The American Missionary — Volume 37, No. 3, March, 1883Various
Religion
The American Missionary — Volume 37, No. 3, March, 1883
Various
Congregational churches -- Missions -- Periodicals; Home missions -- Periodicals
1. What is meant by reigning unto death and reigning unto eternal
life? It means the work of Christ and the work of Adam. What was
the work of Adam? What is the work of Christ? The work of Adam
was the work of death. The sin of Adam brought death upon all our
race. In the 17th verse of this chapter “By one man’s offence
death reigned by one,” because Adam transgressed God’s command by
eating the forbidden fruit, so God turned him out of the Garden of
Eden. But we are of the race of Adam. He transgressed God’s will
and brought sin upon us all. But some say our hearts are full of
good when we are born, but, by and by, we learn the evil from the
others. But we don’t believe that; we see sometimes the little
baby when he begins to talk, then he tell lies; when he begins
to walk then he fight with others; when he know his parents then
he disobeys them; when he grow to be a man then he walks his own
way, it may be “committing adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,
wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness,
revelings.” So we know the evil is not learned from the others, we
have it when we are born. By getting away from God and doing those
wicked things we cause the death of both soul and body.
2. What is the work of Christ?
“In Christ shall all be made alive.” It is said, John, 5:21, “For
as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the
Son quickeneth whom he will.” In Adam all die, but in Christ shall
all be made alive.
How can we reign unto eternal life? If we want to obtain eternal
life we must come to Jesus and trust in Him. Jesus says, “All power
is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” In 1st John, 2:1, “If
any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the
righteous.” Though we are sinners, and far from God He can bring us
back. But our God hates sin, he loves us, and would save us from
our sin, and bring us near to Him. “For God so loved the world
that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him
might not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus came into the
world to save us. His whole life was spent in doing good, and at
last he died on the cross to give his life a ransom for many, for
all who will come to him and be saved. He is able to save us. We
are commanded to love the Lord with all our hearts and with all our
minds and with all our souls. Adam loved God with all his heart,
but lost God’s love. The Lord Jesus, by his holy spirit, restores
this love in our hearts, so that we do love him with all our hearts
and souls, and through Christ we can do all things. Without Jesus
we can do nothing. Christ gives us victory over death. In 1st Cor.,
15:55, 56, 57, “O death where is thy sting! O grave where is thy
victory! The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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