p. 4 | THE GREAT SALVATION by Geo. W. Reaser

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Oct 10, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 39.

THE GREAT SALVATION

By Geo. W. Reaser

By GEO. W. REASER.

I. ITS AUTHOR, SCOPE, AND POWER.

"To you is the word of this salvation sent."

WHAT is the greatest plan ever devised for fallen humanity? Make diligent research of the history of the world from completed creation till the present moment, and determine what deep-laid plan has been the most far-reaching and uplifting in its influence; the most all-embracing in its benefits; the most magnanimous and unselfish in its conception and execution; and which will be the most enduring and happy in its ultimate results.

We will not attempt a comparison of our present theme with the plan of Jehovah in creating the glittering spheres which bedeck the heavens, and in hanging them all "upon nothing," yet keeping them all in perfect adjustment, for the finite can not measure infinity. Suffice it to say that both plans have the same Author, and the same power is pledged to assure the success of each.

When the inhabitants of this world in which we dwell had

Plunged Headlong in Sin

and rebellion against their Creator; when every "imagination of the thoughts" of the majority of mankind "was evil and only evil continually;" when corruption and injustice held all but universal sway; when nearly all members of the human family were enslaved by sin; when an appalling percentage of Adam's posterity had lost their mental balance and reasoning powers; when Death, with his sharp sickle, was reaping down the teeming millions of earth; when the cities of the dead had become vastly more populous than the cities of the living; when, to all outward appearances, Satan was triumphant; at such a crisis as this, the power that could effectually lay hold of the general state of ruin and desolation, and rescue the sin-defiled earth from its death-breeding condition; restore loyalty and love, harmony and peace, wherever rational beings dwell; fill all surviving minds with thoughts of purity and holiness; firmly seat justice and righteousness; break every band of sin; enthrone reason, never again to lose its delicate balance, in the mind of every soul "accounted worthy;" arrest grim Death, with sickle in hand, in his mad pursuit of men, and destroy him evermore; loose every captive from the grave; heal all sickness and infirmity; plant the bloom of health and perpetual youth upon every form and face; banish all suffering and wo; establish happiness complete, where hitherto, misery reigned; and thus achieve a glorious triumph over sin, death, and Satan—such a plan must be indeed great. All of this, and much more, will be accomplished by the scheme of redemption. Inspiration denominates this plan, the "great salvation."

The Greatness of the Plan.

Than this plan of salvation, nothing can have a broader sphere of usefulness, for it clasps the whole universe and eternity in its embrace; nothing can be more uplifting in its influence, for it takes members of a race, who, defiled by sin, were condemned to death, and places them upon an equality with unfallen angels. No scheme can be more all-embracing in its scope, for its provisions are ample for every member of the human family, and even the loyal angels are unmeasurably benefited by it. All was magnanimity in its conception and execution, for its author is self-existent and could have blotted this world from existence and have spoken a sinless world into existence. Only infinite love prompted it and amazing, super-abounding grace, made it effectual. Its results will be as enduring as eternity and as blissful as the capacity of all beings in the universe for pure enjoyment.

That we may have a mutual understanding of terms, let us inquire the meaning of "salvation." Salvation means to save, or having the power to save, from sin and all of its direful results. This salvation is called

the "Great Salvation"

because it saves from the greatest depths of sin and wo and misery to the greatest heights of righteousness, well-being, and happiness. It saves those who are in the greatest need of help and who are utterly unable to save themselves.

A physician, applying some of nature's remedies, may thus save his patient from death; an arm extended to help a drowning man may save his life; a stream of water applied to a burning building may save the structure from ruin; a skilful captain may guide the stately ship, with its precious burden of humanity, safely through the raging storm; a loyal and valiant army may save a city or a nation from destruction at the hands of a cruel foe, but none of these deliverances can compare with the "great salvation."

When a whole race, comprising countless millions are doomed to eternal destruction unless help is provided, the saving power that can grapple with the calamity and save, even to the "uttermost," from the impending gulf of misery and oblivion, reclaiming all that was lost by the Fall, this must be the "great salvation."

What It Will Do.

This salvation, if appropriated, will take the proud and arrogant, and make him humble and submissive; the sinner, and transform him into a saint; the man of violent temper, and make him mild and gentle; the ill-natured and cruel, and make him kind and affectionate; the one "dead in trespasses and sins" and, quickening him, give him a seat "in heavenly places" with the Saviour of men; the thief, and make him an honest man, "willing to distribute to the necessity" of others; the habitual liar, and make him love the truth; the profane, and cause him to reverently praise the God of his salvation; the cursing man, and inspire him to bless; the wandering mind, and bring every thought into captivity to Christ; the adulterer, and make him pure in thought, word and deed; the covetous, and make him generous; the Sabbath-breaker, and cause him to reverence God's holy day and delight therein. It has ample power to take the drunkard, and, lifting him from the gutter, wash him without and within, and make him a sober, industrious man, an ornament to society, and a praise to his Deliverer. It can take the Satanic man, and, if he be willing, make him Christlike. It can transform a home of misery, strife, and cruelty, into a miniature model of heaven upon earth. It has inherent power to break every chain of evil habit and every hereditary tendency toward sin, and "set the captive free," and thus, laying hold of sin's victim, it will take him, and in the ultimate, make him fit to associate with the elect angels who have never known the contamination of sin. It is capable of taking the heathen and causing him to abandon his idols and worship his Creator; the soul-destroyer, and, making of him a soul-winner, place him among that blessed company of whom it is written, "How beautiful upon the mountains is the feet of him that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation." It is in its ultimate results,

a Perfect and Complete Antidote

for all of the ills and woes known to the human family.

The supernatural power which makes this salvation effectual, laid fast hold upon Lazarus and wrested him from the tomb. It brought Dorcas to life. It has cleansed lepers and healed all manner of infirmities. It caused the Philippian jailer, who at nightfall cruelly lacerated the backs of Paul and Silas, to tenderly wash them, ere the light of morning came. It made Peter, the profane at the trial of the Saviour, the loyal and fearless on the day of Pentecost, and by its re-creative power, three thousand souls were converted on the same occasion. It conquered Saul, the persecutor, and made him Paul, the martyr. It firmly grasped Moses, the deceased leader of Israel, and, regardless of Satan's opposition (Jude 9), parted the earth asunder, and, lifting him from the grave, transported him to the third heaven. It took Enoch and Elijah and translated them to Paradise, without tasting death.

When the Lord applied this power to the deliverance of His people from the spiritual and physical bondage of Egypt, He made this appeal to them: "Ask now of the days that are past . . . since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?" Surely it is well named,

'The Great Salvation.'

Reader, seeing that this great salvation was planned for your personal benefit,—for "to you is the word of this salvation sent,"—may I ask if you have availed yourself of its manifold blessings? if you are to-day saved from past sins and from the "dominion" of sin? and if you are standing in such a relationship to this scheme of redemption that you are ready to enjoy its full benefits, when the Author of the plan bestows them upon its happy recipients?

Life is of no real value to mankind if the "great salvation" is not attained. It would have been far better never to have been born, than, having had life, to lose this salvation. Every misspent life, every shipwreck of human existence, will be because "they trusted not in His salvation." "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" Why not "take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord?" "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." "Free was the offer, free to all, of life and of salvation."