confessing faith, the facts of which he thus conceives, his spirit comes into sympathy with the Spirit of truth; they coalesce and become one. That which was before an unperceived influence, present only as it were to the surface of his spirit, and repelled by unbelief as oil is repelled by water, now enters into his consciousness; he feels that Christ is in him, with the power of the resurrection, the victory over sin and death, the hope of glory.

If the inquirer asks, How may I know that I shall hold fast the profes sion I have made ?-our answer is, Your security, like your faith, though it depends subordinately on your own will, is nevertheless the gift of God.' The same power that first disposed you to believe, must strengthen, settle, and establish' you in the faith. You have good right to hope this will be done, from the consideration suggested by Paul-If when we were enemies we were reconciled, . . . much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved.' Rom. 4: 10. If God has laid hold of us, will he not secure us? Know ye not,' says the apostle, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are? (Rom. 6: 16;) i. e., the first act of yielding, places us permanently under the power of him to whom we yield. He that hath begun a good work in us, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.' Phil. 1: 6.

To those who neglect or reject the offer of salvation from sin, we must address a word of warning. Though the atonement has purchased forgiveness and spiritual grace for all, it must be remembered that this forgiveness and grace, once decisively and deliberately refused, is not proffered the second time. If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation that shall devour the adver saries.' Heb. 10: 26, 27. Sins are of two kinds, viz: sins against the law, (written or unwritten,) and sins against the truth and grace of the gospel. Sins against the law, i. e. all sins that are committed previous to the knowledge of the gospel, are provided for by the atonement, and will exclude no one from salvation. But the second growth of sins-those which are committed in full view of the provisions of the gospel, and under its spiritual influences those which tread the Son of God under foot, and do despite unto the Spirit of grace,'-can never be expiated. If the sanctifying power of the sacrifice of the Son of God has tried its strength upon a sinner's heart in vain, that sinner has passed beyond the possibility of salvation; for all subsequent influences must be weaker than those which have already failed. Mere disease may admit hope; but discase that has withstood the power of appropriate medicine is given up as incurable. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and [Christ] shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin which is not unto death.' 1 John 5: 16, 17. Christ, in his dying intercession, did not pray for the sin that is unto death.' Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' Here is the true limitation of the atonement. Men may even crucify the Son of God in ignorance, and yet be forgiven. Paul persecuted Christ in his members with threatening and

slaughter,' and yet he found mercy, because he did it ignorantly in unbelief. 1 Tim. 1: 13. But when sinners, once forgiven by the atonement, 'crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame,' knowing what they do, their sin is no longer human, but diabolical-they have passed beyond the precincts of the atonement. We repeat it therefore, let those who hear the tidings of God's mercy with indifference, bear in mind that, if he is now reconciled to them as men, that are ignorant and out of the way,' he will not be reconciled to them when they become devils, by wilful, deliberate rejection of the proffers of his grace. Let them remember that though the tent of salvation is spread over the whole world, unbelief can dig out of that tent into hell.

6

That no one may mistake the views presented in this article for Antinomianism, we will add in conclusion, that we believe a day of judgment is coming, in which God will literally reward every man according to his WORKS; that it is therefore absolutely necessary, in order that men may be saved, that they should be put in the way of doing good works. In fact we carry our estimation of good works so far, that we fully believe that every man who comes to the judgment with no better works than those described in the seventh chapter of Romans, will be damned. We therefore present this gospel of faith, not as an easy method of escaping the necessity of works, but as the only and the sure foundation of such works as will survive the fire of judgment. We believe the words of Christ-As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.'

§ 23. PERFECTIONISM.

PERCEIVING nothing in the sound or form of the word Perfectionist, essentially odious, and assuredly anticipating the time of its redemption from infamy, we will take the liberty to explain the meaning of it, as used by those who consent to bear it.

We will not attempt to state what a Perfectionist is not;-for this would require us to dissect and disclaim all the varying and incongruous images of perfection conjured up by the word in the various fancies of men, from a picture of a monk in sackcloth and ashes, to that of a seraph with six wings. It it is sufficient to say, that in the minds of those who consent to bear the name, so far as we know, perfection is predicated of only a single attribute, viz., holiness; and of that only in a limited sense. We find in the Bible, as well as in the nature of the case, three modifications of perfect holiness:perfection of obedience; perfection of security of obedience; and perfection of holiness by experience or suffering. These distinctions may be easily

understood by a simple illustration. The success of a general on a battlefield, may be perfect in a threefold manner. 1. He may be simply successful at the outset. 2. He may be successful at the outset, with an assurance of final victory. 3. He may be successful by the actual accomplishment of the victory.

1. The holiness of Adam, and of the angels that left their first estate, was perfect, considered simply as obedience to law, but destitute of prospective security, as was proved by their apostacy.

2. The holiness of Christ, the second Adam, was perfect, both as present obedience to law, and as prospectively secure. Yet in another sense it was imperfect, during his residence on earth. For though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.'For it became him, by whom are all things, and for whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.' Previous to his crucifixion, this captain of our salvation was perfectly successful in his conflict with sin, both presently and prospectively; yet the battle was before him. So Paul, while counting all things but loss, that he might overcome death by knowing the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, denied that he had already attained the victory, or was already perfect; and yet in the next breath, falling back upon an inferior meaning of the word, he could say, 'Let us therefore, as many as be perfect be thus minded.'

3. The present holiness of Christ, on the throne of his glory, and of those who, having overcome by his blood, have attained that likeness of his resurrection toward which Paul was urging his way, is perfected in the highest sense. The battle is fought; the victory won; their holiness is perfect as obedience-perfect in security-and perfect by victory over suffering. Perfectionists, then, if they may be allowed to designate the place which they suppose they hold on the scale of perfection, universally disclaim the profes sion of attainments above those of the suffering Son of God. They covet not the premature glory of victory before battle. They stand with Paul on the middle ground, between the perfection of Adam and of Christ, saved from sin-eternally saved-yet saved by hope, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of their bodies.'

We acknowledge that the phrase perfect holiness is almost a solecism in the first of the three senses above mentioned; for any thing short of perfect present obedience, is perfect disobedience; and we might as well speak of the imperfect success of a general who never began to conquer, as to speak of the imperfect holiness of one who has not yet obeyed God. The truth is too simple to need expansion, that every individual action is either wholly sinful or wholly righteous; and that every being in the universe, at any giv en time, is either entirely wicked or entirely holy, i. e. either conformed to law or not conformed to law: yet the prevailing modes of thought and speech force us to recognize a quality of action and character, called imperfect holiness, which takes rank somewhere indefinitely below what may seem the lowest possible or conceivable modification of holiness. So that, with refer

ence to this, we must name mere holiness, perfect holiness-consigning the censure due to the impropriety of our language, to those who maintain the possibility of serving God and mammom, i. e. of being holy and sinful, at the same time. A profession, then, of perfect holiness, thus understood, is in truth merely a profession of holiness, without which, confessedly, none can claim the name of sons or servants of God; and instead of deserving the charge of arrogance, should rather be censured, if at all, for conveying, in the language of it, the implication that men may be less than perfectly holy, and yet not perfectly sinful. But we take higher ground. The first Adam was holy; the second Adam was, in a more proper sense, perfectly holy— his holiness was secure. The gospel platform is as much above the ground of mere holiness, as a deed in fee simple is above mere possession.

As obedience is the test of all holiness, so we believe, under the gospel, perpetuity of obedience is the test of all holiness. Here we may speak, without solecism, of perfect holiness; and here we are exposed to a more plausible charge of arrogance. Let us examine the ground of this charge. Without entering the wide field of scripture argument, it is sufficient for our purpose to notice a single fact in relation to the views of those who most freely stigmatize the supposed self-righteousness of Perfectionists. These very persons universally and confessedly expect, at death, to become Perfectionists, and that not merely of the second, but of the third degree in other words, while earthly Pefectionists claim only secure deliverance from sin, their accusers anticipate, within a brief space, secure deliverance from sin and all evil. What is the consideration which exempts their anticipation from the charge of self-righteous presumption, and yet leaves the burden upon our claim? Their answer assuredly must be- We anticipate, at death, secure redemption from sin and evil, as the gift of the grace of God.' But the self-same apology relieves our claim. We receive present redemption from sin as the gift of the grace of God; we only enter, by a new and living way,' upon the possession of a portion of that gratuitous inheritance which they expect to receive at death. We must be permitted, then, to say boldly, that the same rule which allows men to hope for heaven without presumption, allows us to receive heaven here without self-righteousness: and the charge of arrogance is due to those who hope for the gift, while they daily displease the Giver. The same Christ who will be the believer's por tion in heaven, is our righteousness and sanctification here. While, therefore, we shrink not from the odium connected with the name Perfectionist, we cannot despair of disabusing all honest men, ere long, of a portion of their prejudices against it, by convincing them that we join in the testimony of our living head, that there is none good but one, that is God,' and believe that by the energy of his goodness alone we are delivered from sin.

The standard by which every man judges of the nature of true humility, and of its opposite, spiritual pride, is determined by the answer which his heart gives to the question- Who is the author of righteousness? If the credit of holiness is due to him who professes it, then his profession exalts himself at the expense of God, and justly exposes him to the charge of spiritual arrogance, however high or low may be his claim. But if God

alone is acknowledged as the author of righteousness, a profession of holiness is only the acknowledgment of a gift-and not only consistent with, but necessary to, the exercise of true humility. The man who has no conception of any righteousness other than his own, may well count the confession of imperfection-genuine modesty. From such we expect no mercy. But if there are any who ascribe all righteousness to God, we hope to convince them that the arrogance which boasts of the Lord our righteousness' is the perfection of humility; and that the profession of humility which delights in the confession of sin and in the expectation of a continued commission of it, is only a modest way of robbing Christ of the crown of his glory.

Is it imagined that the man to whom God in truth has given perfect holiness, has done some great thing? He has done nothing. The great achievement of his will which, be it remembered, the grace of God has secured, is the cessation from his own works, and the commencement of an everlasting repose on the energy of the living God, as the basis and hope of his righteousness. He has simply died-and with his dying breath bequeathed his body, soul and spirit to his Maker, rolling the responsibility of his future and eternal obedience upon the everlasting arm.

We believe it is incomparably easier to receive deliverance from all sins, than to conquer one. Paul clearly presents the principle in Rom. 1: 21-32, which accounts for the difficulty men find in obtaining freedom from sin.Because they refuse to glorify God, he gives them up to vile affections. The affections of men are rightfully under the perfect control of God. When he is dethroned, he abandons his kingdom, and anarchy ensues; every effort to quell the rebellion of desires, which falls short of a reinstatement of God in his sovereignty over the heart, must result in disheartening failure. But why should it be difficult for Him who 'stands at the door,' if his petition for entrance is heard, and his claim for dominion admitted, to restore peace and security to the ruined kingdom? Why should it be thought an incredible thing, that God should raise the dead? Pride, envy, anger, sensuality, &c., are but limbs of the tree of sin, the stock of which is that unbelief which rejects the righteousness of God. The man who commences the work of exterminating sin at the top of the tree, or among any of the branches, will soon be disheartened by the discovery that the branches he has once lopped off, soon grow again, or send their juice into other limbs. We say, therefore, it is easier to lav the ax at the root and fell the whole tree at once, than to exterminate effectually a single limb. In view of these considerations, though we object not to the name, Perfectionist-and though we verily believe and unblushingly maintain that we are free from sin-we beg to be relieved of the glory, and of the shame of the achievement; as we have been taught with the scourge, that the day has come when all the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone exalted.'