lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matt. 16: 25. save life, or to kill?" . “The Son of man came .. to give his "Is it lawful . . . to "Whosoever will save his Mark 3: 4. life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life . . . shall "The Son of man came save it." Mark 8: 35. to give Is it lawful to . . . "Whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." Luke 9: 24. "The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives." Luke 9: 56. Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; . . . The life is more than meat." Luke 12: 22, 23. "Hate not his . own life also.” Luke 14: 26. "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it." Luke 17: 33. Luke 17: 33. "The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." John 10: 11. "I lay down my life." John 10: 15. "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life." John 10: 17. "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it." John 12: 25. "I will lay down my life for thy sake Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?" John 13 37, 38. "That a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15: 13. Acts 15: 26. "His life is in him." count I my life dear unto myself." 66 Men that have hazarded their lives." Acts 20: 10. "Neither Acts 20: 24. "With hurt and much damage . . . of our lives." Acts 27: 10. "There shall be no loss of any man's life." my life." Rom. 11: 3. Acts 27: 22. "They seek "Who have for my life laid down their own necks." Rom. 16: 4. "Not regarding his life." Phil. 2: 30. "He laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3: 16. "The creatures which were in the sea, and had life died." Rev. 8: 9. "They loved not their lives unto the death." Total, 40. 2. Psuche is rendered mind three times. minds evil affected." Acts 14: 2. "Stand fast. Rev. 12: II. 66 Made their . with one mind." Phil. I: 27. "Wearied and faint in your minds." Heb. 12: 3. 3. Psuche is rendered you once. "I will very gladly spend and be spent for you.” 2 Cor. 12: 15. 4. Psuche is rendered heart once. from the heart." Eph. 6: 6. 5. Psuche is rendered us once. us to doubt?" John 10: 24. "Doing the will of God. "How long dost thou make 6. Psuche is rendered heartily once. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Col. 3: 23. It is rendered soul fifty-eight times. The word soul occurs in our English Bible 535 times. It is from nephesh 475 times, from psuche fifty-eight times, from n'deevah once, and from n'shah-mah once. § 188. The following quotation will illustrate the vague idea of many in relation to that which may be saved through Christ: A man stands looking over the rail of a vessel into the surging water, and cries out, "Save it!" Men come rushing up with, Save what? A man overboard?” "No." "A woman?" "No." "Then it must be a child." "No, it is not a child." "What then can it be?" "I cannot tell." "Well, what does 46 it look like?" "I do not know, it has never been seen." "What form is it?" "It has no form." "How large is it?" "Why, it has no size." "Well, about how much will it weigh?" "It has no weight." "Will it perish in the water?" but save it, save it." "No, no; In conclusion, I must say, that after a careful and prayerful examination of the entire Bible on this subject for over fifty years, I can honestly come to no other conclusion, than that the word soul in the Bible nowhere represents a part of man that exists in a conscious state, when the physical organism is sleeping in the embrace of death. I am most fully satisfied that the Bible, the facts of science, the eternal principles of pure reason, metaphysics, and common sense, are all harmonious with this conclusion. It is a fact that the immortality of the soul was not taught by Moses, the prophets, Christ, the apostles, nor any other Bible writer, nor by the Apostolical Fathers. It was believed and taught by the Pagans, and is to-day the chief corner stone of all false systems of religion. Is it not high time for every lover of the Lord and his truth, to abandon forever this unscriptural doctrine, that has produced such a vast amount of evil fruit? CHAPTER V. § 189. THE SPIRIT. Let us now examine the Scripture to learn the meaning of the word spirit. The Hebrew word commonly rendered spirit in the Old Testament is ruach, and its corresponding Greek word in the New Testament is pneuma. The word ruach occurs four hundred times, and pneuma three hundred and eighty-five, but they are not once rendered soul. With two exceptions the word spirit in the Old Testament is always translated from ruach. The word n'shah-mah is rendered spirit twice as follows: "To whom hast thou uttered words, and whose spirit [n'shah-mah] came from thee"? The word n'shah-mah occurs twenty-four times and is usually rendered breath. The following is the other example: "The spirit [n'shah-mah] of man is the candle of the Lord." 2 § 190. The word spirit in the New Testament is from pneuma in all texts but the two following, which are the two records of the same event. At one time the disciples saw the Savior walking on the water, and "they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit [phantasma], and they cried out for fear."3 A phantasma, or phantom, has the appearance of reality; but like a shadow, it is not real or tangible. When any thing appears to be where it is not, it may properly be called a phantom. § 191. The word ruach is rendered spirit two hundred and forty times out of the four hundred, and is translated in twentytwo ways, which may be reduced to four: 1. An intelligent being. 2. A power proceeding from a being. 3. A state of mind, or feeling. 4. The breath of life. 1 Job 26: 4. 2 Prov. 20: 27. 3 Matt. 14: 26, Mark 6: 49. 1. AN INTELLIGENT BEING. The words ruach and pneuma are used to represent God and the angels, who are called "spirits." But when thus used, they always indicate real, personal beings, resembling men in their form. Hence we read: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.' Speaking of angels, Paul says: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?' When they visited Lot, we read: "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did. eat.' An angel was sent to John upon the isle of Patmos, A. D. 96, with a revelation from God. At the close of the interview, John says: "When I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.' It is absurd to suppose there can be intelligent beings "without body, parts, or passions." Such beings are inconceivable. § 192. 2. A POWER PROCEEDING FROM A BEING. It is a well known fact that God has made man, and even the animals, so that they can exert a spiritual power over one another. This is seen when the snake is charming the bird or other animal; when a man is mesmerizing his fellow men, or 1 Heb. 13: 14. 2 Heb. 1 14. 3 Gen. 19: 1–3. 4 Rev. 22 8. 5 Westminster Confession of Faith, Chap. 2, sec. 1. |