Will of the Omnipotent Creator, is not perfectly accomplished in all possible cases!

The Elder's critical efforts have totally failed, on this subject. They serve but to blind and mislead those who place the slightest confidence in them. The argument stands untouched, in all its irresistible strength. It is God's Will-his PURPOSE his DETERMINATION—that all men shall be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth! Christ came to do this Will, and finish this work-"Lo! I come to DO thy Will, O God." (Heb. x. 9.) "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to DO the Will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."-(John iv. 34.) No power in earth or heaven can prevent the accomplishment of this Will. "He doeth according to his Will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou ?"-(Dan. iv. 35.) The argument is complete. It establishes the affirmative of the question beyond a doubt.

I now proceed to my Thirteenth Argument, drawn from

THE MISSION OF CHRIST.

PROPOSITION.-1. The work which God gave his Son to accomplish, was the salvation of all mankind. 2. Christ will complete the work he undertook to per

form.

PROOF.-1. The work which God gave his Son to accomplish, was the salvation of all mankind. That there was some clearly defined and distinct Work committed to Christ, by the Father, in his Mediatorial Mission, is self-evident. Neither an intelligent God, nor an intelligent Savior, could act in any case, without a motive, nor without a plan. It cannot be supposed that Jesus was ignorant, either of the nature, or the extent, of the work he came to do. He could not have come to make an effort, knowing nothing of the character or limit of his enterprise, or of the degree of success that awaited him. That Christ took upon himself a specific work, which he well understood, is evident from his description of the object of his mission, as well as the declarations of his Apostles. Listen to Christ's own testimony: "I came not to judge "The Son the world, but to SAVE the world."--(John xii. 47.) of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."-(Luke xix. 10.) "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."-(John iii. 17.) John the Baptist entertained the same views of the nature and extent of Christ's work: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."-(John i. 29.)

The testimony of the Apostles on this subject, agrees perfectly with that already given. "We have seen, and do TESTIFY, that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world."-(1 John iv. 14.) "For it pleased the Father, that in him [Christ] should all fulness dwell: And having made peace through the blood of

his cross, by him to reconcile ALL THINGS unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."-(Colos. i. 19, 20.) "All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit: That God was in Christ, reconciling THE WORLD unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." -(2 Cor. v. 18, 19,) Not reconciling God unto the world, as the Methodist creed has it!*

From this testimony we learn the nature and extent of the work Christ took upon himself to perform. It was to take away the Sin of the world--to reconcile all men to God-to save the entire race of man! Mark; the testimony is not that Christ came to make an effort to take away the Sin of the World-to try to reconcile all to God-to make it possible for all to be saved-to make offers of salvation to the world. But the language is positive-he came actually to reconcile and save all men!!

2. Christ will COMPLETE the Work he undertook to perform. Is it really necessary in the presence of this enlightened audience, to enter into an argument to sustain this proposition? Is it not necessary, as one of the first things requisite to a correct view of Christ, and to cherishing a true Gospel faith, to believe him a perfect Savior?-i. e., one perfectly ABLE to perform the work he came to do?

If Christ does not succeed in saving all men- the work his Father gave him to do-it will be either because he cannot do it, or will not do it. This position is frequently presented in a concise form, as follows:-Jesus either-1. CAN save all men, but WILL NOT! which is Calvinism. Or, 2. He WOULD save all, but CANNOT! which is Arminianism. Or, 3. He CAN and WILL save all!! which is Universalism! The first destroys the GOODNESS of the Savior-the second robs him of his POWER-the third ascribes to him all goodness and power, and makes him a PERFECT Redeemer; abundantly competent to the work he came to do, and infinitely worthy of the God who sent him to complete it. The audience must take one of these three propositions. As beings accountable to God for the right exercise of their reason, which will they adopt?

My opponent cannot place himself on the first proposition, for that would drive him to Calvinistic grounds. He has assured us he is not a Calvinist, although we have repeatedly seen he has taken positions which are nothing less than genuine Calvinism. He is compelled to take the second proposition-that Jesus would save all men, but cannot. This makes him an imperfect Savior.

* Professor Stuart says in regard to such phrases as "creatures in heaven, and on earth," and "things in heaven and earth"-"Things in heaven, earth, and under the earth, is a common periphrasis of the Hebrew and New Testament writers, for the Universe."-Letters to Channing.

It robs him of his power, and leaves him weak and inefficienta very good Redeemer so far as his desire extends; but exceedingly feeble in respect to means and resources to perform his much needed work! It represents him as having undertaken what is beyond his ability. He has announced before all Heaven and Earth, that he came to accomplish an enterprise, which, it turns out, according to my friend's representation, was entirely beyond his reach and his means! Did he know he could not save all, before he commenced the work? He must have foreseen this! If he will thus fail, then why announce that he came to do it? It is a FALSE PRETENCE to declare we are going to do a thing we cannot!! I beg all to remember that the advocates of endless punishment virtually put this FALSE PRETENCE in the mouth of Jesus.

Again: Did God know that Christ cannot save all? He must have foreseen this, if such is the fact. Then why did he send him to save all? Why send his Son to accomplish an enterprize that he KNEW, and the Son KNEW, never could be accomplished!! On the other hand, did God really believe-did Christ actually expect that he would succeed in saving all men? Then, if all are not finally saved, both were MISTAKEN!! both DISAPPOINTED!!! Yes! according to the Methodist doctrine, the great Jehovah, and Jesus who stands at his Right Hand, both were deceived and deluded-both led astray with the vain expectation that Christ could restore a lapsed world to holiness and heaven, when he could not!! How can those who entertain this belief, have any enlightened faith or confidence in God or in Christ!!

If the Redeemer is not able to accomplish for the human race, all that he came to do, then he is subject to his own keen censure, in his language respecting the householder: "Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it, begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."-(Luke xiv. 28-30.) I maintain that the folly and short-sightednes of this builder, is charged upon Christ, by those who declare that he will not succeed in saving all men, the enterprize he undertook to complete. According to this doctrine, he commenced a work without counting the cost! He laid the foundation"-i. e., he entered the world, labored, bled and died--but is not able to finish the work! A work too,

infinitely more important than building a tower-even the eternal salvation of countless multitudes of souls!! Suppose the language of the Savior should be paraphrased as follows: "What Savior, intending to reconcile the world to God, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient power and resources to finish such a work? Lest haply after he hath commenced it, and is not able to finish it, all the angels who beheld

the proceeding, would cry out in amazement, this Redeemer began the work of saving the world, and was not able to finish it!!" Who make such a paraphrase applicable to Jesus of Nazareth? I assert emphatically, it is my opponent, and that class who insist that he CANNOT save the world he came to save!! I go farther, and insist that all such doubters, can entertain no true gospel FAITH in Jesus. They cannot in any proper sense, be called believers in Christ. The first thing requisite to a genuine belief in the Redeemer, is, that he possesses the power to fulfil all his functions as Savior of the world!!

I lay it down as one of the most plain and self-evident truths of the gospel, that Jesus is abundantly ABLE to complete the work his Father gave him to do-to reconcile and save all mankind. The scriptures declare that Jesus shall "see of the travail of his soul, and shall be SATISFIED."-(Isa. liii. 11.) How can this be truly said of Christ, if he does not succeed in saving all he came to save? What! blessed Redeemer! Thou, so full of love and compassion for fallen man, as to shed thy blood for all -Thou who came to lead all earth's children back to the Throne of their Father and thy Father-Thou SATISFIED, with rescuing here and there, ONE! while the great mass for whom thy blood flowed, are deluded and led down to eternal blasphemy and woe, by the Great Adversary of man!! SATISFIED with such an issue of the sublime and glorious work thou didst undertake!!! Impossible! Impossible!!

in me.

The Reign of Christ is not confined to this life. It but commences here. It is continued in the next world. Whatever is not completed here, he will finish hereafter. There are many passages which might be quoted, showing that Christ's Mediatorial kingdom extends to the future existence, and that he reigns over the souls of men who enter there, and will continue that reign, until his work is completed, and all men are reconciled to God. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."-(John xiv. 1-3.) "The God of our Fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." (Acts. v. 30, 31.) "When he [Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." "He [Christ] that descended, is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill [plerose-fulfill, complete] all things."-(Eph. iv. 8-10) -i. e., fulfil and complete the work the Father had given him to accomplish. "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death.

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[He must reign until he has destroyed all enmity, sin and death, from the hearts of the whole race of man, whom he was sent to save.] And when all things shall be subdued unto him, [all human souls brought to love and obey Christ and God,] then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be ALL in ALL!"-(1 Cor. xv. 25-28.) Though the souls of blinded and deluded men, should pass from this life in a sinful condition, yet Christ will still continue his dominion over them, until they become subdued, melted, purified, and made fit for the residence of God's spirit! How valuable, how great, how glorious, the work of the Redeemer! How delightful to every christian heart, the belief that he will succeed in finishing it even upon the last sinful wanderer of Adam's race!

The fact that Christ took such a work upon himself, as the salvation of all men, is of itself, proof that he has ample power to finish it. Why should he declare he came to save all, and commence the work, unless he KNEW he had abundant means to accomplish it? The scriptures give us the assurance that Jesus has been invested with all power to save every being he came to save. "All power is given unto me, in heaven and in earth.”— (Matt. xxviii. 18.) "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself."-(2 Cor. v. 19.) "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."-(John iv. 34.) "Who [Christ,] shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue ALL THINGS unto himself."-(Philip. iii. 21.)

Here is an amplitude of power at the command of Christ. He came to save all men-he desires to save all-he has power enough to save all! How can it be said, he will not do it? Who, with the least respect for the scriptures, for Christ, for God, will in the face of all this overwhelming testimony, still declare that Christ shall fail in his great enterprize-that he will not save all he came to save-all for whom he tasted death! Who DARE assert that the White Banner of the Cross shall be trampled into the dust, by the Arch-Enemy of man, and the Son of God-yea, God himself-driven from the field, with but a miserable remnant of that vast race of man he purposed to save. Dr. Adam Clarke could not believe this. "Though all earth and hell should join to hinder the accomplishment of the great designs of the Most High, yet it shall be all in vain !!"--(Dr. Clarke on Matt. v. 18.) We have seen God's design respecting man was, that all should be reconciled to himself, through Christ-(see Colos. i. 19, 20.) According to Dr. Clarke, earth and hell shall strive in vain to prevent the accomplishment of this great design!! And who will dispute a declaration so self-evident?