IN Matthew xx. 16 it is written: "For many are called, but few are
chosen." These words occur at the conclusion of the parable of the
marriage of the king's son. A great feast had been provided and
parties invited. A second invitation was sent out, in harmony with
oriental usage; but those first invited made excuses, and refused to
come. The servants were then commissioned to go out and give an
invitation to all and sundry, and the wedding was furnished with
guests. When the king came in to see the guests, he found a man
without a wedding garment, and asked him how he had come in not
having on one. The man remained speechless. It is then added, "many
are called, but few are chosen." Now, the election which Calvinists
contend for is eternal and unconditional. Does the above passage
prove this? We think it proves the reverse. There was a rejection
and a choosing, but each was based on state or personal condition.
The man was rejected because he had not on the wedding garment; the
others were chosen because they had it on. Suppose that there was no
robe for the man, would he or should he have been speechless? Might
he not have risen up in the midst of the assembly, and said, "Sire,
I received the invitation in the highway. I was pressed to come to
the feast. When I came there was no robe for me, and even if there
had been one, there was no one to help me to put it on; and by a
fatal accident in childhood I lost an arm, and was unable to do it
myself. Yet I received the invitation, and that is the reason why I
am here." Would not such a speech have been perfectly satisfactory?
And where the justice of condemning the man to be cast, in these
circumstance, into outer darkness? But the punishment meted out to
the man, showed that there was a robe for him, and that he might
have put it on. The choice, therefore, of sitting at the marriage
feast was conditional, and not, as Calvinists contend, unconditional.
The choice, moreover, was after the calling, and is _yet_ to take
place, and as a consequence the passage does not prove that election
is eternal. No doubt, whatever God does in time He purposed to do in
eternity, but we should distinguish between a purpose to choose and
the choice itself.
There is nothing, then, in this passage to perplex any one. God, the
infinite Father and heavenly King, has provided a feast of love for
all men, and therefore for you, O reader, whosoever you are. Christ
has wrought out a robe of righteousness for all, and therefore for
you. The Holy Spirit prays you to be clothed with it--that is, to
depend on Christ and Christ only, and not upon your doings or upon
your feelings. When you cease to depend on self and to rest entirely
on Jesus, there springs up in the heart an aspiration to be Christ
-like, and to be wholly His. By being clothed with Christ's
righteousness you will have, by God's grace, a title to sit down at
the heavenly feast, and a moral meetness for heavenly society.
THE ELECT FOREKNOWN.--In Romans viii. 29, 30, it is written: "For
whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many
brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called;
and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified,
them He also glorified." This passage is one of the strongholds of
the view we contend against; but if it prove eternal election, it
will also prove much more than this. If the persons spoken of were
eternally elected, then they were also eternally called, and
eternally justified, and eternally glorified. They would thus be
justified before they sinned, and glorified before they had a being.
The verbs are all in the aorist tense, and what is true of one verb
is true of all the others. An interpretation burdened with such
consequences cannot be true.
Dr. Payne has very few remarks on the passage, but they are emphatic
enough. "The passage is so conclusive," he says, "that it scarcely
seems to require or even to admit of many remarks," and he does not
give many. The simple question is this: does this passage prove
unconditional election? Is there anything in the context to prove
the reverse? We think that there is. In the twenty-eighth verse the
apostle says, "And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them that are the called according to His
purpose." He is thus writing of a certain class of persons, or of
persons in a certain moral state, that moral state being that they
were lovers of God, as he expressly states in verse 28. He does not
say that they were visited by a special and irresistible influence
bestowed on them and withheld from others. He simply asserts that
those lovers of God had all things working for their good; that they
were called or invited to glory, as (in 1 Peter v. 10) it is said,
"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory
by Christ Jesus." And having intimated their call, Paul goes on to
show what was the destiny awaiting the believer. He says, "For whom
He did foreknow," and when he said this he could not mean the mere
knowledge of entities, or of persons, for this reason, that God
knows the finally lost as well as the finally saved. The apostle
therefore could only mean that God, knowing beforehand those who
would love him, fore-appointed or decreed in eternity that those who
possessed this moral state should be conformed to the image of His
Son, or personal appearance of Christ (1 John iii. 2). Those lovers
of God thus predestinated are invited to heavenly bliss, and will be
ultimately justified before the world, and glorified. The twenty
-eighth verse, then, lays down the condition upon which the whole
passage rests; and to bring forward the text as a proof of
unconditional election, is simply to ignore the context. As far as
this portion of the Bible is concerned, there is nothing to perplex
the most simple. Become a lover of God, and the destiny sketched by
the apostle awaits you. We become lovers of God by believing in His
love to us. "We love Him," says John, "because He first loved us" (1
John iv. 19).
THE UNBORN CHILDREN.--Romans ix. 11, is appealed to. It reads thus:
"For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand,
not of works, but of Him who calleth." This verse is parenthetical,
lying between the tenth and twelfth verses. They read thus, verse
10: "And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one,
even by our father Isaac;" verse 12: "It was said unto her, the
elder shall serve the younger." It is the eleventh verse which is
taken as proving Calvinistic election. It is supposed to refer to
the spiritual and eternal condition of the respective parties. But
how stands the case? The original statement is found in Genesis xxv.
22, 23: "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall
be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger
than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." Now,
if we take the passage in the Calvinistic sense, that it refers to
salvation, what will follow? This, namely, that all the descendants
of Jacob would be saved, and all the descendants of Esau utterly
lost. If this were so, then why should Paul have been so troubled
about the spiritual state of his countrymen, as he says he was, in
the preamble of this very chapter? The hypothesis, makes the apostle
to stultify himself as a logician.
The Calvinistic interpretation will not stand looking at, there
being, in fact, no reference to salvation in the passage. The
apostle quotes the text, the purport of which is that in a certain
respect the people of Esau would be inferior to the people of Jacob.
The Jews held that, being Abraham's seed, they were safe for
eternity. The apostle's argument, then, is this: The people of Esau
were as truly descended from Abraham as you, my countrymen, are, and
yet this descent did not entitle them to be the Messianic people;
and if mere descent did not entitle to this, how much less would it
entitle to heavenly glory? The text, then, has really no bearing
upon evangelical election, but simply to the election of the Jews to
theocratic privileges.
CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.--Ephesians i. 4, is
appealed to. It reads thus: "According as He hath chosen us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love." This is an old favourite text in
support of eternal and unconditional election. But does it prove it?
Those Christians to whom Paul wrote were chosen before the
foundation of the world. True, but what does this mean? Does it
prove eternal election? To elect is to "pick out," "to select." But
the parties spoken of could not be _actually_ elected or chosen
before they existed. Before you can take a pebble from an urn, it
must first be in the urn. So before man can be _actually picked_ out
of the world, he must _first_ be in it: hence election must be a
work of time. Paul speaks of his kinsmen who were in Christ before
him (Rom. xvi. 7); but if election is eternal, then the one could
not be in Christ before the other. The language then in Eph. i. 14,
can only refer to the _purpose_ of God to select certain persons in
time--BELIEVERS--to be "holy and without blame." The bearing of the
passage, then, is the same as many others, and is simply this, that
whatever God does in time, He determined to do in eternity. His
purpose was formed before the foundation of the world, or in
eternity.
Neither is there any countenance given to the idea that the election
was _unconditional_. This is clearly shown by the words "IN HIM."
The Catechism asks the question, "Did God leave all mankind to
perish in the estate of sin and misery?" and the answer is, "God
having out of His mere good pleasure from all eternity elected some
to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver
them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into a
state of salvation by a Redeemer." If this is a true version of the
case, then the saved were elected first when they were _out of_
Christ. But the passage in Ephesians says the reverse of this. They
were elected being IN CHRIST. To be in Christ is just to be united
to Him by faith--a believer in Christ as the great High Priest of
humanity.
CHOSEN TO SALVATION.--2 Thess. ii. 13, is appealed to. It reads
thus: "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you,
brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth." The question then is, does this passage prove
eternal and unconditional election? As to its being eternal, the
only portion of the verse that bears on this is the phrase "from the
beginning." Barnes says the words mean "from eternity." But the
words themselves do not prove this. When the Jews asked Jesus who He
was, He answered, "Even the same that I said unto you from the
beginning." It clearly does not mean "eternity" here. Again, in 1
John ii. 7, it is written: "The old commandment is the word which ye
have heard from the beginning." Here, also, it is evident that the
words cannot mean from "eternity," since they did not exist in
eternity. But supposing the words did refer to eternity, then their
meaning could only denote the purpose of God, since they had in
eternity no real existence. We take the words to signify the
commencement of the Christian cause in Thessalonica. Whedon's
paraphrase is: "From the first founding of the Thessalonian church."
Watson takes them to denote, "The very first reception of the Gospel
in Thessalonica." Whatever view is taken of the words, the idea of
an _actual_ eternal election is excluded.
Dr. Payne depends upon the verse as supporting his view of
unconditional election. In concluding his criticism of the passage
he says, "The election, then, here spoken of is not an election of
future glory founded on foreseen faith and obedience; but an
election to faith and obedience as necessary pre-requisites to the
enjoyment of this glory, or perhaps, more correctly speaking, as
partly constituting it" (pp. 84, 85.) Unfortunately for this
argument the apostle uses the word "_through_" (en), not "_to_"
(eis). He says that they were chosen to salvation or glory through
sanctification of the Spirit on God's part and belief of the truth
on theirs; or, in other words, he contemplates the Christians at
Thessalonica as objects of future glory, and they had come to occupy
this position by God's gracious Spirit dealing with them through the
truth, and by their believing the truth thus brought to them. The
passage shows the means by which they had become chosen or elected
persons. They believed the TRUTH, and you may do the same.
ELECTION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE.--1 Peter i. 1, is appealed to in support
of Calvinistic election. It reads thus: "Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
But this cannot prove that the election spoken of was eternal,
because the Spirit's work takes place in time, and not in eternity.
Neither does it prove that it was unconditional. It is through the
Spirit that men are convicted of sin, and led by His gracious
influences to trust in Jesus. The epistle was written to believers,
to those who had been "born again" (1 Peter i. 23), and he says that
they were elected, choice ones, according to God's foreknowledge,
who knew from eternity that they would believe under His grace; and
they were, being believers, chosen unto obedience, and also to a
justified state, or "the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus." To
contend that if a man believes under what is termed "common grace,"
this is to make himself to "differ," and to take the praise of
salvation to himself, is in our opinion entirely wrong. Does the
patient who takes the medicine under the persuasion of a kind
physician, and is cured, have whereof to boast? Because the blind
beggar takes an alms, has he whereof to glory? Neither do we see
that a poor guilty sinner has any reason for boasting when, under
the persuasion of the Divine Spirit, he accepts a full pardon of all
his sins. Were a prisoner who has been condemned to be visited by
the sovereign, and a pardon put into his hands, to go afterwards
through the streets shouting, "I have saved myself--I have saved
myself," we should say the man was crazed. Why will not theologians
look at things from a commonsense point of view? There is nothing in
the passage to prevent you at once entering among the elect.
MAKING ELECTION SURE.--In 2 Peter i. 10, it is written thus:
"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling
and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall."
But the passage says nothing about the _time_ when they were
elected, nor whether they were elected to get a peculiar influence
to necessitate faith. It implies the negative of the Calvinistic
opinion. The Christians were exhorted to make their election sure.
But if they were elected by an infallible decree, how could they
make it sure? It was, by the theory, sure, independent of them. The
exhortation shows that Peter did not know anything of the dogma, and
that he held that men had to do with watching over their spiritual
life, so that their calling to glory and their election might not
fail.
A REMNANT ACCORDING TO ELECTION.--In Romans xi. 5, it is written
thus: "Even so at the present time there is a remnant according to
the election of grace." It is true that the words "election" and
"grace" occur in this passage; but the simple question is, what is
their meaning? The apostle had asked, in the first verse, "Hath God
cast off His people?" And he repudiates the idea, and refers to the
state of matters in the time of Elijah. The prophet had thought that
he was the solitary worshipper of God; but in this he was mistaken.
Seven thousand men were yet true to the Lord, and had not bowed the
knee to Baal. So at the time the apostle wrote there was a few, a
"remnant" of the nation who had believed through grace, and were
chosen, elected, to receive the blessings of pardon and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God had not, therefore, cast off His
people, since He was saving all of them who believed. In the
exercise of His sovereign wisdom He has made, however, _faith_ to be
the condition of salvation both for Jew and Gentile. And there is
nothing arbitrary in this. In our everyday life we are required to
exercise, and are constantly exercising, faith. If we wish to cross
the Atlantic, we must exercise faith in regard to the seaworthiness
of the ship. We marry, lend money, take medicine, and a thousand
other things, upon the principle of faith. We will not allow a man
into our family circle who holds us to be liars. Should he take that
position we exclude him from friendly fellowship. If he would get
good from us in a certain sphere of things, faith in us is
absolutely requisite. It is the same with God. If we would be
blessed with the sweet peace of pardon, we can only have it by
believing in the testimony that God has given regarding the Son,
that He tasted death for every man--died, therefore, for us.
The passages of Scripture we have thus considered are those mainly
depended on in support of the Calvinistic doctrine of election. The
doctrine, like the chameleon, has different shades, according to the
school. The high predestinarians, or, as they are called, "_supra
-lapsarians_," maintain, as we have seen, that God created a certain
number to be saved, and a certain number to be lost. The _infra_- or
_sublap_-_sarians_, maintain that God contemplated the race as
fallen, and determined to save a given number, and a given number
only, and to reprobate a given number. Regarding the former a
Saviour has been provided for them and irresistible grace. The
modern Calvinists differ, as we have also seen, from both of these
schools, and hold that God loves all, and has provided a Saviour for
all, but that converting grace is given only to some. There is a
consistency, a grim consistency, in the two former views; but the
latter limps, it divides the Trinity. It makes God's love to be
world-wide, Christ's death to be for all, but the gracious or
converting work of the Spirit is limited. But however these systems
differ from each other, they all agree in this, that God is not
earnestly desirous of saving all men. And this, as we hold, is the
damning fact against them all.
There are certain specific objections, however, to which we now beg
attention.
CHAPTER VI.
OBJECTIONS TO THE CALVINISTIC DOCTRINE OF ELECTION.
(1.) WE object, in the _first_ place, to the Calvinistic doctrine of
election, because it is absurd to call it election. The advocates of
the three views of election mentioned stoutly maintain that the
persons chosen are chosen unconditionally; in other words, they are
chosen not on account of any mental or moral quality in them. It is
on this account designated _unconditional_. There is nothing
whatever in the persons chosen on which to ground the choice.
Supposing this to be the case, can there be any choice, election?
Mr. Robinson has put the case thus: "What is election? Is it
possible to choose one of two things, excepting for reasons to be
found in the things themselves? Ask a friend which of a number of
oranges he will take. If he sees nothing in them to determine
selection, he says, 'I have no choice.' Ask a blind man which of two
oranges, that are out of his reach, he prefers, and you mock him by
proposing an impossibility. If they are put near him, that he may
feel them or smell them, or if by any other means he can judge
between them, he can choose, otherwise he cannot choose. If they lie
far from him, he may say, 'Give me the one that lies to the east, or
the west;' but that is a lottery, an accident, chance, certainly no
choice. Therefore, to assert that the cause of election is not in
anything in the person chosen, is really to deny that there is any
election. And it is a curious fact that the most vehement
predestinarians, while they flatter themselves that they are the
honoured advocates of the Divine decrees, by sequence set aside
election altogether. Their hypothesis annihilates the very doctrine
for which they are most zealous, and, if it may be said without
irreverence, introduces the dice box into the counsels of heaven"
(_Bible Studies_, p. 192). If we look into life, we always find that
when we elect or choose, we do so because of something in the person
or thing elected. It is so as regards food, drink, dress, houses,
pictures, statues, books; it is so, too, as regards members of
Parliament, ministers for pastorates, and in marriage. We are,
indeed, so constituted that we cannot conceive of choice or election
except upon the grounds of freedom in the elector, and something to
differentiate the object chosen from others of like nature. The
Confession of Faith says, however, that those who are predestinated
unto life are chosen "without any foresight of faith or good works,
or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the
creation, as conditions or causes moving Him thereunto, and all to
the praise of His glorious grace" (_Con_., chap. iii.) Yet the Bible
says expressly, "But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is
godly for himself" (Ps. iv. 3); "Hath not God chosen the poor in
this world rich in faith?" (Jas. ii. 5.) There is a setting apart,
or choosing, but it is not unconditional, as these verses show.
No doubt, the _motive_ of those who hold unconditional election is
good, arising from a desire to give all the glory of salvation to
God, and from the frequency of the term "grace" in regard to our
deliverance. But the great object of giving all the glory to God may
be, and is accomplished, without doing violence to Scripture, or
trampling upon common sense. The principle or system of Syenergism
does this. It simply means that man is active in his own conversion.
It was advocated in his later years by Melancthon. We have not,
however, to do with the _motive_ of our friends, but with the
philosophy of the subject; and to assert that men are chosen to
salvation apart from condition, is only assertion, and an absurd
assertion, too. Try it in regard to anything, and its folly will be
apparent. Why, then, insist upon it in religion? Are we to throw
reason to the dogs when we speak on scriptural subjects?
(2.) In the _second_ place, we object to the Calvinistic theory of
election, because it ignores and tramples upon a primary principle
of philosophy. The principle is this: "That a plurality of
principles are not to be assumed when the phenomena can possibly be
explained by one" (Hamilton's _Reid_, p. 751).
It is what is known as the law of parsimony. The three views of
election referred to have bound up with them, as an integral portion
of the system, the theory of _irresistible_ grace. Take this away,
and they fall to pieces as a rope of sand. A man who has hitherto
lived an ungodly life becomes converted, and the question arises
--how are we to account for this moral phenomenon? Our friends from
whom we differ account for it in this way: In the past eternity God
saw that the man would come upon the stage of time, and determined
to visit his soul with an irresistible influence, under the
operation of which he became converted. Now this is to them a very
satisfactory way of accounting for the conversion. But may not this
change in the man take place without this _tertiam quid_, or third
something? If it may, then to import it into the controversy is to
violate the law of parsimony or maxim of philosophy, that it is
wrong to multiply causes beyond what are necessary. But let us look
at life: let us enter the sphere of human experience. We find men,
for instance, who in politics were at one period pronounced
Radicals, like Burdett, becoming Conservative in their opinions; and
men, like the Peelites, changing from the Conservative side to that
of the Liberals. In accounting for this we do not call in a
mysterious and occult influence to solve the matter. It is
explainable without this. Take the case of medicine. We find men
educated in the allopathic system changing, and becoming disciples
of Habnemann. Ask them how it came about, and they answer at once,
that it was by considering the results. Take a case of intemperance,
An old inebriate attends a temperance lecture, listens attentively,
becomes persuaded of the value of abstinence, signs the pledge, and
spends the remainder of his life a sober man. He loved the drink,
and now he hates it. Ask him how it came about? He tells you at once
that the facts and arguments of the lecture convinced him of the
evil of the drink, and led him to abandon it for ever. A great
change has been effected, but in perfect harmony with the known laws
of mind. Let us now look at religion. Paul arrives at Corinth, and
preaches the Gospel to the inhabitants of that degenerate city. They
listened to the wondrous story of redeeming love, and became changed
through means of it. Was there anything in the nature of the truth
preached to them and believed by them fitted to do this? We think
that there was. They had sins--were guilty. Paul told them of a
Saviour who died for them. This met their case. They were degraded,
foul; the religion Paul preached appealed to their sense of right,
to their gratitude, to their fears and their hopes; and believing
it, they became regenerated in their moral nature. They had been won
to God by the "Gospel" (1 Cor. iv. 15). As temperance truth
revolutionises the drunkard, so does Gospel truth the sinner (1
Peter i. 23, 25). The apostle was the agent employed by the Holy
Spirit, and believing the message he brought, they were believing
the Spirit (See 1 Samuel viii. 7). Since, then, the truth believed
is a sufficient reason for the change, why introduce the theory of
irresistible grace? It may be replied that this kind of grace is
used to get the sinner to attend to the message.
But attention to any subject is brought about by considering
motives. Man has the power over his attention. It is the possession
of this power which is a main item in constituting him a responsible
being. He may or may not attend to the voice of God. If he attends
to it he lives; if not, he dies. If God used force in this matter,
why reason with men and appeal to them as He does?
We appeal to Christian consciousness. Let any Christian give a
reason of the hope that is in him--and it is all perfectly
reasonable. All through, in the great matter of conversion, he acted
freely. He attended to the Divine message--but there was no
compulsion. Why, then, insist upon irresistibility when it is
repudiated by Christian consciousness? We know no reason for it but
the exigencies of the system. If you are waiting for it you are
being deceived.
(3.) We object, in the _third_ place, to the Calvinistic view of
election, because it makes God a respecter of persons. What is it to
be a respecter of persons? Literally, it means "an accepter of
faces." According to the _Imperial Dictionary_, it signifies "a
person who regards the external circumstances of others in his
judgment, and suffers his opinion to be biased by them, to the
prejudice of candour, justice, and equity." It is to act with
partiality. It is of the utmost moment that respect of persons
should not be shown in the domestic circle, on the bench; or in the
church. If a father shows favouritism to one son less worthy, say,
than the others, he lays himself open to the charge of partiality,
unevenness in his procedure, and it tends to alienate the affections
of his other children. To show it on the bench is to sully the
ermine, and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Whoever else may exhibit it, the church is required to have clean
hands in the matter (James ii.)
We are so constituted that we cannot love or hate by a mere fiat of
the will. Before we can love one another with complacency, there
must be the perception of excellence. And it is the same as regards
God. Hence it is of the last importance that to our mental view He
should be pure, holy, impartial, good. To love Him if we thought Him
otherwise, would be impossible. Now God has abundantly shown, both
in providence and in the Bible, that He is not a respecter of
persons. He executes His laws indiscriminately--upon all alike. Fire
burns, poison kills, water drowns all and sundry. If the laws of
health are broken, the penalty is enforced on each transgressor
according to the measure of his transgression. It is the same with
moral penalties. If a man lies, or steals, or is mean, or selfish,
he will suffer moral deterioration, which will pass through his
moral being as a leprosy. Our physical, mental, and moral natures
are thus under their respective laws, and whosoever breaks these
laws God executes the penalty on the transgressor. There is in this
respect no favouritism--no respect of persons.
There are, as a matter of course, diversities upon earth. All cannot
occupy the same place. We have not the brilliancy and luxuriancy of
the tropics, but we have our compensations. And it is the same with
life in general. In comparison with the rich the poor have a rough
road to travel, but they are not without their compensations. The
moral life is the higher life of man, and in the stern school of
adversity there are developed noble traits of character.
"Though losses and crosses
Be lessons right severe,
There's wit there you'll get there,
You'll find no other where."
The diversities we find in life are not arbitrary acts, as we have
already seen, but dependent upon adherence or non-adherence to law.
The same great principle that regulates the providential government
of God, is brought clearly out in the Scriptures. It is remarked by
Cruden that "God appointed that the judges should pronounce their
sentences without any respect of persons (Lev. xix. 15; Deut i. 17);
that they should consider neither the poor nor the rich, nor the
weak nor the powerful, but only attend to truth and justice, and
give sentence according to the merits of the cause." It is said in
Proverbs that it is not good to have respect of persons in judgment
(Prov. xxiv. 23). Peter declared that there is no respect of persons
with God; and Paul said, "For there is no respect of persons with
God" (Romans ii. 11). James declared that if the Christians to whom
he wrote showed respect of persons they committed sin (James ii. 9).
The Bible is thus exceedingly careful to guard the Divine character
from the charge of partiality. And obviously so. Let but the idea be
entertained in the mind for a moment, and it leaves a slime behind
it as if a serpent had passed through the corridor of our dwelling.
The simple question then is, Does this doctrine of Calvinistic
election exhibit God as a respecter of persons? It clearly does so.
According to it, God, irrespective of any conditions in the
creature, appoints a certain number to be saved and leaves the rest
to perish. And is not this partiality? Is not this favouritism?
Since the doctrine thus reflects on the Divine character, it
deserves condemnation.
(4.) In the _fourth_ place, we object to the Calvinistic doctrine of
election, _because it is opposed to the letter and spirit of many
passages of the Bible_. We beg attention to a few. Consider the OATH
OF GOD. "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn
ye, turn ye, from your evil way, for why will ye die, O house of
Israel?" (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). Would not any one reading these words
naturally conclude that God really wished all the people to be
saved? Have they not a ring of genuine sincerity about them? We
cannot conceive that such a question would have been asked, viz.,
"Why will ye die?" had their death been inevitable. Not only was it
not inevitable, but the earnest entreaty to return showed that God
intensely desired their salvation. Yet, if Calvinism is true, the
oath of God and His earnest entreaty, as far as millions of the
human race are concerned, are simply as sounding brass and a
tinkling cymbal. Nay, more, they are a solemn mockery. I see two men
floundering in deep water; I jump into my boat and save one, and
bring him safely to shore. I could easily have saved the other had I
wished it, but did not. Were I then to stand on the bank of the
river and ask the sinking man, Why will you die? what would be
thought of me, or any man, who should act such a part? Such conduct
would be cruel, cruel to any poor soul in its death-struggle. Yet
this is exactly the part God is made to perform by the high
Calvinists, and is endorsed by their more modern brethren. He could
easily save every one if He wished it, they say: But this assertion
cannot stand in the presence of God's oath and His earnest entreaty
to turn and live.
THE VINEYARD.--Let us look at the case of the vineyard, as recorded
in Isaiah v. The house of Israel is there compared to a vineyard
which God had planted. After detailing what had been done, the
question is asked, "What could have been done more to my vineyard
that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should
bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?" (verse 4). The
moral condition of Israel was anything but good. God had looked for
judgment, but there was oppression, and for righteousness, but
behold a cry! Yet the question in this fourth verse carries the idea
that He had done all that He wisely could, in the circumstances, to
reform and save them. But they were not reformed, they were not
saved. It might indeed be affirmed that this was because they had
not been visited by "special influence," or converting grace. But if
this kind of grace is the only kind that is fructifying, and was for
sovereign reasons withheld, how could the question be asked, "What
could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in
it?" The one thing needful had _not_ been done, if this hypothesis
is true, and in view of it the question could not have been put at
all. But it was put, and this shows that God had done all that He
wisely could do to save the people, and that He did not keep back
the needed grace, for which Calvinists contend.
CHRIST'S TEARS OVER JERUSALEM.--The tears of our Lord over the city
of Jerusalem are a clear demonstration against the Calvinistic
doctrine of election. It is said, "When He was come near, He beheld
the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou,
at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!
but now they are hid from thine eyes" (Luke xix. 41, 42). When a
woman weeps it is not an infrequent phenomenon. Her nerves are more
finely strung than man's, and a touching tale or sympathetic story
brings the tears to her eyes and sobs from her lips. When men weep
it indicates deep emotion; and when Christ looked upon the city, His
soul was moved with compassion, and He wept. He knew what had been
done for the guilty inhabitants--how God had borne with them--and
the doom that, like the sword of Damocles, hung over them, and His
tender heart found relief in tears. In the presence of this weeping
Redeemer can we entertain the Calvinistic notion that He could
easily have saved the people, _if He had only wished it_? He wished
to gather them as a hen doth her chickens under her wings, but they
would not come. Were there not another passage in the Bible than the
one just referred to (Matthew xxiii. 37), it is sufficient to
dispose of the theory that God uses irresistible grace in saving
men. He had used the most powerful motives to bring them to himself,
but they would not come.
John Wesley, in writing on Predestination, says,--"Let it be
observed that this doctrine represents our blessed Lord Jesus
Christ, the righteous, the only-begotten Son of the Father, full of
grace and truth, as an hypocrite, a deceiver of the people, a man
void of common sincerity. For it cannot be denied that He everywhere
speaks as if He was willing that all men should be saved. Therefore,
to say that He was not willing that all men should be saved, is to
represent Him as a mere hypocrite and dissembler. It cannot be
denied that the gracious words which came out of His mouth are full
of invitations to all sinners. To say, then, He did not intend to
save all sinners, is to represent Him as a gross deceiver of the
people. You cannot deny that He says, 'Come unto me all ye that are
weary and heavy laden.' If, then, you say He calls those that cannot
come, those whom He knows to be unable to come, those whom He can
make able to come but will not; how is it possible to describe
greater insincerity? You represent Him as mocking His helpless
creatures, by offering what He never intends to give. You describe
Him as saying one thing and meaning another, as pretending the love
which He had not. Him in whose mouth was no guile, you make full of
deceit, void of common sincerity; then, especially when drawing nigh
the city He wept over it, and said, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would
not.' Now, if ye say they would but He would not, you represent Him
(which who could hear) as weeping crocodile's tears; weeping over
the prey which himself had doomed to destruction" (Ser. 128).
Consider the _last commission_ of Christ. Before our Lord left the
world He said to His apostles, "Go ye into all the world, and preach
the Gospel to every creature." Good news was thus to be proclaimed
to every human being. If the commission meant anything it meant
this, that God was honestly and earnestly desirous of saving every
one. And this is in beautiful harmony with the exhortation in
Isaiah: "Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth"
(Isa. xlv. 22). It is also in keeping with the words of Jesus
recorded by John: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life" (John iii. 16); and with what the
apostle Peter says, that "God is not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter iii. 9); and with
what the apostle Paul says, that God "will have all men to be saved"
(1 Tim. ii. 4). But whilst the commission to preach the good news is
in harmony with these express statements, it is out of joint and
incongruous with the Calvinistic doctrine of election, that God
wishes only a few of the human family saved.
Consider the HOLY SPIRIT'S INVITATION. In Revelation xxii. 17, it is
written: "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." Whilst we are so
constituted that we cannot believe a proposition the terms of which
we do not understand, and whilst there is much that is inscrutable
in the Spirit's work, yet the passage just quoted clearly means, if
it means anything, that the Holy Spirit invites all to come and
drink of the life-giving water. We cannot doubt His sincerity. When
all are invited to drink, it is implied that there is water for all,
and that it is free to all, and that they have power to drink. We
may not ask one to drink at an empty fountain without being guilty
of the sheerest mockery; and neither may we ask the wounded and
disabled man, who cannot walk a step, to come and drink, without
being guilty of the same. This invitation of the Spirit, then, is
inconsistent with the Calvinistic notion that His converting grace
is limited. Says the late Dr. John Guthrie, "Was it antecedently to
be supposed that a Divine Father who loves all, and so loved as to
give His own and only-begotten for our ransom, and that the Divine
Son, who as lovingly gave Himself, would send the Divine Spirit
mediatorially to reveal and interpret both, who should not operate
in the world on the same principle of impartiality and universality?
What philosophy and theology thus dictate, Scripture confirms.
Christ promised His disciples an interpreting and applying Spirit,
who should convince the _world_. Prophets predicted, and Pentecost
proved, that God was pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. These
influences were, in their largest incidents, soul-saving; through
being moral, they were resistible. Ye do always resist the Holy
Ghost, said Stephen, and the Holy Ghost himself saith to-day, Oh
that ye would hear His voice; which He would not do if faith came by
another sort of influence which He only could give, and which He did
not mean to give till _to-morrow_, or next year, or not at all! In
that last and most gracious of Gospel invitations, which the
incarnate Himself utters in Rev. xxii. 17, among other inviters, the
Spirit says, come! and says it to all; which surely, as He is the
Spirit of truth, He would not do, if not a soul could come till He
himself put forth an influence which He had predetermined to bestow
only on a select and favoured number. The ugly limitation will not
do. The work and heart of the loving Spirit are, and must be, as
large as those of the Father and the Son, whom He came to reveal."
(_Discourses_, Ser. X.)
The objections thus tendered to the Calvinistic theory of election
are sufficient separately, and much more so collectively, to condemn
the dogma. We impute no motives to the honoured men who hold the
doctrine. They are doubtless as sincere in their belief as we are in
ours. It did seem to us, at one time, that God could convert men if
He wished it; but the dictum of Chillingworth--"the Bible and the
Bible alone is the religion of Protestants," overturned that idea.
The words of Jesus, "How often would I have gathered thy children
together, . . . but ye would not," showed that Jesus was wishful to
save the people; but His wish was not realised, because they "would
not." And the Bible and philosophy are in harmony. We could easily
conceive, that were certain individuals to be taken by almighty
effort from one sphere, and placed in another, they would be
converted. Christ confirms this idea. He said, "Woe unto thee,
Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which
have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" (Mat. xi. 21). But as
God loves all equally with the love of compassion, this exercise of
miracle in one case would lead to the exercise of miracle in
another. And what would this involve? It would simply lead to the
overturning of God's moral providence, which is based upon, and
carried on in conjunction with, the highest wisdom. Parents may
often be found sacrificing their wisdom to their love, but it is not
so with God. All His attributes are in harmony. Justice is not
sacrificed to love, nor love to justice. There is thus, in the
Divine character, a firm and unchanging basis for the most profound
veneration and the most intense affection.
Regarding the particular illustration of the people of Sodom, Tyre,
and Sidon, and why Christ had not done mighty works there, Dr.
Morison has remarked, "It was not befitting our Saviour to become
incarnate at _all times_, or even _at two different epochs_ in the
history of the world. And when He did appear at a particular epoch
in time, 'the fulness of the time,' it was absolutely necessary that
He should live and work miracles, _not everywhere_, but in some _one
limited area or locality_" (_Com. on Mat., ad loc._)
CHAPTER VII.
THE SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF EVANGELICAL ELECTION.
ALTHOUGH there is much confusion of thought regarding election
viewing it from a Calvinistic standpoint, the word itself is simple
enough, as is the doctrine when viewed in the light of Scripture.
THE WORD.--According to Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon, the verb
to elect (eklego) means, "To pick or single out," especially as
soldiers, rowers, &c. In the middle voice, "to pick out for one's
self, choose out." Robinson says it means "to lay out together, to
choose out, to select." In N. T. Mid., "to choose out for one's
self." Parkhurst gives as its signification, "to choose, choose
out." It has a variety of applications in the Scriptures, just as it
has in our common everyday life. It was applied to the Jewish
nation, regarding which it was said, "The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations
that are upon the earth" (Deut. xiv. 2). The term comprehended the
whole nation, and no one will contend that the choice spoken of
indicated that every Jew was safe for eternity. It was applied to
the apostles, but this did not thereby secure infallibly their
salvation. Judas fell away, and hanged himself. Paul declared that
he had constantly to watch himself, lest he should become "a
castaway." It is applied to David, "But I chose David to be over my
people Israel" (1 Kings viii. 16). It is used also in reference to
"place:" "As the place which the Lord your God shall choose" (Deut.
xii. 5). The prophets of Baal were asked to "choose" a bullock, "and
call on the name of their gods" (1 Kings xviii. 23). These and other
applications of the word are quite sufficient to show that the term
is not necessarily connected with the choosing of a few men to
eternal salvation, and implying a faith-necessitating work of the
Holy Spirit. And something is gained when we have gained this. Were
we therefore asked whether we denied election? we should be quite
entitled to ask, to what kind of election did our questioner refer?
since there are several kinds referred to in the Holy Scriptures,
and a special kind outside of Scripture, entertained by the
followers of John Calvin.
EVANGELICAL ELECTION. A PROCESS.--Seeing that the word "elect" means
to "pick out," "to choose, to lay aside for one's self," it may
denote either an act or a process, according to the object elected.
If I select a book from the library, or choose an apple from the
tree, the election thus exercised is simply an act, The book elected
and the apple were entirely passive, having no will in the matter.
But suppose I want two servants: I go into the market where a number
are standing waiting to be employed. I find two, and explain the
nature of the service, and state the wages and the rules of the
house. One of the two accepts, the other refuses. I go forward on my
mission, and find another. I state to him what I stated to the two
already mentioned. He agrees, and is engaged. I have chosen
--"elected"--the servants; but it was a process, not a simple act.
Other wills came into play which differentiated the election in the
one case from the other, and the concurrence of the two wills
completed the matter. It is written in the word: "Wherefore, come
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty" (2 Cor. vi. 17, 18). This brings the matter plainly before
us. There is the Divine exhortation, human concurrence, and the
result--adoption. It is an absurd and unreasonable supposition to
imagine that God deals with rational and responsible creatures as He
does with vegetable and irrational brutes, which He does if the
theory of irresistible grace is maintained.
THE AUTHOR OF EVANGELICAL ELECTION.--There would not be need for any
remark on this subject, were it not that objection may be urged
against the view just stated, that it makes man the author of his
election. In a secondary, yet important sense, he has to do with his
election. But God is the Prime Mover and Author of evangelical
election. The scheme of redemption originated with Him. He tells men
that He earnestly desires their return, and upon what terms He will
graciously receive them. If they consent He will take them out from
amongst the condemned, "select them," "elect them," and place them
among His children. The Bible confirms this view: "God hath from the
beginning chosen you" (2 Thes. ii. 13.) "God our Father has chosen
us in Him" (Eph. i. 3, 4.)
THE OBJECTS OF EVANGELICAL ELECTION,--The people of this country are
frequently engaged in elections. We elect men for the School Board,
the Town Council, and for Parliament. When we record our vote we do
so for a definite object. What, then, are the objects which God has
in view in evangelical election? The apostle Peter states them in
his first epistle. He says, "Elect unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus." (1 Peter i. 2.) In other words, they were
chosen, having become believers, to the blessings of justification
and sanctification,--the one having reference to their state, the
other to their character.
HOW TO ENTER AMONG THE ELECT.--This has been the great puzzle to
those educated under the teaching of Calvinistic divines. They read
in the Bible that God wishes all men to be saved, but they are told
that this means all the elect. At times they are "offered" a
Saviour, but they are told that in order to believe in Him they need
the irresistible influence of the Holy Ghost. If they are amongst
the favoured ones, it will come to them in due time; but if they are
not, then no prayers, no cries, no tears can alter the Divine
decree. How long will men stand by a system unknown to the Christian
church for 400 years, and alike repugnant to the reason and the
whole spirit of the Gospel, and fitted to plunge the honest inquirer
into endless perplexity?
"Oh! how unlike the complex works of man
Heaven's easy, artless, unencumber'd plan,
No meretricious graces to beguile,
No clustering ornaments to clog the pile;
From ostentation as from weakness free,
It stands like the cerulean arch we see,
Majestic in its own simplicity.
Inscribed above the portal from afar,
Conspicuous as the brightness of a star,
Legible only by the light they give,
Stand the soul-quickening words--'BELIEVE AND LIVE.'"
Paul in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians tells us how they
entered among the elect. His words are: "But we are bound to give
thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thes. ii.
13.) They were thus among the elect, and we are told how it came
about. The Spirit had brought the Gospel message to Thessalonica by
his accredited agent, the apostle Paul. In that message the people
were told of God's infinite love--that He loved them, and that the
Saviour had died for their sins. He testified to Jesus as mighty to
save, to save any--to save all--to save to the very uttermost. He
convinced them that they stood in need of a Saviour, and that Christ
was the very Saviour they required. These were two great phases of
the Spirit's work--viz., to produce conviction in the mind of the
sinner, and to point out Jesus as the Lamb of God which hath taken
away the sin of the world. The Thessalonians, under His gracious
testimony, believed the record, or, as it is said, "the truth," and
became the chosen of God--His elected ones.
That this is true may be seen from the way in which sinners enter
into God's adopted family. It will be admitted that all who are in
God's adopted family are in a saved condition--in the same state, in
short, as are the elected ones. But how do men enter into this
adopted family? It is stated in John i. 12, "But as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name." To believe on His name is just to depend
upon Him alone for salvation. The apostle Paul in writing to the
Galatians says, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus" (Gal. iii. 26.) Each one had personally to believe in
Christ, or to say as Paul said, He "loved me, and gave himself for
me" (Gal. ii. 20.)
It may be said that this makes the way too easy, too simple. It is
simple to us indeed, but it cost the Divine Father the sacrifice of
His only-begotten Son; it cost the Divine Son His sore agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane, and His offering up of himself upon the cross.
But the simplicity of the way of salvation is implied in such
passages as, "Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the
earth;" and, "Hear and your soul shall live." The reason why it is
easy is this,--the meritorious work of salvation, the work upon the
ground of which we get into heaven, is not our feelings, nor our own
works, but the work, the finished work of Christ.
The system advocated in this treatise may be objected to on the
ground that it makes man the arbiter of his own destiny. There is no
doubt that it really does so. But is this a good ground for
rejecting it? We think not. Let it be remembered that all through
life man has to exercise the power of election--choice. He has to do
so in regard to a profession or trade, in regard to securities, and
in respect of marriage, and it would only be in harmony with what he
is constantly doing, were he called upon to "choose," or decide,
upon matters affecting his spiritual condition. Is he not, moreover,
the maker of his own character? This is his most precious heritage,
more valuable than thousands of gold and silver. But how is it made?
By single volitions on the side of the right, the true, and the
good. And is not the life that is to come a continuance of the life
that _now is_? And if we exercise choice in the making of our
characters, this is the same as being the arbiters of our
destination in eternity. And what is thus plain to the intelligence
is confirmed by the Scriptures. Their language is, "Choose ye this
day whom ye will serve;" "Wilt thou not from this day say unto me,
My father?" They thus clearly make the matter to turn on the
"_will_."
It may be said that the view for which we have been contending, does
not give the Christian the comfort of heart which the system opposed
does. But the primary question with an honest inquirer should not
be, which view of a subject is the most agreeable? but, what is the
truth upon the point? It is possible in religious life, as in
social, to live in a fool's paradise. But what more comfort could a
man desiderate than is given by the Holy Spirit? The Christian may
be poor and deformed, but God loves him all the same as if he were
rich as Croesus, and in form had the symmetry of the Apollo
Belvidere. He may be tried as silver is tried in the fire, but the
Lord will sit as the refiner, and not suffer him to be tried above
what he is able to bear.
But what about the _security_ of the believer? The covenant being
made between Christ and the Father is well ordered in all things and
sure, according to the system of Predestination. "Once a saint, a
saint for ever," it has been said. The Christian, it is argued, may
make slips, even as David did, but he cannot fall finally away, for
every one that Christ died for will be ultimately saved. Now if all
this were true, then doubtless a sense, or feeling if you will, of
security would be gained. When Cromwell was dying he is said to have
asked his chaplain whether those who once knew the truth could be
lost, and being answered in the negative, he replied, "Then I am
safe." Now, it is not agreeable to be constantly on the watch-tower
looking out for the foe, or to have to tread cautiously among the
grass lest you should be bitten by a rattlesnake. But a man may
imagine himself to be secure when he is not. Many of the
shareholders and trustees involved in the late Bank catastrophy
thought they were secure; but they slept upon a slumbering volcano,
and many lost their all. They thought that they were secure, but it
was a dream from which they were awakened to a terrible reality. So
in religion. A man under the shadow of a theory may think himself
safe, whilst his gourd is only the gourd of Jonah, a thing that
withers under the heat of the sun. The feeling of security is very
agreeable; but how, if strict Calvinism is adhered to, is any man to
get intelligently amongst the elect? If Christ has died only for a
few, and the names of these are kept a profound secret, how can I
believe that I am among that few? We cannot believe without
evidence. If we do, our faith is the faith of the fool--a dream, a
conceit, and nothing more. Before a man, upon the theory of strict
Calvinism, can believe that Christ died for him, he would require to
get a list of the elect. This not being forthcoming, many poor men
are waiting for the touch of the Almighty's finger to work faith
within them, and place them among the happy number of the saved. But
in so waiting they are under a perfect delusion. As a matter of fact
there are many excellent Christian men who contend earnestly for the
creed of Calvinism. They read in the Bible that God is willing to
take sinners back through Christ, and they come to Him, and
consecrate themselves to His services, and then battle for
limitation. But in accepting Christ as their Saviour they shut their
eyes to the doctrine of their creed, and acted on the declarations
of the word of God. We rejoice that they are Christians, but
maintain, nevertheless, that in believing they acted illogically.
But to return to security. What more security could any one desire
than the word of Christ?--"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father which gave them me is greater than all; and no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand" (John x. 27, 29). Our Lord is
here speaking of external foes, and declares that no enemy is strong
enough to take His sheep from Him. But men enter His service freely,
and freely they remain. He has no slaves in His household. His
people are attached to Him because they see in Him a concentration
of all that is noble and good. His self-sacrifice for them has won
their hearts, and inspired them with devotedness to His person. That
it is possible to fall away we admit, from the fact that man is a
free being surrounded with temptations; and also because we find
throughout the Bible earnest exhortations to watchfulness, which
would be quite useless except upon the possibility of letting the
truth slip from the mind. Hymenaeus and Alexander made shipwreck of
their faith (1 Tim. i.); and Paul had to keep his body under, lest
he himself should become a castaway. But the _possibility_ of
falling away should not disturb the equanimity of any Christian for
a moment. As free creatures we have the power of throwing ourselves
into the river, or the fire, or in many other ways taking our own
life; yet the possession of this power in nowise disturbs our
tranquillity of soul, or mars our peace of mind. It were, no doubt,
more pleasing to the flesh to have no fighting, no struggle, no
watching; but we must accept the logic of facts, and they clearly
indicate that the Christian life is a battle all the way to the
gates of the New Jerusalem. But in this spiritual contest, the thews
and sinews of the soul are made strong. By failing to realise the
ideal of what a Christian should be, believers feel the need of
Christ's presence, and the help of the Holy Ghost, and sympathise
with the sentiments of the hymn.
"I could not do without Thee,
O Saviour of the lost,
Whose precious blood redeemed me
At such tremendous cost;
Thy righteousness, Thy pardon,
Thy precious blood must be
My only hope and comfort,
My glory and my plea.
"I could not do without Thee;
I cannot stand alone,
I have no strength or goodness,
No wisdom of my own;
But Thou, beloved Saviour,
Art all in all to me,
And weakness will be power
If leaning hard on Thee.
"I could not do without Thee
No other friend can read
The spirit's strange deep longings,
Interpreting its need;
No human heart could enter
Each dim recess of mine,
And soothe, and hush, and calm it,
O blessed Lord, but Thine.
Having entered by faith into the family of God, or in other words,
amongst the elect, it becomes the sacred duty of the believer to be
careful to maintain good works. He must remember that the way to
heaven is not strewn with roses. He is Christ's freeman; but it is
with spiritual freedom as with civil, "eternal vigilance is the
price of liberty." Neither is it an artillery duel, or firing at
long range; it is ofttimes a grapple in the fosse for victory or
death.
But the Christian--the elected one--has not to fight life's battle
alone. The Holy Spirit having led him to Jesus carries on the good
work in his heart. He tells him that he is dear to God; that he is
His son, "His jewel;" His "portion;" that God will never leave him
nor forsake him; that his strength shall be equal to his day; that
his foot shall never be moved; and that God, who hath given up for
him His son, will with that Son freely give him all things. By being
faithful unto death he shall at last receive the crown of life,
which shall never fade away.
THE END.
INDEX.
Acts ii. 23, iv. 27, 28
Adrumetum, Monks of
Amos iii. 6
Arles, Synod of
Believers, Security of
Blinding of men
Byron's mother
Calvin on Reprobation
Cassian, John
Charles V.
Chosen, The, few
Christ, Marvelling of
Chrysostom
Church of England
Clark, Dr. A.
Clement of Rome
2 Corinthians xiii. 5, 2 Corinthians xiii. 6
Cunningham, his Admission
Dort, Synod of
Eadie, Dr., View of
Elect, The foreknown
Elect, The word
Elect, the, How to enter amongst
Election, Objects in
Eli, Sons of
Ephesians i. 4, i. 11
Evil in the city
Faber, Statement by
Fathers, their testimony
Froude
Gal. ii. 20
God, His foreknowledge, His oath
Gottschalk
Great men, Mothers of
Guthrie, Dr. John
Heb. vi. 8
Invitations, Holy Spirit's
Irenaeus
Isaiah i. 18, xlv. 7, xlvi. 10
Jacob and Esau
Jeremiah vi. 30, vii. 29
Job xiv. 5
John xii. 37
Jude iv
Judgment, The day of
Keilah, David in
1 Kings xxii
Kinloch, Lord
Lambeth, Articles of
Luke xiv. 26
Mark v. 6
Matthew xi. 21, xx. 16
Martyr, Justin
Mental power
Mercy on whom He will
Micaiah
Moral distinctions destroyed
Mosheim, Testimony of
Neander
Origen
Pantheism
Pelagianism, what?
Persons, Respect of
1 Peter i. 1, ii. 8, 2 Peter i. 10
Philosophy ignored
Potter, The, and the clay
Power, Divine
Providential blessings
Psalm lxxvi. 10, cxxv. 6
Reason, Appeal to
Reprobation [1], [2]
Romans i. 28, viii. 29, ix. 11, ix. 13, ix. 15, xi. 5
1 Samuel ii. 25
Semipelagianism
Sin, Author of
Sovereignty, God's
Sublapsarianism
Supralapsarianism
Tears, Christ's
Tertullian
2 Thessalonians ii. 13
2 Timothy iii. 8
Titus i. 16
U. P. Church
Wesley, John
Westminster, Assembly of
BELL AND BAIN, PRINTERS, 41 MITCHELL STREET, GLASGOW.