02c Biblical Argument for Eternal Punis (continue)

For rhetorical effect, the present limited age, or aeon, is sometimes represented as composed of a number of lesser ages or cycles, as in modern phrase the sum total of finite Earthly time is denominated "the centuries," or "the ages." The following are examples: [1 Corinthians 2:7], The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages (pro twn aiwnwn). Compare Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:26. In 1 Timothy 1:17, God is denominated basileuV twn aiwnwn, king of the ages of time, and therefore the king eternal [AV]. In Romans 16:25, a mystery is said to have been kept secret cronoiV aiwnioiV, "during aeonian times" [AV, since the world began]. The ages of the limited aeon are meant. The secret was withheld from all the past cycles of time. In Titus 1:2, eternal life is said to have been promised pro cronwn aiwniwn, "before aeonian times" [AV, before the world began]. The ages of the limited aeon are meant. God promised eternal life, prior to all the periods of time; i.e., eternally promised. In these passages, "aeonian times" is equivalent to "the centuries," or the "long ages." The Revisers make the reference to be to the unlimited aeon--to eternity, not to time. Their rendering of Titus 1:2 by, Before times eternal, involves the absurdity that a Divine promise is made prior to eternity; and of Romans 16:25 by, Through times eternal, represents the mystery as concealed during eternity: that is to say, as forever concealed. This rhetorical plural does not destroy the unity of the limited age, or aeon. To conceal a mystery from the past "aeonian ages," or the past centuries and cycles of finite time, is the same as to conceal it from past finite time as a whole 32[The phrases, end of the ages (telh twn aiwnwn), [1 Corinthians 10:11]; fullness of the time, [Galatians 4:4]; fullness of times, [Ephesians 1:10]; these last days escatoV twn hmeron toutwn, [Hebrews 1:1], denote the time of the Messiah’s first advent--that epoch in the temporal aiwn when the incarnation occurred (Hodge on Ephesians 1:10)].

2. The future infinite and endless age, or aeon, is denominated, in Scripture, the future world; AV and RV the world to come (aiwn o mellwn), abj mlwu [Matthew 12:32; Hebrews 2:5; Hebrews 6:5]. Another designation is, the world to come (aiwn o ercomenoV) [Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30]. Still another designation is, that world (aiwn ekeinoV) [Luke 20:35]. Frequently, the infinite and endless age is denoted by aiwn simply, but with the article for emphasis (o aiwn) [Mark 3:29], Has never forgiveness (eiV ton aiwna) [MAT 51:29; John 4:14; John 6:51, John 6:58; John 8:35, John 8:51-52; John 10:28; John 11:26; John 12:34; John 13:8; John 14:16; 2 Corinthians 9:9; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:17; 2 Peter 2:17; 1 John 2:17; Jude 1:13]. The same use of the plural for rhetorical effect, employed in the case of the limited aeon, is also employed in that of the unlimited. The future infinite aiwn is represented as made up of lesser aiwneV or cycles, as, in English, "infinity" is sometimes denominated "the infinities," "eternity," "the eternities," and "immensity," "the immensities." The rhetorical plural, in this instance as in the other, does not conflict with the unity of the infinite age, or aeon. The following are examples of this use [Romans 1:25], The Creator is blessed forever (eiV touV aiwnaV) [Romans 9:5; Romans 11:36; Romans 16:27; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Php 4:20; Galatians 1:5 (eiV touV aiwnaV twn aiwnwn) 1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 1:6, Revelation 1:18; Revelation 4:9-10; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 7:12], et alia. The phrases, eiV touV aiwnaV, and eiV touV aiwnaV twn aiwnwn, are equivalent to eiV ton aiwna. All alike denote the one infinite and endless aeon, or age.

Since the word aeon (aiwn), or age, in Scripture, may denote either the present finite age, or the future endless age, in order to determine the meaning of "aeonian" (aiwnioV), it is necessary first to determine in which of the two aeons, the limited or the endless, the thing exists to which the epithet is applied; because anything in either aeon may be denominated "aeonian." The adjective follows its substantive, in meaning. Onesimus, as a slave, existed in this world (aiwn) of "time," and when he is called an aeonian, or "everlasting" (aiwnioV) servant [Philemon 1:15], it is meant that his servitude continues as long as the finite aeon in which he is a servant; and this is practically at an end for him, when he dies and leaves it. The mountains are denominated aeonian, or "everlasting" (aiwnia), in the sense that they endure as long as the finite world (aiwn) of which they are a part endures. God, on the other hand, is a being that exists in the infinite aiwn, and is therefore aiwnioV in the endless signification of the word. The same is true of the spirits of angels and men, because they exist in the future aeon, as well as in the present one. If anything belongs solely to the present age, or aeon, it is aeonian in the limited signification; if it belongs to the future age, or aeon, it is aeonian in the unlimited signification. If, therefore, the punishment of the wicked occurs in the present aeon, it is aeonian in the sense of temporal; but if it occurs in the future aeon, it is aeonian in the sense of endless. The adjective takes its meaning from its noun *["Aiwn de quocunque temporis spatio ita dicitur, ut, quale sit, judicari debeat in singulis locis ex orationis serie et mente scriptoris, rebus adeo et personis, de quibus sermo est." Schleusner, in voce]. The English word "forever" has the same twofold meaning, both in Scripture and in common use. Sometimes it means as long as a man lives upon Earth. The Hebrew servant that had his ear bored with an awl to the door of his master, was to be his servant forever [Exodus 21:6]. Sometimes it means as long as the Jewish state should last. The ceremonial laws were to be statutes forever [Leviticus 16:34]. Sometimes it means, as long as the world stands. One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the Earth abides forever [Ecclesiastes 1:4]. In all such instances, forever refers to the temporal aeon, and denotes finite duration. But in other instances, and they are the great majority in Scripture, forever refers to the endless aeon; as when it is said that God is over all blessed forever. The limited signification of forever in the former cases, does not disprove its unlimited signification in the latter. That Onesimus was an everlasting (aiwnioV) servant, and that the hills are everlasting (aiwnia), no more disproves the everlastingness of God, and the soul; of Heaven, and of Hell; than the term "forever" in a title deed disproves it. To hold land "forever," is to hold it "as long as grass grows and water runs"--that is, as long as this world, or, aeon, endures. The objection that because aiwnioV, or "aeonian," denotes "that which belongs to an age," it cannot mean endless, rests upon the assumption that there is no endless aiwn, or age. It postulates an indefinite series of limited aeons, or ages, no one of which is final and everlasting. But the texts that have been cited disprove this. Scripture speaks of but two aeons, which cover and include the whole existence of man, and his whole duration. If, therefore, he is an immortal being, one of these must be endless. The phrase "ages of ages," applied to the future endless age, does not prove that there is more than one future age, any more than the phrase "the eternities" proves that there is more than one eternity; or the phrase "the infinities" proves that there is more than one infinity. The plural in these cases is rhetorical and intensive, not arithmetical, in its force. This examination of the Scripture use of the word aiwnioV refutes the assertion, that "aeonian" means "spiritual" in distinction from "material" or "sensuous," and has no reference at all to time or duration; that when applied to "death," it merely denotes that the death is mental and spiritual in its nature, without saying whether it is long or short, temporary or endless. Beyond dispute, some objects are denominated "aeonian," in Scripture, which have nothing mental or spiritual in them. The mountains are "aeonian." The truth is, that aiwn is a term that denotes time only, and never denotes the nature and quality of an object. All the passages that have been quoted show that duration, either limited or endless, is intended by the word. Whenever this visible world in the sense of the matter constituting it is meant, the word employed is kosmoV, and not aiwn. It is only when this world in the sense of the time of its continuance is intended, that aiwn is employed. Paul, in Ephesians 2:2, combines both meanings. The heathen, he says, walk kata ton aiwna tou cosmou toutou--according to the course [duration] of this world [of matter]. In Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3, where aiwneV denotes the worlds created by God, it is, as Lewis [Lange’s Ecclesiastes, p. 47] remarks, in opposition to Winer and Robinson, "the time sense, of worlds after worlds," not "the space sense, of worlds beyond or above worlds," that is intended. In by far the greater number of instances, aiwn and aiwnio" refer to the future infinite age, and not to the present finite age; to eternity, and not to time. Says Stuart [Exegetical Essays, §§ 13, 16], "aiwnioV is employed 66 times in the New Testament. Of these, 51 relate to the future happiness of the righteous; 7 relate to future punishment: namely, Matthew 18:8; Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46; Mark 3:29; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Hebrews 6:2; Jude 1:6; 2 relate to God; 6 are of a miscellaneous nature (5 relating to confessedly endless things, as covenant, invisibilities; and one, in Philemon 1:15, to a perpetual service). In all the instances in which aiwnioV refers to future duration, it denotes endless duration; saying nothing of the instances in which it refers to future punishment. The Hebrew mlwu is translated in the Septuagint by aiwn, 308 times. In almost the whole of these instances, the meaning is, time unlimited; a period without end. In the other instances, it means aiwn in the secondary, limited sense; it is applied to the mountains, the Levitical statutes, priesthood, etc." The younger Edwards [Reply to Chauncy Ch. XIV] says that "aiwn, reckoning the reduplications of it, as aiwneV twn aiwnwn, to be single instances of its use, occurs in the New Testament in 104 instances; in 32 of which it means a limited duration. In 7 instances, it may be taken in either the limited or the endless sense. In 65 instances, including 6 instances in which it is applied to future punishment, it plainly signifies an endless duration." An incidental proof that the adjective aiwnioV has the unlimited signification when applied to future punishment, is the fact that the destiny of lost men is bound up with that of Satan and his angels. Then shall He say unto those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels [Matthew 25:41]. These are represented in Scripture as hopelessly lost. The Devil who deceived them shall be tormented day and night forever and ever [Revelation 20:10]. The Jews, to whom Christ spoke, understood the perdition of the lost angels to be absolute. If the positions of the Restorationist are true in reference to man, they are also in reference to demons. But Scripture teaches that there is no redemption for the lost angels. Christ took not on Him the nature of angels [Hebrews 2:16].

Respecting the nature of the everlasting punishment, it is clear from the Biblical representations that it is accompanied with consciousness. Dives is in torments [Luke 16:23]. The smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever [Revelation 14:11]. Fear has torment [1 John 4:18], and the lost fear the wrath of the Lamb [Revelation 6:16]. The figures of the fire, and the worm are intended to denote conscious pain. An attempt has been made to prove that the punishment of the wicked is the extinction of consciousness. This doctrine is sometimes denominated Annihilation. Few of its advocates, however, have contended for the strict annihilation of the substance of the soul and body. The more recent defenders maintain the doctrine of Conditional Immortality. According to this view, the soul is not naturally immortal. Some of this class contend that it is material. It gains immortality only through its redemption by Christ. All who are not redeemed, lose all consciousness at the death of the body, and this is the spiritual death threatened in Scripture. As the death of the body is the extinction of sensation, so the death of the soul is the extinction of consciousness. The falsity of the theory of Annihilation, in both of its forms, is proved by the following considerations:

1. First, death is the opposite of birth, and birth does not mean the creation of substance. The conception and birth of an individual man, is the production of a soul and a body, not the creation ex nihilo of either; and the physical death of an individual man, is the separation of a soul and body, not the annihilation of either. Death is a change of the mode in which a substance exists, and supposes that the substance itself continues in being.

Now, when the life decays and form does fade, Does it consume and into nothing go, But changed is and often altered to and fro. The substance is not changed nor altered, But only the form and outward fashion. -- Faerie Queene, III. vi. The death of an animal substance makes an alteration in the relations of certain material atoms, but does not put them out of existence. Dead matter is as far from nonentity as living matter. That physical death is not the annihilation of substance, is proved by 1 Corinthians 15:36 That which you sow is not made alive except it die. Compare John 12:24. In like manner, the death of the soul, or spiritual death, is only a change in the relations of the soul, and its mode of existence, and not the annihilation of its substance. In spiritual death, the soul is separated from God; as in physical death, the soul is separated from the body. The union of the soul with God is spiritual life; its separation from God is spiritual death. He who has the Son has [spiritual] life, and he who has not the Son has not [spiritual] life [1 John 5:12].

2. Second, the spiritually dead are described in Scripture as conscious. Genesis 2:7 compared with Genesis 3:8 In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die. Adam and Eve hid themselves. After their fall they were spiritually dead, and filled with shame and terror before God. The dead in trespasses and sins walk according to the course of this world [Ephesians 2:1-2]. She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives [1 Timothy 5:6]. You being dead in your sins has He forgiven [Colossians 2:13]. You live, and are dead [Revelation 3:1]. Spiritual death is the same as the second death and the second death hurts [Revelation 2:11]; and its smoke of torment ascends forever and ever [Revelation 19:3].

3. Third, the extinction of consciousness is not of the nature of punishment. The essence of punishment is suffering, and suffering is consciousness. In order to be punished, the person must be conscious of a certain pain, must feel that he deserves it, and know that it is inflicted because he does. All three of these elements are required in a case of punishment. To reduce a man to unconsciousness would make his punishment an impossibility. If God by a positive act extinguishes, at death, the remorse of a hardened villain, by extinguishing his self-consciousness, it is a strange use of language to denominate this a punishment.

Still another proof that the extinction of consciousness is not of the nature of punishment is the fact, that a holy and innocent being might be deprived of consciousness by his Creator, but could not be punished by him. God is not obliged, by His justice, to perpetuate a conscious existence which He originated ex nihilo. For wise ends, He might suffer an unfallen angel not only to lose consciousness, but to lapse into his original nonentity. But He could not, in justice, inflict retributive suffering upon him.

4. Fourth, the extinction either of being, or of consciousness, admits of no degrees of punishment. All transgressors are punished exactly alike. This contradicts Luke 12:47-48; Romans 2:12.

5. Fifth, according to this theory, brutes are punished. In losing consciousness at death, the animal like the man incurs an everlasting loss. The Annihilationist contends that the substance of punishment is in the result, and not in its being felt or experienced. If a transgressor is put out of conscious existence, the result is an everlasting loss to him, though he does not know it. But the same thing is true of a brute. And if the former is punished, the latter is also.

6. Sixth, the advocate of Conditional Immortality, in teaching that the extinction of consciousness is the eternal death of Scripture, implies that the continuance of consciousness is the eternal life. But mere consciousness is not happiness. Judas was conscious, certainly, when he hung himself, even if he is not now. But he was not happy.

7. Seventh, the extinction of consciousness is not regarded by sinful men as an evil, but a good. They substitute the doctrine of the eternal sleep of the soul, for that of its eternal punishment. This shows that the two things are not equivalents. When Mirabeau lay dying, he cried passionately for opium, that he might never awake. The guilty and remorseful have, in all ages, deemed the extinction of consciousness after death to be a blessing; but the advocate of Conditional Immortality explains it to be a curse. "Sight and hearing, and all Earthly good, without justice and virtue," says Plato [Laws II. 661], "are the greatest of evils, if life be immortal; but not so great, if the bad man lives a very short time."

8. Eighth, the fact that the soul depends for its immortality and consciousness upon the upholding power of its Maker does not prove either that it is to be annihilated, or to lose consciousness. Matter also depends for its existence and operations upon the Creator. Both matter and mind can be annihilated by the same Being who created them from nothing. Whether He will cease to uphold any particular work of His hand, can be known only by revelation. In the material world, we see no evidence of such an intention. We are told that the elements shall melt with fervent heat, but not that they shall be annihilated. And, certainly, all that God has said in Revelation in regard to creation, redemption, and perdition, implies and teaches that he intends to uphold, and not to annihilate the human spirit; to perpetuate, and not extinguish its self-consciousness. The form of Universalism which is the most respectable, and therefore the most dangerous, is that which concedes the force of the Biblical and rational arguments respecting the guilt of sin, and its intrinsic desert of everlasting punishment, but contends that redemption from it through the vicarious atonement of Christ is extended into the next world. The advocates of this view assert, that between death and the final judgment the application of Christ’s work is going on; that the Holy Spirit is regenerating sinners in the intermediate state, and they are believing and repenting as in this life. This makes the day of judgment, instead of the day of death, the dividing line between "time" and "eternity"; between o aiwn outoV, and aiwn o mellwn. And this makes the intermediate state a third aeon by itself, lying between "time" and "eternity"; between this world, and the world to come. That the "intermediate state" is not a third aeon, but a part of the second endless aeon, is proved by the following considerations:

1. First, by the fact that in Scripture the disembodied state is not called "intermediate." This is an ecclesiastical term which came in with the doctrine of purgatory, and along with the exaggeration of the difference between Paradise and Heaven, and between Hades and Gehenna.

2. Second, by the fact that in Scripture death is represented as the deciding epoch in a man’s existence It is the boundary between the two Biblical aeons, or worlds. Until a man dies, he is in "this world" (o nun aiwn); after death, he is in "the future world" (aiwn o mellwn). The common understanding of the teaching of Scripture is, that men are in "time," so long as they live, but when they die, they enter "eternity." It is appointed unto men once to die, but after that the judgment [Hebrews 9:27]. 33[In Hebrews 9:27, krisiV is anarthrous: after death comes judgment. The writer does not say that the judgment immediately succeeds the death of the body, but that a judgment does]. This teaches that prior to death, man’s destiny is not decided, he being not yet sentenced; but after death, his destiny is settled. When he dies, the "private judgment," that is, the immediate personal consciousness either of penitence or impenitence, occurs. Every human spirit, in that supreme moment when it returns to God who gave it, knows by direct self-consciousness whether it is a child or an enemy of God, in temper and disposition; whether it is humble and contrite, or proud, hard, and impenitent; whether it welcomes or rejects the Divine mercy in Christ. The article of death is an event in human existence which strips off all disguises, and shows the person what he really is, in moral character. He knows as he is known, and in this flashing light passes a sentence upon himself that is accurate. This "private judgment" at death, is reaffirmed in the "general judgment" of the last day.

Accordingly, our Lord teaches distinctly that death is a finality for the impenitent sinner. Twice in succession, he says with awful emphasis to the Pharisees: If you believe not that I Am He, you shall die in your sins [John 8:21, John 8:24]. This implies, that to "die in sin," is to be hopelessly lost. Again, he says: Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he who walks in darkness knows not where he goes. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light [John 12:35-36]. According to these words of the Redeemer, the light of the gospel is not accessible in the darkness of death. The night comes, when no man can work [John 9:4]. The night of death puts a stop to the work of salvation that is appointed to be done in the daytime of this life. Paul teaches the same truth, in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-7 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and he sober. For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk, are drunk in the night. God said unto him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God [Luke 12:20-21]. With these New Testament teachings, agrees the frequent affirmation of the Old Testament, that after death nothing can be done in the way of securing salvation. In death there is no remembrance of you: in the grave who shall give you thanks? [Psalms 6:5]. Will you show wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise you? Shall your loving kindness be declared in the grave? [Psalms 88:10-11]. The dead praise not the Lord, nor any that go down into silence [Psalms 115:17]. To him who is joined to all the living, there is hope: for the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward [Ecclesiastes 9:4-6]. These passages do not teach the utter unconsciousness of the soul after death. In flat contradiction to that long list already cited which asserts the contrary, but that there is no alteration of character in the next life. "In death, there is no [happy] remembrance of God" [if there has been none in life]. "The dead shall not arise, and praise God" [in the next world, if they have not done so in this world]. "Shall God declare his loving kindness [to one] in the grave" [if he has not declared it to him when upon earth]? The parable of Dives proves that death is the turning point in human existence, and fixes the everlasting state of the person. Dives asks that his brethren may be warned before they die and enter Hades; because after death and the entrance into Hades, there is an impassable gulf between misery and happiness, sin and holiness. This shows that the so-called "intermediate" state is not intermediate in respect to the essential elements of Heaven and Hell, but is a part of the final and endless state of the soul. It is "intermediate," only in reference to the secondary matter of the presence or absence of the body. The asserted extension of redemption into the endless aeon, or age, is contradicted by Scripture. Salvation from sin is represented as confined to the limited aeon. One of the most important passages bearing upon this point is 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Then comes the end, when Christ shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when He shall have put down all [opposing] rule, and all [opposing] authority and power. For He must reign, till He has put all enemies under His feet. Paul here states the fact, disclosed to him by revelation from God, that the redemption of sinners will not go on forever, but will cease at a certain point of time. The Mediator will carry on his work of saving sinful men, until He has gathered in His church, and completed the work according to the original plan and covenant between Himself and His Father, and then will surrender His mediatorial commission and office (basileian). There will then no longer be any mediation going on between sinners and God. The church will be forever united to their Divine Head in Heaven, and the wicked will be shut up in the outer darkness. That Christ’s mediatorial work does not secure the salvation of all men during the appointed period in which it is carried on, is proved by the fact that when the end comes some men are described as the enemies of Christ, and as being put under his feet [1 Corinthians 15:21, 1 Corinthians 15:25]. All of Christ’s redeemed stand before His throne [Revelation 14:3; Revelation 19:4-7; Revelation 21:3]. They are in the mansions which He has prepared for them [John 14:2-3]. The reason assigned for Christ’s surrender of His mediatorial commission is, that God may be all in all [1 Corinthians 15:28] not, that God even the Father may be all in all [1 Corinthians 15:24]. It is the Trinity that is to be supreme. To Christ, as an incarnate Trinitarian person, and an anointed mediator, all power is [temporarily] given in Heaven and upon Earth [MAT 28:29], for the purpose of saving sinners. As such, He accepts and holds a secondary position of condescension and humiliation, when compared with His original unincarnate position. In this reference, He receives a commandment [John 10:18], and a Kingdom [1 Corinthians 15:24]. In this reference, as believers are Christ’s, so Christ is God’s [1 Corinthians 3:23]; and as the head of the woman is the man, so the head of Christ is God [1 Corinthians 11:3]. But when Christ has finished His work of mediating between the triune God and sinful men, and of saving sinners, this condition of subjection to an office and a commission ceases. The dominion (basileian) over Heaven and Earth, temporarily delegated to a single Trinitarian person incarnate, for purposes of redemption and salvation, now returns to the Eternal Three whence it came, and to Whom it originally belongs. The Son of God, His humanity exalted and glorified, and His Divine-human person united forever to His church as their Head, no longer prosecutes that work of redemption which He carried forward through certain ages of time, but, with the Father and Spirit, Three in One, reigns over the entire universe--over the holy who stand before the throne, and over the wicked who are under his feet, and in the bottomless pit. The confinement of the work of redemption to the limited aeon, which terminates practically for each individual at the death of the body, is taught in many other passages of Scripture. My spirit shall not always [R.V. for ever] strive with man, for that he also is [sinful] flesh; yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years [Genesis 6:3]. This teaches that the converting operation of the Divine Spirit in the sinner’s heart, is limited to the 120 years which was then the average length of human life. O that they were wise, that they would consider their latter end [Deuteronomy 32:29]. Teach us so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom [Psalms 90:12]. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave where you are going [Ecclesiastes 9:10]. Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near [Isaiah 55:6]. Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with overindulgence, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares: for as a snare shall it come on all those who dwell on the face of the Earth [Luke 21:34-35]. Watch, therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord comes. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for Him, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with unbelievers: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" [Matthew 24:42, Matthew 24:50]. If you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things which belong unto your peace! but now they are hid from your eyes [Luke 19:42]. Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying Lord, Lord, open unto us, He shall answer, and say unto you, I know you not from where you come [Luke 13:24-25]. We beseech you that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For He says, I have heard you in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I helped you: behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 6:2]. Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts [Hebrews 3:7]. The argument in Hebrews 3:7-19 is to the effect, that as God swore that those Israelites who did not believe and obey His servant Moses during the forty years of wandering in the desert should not enter the Earthly Canaan, so those who do not while it is called, Today–that is, while they are here in time--believe and obey His Son Jesus Christ, shall not enter the Heavenly Canaan. Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. But exhort one another daily, while it is called, Today [Hebrews 3:12-13]. God limited a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time [of impenitence], Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts [Hebrews 4:7]. Hebrews 10:26 speaks of a time when there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries of God. Behold I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according as his work shall be. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he who is holy, let him be holy still [Revelation 22:11-12].

If sinners are redeemed beyond the grave, man must be informed of the fact by God Himself. There is no other way of finding it out. He has not been so informed, but, if language has any meaning, has been informed of the contrary. Bishop Butler [Analogy, Pt. I. Ch. ii] states the case with his usual conciseness and clearness. "Reason did, as it well might, conclude that it should finally be well with the righteous, and ill with the wicked; but it could not he determined upon any principles of reason whether human creatures might not have been appointed to pass through other states of life and being, before that distributive justice should finally and effectually take place. Revelation teaches us that the next state of things after the present is appointed for the execution of this justice; that it shall no longer be delayed, but the mystery of God, the great mystery of His suffering vice and confusion to prevail, shall then be finished; and He will take to Him His great power, and will reign, by rendering to every one according to his works." The asserted extension of redemption into the period between death and the resurrection cannot be placed upon the ground of right and justice; and the only other ground possible, that of the Divine promise so to extend it, is wanting. Our Lord teaches that men prior to His coming into the world are condemned already [John 3:16]. His advent to save them supposes that they are already lost; and they are lost by sin; and sin is man’s free self determination. 34[The strange position has recently been taken, that the rejection of Christ is the only sin that brings eternal death. "No one," says Dorner [Christian Doctrine, IV., 167], "will be damned merely on account of the common sin and guilt. But every one is definitely brought to [guilty] personal decision only through the gospel." Says a writer in the Andover Review [Dec., 1885, p. 574]: "No one can be lost without the knowledge of Christ."

[This implies that man’s sin against the moral law is not sufficient to condemn him to eternal death. He must sin against the gospel before he can be so condemned. Neither original sin nor actual transgression, neither evil inclination nor outward crime, both of which are sins against the law, expose a man to Hell.

[This is an entirely new position, not to be found in the past history of eschatology, and invented, apparently, to furnish a basis for the doctrine of a future offer of redemption. The objections to it are the following:

[1. It contradicts the whole tenor of scripture. Christ teaches that He came to call actual and guilty sinners to repentance [Luke 5:32]; that He came to seek and save that which was really and truly lost [Luke 19:10]; that He did not come into the world to condemn the world (because it was already condemned), but to save the world [John 3:17-18]. Paul affirms that the whole world, prior to redemption, and irrespective of it, are guilty before God [Romans 3:19]. John asserts that the whole world, Gentile and Jewish, unevangelized and evangelized, lies in wickedness [1 John 5:19]. To quote all the passages in which the Bible teaches that men are exposed to eternal death on account of their transgression of the law of God, would be to quote a large part of the Bible. The rejection of the gospel adds a new sin, and a very aggravating one, to the already existing sin against the divine law [John 15:22], but it is not the primary and original ground of condemnation. Men are punished, first of all, because they have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23].

[2. Second, unless man has already sinned against the law, he cannot sin against the gospel. If he has not previously committed a damning sin, for which Christ has atoned, he cannot reject Christ’s atonement any more than an innocent angel can. The rejection of salvation is meaningless, if no damnation has been incurred. If there is no disease, there can be no cure, nor rejection of a cure.

[3. Third, if no human soul is in danger of perdition until it has rejected Christ, then, if Christ had never been offered to man, no man would be lost. For if He were not offered He could not be rejected. In this case, it would have been infinitely better for mankind had Christ never come into the world on an errand of salvation. Had He remained unincarnate, as He had been from eternity, no one could have refused belief in Him, and, as unbelief is the only damning sin, no one could have been damned.

[4. Fourth, if "no man can be lost without the knowledge of Christ," then none of the past heathen world who died without this knowledge incurred perdition for the "deed done in the body," and none of the existing heathen world who are destitute of this knowledge are liable to perdition from this cause. In this case, it is a matter of rejoicing that the past generations of pagans never heard of the Redeemer, and it should be an earnest endeavor of the Church to prevent all of the present generation of pagans from hearing of Him.

[Dorner’s theory, that "no one will be damned merely on account of the common sin and guilt," is full of inconsistency and self-contradiction. First, he holds that man is in a state of "sin and guilt," but it is a species of sin and guilt that does not deserve endless punishment, and is not in danger of it. Second, he holds that man needs "salvation" from such an unendangered state. Third, he holds that God is bound in justice to provide "salvation" from such an unendangered state. "The gospel," he says [IV., 167], "repentance and forgiveness of sins, is to be preached to all nations. This cannot refer merely to nations as unities, but must refer also to every individual; for otherwise the universality of the gracious purpose would not be sincerely meant; and if God refused what is indispensable to salvation to the individual, condemnation would be impossible. "Fourth, he holds that God exhibits mercy, when he does what he is obligated to do.

[To all this self-stultifying soteriology, the principle enunciated by Paul [Romans 11:6] is a conclusive reply: If by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. If man’s "common sin and guilt" is not damning, then it is no longer sin and guilt: otherwise sin and guilt are no more sin and guilt. If Christ’s salvation is not from eternal death and Hell, then it is no longer salvation: otherwise salvation is no longer salvation. And if God’s mercy is justly due to man, then it is no longer mercy: otherwise mercy is no longer mercy.

[Julius Muller, though holding (upon the ground of Matthew 12:32) "the glorious hope that in the world to come, in far distant aeons, some who here harden their hearts against God’s revelation, and can expect only a verdict of condemnation in the day of judgment, shall find forgiveness and salvation" [Sin, II., 429], denies and combats Dorner’s position that sin against the gospel is the only damning sin [Sin, II., 400]. For a very able argument in proof that both evil inclination and outward transgression are damning, see [Sin, I., 198-214]. Consequently, man the sinner has no claim upon God for redemption. Forgiveness is undeserved, whether offered here or hereafter. The exercise of mercy is optional with God. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy [Romans 9:15]. It follows from this, that the length of time during which the offer of mercy is made to transgressors is likewise optional with God. It may he long or short, according to the Divine will. Should God say to a sinner: "I will pardon your sin today, if you will penitently confess it, but not tomorrow," this sinner could not complain of injustice, but would owe gratitude for the mercy thus extended for a limited time. It cannot be said, that unless God offers to pardon man forever and ever, He is not a merciful Being. Neither can this be said, if He confines redemption to this life, and does not redeem sinners in the intermediate state *[Compare the Author’s Sermons to the Natural man. Sermon XVIII].

It is here that the logical inconsistency of such theologians as Müller and Dorner appears. Lessing the first of German critics, makes the following remark respecting the German mind: "We Germans suffer from no lack of systematic books. No nation in the world surpasses us in the faculty of deducing from a couple of definitions whatever conclusions we please, in most fair and logical order." [Preface to the Laocoon]. The truth of this remark is illustrated by some of the systems of theology and philosophy constructed in Germany. The reasoning is close, consecutive, and true, in some sections, but loose, inconsequent, and false, as a whole. The mind of the thinker when moving in the limited sphere, moves logically; but moving in the universe, and attempting to construct a philosophy or theology of the Infinite, fails utterly. Many of the trains of reasoning in Schleiermacher’s Glaubenslehre are profound, closely reasoned, and correct, but the system as a whole has fatal defects. No one will deny the rigor of Hegel’s logical processes, in segments, but the total circle of his thinking is pantheistic, and full of inconsistency.

Lessing’s remark applies to that type of Universalism of which Müller and Dorner are the best representatives, and the ablest advocates. In the first place, upon "a couple" of obscure and dubious scripture texts, they rear the whole great fabric of a future redemption, in direct contradiction to some scores of perfectly plain texts that teach the confinement of redemption to this life. And, second, after laying down a theory of sin which represents it as pure self-determination and guilt, sin is then discussed as an evil that is entitled to the offer of a pardon, and a remedy. Müller and Dorner, both alike, explain sin as originating in the free and guilty agency of the finite will, and as requiring an atonement in order to its remission *[The merit of Müller, in particular, in respect to a profound and true view of sin is very great. No theological treatise of this century has more value than his work on Sin]. And yet both alike, when they come to eschatology, assume tacitly, but do not formally assert, that the Divine Perfection requires that the offer of forgiveness he made, sooner or later, to every sinner; that there will be a defect in the benevolence, and a blemish in the character, of the Supreme Being, if He does not tender a pardon to every transgressor of His law. Their eschatology thus contradicts their hamartiology [doctrine of sin]. The extension of the work of redemption into the future world is made to rest very much, for its support, upon the cases of the heathen and of infants [emphasis added - aal]. Respecting the former, it is certain that the heathen are voluntary transgressors of the moral law, and therefore have no claim upon the Divine mercy. Scripture teaches that they perish because of their sin, and impenitence in sin. It is wicked to sin, and still more wicked not to repent of it. The heathen are chargeable with both. Paul describes them as those who knowing the judgment of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in those who do them [Romans 1:32]. The Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over to inciting lustful desires to work all uncleanness with greediness [Ephesians 4:17]. There is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without [written] law shall also perish without [written] law [Romans 2:11]. The Gentiles show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ [Romans 2:14-15]. Remember that you being in time past Gentiles, were at that time without hope, and without God in the world [Ephesians 2:11-12]. Murderers, whoremongers, and idolaters, shall have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone: which is the second death [Revelation 21:8] 35[For a powerful description of heathen depravity, see that of Thucydides, written with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond. "The plague introduced other and worse forms of lawlessness at Athens. Men who had hitherto concealed their indulgence in pleasure now grew bolder. For seeing the sudden change--how the rich died in a moment, and those who had nothing immediately inherited their property--they reflected that life and riches were alike transitory, and resolved to enjoy themselves while they could, and think only of pleasure. Who would be willing to sacrifice himself to the law of honor, when he knew not whether he should ever live to be held in honor? The pleasure of the moment, and any sort of thing which conduced to it, took the place of honor and expediency. No fear of God or law of man delivered a criminal. Those who saw all perishing alike thought that the worship or neglect of the gods made no difference. For offenses against human law no punishment was to be feared; no one would live long enough to be called to account. Already a far heavier sentence had been passed and was hanging over a man’s head; before that fell why should he not take a little pleasure?" [Jowett’s Thucydides, B. II., 53]. "When troubles had once begun in the cities men carried the revolutionary spirit further and further, and determined to outdo the record of all who had preceded them, by the ingenuity of their enterprises and the atrocity of their revenges. The meaning of words had no longer the same relation to things, but was changed by them as they thought proper. Reckless daring was held to be loyal courage; prudent delay was the excuse of a coward; moderation was the disguise of unmanly weakness; to know everything was to do nothing. Frantic energy was the true quality of a man. He who succeeded in a plot was deemed knowing, but a still greater master in craft was he who detected one. In a word, he who could outstrip another in a bad action was applauded, and so was he who encouraged to evil one who had no idea of it" [Jowett’s Thucydides, B. III., 82]. For a similar description of man acting from selfishness, see the "Plebeian’s speech" in Machiavelli’s History of Florence, B. III., ch. iii]. Jesus Christ said from Heaven to Saul of Tarsus, that He had appointed him to be a minister and witness to the Gentiles, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith [Acts 26:16-18]. There is, consequently, no ground for asserting that justice and equity require that the pardon of sins be tendered to the heathen in the next life.

[The rest of the paragraphs of this chapter are totally unbiblical–aal]

It does not follow, however, that because God is not obliged to offer pardon to the unevangelized heathen, either here or hereafter, therefore no unevangelized heathen are pardoned. The electing mercy of God reaches to the heathen. It is not the doctrine of the Church, that the entire mass of pagans, without exception, have gone down to endless impenitence and death. That some unevangelized men are saved, in the present life, by an extraordinary exercise of redeeming grace in Christ, has been the hope and belief of Christendom. It was the hope and belief of the elder Calvinists, as it is of the later 36[The following extract from Witsius [Apostles’ Creed, Dissertation II] exhibits the hopeful view which the elder Calvinism took of the possible extent to which God’s decree of election reaches: "Doctrines may be said to be necessary, either to salvation, or to religion, or to the church. A doctrine, without the knowledge and belief of which God does not save persons who have come to years of moral consciousness, is necessary to salvation; a doctrine, without the profession and practice of which no one can be considered religious, is necessary to religion; and a doctrine, without which no one is admitted to the communion of the visible church, is necessary to the church. There may be articles without which persons ought not to be admitted to the fellowship of the church, that should not, for that reason, be regarded as absolutely essential either to religion or to salvation. Although we might not dare to pronounce a sentence of condemnation against a particular man, we ought not, in defiance of order and discretion, to receive him forthwith into the bosom of our church, whatever sentiments he might hold, and to whatever sect he might belong. And with respect to religion, what falls within the sphere of duty is manifest. But how far it may please a gracious God, or how far it may be possible for him in consistency with His perfections and character, to extend His forbearance to anyone, and save his soul, notwithstanding his errors and sins; or, in short, what are the lowest attainments without which no man is saved--who can tell? For this distinction in doctrines, I am indebted to the celebrated Hornbeck [Socinianismi Confutatio, Tom. I., p. 209].

[Again, the knowledge of those doctrines which are necessary to salvation admits of various degrees. It is in different measures of clearness, abundance, and efficacy, that divine revelation, the means of grace, and the communications of the Spirit are enjoyed; and a corresponding diversity takes place in the degrees of knowledge which the saints attain. In some it is clear, distinct, steady, and accompanied with a very firm and decided assent; in others it is more confused, more implicit and latent, subject to occasional wavering, and attended with an assent that is yielded with difficulty. The command of God, indeed, lays an indispensable obligation upon all men to make every possible effort to attain a most clear, distinct, and assured knowledge of divine truth. It cannot, however, be questioned, that the Deity, in his unbounded goodness, receives many to the abodes of bliss whose knowledge even of the principal articles is very indistinct, and such as they are hardly capable of expressing in their own words. The smallest measure of the requisite knowledge appears to be this, namely, that when an article of faith is explained, the mind so far at least apprehends it, as to recognize and embrace it as true.

[Furthermore, times must be distinguished. It admits of no doubt that under the bright dispensation of the Gospel, a more extensive and explicit knowledge is necessary to salvation than was required under the Old Testament economy; for it is reasonable that both knowledge, and the necessity of knowledge, should increase in proportion to the measure of revelation afforded. Under the Old dispensation, nay, during the time of our Savior’s abode on the Earth, it was possible for a man to be a true believer, and in a state of grace, who was ignorant of the sufferings, the death, and the resurrection of Christ, and who even presumed to object to the testimony of Christ Himself respecting these momentous topics, as is clear from the instance of Peter [Matthew 16:21-23]; or, who, though he believed in general in the Messiah, yet knew not that Jesus is the Christ, as appears from the history of Cornelius the centurion [Acts 10:2-4]. No one, however, I suppose, would now acknowledge any person [in Christendom] as a true believer, who should discover ignorance of these truths respecting the Lord Jesus; and still less a person who should contradict them when represented to him. On this subject the remark of Thomas Aquinas [Secunda Secundae, i. 7] deserves to be quoted: ’The articles of faith,’ says he, ’have increased with the lapse of time, not indeed with respect to the faith itself, but with respect to explicit and express profession. The same things which are believed explicitly, and under a greater number of articles by the saints in latter days, were all believed implicitly, and under a smaller number by the fathers in ancient times]. The Second Helvetic Confession [I. 7], after the remark that the ordinary mode of salvation is by the instrumentality of the written word, adds: "Agnoscimus, interim, deum illuminare posse homines etiam sine externo ministerio, quo et quando velit: id quod ejus potentiae est." The Westminster Confession [X. 3], after saying that "elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how he pleases," adds, "so also are all other elect persons [regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit] who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word." This is commonly understood to refer not merely, or mainly, to idiots and insane persons, but to such of the pagan world as God pleases to regenerate without the use of the written revelation. One of the sternest Calvinists of the 16th century, Zanchius, whose treatise on predestination was translated by Toplady, after remarking that many nations have never had the privilege of hearing the word, says [Ch. IV] that "it is not indeed improbable that some individuals in these unenlightened countries may belong to the secret election of grace, and the habit of faith may be wrought in them." By the term "habit" (habitus), the elder theologians meant an inward disposition of the heart. The "habit of faith" involves penitence for sin, and the longing for its forgiveness and removal. The "habit of faith" is the broken and contrite heart, which expresses itself in the prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner." It is certain that the Holy Spirit can produce, if He please, such a disposition and frame of mind in a pagan, without employing, as He commonly does, the written word [This sentence blatantly denies Romans 10:13-17 aal]. The case of the blind man, in John 9:36-38, is an example of the "habit of faith," though produced in this instance through the instrumentality of the written law. Jesus said unto him, Do you believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, You have both seen Him, and it is He Who talks with you. And he said, Lord I believe. And he worshipped Him." Here was sorrow for sin, and a desire for redemption from it, wrought in the heart by the Divine Spirit, prior to the actual knowledge of Christ as the Savior of sinners. The cases of the centurion Cornelius, and the Ethiopian eunuch, are also examples of the "habit of faith." These men, under the teaching of the Spirit, were conscious of sin, and were anxiously inquiring if, and how, it could be forgiven. That there is a class of persons in unevangelized heathendom who are the subjects of gracious influences of this kind, is implied in Paul’s affirmation, that they are not all Israel, who are of Israel [Romans 9:6]; and that those who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham [Galatians 3:7]. It is taught also in Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:30 Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the children of the Kingdom [those who have had the written word] shall be cast out. And, behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last. This affirmation of Christ was called out by the "habit of faith," or disposition to believe, in that Gentile centurion, respecting whom He said, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel [Matthew 8:5-10] 37["It is a very significant fact that the subject of the book of Ruth is a heathen woman; she is, indeed, the third heathen woman in the genealogy of David and Christ, being preceded by the Canaanitess Tamar [Genesis 38:1-30] and the Canannitess Rahab. Ruth is the most noble of all--a consecrated blossom of paganism, turning with a longing desire to the light and salvation of Israel. The fact that these three females are brought forward and engrafted on the chosen line or family, conveys a very expressive lesson to the Israelites, abases their national pride, and bears testimony (by being both a fulfillment and a type) to all that had been promised to Abraham respecting his seed, namely, that in him should all families of the Earth be blessed [Genesis 12:3]. Of those who are blessed in the seed of Abraham, Naomi represents the people of God who are to proceed from the ancient people of the covenant, and Ruth represents those proceeding from the heathen world" (Kurtz’s Sacred History, § 66)]. The true reason for hoping that an unevangelized heathen is saved is not that he was virtuous, but that he was penitent. A penitent man is necessarily virtuous; but a virtuous man is not necessarily penitent. Sorrow for sin produces morality; but morality does not produce sorrow for sin. A great error is committed at this point. The Senecas, the Antonines, the Plutarchs, and such like, have been singled out as the hopeful examples in paganism. It is not for man to decide what was the real state of the heart; but the writings of these men do not reveal the sense of sin; do not express penitence; do not show a craving for redemption. There is too much egotism, self-consciousness, and self-righteousness in them. The man, judged by his books, is moral, but proud. He is virtuous, but plumes himself upon it. This is not a hopeful characteristic, when we are asking what are the prospects of a human soul, before the bar of God. To this man will I look, says the Lord, even to him who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word [ISA 66:2]. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven [Matthew 5:3]. This line of remark holds good in Christendom, as well as in Heathendom. There is a class of men in modern society marked by morality, and lofty self-respect, but by no consciousness of sin, and no confession of it. And judged by New Testament principles, no class of mankind is farther off from the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no class that scorns the publican’s cry, and spurns the atoning blood, with such decision and energy as they. To them, the words of Christ, in a similar case, apply: The publicans and the harlots go into the Kingdom of Heaven before you [MAR 21:31]. The Magdalen is nearer the Divine Pity than the Pharisee. And upon the same principle, those benighted children of ignorance and barbarism who feel their sin and degradation, and are ready to listen with docility to the missionary when he comes with the tidings of the Infinite Compassion, are nearer to Heaven, than the children of a gilded and heartless civilization, who have no moral unrest, and turn a deaf ear to all the overtures of mercy *[The passage, In every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with Him [Acts 10:35], is often explained as teaching that there are in every nation some who live virtuous and exemplary lives, and upon this ground obtain the rewards and blessedness of the future. This would be salvation by works, which is impossible, according to Paul. It is with reference to such an interpretation of this text, that the Westminster Confession [X.4] asserts, that "men not professing the Christian religion cannot be saved in any way whatever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, and the law of that religion which they do profess" 38[The Thirty-nine Articles agree with the Westminster Confession in asserting that no man, either in Christendom or heathendom, can be saved by his morality and virtue. "They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professes, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to the law, and the light of nature. For Holy Scripture does set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved" (Article XVIII)]. In the passage above cited, the phrase "fearer of God," and "worker of righteousness," is employed technically, by Peter, to denote a man inquiring after the way of salvation--somewhat as it was among the Jews, to signify a proselyte of the gate [Guericke’s Church History, p. 29]. This is evident from the fact, that to this devout Cornelius who feared God with all his house [Acts 10:2], the Apostle preached Christ as the Savior of sinners, through whose name, whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins," and that Cornelius believed, and was baptized [Acts 10:36-38]. He would not have done this, if he had expected that his "fearing God" and "working righteousness"--in other words, his morality and virtue--would save him]. This extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit is mentioned by the Redeemer, to illustrate the sovereignty of God in the exercise of mercy, not to guide his church in their evangelistic labor. His command is, to preach the gospel to every creature. The extraordinary and "strange" work of God is not a thing for man to expect, and rely upon, either in the kingdom of nature, or of grace. It is His ordinary and established method which is to direct him. The law of missionary effort is, that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God [Romans 11:17].

Two errors, therefore, are to be avoided: First, that all men are saved; secondly that only a few men are saved. Some fifty years ago, Schleiermacher surprised all Lutheran Germany with a defense of the Calvinistic doctrine of election; but the surprise was diminished, when it appeared that he held that God has elected, and will save, every human creature without exception. This cannot be squared with Scripture. On the other hand, some Calvinists have represented the number of the reprobated as greater than that of the elect, or equal to it. They found this upon the words of Christ, Many are called, but few are chosen. But this describes the situation at the time when our Lord spoke, and not the final result of His redemptive work. Christ Himself, in the days of His flesh, called many, but few responded to the call from His gracious lips. Our Lord’s own preaching was not as successful as that of His apostles, and of many of His ministers. This was a part of His humiliation, and sorrow. But when Christ shall have seen of the travail of His soul, and been satisfied with what He has seen; when the whole course of the gospel shall be complete, and shall be surveyed from beginning to end; it will be found that God’s elect, or church, is a great multitude which no man can number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, and that their voice is as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns [Revelation 7:9; Revelation 19:6]. The circle of God’s election is a great circle of the Heavens, and not that of a treadmill.

Respecting the more difficult case of infants–the Scriptures do not discriminate and except them as a class from the mass of mankind, but involve them in the common sin and condemnation. Suffer little children to come unto Me [their Redeemer] [Luke 18:16]. The promise [of salvation] is unto you, and to your children [Acts 2:39]. The fall in Adam explains their case. Adopting the Augustino-Calvinistic statement of this fall, it can then be said that infants, like all others of the human family, freely and responsibly "sinned in Adam, and fell with him, in his first transgression" [Westminster Shorter Catechism, 16]. This is no more impossible, and no more of a mystery, in the case of infants, than of adults. If it be conceded that the whole race apostatized in Adam, infants are righteously exposed to the punishment of sin, and have no claim upon the Divine mercy. The sin which brings condemnation upon them is original sin, and not actual transgressions. But original sin is the sinful inclination of the will. An infant has a rational soul; this soul has a will; this will is wrongly inclined; and wrong inclination is self-determined and punishable. If sinful inclination in an adult needs to be expiated by the atoning blood of Christ, so does sinful inclination in an infant. Infants, consequently, sustain the very same relation to the mercy of God in Christ that the remainder of the human race do. They need the Divine clemency, like the rest of mankind. The "salvation" of infants supposes their prior damnation. Whoever asserts that an infant is "saved" by implication concedes that it is "lost." The salvation of an infant, like that of an adult, involves the remission and removal of sin, and depends upon the unmerited and optional grace of God. This being so, it cannot be said, that God would treat an infant unjustly, if He did not offer him salvation in the intermediate state. And upon the supposition, now common in the evangelical churches, that all infants dying in infancy, being elect, are "regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, Who works when, and where, and how He pleases" [Westminster Confession, X. 3], there is no need of any such offer. 39[Toplady, one of the highest Calvinists of the Church of England, remarks as follows, respecting the salvation of all infants dying in infancy: "The rubric of the Church of England (declares that ’it is certain by God’s word that children which are baptized, dying, before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly saved.’ I believe firmly the same. Nay, I believe more. I am convinced that the souls of all departed infants whatever, whether baptized or unbaptized, are with God in glory. And I think my belief warranted by an authority which cannot err--Matthew 18:14" [A blatant perversion of Matthew 18:14 - aal] (Church of England Vindicated)].