AS reported in the Daily Scotsman on the 20th November, 1947, there met in St. Paul’s, London, statesmen, soldiers and diplomats who knew and worked with the late John Gillbert Winant, U.S.A. Ambassador during the war, assembled to pay tribute to his memory. Mr. Churchill, Mr. Eden, the Prime Minister, Mr. Bevin, other members of the Cabinet, the Speaker of the House of Commons and a group of M.P.’s were in the congregation; Sir John Anderson and Mr. Walter Elliot were also present.
Mr. Attlee mounted the pulpit and read the lesson from the “Wisdom of Solomon.” Dr. Matthews, the Dean of St. Paul’s, repeated (read) prayers for the dead and for the living. It was reported in the world press that John Winant took his own life—committed suicide—that is, one who falls or dies by his own hands: self-murder. This is a crime against one’s own life. It is an awful sin; it does not matter who the person is—be he or she poor, rich, great in the estimation of men, of good standing in society, a leading person in the affairs of the world, makes not the slightest difference as far the Word of God is concerned. The Sixth Commandment forbids the “taking away the life of ourselves, or of others.”
When it is beyond any reasonable doubt that a human being took away his or her own life knowingly and deliberately, in possession of their reason, that is self-murder according to the Word of God. Here we have a case where a man took away his own life, and the leading men of Britain would congregate in a church to pay respect to his memory!
Oh, Britain! where art thou leading to in this day of blasphemy and rebuke? We might expect to read in the history of the Red Indians similar prostration if one of their chiefs committed the same identical crime against his own life. The practice of the savages should not be thought of among those who are nominally, at least, professing the Christian religion! Their religious leader repeated prayers for the dead and the living. What paganism is this, what gross ignorance of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Can it be said that these poor men are Christians? “Praying for the dead” is absolute heathenism, and for professed Christians to “pray for the dead” is adding sin to sin, and hardening their guilty consciences against the clear light of the Word of God. Let our people be warned against those men who have departed from the blessed gospel of our Lord Jesus. “At death the souls of believers pass immediately into glory.” The soul who is not united to Jesus Christ at death passes into a lost eternity. That is the teaching of Prophets, Christ and His Apostles. The Dean of St. Paul’s might as well pray to the paintings on the ceiling of St. Paul’s as to pray for the “dead” that passed out of time into another world. Christ is the High Priest and Lord Advocate with the Father, and no prayer shall pass before God without His immediate knowledge and authority. The dead in hell are eternally beyond the reach of prayer, whatever mutterings the Dean of St. Paul’s may utter. The souls of believers are with God in heaven, “and the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The last prayer the believer will ever utter ends with his last breath in this world. His prayers terminate there for ever!
The lost may groan and sigh for ever, and seek deliverance in eternal death which is eternally away from the dying soul. It is heaven or hell. Christ is the way to heaven: sin, guilt and crime is the way to hell.
Praying for the dead or to the dead is praying to the devil, but Satan cannot answer their prayers for he has no court of appeal to approach!
May God in His infinite mercy open the eyes of the poor, miserable Dean of St. Paul’s! Let us value our precious privileges—a pure gospel.
—J. M.