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then we are commanded to love and forgive all med. Now who can believe that God has commanded us to forgive those whom he will not forgive; to pardon those whom he will not pardon; to do good to those whom he has designed for endless anguish? The Lord does not command us to be better than himself, and as he has commanded us to forgive all men, it is clear from hence that he will forgive all men.

8. We do not believe that punishment will be without end; because sin is only a finite evil.-That sin is not infinite, appears from numerous considerations, among which are the following. 1. The turpitude of sin takes its rise from the knowledge of the offender. The same act is more or less heinous in proportion to the knowledge of the sinner. This is the dictate of common sense; and the scriptures assure us,* that the servant who knows his lord's will, and commits things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with many stripes, while the servant who knows not, and commits things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For where much is given, much will be required, and where less is given, less will be required. It is plain, therefore, that the degrees of guilt will be in proportion to the knowledge of the offender. Now in order to make the turpitude of sin infinite, we must admit what we know to be impossible, that the sinner possesses infinite knowledge. It is a law through all nature that like produces like. Every effect must be in ratio to its cause. And as the creature is finite, it is evident to demonstration that all his acts are finite also. 2. Sin must be finite, because there are degrees of sin. If sin is infinite, there can be no degree of sin; no difference between any two actions. The most trifling offence is as heinous as the most atrocious deed; for no sin can be more than infinite. But reason and scripture both teach us that there are de

* Luke xii. 47, 48.

grees of iniquity, and hence it follows that sin is finite. 3. It is evident that sin is not infinite; because it is contrasted with the virtue which is never allowed to be infinite. 4. It appears, from the nature of the atonement, that sin is only finite. It is worthy of remark that most of those who contend for the infinity of sin, believe in a vicarious atonement, that is, that the punishment due to our sins, was suffered by Jesus Christ. And tho they maintain that Christ was equal to the Father, and was the Supreme God, they maintain also that he possessed a nature which was strictly human, and this was the only part which suffered on the cross. Now as the human, that is, the finite nature of Christ, and that only suffered, it is certain that the atonement must be finite. But they assert that the atonement is sufficient for ten thousand sins; hence sin must be finite also.

The scriptures, instead of supporting the notion that sin is infinite, go directly to oppose it. "Where sin abounded," says St. Paul, "grace did much more abound."* Since grace abounds much more than sin, sin must be limited and not infinite. If sin were infinite, it would deserve an endless punishment; but as it is only finite, it deserves only a limited punishment. Thus is the very foundation of endless misery swept away in a moment. The idea that sin is infinite in the boundless sense of that term, is not even hinted at in the scriptures.

But perhaps the opposer will wish to assert, that Eliphaz declares the iniquity of Job to be infinite. To this we reply the word infinite is used in two different senses in scripture and in common discourse. Sometimes it means unbounded, and sometimes it is used in a relative sense, and signifies great, large, or numerous. The word infinite occurs, I believe, but three times‡ in

*Rom. v. 20.

Psalm cxlvii. 5. Nah, iii. 9.

† Job xxii. 5. Job xxii. 5.

the Bible. Once it is applied to the understanding of God, once to the strength of a city, and once to iniquity. When applied to the city, it is, of course used in a limited sense; and when applied to iniquity, is manifestly used in the same manner. Eliphaz meant to represent Job's sins great and numerous; and therefore he asks, "Is not thy wickedness great, and thine iniquities infinite?" It appears that the word infinite is here. applied, not to the magnitude, but to the number of offences; for he proceeds in the following verses to give a catalogue of Job's sins. Since the term in question is applied to the number of sins, it must be used in a comparative sense; for no one will pretend that Job's sins were strictly innumerable. But if the objector still insist that Eliphaz meant to represent that Job's sins were boundless in malignity, I will answer with Job, "He is a forger of lies,"* and with God, "He has not spoken right."t [To be continued.]

For the Repository.

TO THE REV. SAMUEL C. LOVELAND.

Dear Sir,

I perceive, by the Repository for April, present, that my last communication to you is laid over, to be disposed of by the new Editor. As my avocations are such that I may not be able, conveniently, to continue our correspondence beyond the present communication, I request that this may be inserted in lieu of the former.

I am not satisfied on a material point, which I consider necessary to establish the doctrine of punishment, or, if you please, rewards and punishment, in a spiritual state. In order to establish that doctrine, it appears to me to be necessary, first of all, to prove the existence of individual spirits, in another state, in some condition + Job xlii. 7,

*Job xiii. 4.

8.

besides that of what is called in scripture the spiritual body. You have suggested, in the course of our controversy, that I forget that man has a spirit in him, when I contend that, in his natural state, he is dust. But, Sir, I was not unmindful of this circumstance. I acknowledge that man has a spirit in him, and that this spirit, on the dissolution of the body, returns to God who gave it. But the question is, Does this spirit remain an individual being? Where is the scripture to prove that such is the case? The same writer who says, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it," says also, "That which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath, [spirit] so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast. All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." (Eccle. iii. 19, 20.) I do not know of a single syllable of scripture to prove any thing about the spirit of man, after dissolution, but the above; and, if that proves the existence of man in the form of an individual spirit, it equally proves the existence of beasts in that form. Should it be contended, that the interrogation which follows the above quotation, proves that the spirit of a man goeth upward, and that of a beast downward, (which I think it does not, but the reverse) still it as much proves the individuality of the spirit of a beast, as of that of a man, after death. Therefore in my view, there is an entire want of any scriptural proof of the existence of human spirits, without bodies, after death. It is on this ground that I deny that there is any existence at all, for mankind, but either in a natural or spiritual body; and I must adhere to this position, and, of course, to the sentiment that there is no sin and punishment but in this world, until it is proved that there may be sin and punishment

in the state of spiritual, incorruptible, heavenly, and glorious bodies. Should you hit upon any thing which may seem to you to disprove my premises, I should be happy to see it; but, for the reason given above, it is not probable I shall reply to it. I will promise, however, to acknowledge it to you if your proof should be satisfactory to me. J. BROOKS.

Bernardston, May 2, 1825.

QUERIES CONCERNING GOD'S DECREE.

1. Is not God's decree in conformity with his will ? 2. Is not God's will his law?

3. Is not sin a transgression of the law?

4. If God has decreed that some men shall sin and suffer eternally, would they not sin if they should strive to avoid sinning and suffering eternally?

5. If God has not decreed that all men should be saved, how can any be guilty of sin ?

If the reader is satisfied that God's decree is his law, (and I see not how it can be otherwise) he must perceive, at once, that all sin consists in opposition to the decree; and therefore he must be satisfied that God must have decreed that every man should be saved (from sin), or else it would be no sin to live in that which is called sin. The Westminster Catechism says, "God foreordained whatsoever comes to pass." If he did, there comes to pass no sin; at least this is the case if men knew that God hath so ordained. God's law, or decree, or foreordination, must be known in order to be sinfully opposed, or violated; for where no law is, there is no transgression; and there is no law where no law is known. I maintain that all the decree, or law, or foreordination of God, that we know, is, "that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ." There-

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