^^'^^-^c^^ yo THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.archive.org/details/doctrineofelectiOOerskricli THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION, ITS CONNECTION WITH GENERAL TENOR OF CHRISTIANITY, ILLUSTRATED FROM MANY PARTS OF SCRIPTURE, AND ESPECIALLY FROM THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. By THOMAS ERSKINE^ja.,_ Ausocatb-^ - AUTHOR OF "remarks rf?! THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE FOR THE TRUTH OF REVEALED RELIGION." LONDON: PRINTED FOR JAMES DUNCAN, PATERNOSTER ROW W. INNES, 31, HANOVER ST., EDINBURGH : AND J. A. BEGG, ARGYLL ARCADE, GLASGOW. M DCCC XXXVII. Printed by Aird & Ri'ssell,75, Argyll Street, Glasgow. Br8:/o El CONTENTS. Preface, pp.ix.— xxiii. Common view of the doctrine of Election inconsistent with the representations given in Scriptnre of the equality of God's ways, and of man's responsibility, pp. 1—12. The parable of the Potter and the clay, Rom. ix. 21, and Jer. X viii., opposed to the view of Unconditional Election, pp. 13 — 26. The purpose of God in Christ, (as set forth in 2 Tim. i. ii.,) shown to be, that through deaths lovingly received, we should enter into eternal life and glory, pp. 26 — 43. The sovereignty of God exercised in appointing man's opportuni- ties and trials ; not in determining his reception of them, — ex- planation of the history of the two thieves, pp. 43—51. Besides the inherent principle of evil in man, every one has also the good seed of the word sown in his heart, and has received the power of imiting himself to it;— this illustrated by the para- ble of the com of wheat, John xii. 24, pp. 62—62. Conscience, the link between flesh and spirit, — the point of con- nection between God and man ;— the Bible given to teach us that it is God who speaks in the conscience, and that Man's Reprover is his Saviour, pp. 62 — 69. Christ spoke in parables, not that He might keep the people in darkness, but because this was the mode of instruction most suited to the condition of their minds — as God still speaks to us in outward events,.. ..c pp. 69 — 74. ivi852478 VI CONTENTS. In the parables of the Sower, (Luke viii. 5,) and of the Tares in the field, (Matt, xiii., 24,) the good seed of the word is re- presented as sown J)y Christ himself in every heart ; as the tares are by Satan ; and we become assimilated to, and identified with the good or the evil seed, according as we attach ourselves to either, pp. 74—85. In yielding to the drawings of the Adversary, no acknowledgment of his presence or power is required, but in living by faith, there is the conscious receiving of power from God, pp. 86—91. Christ, in John vi. 37 — 44, teaches the Jews that those who come to Him drawn by worldly motives, do not come truly or profit- ably to Him — and that none can come truly to Him, except those who listen to and follow the inward voice, pp. 91 — 118. The meaning of the words, (Acts xiii. 48,) " As many as were or- dained unto eternal life, believed," shown to be that those who were obeying the call of the Father, having their hearts directed towards eternal life, believed and welcomed the Apostle's words concerning Christ — The case of Lydia considered, pp. 118 — 130. Prophecies of spiritual blessings referring to the future history of the children of Israel, sometimes regarded as unconditional, — shown to be merely the repetition of promises in the books of Moses, where their humility and acknowledgment of sin are the expressed conditions, pp. 130 — 143. The doctrine of God's dealing with men in the way of rewards and punishments, not inconsistent with free grace, inasmuch as they are rewarded or punished according as they accept or re- fuse the grace bestowed. " Who maketh thee to differ from another?" 1 Cor. iv. 2—7, pp. 143—155. The importance and value of the Bible not impaired by insisting on the necessity of the corresponding inward word, pp. 155 — 177. A belief in miracles does not necessarily imply living faith — faith opposed to sight,— 1 Cor. ii. 9—14 ; 2 Peter i. 10 ; 1 Peter ii. 1—9, pp. 177—197. God's dealings with nations and individuals in giving them pecu- liar privileges and gifts, quite consistent with His being no re- specter of persons, — His judgment being according to the im- provement made of them, pp. 197 — 203. CONTENTS. VII Rom. i. ii. iii. 1—21. — A setting forth of the universal prevalence of sin, and corresponding universality of the Gospel. The re- ference to the prophecy of Habakkuk illustrates the nature of the righteousness of faith, showing it to be a confident trust in God's guidance, even when He leads by a way of sorrow and death. This faith exemplified by Christ, pp. 203—219. Justification by faith farther illustrated and explained, pp. 219—229. Rom. iii. 21 — 26. — Christ the Head of our race, and in his actings in our nature an example to us of the righteousness which is by faith. This righteousness acknowledged of God in the case of Abraham, and typified in the sacrifices of the ceremonial law, pp. 229—262. The superabounding of grace over sin, pp. 263 — 267. The Fall, Original Sin, and the Restoration, pp. 267—284. Comparison between the Law and the Gospel, pp. 284 — 302. Rom. v. 15.— The restoration through Christ, co-extensive with, andfiilly compensatory of, the Fall through Adam, pp. 302—308. Rom. V. 16, 17. — The selfishness and alienation from God, which are inherited from Adam, met by the parallel working of the gift of righteousness, a good principle or spirit, infiised into the race through Christ, which being Christ's own nature, leads those who receive it or accept its guidance, into a participation in Christ's kingdom, pp. 308 — 329. Rom. vi. 1 — 13. — A man becomes a true receiver or accepter of the gift of righteousness, only by partaking in Christ's death, pp. 329—337. Rom. vi. 14 — 23. — By coming truly under grace, man is delivered from the dominion which sin had over him, while he remained under the law, pp. 337—342. Rom. vii. 1 — 6. — As the condemnation of the Law lies on the old man, or the carnal nature, it lies also on those who are married to the old man, or who live in the carnal nature, and they can escape from it, only by dying to the old man, and so separating themselves from him, and his condemnation, pp. 342 — 348. Rom. vii. 7— 26.— The working of the Law unfolded, pp. 348—368. VIII CONTENTS. Rom. viii. 1—4.— Deliverance from the condemnation of the law, and from the power of sin, through participating in the Spirit of life, or the nature of Christ, which condemns sin in the flesh, pp. 358—380. Rom. viii. 5— 26.— Description of the carnal mind and the spir- itual mind. The spiritually-minded constitute God's family ; and they accept their punishment, as the first part of their in- heritance, appointed to prepare them for the second, which is the glory, pp. 380—393. Rom. viii. 26— 39.— The Searcher of hearts, searcheth for spiritual minds, and when He discovers any one becoming spiritual. He immediately puts it under a new discipline, suited to its new character, pp. 393— 414. Rom. ix. 1—13. — Isaac and Jacob, types of the spiritual mind, and of its blessing ; Ishmael and Esau, types of the carnal mind and of its condemnation. The promises belonged ex- clusively to the spiritual mind ; and therefore, carnal Israel, although set up as the type of the spiritual mind, had no claim to them, ^ pp. 414— 431. Rom. ix. 14— 18.— The righteousness of God in the rejection of Israel, after a long forbearance, asserted, — and illustrated by His dealings with Pharaoh, pp. 431 — 470. Rom. ix. 19—26. — God had a right to condemn and punish Israel's sin, although He had used that sin for the accomplishment of His purposes. The calling of the Gentiles agreeable to pro- phecy, pp.470— 492. Conclusion. — TVwe natural religion, — The connection between the conscience and true religion, — The duty of trying all things by conscience, — The separation of doctrines from inward conscious- ness, — " Thou knowest not whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth," — Edwards on the Freedom of the Will, and his defective definition oi liberty^— Th^ essential conditions of human liberty, —The liberty wherewith the Sonmaketh free, pp. 492 — 570. PREFACE. I DID not intend to put a Preface to this Work; but, now that it is finished, I find so many things in it which stand in need of the reader's indulgence, that I think it well, at the entrance, to warn him of them, and to bespeak his patience. The first half of the book was written under the disadvantage of frequent interruptions, which I am sensible have very often broken the thread of thought and interest; and with regard to the entire work, it has happened, chiefly I confess from my own fault, that every sheet was printed as soon as it was writ- ten, so that I never saw it, nor could judge of it, as a whole, until the last sheet came from the press. From these causes have proceeded defects in the arrangement, and frequent repetitions, besides other faults, which are now beyond the reach of correction, and which I feel, must hang a drag on many parts of the book. Nevertheless, I am not without hope that the reader who is interested in the subject, will find in the book that which w ill repay him for the trouble a2 X PREFACE. of going through it. Not that he will meet with any deep thinking in it, or any striking speculations; for I have throughout kept the place of a commen- tator or expositor, confining myself entirely within the range of the written word and human conscious- ness, and scarcely attempting to touch the meta- physical questions relating to Free Will and Neces- sity; hut I think he will find in it a satisfactory view of what is meant by Election in the Bible, and satisfactory proof that the passages in the Bible on which the commonly received doctrine of that name rests, do indeed teach something very different. He will also find, that, though I have treated the subject simply as a Scriptural one, yet, in doing so, I have never forgotten that the Scriptures were given, not to supersede or stand in place of the rational conscience, but to awaken and enlighten it, and con- sequently that no conviction as to their meaning ought to be considered as rightly arrived at, unless confirmed and sealed by the consent of the con- science, that is, unless such conviction be of the nature of a perception of truth, and not a mere submission to authority ; and that therefore I have always felt it incumbent on me, to explain the views which I bring from Scripture, in the light of the rational conscience, that is, to show the relation which they bear to it. I have entered largely into the subject of Con- science, and the adaptation of the Scriptures to it, and into the consideration of those general and ele- mentary views of the condition of man, as a moral PREFACE. XI and responsible being, which the Scriptures either expressly set forth, or manifestly assume to be true, and which do in fact constitute the basis of all the doctrines which they teach ; and I have endeavoured to show, that it is only when we take our stand upon these views as upon a 'vantage ground, that we can truly discern the meaning of many parts of Christian doctrine. I hope that my reader will see, that in thus re- quiring that what we learn from the Bible should harmonize with the light in our consciences, I am not detracting from the true authority of the inspir- ed Book, but only putting it in its true place. What that place is, is distinctly marked in 2 Tim. iii. 16, " All Scripture which is given by inspiration of God, is also profitable, for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- rection, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Now it is manifest that un- less in my own conscience I am perceiving the righteousness of the will of God, revealed in any doctrine, I cannot be instructed in righteousness by it. For instruction in righteousness must mean here, the instruction received in the conscience, that is, the awakening and nourishing within me of the perception and love of righteousness, which cannot take place when I am receiving a doctrine in the way of submission to authority, without really per- ceiving the righteousness that is in it. And besides, I cannot feel satisfied that I have rightly understood what doctrine the inspired writer XII PREFACE. meant to teach, whilst I do not myself perceive righteousness in it, — for I cannot helieve that any thing is really of God but what is righteous,— and therefore, whilst I do not see the righteousness of the doctrine, I cannot be sure that I am not putting a wrong interpretation on the inspired text, and at all events I am not really believing the truth of it, — however fully I may be persuaded that there is a truth in it, though I do not see it, which ought to be believed, I am not instructed in righteousness, by believing that there is a truth in a doctrine, but by acknowledging and closing with the truth, which I myself perceive in it. When a man has once become persuaded that the Bible is divinely inspired, he often seems to think that this persuasion lays him under an obligation, no longer to try or judge of the contents of the Book by his conscience, but to submit himself to all that he reads there, and to receive it implicitly; — and thus he learns to put away his conscience, and to turn it from the use for which it was given, and also to turn the Scriptures from the use for which they were given, — and yet, notwithstanding all this, to have the semblance of obeying his conscience which com- mands him to honour God's word. But whilst he is in this state, he is lying under a strange delusion, — for he is mistaking the conviction that he ought to be believing a thing, for the actual believing of it, — he is mistaking submission to the authority of God, for the belief of the truth of God. The error here arises from an ignorance of God, PREFACE. XIII and of his purposes towards us — it arises from re- garding God — not as a loving and righteous Father, who desires for us that we should become partakers of His love and righteousness, by appreciating the excellence of these qualities, and loving them and receiving them into our hearts, — but as a Sovereign who insists on our absolute submission to His be- hests, indifferent whether we see and sympathize with His love and righteousness in them or not. This is to merge the moral attributes of God in His natural attributes of power and sovereignty, — it is to say of God that what He does is the rule of righteousness — instead of saying that what He does is according to righteousness. And it has also a ten- dency to lead us on to say, that He is more glorified by the manifestation of His power and sovereignty in making the creature what He will, whether good or bad, than by the manifestation of the influence of an apprehension of His love and righteousness, on the heart of the creature, which He has made capa- ble of discerning good from evil, — in prevailing on it, of its own free choice to abandon all other expecta- tions of good, and to take Him, and His love, and His righteousness, for its whole desire, and its whole portion. But this is not the religion which Jesus Christ taught. He did not come preaching the sovereignty of God, but preaching His righteousness, and de- claring Him to be the Father. And moreover. He did not come in His own name — that is. He did not come claiming submission from men, on the ground XIV PREFACE. of His own personal and ofl&cial authority — but He came requiring them to receive His doctrine, on the ground of its intrinsic truth, as discerned by their own consciences. He said, " If I speak the truth, why do ye not believe me?" (John viii. 46,) thus appealing to something of God within their own hearts, which could distinguish truth from falsehood, and which they were bound to consult, in judging of the things which He said to them. And thus it ap- pears, — that the authority on which the gospel is to rest, is the authority of truth recognized and felt in the conscience, and not any outward authority how- ever purporting to be of God, — and that those who do rest it on an outward authority, are really sub- verting its principles by so doing. I do not mean that a man is to sit down to the Bible, in the spirit of a judge rather than of a dis- <;iple, — but I mean that the true discipleship consists, not in a blind submission to authority, but in the discernment and love of the truth, — not in sub- jecting the conscience to a revelation which it does not understand, but in educating and feeding the conscience by the truth apprehended in the revela- tion. But if men were called on by Jesus to try what He himself personally taught them, by a light within them — we are surely bound to try by the same light, the things which have come down to us, through the written word. And those who would teach the things which are contained in the written word, ought to remember, that their teaching is really PREFACE. XV of no use, unless they make them clear to the con- sciences of the learners, that is, unless they show, in the things taught, a righteousness of God which the consciences of the learners can apprehend and ap- prove. It must he evident to every one, that the sole ground on which men can be considered culpable in preferring wrong to right, is the assumption that they have something within them by which they can distinguish right from wrong, and discern the ex- cellence of what is right and the evil of what is wrong. But we all naturally and necessarily make this assumption, and consider those to be culpable who, in any circumstances, prefer wrong to right. Now truth in morals and in religion, is only another name for what is right, and falsehood, another name for what is wrong, — and thus that inward witness which judges of right and wrong within us, is the only real test by which we can judge of truth and falsehood in religion. That this inward witness is hardly perceptible in the case of some persons, and that its judgment is limited to outward actions, in the case of others, is no objection to the statement here made. For the witness is as a seed sown in the heart of man, and if it is unused, it lies dormant. But still it remains true, that it is only by the awakening and the strengthening of this witness, that there is any real growth within us, either in morals or religion, — and therefore the only real instruction in the Scrip- tures or the doctrines of religion, is that which is XVI PREFACE. addressed to this witness, and which thus has a ten- dency to awaken and exercise it, for thus only is it possible that the Scriptures can be made " profitable for instruction in righteousness." If therefore a teacher thinks that he is claiming honour for God's authority, when he refuses to lis- ten to the objections which a learner makes to any view of a doctrine, on the ground of conscience, and when he silences all such objections by a mere ref- erence to the written word, he is deceiving himself, — for that which is the true authority of God, in rela- tion to every man, is the man's own perception of righteousness, — and the teacher is only then truly claiming honour for God, when he brings the doc- trine to meet that perception. I am not arguing for the right of private judg- ment, — 1 am arguing for the right of conscience, that is, for the right which my conscience has over me, I am not arguing for my right to say to another man, my judgment is as good as your's, but I am arguing that neither he nor I can have a right to think that we are honouring God by our faith, whilst our con- science is not going along with the thing believed. When I meet with any thing in the Bible to which my conscience does not consent, I feel per- suaded that I don't understand the meaning of it, — for my confidence that it comes from God, assures me, that if I understood it aright, I should perceive its righteousness. Whilst I remain in this condition however, I am conscious that I am not believing the thing, " for with the heart man believeth unto PREFACE. XVII righteousness ;" and I am certain that I cannot be- lieve any thing truly unto righteousness, unless I perceive righteousness in it, — I am therefore con- scious that I am not believing in it, and that I am only bowing to it. But I do not willingly rest in this condition. I examine the passages on which the doctrine in question rests, — I consider whether the meaning which I have been attributing to them is the true meaning — I consult translations and com- mentaries, not with the view of taking any of them as a guide, but that I may see whether I can find in any of them an interpretation which will at the same time satisfy my conscience, and agree with the language, and harmonize with the tenor of the dis- course. We ought to require the meeting of all these conditions in an interpretation, before we al- low ourselves to rest in it ; and accordingly when I have in this work preferred any interpretation of a passage, which diflPers from that which is found in the common version, I have done so on the ground that these conditions meet in it, and not in the other. It may seem to some, that such a work as this, which consists chiefly of interpretations of passages, ought not to have been attempted by any one who was not well versed in verbal criticism in general, and more especially in that of the Scriptures. But be- sides that the labourers in that department have now brought the whole subject within the reach of very ordinary scholars, I believe that those who are best acquainted with the results of that kind of schol- arship, will agree with me in thinking, that it has XVIII PREFACE. already done all, or nearly all, that it is likely to do, and that another kind of instrument is needed, in order to draw a true and useful advantage from that which it has established ; which instrument seems to me, to be no other than a zealous and yet patient demand for consistency and coherence, in our inter- pretations, — in respect both of conscience and of logic. Whether I have used this instrument or not, ieach reader must judge for himself. All that I ask of him on this point, is, that he will not judge hastily, nor give a final judgment, until he has finished the book, and that he will allow his conscience as well as his reasoning to sit along with him in the judg- ment. There is another thing of which I ought here to say something to the reader. Every one who has studied Christianity as a system not only of right- eousness but of wisdom, must have perceived that it has a double form throughout, inasmuch as God has, in the first place, set forth to us, the whole truth, objectively, in Christ, and then He calls on us, to experience it all, subjectiveli/, in ourselves, through the operation of the Spirit of Christ received into our hearts by faith. I am persuaded, also, that many must have felt, that the Atonement and the Righteousness of faith, are connected in this way — the Atonement being the objective view of the doctrine, and the righteousness of faith the sub- jective, — so that the Atonement when experienced by ourselves, is the righteousness of faith; and PREFACE. XIX the righteousness of faith, when viewed out from ourselves, in Christ, is the Atonement. Thus to die with Christ, or to he partakers of His death, or to have His blood cleansing us from all sin, means the same thing as to be justified by faith, or to have the righteousness of faith, — and thus also the blood of Christ, when taken subjectively or experi- mentally, means the shedding out of the life-blood of man's will, in the Spirit of Christ, inasmuch as no one can know the blood of Christ purging his conscience, in any other way than by personally shedding out the life-blood of his own will. From the habit of viewing these two doctrines as thus connected, and also from a conviction of the exceeding importance of understanding that the ob- jective view of the doctrine is quite useless, when separated from the subjective, I have occasionally, in speaking of them, used language which I am aware may at first strike the reader as unusual, but which I trust he will see the justness and reasonableness of, as he advances. I do not mean to confound the two doctrines together, but to connect them toge- ther; as I do not mean to confound the root of a tree with a branchy but only to mark their con- nection, when I speak of them as having the same sap circulating through them both; for though I thus speak of them, I do not forget that the sap is originally concocted not by the branch but by the root, and that the branch could have no sap at all, unless it had a root, by which the sap might be prepared and communicated to it. XX PREFACE. Now, God in our nature, — that is, Christ, — is the root of the new sap or eternal life in man, without which no man could have been righteous, and by the presence of which in our nature, every man may be righteous. This is the root, which connects the whole tree of man with God and heaven, as the carnal Adam is the root which connects it with Sa- tan and corruption; — for the tree has two roots and two saps, and the atonement is just that acting of Christ, the new root, that voluntary dying, or shed- ding out by him of the old sap, or corrupt will of man, — through which he separated himself and all the branches that would adhere to him, alto- gether and for ever, from the corruption and con- demnation which belonged to, and lay upon, that old sap, — that so they might be filled exclusively with the holy sap, the eternal life, and bear the eternal blessing which rests upon it. But the adherence which the branch gives to him, which is the right- eousness of faith, is just a repetition of the same acting, by which he, the root, separated himself acceptably to God — namely, a voluntary dying, or shedding out of the old sap, performed by the branch, in the power of the new sap communicated to it from the root, and without which it would be incapable of performing it. This view of these doctrines, connects them dis- tinctly with the conscience. We must acknowledge, that that corrupt sap or life within us, which seeks self-gratification instead of righteousness, is indeed the source of all the evils of our condition, and PREFACE. XXI deserves the punishment of sorrow and death which God has laid upon it — and we must also acknow- ledge, that the only way of escaping from the bond- age of that corrupt life, is by getting quit of it, or by shedding it out; but this we could not do, with- out another principle of life within us, in the strength of which we might do it, and yet survive. To bring this principle of life, the eternal life, into the whole race, so as to be within the reach of every man, was the work of the root, and He eflPected it by shed- ding out the life which belongs to the flesh and blood, in which he along with the other children of the family partook ; and to receive this principle of life, thus brought within their reach, so that it should become their own life, is that co-operation which is required of all men, and in which their trial consists, and which they can only effect by consenting in like manner to the shedding out of the corrupt life of the flesh, in the strength of the new principle. The root does important things for the tree, but in doing them, it is not a substitute for the tree, — nor is its action intended to dispense with the co- operating action of the branches. It commences a process, which they are to carry on, in the power communicated to them through it. They could not have commenced the process, but the root by com- mencing it, has put it in their power to carry it on. Our Great Root received the sap for us, in say- ing, " Not my will, but thine be done ;" that is, by dying to the will of the flesh, and consenting to the XXII PREFACE. punishment laid on the flesh, — and we can receive it from him to he our life, only by following out the same process. And thus the history of Christ is not only the history of God's love in calling us to be partakers of His nature and blessedness, but is also a model of the way in which alone we can truly receive the unspeakable gift. Hence I see the one- ness of meaning in the three following passages : — " If they accept of the punishment of their iniqui- ty, then will I remember my covenant with their fathers." Levit. xxvi. 41, 42. — "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil; so do stripes the inward parts of the belly." Prov. xx. 30.— And, "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John i. 7. The meaning of them all is the same, but the two first passages refer simply and directly to the action of the branch, whilst the third refers to the action of the root, by which the branch has been made capable of performing its action. The love which gave the root, and the spirit com- municated through the root are profitable, only when they are thus received and used by the branch. Christ did not sufi'er to save men from punish- ment, but to save them from sin, by enabling them and encouraging them to accept their medicinal punishment, that blueness of a wound which cleans- eth away evil. See to this eff'ect, 2 Cor. iv. 10 — 18. In looking over the book since it has been finish- ed, I see that I have not always kept to the same meaning of the word conscience, and that I have used it sometimes to signify the Spirit of God in man, PREFACE. XXIII and sometimes to signify the man's own apprehen- sion of the mind of the Spirit in him, which is often a very different thing. But though this is a fault in point of accuracy, I do not think that it produces any confusion in the meaning, as the context always shows which of these senses is intended. Lastly, I should here account for the Epistle to the Ephesians not having a more distinct place given to it, amongst the passages commented on in this Work, as connected with the doctrine of Election. The fact is, that I had proposed to take it up, after going through the Epistle to the Romans; but finding that part of the work grow so much beyond what I had intended, and anticipating the same result in treating the Epistle to the Ephesians, if I should undertake it, I determined to give it up altogether, rather than to do it in a slight way. T. E. THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION, &c. My object in this treatise is to set forth, as distinctly and simply as I can, the grounds on which I have come to the conclusion, that the doctrine of God's Election, as taught in the Bible, is altogether different from, and opposed to that which has passed under the name of the Doctrine of Election, and been received as such, by a great part of the pro- fessing church, through many ages. I know that this undertaking will appear to many nothing else than a foolish and presumptu- ous attempt to pry into the secret counsels of God, and to bring down to the level of man's understanding, that which he has placed above it. But God knows that this is not true. He knows that I have undertaken the exposition of this subject, only in as far as I see that it belongs not to the secret things, from which man is shut out, but to the re- vealed things, which man is invited and re- 2 Object and Plan of the Work. quired to know, in order that he may do the will of God. And because I know that the minds of many, specially in this country of Scotland, are much prepossessed by the doc- trine here condemned, I earnestly and so- lemnly, as in the presence of God, entreat the reader to give me his honest attention, that he may be able to judge truly, whether, in treating the question, I endeavour to make out a case, by setting aside or passing over any part of Scripture, or by putting forced interpretations on any expressions contrary to the tenor of the passages in which they occur; or, on the contrary, whether I do not uniformly ground the ar- gument on the general scope of Scripture, and on the natural meaning and tenor of the passages generally cited in support of the received view of the doctrine, giving its full weight to every expression, as one who does not wish to escape from the will of God, but to discover it. The doctrine of election generally held, is, that God, according to His own inscrutable purpose, has from all eternity chosen in Christ, and predestinated unto salvation, a certain number of individuals out of the fal- len race of Adam ; and that, in pursuance Election as Generally Held. 3 of this purpose, as these individuals come into the world, He in due season visits them by a peculiar operation of His Spirit, there- by justifying, and sanctifying, and saving them; whilst He passes by the rest of the race, unvisited by that peculiar operation of the Spirit, and so abandoned to their sins and their punishment. It is also an essen- tial part of the doctrine, that the peculiar operation of the Spirit, by which God draws the elect unto Himself, is held to be alike irresistible and indispensable in the work of salvation, so that those to whom it is ap- plied, cannot be lost, and those to whom it is not applied, cannot be saved; whilst all the outward calls of the gospel, and what are named common operations of the Spirit, which are granted to the reprobate as well as to the elect, are, when unaccompanied by that peculiar operation, ineflfectual to sal- vation, and do only aggravate the condem- nation of the reprobate. I held this doctrine for many years, modi- fied, however inconsistently, by the belief of God's love to all, and of Christ having died for all — and yet, when I look back on the state of my mind during that period, I feel that it would be truer to say, I submitted to 4 Objections to View Generally Held; it, than that I believed it. I submitted to it, because I did not see how the language of the 9th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and of a few similar passages, could bear any other interpretation; and yet I could not help feeling, that, on account of what appeared to be the meaning of these few diffi- cult passages, I was giving up the plain and obvious meaning of all the rest of the Bible, which seems continually, in the most un- equivocal language and in every page, to say to every man, " See I have set before thee this day, life and good, death and evil, therefore choose life that thou mayest live." I could not help feeling, that if the above representation were true, then that on which a real and righteous responsibility in man can alone be founded, was awanting; and the slothful servant had reason, when, in vindi- cation of his unprofitableness, he said, "I knew thee, that Thou art an hard man, reap- ing where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed." Above all, I could not help feeling that if God were such as that doctrine described Him, then the Creator of every man was not the friend of every man, nor the righteous object of con- fidence to every man; and that when Christ Reasons of Submission to it Answered. 5 was preached to sinners, the whole truth of God was not preached to them, for that there was something behind Christ in the mind of God, giving Him to one, and withholding Him from another, so that the ministry of reconciliation was only an appendix to a deeper and more dominant ministry, in which God appeared simply as a Sovereign without any moral attribute, and man was dealt with as a mere creature of necessity, without any real responsibility. I at that time, used to answer and rebuke this doubt of my heart, by the words, though, I now see, not hy the meaning of Scripture, "Who art thou that repliest against God?" and by the consideration that the finite un- derstanding of man was incapable of com- prehending the infinite mind of God. But still I remained unsatisfied, because I met with passages in the Bible in which God in- vites and calls upon men to judge of the equality and righteousness of his ways, plac- ing himself as it were at the bar of their con- sciences, and claiming fi'om them a judgment testifying to his righteousness, and clearing him of all inequality, and that not on the ground that his righteousness is above their understanding, — far less on the ground that 6 Gods Appeals in Scripture he has a sovereign right to do as He pleases, — but on the ground that his righteousness is such as men can judge of, and because it is clear and plain to that principle of judg- ment within them, by which they approve or condemn their own actings, and the actings of their fellow-men. The passages to this effect which struck me most forcibly were, the 18th and 33d chapters of Ezekiel, and the 5th chapter of Isaiah. I shall transcribe the greatest part of the 18th of Ezekiel, that I may bring the reader face to face with it. " The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concern- ing the land of Israel, saying. The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge ? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine ; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine : the soul that sinneth, it shall die." " The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son ; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will to the Consciences of Men. 7 turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him : in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God; and not that he should return from his ways, and live ? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live ? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned : in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel, Is not my way equal ? are not your ways un- equal? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth in- iquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, 8 God's Righteousness to be Judged of and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal ? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one ac- cording to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions ; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your trans- gressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit : for why will ye die, O house of Israel ? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." It appeared to me impossible to read this passage without perceiving that the right- eousness of God is assumed throughout to be a righteousness which man is capable of comprehending and appreciating — and that although His sovereignty is incontestable. He yet, in a manner, holds Himself accountable to the consciences of His intelligent crea- tures, for the way in which He exercises it. It farther appeared to me that this passage, according to its obvious and natural signifi- By the Consciences of Men. 9 cation, contained not only a denial of the existence of an eternal purpose of God, hy which any of the race of man are passed by and left to their sins and their punishment, but also the assertion of the existence of an opposite purpose in God towards them, even that they should turn from their sins and be saved — and also, that it contained a denial that the difference between the righteous and the wicked arose from God's applying any peculiar irresistible operation of the Spirit to the former and withholding it from the latter, because such dealing on the part of God would destroy the very ground of the appeal, so strongly urged through the whole chapter, in as much as the intelligible equal- ity of His judgment on both classes depends entirely on the essential and true sufficiency of the spiritual provision made for both of them. It farther appeared to me, that if men as a race had, through the fall of Adam, lost any capacity of knowing and serving God, which was not restored to them also as a race in the gift of Jesus Christ, then the proverb that "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge," would have been true; but God, in asserting the a2 10 God's Righteousness to be Judged of equality of his ways, denies the truth of this proverb in terms which mark that its truth would, according to His judgment, be incom- patible with equality. I may here observe, that this proverb is amongst us also, and that its form now is, 'Although man by the fall has lost the power to obey, God has not lost the right to demand obedience;' but, in any form, such a proverb God disclaims as inconsistent with the equality of his ways. The passage in Isaiah is 'equally clear in all these points. "Now will I sing to my well- beloved, a song of my beloved touching His vineyard. My beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill, and He fenced it, and gath- ered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press there- in, and He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge I pray you between me and my vineyard. 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?" Isaiah v. 1 — 4. Here again it appeared to me that God's By the Consciences of Men. 1 1 righteouness is assumed to be such as can be judged of and appreciated by man, even in his unregenerate state ; for the invitation to judge is here addressed to the men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, the very criminals on whom the sentence is pronounced. It is before them that God pleads his cause, and what is the amount of His pleading ? The sufficiency of the provision made for enabling them to meet His demand, is that which He sets forth as the proof of His righteousness, both in making these demands, and in pun- ishing them for not meeting them. And this provision He lays before themselves, that they may say whether they can find any defect or inadequacy in it. He thus evidently as- sumes, that the righteousness of His require- ment and judgment is a righteousness of which man can judge, and ought to judge, by the same rule as that which he applies to his own conduct and to that of his fellow-men. And He asserts that His righteousness, when tried by this rule, will be found conformable to it. There are many passages in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, which are equally strong and pointed with those which I have noticed, against the generally 12 Reasons for still Adhering to the Common View. received doctrine of election, but I shall not at present cite more, as my reader may pro- bably be in the condition in which I was my- self, when first these things were presented to me. I acknowledged the force of the pas- sages — 1 acknowledged my inability to inter- pret them in consistency with the doctrine of election — I fully admitted the responsibility of man and the righteousness of God — but I could not allow any logical conclusions of my own understanding to interfere with my sub- mission to the inspired word ; and, therefore, I still felt that whilst the 9th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, continued to be an un- disputed part of Divine Revelation, it would be an act of ungodly presumption in me to reject a doctrine which appeared to be so manifestly contained in it. I felt also that there was something in the doctrine, to which my own heart bore wit- ness, as being true to experience, as well as glorifying to God, namely, that there was nothing good in man, but what was of the direct acting of the Spirit of God ; and there- fore, I could not receive any argument against the doctrine which proceeded on the ground of an inherent self-quickening power in man. What I required, then, in order really to Light received from Jeremiah xviii- 13 free my conscience from the power of this doctrine, was to discover in the 9th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and some other similar passages, an unforced natural mean- ing, different from that which hitherto they had borne to me ; and in that new meaning to find also what might correspond with my distinct experience of the action of the Spirit of God within me, in opposition to the spirit of my own will. I continued then to read this dark chap- ter, from time to time, hoping always that it would please God to give me farther light upon it; for I felt quite free to do this in humility, because God had said, "Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard." The first ray of light that visited me in this course, was in reading the 18th chapter of Jeremiah, to which the 21st verse of the 9th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, evidently refers. No part of the chapter appeared to me more dark than this 21st verse, for it seemed as if in it the apostle were claiming for God, the right of making a man wicked, and then denying to the man the right of complaining that he had been so made. " Nay, but O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that form- i 14 The Parable of the Potter ed it, why hast thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?" These verses do certainly seem to assert in unequivocal terms, the Calvinistic doc- trine of election; but let us turn to the 18th chapter of Jeremiah, to which they refer. In the beginning of that chapter it is thus written: "The word which came to Jere- miah from the Lord, saying. Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold he wi'ought a work on the wheels, and the ves- sel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you, as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel." ver. 1 — 6. This passage, so far as we yet see, appears to give full confirmation to the Calvinistic interpretation of the 9th chapter of the Ro- mans. It seems to say, that as the potter Apparently in Favour of the Common View. 1 5 has the right of making or marring a vessel, as may appear good to him, so God claims to Himself the right of making or marring the character and condition of a man, as seems good to Him ; and that as the potter in this particular instance appeared to have chosen to mar a vessel, so God would choose to mar the condition of some men, without giving any reason, hut His own sovereign pleasure. Such a claim on the part of God, were indeed a fearful thing ; but if this be really the meaning of the passage, there is no replying to it, and we must either ac- knowledge the Calvinistic doctrine of elec- tion in its darkest extent, or deny the author- ity of the Scriptures. But this is not the true meaning of the passage, as we shall see by merely going on to the following verses, in which God him- self makes the application of the spectacle which He had brought the prophet to wit- ness in the potter's house. " O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter ? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a people, to pluck up and to pull down, and to 16 The Parable of the Potter destroy it, if that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a king- dom, to build and to plant it ; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. Now, therefore, go to, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhab- itants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Behold I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you, return ye now EVERY ONE from his evil ways, and make his ways and his doings good^^ ver. 6 — 1 1 . I saw from this inspired application and interpretation of the action which the pro- phet witnessed in the potter's house, that what, to a superficial reader, appears to be the meaning of the passage, is not its real meaning. I saw that it contained a meaning not only different from, but opposed to the ordinary doctrine of election, for it declared that the future prospects of men were placed by God in their own hands; and that as God's promises and threatenings were ad- dressed not to individuals but to characters, a man by changing his character, might Really Opposed to the Common View. 1 7 change God's dealing towards him. I saw that it was adduced for the purpose of main- taining, not that the potter had a right to make a vessel good or bad according to his own pleasure, but that he had a right, if a vessel turned out ill in his hands, to reject that vessel, and break it down, and make it up anew into another vessel. The right of making a thing bad, is not contemplated at all in the passage — the matter considered is, whether the potter, after having once made a vessel, is bound to preserve it although it turns out quite unfit for the purpose for which it was made, or whether, in such a case, he has the right of rejecting it. And as the exercise of this right of rejection on the part of the potter is unquestioned, although his works do not go wrong hy their own faulty much more does God claim to Himself the right of rejecting a people, whom He had set up for a particular purpose, if they refused to answer that purpose. We read in the following chapter that the prophet was desired to carry on and con- clude this allegorical instruction to Judah, by taking a potter's vessel and breaking it at the entering in of the east gate of Jerusa- lem, as a sign of the rejection of the Jews, 1 8 The Jewish Notion of and the desolation of the city, because they refused to answer God's purposes in setting them up. They were thus warned that God was not bound to them, merely because He had once chosen them for His people — ^but that He was at liberty to reject them, be- cause they had rejected Him. It is most notable through the whole his- tory of the Jews, both in the Old and New^ Testament, that they were continually fall- ing into the error against which this instruc- tion was given to guard them. They thought that, because they were God's chosen peo- ple, and the depositaries of His promises concerning the Messiah, they were therefore secure, however much they sinned — they thought that God was bound to fulfil those promises to them, and could not without for- feiting His own truth, cast them off — they thought there was an absolute decree inter- posed between them and rejection. And as this error blinded them to the danger of sin and the nature of God's righteousness, God set His face against it, from the beginning of His communications to them. Thus when they rebelled against Him in the wilderness by refusing to go forward into the land of Canaan, on account of the evil report brought Unconditional Election Disclaimed by God. 19 back by the spies; He took them at their own word, and said, "Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which Isware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun." " After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise, ^^ Num. xiv. 30, 34. The context of the passage in Jeremiah proves that it was to guard against this very error of supposing themselves uncondition- ally elected that the parable of the potter was spoken, for it is introduced immediately after the utterance of great promises and great threatenings, as the reader will see, by look- ing back to the 17th chapter from the 19th verse to the end, where it is declared that if the people would really hallow the Sabbath, then there should enter into the gates of the city kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David, and the city should remain for ever; whereas, if they profaned the Sabbath, a fire should be kindled in the gates of the city, which should devour its palaces, and should not be quenched. It was to guard against their besetting error, and lest they should. 20 God's Election is His Approbation. according to their manner, shelter themselves under the former distinguishing mercies of God to them, and thus put away the fear of His present threatenings, as if He were re- strained by His own faithfulness from execut- ing them, that the prophet is here commis- sioned to expound to them the true nature of their standing, — and of the standing of all men before God, — namely, that He in very deed judges men according to their charac- ters, and makes promises and threatenings to them simply in relation to their characters, and with the view of drawing them out of evil into good ; and that, in accordance with this principle. He would in righteousness cast off the Jewish people, notwithstanding all his promises to them, if they refused to fill the office of His witnesses, which He had designed them to fill, and would raise up a people in their room who would fill it ; and as He had at first made their nation a vessel unto honour, so if they refused to answer their honourable calling. He would make them a vessel unto dishonour, by openly rejecting them, and inflicting on them a punishment as signal as was their former preferment. Here, therefore, I found a plain and nat- JRom. ix. illtcstrated by Horn, iii. 21 ural solution of the difficulty in Rom. ix. 21; and I saw that this apparently dark passage was, in truth, nothing else than an assertion of God's right to cast off the Jews from being His visible church, and that the apostle was arguing here with his countrymen exactly in the same strain as he had already been doing in a former part of the epistle (chap. iii. 5, 6,) answering, in both places, their self-justify- ing murmurs and excuses, with the same summary declaration of God's right to judge them, and righteousness in punishing them. A comparison of the two passages will satis- fy the reader, that the same subject is treated in both, and that the question (chap. ix. ^1,) " Hath not the potter power over the clay ?" (or, better and more literally, ' right over the clay?') corresponds exactly with the question, "Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance ?" in chap. iii. I thought, also, that I discerned a similar- ity between the Jewish apologies in both the passages, which changed considerably my apprehension of chap. ix. 19. It seemed to me that the spirit of the defence set up, chap. iii. 7> " For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto His glory, why yet am I also judged as a sinner?" 22 Romans ix. is very nearly allied to that of the defence in chap. ix. 19, *' Why doth he yet find fault, for who hath resisted his will ?" and hence I concluded that, in the latter case as well as in the former, the apostle means altogether to deny and disallow the principle of the de- fence, and not merely to rebuke the pre- sumption of it ; and that his answer, in both cases, meant to convey to them, that they knew in their consciences that God was righteous in holding them responsible for their doings. I was farther confirmed by the contents of the 10th and 11th chapters, which relate to the casting off of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, that this view of the potter's right over the clay, was the true view of the passage. About the same time, I received a very satisfying light on the preceding portion of the chapter, from an expression used in it, which I am surprised has been so little con- sidered by interpreters and commentators. I transcribe the 7th and 8th verses, " Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called; that is, they which are the chil- dren of the flesh, they are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are Rom. ix. illustrated by Gal. iv. 22, 24. 23 counted for the seed." The expression to which I refer is, ^' that is" I could not help seeing that this expression indicated, that the history of Ishmael and Isaac was intended by God to be a great type or para- ble, by which He might give public warning when He was calling the family of Abraham to be His visible church on the earth, that His real choice rested not on a natural fam- ily, but on a character ; and that not the flesh but the spirit should inherit the blessing. Let the reader turn to Gal. iv. 22, where this same history is introduced, and let him observe, ver. 24th, where it is said, " which things are an allegory," and then let him con- sider, whether this latter phrase be not equivalent to the expression, ^^ that is," in our chapter. And so the meaning of the apostle would be, to caution those who trusted in their descent from Isaac, that they were trusting in a shadow, for that the truth which God intended to declare by the history of Isaac, was in direct opposition to their hopes, which truth was, that God rejected the carnal mind, and chose the spiritual mind, which waited for the promise through and beyond death. By extending this allegorical character to 24 Romans ix. the cases of Esau and Jacob, Pharaoh and Israel — consecutive pairs representing the same things — the whole chapter became quite clear, being nothing else than a continued declaration of God's rejection of the flesh, and election of the spirit, in the form of an inspired interpretation and application to the Jews of the typical instruction contained in the early history of their race, Avhich they had hitherto explained according to the let- ter and not according to the spirit, and had thus perverted to a sense directly opposed to the true one. We have only to interpose the key, " that is, the flesh and the spirit," as we proceed through the allegory, and the difficulties vanish. Thus, " the elder shall serve the younger ;'' that is, the flesh which is the first Adam, shall be subjected to the quickening spirit, who is the second Adam, — " Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated ;" that is. The spiritual mind have I loved, but the carnal mind have I hated — " He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth ;" that is. He hath mercy on the spirit, and He hardeneth the flesh, according as it is writ- ten, " My mercy will I keep for Him (the quickening Spirit) for ever, and his seed will Rom. ix. opposed to Unconditional Election. 25 I make to endure for ever/' (Ps. Ixxxix. 28, 29 ;) " But flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God," (1 Cor. xv. 51,) which is the meaning set forth under the figure of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, or the flesh, being hardened. I thus perceived that the chapter, instead of being an argument in favour of the com- mon view of election, was in fact an argu- ment expressly written for the purpose of disclaiming and condemning, on God's part, all idea of personal or unconditional elec- tion. This discovery gave me a general suspicion of the soundness of the interpreta- tion of all passages adduced in support of the received doctrine, and encouraged me to expect to find a very different meaning really contained in them. I shall come back upon this chapter again, and explain more fully what I believe to be its meaning, and the grounds of my behef ; but, in the meantime, I hope that my reader has seen enough, in what I have set before him, of its structure and object, to diminish his jealousy of my views about it, and to per- suade him that I have not formed my judg- ment of the matter lightly, and that therefore he will allow me to leave it for a little while, 26 Jer. xviii. illustrated hy 2 Tim. ii. that we may together proceed to the consid- eration of some other passages, which may assist us in the general apprehension of the subject, and so may enable us to return to this particular chapter with understandings more exercised on the principles contained in it. I found much in this passage of Jeremiah, to convince me, not only that it was the true key to the passage referring to the potter in Rom. ix., but also that it was the true key to the doctrine of God's election in general. But, that I might have more light upon it, I had re- course to other passages, where the same sym- bol occurs, and specially one in the 2d Epistle to Timothy. I shall transcribe the passage at length, that the reader may see and judge of the connection. "And if a man strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman must first labour, before he partakes of the fruits. Con- sider what I say ; and the Lord give thee un- derstanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to my gospel: wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil-doer, even unto bonds ; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for 2 Tim. ii. 27 the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him : if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us : if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful ; he cannot deny himself Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings ; for they will in- crease unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resur- rection is past already ; and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man I 28 The one predestined way to glory lies through death. therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." 2 Tim. ii. 5 — *2r. The meaning of the passage is evident; no man can arrive at the end, ivithout travel- ling the road ; no man can obtain the crown of life, except by striving according to God's way, and that way is set forth thus — "Jesus Christ was raised from the dead according to my gospel :" that is, He entered into His glory through death; and He is the way, no man entereth into glory by any other way. If we die with Him, we shall live with Him, if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. This is the foundation of the Lord which standeth sure, notwithstand- ing the vain babblings of men who would teach that there is an easier way to glory, like Hymeneus and Philetus, who say that, because Christ is dead and risen, we may save ourselves the pain of this daily dying, and may enter at once into the privilege of the resurrection state, in which, as no tempt- ation will then be able to reach the inner man through the spiritual body, so there will be no need for self-denial or watchfulness against the flesh and the influence of seen The one predestined way to glory lies through death. 29 things. These vain babblings, which are the suggestions of the flesh, prevent or destroy the faith of many, and it is the poison pro- ceeding from them which, by infecting the soul and eating it as doth a canker, makes it and keeps it a vessel unto dishonour. But if any man will purge himself from these vain babblings, and will yield himself to be a par- taker of Christ's death and sufferings, he shall be a vessel unto honour, he shall live with Him and reign with Him. Every vessel unto dishonour is thus invited and instructed to become a vessel unto honour, and that by the process of purging himself from the vain babblings of the flesh, the first Adam, and following the voice of the second Adam, who says, "Take up thy cross and follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be." So that to live in the spirit of the first Adam, is to be a vessel unto dishonour, as the first Adam is; and to live in the spirit of the second Adam, is to be a vessel unto honour, as the second Adam is. The importance of this passage, in its bear- ing on the subject of election, is more fully seen if it is read in connection with a pas- sage from the preceding chapter, which ought to be considered as a part of the same 30 The eternal purpose of God in Christ context; I quote from the 8th verse, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner : but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God ; 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 ; but is now made manifest, through the ap- pearing of Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles." S Tim. 8 — 11. Mark especially what is contained in the 9th and 10th verses. The apostle says, God "hath called us with a holy calling, not ac- cording to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace." It is evident that the purpose and grace here mean one and the same thing, even that eternal purpose which God has purposed in Christ, and which is so much spoken of in the Bible, and specially in the Epistle to the Ephesians i. 11 ; iii. 11 ; and Rom. viii. 28, &c ; it is a purpose, for it is the mind of Him who changeth not, and it is grace, for it is purposed in order that cannot relate to the election of individuals. 31 sinners may be saved. It would perhaps be truer to the sense, and more according to our language, to read the phrase thus, " ac- cording to His own purpose, even the grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death," &c. Here then it is plainly declared, that, the 7r^ok