the sight of God, for the sake of what Christ has done and suffered in his behalf. This is gospel justification, which signifies, not as in legal phrase, "to find and declare one innocent," but to declare him, though guilty, wholly forgiven. Rom. 3: 24, 28; 4:5-8; 5: 1, 16-19; 8: 30; Acts 13: 38, 39; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Cor. 5: 19, 21; Gal. 2:16; 3: 11, 24; Phil. 3: 9; Tit. 3: 7.)

SECT. 8. Obedience.

It is the duty of all believers to render voluntary obedience to every command of God, from love to Him, as a motive; not as works of merit, or a means of justification, but as manifesting the work of the Spirit in regeneration; in which obedience and faith are so inseparably joined, that both must exist, or perish together. 1 Pet. 1: 2, 22; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; Rom. 3: 28; compare Jas. 2: 14—26; Gal. 5: 6, 22, 24; Phil. 2: 12, 13; Matt. 7: 25 — 27; 10: 41, 42; 11: 29; 12: 50; John 12:26; 15: 4-8, 10, 14.

SECT. 9. Sanctification.

Those who are born of God are further sanctified through obedience, and His paternal chastisements, applied by the Spirit, by which the influence of sin over the soul and body is destroyed, the several lusts are weakened and subdued, and gracious affections are strengthened, so that by faithful efforts till death, and the constant supply of the spirit of Christ, the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. John 17: 17, 19; compare Heb. 13: 12; 1 Kings 8: 46; Eccl. 7: 20; Phil. 1: 6, 9; 1 Pet. 1: 22; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; 3: 18; Heb. 12: 11; Eph. 3: 16-19; 1 Thess. 3: 12, 13; 5: 23; 2 Thess. 2: 13; Ps. 17: 15; Prov. 4: 18; 1 John 3: 2, 3, 6, 8, 9; Jude 21 :

All who are regenerated by the Spirit, will persevere in obedience and holiness unto the end; for, being kept by the

mighty power of God, through faith unto salvation, nothing can separate them from His love. (Compare John 5: 24, with Matt. 10: 22; compare John 6: 37 with 15:6; compare 3: 15, 16, 18, 36, with 8: 31; 15:9; Rev. 2: 7, 11, 17; 3:5, 12, 21; 21: 7; See, John 10: 28-30; 17: 2, 3; 4: 14; 1 John 3:9; Rom. 8: 35-39; Phil. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1: 5.)

SECT. 11. Assurance.

A full assurance of personal interest in the grace and salvation of Christ is not always the immediate consequence of saving faith, yet as it is an inestimable blessing enjoyed by many, and as others may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereto, it is the duty of believers to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure, that their hearts may be enlarged with love and confidence, and strengthened to all holy obedience. (Compare Col. 2:2 with Heb. 10: 22, and 6:11; Rom. 5:2; 8:16; Job 19: 25; 2 Cor. 5:1; Eph. 3: 19; 2 Tim. 1: 12; 2 Pet. 1: 10; 1 John 2:3-5; 3:2, 14, 19; 4: 13, 18; 5: 10, 13.

SECT. 12. Election.

As God does, in fact, regenerate, justify, and save one, and not another, it is plain that He intended to do it, according to His gracious purpose, from all eternity; so that all who have ever been, or who will hereafter be, brought to exercise love, repentance, and faith, were from the beginning chosen in Him to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth; and in consequence of the everlasting love of God to them, through the great atonement, the Holy Spirit is sent down to effect the work of regeneration in their hearts, without whose influence none would ever repent or believe; and this election of grace is the foundation of christian assurance, and of perseverance in holiness. 2Thess. 2: 13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Eph. 1:3-6; compare John 17: 1, 2, 6, 9, with Is. 53: 10-12; Jer.

31:3; John 15: 16; Acts 2: 47; 13: 48; 17: 10; Rom. 8:28-30; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3: 3-7.)

SECT. 13. The Offers of Salvation.

Salvation is freely offered to all men in the Gospel; repentance and faith in Christ being the terms of reconciliation with God, by means of which men may be delivered from their lost state, and raised to everlasting life. Is. 55: 1,7; Ezek. 33: 11; Matt. 11:28; Mark 6:12; 16: 16; John 7:37; compare 5: 40; 20: 31; Acts 2:21; 3: 19; 10:43; 16:30, 31; 26: 20; Rom. 10: 8. 12; Rev. 21:6; 22: 17.)

CHAPTER IV.

THE FUTURE WORLD.

The death of the body is one of the consequences of sin, appointed to all men, as the dividing line between the present and the unseen world between the season of grace and that of justice between probationary and retributive existence; introducing the soul immediately into that state of joy or of sorrow, for which it is prepared by the actions of this life. Gen. 3: 19; Eccl. 12:7; Heb. 9:27; Matt. 13: 39, 49; Luke 16: 22 24.

All that science and philosophy can prove respecting death, is, that it interrups the present form of man's physical, organic existence. Setting scripture aside, the final destruction of the body could by no means be proved from any thing which is known of death, much less the extinction of the soul. But it is from the scriptures alone, that certain knowledge can be obtained of the condition of men after death.

SECT. 1. Resurrection.

1

At the end of the world all the dead will be raised by a special exertion of the power of God, with incorruptible, because spiritual, bodies, glorious like that of Christ. Thess. 4: 15-17; Job 19: 26, 27; Matt. 12: 26; John 5:28, 29; Acts 24: 15: 1 Cor. 15: passim; Phil. 3: 21.)

All things are possible with God. It is as reasonable to believe in the possibility of a resurrection as in the actual existence of men now, of the world, or of spiritual beings. It is easy to see that the same Power who gave them one form of existence, can also give them another. It is true in science that no particle of matter is annihilated; the account of the creation, and all miracles, show that changes in matter entirely beyond the power and the comprehension of men, are produced by the immediate exertion of the will of God. Gen. 1: 3, 11, &c., John 2: 9. So in the operations of nature, the kernel of wheat dies, and from its death a plant springs up to life; the insect produces an egg, the egg becomes a caterpillar, the caterpillar a chrysalis, and the chrysalis an insect. None but Almighty Power could do this; the same power can raise the dead, or change a natural to a spiritual body can cause this mortal to put on immortality.

When all the dead shall have been raised, and the living changed, they will be brought before the judgment seat of Christ, who will declare on each and every individual of the human race, a sentence according to his character and actions in this world, which will then be consumed by fire. 1 Cor. 15: 51; Eccl. 12: 14; Matt. 12: 36, 37; 25: 31 46; Acts 17: 31; Rom. 2: 12, 16; 14: 10, 12; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Pet. 3: 7, 10-12; Rev. 20: 12, 13.)

Although the characters of all men are always perfectly known to God, and although at death their state is unchange

ably fixed, yet the scriptures speak of the judgment as the last day, in which God will bring the affairs of this world to a close, exhibit the righteousness of his dealings with his creatures by making known to men and to angels his decisions, and by making a discovery of men's true characters to one another, and to the universe.

The scriptures also inform us that a full and final separation from the wicked will take place at the last judgment. Matt. 25: 31-46. This truth is illustrated by the treatment of the fallen angels. (2 Peter 2: 4.

SECT. 3. Future State of the Righteous.

The saints, or believers in Christ, will be received into heaven, where they will dwell forever, freed from all sin, pain, sorrow, and death; being perfectly holy and happy in the presence of God, and the society of holy beings. Ps. 16:11; 17: 15; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25: 34, 46; John 14:2, 3; 17: 24; 2 Cor. 5: 1; 1 Thess. 4: 17; Rev. 7: 15-17.)

Of the nature, the certainty, and the eternity of the future happiness of the righteous, several views may be taken. As, 1. They are far more happy in the present life, with all their trials, persecutions, and self-denials, than the unconverted. 2. Their happiness is, from its nature, durable; while the pleasures of sin are transient. 3. The certainty of it rests on the veracity of God, who cannot lie. 4. The immensity of it is evident from the striking figures in which the scriptures speak of it, and from the fact that they declare it cannot be described in human language, nor conceived of by men. 5. The sufferings and death of the Son of God to procure it, prove the certainty, and the inconceivable greatness of the eternal bliss of the redeemed.

The language of the scriptures authorizes the belief that the number who will enjoy the bliss of heaven, surpasses human power to compute. What proportion it will bear to the number who will be lost, we are not authorized to inquire. (Luke 13: 23-30.)