the world. By this parable, Jesus plainly confessed that his mission, like the missions of all the other prophets, had proved a failure. The son of the Lord of the vineyard was not able to secure the fruit of the vineyard, or save it from the hands of the husbandmen, but like all the other messengers who preceded him, was killed, and, in addition, cast out of the vineyard.

Fourth: No one but God Himself, the Everlasting Father, the Lord and Creator of the vineyard, has power to save it. Shall we, after this confession by Jesus that his mission was a failure, dare to assume that he is the Saviour of the world,— the vineyard? Shall we not rather accept his own words and teaching, that God is the Saviour of the vineyard? Jesus was not the Redeemer of the world, and did not, of his own will, offer himself to die for the redemption of the world. The wicked husbandmen, the priests, killed him as they killed the other messengers of God.

Fifth-God the Father will come, destroy these wicked husbandmen, and deliver the vineyard to others. In this way, God Himself will save His vineyard, because He is the only One who has the power to accomplish it,the only One whose purposes never fail. God alone is the Saviour of mankind. Isaiah 45, 15: "O God of Israel, the Saviour." Isa. 45, 22: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none else." Isaiah 43, 11: "I, even I, am the Lord; and besides me there is no Saviour."

We therefore are taught by God Himself, through

Christ and all the other prophets, that He, the Everlasting Father, the Creator and Lord of the Vineyard is the Saviour of mankind, and shall Himself come to save us. God is therefore the Messiah, Shiloh, Prince of Peace, Redeemer; and Jesus Christ was the greatest of His prophets.

CHAPTER XII.

SALVATION.

What is salvation? How shall we be saved, and what are the means whereby we may obtain forgiveness for our sins?

These are questions which follow recognition of the truth that Jesus Christ was not the Saviour of the world. Salvation is not escape or exemption from the everlasting torture of hell. True salvation is the victory of accomplishment by the soul; the attainment of a privilege afforded us by God, in allowing us to come upon the earth.

Hell is eternal regret for the loss of that privilege; hell is the soul's failure to accomplish.

To understand this thoroughly, we must find out what sin is, and what particular sin will cause the loss of the opportunity granted us. In our earthly environment, from the weakness of our human nature, sin is inevitable. The Scriptures teach this—Psa. 14, 3: "They are all gone aside; they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no not one."

Sin is the performance of any action harmful to ourselves or to others. There are three kinds of sin.

First:-Mistakes and ignorances.
Second:-Violations of moral laws.
Third:-Neglect of spiritual duties.

To illustrate and make clear the distinction between these three kinds of sin, we will take for example, a gymnastic performer who walks from point to point upon a tightly stretched wire or rope. As he goes, we notice his wavering, his constant struggle to maintain his equilibrium, in spite of which he may, by persistent care and effort, reach the other side. So long as he maintains his position upon the wire and persists in his progress forward, he will be successful. His journey from point to point, symbolizes the accomplishment of our spiritual journey. We start at birth and finish at death, our journey to God. Failure, through ignorance, to make this journey, is the first kind of sin, which God, in His justice, cannot excuse. If we ignorantly neglect our opportunity to seek and reach God, we must bear the consequences of failure.

The constant waverings of the performer, from side to side, which threaten to destroy his balance and cast him to the earth, represent our sinful violations of moral laws. These sins continually threaten to overthrow our spiritual accomplishment. When they do, they destroy our opportunity of reaching God, yet as we have seen, it is possible for us, in spite of them, to maintain our equilibrium and progress sufficiently to accomplish our spiritual journey and duty.

Refusal to seek and reach God, is the sin of neglecting our spiritual duties; the paramount sin of human independence, the consequences of which are final. This sin determines the conditions of

our existence in the hereafter. Violations of moralities are a continual drag and check upon our spiritual duties. The way to God is a pure way, and the perfect Christ-journey is an unwavering, unfaltering progress from birth to death, toward God. Although moral violations are not necessarily final in their consequences; although we may reach God after many waverings and falls from uprightness, yet this fact does not allow us latitude in our obedience to moral laws.

Christ is our pattern. In him, we find the perfection of moral and spiritual accomplishment. No immoral man can be thoroughly spiritual. Our spiritual duties, therefore, exact the highest moralities. Human nature is weak, and our incessant violations of moral laws, are the drag upon our spiritual development. They are the waverings which threaten to prevent us from reaching God.

The Almighty Creator does not punish sinners upon this earth or hereafter. The sinner punishes himself; pays the penalty of the law he violates, and reaps what he has sown. The scriptures teach this continually. The reasons for it are as follows: First-No one can sin against God, because God cannot, as He is perfection, be affected by the sins of a finite creature. If our sins could affect God, He would not be Infinite and Perfect. Our sins, however, affect us and those who are finite like us.

Second: If we commit sin, we will be punished and suffer for it. There is no escape from the