believe it, and because they will not believe it, they never shall obtain it ! Then we must contend (if they never obtain it), that it was never given to them, and if not given, then the record is false; because the record declares, that God has given them eternal life in his Son. It then follows, that their unbelief can make the faithfulness of God without effect, by rendering the record he has given false.

But, says the objector, it ought to be stated conditionally as follows, God first calls upon men to believe, and if they will believe, then Christ will become their Saviour, and then they will receive eternal life in him, and not before. But does not the objector see, that he has stated no truth for them to believe, in order to make Christ their Saviour? I ask, what does God call upon them to believe? There must be some truth presented, before men can be called upon to believe. God calls upon men to believe, what? That Christ is their Saviour? But you said he was not their Saviour, till after they believed. It then follows, according to the objector's statement, that he is not the Saviour of unbelievers. Now, do you not perceive, that if you should call upon them to believe, that he was their Saviour, you would call upon them to believe a lie ? them to that you would call upon believe what did not exist? And what does not

exist, cannot be true. Grant, says the objector, that he is the Saviour of the world, still, as many as do not believe in him, shall never be saved. But how can he be the Saviour of a man he never saves ? Two individuals are drowning in the water; you exert all your power to save them, but fail. Can you call yourself the saviour of those two men, from temporal death? Impossible. In order. for Christ to be called the Saviour of the world, he must save the world; otherwise, there is not a shadow of propriety in giving him t that name. And John says, "We have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, "" "We know, indeed, that this is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world."

In our next, we will conclude this subject, and trust we shall do it to the satisfaction of our readers.

SERMON V.

SALVATION BY FAITH.

[Concluded.]

We now resume the argument in reference to Christ the Saviour of men, as we proposed in our last. We here inquire of the objector,-do you then grant that he is the Saviour of all men,—the Saviour of the world, as the Scriptures declare? If so, we assure you that he will save the number of whom he is declared to be the Saviour. But, replies the objector, he is not the Saviour of any man till he believes. We ask, till he believes what? Why, replies the objector, till he believes that Christ is his Saviour, if he believes so, it will be so. Let us understand this ;— you say he is not the Saviour of an unbeliever; still he must believe that he is, and that will make him so. Then he must first believe a lie and that will create a truth. This is (as Paul says) "turning the truth of God into a lie." But let us notice the record. "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." Do you grant, that God has given eternal life in Christ to every man? No, says the objector. Very well, then they cannot be called upon to believe it. Finally, says the objector, grant that he has.

This being granted, we would ask, whether they will not come in possession of it, if God's promise stands? Certainly. But, replies the objector, it is not theirs, till they believe. Then the record is not true till they believe it; because, on this principle, they must first believe, that they have eternal life in Christ before it exists, and believing this lie will create it.

But, replies the objector, it is impossible that any man has eternal life given him in Christ, till he believes. We then ask, what truth do you wish him to believe, so that he may obtain this eternal life? The fact is, there is none. He must believe this truth, itself, because it is the record; but this, you have taken from him. You cannot call upon a man to believe, till you admit the existence of that very truth you wish him to believe. In order fully to expose the inconsistency of this conditional salvation, we will introduce an example. Suppose a father tell his servant, I have a son in London, nineteen years of age, who is in poverty and distress. I have given him in my will five thousand dollars, and I promise that it shall be put into his possession in two years. It is recorded, and that record is true. Go, my servant, and proclaim to him these glad tidings of great joy, and call upon him to believe, so that he may enjoy a salvation by faith during those two years of suspense, and be made happy, even

amidst his wants, by looking forward to the day when it shall be put into his possession.

The servant sets out on his mission, and honestly believes that he understands his errand. Being arrived, he addresses him as follows, Son, your father is very rich, and he has not willed you five thousand dollars, nor given it to you on record; and he never will, unless you will first believe that he has. But, replies the son, according to your message, if I should believe that he has given me five thousand dollars, I should believe a lie. Let my father first give the money, deposit it in some bank, send me evidence of the fact, and with joy I will believe him. Well, replies the servant, you are a disobedient, stubborn unbeliever! because, if you would only believe so, it would be so, and you would have the money in two years.

You perceive, dear reader, that this servant has presented no truth for this son to believe. He wishes to give him the impression, that the obtaining of this fortune depends on his believing, and not on the testament record, and faithfulness of his father. In fact, he denies the existence of the father's will, and the record, and requires the son to believe a lie so as to create the truth. The servant does not understand his message, and the son does not know on what certainty to rest for the money.