted part of His teaching! In chapter 8:12 He speaks of unbelieving “ children of the King dom” being “ cast forth into tie outer darkness,” and adds, “ There shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth”— expressions which are repeated in chap ters 22:13 and 25:30. In chapter 10:28
Lord Jesus Christ: 1. It limits the range of our inquiry to what is possible in a brief essay. There will be no occasion to examine the 56 passages in the authorized ver sion of our Bible which contain the word “ Hell,” (most of which are the translations of the Hebrew “ Sheol” and the^ Greek “Hades,” meaning “ the grave” and “ the unseen state,” ) and we can concentrate our attention on the. ten passages in which our Lord uses the word “ Gehenna” (which was the usual appellation in His day for the abode of the lost) together with those other verses which evidently refer to the future state of the wicked. 2.' It affords a sufficient answer to the speculation of those who don’t know, to refer to the revelation of the One who does know. Many other pas sages might be quoted from the New Testament, written under the inspira tion of the Holy Spirit, who was prom ised by our Lord to His disciples to “ guide them into all truth,” and “ show them things to come” (John 16:12, 13); but, in taking the words of Christ Himself, we shall find the greatest ground of common agreement in these days of loose views of inspiration: 3. It also affords a sufficient answer to those who represent the doctrine as unreasonable and dishonoring to God, and who regard those who hold it as narrow minded and hard hearted, to re mind them that all the very expressions which are most fiercely denounced in
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