Publication date
3/1/12
Volume
33
Number
5
The WatchTower
The Gospel St. Paul Preached
../literature/watchtower/1912/5/1912-5-1.html
 
 
FEBRUARY 
IS, 
1912 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
(71-75) 
as 
we 
will 
explain. 
\Ye 
read, 
"All 
his 
work 
is 
perfect." 
It 
is 
the 
divine 
method 
that 
every 
creature 
of 
God 
~hall 
be 
so 
pf'r­ 
fect 
as 
to 
need 
no 
forgiveness, 
no 
allowanre. 
Then 
angels 
were 
created 
perfert, 
hence 
there 
was 
no 
need 
to 
provide 
forgiveness 
for 
them, 
because 
there 
would 
be 
no 
excuse 
for 
their 
sinning. 
Likewise 
man 
was 
thus 
created 
perfect, 
in 
the 
image 
and 
like­ 
Ill'SS 
of 
the 
Creator, 
and 
was 
without 
excuse. 
and 
therefore 
needpd 
no 
provision 
for 
merry 
so 
long 
as 
he 
was 
in 
relation 
with 
his 
God. 
\Yhen 
temptation 
came, 
man 
fell 
from 
obedience 
into 
sin, 
and 
from 
divine 
favor 
and 
life 
into 
disfavor 
and 
under 
the 
death 
sentence. 
He 
was 
without 
excuse 
and 
justice 
made' 
no 
provi­ 
sion. 
But 
another 
feature 
of 
the 
divine 
character. 
love, 
while 
Ilot 
in 
('ontrol, 
was 
hrought 
into 
exercise 
for 
man's 
relief. 
But 
(livine 
lon' 
or 
mercv 
could 
not 
override 
or 
intprfere 
with 
divine 
justice. 
In 
other 
,Yords, 
God 
could 
not 
forgive 
sinner 
whom 
He 
had 
spntpn('ed 
to 
death. 
What 
He 
could 
do. 
and 
did 
do, 
was 
to 
provide 
in 
due 
timp 
for 
man's 
redemption. 
All 
of 
didne 
mercy, 
tlH'refore, 
flows 
through 
the 
channel 
of 
redemption. 
Applying 
this 
prineiple 
to 
our 
Savior 
and 
to 
his 
teachings, 
we 
ask, 
How 
could 
he 
forgive 
sins 
when 
divine 
justice 
('ould 
not 
forgive 
sins. 
nor 
set 
aside 
the 
penalty 
of 
sin? 
The 
answer 
is, 
,J('su.; 
wa.; 
the 
rppl"l,-;pntntive 
of 
divine 
mprcy. 
an,l 
was 
at 
that 
time 
amongst 
mpn 
for 
the 
purpose 
of 
giving 
his 
life 
as 
sacri­ 
tiee 
Oil 
mail's 
a(,(,ollnt. 
an,l 
therefore 
to 
him 
belongp(l 
the 
di,­ 
tilldi\'e 
honor 
of 
forgidng 
sins. 
But 
-;omeonE' 
answers 
that 
Tpsus 
had 
not 
vpt 
(lip(l 
for 
man's 
sin-;, 
that 
he 
hall 
not 
vpt 
ri..;pn 
for 
mall's 
ju..;t'iti('atioll, 
that 
he 
had 
not 
even 
appearp'd 
in 
the 
prp~pIH'e 
of 
Go,! 
for 
thp 
"housphold 
of 
faith." 
\Ye 
answer 
that 
while 
it 
is 
true 
that 
he 
had 
not 
accom­ 
pli,hp(l 
this 
work. 
an'! 
indped 
has 
not 
yP! 
full;' 
aC('omplished 
his 
work 
(as 
the 
Rpdrrmer 
and 
Restorer 
of 
men), 
nevertheless, 
he 
had 
hE'gun 
thp 
work, 
11(' 
had 
presented 
himself 
as 
man's 
.\tonement 
pri('r 
at 
.IonIan, 
at 
thr 
timp 
of 
his 
haptism. 
Acrord­ 
ing 
to 
the 
Saipturrs 
and 
the 
type, 
hp 
at 
that 
nlOment 
surren­ 
(!rrpd 
his 
earthly 
all 
on 
man's 
behalf. 
However, 
his 
surrender 
of 
his 
all 
did 
not 
give 
him 
the 
au­ 
thority 
to 
forgive 
sins. 
It 
was 
the 
heavenly 
Father's 
accept­ 
ance 
of 
his 
consecration-divine 
acceptance 
of 
Jesus' 
sarrifice 
that 
counted. 
God's 
acceptance 
of 
Jesus' 
sacrifice 
was 
mani­ 
fested 
in 
his 
impartation 
of 
the 
holy 
Spirit, 
which 
lighted 
upon 
Jesus 
like 
dove, 
as 
was 
testified 
by 
John 
the 
Baptist, 
aIH! 
also 
testified 
by 
divine 
power 
which 
thereafter 
operated 
in 
aIH! 
through 
Jesus 
for 
the 
healing 
of 
diseases. 
\Ve 
see, 
then, 
that 
our 
Lord's 
words 
to 
the 
palsied 
man, 
"Thy 
sins 
be 
forgiven 
thee," 
were 
justified 
by 
the 
fact 
that 
he 
was 
in 
the 
position 
of 
making 
satisfaction 
for 
the 
sins 
of 
the 
whole 
world, 
and 
that 
the 
Father 
had 
already 
indicated 
the 
acceptance 
of 
the 
sacrjfiee 
whi('h 
was 
then 
in 
process. 
"BLESS 
THE 
LORD, 
MY 
SOUL" 
The 
text 
for 
this 
study 
comes 
from 
thp 
Psalms, 
and 
is 
most 
interesting. 
The 
ProplH't 
Va 
vi,l 
may 
han' 
ppropria 
tP(! 
tIn' 
words 
to 
himself 
as 
Jew. 
and 
may 
have 
thought 
of 
his 
own 
physical 
healing 
and 
blessing 
as 
evi(lellees 
of 
the 
Lord's 
favor 
under 
the 
Law 
Covpnant. 
But 
thp 
prophetic 
application 
of 
this 
Psalm 
to 
spiritual 
Israel 
is 
still 
more 
interesting. 
The 
spir­ 
itual 
Israelites 
are 
new 
crl'atures, 
and 
have 
this 
treasure 
in 
earthen 
vessels. 
With 
these 
it 
is 
the 
nl'W 
mind 
that 
recognizes 
his 
healing, 
his 
forgiveness, 
his 
reconciliation 
to 
God; 
and. 
according 
to 
God's 
promise, 
all 
things 
are 
working 
togethpf 
for 
good 
to 
him 
because 
he 
loves 
God 
and 
has 
been 
call('d 
apcording 
to 
the 
divine 
purpose. 
Continually 
the 
new 
('reature 
has 
('ause 
to 
exclaim, 
"Bless 
the 
Lord, 
my 
souL 
and 
forget 
not 
all 
His 
benefits, 
who 
forgiveth 
all 
thine 
iniquities, 
who 
healeth 
all 
thy 
diseases!" 
St. 
PauL 
carrying 
out 
this 
~all1e 
thought, 
<!('('!ar('<! 
thrlt 
th,­ 
great 
Redeemef 
will 
ultimately 
pres('nt 
his 
phufPh 
beforp 
the 
Father 
faultless 
and 
perfect 
in 
love-"sown 
in 
wpakness, 
ra 
ised 
in 
power; 
sown 
in 
dishonor, 
raisrd 
in 
glory; 
sown 
an 
anima! 
body, 
raised 
spirit 
body." 
We 
shall 
bp 
like 
him 
amI 
Sl'e 
him 
as 
he 
is 
and 
share 
his 
glory. 
\'or 
•. 
XXXIII 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y., 
MARCH 
1, 
1912 
THE 
GOSPEL 
ST. 
PAUL 
PREACHED 
1\ 
o. 
[j 
"For 
arn 
not 
ushamed 
of 
the 
Gospel 
of 
Christ; 
for 
it 
is 
the 
power 
of 
God 
unto 
salvation 
to 
everyone 
that 
believeth; 
to 
the 
Jew 
first, 
and 
also 
to 
the 
Greek."-Rom, 
1: 
16. 
Thpr(' 
rlrc 
man;' 
rl'ligiom, 
an,l 
it 
is 
mistake 
that 
we 
have 
80me 
of 
the,e 
religions 
pronouncr 
on(' 
kinel 
of 
ppnalty 
for 
pprhaJH 
said 
in 
th(' 
past 
that 
there 
i, 
no 
r('Jigion 
but 
one. 
tho..;e 
who 
will 
not 
accept 
them, 
and 
others 
declare 
othcr 
J'('!igion 
woulel 
prop('rJy 
he 
considereel 
"Any 
system 
of 
worship 
kinds. 
80me 
offer 
one 
kind 
of 
reward 
for 
those 
who 
accept 
hy 
whieh 
an~' 
peoplp 
recognize 
the 
AJmighty 
and 
seek 
to 
do 
anel 
follow 
their 
tpachings, 
whi!p 
others 
offer 
other 
kinds 
of 
him 
honor." 
'YP 
ar(', 
thereforr, 
to 
r('Pognize 
the 
various 
great 
rewards. 
But 
all 
agree 
that 
man 
needs 
to 
be 
elevated 
and 
lifted 
rpligion~ 
that 
an' 
in 
thp 
worl,l 
in 
thp 
sense 
that 
we 
could 
not 
up 
out 
of 
his 
fallpn 
condition, 
which 
is 
sinful 
and 
unsatisfac- 
propprly 
ignorp 
tI1l'm. 
"'e 
have, 
for 
instance, 
the 
Confucian 
tory. 
There 
seems 
to 
be 
in 
every 
man, 
naturally, 
without 
any 
!<-:tehing, 
thp 
Brahmin 
tl'aphing. 
the 
Hu(ldhist 
teaching, 
the 
p(luration 
on 
the 
suhject, 
sompthing 
which 
tells 
him 
that 
he 
is 
:\[ohrllllnH'tl:ln 
tpaphing, 
thp 
.Jewish 
t('aching 
amI 
the 
Christirrn 
not 
perfect; 
that 
he 
is 
not 
in 
full 
accord 
with 
his 
own 
con- 
t,-aehing. 
Th('s" 
rr 
11 
prp~ent 
tlwmselves 
to 
us 
as 
religious 
seience, 
not 
in 
accord 
with 
his 
own 
highest 
idpals 
of 
the 
divine 
tp:tehings. 
Th('y 
all 
Jll'lieve 
thpms('lvps 
more 
or 
less 
rationrrl; 
mind. 
hp~' 
all 
hplipY(' 
them-;"Jve~ 
mol''' 
or 
less 
reasonable. 
Every 
1l1:111 
All 
religions, 
therefore, 
recocrnize 
this 
principle 
of 
sin 
an,l 
trips 
to 
think 
that 
hi..; 
own 
thpory 
on 
any 
matter 
is 
reason- 
propose 
rpmedies 
thprefor. 
\V~ 
see 
the 
evidence 
of 
this 
as 
ah]p 
tllpor~'; 
amI 
hp 
i-; 
prop"r 
in 
so 
doing. 
manife~t(',l 
in 
their 
disciples 
everywhere. 
Many 
seek 
to 
crucify 
.. 
In 
harmony 
".ith 
our 
text, 
w\ 
T.JfOPOSp 
to 
compa.re 
.the 
re- 
the 
!lpsh 
in 
one 
form 
or 
another-some 
by 
flagellations, 
some 
hglOn 
of 
.Jp..;us 
\nth 
all 
ouher 
relIgIOns. 
III 
the 
begwIlIng, 
we 
by 
restraints 
upon 
thp 
variom: 
liberties 
of 
life, 
some 
by 
holding 
s~at.p 
\~~ith 
~hp 
.\postlp, 
"I 
alll, 
not 
rlshamed 
of 
the 
Gosp~l 
of 
thpir 
hands 
in 
the 
air 
fOf 
days, 
seeking 
to 
become 
holy 
ant! 
hn~t. 
"hatpn'r 
m~t;' 
br 
s~lld 
of 
other 
gospels, 
we 
beheve, 
thus 
appease 
their 
O'od. 
as 
Christian-;, 
that 
in 
the 
Christian 
religion 
we 
have 
that 
of 
But 
none 
of 
tlt~~e 
things, 
in 
the 
light 
of 
the 
Gospel 
of 
whi('h 
no 
m:lIl 
nppd 
bE' 
ashamel!. 
Thprp 
may 
perhaps 
be 
cer- 
Christ, 
seem 
to 
he 
the 
highe..;t 
ant! 
noh1<'st 
idpals. 
Doubtlps~ 
tain 
fpaturps 
anlt 
forms 
of 
certain 
creeds 
~f 
whic? 
we 
might 
all 
have 
done 
some 
gOO(} 
and 
uplifted 
some 
men 
out 
of 
the 
hp 
a~hanH't!-that 
do 
not 
('Olllp 
lip 
to 
our 
lughpst 
Ideals. 
But 
de"radation 
in 
whieh 
thev 
were. 
:Mankind 
mio-ht 
have 
bpen 
thp 
Christian 
rpligion. 
a~ 
yre..;pntpd 
in 
thp 
\Yonl 
of 
God, 
should 
\\ 
~·..;e 
off 
if 
it 
had 
not 
bep'~ 
for 
these 
religions. 
<0 
hI' 
tIl(' 
standanl 
of 
Chnstpn,!om; 
an,l 
of 
that 
we 
are 
not 
But 
now, 
if 
we 
compare 
tllPse 
with 
t!1P 
religion 
of 
,Tesll, 
ashame,!. 
It 
will 
comparE' 
with 
all 
other 
rpligions 
in 
the 
worl,l, 
Christ, 
we 
I)('lievc 
everything 
is 
to 
be 
sail} 
in 
favor 
of 
thp 
]"('- 
llll(! 
comp 
off 
viptoriolls, 
in 
ewry 
spnse 
of 
the 
word. 
All 
of 
!igion 
of 
Chri,t. 
In 
the 
first 
place, 
all 
these 
religions 
more 
thp~p 
variolls 
rpligions 
SPPIl1 
to 
recognize 
that 
man 
i-; 
in 
an 
or 
Ips~ 
rrsemble 
the 
Jewish 
relio-ion, 
which 
is 
of 
God, 
awl 
impprfed, 
un~atisfactor.\-, 
sinful 
pon,lition; 
thPl'efore, 
eaph 
of 
hencr 
all 
these 
reliO'ions 
are 
mo;e 
or 
less 
in 
harmon 
with 
tll('..;r 
religions 
sepkg 
to 
present 
cprtain 
tendq, 
or 
teachings, 
CO(I'~ 
proposition. 
<0 
• 
that 
will 
ht:lp 
m:lII 
lip 
out 
of 
his 
imp"rfe('t 
condition, 
back 
into 
(loci's 
proposition 
to 
the 
.Tews 
was, 
"Do 
these 
things 
alll! 
harmony 
WIth 
hIS 
God. 
yp 
shall 
livp," 
have 
everlasting 
life. 
That 
was 
the 
covenant 
COMPARISON 
OF 
RELIGIONS 
mad" 
bv 
GOll 
with 
thpm 
at 
]\,fount 
Sinai. 
at 
th(' 
hands 
of 
If 
wp 
ponsicler 
thr 
tpachings 
of 
the 
),fohamIl1p<!ans, 
we 
find 
Masps.· 
Thpy 
thought 
at 
first 
that 
they 
would 
sun'l;' 
be 
lift",! 
that 
they 
have 
p('J'tain 
qnalities 
whiph 
are 
vpr;' 
advantageous, 
up 
out 
of 
sin, 
!JPcause 
God 
had 
given 
them 
law, 
and 
h;' 
all(! 
othpr 
qualities 
which 
Wp 
('oul,l 
not 
so 
highly 
commend. 
kppping 
it 
th(T 
woul(l 
be 
perfpet 
aTHl 
be 
brought 
into 
harmony 
Their 
pndp;1vor 
i..; 
not 
to 
do 
iniur~'. 
but 
to 
ma].;p 
men 
better. 
with 
God. 
In 
this 
they 
were 
mistaken, 
for, 
as 
th"y 
fouIlIl 
out, 
Th(,ir 
thpory 
is 
that 
mankind 
arp 
fallpn 
anll 
nppr! 
lifting 
up 
out 
as 
the' 
centurips 
pas~pd, 
none 
of 
them 
wpre 
able 
to 
kpep 
the 
of 
their 
fallen 
condition. 
Thp 
samp 
may 
he 
sait! 
of 
the 
tpach· 
law. 
hppau~" 
it 
is 
thp 
mpasure 
of 
perfect 
man's 
ability; 
and 
ings 
of 
the 
Brahmin, 
thl' 
('()nfupiani~t 
an,l 
the 
Buddhist. 
They 
nonp 
of 
thpm 
pould 
nlPasure 
up 
to 
the 
perfect 
man. 
arp 
all 
more 
or 
Ipss 
prp~pntati()ns 
of 
what 
arp 
supposed 
to 
be 
~raP} 
found, 
therefore, 
as 
the 
Apostlp 
states 
it. 
that 
"by 
curl'S 
fOf 
man's 
faJJpn 
contrition, 
purE'S 
for 
his 
unsatisfactory 
the 
(lpeds 
of 
thp 
IRW 
shall 
no 
flesh 
be 
justified 
in 
God's 
sight." 
attitude. 
And 
they 
fouIllI 
also 
that 
the 
law, 
instead 
of 
perfecting, 
justi- 
[4981] 
Fesruary 15, 1912 as we will explain. We read, “All his work is perfect.” It is the divine method that every creature of God shall be so perfect as to need no forgiveness, no allowance. Then angels were created perfect, hence there was no need to provide forgiveness for them, because there would be no excuse for their sinning. Likewise man was thus created perfect, in the image and likeness of the Creator, and was without excuse, and therefore needed no provision for mercy so long as he was in relation with his God. When temptation came, man fell from obedience into sin, and from divine favor and life into disfavor and under the death sentence. He was without excuse and justice made no provision. But another feature of the divine character, love, while not in control, was brought into exercise for man’s relief. But divine love or mercy could not override or interfere with divine justice. In other words, God could not forgive a sinner whom He had sentenced to death. What He could do, and did do, was to provide in due time for man’s redemption. All of divine mercy, therefore, flows through the channel of redemption. Applying this principle to our Savior and to his teachings, we ask, How could he forgive sins when divine justice could not forgive sins, nor set aside the penalty of sin? The answer is, Jesus was the representative of divine mercy, and was at that time amongst men for the purpose of giving his life as a sacritice on man’s account, and therefore to him belonged the distinetive honor of forgiving sins. But someone answers that Jesus had not vet died for man’s sins, that he had not yet risen for man's justification, that he had not even appeared in the presenee of God for the “household of faith.” We answer that while it is true that he had not accomplished this work, and indeed has not yet fully accomplished his work (as the Redeemer and Restorer of men), nevertheless, he had begun the work, he had presented himself as man’s Atonement price at Jordan, at the time of his baptism. According to the Scriptures and the type, he at that moment surrendered his earthly all on man’s behalf. Vou. XXXII THE WATCH TOWER BROOKLYN, N. Y., MARCH 1, 1912 (71-75) However, his surrender of his all did not give him the authority to forgive sins. It was the heavenly Father’s acceptance of his consecration—divine acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice that counted. God’s acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice was manifested in his impartation of the holy Spirit, which lighted upon Jesus like a dove, as was testified by John the Baptist, and also testified by divine power which thereafter operated in and through Jesus for the healing of diseases. We see, then, that our Lord’s words to the palsied man, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” were justified by the fact that he was in the position of making satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, and that the Father had already indicated the acceptance of the sacrifice which was then in process. ‘“‘BLESS THE LORD, 0 MY SOUL’’ The text for this study comes from the Psalms, and is most interesting. The Prophet David may have appropriated the words to himself as a Jew, and may have thought of his own physical healing and blessing as evidences of the Lord’s favor under the Law Covenant. But the prophetic application of this Psalm to spiritual Israel is still more interesting. The spiritual Israelites are new creatures, and have this treasure in earthen vessels, With these it is the new mind that recognizes his healing. his forgiveness, his reconciliation to God; and, according to God’s promise, all things are working together for good to him, because he loves God and has been called according to the divine purpose. Continually the new creature has cause to exclaim, “Bless the Lord, O my soul. and forget not all His benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases!” St. Paul, carrying out this same thought, declared that the great Redeemer will ultimately present his church before the Father faultless and perfect in love—“sown in weakness, raised in power; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown an animal body, raised a spirit body.” We shall be like him and see him as he is and share his glory. No. 5 THE GOSPEL ST. PAUL PREACHED “For I am not ushamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”—Rom. 1:16. There are many religions, and it is a mistake that we have perhaps said in the past that there is no religion but one. A religion would properly be considered “Any system of worship by which any people recognize the Almighty and seek to do him honor.” We are, therefore, to recognize the various great religions that are in the world in the sense that we could not properly ignore them. We have, for instance, the Confucian teaching, the Brahmin teaching, the Buddhist teaching, the Mohammedan teaching, the Jewish teaching and the Christian teaching. These all present themselves to us as_ religious teachings. They all believe themselves more or less rational; they all believe themselves more or less reasonable. Every man tries to think that his own theory on any matter is a reasonable theory; and he is proper in so doing, In harmony with our text, we propose to compare the religion of Jesus with all other religions. In the beginning, we state with the Apostle, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” Whatever may be said of other gospels, we believe, as Christians, that in the Christian religion we have that of which no man need be ashamed. There may perhaps be certain features and forms of certain creeds of which we might be ashamed—that do not come up to our highest ideals. But the Christian religion, as presented in the Word of God, should be the standard of Christendom: and of that we are not ashamed. Jt will compare with all other religions in the world, and come off victorious, in every sense of the word. All of these various religions seem to recognize that man is in an imperfect, unsatisfactory, sinful condition; therefore, each of these religions secks to present certain tenets, or teachings, that will help man up out of his imperfect condition, back into harmony with his God. A COMPARISON OF RELIGIONS lf we eonsider the teachings of the Mohammedans, we find that they have certain qualities which are very advantageous, and other qualities which we could not so highly commend. Their endeavor is not to do injury, hut to make men better. Their theory is that mankind are fallen and need lifting up out of their fallen condition. The same may be said of the teachings of the Brahmin, the Confucianist and the Buddhist. They are all more or less presentations of what are supposed to be cures for man’s fallen condition, cures for his unsatisfactory attitude. Some of these religions pronounce one kind of penalty for those who will not accept them, and others declare other kinds. Some offer one kind of reward for those who accept and follow their teachings, while others offer other kinds of rewards. But all agree that man needs to be elevated and lifted up out of his fallen condition, which is sinful and unsatisfactory. There seems to be in every man, naturally, without any education on the subject, something which tells him that he is not perfect; that he is not in full accord with his own conscience, not in accord with his own highest ideals of the divine mind, All religions, therefore, recognize this principle of sin and propose remedies therefor. We see the evidence of this as manifested in their disciples everywhere. Many seek to crucify the flesh in one form or another—some by flagellations, some by restraints upon the various liberties of life, some by holding their hands in the air for days, seeking to become holy and thus appease their god. But none of these things, in the light of the Gospel of Christ, seem to be the highest and noblest ideals. Doubtless all have done some good and uplifted some men out of the degradation in which they were. Mankind might have been worse off if it had not been for these religions. But now, if we compare these with the religion of Jesus Christ, we believe everything is to be said in favor of the religion of Christ. In the first place, all these religions more or less resemble the Jewish religion, which is of God, and hence all these religions are more or less in harmony with God's proposition. God's proposition to the Jews was, “Do these things and ve shall live,” have everlasting life. That was the covenant made by God with them at Mount Sinai, at the hands of Moses. They thought at first that they would surely be lifted up out of sin, because God had given them a law, and by keeping it they would be perfect and be brought into harmony with God. Jn this they were mistaken, for, as they found out, as the centuries passed, none of them were able to keep the law, because it is the measure of a perfect man’s ability; and none of them could measure up to the perfect man. Tsracl found, therefore, as the Apostle states it. that “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in God’s sight.” And they found also that the law, instead of perfecting, justi [4981]

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