Page:What Is The True Christian Religion?.pdf/35

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an escape of the relatively few. Under this idea the important thing is to have our sins forgiven,—wiped out, obliterated. But then,—accepting this pardon—a magical process takes place,—the forgiven who have received a free pardon, are miraculously changed from wolves to lambs, or from evil, sinning people, into saints, for nothing that they can do contributes an iota to their salvation. Is it any wonder that the people of the earth who have accepted this Plan of Salvation have not become actual saints upon earth, but that those who ate nominally Christian under this plan, having no need to keep the Ten Commandments themselves since Jesus kept them for them, have persisted in greed, lust, hatred and every other wickedness? Is it any wonder that wars continue and the exploitation and slavery of mankind by nominally Christian nations? And sometimes by nominally Christian individuals as leaders of industry? Is the "changed life" made the goal for those who attend churches? Why should people "change" their habits of living when nothing depends upon it?

As to being "under the blood." as outlined above, it scarcely seems worth while to discuss it, except to say that people who do accept the idea are sticklers for the literal sense of the Bible and yet accept a mystical idea of salvation by a symbol only. If one realizes that the blood at the Passover lamb was a type of the blood of Jesus, and the blood of Jesus is thought of as the Divine truth itself, which when applied as truth to daily living preserves one from the assaults of evil being, and saves from spiritual death. the idea is good. We should all want to be under the Divine protection by keeping the Divine commandments. That is to be "under the blood." under the protection of Divine truth lived out day by day.

As to the idea of being "washed in the blood," the same idea of applying Divine truth in daily living makes the mystical statement a vivid reality. If I refrain from stealing because it is Divinely prohibited. I am truly washing or cleansing myself from the sin of theft. That is a practical way of being made free from sin.

But the "Plan of Salvation" people think that such a practical course is not Biblical, that somehow the blood of Jesus is literally