vation is impossible-since it is impossible to renew such to repentance, it is impossible that they should be saved. "If we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins; but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Now if there be no more, or no longer, a sacrifice for the sin of those who with a full and fixed resolution despise and reject Christ, the only Saviour; despise and reject the Holy Spirit, the only sanctifier; and despise and renounce the only way of salvation; and who do this with an obstinate and malicious intent, after they have known and professed the Christian religion; this must be the same thing as the sacrifice offered by Christ which is the only medium of a sinner's salvation being of no saving effect, because the death of Christ was not appointed to expiate such a sin, and because it is never repented of, and there being no sacrifice, and no repentance, there can be no satisfaction, and consequently no pardon; else a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation would not be the inevitable doom cf these wilful adversaries of God. And if the judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries, remain for them, they must suffer without a probability of escape. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy nate done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: Depart from me ye that work iniquity." The day here referred to must mean the last day, the day of judgment, the time when the pretenders to prophecy and piety will be judged and rewarded It appears, from this whole passage, that many after having made great attainments, and great professions in religious life, will not enter heaven but will be addressed by a-Depart from me. But suppose the Matt. vii. 21, 22, 23. * Heb. x. 26, 27. phrase, Kingdom of God, here used, denotes what the objectors to endless punishment tell us, viz., a spiritual life. Then we have hypocrites earnestly desiring to be christians, but forbidden to come to the desired privilege. And when in this life did the Lord ever refuse any, who sought admittance into his favor, on the ground that they had been workers of iniquity? Is he not willing that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the truth? Has he excluded any who do not exclude themselves? When we read such passages as these, "Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God;' * "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;" "What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul;" is it not implied that those who are not diligent to secure an interest in the favor of God, but neglect the salvation which the gospel reveals, and seek the world to the neglect of the future well-being of their souls, shall not be saved, shall fail of the grace of God, and shall lose their souls? "What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose himself, or be cast away." If some men be lost, or cast away, they cannot all be saved. A man may lose his health, his property, his reputation, and even his natural life, and yet in fact be saved from everlasting perdition. But if he be lost so as to be cast away, he cannot be finally saved. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not, shall be damned."** Here salvation is offered only on condition of believing; and that not a salvation from the destruction of Jerusalem, for it was a condition to be proclaimed to all the world, till time should be longer. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth (in all the world) shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned,demned by God, and cast off from his presence. implies that the unbeliever will be adjudged to be -shall be con This obviously guilty, by God, in the day of judgment; that he will deserve eternal death, and that Heb. xii. 15. + Heb. ii. 3. Matt. xvi. 26. Luke ix. 25. ** Mark xvi. 16. he will be cast out into a place of endless woe. Is it asked how it can be just in God to condemn men forever for not believing the gospel? We answer: God has a right to appoint his own terms of mercy. Man is a sinner, and has no claim on God for salvation. He knowingly, and willingly, rejects that method of salvation which God has appointed. He despises and contemns the gospel. And it is owing to his love to sin, and hatred to God, that he does this. Now as he has no confidence in God, does not believe that he is worthy of supreme love, and does not seek his favor, he must be wretched. As he rejects God he must go into eternity without a Father and a God. As he has no source of comfort in himself, and as he is now deprived of those earthly objects from which he derived all his happiness in this life, he must die forever. There is no being in eternity but God that can make man happy, and without his favor the sinner must be miserable. "Consider this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver" you out of his avenging hand. The remaining Scripture proofs which I shall bring on this subject will be considered in the following Lecture. In the mean time I hope you will consider seriously the preceding testimony. Be not so unwise as to yield to the dictates of mere feeling on this subject. It is a matter to be decided not by the wishes of men, but by the testimony of God. To this then, as the only source of evidence, be your appeal. If the doctrine is taught here, that the punishment of the wicked will be eternal, remember that heaven and earth shall sooner pass away, than one jot or tittle of what Jehovah has threatened shall fail of being accomplished. And if this doctrine be true it will seriously affect your eternal destiny. O then come to the sacred Records divested of all prejudice, and ́every prepossession, that you may obtain full information on this point. You are immortal beings, and can you feel otherwise than anxious to acquire the most correct information that can be obtained, respecting that world which is to be your everlasting abode ? The prudent man looketh well to his going. Permit me as one who loves your souls, to intreat you to ponder the paths of your feet Self-deception can profit you nothing. The Scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation. Go to the Bible with humble prayer, and in the spirit of sincere inquiry, and it will point you to the heavenly city. It will open to you the bottomless pit, and show you the quenchless flame and the undying worm. It will point to the blood which can cleanse from all sin. Seek then sincerely to know the truth; and remember that God has said of those who love not the truth, they shall be given up to strong delusion to believe a lie that they might be damned, because they believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. "Ye sinners seek his grace, Whose wrath ye cannot bear→ Fly to the shelter of his cross LECTURE III. SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. Gal. vi: 7, 8.—Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. THE solemn warning here given is of the highest practical importance. Perhaps there is nothing to which depraved creatures are more addicted, though nothing be more dangerous, than to form an erroneous judgment or receive a false impression of our state, character, and conduct. It is from this predilection in favor of something that shall prophesy good concerning them, that the truth is rejected and those doctrines and systems of religion embraced, which flatter their pride, and strengthen their hands, that they should not turn from their wicked way. The human heart loves to be soothed. The pleasing sound of peace, peace, though there be no peace, will be gratefully received. Such characters are they "which say to the seers, See not, and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things-speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits." But let us not deceive ourselves, God will not be mocked. For as in the natural, so in the moral world, "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." According as we behave ourselves now, so will our account be in the great day. All that is done in this life is preparatory to another. The present is |