"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." Compare this with John 5: 24 and 17: 3. Not any who are given to Christ then will eventually be lost. Well, how many are given to Christ? Ps. 2: 7, 8, "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."

OBJECTION. — “In verse 9 of this psalm it is said, 'Thou shalt break them (the heathen) with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.' This is inconsistent with the idea of their being saved."

ANSWER.We have already shown that Christ, during his reign as the Messiah, will administer rewards and punishments; and that when his reign ceases the dispensation of rewards and punishments will cease also, as he is not to deliver up his kingdom until he has put down all rule, and all authority and power; -until he has reconciled all intelligences to God, and brought them into willing subjection to him. However severe may be the punishment which he will inflict upon the heathen, they are eventually to become his inheritance, as God has given them to him. And we have seen that the will of God is, that of all which he has given Christ, he should lose nothing.

The heathen are given to Christ for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. Jesus certifies to the same truth. John 3: 35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." John 16: 15, "All that the Father hath are mine." Paul says of Christ, Heb. 1: 2, "Whom ne hath appointed heir of all things." Well, has Christ the will and the power to accomplish the object of his mission? Matt. 28: 18, "All power is given me in heaven, and in earth." John 17: 2. "Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." John 6: 37, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me: and him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out." John 12: 32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

Jesus taught that the subjects of the resurrection would be equal unto the angels, be placed beyond the reach of death, and be the children of God. Luke 20: 35, 36, "They which shall be ac

counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection."

OBJECTION. "The word worthy in this text, implies that some will not be accounted worthy to obtain a resurrection from the dead."

ANSWER. -1. This objection has as much force against the doctrine of endless misery as against Universalism. For if any portion of the human race will not experience a resurrection from the state of death, endless misery for them is of course out of the question. And the text proves conclusively that all who will be raised from the dead shall be holy and happy as the angels of God. 2. The word worthy must not be understood in such a sense as to make this text contradict other portions of the divine testimony. But if we understand it to limit the number of those who shall be raised from the dead, it will contradict the testimony of Jesus himself, of Paul, and all the other scripture writers who have treated upon the resurrection. There is no doctrine more pointedly taught in the Bible than that there shall be a resurrection of all mankind from the dead. In immediate connection with this text, Jesus said, "All live unto God" (see verse 38); and he declared that he would "Draw all men unto him." Paul taught the resurrection of the dead, "both of the just and unjust" (see Acts 24: 15); and in 1 Cor. 15: 22, he says: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 3. The parallel passages in Matthew and Mark say nothing about any worthiness. In Matt. 22: 30, we read, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven;" and in Mark 12: 25, "For when they shall rise from the dead they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven." 4. The language of the text was addressed to the Sadducees, and in the hearing of the Pharisees. The Sadducees did not believe in any resurrection, nor future life. The Pharisees believed in a kind of resurrection, which was nothing more, however, than a mere transmigration. Some suppose they limited the resurrection to those whom they denominated "the just;" whereas others think they believed in a general resurrection of all mankind. In either case the testimony of Jesus in the text under consideration was pointedly against the

opinions of both the Sadducees and Pharisees. In opposition to the doctrine of the Sadducees, he taught that there should be a resurrection of the dead, and a future life. In opposition to the doctrine of the Pharisees, if they held to a limited resurrection consisting in a transmigration of the soul into other bodies, he taught that the subjects of the resurrection would be equal to the angels of God. And in opposition to their doctrine, if they held to a general resurrection which would be a happy one to some, and a miserable one to others, he taught that all who should be raised from the dead would be holy and happy. 5. The question of the Sadducees, to which the language of the text is an answer, did not relate to the number who should be raised from the dead, but to the condition of those who would experience such resurrection; and our Lord here teaches the general truth, that all the subjects of the resurrection will be introduced into a state of existence, where they will be holy and happy, and where they will be beyond the reach of death. Hence, those who admit the doctrine of a resurrection of all the dead, must allow that this text is a strong proof of the doctrine of universal holiness and happiness. 6. The word worthy may refer to the different degrees of value which is to be attached to the different orders of God's animal creation. As in Matt. 6: 26, "Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" And in Luke 12: 6, 7, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered: Fear not, therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." Such were the opinions, and such the habit of thinking of the Sadducees, that if they were brought to admit the resurrection of mankind from the dead, they might suppose that the resurrection of beasts, birds, insects, &c., and indeed all animal creatures, was equally as probable. Hence Jesus might have used the word worthy to signify value, and to limit the resurrection to that part of God's animal creation which he esteemed of sufficient value to be raised from the dead, viz., all mankind. At all events, it will not do to understand the text as limiting the number of the human race who shall be raised from the state of death, for reasons which have already been specified.

Jesus pointedly condemned the doctrine of the Pharisees and of

the Sadducees. Matt. 16: 6, "Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." The Sadducees, as we have seen, believed death to be an eternal sleep; and the Pharisees were extremely partial and exclusive in their views of God's character, government, dealings and purposes, towards the children of men. In other words, they were Partialists. Jesus, therefore, has left upon record a pointed condemnation of the principles and practices of Partialists.

Peter was taught, in the vision of the vessel like a sheet knit at the four corners, that all men came down from heaven (i. e., were created by one God who is in heaven); and will all be drawn up again into heaven; and to call no man common or unclean. Ser Acts 10: 10-15, 11: 5-10.

66

John says, 1 John 4: 14, "We have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." And he says the Samaritans said of him, John 4: 42, We have seen him ourselves, and know this indeed to be the Christ, the Saviour of the world." And in 1 John 2: 2, he says of Christ, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." He speaks of the record which God has given of his Son, and says, 1 John 5: 11, "And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son." In verse 10, he says, that those who believe not this record make God (or treat God as) a liar. Now, if there are any upon whom God has not purposed to bestow eternal life, then if they believe he has not, of course they believe the truth. How then do they treat God. as a liar? John teaches the destruction of all the works of the devil. 1 John 3: 8, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." He taught that all God's intelligent creatures will finally render spiritual worship to him. Rev. 5: 13, "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 15: 4, "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art noly for all nations shall come and worship before thee." He also taught that a period will finally arrive when all tears shall be wiped away; when death shall no longer hold dominion over man, and

when all sorrow, and crying, and pain, shall be done away forever. Rev. 21: 4, "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are done away."

We come now to the testimony of the apostle Paul, and we will arrange his testimony under distinct heads.

1. Paul taught that the salvation of the Gospel is God's free gift to man, and that no man can merit it by any act or volition of his whatsoever. Eph. 2: 8, 9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." 2 Tim. 1: 9, "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given

us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

2. He teaches that the free gift of life is as extensive as the judgment to condemnation. Rom. 5: 18, "Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." This gift is eternal life. Rom. 6: 23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

OBJECTION.

"This free gift is offered to all, but this does not prove that all will accept of it and be saved."

ANSWER.

-There is a great

difference between offering to give a thing, and actually giving it. Nothing is said in the text about offering to give eternal life; but on the contrary, it is said, "The free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." This free gift is to result in justification of life to all to whom it came. But how can this be, unless it is eventually accepted by all?

3. Paul draws the parallel lines between the extent of sin and disobedience on the one hand, and the extent of righteousness and obedience on the other; and affirms that just as far as the one had extended, even just as far should the other. Rom. 5: 19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Parkhurst says on this text, "The word many in this verse, signifies the many; that is, the mass, the multitude; the whole bulk of mankind.” Dr. Macknight says, "For as the word many in the first part of