•a *a "nvws nhop dOHsm
A CORDIAL
And Dispassionate Discussion
ON
PREDESTINATION:
Its Scriptural Import.
BY
BISHOP JOHN B. SMALL, D. D.,
AUTHOR OF
"Practical and Exegetical Pulpiteer," "Code on Discipline" of
A. M. E, Zion Church, "Rosena," "Eumesa and Rosena,"
"The Human Heart Illustrated, &c.
WITH INTRODUCTION
By E. MOORE, Ph D., M. D.,
ProfessoT Ancient Languaoes and Literature, Resident Physician,
Livingstone College,
SALISBURY, N. C.
YORK, PA.
DISPATCH PUBLISHING CO.
1901
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1901, by
BISHOP JOHN B. SMALL,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
All Power And Wisdom,. 98
Another Misconception,. 112
Arminianism vs. Calvinism,. 161
Author vs. Expositor, 195
Calvin's Coadjutors, Zanchius And Piscator, 202
Calvin's Definition 140
Calvin Disagrees With Scripture, 140
Calvinistic Predestination, 124
Can Not Reasonably Be Applied To Predestination,. 154
Cause Of Error, 142
Central Point Of Predestination, 208
Christ's Love For Children—Cause Of, 180
Christ The Central Figure,. „ 37
Christ The Central Point, 219
Christ The Predestined Source, 42
Children In The Term Of Salvation,. 182
Children's Salvation, 184
Children—Their Salvation, 175
Conclusion, 229
Disagreement, 158
Election 29
Election And Selection,. 64
Example, 135
Falling Away,. 72
Five Foolish Virgins, 83
Free Grace, I1*8
God Explains Himself Better Than Another, 199
God Falsely Accused, 94
God Has No Desire In Man's Destruction, 190
God Never Pretends,. 107
God's Work Above Reasonable Criticism, 145
Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,. 57
How The Situation Is Made To Appear,. 173
CONTENTS.
page
lq
Illustrations—Scripture Interprets Itself,
Individual Efforts In Election,
qc
Knowledge For Acts—Misunderstood,.
Knowledge—Not Acts,
Learning And Experience Do Not Prevent Serious Errors,
Lives Materially Depend On Actions, 11'
Man And God Separate And Distinct,
Man Created For Happiness, 9
No Reasonable Ground To Questioners,. ^
Other Scripture On Predestination, 33
Pharaoh An Example,. 55
Pharaoh Sowed and Reaped, 63
Practical Review Of Calvin's Argument, 134
Predestination, 30
Predestination—Definition, 21
Review, 208
Scriptural View Of Predestination, 24
Scripture Interprets Itself,. 9
Scripture Peculiarities, 7
Scripture Proofs, 211
fc>ynod Of Dort,_ 203
The Kernel, Not The Shell, 16
The Nature Of Scriptural Predestination,. 31
The Object Of Revelation,. 46
The Used Talents An Illustration Of Individual Efforts, 150
The Work Of Eternal Wisdom, 222
Things To Be Noted, 39
What God Can Not Do, 106
What Predestination Can Not Mean, 106
Will Power—Its Work, SO
INTRODUCTION.
From hours already crowded with a multipli¬
city of professional duties, I snatch a few min¬
utes to write a short introduction to Predestina¬
tion—Its True Import; by Bishop J. B. Small,
A. M., D. D., of the A. M. E. Zion Church.
The name of Bishop Small is itself a guaranty
of the soundness of logic and the excellence of
the presentation of this, the latest production of
his richly endowed and highly cultured mind.
In this book, the author discusses a Scriptural
doctrine which has been the subject of a stub¬
born controversy for centuries. But to any that
might at a mere glance of the subject turn
away from the book without carefully and dili¬
gently reading the able and convincing argu¬
ments it contains, let me say he will miss an op¬
portunity of improving heart and mind, which,
when he comes to realize it fully, will be to him
a cause for many regrets.
It is not a rehash of an old argument, but the
Bishop, by learned, careful and laborious re-
ii
INTRODUCTION.
search, brings to us an argument of surprising
originality and freshness.
In anticipation of some inquiry as to when he
found out this new view of predestination the
author replies that he got this view by carefully
reading the scriptures for many years; and in
proof of his contention that salvation was fore¬
ordained or predestined in the person of Jesus
Christ, he quotes appropriate passages of scrip¬
ture; and the discussion of the points involved
is not only interesting and eloquent but to any
fair mind convincing, it seems to me.
In further argument of the point that Christ
is the predestined source, the Bishop exhibits
not only a thorough familiarity with the facts
and doctrines of the divine writings, but a re¬
markable insight into their true import which
seems to have been born of his reliance on God
for the presence of the Holy Spirit t© shed light
on his truth.
The arguments of the advocates of predestina¬
tion, as it is commonly understood, have never
been satisfactory. The trouble with them, as
is set forth in this book, is they confound God's
foreknowledge with his acts. Kindred errors
such as "Once in grace never out" and "What is
INTRODUCTION.
iii
to be will be" are handled with ungloved hands
as they deserve to be. The latter, that is "What
is to be will be" has militated against the gener¬
al progress of our people to an extent beyond
the power of human estimate.
It has been the cause of laziness, shiftlessness,
sloth, extravagance and poverty, it has been an
instigation to drunkenness, disgrace, sickness
and even death.
How any sensible persons could become the
dupes of this offshoot of predestination as gen¬
erally understood is difficult for us to under¬
stand; but that many have become its deluded
victims we are too well aware. Therefore we
are intensely and deeply interested in the wide
circulation of this book among our people in
order that they may diligently and prayerfully
read and digest its wholesome and helpful
truths.
We rejoice that we, in rapidly increasing num¬
bers are already beginning to see more c'early
some of the fallacies so detrimental to our prog¬
ress. And the numerous, sensible, and practical
illustrations with which the Bishop has inter¬
spersed his book will have a peculiar attraction
for all interested in this progress of which the
iv
INTRODUCTION.
individual, the church, and the world are so sad¬
ly in need.
Bishop Small is a man of learning: A man of
an enviable amount of that good practical com¬
mon sense in which too many of the molders of
thought and character are wofully deficient; but
above all he is a man of God, deeply yearning
and arduously laboring for the triumph of light
over darkness and truth over error.
This book is destined to do great good in en¬
lightening our minds and hearts on a great and
important, but intricate subject. It ought,
therefore, to be in the hands of every intelligent
layman, every theological student, and every
clergyman.
Finally, we hail with gladness this rich pro¬
duction of the Bishop's fertile brain, and earnest¬
ly pray that on its mission in the home, the
school, and the church, it may create broader and
more liberal views, deepen religious convictions,
and help in the production of grander and no¬
bler specimens of Christian manhood and wo¬
manhood. E. MOORE.
Livingstone College, Salisbury, N. C.,
May ii, 1901.
PREFACE.
We have always felt that more harm than good
is the general result of controversy, therefore we
have never been anxious to enter thereinto, not¬
withstanding we have often felt a desire to say
this or that can not be so, for these reasons—
Predestination is a controversal doctrine, and
we have no surety it will cease so to be for ages.
Our reasons for writing the present treatise are,
we have read the Bible through a goodly number
of times, and the more we peruse the sacred
pages of that Blessed Book, the more deeply we
are impressed with its divine origin, its harmony,
and its capability of explaining itself in all vital
matters—matters relating to salvation. That
though exponents do, they ought never to make
it appear that the Bible contradicts itself, for it
cannot: its divine insight is more than preventive
in that direction.
As to its sacredness, when it does not explain
itself, how cautious we should be in attempting an
explanation; how exponents of God's word should
labor—"Search the Scripture"—rather than
vi
PREFACE.
venture a doubtful interpretation. How matters
entailing ambiguity should be weighed and stud¬
ied in the light of other passages of Scripture,
and divine aid earnestly and humbly implored,
with a mind perfectly willing to yield, with
thanksgiving, to divine instructions; before com¬
ing to a decided conclusion.
The careful perusal of the Holy Scripture,
once a year, for the last thirty years has so deeply
impressed us with the illimitability of God's
goodness, tenderness, and mercies that we have
had cause to write on the margin of our Bible
special noticeable points; and became full to over¬
flowing with God's extended mercies until the
doctrine of Predestination passed before us in
transformation scene—a divine panorama.
We then proposed to give to the public a care¬
ful review of the subject, under the caption:
"Predestination—Its Scriptural Import"—as the
Scripture presents it to us.
And may the Adorable Spirit shed light upon
the well intended effort. Amen.
The Author.
Predestination-Its True Import.
CHAPTER I.
SCRIPTURE PECULIARITIES.
There is something peculiar in Scriptural ex¬
pressions, and to understand them, consistently,
one must become thoroughly acquainted with the
alphabet leading to its syllabication, pointings,
and interpretation; and almost all confused
Scriptural expressions derive from persons at¬
tempting to interpret before they are thoroughly
acquainted with its alphabet and the simplicity
of its spirituality.
That the Scripture may be consistently inter¬
preted, it must be carefully and prayerfully read,
frequently; and must not be interpreted accord¬
ing to men's thoughts, no matter how learned or
experienced—though these qualifications are of
inestimable value. The Scripture generally in¬
terprets itself, and when read in the light of the
7
8
PREDESTINATION.
Spirit pervading its expressions (the light
spread by the Holy Spirit) the intents and pur¬
poses of its expressions are not hard to be dis¬
covered.
Passages which appear dark, and there is no
attempt at interpretation by other passages, ought
to be very cautiously dealt with; and in giving
such passages personal views, it is wise to use the
greatest care; and then to express them as views
without the support of other passages of Scrip¬
ture; especially when they admit ambiguity, or
more than one meaning.
The Apostle Paul was very careful in this mat¬
ter. He says—I. Corinthians 7: 6—"But I
speak this by permission, and not of command¬
ment." Again, verse 12: "But to the rest speak I,
not the Lord." He further says, verse 25, "Now
concerning virgins I have no commandment of
the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that
hath obtained mercy Ojf the Lord to be faithful."
Here we have an example of the apostle's careful¬
ness in expressing his deepest convictions, when
he was conscious they were not divine utterances.
This is so unlike many of us. We sometimes
rush into matters of which we know but little,
and which divine wisdom alone can establish, yet
we are ready to wade to our necks to establish
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
9
our views—right or wrong. Sometimes we seem
very careless in the way we handle divine things.
We are ready to bend and twist passages to the
end that they may be pleasing to our peculiar ap¬
petites. We seem to forget that Scripture has a
peculiar way of interpreting Scripture, and this
we will notice as we advance farther on.
SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS ITSELF.
It is not amazing to know how Scripture inter¬
prets itself, when it is read in the light of divine
wisdom, compared with itself and other Scrip¬
ture. We say with itself, forasmuch as we so
often attempt to utilize the integument (the out¬
ward appearance) while the kernel escapes no¬
tice.
We think that fact has been the chief cause of
the misinterpretation of predestination, and this
(misinterpretation) has been carried to such an
extent that those who think contrary to usual in¬
terpretation often attempt to discredit the doc¬
trine itself. But predestination is a doctrine,
presented by divine wisdom, in the light of the
Holy Spirit, and therefore can not be made void
by human imagination, no matter how much
against his views. If the Scripture be read in
connection with other Scripture, and the kernel
10
PREDESTINATION.
be sought instead of the integument, a great deal
of misunderstanding will be obviated.
But, before we go farther, lest some individ¬
uals may think we are on the side of persons who
think Scripture interpretation needs no learning
—which can never be our thought—we will here
give what was given to us for a true story, and
which may assist in showing to advantage the
faultiness of an exposition of the Holy Scripture
where the comprehension of the individual is
woefully wanting.
Some years ago, we pastored a church at Beau¬
fort, North Carolina, and while there a white
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church
North, related to us, in the presence of our wife,
the following which he vouched to be a true
story.
He stated that a white Baptist minister of the
state of Virginia (we do not remember the spec¬
ial locality at present) who was a farmer as well
as a preacher, because he did not believe in paying
a preacher to preach the gospel, gave evidence of
the reasonableness of his belief as follows: He
believed the Lord commanded His Word to be
preached free of charges, assumed the pastoral
functions of the church in his neighborhood, and
worked his farm for a living. One Sunday, go-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
11
ing- into his pulpit he declared it was not neces¬
sary to study in order to preach the Word of
God, that the Lord commanded His servants to
open their mouths and He would fill them. So
saying, he opened the Bible to find a text, found
Matthew 20: 30. "He that is not with me is
against me; and he that gathereth not with me
scattereth abroad."
Adjusting his spectacles, he said: "My
brethren, it does not take no great learning to
preach God's word"; so he began to read the text.
" He—he—he—that—is—not—w-i-t-h—with—
me—me—is—a-g-a-i-n-s-t—gin—gin—melt—land
—he—he—he—that—g-a-t-h-e-r-e-t-h—gather—
not—gather—not—w-i-t-h—with—me—me—s-c-
a-t-t-e-r-e-t-h, scratcheth the board." In his expo¬
sition, he stated that the board referred to in the
text was not soft pine board, but was hard knotty
fat pine, that you will have to scratch if you are
not gathered with the Lord."
It is true, this does not give the general trend
or attempt at interpretation of the Scripture, yet
it furnishes some idea how careless and unquali¬
fied individuals make attempts to interpret God's
Holy Word; going about it without consistent
thought, grace, and comprehension which a rea¬
sonable exposition or interpretation demands.
12
PREDESTINATION.
While vague and unreasonable interpretation
may not accomplish the amount of evil which
may be produced by a well poised and polished
exposition, either, in its turn, does an amount of
harm which may not be comprehended in this
world, but may be to our discredit in the world to
come.
No reasonable individual ought to try to pro¬
duce flexibility in the Word of God, not intended
by the Holy Spirit. Often our peculiar tenets
cause us to dive into the bowels of the earth that
we may gather pebbles; to climb the skies, that
we may obtain some floating atoms, gather them
and attempt to construct pyramids that our views
may appear reasonable and conclusive. It is not
a wise thing to practice contortion of the con¬
science, such as we often do to establish our
views.
Thoughtlessness of the fact that one false
premise does not merely lay the foundation for
false views, but develops them—calls them forth.
This is one of the practical troubles of life. Many
practical and well developed falsifiers grow into
that position by bending and twisting facts to
suit purposes, forgetting that one false view de¬
mands another to prevent exposure; the second a
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
13
third, and so on indefinitely—until "Practice be¬
comes perfect."
The bender and twister of truth having pro¬
duced pliancy, causes it to express itself to suit
the occasion, and often adversely to its real inten¬
tion. We often see this faculty developed in per¬
sons who are given to repartee—they are ready
to twist any and everything to their advantage,
right or wrong.
ILLUSTRATIONS—SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS ITSELF.
It is not an infrequent thing to hear cavilers
say, Scripture contradicts itself; such state¬
ments are always incorrect; and in fact, rather
applicable to the person making the statement.
Sometimes this utterance is made from ignorance,
and then with evil intention. In either case, the
utterer sins grossly. If he is ignorant of facts, he
ought not to judge wisdom until he is wise; if
with evil intention, it is reasonable to know, he
attempts to fight against the arm unconquerable;
and though he (the evil designer) may abide for
awhile, he and his evil designs are sure to fall. It
is a divine declaration—Isaiah 54: 17—"No wea¬
pon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judg¬
ment thou shalt condemn."
14
PREDESTINATION.
The first of our illustrations which show that
Scripture explains and verifies Scripture, will be
found in the prediction against King Zedekiah.
Let us listen to God's word in regard to him—
Jeremiah 32: 4, 5—"Zedekiah king of Judah shall
not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but
shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king
of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to
mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; and he
shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he
be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye
fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper."
This prophecy declares positively that Zedekiah
shall be taken by the Chaldeans, placed in the
hands of the king of Babylon, speak with him
mouth to mouth, and see him eye to eye; and that
Zedekiah should be led to Babylon and there re¬
main until the Lord visited him; that is, the day
of his death. Hear what Ezekiel says of the same
prince—Ezekiel 12: 12, 13—"And the prince
that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder
in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig
through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall
cover his face, that he see not the ground with his
eyes. My net also will I spread upon him, and he
shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
15
to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall
he not see it, though he shall die there."
From these declarations it will be seen that
where one of the prophets presents the fact in a
figure, the other expresses it clearly. Jeremiah
expresses the fact that Zedekiah should remain
in Babylon to the day of his death in this wise:
"He shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there
shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord." This
is a figurative expression—"Until I visit him."
Ezekiel says—Ezekiel 12: 13—"I will bring him
to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall
he not see it, though he shall die there."
It is clear to readers that Zedekiah lived in
Babylon some time, and finally died there; it
therefore seems a contradiction to a critical ob¬
server who is ignorant of other Scripture relating
to the same circumstance; for it is supposed a per¬
son living in a place for some time is likely to
have if no more than a passing glimpse of the
place. Turning to Jeremiah—52: 9-11—the
seeming contradiction is positively removed. We
read: "Then they took the king, and carried him
up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land
of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zede¬
kiah before his eyes; he slew also all the princes
16
PREDESTINATION.
of Judah in Riblah. Then he put out the eyes of
Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in
chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him
him in prison till the day of his death."
Speaking on this subject, Matthew Henry, the
prince of commentators, has this to say: " 'My
net will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken
in my snare.' It seemed to be the Chaldeans' net,
and their snare, but God owns it for His. Those
that think to outrun the sword of the Lord will
find themselves taken in His net. Jeremiah said
that King Zedekiah should see the king of Baby¬
lon, and that he should go to Babylon. Ezekiel
saith he shall be brought to Babylon, yet he shall
not see it, though he shall die there. Those that
were disposed to cavil would perhaps object, that
these two prophets contradict one another, for one
said he should see the king of Babylon, the other
said he should not see Babylon; yet both proved
true. He did see the king of Babylon at Riblah,
where he passed sentence upon him for his rebel¬
lion, but there he had his eyes put out, so he did
not see Babylon when he was brought there."
THE KERNEL, NOT THE SHELL.
Before we enter upon the vital points sur¬
rounding and touching the doctrine of predestina-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
17
tion, we desire to give another example, showing
how easy it is to catch the integument or shell,
while the real essence—the kernel—passes out of
view; especially if the husk appears to assist in
tying the Gordian knot we have in hand, to our
satisfaction.
There are persons of learning and experience
who can not see why the Apostle Paul and St.
James do not contradict each other in the declara¬
tion of salvation by grace; and yet with careful
consideration, it may be seen that these inspired
writers scarcely touch the point being handled by
the other. Let us see.
We will first quote from St. Paul, and it may
be noticed he speaks generally of grace and works,
with the evident intention of magnifying the free¬
dom of salvation, through grace, by Jesus Christ.
In this he is rather plain and brief. We read,
Ephesians 2: 8, 9: "For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast." Almost all readers are acquainted
with the fact that there has always been, is, and
always will be a class of persons who think more
of their good works than of the grace or free gift
of God. The apostle in this passage, reasons
with that class of individuals, that no work of
18
PREDESTINATION.
theirs brings them into favor with God, but His
(God's) merciful free gift. There have been,
are, and will ever be men like the Pharisee who
thanked God that he was not like other men;
went on to tell of his good deeds, but nought of
evil. The Apostle Paul magnifying the grace of
God, expressed the fact that man is saved by the
favor of God; not by works.
Looking for the contradiction, if there be any,
we will freely quote from the epistle of James.
Chapter 2, verse 14 reads: "What doth it profit,
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and
have not works? can faith save him?" Verse 17
reads: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is
dead, being alone." Verse 18: "Yea a man may
say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me
thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee
my faith by my works." Again, we quote verse 20:
"But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith with¬
out works is dead?" James continues to argue the
subject; verses 21-22: "Was not Abraham our
father justified by works, when he had offered
Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how
faith wrought with his works, and by works was
faith made perfect?"We close the writer's argu¬
ment by quoting the 24th and 26th verses—verse
24—"Ye see then how that by works a man is
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
19
justified, and not by faith only." Verse 26—"For
as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also."
In the first place, the reader will note, the terms
used by the two writers are entirely different.
One uses the word "grace", and the other "faith";
and these words are not synonymous by any
means. The terms are, grace and work, faith
and work.
The theological definition of grace is, God's fa¬
vor toward man; His mercy toward the trans¬
gressor, in lieu of His justice. The benefits His
mercy imparts; divine love or pardon—a state of
acceptance with God; enjoyment of the divine fa¬
vor without deserving—GRACE.
Faith is another thing altogether. Its defini¬
tion is, belief—belief of the truth of the fulness
of Scripture narrative, and the supernatural
origin of its propagations. Belief in the facts,
and teachings, and truth of Scriptures, with prac¬
tical love of them, with confidence and affection¬
ate belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ,
so that these affect the life and character of the
believer.
Taking these two words and their varied defini¬
tions, it may be very easily seen that there is no
declared contradiction in the words of the writers.
20
PREDESTINATION.
Paul says—Ephesians 2: 8, 9—that salvation is
the favor of God, and not the works of man.
James does not declare that salvation is of works.
What he clearly says is, that faith can not be seen
without works. That it is utterly impossible to
show your faith without works. If an individual
doubts your faith, you have no way of proving the
falsity of his doubt but by works: thus the chal¬
lenge—James 2: 18—"Show me thy faith withoul
thv works, and I will show thee my faith by m>
works." In the sequence, St. Paul is speaking oJ
salvation, how it is obtained; St. James of the evi
dence of faith—what it is.
One says we are not saved by works, but b?
grace; the other declares, there can be no proof o
faith without works. Are they not both right
Is there any contradiction in the declarations
Where is it?
These passages place before us how easy it i
for persons to discover contradictions in the ex
pressions of Scriptures of divine truth, when oJ
ten the discovery is either from careless reading
unthoughtful conclusion, suggestive imaginatioi
or void of the spirit and genius of Scripture intei
pretation. These are some of the obstructions t
the plain exposition of the doctrine of predestim
tion. In discussing questions persons often air
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
21
high enough to miss the simple point germane to
the subject.
It is our present intention and desire to show
that the doctrine of predestination, being divinely
given, is not so abstruse as it has been made to
appear.
PREDESTINATION DEFINITION.
One of our most distinguished lexicographers
gives as the definition of this word—predestinate:
To predetermine or foreordain; to appoint or or¬
der beforehand by an unchangeable purpose or
decree; to pre-elect.
One of the unfortunate means used in inter¬
preting Scripture is associating interpretations
with theories. The theory of predestination and
the doctrine of election were brought about by
attempting to systematize the definition relative to
the human and divine will, and thereby reconcile
the phenomena of human freedom without in¬
fringing upon the divine omniscience.
In doing this, a doubt seems to insinuate itself
into the complicated theory, whether or not the
freedom of the will of man would not indicate
greater freedom of the will of Omniscience; as it
is with God to do as He please, and under obliga¬
tion to none; therefore, He wills it, and it is rea-
22
PREDESTINATION.
sonable and right. Right of course ;but here the
fact seems to slip the tangent, viz.: whatever God
decrees is right, but He will not decree what is
unreasonable. If He decreed what predestination
is often made to say He has, it is more than diffi¬
cult for rational beings to conceive the reason¬
ableness of a merciful and gracious Creator.
The unfortunate definition given to predestina¬
tion, has occasioned no little unreasonable dispute
to a doctrine divinely given. The doctrine has
been made to say, that God from all eternity fore¬
ordained a portion of mankind to eternal bliss,
and the remainder to eternal perdition; and what¬
ever may be, there can be no change from that di¬
vine decree. These statements have raised ar¬
mies in favor and against the doctrine, and no
wonder.
From a careful investigation it will be found
that the whole affair is based on theory—on the
integument, and not on the kernel of divine
Scripture.
In the early centuries the "irresistible grace" oi
the Holy Spirit, in the case of human salvation
was often warmly discussed; and so there arose i
strong controversy between Pelagius and Augus
tine. Pelagius' views in this relation were, tha
the decree of foreordination was subordinate t<
ITS TRUE IMPORT. 23
the divine foreknowledge of human character.
Augustine maintained the absolute decree of God,
independent of all considerations.
Pelagius argued, that God foreordained the
destiny of man by the thorough foreknowledge of
the intent of his purpose and character. Augus¬
tine, that God as God, made His assignment inde¬
pendent of all consideration. These arguments
were taken up later by Arminius and Wesley on
the side of Pelagius, and Calvin and others on
the side of Augustine; hence, predestination is
called "Calvinism"; and is understood to be, God
will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy,
according to His foreordained plans from eter¬
nity; and will harden whom He will in like man¬
ner, according to His foreordained plans. That
some men come into the world doomed to eternal
destruction, while others were born to be saved—
that there can be no chance for a reversal of those
decisions. This is especially the definition given
by the less informed.
It is our desire to discuss this matter freely and
dispassionately, and as far as possible to give cre¬
dence to all Scripture declarations for or against
the doctrine, as it is understood.
CHAPTER II.
SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF PREDESTINATION.
Adding to or taking from Holy Scripture is a
dangerous undertaking, and a thoughtful and
conscientious mind shivers in such an attempt. It
is possible, however, to do this very thing uncon¬
sciously ; and since sin is sin, and must be forgiv¬
en or punished, one is not less guilty in so doing—
that is, adding to or taking from Holy Scripture
—though it be done unconsciously. The
palliating circumstance may ingratiate the plea
of extenuation, where presumptuous sins provoke
retribution. For this good reason sin uncon¬
sciously committed is punishable, for if the trans¬
gressor were careful in avoiding minor commis¬
sions, greater sins would scarcely be committed.
If individuals would pay due reverence to
the sacred Word of God, flagrant violations
would not be so frequent. If persons handling
the Word of God would regard it as such, they
24
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
25
would go about it so cautiously that the spirit of
reverence would invoke the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, and He (the Spirit) would lead them into
all truths; thus the terrible mistakes so often
made would be avoided. Under the guidance of
the Spirit no mistake can be made—He errs not.
On account of the careless and irreverent way
we often approach the Word of God, there is no
wonder we are not successful in obtaining the
guidance of the Adorable Spirit; hence, the in¬
numerable blunders, and so often putting the cart
before the horse.
That we may bring before our readers facts in
the light of the Divine Spirit, we ask His aid in
handling His utterances; and so we quote, first,
the strongest passage declaring the doctrine of
predestination: it is Romans 8: 29, 30—"For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of His Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and whom he called, them he also j ustified:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
Referring to the argument between Pelagius
and Augustine, the former used his best endeavor
to show that the election which followed predes¬
tination—which of necessity, according to the na-
26
PREDESTINATION.
ture of things, must precede it—was the result of
God's perfect knowledge. That God knowing
perfectly well the course each individual would
follow during his existence, knowing this from all
eternity, permitted Him, justly, to set His seal to
man's ultimate destination. In fact, there is no
past nor future with God.
We dare say, Pelagius erred when he vindicat¬
ed the possibility of good in human nature—in it¬
self ; and, therefore, we agree with Augustine whc
held that apart from the influence of divine grace,
or favor of God, there is no good in human na¬
ture. If there is good in human nature, aside
from the divine influence (since good can not be
destroyed with evil) there would be a possibility
of man being saved without the Atonement: this
we know is impossible.
But, remember, even this total depravity does
not destroy the will, when it is brought in contact
with the divine influence. Man's will being ab¬
solutely free, he may or may not accept the offers
of God. Anything less would destroy his respon¬
sibility in equity.
However, Pelagius held this agreeable doctrine,
though he (Pelagius) seemed to err in relation
to the possible good in human nature aside from
the divine influence. He held that the choice of
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
27
salvation lay in man's will. Augustine denied
that man's will had any active freedom or power
of choice since the Fall.
From the varied views of these eminent men,
it may be discerned how easy it is (if these learned
fathers slipped the track one after the other) to
wander farther and farther away. Augustine
seemed to indulge in a more distant excursion
than his fellow, yet it is evidenced he did it rever¬
encing his conception. Pelagius slipped the
track but soon returned, while Augustine argued
not merely that it is in the power of God to leave
an individual to himself when he sins against the
drawing influence, but because he is not in the
selection of God, He (God) causelessly leaves
him in that condition, knowing that he can do
nothing unless He draws him, and consigns him
to destruction because he does not do what he can
not do; will call him to judgment, judge him
righteously, and consign him to eternal torment
because he did not do what God knew he could
not do. These are not the words of Augustine,
but the end of his argument. Then, he presents
to us the character of God as a merciful, just, and
benevolent Father.
Nobody has a right to say what God should do,
nor what He ought to do; but according to His
28
PREDESTINATION.
revelation of Himself, we know somewhat what
He will not do—He will not do an injustice to
any creature, for it is against His nature.
What would it be, if I had been consigned to
heaven and happiness from all eternity, no matter
what I may do; and you to eternal torment, not¬
withstanding you have done nothing to justify
the assignment ? Any reasonable man or woman
knows this can not be the character nor work of
our benevolent and merciful God.
But let us go to the Scripture—"For whom he
did foreknow." The very first sentence shows
that the act performed was in accordance with
perfect knowledge. We call attention to the fact,
that when we speak of foreknowledge, applying
such to God, we speak after the manner of
men. God does not foreknow anything. Fore¬
knowledge is applicable to finite beings alone—
not to the Infinite. To Him all things from eter¬
nity to eternity are very present.
But it is definitely stated in the Scripture of di¬
vine truth, that the act which followed, in the way
of declaration, proceeded from His foreknowl¬
edge—"For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate." This ought to be a sufficient for
all to understand that the limit of justice was ex¬
ercised, and such justice as He alone is capable of
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
29
exercising. He acted according to His knowl¬
edge, not according to what may be, but what
He knew would be.
ELECTION.
The apostle used the word "called" in verse 30
for election. But when it is considered that
election must precede predestination, notwith¬
standing the Scripture gives it in a reversed rela¬
tion, our attention is carefully called to cautious
dealing.
Persons must be selected (or elected) before
they can be destined. The universe is called to
attention, and every creature, good and evil, is
placed before the illimitable comprehension of
Deity. The acts of every individual from birth
to death are placed in the scales of divine judg¬
ment: He sees and knows. What is there to
hinder Him from knowing who will yield to the
wooings and strivings of the divine Spirit and
who will resist? In such a case what can there
be to the disadvantage of any individual, if it is
really what he will be and nothing else: all based
upon his refusing to accept divine aid and to be
saved from eternal destruction ? Under such
circumstances, would the individual be wronged,
if through the perfect knowledge of God his des-
30
PREDESTINATION.
tiny be fixed ? God knows as well from eternity
who will yield to His saving grace as it is possible
for Him to know at the Day of Judgment; why
must He desist from making provision according
to the fitness of things ? It must be remembered,
God is the Eternal God, and whatever is done by
Him bears the imprint of eternity. His name is
eternal, His words are eternal, His commands
eternal, His views eternal, His wisdom eternal,
His might eternal, His purposes eternal, His ten¬
derness eternal, His wrath eternal, His decision
eternal, and of course His consignment is eternal.
God's election, according to His perfect knowl¬
edge, can work no wrong to any individual, if it
be given and taken with the right view. Taking
this plain and practical view of the matter, indi¬
viduals elect themselves according to choice, and
God seals the election. They choose God, His
goodness and mercy, and He elects them—"For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called."
PREDESTINATION.
Destine means to locate—to fix at a certain
place; hence, predestination simply means, to lo-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
31
cate beforehand. Commonly speaking, to select
your place before you get there, or before you are
ready for it. That is exactly what predestina¬
tion means.
Theologically speaking, it means, that God, ac¬
cording to His perfect knowledge, selected and
keeps in reserve a place for each individual, as
He knows will be his ultimate destiny. There
can be nothing unreasonable in so doing, neither
can it so appear, when it is reasonably under¬
stood.
Predestination is a reasonable doctrine which
has been practiced by monarchs, nobles, and peas¬
ants. Monarchs often will their throne and be¬
longings to their unborn children, and the same
(throne excepted) may be said of all classes and
conditions of men. There can be nothing wrong
in predestination, when it is truly and rightly un¬
derstood.
THE NATURE OF SCRIPTURAL PREDESTINATION.
We think nearly all of the disagreement and
discussion will be obviated, if the central point
of Scriptural predestination be recognized; and
that may be seen in almost every passage of
Scripture in which the doctrine is presented. It
is this: "To be conformed to the image of his
Son."
32
PREDESTINATION.
We have been arguing that there can be no dif¬
ficulty in accepting the Scriptural doctrine of
predestination, as God knows all individuals from
eternity, His act, therefore, in assigning man ac¬
cordingly can not injure his case, neither can it
benefit him: here is the central ground of this
glorious doctrine. God knowing beforehand the
state and condition of man, by the Fall, predes¬
tinated the only way of his escape; placed it in
the image from which he fell; "To be conformed
to the image of his Son." Glorious predestina¬
tion, and many other passages of Scripture will
bear us out.
It is a very easy thing to conceive that when
man fell he lost the image of God, in which he
was created; for the Scripture declares—Genesis
i: 27—"So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him; male and fe¬
male created he them." Having lost the image
in which he was created, God predestinated that
the only way by which he may reach his lost es¬
tate is, by conforming to the image of His Son.
In this there can be no complicated nor theoretical
view in the matter. Let us read the Scripture,
and it says plainly that this predestination is to be
conformed to the image of His Son. Here it is:
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predes-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
33
tinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren."
OTHER SCRIPTURE ON PREDESTINATION.
In advancing what may be supposed to be
strange views on a subject of this kind, some may
ask, when did you find out this new view of pre¬
destination? We reply, We have been search¬
ing the Bible constantly for years, and any per¬
son may examine the volume of God's Holy
Word which we have carefully perused, and he
will find these passages, as well as others, marked
in the margin or superscribed at the top of the
page. To us, this is no new version—we have
preached sermons thereon.
It is no new discovery that the subject, salva¬
tion, was foreordained or predestinated in the
person of Jesus Christ, from the following pas¬
sages which give striking evidences of this vivid
truth. We quote I. Corinthians 2: 6-8—"How-
beit we speak wisdom among them that are per¬
fect : yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the
princes of this world, that come to nought: But
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even
the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before
the world unto our glory: Which none of the
34
PREDESTINATION.
princes of this world knew: for had they known
it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory."
In this passage, Christ is represented as the
ordained plan of salvation, and is continually
spoken of as a mystery. Here it is plainly stated
that He is the ordained medium of salvation, and
notwithstanding this truth is expressly spoken of
as wisdom hidden in a mystery—hidden from the
princes of this world—it is given to the church as
a revelation. It is also expressed that on account
of this mystery being hidden in a mystery, the
design of Providence was carried out by the ene¬
mies of truth, according to the foreordained plan
of God—they "Crucified the Lord of glory."
Hence, it is stated that Christ—"The Lord of
glory"—is the ordained or predestined Source of
salvation, laid according to divine plan, and ig-
norantly executed by wicked hands.
Standing in a reflective mood, from the side of
the mount we gaze upon Christ upon the cross.
We behold Him agonizing in the pangs of death,
but we see no purple flood to obliterate the indel¬
ible marks of sin. Lurid clouds hang over the
earth like a pall, obstructing every ray of sun¬
light ! We see the Prince of Peace approaching
death! The prince of this world suggests a way
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
35
to increase His pain—add to His agonizing suf¬
ferings ! "Pierce His side." The soldier, point¬
ed spear in hand, advanced, and with it pierced
His side, and out bursts the purple flood! The
poet sings:
"The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day."
ETERNAL PURPOSE.
St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, speaks of
predestination under the appellation of "eternal
purpose;" and this (eternal purpose) is applicable
to the salvation of men, and is here located in
Jesus Christ. That we may obtain the intent and
purpose of the apostle, we will quote the ninth
and tenth verses in connection with the eleventh
—Ephesians 3: 9-11—"To make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world has been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent
that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God, According to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Je¬
sus our Lord."
Here the apostle plainly and positively declares
that the "mystery" (man's redemption from the
36
PREDESTINATION.
Fall) which had been hid in God from the crea¬
tion of the world, in that the creation was per¬
formed by Christ Himself, was hid from the
prince of this world; to the intent that the prin¬
cipalities and powers in heavenly places might be
known by the church, the manifold wisdom of
God, who predestinated the salvation of man in
Christ Jesus. Using the very words of the
apostle, he says: "According to the eternal pur¬
pose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord."
Here, again, predestination or the eternal pur¬
pose of God is laid in Jesus Christ, and these are
not the end of Scriptural declarations on this
point. Peter, though a little less explicit, makes
similar statement—I. Peter 5 : 10—"But the God
of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered
awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen,
settle von."
All evangelical readers and believers place the'
salvation of man in the sacrifice offered by Jesus
Christ, but it will be noticed that Peter expresses
the eternal purpose of God, in His (God's) call¬
ing us—"Hath called us unto his eternal glory by
Christ Jesus." Paul says—Romans 8: 30—
"Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
37
also called"; so it is easily seen that Peter speaks
of predestination, saying: "The God of all
grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory
by Christ Jesus." Here the Apostle Peter puts in
His declaration, that the eternal purpose of the
call is through Christ Jesus; and Paul expressly
declares—I. Corinthians 3: 11—"For other foun¬
dation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ." And again, Ephesians 2: 19, 20—
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and for¬
eigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and
of the household of God; and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner stone."
We do not wish to force nor beg the question,
therefore let us come to declarations which are
not only pointed but undeniable.
CHRIST THE CENTRAL FIGURE.
There are very few passages of Scripture to
be found in the Bible unsupported by other Scrip¬
tures—this is not realized by everybody. This
discovery can only be made by constant and
thoughtful perusal of the sacred volume, and is
one of the greatest evidences of the inspiration of
Holy Scripture; for though the texts are not giv¬
en in the same words, one supports another; and
38
PREDESTINATION.
gives proofs that the writers did not copy the
words of each other, but the spirit of inspiration
furnished them with matter which vindicated the
truths spoken by other writers.
We turn to Paul's letter to the Ephesians for
the keynote of the decision of this important doc¬
trine. Not the doctrine of predestination alone,
but its ultimatum. Here we refer to Ephesians i:
5-12, it reads: "Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will, To
the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom
we have redemption through his blood, the for¬
giveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence; having made known
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure which he hath purposed in him¬
self : That in the dispensation of the fullness of
time he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
on earth; even in him: in whom also we have ob¬
tained an inheritance, being predestinated accord¬
ing to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will: That we
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
39
should be to the praise of his glory, who first
trusted in Christ."
It seems to us, the first verse quoted (verse 5)
places the matter as clearly as it is needed to be
declared. Paul putting himself among the select
ones, says: "Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will." In
this the apostle positively declares, in the spirit
of inspiration (aside from his former strong
statement that other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ)
that the strength of the doctrine of predestination
is human salvation by Jesus Christ, and that this
does not merely run through, but the doctrine is
absorbed therein—in Jesus Christ. It will be
noticed wherever predestination is mentioned or
indicated, Jesus Christ is made the Source or
Foundation, as He is in deed and in truth.
THINGS TO BE NOTED.
It is an interesting thing to notice in every
place where predestination is mentioned or clear¬
ly referred in Scripture, it will be seen that one
or both of two things are mentioned. They are
"Jesus Christ" and "mystery". We will first
quote passages in which Jesus Christ is men-
40
PREDESTINATION.
tioned, then, Christ and mystery and will try to
discover their applicability. Romans 8: 29—
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did pre¬
destinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son"; and again, I. Peter 6-10—"But the God of
all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered
awhile, make you perfect, etc."
The declaration of Peter is an inference, but
that of Paul to the Romans gives the plain and
positive fact that Christ is the door of predestina¬
tion. Here are the passages in which "Christ"
and "mystery" are mentioned in connection with
predestination. I. Corinthians 2: 6-8. "How-
beit we speak wisdom among them that are per¬
fect : yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of
the princes of this world, that come to
nought: But we speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom,
which God ordained before the world unto our
glorv: Which none of the princes of this world
knew: for had they known it, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory." We quote
again Ephesians 1: 5-12. "Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
will. To the praise of the glory of his grace,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
41
wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded tow¬
ard us in all wisdom and prudence; Having
made known unto us the mystery of his will, ac¬
cording to his good pleasure which he hath pur¬
posed in himself: That in the dispensation of
the fullness of times he might gather together in
one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth; even in him: In whom
also we have obtained an inheritance, being pre¬
destinated according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will: That we should be to the praise of his
glory, who first trusted in Christ." And again,
Ephesians 3: 9-11—"To make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ. To the
intent that now unto the principalities and pow¬
ers in heavenly places might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God, according
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord." These last quotations
present Christ and mystery in the foreordained
plan of God, termed predestination.
42
PREDESTINATION.
Now, we desire to look at these quotations
more carefully and concisely, and so consider:
CHRIST THE PREDESTINATED SOURCE.
Repetitions are not very acceptable things in
themselves, but they are in the Holy Scripture.
The more you repeat divine Scripture, the
brighter the light of reason shines upon it, and
upon the mind of the individual repeating it.
We have repeated Scripture again and again
before the divine light struck our mental vision;
then, like Archimedes, the mathematician of Syr¬
acuse, we have had occasions to exclaim: "We
see it, we see it!"
Let us again refer to the passages dealing with
predestination, and see the important part attrib¬
uted to Jesus Christ—and may the Holy Spirit
shed His divine light and enable us to discern the
truth; that we may see that Christ is the Source
of predestination: that He is the predestined way
to salvation, as He is the end and conclusion of
all truths. We listen to St. Paul in the Spirit
speaking of God thus: "For whom he did fore¬
know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son." In this we have the truth
clearly stated. God determined that the saved
must conform, or more Scripturallv expressed,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
43
must be conformed—subject themselves to be
conformed to the image of His Son. That He
knew who would submit themselves to the divine
provision, and presented to the world His plan
which He had predetermined or foreordained to
meet demands—"to be conformed to the image of
His Son." The door—the only door of admis¬
sion into His glorious presence: "To be con¬
formed to the image of His Son."
But He teaches us more. He would have us
know that this plan has been a mystery. To re-,
store man to his former image demanded a divine
effort which involved a mystery, not merely to
the world, but which mystified the prince of this
world.
This fact is verified in the language of St.
Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians—I.
Corinthians 2: 6-8—"Howbeit we speak wisdom
among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom
of this world, nor of the prince of this world, that
come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery, which God ordained before the
world unto our glory: which none of the princes
of this world knew; for had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
Here we see the ordained plan is the redemp¬
tion of the world which was so hid in Christ that
44
PREDESTINATION.
though it was spoken of, remained a mystery. A
mystery! not to the ignorant, but to the princes of
this world; yes, a mystery to the prince of dark¬
ness, and we doubt not a mystery to the angels of
light; which thing they desired to look into.
Here was the mystery. Satan succeeded in
corrupting—as he supposed—the very fountain
head; knowing that no clean thing could be ob¬
tained from an unclean: none but God could see
the way out. But, blessed be His gracious and
glorious name, Jehovah devised a plan. This
plan could not be discerned, since Jesus was the
predestined way which was to all a mystery. Paul
so saw it, declared—I. Timothy 3 : 16—"Without
controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world, received up into glory."
We may notice that the apostle speaks of Christ
as the beginning and the end of predestination.
Let us refer again to his epistle to the Ephesians
—1: 5-12—"Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
etc." But, lest we should be mistaken, as others
have been, in this great mystery, the apostle
closes the argument by saying: "That we should
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
45
be to the praise of his glory, who -first trusted in
Christ."
To the Ephesian brethren, the apostle declares:
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will." Since predesti¬
nation and foreordination are synonymous terms,
for expressive reading, let us substitute foreordi¬
nation for predestination, or more explicit, fore¬
ordained for predestinated; let us read it accord¬
ingly. Having foreordained us unto the adop¬
tion of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, ac¬
cording to the good pleasure of his will. Let us
study carefully this last rendering and under¬
stand what it says and what it means. It says
and consistently means—referring to our having
lost the image of God by the Fall—God has
planned, according to knowledge, that we return
to Him by regaining or recovering our lost image
in the person of Jesus Christ. That this is the
eternal plan—the recovery of the lost image in
which we were created, there can be not the
shadow of a doubt; and that the plan eternally
arranged was our adoption by Jesus Christ,
Scripture so declares; and all reasonable individ¬
uals must admit.
The trouble has been and is, persons look at
46
PREDESTINATION.
the word predestination in the verse without
thinking of its meaning; and having fixed in their
minds what it intends to convey, relinquish other
concerns and considerations. "Having predes¬
tinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ"—having foreordained us unto the adop¬
tion of children by Jesus Christ—sound differ¬
ently, yet mean the same thing; notwithstanding,
putting the expression in the latter form shows
more plainly what is intended: Christ is the end
of the plan. He is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by
Him. God so determined from all eternity.
THE OBJECT OF REVELATION.
The object of the revelation of God's plan is
presented by the apostle in these words: "Hav¬
ing predestinated us unto the adoption of child¬
ren by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the
good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the
glory of his grace." Universal praise, no doubt,
is here intended, and ought to be rendered to God
for His goodness to all mankind, in giving His
Son to die for the salvation of the world. Praises
are due, and ought to be rendered to Him for the
gift and revelation of the Source—the single
Source of redemption. Not a dozen, nor three,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
47
nor two ways, but one—only one—predestined
way of salvation, and that way not our way, but
God's: praise His holy name. Let us notice:
First—That the way predestination has been
interpreted, when adhered to, makes it impossible
to give universal praise for the blessings of salva¬
tion, no matter how well may be the intention of
the interpreters.
Good men have considerable control of them¬
selves, but they have not completely lost all sel¬
fishness. Even in the case of Christian perfec¬
tion, which may be wisely termed full or perfect
salvation, there may be found a vein of selfishness
running through one's nature. He is not willing
to do to others at all times, in all places, and un¬
der all circumstances as he would have them do
to him. If he thinks so, a trial which goes
against his nature will convince him.
Some of these good men who feel they are per¬
fectly saved tell us, and want us to agree with
them; that God in His goodness saved
them by a plan of His own, and by
that same plan, determined the con¬
demnation of untold millions without refusal to
accept His salvation or by any fault of their own
—nothing but God's predestined will. They
must not be saved because He is God and wills it;
48
PREDESTINATION.
and, as a righteous God, having eternal power He
does not call their will into question, but con¬
demns them because of His superior and eter¬
nal will. They are condemned because He has
the power to condemn them; then, He calls upon
all creatures to praise the excellency of His work.
To some, such reasoning might be reasonable,
because their intention is to reverence God's
eternal will and power. As to reverencing the
will, might, love, tenderness, wisdom, and all of
His attributes we feel that is our highest aim in
life, and that instills in us reason—it does not de¬
stroy that faculty. For our part, we do not see
how universal praise could be rendered under
such conditions. To claim universal praise for
making it possible for salvation of part of the
world, would contradict the term universal; and
no person of reason will doubt that universal
praises and thanksgivings are God's.
Praise and thanksgiving could be due, for His
saving a part of the world, providing that was
the limit of His power; but God does nothing by
limitation. When any man says that God made
provision for the salvation of a part of the world
—and he says it when he represents predestina¬
tion as the intention of God to save part of the
world—he misrepresents the Eternal One. God
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
49
never works in that way, because it is not in ac¬
cordance with the illimitability of His divine
power. When anything is done that may be con¬
sidered partially done (and to make provision for
the salvation of part of the world would be par¬
tially done) it is entirely out of the realm of di¬
vine operation.
Then, we can scarcely see how divine mercy
could make provision for and seal one part of the
human family for bliss eternal, determine and
consign the other part for eternal destruction.
Think of obtaining from me praise and thanks¬
giving when I am conscious that my father,
mother, children, wife, etc., have been consigned
to eternal torment for no other reason than pow¬
er to determine—not of themselves. No refusal
of mercy on their part, no neglect of privilege, no
scorn of tender mercies, no bolting the door of
their hearts against divine entreaties; they stood
ready to admit light from any source, but the
only power that is determined that His will was to
consign them to eternal torment, without offence.
Is it reasonable to suppose that I would be ex¬
ultantly ready to praise and adore the hand which
performed such work? That is not reasonable.
In such cases, that we may praise and extol the
goodness of God, our comprehension of right and
50
PREDESTINATION.
wrong, of reasonableness and unreasonableness,
of justice and injustice must be changed. With
the comprehension of our present knowledge, im¬
perfect as it is, such conception would never in¬
voke universal praise, and we doubt that it would
if our knowledge were made perfect, unless the
advancement caused the channel to flow ad¬
versely.
It is certain, so harmonious are the arrange¬
ments of the finger of God's providence that the
verbrating elements in concord sing His praises,
while the children of intelligence shout for joy.
God's mercies, love, long-suffering, gentleness,
justice, and wisdom evoke perfect laudation:
these must be seen in the way of wisdom.
Secondly—Such manifest goodness of God's
grace, in dealing with a cause even in wisdom
must exhibit His universal goodness and mercy
in harmonizing sentiment of justice to the praise
and glory of the Almighty: otherwise it would be
transformed into sympathy for the unfortunate,
who without the exercise of their will, aside from
their want, against their endeavor (or they were
not given the chance to use their endeavor) have
been consigned to the pit of destruction. It does
not seem that any reasonable creature would seek
to discover the unlimited power and will of God
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
51
so strongly as to limit His mercy to such an ex¬
tent that it partook of the appearance of injustice.
God is too merciful and kind to have His acts bear
such an interpretation—notwithstanding He is
under obligation to no individual.
Thirdly—The way predestination has been pre¬
sented, it encourages deluded persons to continue
in their delusion. They say, if I am elected to
eternal life and blessedness, nothing I can do will
alter the situation; and no one could doubt the as¬
sertion, if it were a fact. Others may say, if I
have been left out of the plan of salvation, noth¬
ing I can do will draw me nearer, and such an ex¬
planation of the matter seems reasonable. Under
such circumstances, what reason and encourage¬
ment would there be for striving to enter in at
the strait gate ? What shall be done with the pas¬
sage which demands—Luke 13: 24—"Strive to
enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto
you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" ?
This is a very striking passage of Scripture. The
Greek has it: "Agonize to enter in at the strait
gate." Agonize is a very strong word to mean
nothing. Almost anybody knows what is implied
by agony—agonize.
The reader will excuse our reference to the
Greek, for he who talks most about Greek and
52
PREDESTINATION.
Hebrew knows least, and sometimes nothing.
Once we sat on the platform behind the pulpit
and heard a preacher attempt to re-translate the
Old and New Testament in his sermon, and we
were sure if a Hebrew sentence were placed
before him, he would not know whether or not
it was upside down. We learned quite a lesson
on the occasion. It seems he who knows least
talks most. But, to our subject.
Why should we cease to strive to enter in at the
strait gate, when we are not merely commanded
so to do, but are assured that our salvation hangs
on our success in entering; and our success on
our constant striving ? WThy should the command
be given, if there be no necessity therefor? and-
there can be no necessity unless our success in en¬
tering depends on our striving.
Argument to contrary reminds us so much of
a person telling a story or falsehood with the hope
of ending the matter, when to his surprise, his
statement is called in question, and he is com¬
pelled to double, treble, and sometimes quadruple
the falsification. The false statement would not
have been made, if the individual saw to what it
would lead; but finding himself on the track was
compelled to strive for the mastery.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
53
The answers are various to the question, Why
should we strive for that we already have? It
is useless to discuss that point—nothing is gained
thereby. If predestination means that certain in¬
dividuals have been sealed from eternity for eter¬
nal bliss, at the option of Eternal Power, that is
done, and can not be undone; what is the idea of
ministers preaching the gospel, begging and pray¬
ing sinners to be reconciled to God through Christ,
offering earnest prayer that they may be brought
to the knowledge of the truth and accept the terms
of salvation, knowing at the same time that they
have been sealed and must be saved according to
the foreordained plan of Deity, and they have no
will in the matter? To say the least, such seems
superfluous. To urge a man to come to Christ
when it is known it is impossible for him to do so
or if it is possible he is bound to come, seems to
be doing for the sake of doing. Take it for grant¬
ed, without argument, that the Gospel must be
preached and salvation presented as a form, or to
carry out a purpose—probably a divine purpose—
why urge so earnestly every man, woman, or child
to come to Christ without delay, with the startling
statement that delay is dangerous ? What danger
can there be for a person whose destiny is sealed
for eternal bliss or misery ?
54
PREDESTINATION.
It is known when a magnet is placed within
reach of any object containing- its inherent quali¬
ties, nothing prevents it from adhering thereto.
Persons having no will as to their choice of sal¬
vation—as some predestinarians inform us—
what causes the delay of the select ones? The
very fact that the Gospel has been preached to all
men—"To every creature";—implies that salva¬
tion is urged upon all; rich and poor, high and
low, noble and ignoble, learned and unlearned.
The Gospel offers equal chances to all men to ac¬
cept or reject salvation: if not, it is worse than
mimickry or mockery. Is it not worse than mim-
ickry to place colors before a man who never saw
light and never will?
If a man is offered salvation, has it in his power
to accept, but using his will rejects; he being a
moral agent, is responsible. The fact that he has
power to accept or reject, that he chose to re¬
ject—though God needs no justification before
men nor angels—this free will act of man, justi¬
fies God's goodness in His offered mercy to His
universal praise and glory, and places the guilt
and condemnation upon man for refusing to ac¬
cept God's 'remedy to relieve him of his infirmi¬
ties.
Take it for granted, God is under no obligation
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
55
to any individual or individuals, in heaven above,
on earth beneath, nor under the earth—but will
the Judge of all the earth not do right?
PHARAOH AN EXAMPLE.
But there are those who tell us that God's deal¬
ing with Pharaoh, as declared by Scripture, is a
sample of His universal dealing with the child¬
ren of men. We do not doubt, but let us see.
Some would have us believe that predestination
means, God blessing a part of mankind with abun¬
dance of free salvation, because of the power of
His unlimited will; and in like manner He curses
the remainder for no other cause than the inde¬
pendence of His will; and bring up the case of
Pharaoh as an example. We believe Pharaoh is
an excellent example. We have not time nor
space to study his character, but for a short time
we will see what there is in his case to assist in
twisting the doctrine of predestination to attri¬
bute to God what Balak attributed to Balaam—
Numbers 22:6—"Come now therefore, I pray
thee, curse me this people; for they are too migh¬
ty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we
may smite them, and that I may drive them out
of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest
is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed."
56
PREDESTINATION.
It is true the curse of God often rests upon
men, but God does not curse men. He lays His
curses upon forbidden paths, and men going into
those paths assume the burden. Deuteronomy
27: 15 declares—"Cursed be the man that maketh
any graven image or molten image, an abomi¬
nation unto the Lord, the work of the hands of
the craftsmen, and putteth it in a secret place.
And all the people shall answer and say, Amen."
The man who disobeys the injunctions curses
himself: the curse is placed upon the commission
of the offense.
Persons who interpret predestination to mean
God's favor to a part of mankind, and condemna¬
tion to the remainder, for no other cause than His
unlimited will, conclude they have an excellent
object lesson in what the Scripture says of Phar¬
aoh. We will therefore make the quotations and
examine them. Our first quotation is Exodus 4:
21—"And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou
goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all
those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put
in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, and he
shall not let the people go." The next passage is,
Exodus 10: 1—"And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
57
heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might
show these my signs before him."
It will be noticed the first passage declares the
intention of God: "I will harden his heart";
and the next an attestation of the fact: "I have
hardened his heart."
It must be remembered that Scriptural declara¬
tions are truths presented to meet the under¬
standing of the ages. For example, the Scrip¬
ture declares—Joshua 10: 13—"The sun stood
still, and the moon stayed, until the people had
avenged themselves upon their enemies." With¬
out further quotations we see clearly that Scrip¬
ture speaks to meet the comprehension of the
ages; for the standing still of the sun would not
prevent the rushing on of the shade of evening;
yet the figurative expression of Scripture (as it
was) was true; for the sun did not remove from
view: did not appear to move as usual.
We know now that the movement of the earth
causes the sun to sink behind the western hills,
and that stopping the revolution of the earth re¬
tarded the apparent course of the sun; yet it was
true, the light of the sun kept its position, and the
people who then so understood the movement of
the sun, realized that "the sun stood still."
Then, you see, it takes reason to understand the
58
PREDESTINATION.
Scripture correctly, and especially in matters of
the kind.
hardens pharaoh's heart.
What is understood by hardening Pharaoh's
heart? In giving attention to this question, we
have occasion to note that no book so abounds in
figurative expressions as the Bible. Jesus Him¬
self generally spoke in parables. A parable is a
figure used to express or illustrate a practical idea
—to exhibit a moral.
While it is true God can do whatever is pleasing
in His sight, He works according to methods.
When He speaks of hardening Pharaoh's heart,
the expression is figurative—the figure known as
metonymy, which puts the cause for the effect, or
the effect for the cause. Here the cause is put
for the effect. No person will doubt that natu¬
rally hardening the heart means immediate death.
"I have hardened his heart", is a figure in two
ways. First, stubbornness is put for hardening
the heart; and, secondly, the cause is put for the
effect.
We said, the natural hardening of the heart
would produce immediate death; therefore, stub¬
bornness or unyielding will was intended.
It is evident that man's natural disposition is
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
59
hardness of heart, or stubbornness of will in re¬
lation to his obedience to the will of his Maker.
Disobedience, and not obedience, is his inclina¬
tion ; when he is found in obedience it is through
the coercive influence of the divine Spirit. The
Spirit strives with all individuals, but He is not
heeded by some.
When God will have a plan accomplished, He
forces the will of any individual to the accom¬
plishment of His intention, but such force can
have no effect for nor against the individual.
God's divine influence is His, and no one has any
claim thereon. He may offer it to us or He may
withhold it, and do either in righteousness; but
since man's salvation is based upon the right ex¬
ercise of his free will, God invariably offers him
the influence of His divine guidance. He may
accept or reject.
In rejecting divine guidance, he may do so but
once, under peculiar circumstances; and that once
he may seal his eternal condemnation. Again,
he may reject it thousands of times. He must
reject it, if it is but once, to justify the mercies
of God in turning away from him. David indi¬
cated this fact when he said—Psalms 51: 4—
"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done
this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justi-
60
PREDESTINATION.
fied when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest."
While God needs no justification from crea¬
tures, yet His works are so perfect in their rela¬
tion, that they and all that behold them bear tes¬
timony of their justification.
Whenever an individual rejects the offered
mercies of God, he justifies the forfeiture thereof;
the offer may be renewed millions of times, and it
may never. His rejection justifies the actions
of God, though but once. To some God
renews His offers times innumerable:
to others, never! Herein He is merci¬
ful to whom He will be merciful, "And
whom he will he hardeneth." This does not ap¬
pear to have anything to do with predestination.
Is God not justified when He refuses to have His
Spirit insulted continually by one who did it or
makes a practice of so doing? It is withholding
His insulted Spirit which is termed "hardeneth",
forasmuch as no one can come to God—since the
Fall—unless He draws him. When He refuses
the aid of His Spirit, the individual is "harden¬
ed". Read the Scripture history of Pharaoh, and
see whether or not he had done despite to the
Spirit of God.
Think of Pharaoh slaying all the male child-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
61
ren of the people of God; think of his reply to
Moses, when that prophet took him a message
from the mouth of God—Exodus 5 : 2—"Pharaoh
said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord,
neither will I let Israel go." It is truly said, but
not rightly understood, God shows mercy to
whom He will show mercy. That is, He extends
His mercies to some for scores of years; to others
it may be but for a day—the day of his account¬
ability.
This is no evidence that God does not show
mercy to all His creatures, for evidently He does;
but He does not extend it to all alike. That
is at the pleasure of His will, and there is no un¬
reasonableness thereabout.
The terrible mistake made by many is, that a
part of mankind has been debarred from the
favor of God from eternity, and they bring up
the Scripture declaration of Pharaoh as an ex¬
ample. They quote Scripture to prove that God
created Pharaoh for destruction. It seems to us
that common reason would contradict such an
idea, and that would induce any person to read the
Scripture* under the focus of divine light. The
Scripture quoted is Exodus 9: 16—"And in very
deed for this cause I have raised thee up, for to
62
PREDESTINATION.
show in thee my power; and that my name may
be declared throughout all the earth."
We will not speak to our readers of the word
rendered "raise thee up," nor refer them to com¬
mentators ; but to the marginal reference of the
Bible. There it will be seen that the true trans¬
lation of the word rendered "raise thee up" is,
"made thee stand"; and the reference made to it
in Romans 9: 17 has, in the original, a word
which agrees with the Old Testament Scripture.
It means—roused, stirred up, keep awake. That
is, prevent him from falling.
By giving attention it will be seen that the idea
presented is, "For this cause have I kept thee
from falling ere this", that My power may be
seen, and that My name may be declared
throughout all the earth. Unfortunately, some
misunderstanding this passage—Exodus 9 : 16—
interpret it: For the purpose of destroying thee,
I have raised thee up, that the universe may
know I am the God of unlimited power: I do as
I please. I raise up one man for heaven, and
another for destruction to suit My purpose. In
relation to this rendering, we can only quote
Abraham's expression in his appeal to God for
Lot before the destruction of Sodom—Genesis
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
63
18: 25—"Shall not the Judge of all the earth
do right ?"
PHARAOH SOWED AND REAPED.
The idea of sowing and reaping occurs to the
minds of persons occasionally, but does not al¬
ways make the needed impression. It is not a
mere declaration, but a positive fact. It is true
in the spiritual as well as the vegetable world.
Whatever you sow you are bound to reap, yet
reaping it seldom comes to our minds, we are
reaping what we sowed.
Using the expression God hardened Pharaoh's
heart, and destroyed him because he did not obey
Him, baffles the conception of many; and only
the reverential do not question the act because
they know God can not err, and will invariably
do right. Yet, they can scarcely see into the
matter.
Having discussed the matter of heart harden¬
ing, and having shown that it is merely with¬
drawing the insulted Spirit, and in some cases
after He has been abused thousands of times, we
desire to look at another point in connection
with withdrawing the divine Spirit, and requiring
obedience.
The like was done by Pharaoh himself toward
64
PREDESTINATION.
the Israelites, and it seems the same dish is giv¬
en him to try his appetite. Let us read Exodus
5: 7, 8—"Ye shall no more give the people straw
to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and
gather straw for themselves. And the tale of
bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall
lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought
thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, say¬
ing, Let us go and sacrifice to our God."
Here you see Pharaoh increased the tale of
bricks, took away the straw, and demanded the
work to be done as heretofore. God deals with
him similarly. He withdrew His offended
Spirit from Him, and demanded obedience or the
consequence. He reaped what he sowed, and yet
therein God was just, as He is the justifier of
reasonable actions. The word of divine truth
does not attempt to teach us that the object of
God raising up Pharaoh was for his destruction.
God verified His word—Pharaoh reaped what he
sowed. He is not alone.
ELECTION AND SELECTION.
Election and selection are different words, but
to a great extent, mean the same thing. It is not
strange, however, that while election is used for
selection, the latter is scarcely used for the form-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
65
er. The reason is obvious. Election is theolo¬
gically used referring to the term predestination;
selection, which may mean the same thing, is
generally used otherwise.
The theological definition of election is: Chos¬
en as an object of mercy or divine favor; set
apart for life eternal. Since this definition is
so nearly allied to predestination, it is often coup¬
led therewith.
This word (elect) is applied to Christ, who
was chosen and set apart by God the Father from
all eternity, to perform the great work of redemp¬
tion ; and to become the Mediator between Him¬
self and fallen man. The election of Christ was
prophesied by Isaiah 43: 1—"Behold my ser¬
vant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my
soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him:
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."
Jesus in the performance of His divine commis¬
sion acted in accordance with, and in fulfillment
of that prophecy quoted by St. Matthew—Chap¬
ter 12: 18. There can be no doubt that Christ
was and is the predestined and elected plan of
salvation.
Election refers to good angels, in contradistinc¬
tion to evil ones, as being the selection of God.
Holy angels being elected, no doubt, having sat-
66
PREDESTINATION.
isfactorily established their righteousness during
their period of probation. There must have heen
a season of probation, since some fell before they
were established—those who fell not are the
elected. The Apostle Paul in his first letter to
Timothy (5: 21) speaks of the elect angels in
this wise: "I charge thee before God, and the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that
thou observe these things without preferring one
before another, doing nothing by partiality."
Here it will be seen the angels were elected or
established after they gave evidence of their es¬
tablished obedience. Probably, they were
elected from eternity—and no doubt they were,
for God knew those who would continue in obe¬
dience and those who would rebel. Election is one
of the terms used in designating the Israelites,
God's peculiar people—see Isaiah 65: 9, 22—"I
will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of
Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine
elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell
there. They shall not build, and another inhabit;
they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the
days of a tree are the days of my people, and
mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their
hands." Again, Isaiah says—45 : 4—"For Ja¬
cob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
67
have even called thee by thy name: I have sur-
named thee though thou hast not known me."
These passages refer to Jacob—whose name was
changed to Israel—and to his children who were
called Israelites. They give strong evidence that
predestination and election bear their strongest
reference to the source of the work to be accom¬
plished. All readers of Holy Scriptures are
aware that God elected the children of Israel as
His peculiar people—they were His elect—ac¬
cording to His own word; yet millions of them
have fallen away, as St. Paul declares Romans
II: ii—"I say then, have they stumbled that
they should fall ? God forbid: but rather
through their fall salvation is come unto the
Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." They
fell, no doubt, but the mercies of God are still
extended to His elect people. The way of sal¬
vation is still open—no change has been arranged
on account of their falling away. Jesus Christ
is still the life, the truth, and the way; and is
set before His people as an open door; yet the
elect people are dying by the thousand and miss¬
ing the way, no doubt. Will God save them be¬
cause they were the elect, refusing to accept His
plan ? or shall He change the eternal plan of sal¬
vation which determined that all should look
68
PREDESTINATION.
toward Christ for salvation, through figures,
previous to His coming into the world; and af¬
ter His birth and revelation should look to Him
as the world's Redeemer? We doubt His inten¬
tion to change the plan, for to our mind this is the
plan predestined from eternity; and the heavens
and earth may change, but the plan of salvation
never! "For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son."
In discussing election, we do not wish to con¬
vey the idea that God is not the proper person
to elect individuals to eternal life; we believe He
is. But what we wish to uncover is, the idea
that this work is not done independent of man's
will. We desire to show that man has to do
with his election to eternal life; and that election
is not alone the determined will of God, but His
will guided by His knowledge of facts unchange¬
able. Does it not appear that we do not see so
clearly the idea expressed by the word of His
mouth—"For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son."
Here we are told positively that the cause of
His selection was His knowledge. He knew
them from eternity; He knew what they would
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
69
be and do; knew who would thankfully accept
His favor; knew who would yield obedience to
the plan of salvation; knew who would continue,
after yielding to the overtures of mercy (for He
knew some would not continue) for Peter says—
II. Peter 2: 22—"But it is happened unto them
according to the true proverb, The dog is re¬
turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire." God
knew all the circumstances and changes and
there could be no reason why they should not be
elected or predestinated; and Peter, no doubt,
knew our disposition to cavil and in his declara¬
tion used the expression: "The sow that was
washed to her wallowing in the mire." This
declaration will furnish us with future thoughts.
We are afraid many persons (even great
writers) read carefully but a part of God's Holy
Word. They read and re-read parts which favor
their peculiar views, and for want of relish omit
to read, or read carelessly, other important pas¬
sages.
INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS IN ELECTION.
St. Paul writing to Timothy shows very dis¬
tinctly, that, man has to do materially with his
election—admitting that there is no doing power
70
PREDESTINATION.
in himself, and that there are diversities of in¬
dividualities. We read II. Timothy 2: 19-21—
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them
that are his. And, let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in
a great house there are not only vessels of gold
and of silver, but also of wood and of earth;
some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a
man therefore purge himself from these, he shall
be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for
the Master's use, and prepared unto every good
work."
Unless the apostle wrote when he was not un¬
der the influence of the Holy Spirit (and if he
did, he would have been honest enough to so in¬
form us, as he has on other occasions) he de¬
clares to us a positive truth: "If a man there-
purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel
unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Mas¬
ter's use, and prepared unto every good work."
It must be admitted that there is a helplessness
in man's nature, without the assistance of God,
but that help is offered and we may have it when
we desire it. When we use it accordingly (to
meet demands) we are what we want to be; if
we desire to be, we can be: "Vessels unto hon-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
71
our, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use,
and prepared unto every good work." This is
the declaration of God's Word, whether we be¬
lieve it or not—it is true.
It is a glorious thing to feel and know that we
are not so helpless (with the offered help of God)
as some would have us believe. We
have no strength, it is true, of our
own; but we own strength when we trust for it
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is given to us freely
and a,> much as we desire. Not according to
what is termed "the predestinated plan" but ac¬
cording to earnest and practical desire which is
"foreknown." Any individual may get so near
to God as to actually realize His divine presence.
Talk to Him as a friend talks to a friend, and
knows his requests are granted.
We are a friend to predestination and election,
because it is a Scripture plan—the plan that God
has revealed according to His knowledge of all
things; but when it is doctored up, makes u§
machines, accuses God for our actions, then ex¬
cuses Him because there is no judge to judge
Him, and then excuses us because we could not
help ourselves: with Scripture in hand to sustain
lis, we object.
72
PREDESTINATION.
FALLING AWAY.
Another unfortunate view held by some per¬
sons, who misinterpret predestination, is, the im¬
possibility of falling away, if truly converted.
A friendly editor speaking kindly of our book
"The Human Heart Illustrated", could not find
his way out of the difficulty which appeared be¬
fore him, in our treatment of apostasy—falling
away—was compelled to say considerable in ex¬
plaining his position. We were compelled to
smile, but we saw the difficulty. It was caused
by his indoctrinated misconception of predestina¬
tion—once in grace it is impossible to fall away.
To us that is a dangerous doctrine, and much
evil is the consequence. "I know God has for¬
given me of my sins, has cleansed my soul; He
cannot go back on me."
We do not like to attempt to blame the Holy
Scripture, for its doctrines are infallibly true;
but if an individual can not fall away after he
has received the blessing of salvation, the lan¬
guage of Holy Scripture misleads us; or we are
too ignorant to understand its plain and practical
teachings. We are ready to admit the latter, if
we have reason so to do.
To say the least, there must be a possibility of
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
73
falling away, or the many Scripture cautions
against it would be less than useless. Less than
useless, because it would not be cautioning us
against an impossibility merely, but encourag¬
ing us to believe in a possible occurrence which
could never take place. Can such be attributed
to divine wisdom?
It is said by persons, God's grace entering into
an individual can never be completely removed;
by what authority is this statement? Where
shall we find the Scripture to confirm such a
statement? Let us see what the Scripture says
indicating the contrary. Luke 8: 13—"They on
the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive
the word with joy; and these have no root, which
for awhile believe, and in time of temptation fall
away."
Here we are ready to say, the reason the word
had not the desired effect was, the soil was not
congenial to the seed sown. We ask the ques¬
tion, is the individual responsible or God?
Rocky place or not, the word had entrance and
operated—sprung up said one, was received with
joy—was actually believed. The individual
seemed to believe in God the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, for he rejoiced; if he died during
the period of his trust and belief, would he not
74
PREDESTINATION.
have been saved ? He seemed to be all right un¬
til temptation struck him; then he fell. Fell
from what? Was it not from his standing?
What was his standing? Was it not believing
and rejoicing in the Holy Ghost? Read the
verse over—Luke 8: 13.
We are to notice, first, That falling indicated
standing, and evidently the individual stood in
the strength of God—he believed and rejoiced.
He received the word with joy; no one can do
more for the occasion. The trouble evidently
was, he did not continue to encourage the word
received, and on that account hardness sprung up
and destroyed the root. Secondly, falling away
showed that he was there—at the place. One of
the regular members, and no doubt as earnest as
any other. We perceive the Scripture does not
attempt to invalidate his position while he stood,
but gives reason for his non-endurance. He did
not remove the difficulty and let the word sink
to endurance.
Christian perfection is not required to salva¬
tion, but to endure with patience the difficulties
surrounding salvation. It is a shield against
them. So far as salvation is concerned, no mat¬
ter whether grace is the eighth of an inch or two
inches deep, it will save; the disadvantage is, en-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
75
durance in the time of difficulty. In the time
of commotion, surface work will not endure.
But we are told persons possessing grace can
not fall, if once they come into full possession.
Let us read what inspiration says about the mat¬
ter—Hebrews 6: 1-6—"Therefore leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on
unto perfection; not laying again the foundation
of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of
laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the
dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will
we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for
those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made par¬
takers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the
good word of God, and the powers of the world
to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them
again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him
to an open shame."
Some individuals say it is not possible to fall
away after one has been made partaker of the
heavenly blessing, but inspiration says it is pos¬
sible; and as to a certain class of apostasy,
Scripture declares it really impossible "to renew
them again unto repentance." Whom must we
76
PREDESTINATION.
believe, persons who do not know, or God who
is perfectly acquainted with the truth—who is
the Author of truth ?
As we have presented this passage, and its
thorough understanding is of great difficulty, we
ought not pass it by, after it has established the
fact in dispute without a doubt, in silence. It
has proved that there is no stage of grace where
a person is not liable to apostatize; we must now
break away from the subject to give our opinion
of this difficult passage: it is not difficult to one
who enters into its spirit.
Many have been the conjectures of persons re¬
garding this passage, not in relation to the pos¬
sibility of individuals falling, but in "renewing
them again unto repentance."
In considering the subject in short, we see the
place from which they may fall: Let us notice
two special points. First, The stage reached;
second, What is lost. I. The stage reached.
I, enlightenment—"were once enlightened." 2.
Heavenly gift relished—"tasted of the heavenly
gift." 3. The Holy Ghost enjoyed—"were
made partakers of the Holy Ghost." 4. Rel¬
ished the word of life—"tasted the good word of
God." 5. Enjoyment of the power of the world
to come—"and the powers of the world to come."
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
77
This is the state the individual reached. Now,
let us see, II. What he lost. i. Light—"once
enlightened." 2. Taste for heaven—"tasted of
the heavenly gift." 3. Forsakes the Holy Ghost
—"were made partakers of the Holy Ghost." 4.
Taste of God's word—"tasted the good word of
God." 5. Lost taste for heaven—"the powers of
the world to come."
When the declaration is mingled with other
expressions, one may seem mystified; but there
can be no wonder of the reasonableness of the
truth expressed, when it is looked upon without
a prism in the divine light. An individual has
lost the light wherewith he was enlightened; lost
all taste for heaven and heavenly things; parted
fellowship with the Holy Spirit; has no taste for
the Word of God, which was once his daily food;
and the power of the world to come has receded
from his view, lost in the abyss of eternity; how
is it possible to renew such an individual to re¬
pentance ?
An individual committing a sin gives no indi¬
cation that he has surrendered each and all of
these influences; to the reverse, he often goes
away feeling sorry for his sin. He is evidently
not without light, therefore, he has not parted his
fellowship with the Holy Spirit. He has not lost
78
PREDESTINATION.
his love for the Word of God neither his hope
for heaven: he does not commence to be in the
condition of the person mentioned by the apostle.
Such a person (who has surrendered all these
blessings) has no relish nor feeling for them;
he can never be renewed. The total absence of
one of these great essentials (the Word, light, and
the Holy Ghost) is sufficient to forever remove
his chance of repentance—the absence of the
Holy Spirit. There can be no chance of repent¬
ance for such an individual, and there is no rea¬
son to wonder thereat.
In this Scripture alone, we have undeniable
proof that an individual in the highest state of
grace is capable of falling away, backsliding, or
apostatizing, as we may please to term it. If
that is not true, Scripture is to blame for the in¬
formation obtained; for it is plain, practical, and
reasonable.
St. Paul gives us another reason to believe the
doctrine of apostasy. Writing to the Corin¬
thians, he says—I. Corinthians 10: 12—"Where¬
fore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed
lest he fall." Why this warning, if the apostle is
conscious there is no danger of falling? Rather,
it would be making a false impression, not to
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
79
say a false statement; and who dare accuse the
inspired apostle of such motives ?
But that is not all. He threatens himself of
becoming a castaway, after preaching to others,
if he were not careful in self-control. Let us
read—I. Corinthians 9: 27—"But I keep under
my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that
by any means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be a castaway." What shall we
say to this? shall we say we know better than
that? You may say it, but we never.
But Paul is not the only sacred or inspired
writer who gives us this plain and practical in¬
formation, Peter makes similar declaration—II.
Peter 3: 17—"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing we
know these things before, beware lest ye also* be¬
ing led away with the error of the wicked; fall
from your own steadfastness." This is certainly
a straightforward and positive declaration, and
the same apostle tells us that not merely are men
in grace capable of falling, but that at a certain
stage of the world, angels fell—II. Peter 2: 4—
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell, and delivered thenl
into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment," he would have us know that in case
of our falling, we must meet no better fate.
80
PREDESTINATION.
The angels, no doubt, who fell at that time
were in a state of probation, yet they were per¬
fectly holy; and notwithstanding their holy con¬
dition, during their state of probation a large
number of them fell. Why is it impossible for
men, with varied infirmities, to fall from a state
of grace?
The false impression some persons possess of
predestination and election, has also turned aside
their reasonable conception from perceiving the
possibility of a person falling because he pos¬
sesses divine grace. Grace is not to be blamed
because of falling, but not using it consistently.
Though we have food in abundance surrounding
us, that will not save us from starvation—the
food must be used or starvation will be our por¬
tion. If any one doubt that statement, all he has
to do is to give it a reasonable trial.
WILL POWER—ITS WORK.
Should we admit that predestination is what
some pretend it to be, we must also admit that
human will and actions have nothing to do with
man's salvation; and while we frankly and freely
admit, as a fact, in a peculiar view of the matter,
that God is able to save man without his will or
action, we can not in general terms: for it is not
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
81
true. Scripture, reason, and circumstances
prove that man has to do with his salvation; if
not, he could not be accountable—and it is irra¬
tional to say that we are not accountable beings.
It is true man can be saved without any effort
of his own, but he can not be saved without his
free consent; neither can he be saved without
help from God. Since he can be saved without
any effort of his own, it is reasonable to admit it,
as a fact. God works to suit Himself. But in
the ordinary way provided by Providence, man is
saved by his effort in connection with the help of
God. This St. Paul positively declared in his
letter to Timothy—II. Timothy 2: 21—"If a man
therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a
a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the
Master's use, and prepared unto every good
work." Here it is positively declared that it is
in the power of man to cleanse himself, and he is
required to do so, if he desire to be a vessel
unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's
use. While he can not do this of himself, he is
furnished with divine power to assist him in so
doing, and the apostle therefore makes it generic
—"If a man therefore purge himself from these"
—showing that any man may cleanse himself if
82
PREDESTINATION.
he so desire. The man who doubts it, denies the
wisdom of inspiration.
All reasonable persons must admit that man is
dependent upon God for help to perform any and
every good act, but the will to perform must not
be left out of the question—that is man's, though
it is brought to life by the power of God. That
is to say, our will is perfectly inactive unless
stirred by the Spirit of God. The fact must be
admitted, from the natural condition of man, his
will is dormant and has no power to act unless
quickened by the touch of the Divine; but it is
never without that aid, unless he (man) forfeits
it by continual refusing—commits the final sin
against the only Being possessing power to aid.
According to divine arrangement, the power
of God does not exercise compelling influence
over the will of man, as a general thing, and
therefore leaves the individual free to act; hence,
his responsibility.
When the will is forced to act, by any influence
or influences; or prevented from acting by any
means outside of volition, there can be no indi¬
vidual responsibility. Hence, children and de¬
mented persons are not accountable, because they
do not act from matured volition. Away with
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
83
volition, and judgment and justice would be a
farce.
When the will has been set in perfect action by
the power of grace divine, it must be so kept, or
the enemy uses his chance to divert its correct
operation: his success is our failure, as in the case
of the five foolish virgins.
FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS.
The Scripture says there were ten virgins
which took their lamps and went forth to meet
the bridegroom—Matthew 25: 2—"Five of them
were wise, and five were foolish."
What we desire to bring out of this reference
is, individual responsibility, and the possibility
of falling from grace.
The Scripture tells us that five of these virgins
were foolish, but it has no reference to their pur¬
ity—no reference to the purity of their charac¬
ter; but to the want of the use of their mental
powers in providing for future contingencies.
Therein they showed themselves foolish.
In this parable, Jesus taught His disciples two
special truths. First, that in order to be success¬
ful, their judgment must be used in preparing
for contingencies; and, secondly, that in neglect¬
ing to make this provision, it is pos-
84
PREDESTINATION.
sible to start fair, run well, but fail ultimately.
That such failures may be attributed to want of
judgment; hence, grace to sustain—"five were
foolish."
There are those who believe the five foolish
virgins were pretenders, or to modify the expres¬
sion (the same thing) had no grace. If this is
a parable intended to illustrate a moral, not
merely must the analogy be admitted but sus¬
tained.
There were ten virgins, says the Scripture—
Matthew 25: 1—"Then shall the kingdom of
heaven be like unto ten virgins, which took their
lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom."
Virgins invariably refer to purity in every sense
of the word; if they were virgins (as the Scrip¬
ture calls them) they were pure. There can be
no doubt of that fact. But, says one, They were
morally pure, but had no grace. We are not sure
about that as a fact, but the contrary.
They had lamps, and lamps will not burn with¬
out oil. They "took their lamps, and went
forth to meet the bridegroom." But, says
another, they took their lamps without oil. It
may so appear without thought, but not so after
consideration.
The foolish went with the wise to meet the
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
85
bridegroom. They went probably at or about
dusk, and had to wait till midnight. When they
started their lamps were lighted, and continued
burning till they all fell asleep, the wise as well
as the foolish. That their lamps were burning
when they fell asleep, there can not be a shadow
of doubt; for when they found their mistake, it
was too late (midnight) and they had no time to
buy oil to supply their necessities, though urged
to do so by their fellows.
But learn the facts from their own lips, ac¬
cording to inspiration, when they awoke from
sleep—Matthew 25: 8—"The foolish said unto
the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are
gone out." Here we have the positive fact that
their lamps had been burning, and more than
that, they were evidently burning when they went
to sleep, and how long they were there before
they all fell asleep can not be conjectured, but
evidently some time. They had oil enough in
their lamps to last a reasonable time, and it could
not be considered a few minutes since the entire
ten virgins had fallen asleep, and were only
awaked at midnight by the voice of the watcher.
The trouble was, then, they took oil in their
lamps, but no oil in an extra vessel to replenish
the needs of their torches or flambeaux which
86
PREDESTINATION.
were called into operation longer than they ex¬
pected. It was for not making provision for
emergencies for which they were called "foolish
virgins." We are not taking what commentators
say about the matter, but inspiration. They evi¬
dently had oil on their torches, but took none in
extra vessels to replenish in case of need. This
unexpected occasion demanded extra supply.
If this parable has a moral, as it has, the bride¬
groom is the Lord Jesus, the bride is the church,
the ten virgins the members of the church indi¬
vidually, the light from the torches the exhibi¬
tion of our work, the oil represents the grace of
God given to sustain spiritual life.
If the oil represents grace, the ten virgins had
grace, for all their lamps were lighted and burn¬
ed, and no doubt burned for some time; and
lamps will not burn without oil. As in all other
cases, these five unwise virgins fell from grace,
because the provision made was not sufficient to
meet emergency—not sufficient to sustain them in
unexpected moments. Their lamps went out:they
fell from grace and were shut out. If their
lamps ever burned—and they could not go out
unless they burned—their going out showed they
exhausted the meagre supply. If, as we have
said before, the oil represented grace, the analogy
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
87
demands that if there be not sufficient grace to
supply, at the time it is required, the unwise will
fall. Unfortunate virgins!
Take caution, our soul, supply thyself with suf¬
ficient grace—grace for unexpected moments.
Remember the fall of the five foolish virgins.
Foolish, because they neglected to take with them
sufficient oil—they failed to look forward to un¬
expected happenings—sooner or later than ex¬
pected.
Here are other cases of apostasy, which
strengthens the phalanx of undoubted evidence
that the doctrine of. once in grace never out is
fallacious, to say the least, and is likely to prove
deceptive to persons who are not thoughtful and
skillful enough to examine different passages of
Scripture. Deluded persons are not guiltless, for
God gives His word for our instruction, and it is
ours to seek light from the Spirit to guide us cor¬
rectly and directly.
By the help of the Divine Spirit, we hope in a
future chapter to bring to the clear sunlight the
real and positive conclusions of Scripture declara¬
tion of the doctrine of predestination and its alli¬
ances.
88
PREDESTINATION.
KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTS—MISUNDERSTOOD.
Causes and effects are so very nearly allied, in
some instances, that often one is taken for the
other. The sun's rising and setting are evidently
caused by the action of the earth—not the sun's,
and we know it; yet, we commonly place the ef¬
fect for the cause, and without question. It is no
strange expression to say: "The sun goes
down", when in reality, to our system the sun
stands still, and the earth revolves. This is the
accepted term when we use it—"The sun is going
down."
One of the hardest and most unyielding sub¬
stances in the composition of the human body is
the teeth, and yet there is an admitted fact, not
merely that there is such a thing as toothache,
but persons are generally having toothache; be¬
cause when the tooth is extracted the ache
ceases.
Who, on examining that matter carefully,
would believe that their suffering was toothache?
If it were really toothache, the individual, or
other conditions, caused the tooth to suffer.
When you have had your tooth extracted; you
are not sure it is not suffering still, and some
selfish person would say, he did not care, so he
was not affected; and so we may go on to illus-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
89
trate indefinitely causes for effects, effects for
causes, and admitted fallacies—we forbear for
the present.
Our intention is to show that things are often
called by the wrong name, one thing or individual
is often placed instead of another—causes for ef¬
fects and effects for causes. But when positive
facts are called in question, bone to bone seek
their places, and muscles according to the opera¬
tions of bones and nerves in the system of their
varied complication find each his allotted place.
No doubt, one of the causes of difficulties and
disagreement in doctrinal views arises from
persons finding themselves "cornered", so to
speak; and making desperate efforts to redeem
themselves, use intricate and ambiguous reason¬
ing to extricate themselves from difficulties,
stretching facts to their greatest tension and sub¬
duing their stubbornness to pliancy. This is not
done in order to falsify the truth, but to estab¬
lish their views; and sometimes their views are
not on Scriptural grounds but early teaching or
conception.
Another individual of his kind, less intelligent
and consciencious, applies the pinchers and
stretches the already extended fact into fallacy.
Others follow in their wake. Then, this is often
90
PREDESTINATION.
coupled with human pride—a dislike to confess
one's error, thinking it is weakness, and wanting
to be strong, he makes any and every effort to
cover his mistakes. This human feeling often
mixes itself with the interpretation of divine
truth, even though one may be inclined to be
cautious, and proves hurtful to the cause. It is
true we can never see ourselves as others see us.
We said predestination is a doctrine—a Scrip¬
tural doctrine; and so it is. It is a declaration of
the decision of God, and ought never to be re¬
garded otherwise.
One of the disadvantages of interpreting
Scripture is, like the subjects before mentioned—
the movement of the earth for the sun (causing
day and night) ; toothache, for the affection of
the nerve caused by decayed tooth, in many in¬
stances make unwonted change in the issue. They
are not the presentation of simple facts, but ac¬
cepted views on these subjects—yet there is no
trouble to prove the contrary.
In like manner, a class of predestinarians set¬
tle as acts of God what alone is intended for His
foreknowledge—speaking after the manner of
men; yet the subject is so definitely stated in
Scripture that when it is carefully and unsel-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
91
fishly examined, aside from selfish views, there is
but one conclusion.
If we were able to take Christ away from the
subject, even then in justice to facts, predestina¬
tion does not take away the freedom of man to
act—therefore the responsibility for his acts re¬
mains.
To illustrate: God says I know this man. I
know him from birth to death. I weighed his
acts, one and all; measured his steps, every mo¬
ment of his life; numbered his thoughts and
words, according to wisdom. I offered him di¬
vine help and he accepts it. In the scale of divine
justice, according to mercy, he trimphs over dif¬
ficulties. He goes into forbidden paths, I send
my Spirit after him, he heeds and returns implor¬
ingly. He wanders again: following the weak¬
ness of his nature, but when he hears My voice,
nay, at the monition of his conscience, he crouches
and cries I yield, I yield! When he hears My
word, he rejoices in it, and calls Me the Rock of
his salvation. He does not forsake the right,
but varies from the path of rectitude in mortal
weakness; having sought his latitude and longi¬
tude, he found himself across the line of de-
markation: shifts his helm, and sails in favor on
My ocean of existence. This he continues till
92
PREDESTINATION.
he comes to the margin of the River of Death.
Being- called to cross the mystic river, he wades
through manfully with My rod and My staff.
When the water assays to reach his breast, he
waves My staff, feels with My rod for standing
place, and litters with uplifted eyes: "My heart
is overwhelmedhe finds himself standing upon
the Rock that is higher than he. All he lost in
crossing the swelling tide of the river was, the
rags of mortality. He arrives safe on the other
side of the river—the bank of immortality. I
know all things: these I know!
But He continues another case: I know this
man from the hour of his birth to the moment of
his death. I numbered the thoughts of his heart
and the words of his lips—they were his alone.
As he walked, I measured his steps—not one
slipped My notice. I weighed the acts of his life
in the scales of Justice—they were the scales of
divine justice. From his birth, I sent him My
divine Spirit and He offered him His help and
guidance, but he invariably refuses. He treads
the path of wickedness notwithstanding the
Spirit's entreaties and remonstrations; he pur¬
sues his course notwithstanding all obstructions.
On his way, he was allowed to fall into danger¬
ous chasms, and again into pitfalls: all threaten
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
93
destruction. In time of troubles, he cries unto
me with promises, and I offered help; but once
delivered, his promises had no effect in the recti¬
tude of his thoughts, walks, nor conversations.
He passes through life with singular views of
what is, but naught of what is to come. As he
passes through the waves from day to day, his
only object is to ride the billows and escape their
fury, and when possible, shun their scattered
sprays. Latitude and longitude were not his
conception, so his bark was kept above the swell¬
ing tide. At last, he was called to the margin
of the river, and crossing, he had neither rod nor
staff; so he was borne to the destiny of the eter¬
nally condemned. "For whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate." God knows the ac¬
tions of these two individuals, and so predestin¬
ated them accordingly; to whom did He show
greater favor ? If this were the only end of pre¬
destination, which of these individuals met the
greater favor of Providence? If these consign¬
ments were according to positive knowledge,
who was responsible for the destiny? We ought
to understand the difference between knowledge
and act, and action based upon righteous judg¬
ment.
94
PREDESTINATION.
KNOWLEDGE—NOT ACTS.
It is a great mistake to think that God does
everything. In so concluding, we often mingle
His acts with His knowledge, and call His
knowledge His works. There is not one atom in
the universe which God does not know, but it does
Him no injustice to say; there is a great deal done,
He does not do. We ought to be careful in ming¬
ling together His knowledge and His acts, for in
so doing, we make against Him false accusation.
There is no blessing in so doing, but contrary.
GOD FALSELY ACCUSED.
There are various ways to become false ac¬
cusers of our benevolent Father, and so doing is
neither acceptable to Him nor beneficial to the
accuser.
One of the ways thereunto is, trying to excuse
ourselves when otherwise we are blameworthy.
One of the many weaknesses to which we are
subject is, excusing ourselves by faulting others.
This disposition began in the Garden of Eden.
When God said to Adam—Genesis 3 : 11—"Hast
thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded
thee that thou shouldest not eat ?" Adam re¬
plied (verse 12) : "The woman whom thou
gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
95
and I did eat." In like manner, when the Lord
approached the woman with similar question,
answering, she said—verse 13—"The serpent
beguiled me and I did eat." We have followed
too much these unfortunate examples. We are
always ready to shift our burdens to the should¬
ers of our neighbor.
Often, our consciences trouble us, because we
have discovered in ourselves (in our lives) and
sometimes in the lives of good men, things for
which we can not easily account, and we are not
unwilling to find a horse and saddle for the ap¬
parent intruder; and we often saddle the wrong
horse. One of the first things is, I can not un¬
derstand this matter. There is no disposition
on my part to do, in the spirit of wilfulness, but
I have done; and Satan readily sugests, You can
not help—it is your nature to do so. And often
he further suggests, If there be blame, it is on
Him who made you thus—none of your fault.
Accordingly, our minds being in that way, we
seek passages of Scripture in which there seem
to be a pliability, and we prize and prize until
seemingly they incline the way which suits us
best and so ease our troubled minds.
When St. Paul discovered in himself unfavor¬
able symptoms, he attributed them to the flesh,
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PREDESTINATION.
said—Romans 7: 20-25—"Now if I do that I
would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that when I
would do good, evil is present with me. For I
delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring
against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members. O wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So
then with the mind I myself serve the law of
God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
Here we see, Paul discovered a wonderful de¬
fect somewhere, and he went about to locate it.
He did not blame God on its account, but located
it in the flesh. Some persons would never have
been careful enough to locate it so close to them¬
selves, nay, in themselves, unless someone else
was made responsible therefor.
In the case of John Wilmot, afterwards Earl
of Rochester, and known as Lord Rochester;
when he found himself drifting with the tide of
this world in sin and transgression, and thought
there was no way to restrain himself, he began
to accuse God; and when final accountability
stared him in the face, he hid under the danger-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
97
ous cliff: "There is no God." This began his
sceptical life, which caused him no little sorrow
during the time of his great affliction. He after¬
wards confessed that when he saw himself drift¬
ing away, and thought of his accountability, to
ease his troubled conscience, he said—"There is
no God; there is no God I" A man may repeat
a falsehood sufficiently to enable him to believe it
true: that has been done more than once.
There are characters who do not allow them¬
selves to go to such an extent; they calmly place
the mistakes and sins of their lives upon God—
not as a Saviour, but as being to blame for their
sins. They say, We were created for these pur¬
poses and are not to be blamed for them, since
we are doing what we can not do otherwise. And
the less intelligent a man is, to the greater extent
he carries these peculiar ideas, and so accuses
God for the sins he (man) commits.
Often his accusation bears the name of pre¬
destination. They say they are serving the end
for which they were created, and can do no more.
Thousands of persons refuse to accept Christ
from the fact their teaching causes them to be¬
lieve they can not accept Him (Christ) until He
is ready for them—then they will be compelled
to accept Him.
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PREDESTINATION.
The fact that they desire to continue in their
sins, furnishes them the evidence that God is not
ready for them, or He would draw them with
an irresistible power. A goodly number of per¬
sons is really established in that belief, and oth¬
ers do not actually believe it, but use it as an ex¬
cuse why they should not be urged to come to
Christ. This is a fact known by thousands; it
is the fruit coming from the misinterpretation of
predestination—God so orders it, it can not be
otherwise.
It is true, if God so ordered it, it could not be
otherwise; but the question is, has He so ordered,
or are we misinterpreting Him? Woe to the
misinterpreter—the false accusers of God.
ALL POWER AND WISDOM.
The question is often asked, has not God all
power? did He not know our weaknesses? why
did He create us with these frailties, knowing
we would fall, leave us to ourselves so causing us
to fall ? Why should this be done, if it were not
His will—knowing all things and having all
power ?
It has been said, it is not a difficult thing for
a fool to ask questions which a wise man can not
answer. This is not applicable in this case, how-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
99
ever. This question may be answered by one
who is not wise, according to the wisdom of this
world, but who humbly sits at the Master's feet,
perceives and understands the gentle whisper of
the Spirit divine.
MAN CREATED FOR HAPPINESS.
Before answering, we ask this question: What
is the principal source of happiness? What is
happiness? If we answer these questions, you
will scarcely object. We answer, then, Happi¬
ness is satisfaction in the highest and broadest
sense; and the source of it, Choice.
There are very few persons who do not know
something of happiness or unhappiness. Being
opposite one to the other, one gives some idea of
the other. Happiness has the same source in
religious matters as otherwise, and this fact was
brought out by Jesus Himself, in the case of
Simon who was displeased at the occasion of the
woman washing the Saviour's feet, with her
tears, and wiping them with the hairs of her
head. The Scripture presents the circumstances
as follows—Luke 7: 37-43—"Behold, a woman
in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew
that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house,
brought an alabaster box of ointment, And
100
PREDESTINATION.
stood at his feet behind him weeping, and be¬
gan to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe
them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his
feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now
when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw
it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if
he were a prophet, would have known who and
what manner of woman this is that toucheth
him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering
said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say
unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There
was a certain creditor which had two debtors:
the one owed five hundred pence, and the other
fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he
frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore,
which of them will love him most? Simon an¬
swered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he
forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou
hast rightly judged."
Here, according to Simon's consistent reason¬
ing, the Saviour decided that the woman was the
happier of the two—the more grateful from her
action—because she was satisfied that she had
been forgiven of great sins. This was not the
feeling of Simon, according to his action; and it
is brought out by the Saviour's question: "Which
of them will love most?" and rightly "Simon
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
101
answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom
he forgave most."
This woman was satisfied—greatly satisfied
that while she was a great sinner, she met an
exceedingly great Saviour. She showed her
love in adoration, and He reciprocated in fully
and frankly forgiving her all her sins.
We do not think it necessary to do more than
state the fact, before mentioned, that happiness
is satisfaction in its highest and broadest sense—
the individual choice fully realized.
All reasonable persons confess that the laws
of our being, and the laws of the universe (as
far as we know them) are the most reasonable
and complete which wisdom could produce: in
them is seen the work of Omniscience.
As to happiness being the object of choice, it
may be seen that some persons choose to eat
lemons, and seem to enjoy them with all their
heart, while an acid orange can not be endured
by others. Acid is acid (is sour) under any
and all circumstances; yet, because of the taste
and choice of some individuals it is greatly en¬
joyed; while its use would be punishment to
another. The last mentioned individual may
think the same of sugar as the former of lemon,
and there can be no ordinary adjustment to the
102
PREDESTINATION.
reverse. To make either or each of these indi¬
viduals happy, he must be allowed to have his
choice—the thing that pleases him. It would
be a matter of impossibility to make the person
happy by forcing- him to eat lemon against his
will and taste; the same may be said of the per¬
son disliking sugar. It must be concluded,
therefore, the only way to make persons happy
is, to allow each to have what suits him—what he
desires. How can you make a person happy
by forcing upon him that for which he has no
desire nor taste? Here it may be observed, dif¬
ferent persons have different tastes, and to make
each happy you must allow him to follow the in¬
clination of his taste, according to his will.
But that you may see the fact more clearly, let
its suppose that the varied tastes or desires of
individuals were taken away; so they will not
differ: all must like the same thing, the same
way, under the same circumstance—it is done.
Now you have a creature who knows no differ¬
ence between sugar and lemon, between egg and
a stone, between chalk and cheese. A man who
loves every other man's wife as well as he does
his own, a woman who loves every other wo¬
man's husband as well as she does her own—
who ha$ no more preference for her children
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
103
than for a young serpent. How would you like
that state of things? Now, we are happy and
enjoy things which please us, and in order to
know what pleases us, evidently we must know
what does not. To be deprived of the knowledge
of one of these, deprives us of the other also;
hence, no taste nor will of our own. What re¬
markable creatures we would be to be sure.
But, again: Say we have will and taste, but
God controls them. In that event, they would
be no more ours but God's, but even if they were
placed in our possession and termed our own,
though God's, what would be the consequence—
think of the ultimate.
If you have a will it is bound to show itself. It
shows itself in children when they are very
young. If the will be placed in your possession,
somebody will attempt to use it, though he die
trying, and would some time use it indiscreetly.
In attempting to use it indiscreetly we must be
checked or prevented from using it; what would
be the result ? why, rebellion.
We may notice this fact in children as they ad¬
vance in years. Take a girl for instance. She
is brought up to see as her parents see, think as
they think, talk as they talk, know as they know,
and to reason as they reason. She has a will,
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PREDESTINATION.
and that will will not always be the will of her
parents. She has a will to marry for example,
and her parents see reason to the contrary—the
next thing she runs away and is married. That
is the case of having a will, and when it is
crossed the individual rebels. We must evi¬
dently have will and taste if we are to be happy.
How much better would it be if we have occa¬
sion to rebel because our ardent desire was
crossed, or if we carried out our will and so
crossed God's providence?
The rebellion of the angels in heaven was oc¬
casioned by God's obstructing their inconsistent
desire. They had wills and would satisfy them,
unrighteous though they were; God prevented
them from carrying out their desire, and they re¬
belled. In their rebellion, they found no place
of redemption. Even in our fall, we have the
better chance—we have been offered redemption
through Christ Jesus. It is not well to assume
to have better judgment than God; to know how
we might have been created to prevent us from
falling. The man doing so belittles himself in
the sight of reasonable men, spirits good and
evil, and in the eyes of the Eternal One.
To say God knows man in his strength and
weaknesses, is a fact expressed according to rea-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
105
son; but to conclude, on that account, God willed
his (man's) fall, falsely accuses the Master, and
we would not be a willing participant in such an
accusation.
Speaking cautiously, God could not prevent
man from exercising his free will, and especially
when the exercise thereof was to decide his fu¬
ture destiny—happiness or misery. He must
choose for himself. If another choose
for him, and he is not pleased therewith,
he can not be happy. Happiness, we repeat, de¬
mands that which is pleasing to the will, and
which is obtained only by choice.
In the creation of man he was susceptible to
happiness, and that admitted the acts and free¬
dom of his will. Good and evil were placed be¬
fore him and the consequence of the use of
either explained—he must work out his own
destiny.
According to knowledge God knew that he
would fall, and in the order of providence pro¬
vided for his salvation. What more could he
do? To prevent his fall he must cross the
bounds of His own wisdom, and if unlawful to
the divine will to restrict the power of man's
will, he must prepare to cross and re-cross the
path of providence at any moment; for he is
106
PREDESTINATION.
likely to shift his course at his inclination. Di¬
vine wisdom chose to make provision for the
Fall, and predestinated that the way provided
shall be the only medium which could be af¬
forded—Romans 8: 29—"Did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son."
WHAT PREDESTINATION CAN NOT MEAN.
Neither man, angel, nor devil can fathom the
mind of God. It is not always possible, therefore,
to conceive the intention of God—what He
means in every thing He says. All reasonable
persons admit this fact. One thing may be con¬
cluded, however, since God can not contradict
Himself, any two or more statements which seem
to come in contact or contradict each other,
God's views or idea in the matter is misunder¬
stood.
WHAT GOD CAN NOT DO.
Tt has been stated, a rather smart individual
who would exhibit his smartness, proposed to
find something which God can not do. In his
ambitious struggles, he conceived the idea that
God could not form two mountains, adjacent,
without a valley between. We are not sure
God could not do so, and therefore we are sure
our wise friend is not certain of the fact stated.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
107
Without attempting to exhibit skill in discov¬
eries, we could suggest an easier and surer (but
not a new) idea— God can not contradict Him¬
self. Whenever there seems to be a contradic¬
tion in the utterance of God, the understanding
is undoubtedly misled; the intention of God is
not understood, and reasonable seeking will so
discover. Reasonable seeking has a great
deal to do with the discovery of facts connected
with divine truths. Seeking which never fails
to discover must be honest, earnest, humble, and
if necessary, persistent. Truths delivered from
the mouth of God can never contradict others,
for He sees as well as knows all things at the
same time, and they are never out of His imme¬
diate views: it is impossible, then, for Omnis¬
cience to contradict Himself. When it so ap¬
pears, the understanding is led astray; and must
seek, if it would find the right way.
GOD NEVER PRETENDS.
It is useless to think that God ever pretends.
He can not, because it is against His principles—
eternal truth—so to do. He will not, for He is
under obligation to no one for His sayings or
acts; He does not, because He will not lay an
108
PREDESTINATION.
example contrary to honest purpose before the
creatures of His handiwork.
If predestination means: I have settled the
work of man's salvation from eternity, accord¬
ing to the order of My providence; so it is and
must be—no change can occur: then, what
does this mean—Mark 16: 15, 16—"And he said
unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; and he that be¬
lieveth not shall be damned." If God's almighty
power has already decreed and settled the mat¬
ter, why "Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature?" Why the state¬
ment "He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned?" Why offer bread to a man whom it
is known it is utterly impossible to accept—much
less eat? Is the gospel preached to men in¬
tended to be another case of the myth Tantalus
(from whom the word tantalize derived) who
having discovered the secrets of the gods to men,
was consigned to hell, where he is placed up to
his chin in water, and though in anguish from
thirst, can never taste the water? If God offers
the gospel to men whom He knows can never
accept it, is it not the punishment of Tantalus re-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
109
peated? with this difference, his punishment was
for a cause, but this, because the individuals
were left out of the plan of salvation, consigned
to the pit of destruction from eternity, for not
doing what they have no power to do—no
cause.
Keeping with the character of a benevolent,
merciful, divine Father, can His word "Predesti¬
nation" mean: "It pleased Me, the Eternal God,
according to My divine will, irrespective of
thoughts or actions of others, to have mercy
upon a part of mankind, and so decree that that
part shall be eternally saved: I decide others
shall be damned." Can this be the possible
meaning of predestination? Read John 3 : 15-19
—"That whosoever believeth in Him shall not
perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not per¬
ish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not
His Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but
he that believeth not is condemned already, be¬
cause he hath not believed on the name of the
only begotten Son of God. And this is the con¬
demnation, that light is come into the world,
110
PREDESTINATION.
and men loved darkness rather than light, be¬
cause their deeds were evil."
It is useless to comment on this clear cut pas¬
sage of Scripture, when it is brought in contact
writh the fallacy called predestination; we simply
ask what does "Whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life"
mean, in the 15th and 16th verses? It will be no¬
ticed that the quotation of the two verses is
exactly the same—one succeeding the other—
with the single exception of the words eternal
and everlasting, and that is done by the transla¬
tors. In the original the same word is used by
the sacred writer in both verses—"Ages without
end." Why not Whosoever can (if whosoever
must be used) instead of whosoever will, since
a part of mankind has no power—according to
some.
The same writer suggests to us again that all
individuals have wills, and have power to use
them. See Revelations 22: 17—"The Spirit and
the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. And let him that is athirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely." Shall we say to the evangelist, St.
John, You are mistaken—some men can not
come: they are out of the plan of salvation ?
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
Ill
Shall we say, Please change the expression, as
you have it, it is unlimited: the plan of salvation
is limited to those whom God has pleased to elect
to eternal life. We are willing to admit our ig¬
norance, but we would not carry it so far. In
the presence of such a divine declaration, that
would seem flying in the face of wisdom—wis¬
dom divine.
Predestination can not mean, nay, does not
mean God from eternity selected part of the
world to be saved, and the remainder to be con¬
demned. To know a thing, and to do it are very
different things. We would scarcely be execut¬
ed for knowing a man was murdered, but our
chances for escape would be slim if it were
known we committed the crime.
We desire to impress upon the minds of indi¬
viduals that we commit a criminal offence when
we mingle together the knowledge and acts of
God, and call the latter the former. Is it reas¬
onable to place on God the crimes we have com¬
mitted, saying: We have stolen a man's money,
it is not we but God ? He not merely knew that
we would steal this money but made us to steal
it—not our fault by any means—it is God's.
Does not such talk—we were going to say argu¬
ment, but there is no argument therein; does not
112
PREDESTINATION.
such talk appear ridiculous ? It is the talk some
people advance as argument in support of pre¬
destination.
ANOTHER MISCONCEPTION.
No one could persuade certain persons that
their lives depend on their acts, and yet their acts
so declare. They say, We can not die until our
time comes, but as soon as they are sick they
send for physicians and spend their last cent and
more, making- efforts to extend their lives. They
can not see that their acts contradict their own
argument.
The idea they advance is, that God made them
to die a certain death, at such and such a time,
under this or that condition; and yet, they fight
strongly against heaven's decree trying to ex¬
tend their earthly existence.
It is certain God has as much to do with the
death as with the birth of individuals. To
illustrate: A candle is made of wick, tallow or
sperm. It is made a certain length with re¬
quired material. If that candle is placed where
it can burn without disturbance (wind or other¬
wise) it will give light or burn a certain length
of time. In case of disturbance, in violation of
the law of its existence, it goes out sooner.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
113
Should it go out sooner than the allotted time,
because of violation of the laws of its existence,
would you attribute the shortness of its burning
to the maker? It would certainly burn for a
certain length of time, were it not compelled to
struggle against laws contrary to its existence.
All the responsibility the maker assumes is, it
will burn so long, if the law of its existence is
not violated. Could you reasonably expect
more?
This is a reasonable illustration of man's ex¬
istence. God made man with the capacity to
endure certain length of time, but does that guar¬
antee his endurance should he violate the laws of
his existence—and especially if he is unable to
make amends for the violation. That fact is
strikingly illustrated from the efforts we make
in cases of sickness to restore ourselves to health.
In order that we may extend our existence, we
put forth every effort in our power to check
ailments caused by the violation of the laws of
our being.
Every pain we suffer is from some violation of
the laws of our being. It is certain if we vio¬
late no law of our existence, we will never suffer
pain, notwithstanding our talk of hereditary dis¬
eases. If diseases are hereditary they go in a
114
PREDESTINATION.
dormant state, and can never be awakened un¬
less some law is violated. We do not believe in
hereditary disease anyhow. We believe in pos¬
sible hereditary weaknesses or acute liabilities.
It must be remembered, we reap what we sow,
and do so at a merciful discount.
Some things we get in the habit of saying, and
say them whether or not they mean anything,
mean the contrary or not: we say them from cus¬
tom—the same is true of doing. Some persons
writing with a pencil put it on their tongue to
make it write black, not thinking it would serve
to write but one or two words in that condition,
and in case of writing two thousand words, to
harmonize the writing, it must be dampened a
thousand times, or have the writing look two
words black and the others pale for a certain dis¬
tance—till the pencil is dampened again. Too
many thoughtless things are said and done, and
the greatest evil is, our willingness to place them
on others: often on God; and predestination is of¬
ten made the medium in so doing, though it was
never intended so to be.
LIVES MATERIALLY DEPEND ON ACTIONS.
There is certainly a limit to the life of every in¬
dividual, and the applicability of the word mor-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
115
tal is an indicative proof; notwithstanding, many
a life has been shortened for want of proper care
and attention. By reason of our fallen nature,
all men must die—this is the eternal decree; and
while it can not be changed in the certainty of
death, life may be shortened by the violation of
laws connected with its existence, regardless of
what persons may say in relation to the foreor¬
dained plan from eternity.
Every individual comes into the world with
the capacity to endure the ordinary and extraor-
ordinary circumstances of life, but the endurance
does not comprehend or include violation of any
of the laws of existence. Every violation de¬
mands a penalty in the moral, spiritual, or physi¬
cal world; and sooner or later the demand must
be met in one way or another.
For instance, The heart received commission
from the hand of its Creator to force the blood
through the various arteries of the body, over the
entire system; but there is a certain period of
every twenty-four hours of each dz).y the body
must be placed in a position (horizontal) when
the heart will not be required to exert extraor¬
dinary powers, as the reclining position of the
body enables it (the heart) to perform its func-
116
PREDESTINATION.
tions with greater ease and less effort—a kind of
rest.
For this reason, as well as others, from six to
eight hours of the twenty-four, the body ought
to be reclining, or more correctly expressed,
ought to be in a horizontal position. Such a
position releases the heart from extraordinary ef¬
forts in accomplishing its work—forcing sufficient
blood to the brain—as it is more difficult to force
upward than otherwise. For this reason, a per¬
son who does not or can not lie down, can enjoy
life but a short time; for the unremitting efforts of
the heart, having to force blood to the head while
the body is in a perpendicular or upright posture,
at all times (day and night) overtaxes the endur¬
ance of the heart—life fails. It will be noticed,
life fails because the law governing existence has
been violated. This would be the natural conse¬
quence whether or not the violation was done on
purpose or otherwise.
In such a case, the cause of death is overtaxing
the energy of the heart, and so exhausting the
power of resource; and in an event of the kind it
can be plainly seen that a law has been violated
which deprives the heart of the relaxation neces¬
sary to recuperation; and the consequence is, it
collapsed. That life may be enjoyed to the full-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
117
est extent—in health and creative endurance—the
dictum of its laws must meet no obstruction.
Physical as well as moral, for every violation
there is a penalty. Give every organ its lawful
due, and there will be no resentment; but, burden
any contrary to the laws pf its being, and wher¬
ever the crossing point in the line of natural ex¬
istence takes place, corresponding struggle will
be the result. Let the shuttle run freely, accord¬
ing to the laws of its being, and life will continue
according to the measure of its creative capacity.
Like the candle, if no wind or other circum¬
stances disturb "Its blaze, it will continue to burn
according to the capability of its construction.
That the proper exercise pf the functions of
the body for the extension or shortening of our
lives is in our possession—entirely entrusted in
our care—is evident from the effort made by in¬
ferior animals for health, safety, and the pro¬
longation of their lives. There can be no doubt
that if inferior creatures, by instinctive endow¬
ment, give such marked proofs of their concern
for life, health, etc.; creatures of reason can not
afford to plead ignorance of the blessings of con¬
ception of what is more to them than to beasts.
The beasts die, and that ends their existence:
creatures of reason die to live eternally in happi-
118
PREDESTINATION.
ness or in woe: they are accountable for the man¬
ner they exercise their privilege in carrying out
the will of Providence.
Human beings are responsible for their health,
lives, etc.; and often their ailments and sufferings
are fruits of their disregard for the laws regulat¬
ing their existence. To plead ignorance of these
laws, is to confess our inferiority to the beasts
which perish. It is true, we may not be able to
designate the laws governing our being specifi¬
cally, but we perceive whenever we come in con¬
tact with them—they impress us keenly, when we
have not walkd over them until they are utterly
dormant, as a pin coming in contact with our ac¬
tive limbs. It is useless, therefore, to argue that
our lives do not depend, to a great extent, on our
actions; but on the foreordained plan of Provi¬
dence. We repeat, God knowing what we would
do, can not imply that we are not responsible, but
He: Scriptural predestination never intended to
advance the idea of our helplessness in the exer¬
cise of our will powers. God only cares for men
when they can not care for themselves. No rea¬
sonable man doubts that fact, for if he sees a
train coming and he defies it in the name of the
Lord, he will have but a short time to continue
Ihis defiance.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
119
GUILT—THE RESULT OF FREE WILL.
If real justice, in favor of individuals, is to be
found anywhere, under any and all circumstances,
it is in God's dealings with His creatures. For
this reason the law governing or holding persons
responsible for acts committed by their free will,
exempted women who made vows while they
were under restrictions of father or husband.
When the Almighty gave laws to govern sa¬
cred vows made, He had this to say of vows made
by a woman under the control of her father—
Numbers 30: 3-5—"If a woman also vow a vow
unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being
in her father's house in her youth; And her fath¬
er hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath
bound her soul, and her father shall hold his
peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and
every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul
shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the
day that he heareth; not any of her vows,
or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her
soul, shall stand: and the Lord shall forgive her,
because her father disallowed her."
A wife under the influence of her husband,
merited similar allowance, and so the Scripture
says of her—Numbers 30: 6-8—"And if she had
120
PREDESTINATION.
at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered
ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her
soul; And her husband heard it, and held his
peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her
vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she
bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband
disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then
he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that
which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she
bound her soul, of none effect: and the Lord shall
forgive her."
Here the character of a just and merciful
Father is presented, and His mindfulness of those
who could not in all cases exercise their desire or
intention, because they were under certain restric¬
tions. Their will was often bound up with and
controlled by others, and because such facts in the
view of the Creator militated the free exercise of
the individual will, He said in each case, when the
restriction was exercised—verses 5, 8—"And the
Lord shall forgive her." If through the restric¬
tion of her father she could not exercise her free
will, God said to Moses: "The Lord shall for¬
give herand if her husband obstructed her way
in the performance of her vows, after she had ut¬
tered them, He declared: "The Lord shall for¬
give her." Is not the consideration of the Father
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
121
of Justice tempered with mercy and wisdom un¬
bounded ?
It is scarcely necessary to present a more strik¬
ing passage of Scripture to prove that God will
not hold an individual guilty when the exercise
of his free will has been obstructed, for this is
seen in the very thoughtful utterances of the fore¬
going. Can it be possible that the same Divine
Father having entirely removed the lever which
operates the power of the will in its free exercise,
and without which it is powerless in performing
any act toward obedience to His will, withhold or
remove the power, knowing that every good act
depends thereon, predestined the individuals to
eternal destruction because they will not do what
He knows they are unable to do, appoint a day
of judgment, call before Him those individuals—
conscious they had no power to exercise their will
in obeying His commands, He having divested
them of every vestige of energy to will and to do
His pleasure—yet in judgment, because they did
not do that which He knew was utterly impos¬
sible, and so ordained by the finger of His Al¬
mighty power, consigns them to eternal destruc¬
tion? Does it appear in the light of reason, es¬
tablished upon the principle of divirie equity—
just in all His acts—that God will in such a case
122
PREDESTINATION.
show Himself worse than Pharaoh? for the lat¬
ter only whipped for not being able to perform
the task which he made extremely difficult; but
God, consigns to eternal destruction for not per¬
forming acts which He Himself made utterly im¬
possible to be performed from eternity. What
shall we name such a doctrine? not predestina¬
tion ! nay, Scriptural predestination stands above
any act of reasonable criticism, as having even
the appearance of injustice.
God can not help knowing all things from eter¬
nity to eternity, and to declare that He made pro¬
visions for whom He knew, determined because
of their intention, and in that He made provision,
opened a door—an effectual door—and ordained
it the only entrance into His kingdom, declaring
that that door was His Son whom He had anoint¬
ed Prophet, Priest, and King; and the Saviour
Himself, when He was in the world, declared—
John 10: 9—"I am the door: by me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out,
and find pasture." This is another declaration
which declares the universality of God's offered
mercies, and if God in His knowledge, called His
foreknowledge (speaking after the manner of
men) made provision for the rescue, according to
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
123
a predetermined plan, what could that have to do
with the exercise of the free will of individuals ?
—"For whom he did foreknow, he also did pre¬
destinate to be conformed to the image of His
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren."
CHAPTER III.
CALVINISTIC PREDESTINATION.
It is not a pleasant thing to be considered in¬
credulous, yet persons should know what and
why they believe, before professing belief. This
is in accordance with the apostle's direction, not
merely to know, but to be able to give reason for
our hope, and we would add our beliefs.
If many persons knew what they really pro¬
fess to believe, they would scarcely be willing to
continue to claim belief therein. We desire to
speak, therefore, of predestination in the light
of Calvinism.
For good reason, no doubt, predestination is
termed Calvinism, but as we mentioned in a pre¬
vious chapter, this noted doctrine was earnestly
discussed long before the time of Calvin. He,
it appears, gave it more prominence than his
predecessors; hence, the appellation.
124
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
125
That we may observe how easy it is, not merely
to slip the track, though pursuing the way of
wisdom and righteousness, and do so uncon¬
sciously—for we believe Calvin was conscien-
scious in his expressed views—let us notice a few
of the evidently mistaken views vindicated by
him, who like a mighty moving locomotive,
dragged the train of cars thitherward, all depend¬
ing upon the mighty power of a great exponent
of Holy Scripture. Thence we may learn how it
is possible for zeal, though surrounded with much
learning, to produce spots large enough to ob¬
scure the rays of the noonday sun, and leave the
individual unconscious of what may appear to
others real contradiction.
Calvin taught—"Institutes," Book III., Chap¬
ter 21—"Predestination we call the eternal de¬
cree of God; by which He Hath determined in
Himself what he would have to become of every
individual of mankind. For they are not all
created with similar destiny; but eternal life is
foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for
others. Every man, therefore, being created for
one or other of these ends, we say, he is predes¬
tinated, either to life, or to death."
Having spoken of the election of the race of
Abraham, then of particular branches of that
126
PREDESTINATION.
race, he continues: "Though it is sufficiently
clear, that God, in His secret counsel, freely
chooses whom He will, and rejects others, His
gratuitous election is but half displayed till we
come to particular individuals, to whom God not
only offers salvation, but assigns it in such a
manner that the certainty of the effect is liable
to no suspense or doubt." He proceeds to give
the summary of the chapter in which he discusses
this doctrine in the following words: "In con¬
formity, therefore, to the clear doctrine of the
Scripture, we assert, that by an eternal and im¬
mutable counsel, God hath once for all determined
both whom He would admit to salvation, and
whom He would condemn to destruction. We
affirm that this counsel, as far as concerns the
elect, is founded on His gratuitous mercy, totally
irrespective of human merit; but that to those
whom he devotes to condemnation, the gate of
life is closed by a just and irreprehensible, but
incomprehensible, judgment. In the elect, we
consider calling as an evidence of election; and
justification as another token of His manifesta¬
tion, till they arrive in glory, which constitutes
its completion. As God seals His elect by voca¬
tion and justification, so by excluding the repro¬
bate from the knowledge of His name, and sane-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
127
tification of His Spirit, He affords another indi¬
cation of the judgment that awaits them."
This is not the sum and substance of this noted
writer's views. He makes it plain that the pre¬
destination which he taught had no reference to
the foreknowledge of God, regarding the foreseen
conduct of the reprobate. He says—Book III.,
Chapter 22—"It is a notion commonly enter¬
tained, that God, foreseeing what would be the
respective merits of every individual, makes a
correspondent distinction between different per¬
sons ; that He adopts as His children such as He
foreknows will be deserving of His grace; and
devotes to the damnation of death others, whose
dispositions He sees will be inclined to wicked¬
ness and impiety. Thus they not only obscure
election by covering it with the veil of foreknowl¬
edge, but pretend that it originates in another
cause." Agreeing with this view, a little farther
he asserts that election does not flow from holi¬
ness, but holiness from election. It is needless
to inquire farther into the matter, for he posi¬
tively excludes all human efforts, good or bad,
demanded or not, from man's salvation; says:
"For when it is said, that the faithful are elected
that they should be holy, it is fully implied, that
the holiness they were in future to possess had its
128
PREDESTINATION.
origin in election." With this doctrine the ne¬
cessity of repentance, though urgently demanded,
is set aside, and it is to be wondered that any
church could afford to submit to such doctrine.
Calvin makes the declaration of God in rela¬
tion to Jacob and Esau, loved and hated, before
they had done good or evil, an evidence that the
only reason of election and reprobation can be
found nowhere save in God's "secret counsel."
He positively disallows the future wickedness of
the reprobate to have been considered in the de¬
cree of their rejection, and makes similar declar¬
ation in regard to the righteousness of the elect
having no effect on their respective fates. Here
are his words: " 'God hath mercy on whom he
will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.'
You see how he (the apostle) attributes both to
the mere will of God. If, therefore, we can as¬
sign no reason why he grants mercy to his people
but because such is his pleasure, neither shall we
find any other cause but his will for the reproba¬
tion of others. For when God is said to harden,
or show mercy on whom he pleases, men are
taught, by this declaration, to see no cause beside
His will. He further says: "Many, indeed, as
if they wished to avert odium from God, admit
election in such a way as to deny that any one is
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
129
reprobated. But this is puerile and absurd; be¬
cause election itself could not exist, without be¬
ing opposed to reprobation;—whom God passes
by He therefore reprobates; and from no other
cause than His determination to exclude them
from the inheritance which He predestinates for
His children."—Book JII., Chapter 23.
Such is the scheme of predestination unfolded
by Calvin, and in his reply to objections from
those who called in question the justice of such
procedure, he answers: "They inquire (the ob¬
jectors) by what right the Lord is angry with
His creatures who had not provoked Him by
any previous offence; for that to devote to de¬
struction whom He pleases, is more like the ca¬
price of a tyrant, than the lawful sentence of a
judge. If such thoughts ever enter into the
minds of pious men, they will be sufficiently en¬
abled to break their violence by this one consid¬
eration, how exceedingly presumptuous it is, only
to inquire into the cause of the divine will; which
is, in fact, and is justly entitled to be, the cause
of everything that exists. For if it has any
cause, then there must be something antecedent
on which it depends, which it is impious to sup¬
pose. For the will of God is the highest rule of
justice; so that what He wills must be considered
130
PREDESTINATION.
just, for this very reason, because He wills it."
From this declaration, it will be seen, the writer
assumes the very thing in dispute, that God
willed the destruction of a part of the hu¬
man race, "For no other cause than because He
wills it;" and any careful reader of Holy Scrip¬
ture knows that the Word of God furnishes no
proof of this assumption, but, on the contrary, it
ascribes the death of him that dieth to his will
and the work of his hands—not to the will of
God, for He wills not the death of a sinner.
The writer assigns as a reason why persons
should not inquire into the reasonableness or un¬
reasonableness of his assertion, impiety. He
does not leave it as a matter of fact that there are
qualities in God which He presents to us as ruler
of His will; therefore, to inquire if those quali¬
ties accord with the interpretation of the writer
could scarcely be considered impiety, but ought
to be done in truth and with propriety.
For example, God has revealed Himself to His
creatures as a God of perfect wisdom, holiness,
justice, goodness, mercy, etc.; therefore, the ex¬
ercise of His will, as a consequence, flows from
the perfection of his nature, and is much more
honorable and tender in Scriptural view where
it is ever tempered with justice and mercy than
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
131
it could be if it were seen in the administration of
punishment without the slightest provocation
from the indication of guilt. When the writer
calls the will of God the "highest rule of justice
beyond which we can not push our inquiries, he
rather confounds the will of God as a rule of jus¬
tice to us as well as to His wisdom.
It is true, God is under no obligation to give
account of His acts, but His revealed acts are to
us the rule of life—and we have no other—if,
therefore, His acts be so contrary to His de¬
mands, how could we have in Him a guide and
perfect model? But as we will review these
matters hereafter, we continue the quotations
from our author.
This writer was not content to leave the mat¬
ter at the stage before quoted, but extended the
breach by resorting to an argument in which he
has been generally followed by those who
adopted his system with some modification. He
says: "As we are all corrupt by sin, we must
necessarily be odious to God, and that not from
tyrannical cruelty, but in the most equitable esti¬
mation of justice. If all whom the Lord pre¬
destinates to death are, in their natural condition,
liable to the sentence of death, what injustice do
they complain of receiving from Him?" To us,
132
PREDESTINATION.
there can be no doubt, the last sentence appears
unreasonable, if not contradictory; from the fact,
this reprobation has been accomplished from all
eternity, and since the writer objects to calling
the foreknowledge of God in question as a guide
to reprobation and election; how could it be rea¬
sonable in condemning individuals as sinners who
had not sinned, neither would His foreknowledge
take into account their intention to sin ? This is
fairly stated by the writer who expresses himself
against rejoinders: "They object, were they not
by the decree of God antecedently predestinated
to that corruption which is now stated as the
cause of their condemnation ? When they perish
in their corruption, therefore, they only suffer the
punishment of that misery into which, in conse¬
quence of His predestination, Adam fell, and
precipitated his posterity with him." This reply
only shows how truly unanswerable were the ob¬
jections to his system of predestination. "I con¬
fess," he says, "indeed, that all the descendants
of Adam fell, by the divine will, into that miser¬
able condition in which they are now involved;
and this is what I asserted from the beginning,
that we must always return at last to the sover¬
eign determination of God's will; the cause of
which is hidden in Himself. But it follows not,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
133
therefore, that God is liable to this reproach; for
we will answer them in the language of Paul, 'O
man, who art thou that repliest against God?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed
it, Why hast thou made me thus ?"
Calvin joins and disjoins his argument with
that of Augustine as to God's foreknowledge as a
reasonable cause for His conclusion in the case
of predestination. He, however, switches off in
justification of the act of God by maintaining the
justice of His unlimited will—His will is justi-
cation of any act performed by Him. He says:
"I say, with Augustine, that the Lord created
those whom He certainly foreknew would fall
into destruction; and that this was actually so,
because he willed it; but of His will, it belongs
not to us to demand the reason, which we are in¬
capable of comprehending; nor is it reasonable,
that the divine will should be made the subject of
controversy with us, which is only another name
for the highest rule of justice." In this utterance
he tries to shut out the necessity of pursuing this
course of argument, as he, no doubt, perceived
the unanswerableness of the objection which the
evasion fails not to prove. He further declares:
"For since God foresees future events only in
consequence of His decree that they shall happen,
134
PREDESTINATION.
it is useless to contend about foreknowledge,
while it is evident that all things come to pass
rather by ordination and decree." He confesses,
notwithstanding: "It is a horrible decree, I con¬
fess ; but no one can deny that God foreknew the
future fate of man before he created him; and
that he did foreknow it, because it was appointed
by his own decree."
PRACTICAL REVIEW OF CALVIN'S ARGUMENT.
We have quoted several passages from the
noted leader of Calvinistic predestination, on the
doctrine bearing his name; and it may not be
difficult to conceive how a doctrine which in some
instances contradicts Scriptural facts, succeeded
in gaining ground among learned and devout
men.
Of all subjects, truth is the most difficult to be
comprehended; forasmuch as certain truths can
not be known unless revealed. This may be con¬
ceived from the fact that there are truths which
are connected with other truths, past and future—
they themselves of the present. Man can not
know, assuredly, but the present. There are
cases where he may be able to learn of the past,
but can not the future. These facts must be
carefully considered in searching for the truth,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
135
and for these reasons truth must be very carefully-
dealt with, as in some cases it can only be posi¬
tively known by revelation, and occasionally
there appear in revelation ambiguities and mys¬
teries.
In either of these cases—ambiguity or mystery
—if truth be carefully and prayerfully observed,
as revealed in Scripture, it will be seen that the
finger of inspiration points to the unerring voice,
speaking in another place, or in other places, and
giving the right side of ambiguity and clearing
away the mist of mystery. When this is not
done, it leaves the truth as the secret
of God, not unfolded to man; and it is rarely
wise to meddle with such unraveled mysteries.
There can be no doubt that Scripture explains
Scripture, and when it fails so to do, it is well to
go lightly.
EXAMPLE.
In the Acts of the Apostles—Chapter 13 : 22—
the declaration of God is: "I have found David
the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart."
It is known that Scripture has laid at the door ot
David very grievous accusation, therefore men
have been slow to conceive how David could be
a man after God's own heart.
136
PREDESTINATION.
They have failed to notice, first, that God said,
"a man," not a god nor angel, "after mine own
heart." Secondly, they seem not to understand
what is meant by the expression, "after mine
own heart." Let us search the Scripture for
God's meaning, and the declaration is clear.
David was king over Israel, and it is not ex¬
pected when a man wears a crown he will be
absorbed and carried away in the service of the
sanctuary. Let David speak for himself, then
place the utterances of God and David side by
side; then, listen to the harmony and see whether
or not David was a man after God's own heart.
King David said—Psalm 122: 1, 2—"I was glad
when they said unto me, Let us go into the house
of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy
gates, O Jerusalem." Again—Psalm 84: 10—
"For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.
I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my
God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."
The Lord speaking on a similar subject, says—
Psalm 87: 2—"The Lord loveth the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob."
The Word of God tells us of His special love
for His peculiar people, here called "Jacob;" but
in the Psalm quoted, He declares, He loves the
gates of Zion—the temple at Jerusalem, the
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
137
church of His choice—better than all the dwell¬
ings of Jacob. In this same house King David
would rather be a door-keeper—notwithstanding
he then wore the crown of Israel—than to dwell
in the tents of wickedness. David declares his
feet shall stand within those gates, O Jerusalem.
It is not hard to see how the heart of this man
harmonized with that of God; hence, whatever
may be the conclusion of men, the Scripture does
not merely express but explains how David was
a man after God's own heart.
LEARNING AND EXPERIENCE DO NOT PREVENT
SERIOUS ERRORS.
Neither learning nor experience, nor both, are
a guaranty against liability to err. It is an eas¬
ier thing for a learned and well experienced man
to be mistaken than is frequently supposed; and
the greater his wisdom, when he errs, the greater
the mistake.
Take Solomon for example. It is said he was
the wisest man living, and yet with all his wisdom,
he attempted to do consistent service to God
while he possessed one thousand wives; and a
large number of them idolaters. The wiser the
man, the greater the mistake when he makes
one.
138
PREDESTINATION.
It is easy for a man of learning and ripe ex¬
perience to be mistaken, first, from the fact great
learning and experience impose a great deal of
confidence in one's self, to support his matured
conclusion; and they inspire in others similar con¬
fidence that the individual can not be mistaken
because of his great learning and ripe experience,
and more especially so, when the person is noted
for candor. Yet, these things are not barriers
against mistaken views, but rather precursors—
strange to say—for the same reason.
Secondly, the learned and well informed man
finding himself cornered by some unforeseen cir¬
cumstance, is scarcely willing to break down the
great power of his influence, as he may think, by
saying: "I am mistaken"; but rather seeks some
other way out of the difficulty. In so doing, he
may not be accused of deception nor misleading,
for it is rather a case of self preservation—trying
to retain what he has obtained by years of toil.
The work is done notwithstanding.
Then, thirdly, an apparent insignificant error
is likely to increase in enormity unthought of, as
it is called in question; for something must be
added every time a doubt is expressed; and as in
the matter of the habit of taking medicine: for
effect the dose must be increased.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
139
We have that fact manifested in Peter's denial
of the blessed Saviour. First, he simply denied
Him; the second time, he denied him vehemently;
and a third time he cursed and swore as an evi¬
dence of the truth of his denial.
Many times individuals have been compelled
to make strong assertions or denials to sustain
themselves which they never dreamt of the ne-
nessity. Rather than prove themselves flat fail¬
ures in comprehending certain situations, they
have been forced to argue themselves to the sur¬
face, when so doing or lost in the whirl was the
inevitable result. An error under such circum¬
stances is rather an easy thing.
This is especially true of individuals who have
attained wide reputations. Man is mortal, and
retains human instinct through the varied stages
of life. Once in the front rank, he has no desire
to be placed in the rear—having abilities, it is not
to be supposed that he will not use them to sus¬
tain himself. Any charge against him in such
cases has to struggle, rightly, against self-pre¬
servation; the highest law of nature.
We are not, however, from the statement ad¬
vanced, to doubt the excellent reasoning of good
men, but to examine the views of all persons in
the light of truth and reason, and be ready, cau-
140
PREDESTINATION.
tiously, to diagree with them; especially if it
appears their expressed views conflict with rea¬
son and truth—divine utterance.
calvin's definition.
Says the great exponent of divine revelation—
Calvin—"Predestination we call the eternal de¬
cree of God; by which he hath determined in
himself what he would have to become of every
individual of mankind. For they are not all
created with similar destiny; but eternal life is
foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for
others. Every man, therefore, being- created for
one or other of these ends, we say, he is predes¬
tinated, either to life, or to death." Here we
have the plain definition of this writer.
calvin disagrees with scripture.
From what source does Calvin obtain permis¬
sion (divine authority) to unite creation and des¬
tiny? and especially when the destiny expounded
by him does not, can not, represent the fullness
of the attributes of God, save what he terms His
will.
One would scarcely find fault with the leading
part of Calvin's definition—"Predestination we
call the eternal decree of God"; but as he con¬
tinues, he begins a breach which widens as he
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
141
advances. He continues: "By which he hath
determined in himself what he would have to be¬
come of every individual of mankind." At this
stage in his argument, he connects creation and
destiny, and seems to make destiny the primal ob¬
ject of creation: the eternal decree of God by
which he determines in himself what he would
have become of every individual of mankind."
Then he breaks out: "For they are not all cre¬
ated with similar destiny; but eternal life is fore¬
ordained for some, and eternal damnation for
others. Every man, therefore, being created for
one or other of these ends, we say, he is predes¬
tinated, either to life, or to death."
From these declarations of Calvin, one would
infer, that the object of creation was predestina¬
tion, as he explains it: for the salvation of some
and the condemnation of others. Hear what reve¬
lation says in regard to this matter—Ecclesiastes
7:29—"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath
made man upright; but they have sought out
many inventions." This is far from declaring
that God created part of the human family for
damnation. The inspired writer places the re¬
sponsibility upon man, that God created him up¬
right; but he sought out many inventions. Hear
another Scripture—Genesis 1: 27—"So God
142
PREDESTINATION.
created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he
them." Neither does this passage show that
God created man with the object of saving some
and condemning others. Paul, speaking of the
image of God in man, says: "For man indeed
ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is
the image and glory of God."
CAUSE OF ERROR.
The real cause which seems to lead Calvin as¬
tray is, what he termed the will of God—the un¬
limited and unquestioned will of God; and he
used his argument in relation thereto in such a
way as to cause individuals to dread questioning
the argument. It must be remembered, while all
must admit the unlimited will of God, He has
attributes which are fully as unlimited as His
will; when, therefore, we quote the unlimited
will to the abandonment of His tender mercies,
no matter how well our intention may be, by
twisting the purposes of God, we exhibit a
warped side of His justice. Reading Calvin's
argument on predestination, it is strange if any
reasonable individual fails to discover the fact
that he takes justice and mercy out of the way to
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
143
establish God's unlimited will. We quote him
again.
Calvin says; "Predestination we call the
eternal decree of God; by which he hath deter¬
mined in himself what he would have to become
of every individual of mankind. For they are
not all created with similar destiny; but eternal
life is foreordained for some, and eternal damna¬
tion for others." The more we quote this writer,
the more distressing his argument appears to us,
and we believe will so appear to every conscien¬
tious thinker. The Holy Scripture speaks of the
object of creation for no other purpose than the
glory of God; and while it is true, God saving
any individual pronounces His glory; one can
not see how damning another part of the human
race for no other reason than His unlimited will
can eternally exhibit His glory to the gaze of the
universe. "I damned you, not because of evil
act, nor intent, but because it pleased me so to
do: glory over me, and every act performed by
me because of the illimitability of my power."
Does that sound reasonable? like the merciful
God we serve? will God in this way make de¬
mands? we think not.
We are rational beings, and notwithstanding
it is our duty to take God at His word, one of two
144
PREDESTINATION.
things must exist to enable us to love and admire
God's acts. His acts must strike our compre¬
hension according to our perception of justice and
reason, or we must be deprived of just reasoning
to enable us to rejoice over what we can not un¬
derstand to be the work of reasonable justice.
Divine revelation informs us that in the begin¬
ning God created but one pair—Adam and Eve
—that that pair was created in His own image
and likeness, whatever that may imply, and by
that pair was the world of mankind supplied. Can
reason be made to place the divine acts above the
common work of man, in justice to the divine
dignity; that He made man in His own image
and likeness, when a part of the product of crea¬
tion has been cursed before created ? for, from the
seed of the created pair, the cursing as well as
the blessing was inherited, and assigned that as
the work of a wise Creator? Those who par¬
took of the curse came from the seed created in
His own image, as well as those who inherited
the blessing. Was it reasonable that God should
create in His own image, breathe in their nos¬
trils His own spirit (the breath of life) those
whom He had cursed from all eternity?
If it be asked, did He not know they would
finally be cursed when He created them in His
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
145
own image and likeness? We answer, yes; God's
knowledge being unlimited, He is not answerable
to Himself (His attributes) therefor; but this
may not be said of His acts.
This may be a new thought, as we have not
heard it so expressed, but God answers to Him¬
self for His acts. It is said, God can do every¬
thing, but that is scarcely reasonable. There
are several things—speaking cautiously and rev¬
erentially—God can not do. He can not
contradict Himself; He can not utter an
untruth; He can not do evil. Some individuals
think God does everything. If that be true, what
do we do ? What does Satan do ? While there
is no higher tribunal than God Himself, He limits
Himself to things which are suitable to His dig¬
nity—to things which are true, things which are
right, to things which are just; and this must be
understood if we would have Him be our infal¬
lible Guide.
god's work above reasonable criticism.
There are individuals whose delight is to criti¬
cise any and everything brought within the
reach of their vision—comprehensible or incom¬
prehensible. While it is true no reasonable indi¬
vidual calls in question the acts of God—their
146
PREDESTINATION.
depth, width, and transcendent equity are the
abiding motivity or preventive which removes
them from the reach of critical reason—it is posi-
sible, however, that the vindicators of truth and
righteousness, in their zeal, differ so greatly, that
entanglements are brought about which misinter¬
pret God's words and acts, and so place them in
position to be called in question. Whether this
is the work of foreordained plan or Satanic inter¬
position, we are unable to decide. If foreor¬
dained plan, the wise Creator has with and be¬
fore Him the object which will evidently meet
His intention. If the interposition is of Satan,
God will even in that case work the result to His
own honor and glory.
While this is true, the expositors of divine
truth ought to use their utmost endeavor to re¬
move complications, entanglements, and ques¬
tions which will destroy equanimity, notwith¬
standing God will ultimately subdue every dis¬
advantage to His honor and glory. The ser¬
vants of God ought not to make things crooked
so that they may be straightened by Him who
subdues all things unto Himself.
NO REASONABLE GROUND TO QUESTIONERS.
There are those who are willing to question
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
147
acts for the sake of questioning, and if expositors,
in presenting the divine word, present to their au¬
ditors the work of men as the real acts of God,
more than one evil is done at the same time. Com¬
plications and entanglements are produced, men
and minds are brought into conflict, which gen¬
erally results in division; and the greatest of all,
the Giver of all good and perfect gifts is mis¬
represented. As it appears to us, Calvinistic pre¬
destination evidently accomplishes these to a
great extent. Let us see.
Calvinistic predestination attempting to estab¬
lish the unlimited will of God, in so doing, has
made our benevolent Creator the sole cause of all
human misery and woe, in time and in eternity;
and uses no mistakable term in so doing. Aside
from his positive definition of predestination, as
God's determination to damn a part of mankind
without even taking into account man's future
intention or acts, he attributes holiness as the
product of election; therefore sin, or unholiness,
must be from the same source. Here are his
words: "For when it is said, that the unfaithful
are elected that they should be holy, it is fully
implied, that the holiness they were in future to
possess had its origin in election." Here the in¬
ference is plain, if without holiness no man can
148
PREDESTINATION.
see the Lord, and that is freely granted to certain
individuals at election, those who remain in sin
are not in that condition because of their free will
nor desire, but because they were so placed at the
time of election. One is elected to holiness, with¬
out any act of his, present or future; and the
other to condemnation, without even a knowledge
of his future thought or acts—the will of God.
Admitting that God's eternal will has unlim¬
ited sway—which it has—and is obligated to no
one, accountable to none; shall that will sweep
from the exalted throne of God righteousness,
justice, mercy, and even His expressed love for
those into whose nostrils He breathed the breath
of life ? God willed that His creatures sin, made
them that they may sin, judges them for sinning,
condemns them for being sinners, and will empty
upon them His eternal vengeance because they
are sinners. Notwithstanding the unlimited will
of God, does that represent the Creator, Up¬
holder, and Provider of the universe?
FREE GRACE.
There can be no doubt some of the things said
in Calvinistic predestination are true, but the way
they are put, places the responsibility on the
wrong individual. For instance, nothing which
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
149
we receive is on merit, strictly speaking; for
since one sin would destroy all merit, and all have
sinned more than once, it is not possible to merit
the grace or favor of God; therefore, every grace
received is free—the gift of God. That is lit¬
erally true. No man can purchase his way to
God.
God, then, can give or withhold without be¬
coming a debtor to any individual. He, no
doubt, gives more to some than to others, without
using what may be termed, partiality; because
nobody deserves. We repeat, no one really mer¬
its God's favor from any one source or other, but
there are those who in the midst of deserved
wrath plead and obtain mercy, and plead for it
from the source of eternal merit. They accept
His offers and so obtain His free grace. Grace
is free, and can not be obtained by merit, save in
the merit of Him who merits it—Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God.
Then, this desire for mercy has a restrictive
result, which though it can not merit, works
similarly. God's mercy is free and can only be
accepted as free, and in the acknowledgment of
its reception and grateful recognition, its effect
refrains from the commission of things which
are grievous; and this in turn, increases the favor
150
PREDESTINATION.
and multiplies grace. This the evangelist St.
John calls grace for grace—John 1: 16—"Of His
fulness have we received, and grace for grace."
This is to say, as we receive grace it removes the
barriers and supplies grace more abundantly.
Like the three servants who received the tal¬
ents for trading, the two who enjoyed the privi¬
lege of trading, doubled the sum received; the
one who rejected his privilege was deprived of
that even which he had.
THE USED TALENTS AN ILLUSTRATION OF INDIVID¬
UAL EFFORTS.
If predestination is what Calvin tells us it is,
certainly the wise Creator uses considerable space
and time instructing His creatures the value of
individual efforts, notwithstanding He knows in¬
dividual efforts are valueless.
In the gospel of St. Matthew, we have the fol¬
lowing parable—25 : 14-30—"For the kingdom
of heaven is as a man travelling into a far
country, who called his own servants, and deliv¬
ered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave
five talents, to another two, and to another one;
to every man according to his several ability; and
straightway took his journey. Then he that had
received the five talents went and traded with the
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
151
same, and made them other five talents. And
likewise he that had received two, he also gained
other two. But he that had received one
went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's
money. After a long time the lord of those ser¬
vants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so
he that had received five talents came and brought
other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliver-
est unto me five talents: behold, I have gained
beside them five talents more. His lord said unto
him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant:
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy lord. He also that had received
two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst
unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two
other talents beside them. His lord said unto
him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the
joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the
one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that
that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast
not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and
hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that
is thine. His lord answered and said unto him,
152
PREDESTINATION.
Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest
that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where
I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to
have put my money to the exchangers, and then
at my coming I should have received mine own
with usury. Take therefore the talent from him,
and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he
shall have abundance: but from him that hath
not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth."
Here we have given the entire quotation that
it may be carefully examined.
Here the Saviour presents to us a parable
which likens the acts of a certain man to the
kingdom of heaven, or that the work of the king¬
dom of heaven is maintained under certain re¬
gime. This man called his servants and deliv¬
ered unto them his goods, and no doubt, directed
them to trade therewith. He gave them different
amounts according to their several ability. To
one he gave five talents, to another two, and to
the third one; and he positively remarked that
their receipt was according to their ability; that
is, their capacity to take care of what was given
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
153
them. Two did according to direction, but one
otherwise.
Again, he called and reckoned with them. In
reckoning, the first two reported that they had
doubled the amount received—they were heart¬
ily commended. "Well done, good and faithful
servant", said he; but, alas! the third disregarded
the instruction given—did nothing. His lord
called him a wicked and slothful servant, com¬
manded that the talent be taken from him and
given to the one who had ten talents.
The Lord Jesus told His disciples that our
Heavenly Father deals thus with His subjects.
First, He gives them according to their several
ability, and requires no more than their gifts af¬
ford. Secondly, He reckons with them. The
one who had received the two talents, gained
other two talents, and received similar plaudit as
he who had gained five; as being the equal of the
one who received five talents, as far as his attain¬
ments and gifts were concerned; yet he did not
receive the same remuneration. The talent tak¬
en from the unprofitable servant was given to the
one who had ten talents, and the doing thereof
was noticeable. Some thought and expressed:
"He hath ten talents." The lord knew it, and
Jesus so approved of his acts as to compare them
154
PREDESTINATION.
with the works of the kingdom of heaven. From
this we perceive God's plan is, greater work,
greater pay: the more effective work, the more
may be expected.
CAN NOT REASONABLY BE APPLIED TO PREDESTINA¬
TION.
We suppose Calvinistic predestination can be
made applicable to almost any case, but we
doubt if it can so be done reasonably. Take for
instance this case. Eight talents were divided
among three individuals. One received five tal¬
ents, another two, and the last one talent. The
writer says, they received their talents according
to their several ability, and they were doubtless
instructed to trade with the amount received.
The first two receiving different amounts,
doubled them; the last received the smallest
amount, failed to make the necessary use thereof.
Their lord returned and reckoned with them,
and all but the last gained one talent for each tal¬
ent received, and received similar commenda¬
tion, "Well done, good and faithful servant"; but
he who had hidden his lord's money was de¬
prived of the amount he received and ordered
into confinement—"Into outer darkness."
How did predestination affect those individ-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
155
uals? or, how did it affect the man who hid his
lord's money instead of putting it to the ex¬
changers ? Remember, the parable takes into ac¬
count a case which happened or supposed to have
happened—a natural case to illustrate a spiritual.
How did predestination affect this case in its nat¬
ural condition? Did predestination deprive the
man who hid his lord's money of his ability to
handle but a single talent? or did it affect him
so that he was unable to use the one talent ? or
did it cause him to be dissatisfied with the one
talent, so that he refused to trade therewith—to
use it to advantage ? or did it affect him in all of
them?
If it affected him in either or all, his lord pun¬
ished him not knowing that he did what he could
and could do no more (hid the talent), therefore
could not help what he did, though it was noth¬
ing. If he knew that he was helpless, could in
nowise help himself, he would scarcely have pun¬
ished him with confinement in "outer dark¬
ness" ; and if he knew that he did all that was in
his power to do, yet punished him because he
did not what he could not do, his lord wronged
him, evidently.
He cast him into "outer darkness" on a charge
of omission—did not trade with his lord's money
156
PREDESTINATION.
—for no other reason than because he was de¬
prived of the power to do otherwise—having no
manner of control in the matter. That being
true, would Jesus who knew he could not have
done otherwise, having no power so to do, not
merely approve of the punishment for not doing
what He knew the man could not do, but publish
to the world that the work of this lord is that of
the Kingdom of Grace—punish an individual for
what a sinful creature would scarcely be willing
to do?
The world abounds in wickedness and wicked
acts, but there is scarcely an individual who would
be willing to condemn a fellow creature into ut¬
ter or eternal darkness for not doing what he
positively knew he was unable to do. A disposi¬
tion that was created in the individual from eter¬
nity, and created without his intent, thought, or
inclination—without any fault of his; how could
the condemned suffer? By all intent and pur¬
poses such an individual is faultless, and no one
can see how the faultless can suffer unless he does
it in substitution.
Again, it was scarcely possible for the lord to
have known the man he condemned did all he pos¬
sibly could, for he was not allowed to do more
from eternity—he was predestinated, but Jesus,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
157
knowing all things, knew that he had gone to the
extent of his power (though it was doing noth¬
ing) does not merely justify the seeming unjust
suffering, but assures us that we will so be dealt
with in the Kingdom of Grace; and that those
who do not do what they can not do will be term¬
ed "wicked and slothful servants". Then say¬
ing to His apostles: "Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned"—Mark
16: 15, 16; and again: "God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso¬
ever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."—John 3: 16.
DISAGREEMENT.
Using Calvinistic predestination as the stand¬
points of Christian ethics, it is utterly impossible
to see how the Kingdom of Heaven can be likened
to the decision of the lord spoken of in this par¬
able. For, first, if the man spoken of as having
hidden his lord's money, did what he could not
do otherwise, did he not do as well as the former
two who gained a talent to each talent received ?
They simply did what they could, and he did the
same; what more could be demanded in reason ?
158
PREDESTINATION.
Did not Jesus highly commend the widow for
doing all she could, though it was comparatively
little? Did He not say she did "more than they
all"? The "more than they all" was not in the
amount she cast into the treasury, but in that she
did all it was possible for her to do—"She cast
in all the living that she had": it was impossible
to do more.
Can it be conceived how legal punishment can
be administered to an individual for having done
all it was in his power to do, and especially when
Jesus so highly commended one for having done
the same thing? Is there not a plain disagree¬
ment of thought, idea, sentiment—truth? Can
truth disagree with truth unless there is some
misunderstanding, misstatement, misconstruction,
or misinterpretation ? Predestination is a Scrip¬
tural doctrine, no doubt; if it disagree with other
Scriptural doctrines, and with itself, there must
be misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
It will always be a thing impossible to produce
reasonable agreement—consistent harmony—
when the Scriptural doctrine of predestination
bears the rigid interpretation placed upon it by
Calvin. One truth is established thereby, the
unlimited will of God; but the point it is made to
reach places the truth in a false light. God will
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
159
not do wrong because He is at liberty to do it.
Calvin carries this doctrine to such an extent un¬
til he confesses it to be "horrible"; and, on one
occasion, his only way out of the dilemma, when
convincing argument was brought to bear against
the doctrine, he answered: "They" (the objec¬
tors) "inquire by what right the Lord is angry
with His creatures who had not provoked him
by any previous offence; for that to devote to de¬
struction whom he pleases, is more like the ca¬
price of a tyrant, than the lawful sentence of a
judge. If such thoughts ever enter into the
minds of pious men, they will be sufficiently en¬
abled to break their violence by this one consider¬
ation, how exceedingly presumptuous it is, only
to inquire into the causes of the divine will; which
is, in fact, and is justly entitled to be, the cause of
everything that exists. For if it has any cause,
then there must be something antecedent on
which it depends, which it is presumptuous to
suppose. For the will of God is the highest rule
of justice; so that what he wills must be consid¬
ered just, for this very reason, because he wills
it." Here it may be seen, Calvin places his inter¬
pretation of what he supposes to be
God's will, as the will of God; and,
therefore, calls it presumption to inquire there-
160
PREDESTINATION.
into: a rather pleasant way out of the difficulty.
In another place he says, it is impious to inquire
into what he said God is capable of doing; fin¬
ally, he confesses the horribleness of what he
termed the will of God. He says: "For since
God foresees future events only in consequence
of his decree that they shall happen, it is useless
to contend about foreknowledge, while it is evi¬
dent that all things come to pass rather by ordi¬
nation and decree." Further he expresses: "It
is a HORRIBLE DECREE, I confess; but no
one can deny that God foreknew the future fate
of man before he created him; and that he did
foreknow it, because it was appointed by His own
decree." "It is a HORRIBLE DECREE, I con¬
fess," says Calvin, and how he can associate the
name of God with anything which appears
"HORRIBLE" is a thing which is hard to be
understood; yet he advises not to call in question
what he terms the will of God. Nothing in the
universe which can rightly be attributed to God
ought to be termed horrible. The term is not
applicable nor attributable to Him, His word, nor
His work. We must certainly turn attention oth¬
erwise to find agreement and concord in dealing
with the subject predestination, in the manner
presented by Calvin, how God deals with His
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
161
creatures, how He justly judges and condemns
them, and the manner He offers to them salva¬
tion.
ARMINIANISM VERSUS CALVINISM.
We think it advisable in attempting to give
what plainly appears to be the reasonable Scrip¬
tural side of predestination, as we have given the
Calvinistic side, to give the views of Calvin's
chief opposer—Arminius.
The doctrine of latter day Arminianism, is not
the doctrine taught by Arminius. Arminius was
opposed to the doctrine taught by Calvin, chiefly
in the declaration of the latter that predestination
irretrievably damned from eternity certain indi¬
viduals ; while others were elected to eternal life;
and neither because of what God knew would be
their ultimate determination—all was done with¬
out cause, save the will of God.
The following is the doctrine touching predes¬
tination taught by Arminius: it may be summed
up under five heads.
I. That God, from all eternity, determined to
bestow salvation on those whom He foresaw
would persevere unto the end in their faith in
Christ Jesus; and to inflict everlasting punish¬
ment on those who should continue in their unbe-
162
PREDESTINATION.
lief, and resist unto the end His divine succours;
so that election was conditional, and reprobation
in like manner the result of foreseen infidelity
and persevering wickedness.
2. That Jesus Christ, by His sufferings and
death, made an atonement for the sins of all
mankind in general, and of every individual
in particular; that, however, none but those who
believe in him can be partakers of the divine
benefits.
3. That true faith cannot proceed from the ex¬
ercise of our natural faculties and powers, nor
from the force and operation of free will; since
man, in consequence of his natural corruption, is
incapable either of thinking or doing any good
thing; and that, therefore, it is necessary, in
order to his salvation, that he be regenerated
and renewed by the operation of the Holy Ghost,
which is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.
4. That this divine grace or energy of the Holy
Ghost begins and perfects everything that can
be called good in man, and consequently all good
works are to be attributed to God alone; that
nevertheless, this grace is offered to all, and does
not force men to act against their inclinations,
but may be resisted and rendered ineffectual by
the perverse wills of impenitent sinners.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
163
5. That God gives to the truly faithful who are
regenerated by His grace, the means of preserv¬
ing themselves in this state; and Watson from
whom this section is quoted—Biblical and Theo¬
logical Dictionary, page 93—adds: "and though
the first Arminians made some doubt with re¬
spect to the closing part of this article, their fol¬
lowers uniformly maintain, that the regenerate
may lose true justifying faith forfeit their state
of grace, and die in their sins."
While it is true, early inclination has a deal to
do with personal views, yet, where the primary
desire is to be governed by the dictation of the
voice of God, not merely the divine utterance
but the divine intention can generally be discern¬
ed ; and especially when there is a willingness to
be taught, and a readiness to yield to the wooings
of divine utterances, though it be not in line
with the mere human conception.
Carefully considering the views of those two
great writers—Calvin and Arminius—it can eas¬
ily be seen that the views of Arminius and his
followers appear more in harmony with Scripture
declaration than those of Calvin; for the former
is mild and reasonable in conclusion, moving very
cautiously, prospectively and retrospectively—
that is, looking forward and backward.
164
PREDESTINATION.
We say the views of Arminius ally more closely
with Scripture reasoning, as they present the
gracious Master as just and the Justifier of all
who trust in the merits of Jesus Christ, the Sa¬
viour of the world.
That the difference of views may be more ac¬
curately considered, we hereunto subjoin short
quotations from three sources on the subject of
predestination—Scripture, Calvin, and Arminius.
Scripture,
"We know that all
things work together
for good to them that
love God, to them
who are the called
according to his pur¬
pose.
For whom he did
foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be
conformed to the
image of his Son,
that he might be the
firstborn among many
brethren.
Moreover whom he
did predestinate,
them he also called:
and whom he called,
them he also justified:
and whom he justi¬
fied, them he also
glorified.'R omans
Calvin.
"Predestination we
call the eternal de¬
cree of God: by which
he hath determined
in himself what he
would have to b e-
come of every indi¬
vidual of mankind.
For they are not all
created with similar
destiny; but eternal
life is foreordained for
some, and eternal
damnation for others.
Every man, therefore,
being created, for one
or other of these ends,
we say, he is predesti¬
nated, either to life or
to death "— Watso-n's
Biblical and Theo. Dic¬
tionary, page 195.
Arminius.
"That God, from all
eternity, determined
to bestow salvation
on those whom he
foresaw would perse¬
vere unto the end in
their faith in Christ
Jesus: and to inflict
everlasting punish¬
ment on those who
should continue in
their unbelief, and re¬
sist unto the end his
divine succours; so
that election was con¬
ditional, and reproba¬
tion in like manner
the result of foreseen
infidelity and perse¬
vering wickedness.
2. That Jesus Christ,
by his sufferings and
death, made an atone¬
ment for the sins of all
mankind in general,
and of every individ¬
ual in particular;
that, however, none
but those who believe
in him can be par¬
takers of the divine
benefits: etc." — Wat¬
son's Biblical and Tkeo.
Dictionary, page 93.
If it does not apear that Arminius gave special
exposition to the passage so lustily laid hold on
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
165
by Calvin—we believe he has—it does not seem
to be such a difficult task to observe the fact in
the case: " 'God hath mercy on whom he will
have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.'
You see how he (the apostle) attributes both to
the mere will of God. If, therefore, we can as¬
sign no reason why he grants mercy to his peo¬
ple but because such is his pleasure, neither shall
we find any other cause but his will for the re¬
probation of others. For when God is said to
harden, or show mercy on whom he pleases, men
are taught, by this declaration, to seek no cause
beside his will." The same writer continues:
"Many indeed, as if they wished to avert odium
from God, admit election in such a way as to
deny that anyone is reprobated. But this is puer¬
ile and absurd; because election itself could not
exist, without being opposed to reprobation;—
whom God passes by he therefore reprobates; and
from no other cause than his determination to ex¬
clude them from the inheritance which he predes¬
tinates for his children."
Some of the greatest mistakes made in ex¬
plaining Scripture are made in not taking into
consideration the peculiarity of Scriptural ex¬
pressions. To be an expositor of God's Word,
166
PREDESTINATION.
aside from learning, one must study the pecu¬
liarities of expressions, as well as its alphabet.
That God exercises more patience in the cases
of some than others, there can be no doubt.
That He does so, no one can reasonably com¬
plain; for He is under no obligation to exercise
patience in any case. Notwithstanding, the pre¬
sentation of His own righteousness exhibits jus¬
tice. If patience were demanded, His forbear¬
ance one second would justify His righteous acts,
and yet He withholds His righteous indignation
again and again as an exhibition of His tender
mercies toward the children of men.
Man's fallen nature places him where he can
not act without divine assistance; that is, he can
not perform any laudable act without God's aid.
When he receives that assistance and fails to util¬
ize it to his advantage, he is likely to forfeit it at
any moment, and yet God will be just in His ex¬
tension or non-extension.
When God ceases to exercise patience with
any creature, He (God) withholds His aid, thus
man is left inactive to good under any circum¬
stance. Left without God's aid, he can do no
good unless he receives His assistance. With¬
holding this aid is termed, "hardeneth". Sus-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
167
pending special divine aid, the only incentive to
right acts, the individual is hardened.
By "hardeneth" is generally understood that
the dear Lord puts forth efforts, as the divine is
capable, and so stops the individual from what
he otherwise would do; but this is the result of
inaction for reasons—God withholds His per¬
sonal aid. With mistaken ideas it appears the
individual is not to blame, because the wise Crea¬
tor stops him from doing what he otherwise
would have done. The fact is, as before stated,
man can do nothing worthy of doing, unless the
Spirit of God woos him so to do. If for reasons
—stubbornness or depreciation—God refuses His
continued aid (most likely because He sees it
will not be appreciated) He withdraws the aid
of His Spirit, and the individual is hardened;
yet God is just in the exercise of His mercy.
Paul expresses it more divinely, says—Romans
9: 22-24—"What if God, willing to show his
wrath, and to make his power known, endure
with long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted
for destruction. And that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy,
which he had afore prepared unto glory: Even
so, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only,
but also of the Gentiles ?" Here it may be seen
168
PREDESTINATION.
Paul uses the term "endure with longsuffering"
as the clear idea of God extending His mercy to
whom He will.
We need not repeat, we have no legal claim on
God. We are at His mercy, not on account of
our creation, but our fallen condition. When our
acts are so inconsistent as to obstruct His mercy,
in the forfeiture we justly suffer the consequence.
God hath mercy on whom He will have mercy,
and His will is not without reason—it is the will
of the Supreme.
Here is an illustration. The devil and his
companions sinned, and they were cast into the
bottomless pit, never to be pardoned. Adam and
his companion sinned, but they found mercy; and
thus it may be said, God hath mercy on whom He
will have mercy, and that is true; but are there
not reasons behind the mere expression? God
works reasonably, and to find out His true rea¬
son we need to inquire humbly and earnestly—
He generally exhibits His reason plainly enough
to be conceived by an intelligent mind: one seek¬
ing to know. Remember, it must be kept in
mind, He is under no obligation to give account
to any, yet His acts are generally placed by the
side of reason for the examination and patronage
of His creatures.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
169
There was a vast difference between the sin of
Satan and that of Adam. They differed in two
ways. Adam was tempted to sin by disobeying
the commandment of his God, and tempted
through the enmity of satan. Not merely was Sa¬
tan jealous because of God's favor to man, but he
was envious because of the favors Adam enjoyed;
he (Satan) being debarred from God's favor. It
was through hate and envy, therefore, Satan aim¬
ed his stroke to defeat God's providence as well
as to deprive man of his prospects. Thus, man
was tempted with evil intention; Satan was not.
Then again, Adam sinned in disobeying the
voice of his God, and that was a terrible sin. He
ate of the fruit of the tree which God forbade
him to eat, and did it because he was deceived
by Satan.
Satan's sin was very different. He was not
tempted, save by the evil which crept into his
nature by unseeming ambition, which the exer¬
cise of reason might have clearly demonstrated
his inability to carry into effect successfully.
Satan attempted to rob God of His throne, of
His honor, His glory, His government—of uni¬
versal dominion. He attempted to displace God
by self-substitution.
Satan's crime was not the failure of a mistaken
170
PREDESTINATION.
or naughty child, such as children often make—
such as was Adam's; it was a case of Absalom
seeking David's kingdom and David's life. Noth¬
ing short of Absalom's death would have guar¬
anteed David's safety. The safety of his king¬
dom, of his household, the safety of his life.
Absalom must die, or David must live dying—in
fear of: Absalom died.
To some extent, this was the case of Satan's
transgression. He sought the government of
God, His honor and glory, and all that was
therewith connected. Since neither could die—
God nor Satan—Satan must be cast out. There
was no error in Satan's sin, save the wickedness
which crept into his nature and constituted eter¬
nal wrong.
Individuals may sin in such a way as to de¬
mand vengeance, and nothing but vengeance.
Like Satan, they may destroy the bridge over
which mercy passes, therefore, the pouring out
of vengeance upon such an individual is not
merely just, but a just demand.
If there be no past nor future with God—and
there is none—certainly His dealing from eter¬
nity for eternity (to us) is very present
with Him; why then would He not con¬
sign Absalom to die, in justice (aside
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
171
from His will) for the safety of David* a
man after God's own heart ? He consigned Sa¬
tan to the pit of destruction for the safety of His
throne; He did the same to Absalom for the
safety of David's throne. All of these had the
pleasure of the will of God, but His will binds it¬
self with reason attributable to the divine mind.
To God's creatures it would be very unfortunate,
if the Divine Being used no other attribute in the
distribution of reward and punishment than His
Vrill—notwithstanding His will has no limit—if
it took for its way Calvin's view of predestina¬
tion.
We repeat what we have often stated, primar¬
ily there is no goodness in man, and admitting
he can not of himself merit God's favor, without
the help of God, there is, notwithstanding a sec¬
ondary merit in good works. That is to say,
where good works are coupled with or attached
to the merits of Christ, though they have no
merit in themselves alone, jpresent claims which
are never turned away without God's notice.
This Jesus declared to the rich young ruler
who inquired: "Good Master, what shall I do
that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said
unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is
none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest
172
PREDESTINATION.
the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do
not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness,
Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all
these have I observed from my youth. Then
Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto
him, one thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell
whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come,
take up the cross, and follow me. And he was
sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for
he had great possessions."
If work has nothing to do with salvation, why
did Jesus direct him to work for the perfecting of
his salvation, when the young man inquired:
"What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
why did Jesus refer him to the commandments:
"Thou knowest the commandments"? Then, it
may be noticed that when this young man con¬
fessed that he kept the commandments from his
youth up. "Jesus beholding him loved him:" why
did Jesus love him? was it not for his confessed
good works ?
With but little studying this passage, one can
easily see that keeping the commandments
brought this young man in favor with Christ, but
the Master was sorry for him when he was not
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
173
able to go the full journey; to sell all he had and
give to the poor, and to take up the cross and
follow Him. It plainly appears that work has
to do with man's salvation, while it is not prim¬
ary in the situation. We repeat what we stated
in a former chapter, James challenged any one
to show his faith without his work.
If predestination is merely the exercise of
God's will, independent of what has been, is be¬
ing done, and will be done, what virtue can there
be in good works ? and why try to make what is
best better? Why so much preaching to abstain
from evil and do good? why so many efforts
have been and are being made in lifting up the
standard of virtue and good deeds?—why make
so much ado over what is really nothing? But
God does nothing without significance.
HOW THE SITUATION IS MADE TO APPEAR.
Does it not appear that there are certain prin¬
ciples in man which need nurturing, that the}'
may meet the divine demand? Why do we go
to the pulpit and urge men—vehemently urge
them—to accept the offered mercies of God while
it is called today? Do we really mean to offer
what we know they can not accept, knowing those
who accept can not help accepting? If this is
174
PREDESTINATION.
what we mean, why not make our statement so
to be understood—the truth can not hurt in such
a case: whatever is to be will be.
Preachers of the gospel declare to men they
ought to come to God and be saved; that they can
if they will. It seems, even imperceptibly, the
will of man has something to do with his salva¬
tion, if not true, why the statement? Both Ar-
minians and Calvinists urge this demand upon
the ungodly; but Calvinistic predestination de¬
clares, nothing can reach the man who is cursed
from all eternity; and a number of individuals
are cursed: nothing can defeat the election—
good nor bad. Those who believe that God's
will has all to do with the matter, naturally be¬
lieve one thing and urge another; for supposing
that man's will has to do with his salvation, that
is the only ground one has in urging him to come
to Christ and be saved.
If we could make ourselves believe that man's
will has nothing to do with his salvation, it would
be impossible for us to preach a conscientious
sermon, offering salvation to the unsaved, since
we could not help believing it useless; for he
could not accept unless God willed it; neither
could he refuse if God willed it; neither would it
be necessary to accept if God willed it.
CHAPTER IV.
CHILDREN—THEIR SALVATION.
When we view, dispassionately, Calvinistic pre¬
destination, we behold, as a natural consequence,
one of its unfortunate fruits—the damnation of
innumerable children; some, no doubt, never
saw, in their bodies, the light of nature.
This doctrine positively declares that God's
dealing with the salvation of mankind, has noth¬
ing to do with what the creature may or may not
do. That God does not use His knowledge—to
us, foreknowledge—as a cause for His decisiori
in predestinating souls for happiness or misery.
Here is the substance of what He did: "I will
that these shall be saved—shall go to heaveii;
and that those shall be lost—shall go to hell:"
and so it was done.
Calvin radically condemned taking into ac¬
count the knowledge of God (by us termed fore¬
knowledge), what will really come to pass. Here
175
176
PREDESTINATION.
are Calvin's words: "Though it is sufficiently
clear, that God in His secret counsel, freely
chooses whom He will, and rejects others, his
gratuitous election is but half displayed till we
come to particular individuals, to whom God not
only offers salvation, but assigns it in such a
manner that the certainty of the effect is liable to
no suspense or doubt."^ He continues: "In con¬
formity, therefore, to the clear doctrine of the
Scripture, we assert, that by an eternal and im¬
mutable counsel, God hath once for all deter¬
mined both whom he would admit to salvation,
and whom he would condemn to destruction.
We affirm that this counsel, as far as concerns
the elect, is founded on his gratuitous mercy, to¬
tally irrespective of human merit; but that to
those whom he devotes to condemnation the gate
of life is closed by a just and irreprehensible, but
incomprehensible judgment." Calvin then con¬
demns the conclusion that God works in accord¬
ance with his knowledge of things to come, says:
"It is a notion commonly entertained, that God,
foreseeing what would be the respective merits
of every individual, makes a correspondent dis¬
tinction between different persons; that he adopts
as his children such as he foreknows will be de¬
serving of his grace; and devotes to damnation
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
177
of death others, whose dispositions he sees will
be inclined to wickedness and impiety. Thus
they not only obscure election by covering it with
the veil of foreknowledge, but pretend that it
originates in another cause." To carry out his
ideas, he then quotes the words of the apostle;
says: " 'God hath mercy on whom he will have
mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.' You
see how he (the apostle) attributes both to the
mere will of God. If, therefore, we assign no
reason why he grants mercy to his people but
because such is his pleasure, neither shall we find
any other cause but his will for reprobation of
others. For when God is said to harden, or
show mercy to whom he pleases, men are taught,
by this declaration, to seek no cause beside
his will. He continues: "Many indeed, as if
they wish to avert odium from God, admit elec¬
tion in such a way as to deny that any one is
reprobated. But this is puerile and absurd; be¬
cause election itself could not exist, without be¬
ing opposed to reprobation;—whom God passes
by he therefore reprobates; and from no other
cause than his determination to exclude them
from the inheritance which he predestinates for
his children."—Book III., Chapter 23.
All must admit, an individual who has not
178
PREDESTINATION.
committed any act, or whose acts, good or bad,
shall not be taken into account for credit nor dis¬
credit, stands before his Maker in the same at¬
titude of an innocent child—he has committed no
act, and what he may or may not commit is not
taken into account. He has to his charge no act,
good nor bad, for nor against him. This is the
condition of a child, during its childhood. If
God, in His distribution of merit or demerit, re¬
fuses to consider what may or will be; man stands
before his Maker in the attitude of innocence; and
any consignment in that attitude—taking no fu¬
ture act into consideration—to happiness or mis¬
ery, falls upon him in a state of innocence. Un¬
less the guilt is taken into consideration before
the assignment, and he be assigned according¬
ly ; no sin committed thereafter could reasonably
be considered as justification for his condemna¬
tion.
Any doctrine which declares, the innocent is
cursed because it is the will of God so to do, does
more than misrepresent our benevolent Father—
it does more! It reaches and condemns
children, for all persons are innocent until they
become guilty, and since condemnation was
passed upon them in their innocence, not taking
into account what they will or will not do; then,
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
179
an innumerable host of children must of necessity
fall under the curse or condemnation—because
no future is taken into consideration, says Cal¬
vin : neither, whether he will live or die young or
old, or whether he will accept or reject the over¬
tures of mercy. Children, too, are condemned.
There could be but one way to rescue children
from condemnation, notwithstanding their inno¬
cence (but it makes no difference since others
also are condemned without imputation), and
that is, to conclude that God in His assignment
had before Him future happenings—knowledge
or foreknowledge, as it may be termed. Is it
reasonable to conclude otherwise? for this is of
necessity, unless God has a way to suspend His
knowledge of what He really knows: that infor¬
mation has not been revealed to us, and we do not
know that it is profitable to inquire into.
Calvinistic predestination declares, that God in
predestinating the human race for time and eter¬
nity acted independently of His knowledge—we
can not say future nor foreknowledge, for there is
no future with Him—consigned, not for evil
which will be done, but passed sentence of con¬
demnation upon the innocent because it was His
will so to do. So then, it concludes, as a conse¬
quence, that God condemned to the pit of de-
180
PREDESTINATION.
struction billions and billions of children; mil¬
lions of them, in the body, never saw the light of
nature. That does not seem to be a very pleasant
feature of any doctrine assigning such a design to
our wise Creator. No wonder Calvin himself
confessed it a HORRIBLE DECREE. Hor¬
rible is its rightful characteristic, but we object to
its being attributed as a part of the work of God.
Not merely by argument, but Calvinistic pre¬
destination admit the possibility of children fall¬
ing under the malediction of condemnation for no
other reason than the will of God exhibited in
predestination. Then he says to us, we ought
not to call this doctrine into question, because it
is the divine will, and whatever He wills or does
is right. We frankly admit the last, but not the
first. We admit what God does is right, but how
can we justly admit that God's will is capable of
consigning billions of innocent children to the
place of eternal torment, when Christ tells us, of
that class of individuals: "Of such is the king¬
dom of heaven; and, unless ye be converted and
become as little children, ye can not enter the
kingdom of heaven."
cause or Christ's love for children.
It was not the size of a child which caused
Christ to love it. It was loved for its innocence
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
181
and simplicity, in contradistinction to man's
duplicity. God is a lover of purity, because it
is the leading attribute of His nature. Purity
was the chief point, in the image of God, in which
man was created.
Moral purity can only be found in moral be¬
ings. There is a purity of water, a purity of
air, a purity of sunbeams; but neither of these
is a tint of moral purity. No matter what form
in which purity is seen, in that condition it at¬
tracts the admiration of God and heaven. It is
in accordance with the nature of things, like at¬
tracts like—purity attracts purity. Wherever
purity is, the divine is to be found.
Go to the cradle and behold a lovely babe coo¬
ing and gurgling, all in smiles, with beaming eyes
and the appearance of divine innocence—angelic
purity; whoever has been touched with the divine
essence can but love such an one.
Christ was and is a lover of purity, therefore,
He loved children; and in evidence of that fact,
whenever an opportunity presented itself, He
would embrace the little ones, bless them, set
them before Him, in the presence of His dis¬
ciples, and declare if the disciples would become
great they must first partake of the nature of
those little ones. If they would enter into the
182
PREDESTINATION.
kingdom of heaven, they must be changed and
become as little children. Christ loved children
because of the purity of their natures.
The whole nature corrupted by sin, must be re¬
newed by grace divine; thus be made to regain
the purity once enjoyed in childish innocency;
for though they were born in sin, Christ's substi¬
tution imputed to them their innocence—in them,
there was no actual sin. Christ loved them be¬
cause they were then in their purity; and, no
doubt, He often felt grieved for them, as He
knew the time was approaching when their inno¬
cence would pass from them; and pass from
some forever!
CHILDREN IN THE TERM OF SALVATION.
There are persons who refuse to admit the le¬
gality of substitution. Substitution, however, is
not merely commonly admitted, but is a part of
practical and constitutional economy. Great Bri¬
tain, the United States, and other governments
are known in different countries by representa¬
tives—ambassadors, consuls, ministers plenipo¬
tentiary, etc. Representatives in representing
their governments, transact legal business in the
name of the governments which they represent,
sign documents, agreements, etc., for their re-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
183
spective governments with as much authority as
if they did it for themselves. This is substitu¬
tion.
It was this substitution which brought about
the means of salvation for men, women, and
children; and substitution is a daily practice.
Soldiers, under similar circumstance, go on
guard in place of their comrades, and when gov¬
ernments are drafting or pressing men into mili¬
tary service, often one man goes as a substitute
for another, and is accepted as such.
In various ways substitutions are not only ac¬
cepted but legally recognized. Any man who
has collaterals, if he so desire, can assume the
responsibility of paying a debt for another, and
in many cases not merely acceptable, but gladly
accepted.
From Scriptural authority we obtain the rec¬
ognized plan of salvation: the God-man dies a
natural death to save the race of mankind from
dying the eternal death. Christ died as a sub¬
stitute for all, and He declared Himself: "I, if
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
unto me." It is out of the province of reason to
conceive that Christ would deceive any individ¬
ual, and He declares positively that the intention
of His death was to draw all men unto Him—all
184
PREDESTINATION.
individuals; and this included children. None
would be lost but those who knowingly resist the
drawing-.
While this substitution is for all, it is not effi¬
cacious to those who can but refuse to accept on
its terms. The plain explanation is, the death
of Christ atoned for three classes of sins: First,
Original Sins—the perilous condition into which
we were placed by Adam and Eve. Second, The
Sins Committed In A State of Irresponsibility—
children before they reach the years of puberty,
idiots, etc. Third, The Sins Of Those Who Ac¬
cept Salvation On The Terms Of The Gospel.
As will be more clearly demonstrated hereafter,
the sufferings and death of Christ atoned for
children, and so for irresponsibles.
children's salvation.
There can be no doubt, one of the causes of
careless and irregular actions of men may be
traced to the misapprehension of God in His
true characteristics. God tortures no man.
When torturing is done, it will be found that
man tortures himself. To keep him from the
place of torture God warns man from the height
above and from the depth beneath to shun the
path of death which never dies. When it is said
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
185
man dies the eternal death for nothing- more than
the gratification of the unlimited will of God, in¬
dependent of man's evil desires and acts, he is re¬
lieved of all responsibility of omission or com-
mission; and not being responsible for his acts—
they are the will of God—man commits innumer¬
able actual sins and often lives the life of a rep¬
robate, concluding it will be all the same under
any circumstance.
It takes no philosopher nor any extraordinary
amount of wisdom nor intelligence to perceive
that while God is under no obligation to any in¬
dividual for acts performed by Him; that He
might be just, and the Justifier of acts in equity,
His own acts must surely wear the ring of com¬
mon justice in such proportion that the eyes of
His creatures may behold and realize their con¬
sistency. If for no other purpose, for the sake
of example, since He is the only true and perfect
model.
Paul iif the spirit of inspiration declares—II.
Corinthians 5: 10—"For we must all appear be¬
fore the judgment seat of Christ; that every one
may receive the things done in his body, ac¬
cording to that he hath done, whether it be good
or bad"; and he continues—verse 11—"Knowing
186
PREDESTINATION.
therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade
men."
There are millions of children who have done
deeds in the body for which they are not ac¬
countable, and there are other millions which
have done no deed at all in the body—all died.
One has done, the other has not done. One has
had no chance to do, and the other has had no
chance to become responsible for what he has
done—they have died.
It is but reasonable that divine justice charges
neither, since neither is responsible—both irre¬
sponsible. If we take Calvin's idea of predesti¬
nation, notwithstanding the fact attained, in spite
of the peculiar existing circumstances, a number
of either or both must fall victims to the foreor¬
dained decision: "eternal life", or "eternal dam¬
nation" ; fault or no fault being taken into con¬
sideration : sin or no sin, draws the conclusion;
knowledge of facts to be, not being called in
question.
The Scripture just quoted gives us better in¬
formation. It tells us, "We must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
From the word of Scripture, the doer is respon-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
187
sible; Calvin would make us feel he is not, so far
as he acts as a tool without his choice. If he has
anything to do in the matter, it would be for aid¬
ing and abetting; and then, that is done without
the possibility of leaving it undone.
Fancy with yourselves—The great judgment
day has appeared, and the universe is gathered
before God. There are millions and millions of
innocent children who never committed a wilful
sin, and many have never committed a sin, be¬
cause they have never beheld the light of nature
in the body. These innocent ones are gathered
together at the bar of God, mingled with the in¬
numerable throng. Fancy you hear the Judge
of all the earth exclaim: "You, millions of in¬
fants, you have committed no sin, none at all, but
it has been my will from eternity that a part of
mankind shall be lost, and it happens you fell over
the line. You are damned because it is my will—
and so it shall be. You shall go away into ever¬
lasting punishment: I willed it." How would
judgment of that kind impress you? Nay,
friends; the God we serve is not a god of that
order, of that inclination, nor proclivity—decliv¬
ity would be a better word than proclivity.
Children are saved in the covenant of grace.
188
PREDESTINATION.
There is a covenant of work; the terms are: Do
and live; Sin and die. This covenant can be
made only with individuals comprehending conse¬
quences.
Then, there is the covenant of grace or re¬
demption. This covenant was entered into by
the Divine Three—The Trinity—and took into
consideration those on whom grace and glory
were concluded. Those who had not the faculty,
or having the faculty trusted in Christ, the eter¬
nal Source, for salvation through the redemptive
scheme.
Children's salvation, therefore, derives from
the Source of the covenant of grace—the sacred
Covenantors.
If destruction will have its own, it will claim
those only who yield to its delusion. The idea
of salvation to the uttermost is deeper, broader,
and higher than is often apprehended. Christ
saves all whom circumstances and situation place
in the reach of mercy to rightly control in the
deal without disregarding divine justice. All of
whom He can say; I have saved them because
they trusted and acknowledged me; I have saved
them on account of their immature condition, and
not being able to trust me, I trust them. I lost
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
189
those because they refused to trust and ack¬
nowledge me. They loved and preferred death
and so obtained it. And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment, but the saved into life
eternal. Children are saved in the covenant of
grace.
CHAPTER V.
GOD HAS NO DESIRE IN MAN'S DESTRUCTION.
It is certainly impossible for God to lie, and
that fact is made manifest by His nature and
character; and has been positively declared by the
word of His mouth. Saint Paul says in his let¬
ter to his Hebrew brethren—Hebrews 6: 18, 19—
"That by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us: Which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast, and which entereth into that within
the veil." We assert it is not possible for God
to make a statement which is not pre-eminently
true.
We scarcely understand Calvin when he tells
us: "In conformity, therefore, to the
clear doctrine of the Scripture, we assert, that by
an eternal and immutable counsel, God hath
once for all determined both whom he would
190
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
191
admit to salvation, and whom he would condemn
to destruction. We affirm", said he, "that this
counsel, as far as concerns the elect, is founded
on his gratuitous mercy, totally irrespective of
human merit; but that to those whom he devotes
to condemnation, the gate of life is closed by a
just and irreprehensible, but incomprehensible
judgment."
Unless we are very much mistaken, the above
quotation certainly disagrees with the word of
revelation: let us see. We quote—Ezekial 33: 11
—"As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleas¬
ure in the death of the wicked; but that the wick¬
ed turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye
from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel ?" But, further, the Lord speak¬
ing by the mouth of the same prophet says—
Ezekiel 18: 19-25—"Yet say ye, Why? doth not
the son bear the iniquity of the father? When
the son hath done that which is lawful and right,
and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done
them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity
of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the
192
PREDESTINATION.
wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that
which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he
shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto
him: in his righteousness that he hath done he
shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the
wicked should die ? saith the Lord God: and not
that he should return from his ways, and live?
But when the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth
according to all the abominations that the wicked
man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness
that he hath done shall, not be mentioned: in his
trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin
that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal.
Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way
equal? are not your ways unequal?"
That the Scriptural account of predestination
admits ambiguity, there can be no doubt; from
the fact, good, wise, and learned men have great¬
ly differed in their views on that subject; and
that furnishes evidence that there is something
ambiguous thereabout.
Ambiguity is not always in a word, sometimes
it may be discerned in sentences. The word
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
193
ambiguity indicates that a word or sentence is
liable to more than one construction—more than
one meaning; and that such men as Pelagius and
Augustine, Calvin and Arminius, and their num¬
erous followers, differed so widely in their con¬
struction of this doctrine, indicates its ambig¬
uity.
When a document has been written by any in¬
dividual, and his declarations appear ambiguous,
the proper person to whom appeals are presented
for decision is, the writer of the document. His
explanation, as to what he intended to convey in
his declarations, is of more value than all others,
and with good reason. One individual may say
the writer meant one thing, and another, other
things; but there is the writer, what sayest thou ?
Thou art the arbiter of the whole matter—decide.
All must be silent when he speaks. No person
of judgment will be bold enough to pretend to
know better what the writer had in mind when
he expressed himself as he did, than the writer
himself.
But, it might be the writer is dead, and has
made no written nor verbal statement in explana¬
tion of the ambiguous or controverted expression.
In such an event, the views of the highest and
best authority may be admitted. But it may be
194
PREDESTINATION.
that the writer of the document, though not
present, has written extensively on the same and
similar subjects. It is natural that consultation
of his writings on the subject must be of more
legal value than the opinions of the wisest or
best informed.
There is something more than ordinary in di¬
vine utterances. In them, the Scripture of divine
truth, we are furnished with utterances and ex¬
tra-utterances. That is to say, the Scripture
generally repeats itself, or explains itself. When
it does not repeat itself, anything of mysterious
character remains as such, as then it seems to be
the intention of Providence not to clearly express
Himself.
Scripture repeating itself occasionally makes
statements which seem contradictory to another
or others. In such a case the Scripture ought to
be carefully searched until the agreement is
found, before any definite conclusion is publicly
uttered; for all seeming contradictions have only
that appearance: their agreement may be found
with care. Remember, Scripture is divine utter¬
ances, and God never contradicts Himself.
We are now on our thirty-first perusal of the
Holy Scripture, and the more frequently we go
over the same thing, the more beautiful is the
appearance of its harmony. The greatest har-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
195
mony is discerned by musicians by the frequency
of repetition: great musicians never tire of repe¬
tition—John 5: 39—"Search the Scriptures; for
in them ye think ye have eternal life: And they
are they which testify of me."
author versus expositor.
God has not left Himself without verified tes¬
timonies as to His extraordinary love for the hu¬
man family—mankind in general; and if nothing
affirms and confirms the manifested fact, the gift
of His only begotten Son to suffer and die for the
race, more than expresses unbounded love—
"Love beyond degree."
Again, He has not left us to wonder if the gift
of His Son to suffer and die may be termed love,
but told us: "God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be-
lieveth in him should not perish, but have ever¬
lasting life."
Notwithstanding this divine declaration, Cal¬
vin in his exposition of God's Word, thought he
discovered from certain expressions, that God's
wonderful love manifested itself in the fact that
forasmuch as all men sinned and were liable
to eternal death, God willed that certain indi¬
viduals shall be saved, and others lost during the
ages of eternity; and that therein God showed
196
PREDESTINATION.
His wonderful love to man. Calvin tells us:
"Many, indeed, as if they wished to avert odium
from God, admit election in such a way as to deny
that anyone is reprobated." He says: "But this is
puerile and absurd; because election itself could
not exist, without being opposed to reprobation;
—whom God passes by he therefore reprobates;
and from no other cause than his determination
to exclude them from the inheritance which he
predestinates for his cnildren"—"For no other
cause than because he wills it." This is Calvin's
conclusion of the matter of God's acts and in¬
tention in relation to predestination.
As we have no desire to force a conclusion on
the doctrine of predestination, we desire to have
God speak for Himself, and at the same time
give a chance to Calvin and his coadjutors to
speak for themselves. God is not dead, and can
not die, but since He does not speak otherwise
than through revelation, let us turn to revelation
and hear His gentle but positive declaration. He
has spoken extensively on all subjects, but espec¬
ially concerning salvation—salvation of the hu¬
man family. Rather than argue for a point, we
will put His declaration on either side of those
of Calvin's interpretation. Let us give attention
to their declarations. From them we give the
reader a chance to draw his own conclusions.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
197
Scripture.
"For whom he did
foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be
conformed to the im¬
age of his Son, that
he might be the first¬
born among many
brethren. Moreover
whom he did predes¬
tinate, them he also
called: and whom he
called, them he also
i'ustified: and whom
le justified, them he
also glorified."—Rom¬
ans 8:29, $0.
"(For the children
being noi yet born,
neither having done
any good or evil,
that the purpose of
God according to his
ele^ion might stand,
not-jf works, but of
him that calleth;) It
was said unto her, the
elder shall serve the
younger. As it is
written, Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have
I hated. What shall
we say then? Is there
unrighteousness
with God? God for¬
bid. For he saith to
Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will
have mercy, and. I
will have compassion
on whom I will have i
compassion. So then |
it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of
God that showeth
mercy. For the
Scripture saith unto
Pharoah, even for this
same purpose have I
raised thee up, that
I might show my pow¬
er in thee, and that
my name might be de¬
clared throughout all
the earth. Therefore
hath he mercy on
whom he will have
mercy, and whom he
will he hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then
unto me, why doth he
yet find fault? For
Calvin.
"Predestination we
call the eternal decree
of God; by which he
hath determined in
himself what he
would have to be¬
come of every indi¬
vidual of mankind.
For they are not all
created with similar
destiny; but eternal
life is foreordained for
some, and eternal
damnation for others.
Every man, therefore,
being created for one
or other of these ends,
we say, he is predes¬
tinated, eit 2r to life
or to death. "
"In conformity,
therefore, to the clear
doctrine of the Scrip¬
ture, we assert, that
by an eternal and im¬
mutable counsel, God
hath once for all de¬
termined both whom
he would admit to
salvation, and whom
he would condemn to
destructiou. We af¬
firm that this counsel,
as far as concerns the
elect, is founded on
his gratuitous mercy,
totally irrespective of
human merit; but
that to those whom
he devotes to condem¬
nation, the gate of life
is closed by a just and
irreprehensible, but
incomprehensible judg¬
ment. ♦ * * As. God
seals his elect by vo¬
cation and justifica¬
tion, so by excluding
the reprobate from
the knowledge of his
name, and sanctifica-
tion of his Spirit, he
affords another indi¬
cation of judgment
that awaits them."—
Chapter 21, Book III.
"If, therefore, we
can assign no reason
why he grants mercy
to his people but be¬
cause such is his
pleasure, neither
Scripture.
"As Moses lifted up
the serpent in the
wilderness, even so
must the Son of man
be lifted up: That
whosoever believeth
in him should not
perish, but have eter¬
nal life. For God so
loved the world, that
he gave his only be¬
gotten Son, that who¬
soever believeth in
him should not per¬
ish, but have ever¬
lasting life."—JohnS:
1U-16.
"The Spirit and the
bride sav, Come. And
let him 'that heareth
say, Come. And let
him that is athirst
come. And whoso¬
ever will, let him take
the water of life free¬
ly."—Revelation 22:17.
"Have I any pleas¬
ure at all that the
wicked should die?
saith the Lord God:
and not that he
should return from
his ways, and live?"
Ezekid 18:%S.
"Say unto them, As
I live, saith the Lord
God, I have no pleas¬
ure in the death of the
wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his
way and live: Turn
ye, turn ye from your
evil ways; for why
will ye die, O house
of Israel?"—Ezekiel 33c
11.
"The soul that sin-
neth, it shall die. The
son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father,
neither shall the fath¬
er bear the iniquity of
the son: the righteous¬
ness of the righteous
shall be upon him,
and the wickedness
of the wicked shall
be upon him. But
if the wicked will
turn from his sins
that he hath commit¬
ted, and keep all my
198
PREDESTINATION.
Scripture—Cont'd,
who hath resisted
his will? Nay but, 0
man, who art thou
that repliest against
God? Shall the thing
formed say to him
that formed it, Why
hast thou made me
thus? Hath not the
potter power over the
clay,of the same lump
to make one vessel un¬
to honour, and anoth¬
er unto dishonor?
What if God willing
to show his wrath,
and to make his pow¬
er known, endureth
with longsu ff e r i n g
the vessels of wrath
fitted to destsuction:
And that he might
make known the
riches of his glory on
the vessels of mercy,
which he hath afore
prepared unto glory,
Even us, whom he
hath called, not of
the Jews only, but
also of the Gentiles."
—Romans 9:11-ZU.
" Having predesti¬
nated us unto the
adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to
the good pleasure of
his will, To the praise
of the glory of his
grace, wherein he
hath made us accept¬
able in the beloved.
In whom we have re¬
demption through his
blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to
the riches of his grace;
wherein he hath
abounded toward us
in all wisdom and
prudence.'Ephesians
1: 5-8.
Calvin—Cont'd. I
shall we find any
other cause but his'
will for the repro¬
bation of others. For
when God is said to
harden or show mercy
on whom he pleases,
men are taught, by
this declaration, to
seek no other cause
beside his will.—Book
III, Chapter 23.
Zanchius and Pisca-
tor, Calvin's coadju¬
tors—
"Reprobates", says
Zanchius, "are com¬
pelled with the neces¬
sity of sinning, and so
of perishing, by this
ordination of God;
and so compelled
that they cannot
choose but sin and
perish."
(2) "God works
all things in all men,
not only in the godly,
but also in the un¬
godly."
(3) Piscator de¬
clares: "Judas could
not but betray Christ,
seeing that God's de¬
crees are immutable;
and whether a. man
bless or curse, he al¬
ways doth it necessar¬
ily in respect of God's
providence, and in so
doing hedoeth always
according to the will
of God."
(4) "It doth or at
least may appear
from the word of God,
that we neither can
do more good than
we do, nor omit more
evil than we omit;
because God from
eternity hath precise¬
ly decreed that both
(the good and the
evil) should be done.
It is fatally consti¬
tuted when, and how,
and how much, every
one of us ought to
study and love piety,
or not to love it."
Scripture—Cont'd,
statutes, and do that
which is lawful and
right, he shall surely
live, he shall not die."
Ezekiel 18:20,21.
"So thou, O son of
man, I have set thee
a watchman unto the
house of Israel; there¬
fore thou shalt hear
the word at my
mouth, and warn
them from me. When
I say unto the wicked,
O wicked man, thou
shalt surely die; if
thou dost not speak to
warn the wicked from
his way, that wicked
man shall die in his
iniquity; but his
blood will I require at
thine hand. Never¬
theless, if thou warn
the wicked of his way
to turn from it; if he
do not turn from his
way, he shall die in
his iniquity; but thou
hast delivered thy
soul."—Ezekiel 33: 7-9.
"If the wicked man
turn from his wicked¬
ness, and do that
which is lawful and
right, he shall live
thereby."—Ezekiel 33:
19
"Again, when the
wicked man turneth
away from his wick¬
edness that he hath
committed, and doeth
that which is lawful
and right, he shall
save his soul alive."—
Ezekiel 18: 27.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
199
GOD EXPLAINS HIMSELF BETTER THAN ANOTHER.
No matter how well informed a person may
be, he can not know God's mind better than
God knows it Himself. When, therefore, we
produce the views of Calvin and his coadjutors,
exhibiting and explaining the meaning of God's
word, it is not possible for their declaration to
stand when it does not harmonize with the utter¬
ance of God touching the same and similar sub¬
jects; unless we are willing to admit that these
well informed men understand God better than
He does Himself.
Calvin tells us, that predestination is God's de¬
termination to save a part of mankind, and to
damn the remainder; and that the part damned
is condemned without any fault of its own: that
this condemnation is done by the will and pleas¬
ure of God Himself.
Jesus Christ declares to us through His Gos¬
pel: "That whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life"—John 3: 15;
and repeats Himself in the next verse—John 3:
16—"For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
In the Revelation—22: 17—God uses this same
200
PREDESTINATION.
whosoever, says: "The Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whoso¬
ever will, let him take the water of life freely."
There is evidence that there is something in the
word "whosoever"—"Whosoever believeth in
him should not perish"; "Whosoever believeth in
him should not perish"; repeated in two succes¬
sive verses: "Whosoever will, let him take the
water of life freely." If "whosoever" has any
meaning at all, it is intended to give choice to any
individual; but how could this be, if Calvin's
views are correct? What individual will would
have to do in the matter, except God's will?
Whom must we believe, in this or any other case ?
Calvin or God?—no answer is required.
But Calvin declares it is not merely the will
but pleasure of God that part of mankind shall
be lost; that God willed it, and it will be His
pleasure to carry out His will. Holy Scripture
condemns that declaration by the mouth of the
Prophet Ezekiel—18: 23—"Have I any pleasure
at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord
God: and not that he should return from his
ways, and live?" The last quotation seems as
though it was intended to meet the declaration
of Calvin.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
201
The real intention of interrogatory declara¬
tions is, their unanswerableness; but lest there
be some doubt in the matter, the Master repeats
Himself in another place in the declarative, says
—Ezekiel 33: 11—"Say unto them, As I live,
saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn
from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from
your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel?"
In this declaration, God makes Calvin's irre-
prehensible but incomprehensible judgment, more
than incomprehensible in regard to the matter of
which he wrote; so that instead of excluding the
reprobates—according to his saying—it excludes
his argument. Here God speaks for Himself,
declares He has no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, urges him to turn from his wickedness
and live. The blessed Master gives undoubted
evidence that Calvin did not understand His as¬
sertion in relation to predestination—no matter
how good his intention may have been.
It proves, also, that Paul's declaration of Esau
serving Jacob (the elder serving the younger,
contrary to Jewish custom) was intended to
prove God's displeasure of sin and depreciation
202
PREDESTINATION.
of privileges, as God saw them, which brought
the curse on Esau and on Pharaoh.
That God is under no obligation to extend
mercy at any time, there can be no question, so
when the extension is depreciated, He abridges,
as seems good and compatible with His wisdom;
but that does not show that He is capable of act¬
ing contrary to reason, notwithstanding He has
power so to do; for while He is under no obliga¬
tion to give account for His acts to any individ¬
ual, He varies not to hold Himself to the line of
justice prescribed by His almighty wisdom. He
would do nothing less as a perfect example.
calvin's coadjutors—zanchius and piscator.
It is not such a hard thing to catch a wrong
idea, and it is an easier thing to make a false
impression; and when such an impression is once
made it is likely to increase in weight and volume.
The danger of making a false impression ought
to be eagerly and cautiously watched, more es¬
pecially touching the work of man's salvation.
Take for example, two of Calvin's followers—
Zanchius and Piscator. Calvin is explicit in his
declarations, yet cautious in expressing himself.
So much so that he leaves some things to be in-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
203
ferred; but this is not the case with either of the
before mentioned disciples.
Dr. Thomas Pierce published an able and very
interesting pamphlet, entitled: "A Correct Copy
Of Some Notes Concerning- God's Decree"; and
he named as two of the individuals who wrote on
the decrees of God in predestination, Zanchius
and Piscator.
The following are the two propositions of Zan¬
chius :
(1). "Reprobates are compelled with a neces¬
sity of sinning, and so of perishing, by this ordi¬
nation of God; and so compelled that they can
not choose but sin and perish."
(2). God works all things in all men, not
only in the godly, but also in the ungodly."
The next two are those of Piscator:
(3). "Judas could not but betray Christ, see¬
ing that God's decrees are immutable; and
whether a man bless or curse, he always doth it
necessarily in respect of God's providence, and
in so do'ing he doeth always according to the will
of God."
(4). "It doth or at least may appear from the
word of God, that we neither can do more good
than we do, nor omit more evil than we omit;
because God from eternity hath precisely decreed
204
PREDESTINATION.
that both (the good and the evil) should so be
done. It is fatally constituted when, and how,
and how much, every one of us ought to study
and love piety, or not to love it."
As we calmly and reverently discuss what ap¬
pears to us as errors of great and good men, we
do not attempt to bring a railing accusation
against either of them, but quote their words rep¬
resenting their side of this important question;
then, we present God's own word with no other
desire than the advancement of truth to the det¬
riment of error.
Zanchius tells us that sinners are compelled to
sin, and can not otherwise than continue, as it is
not possible for them to escape perishing; that it
is so ordained of God: they can not do otherwise.
That this is the way God deals with godly and
ungodly—neither has any choice of his own.
This seems to be Calvin's idea, but he is more
cautious in his expressions.
Such declarations present as a fact, that the
lost sinner strictly obeys God, as much as he who
is saved with an everlasting salvation. That as
to obedience, the godly and ungodly alike obey
God and so fulfil the intention of His providence.
Zanchius' expression is so explicit, not to say
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
205
daring, that he can scarcely demand the respect
of reason which Calvin commands and retains.
Zanchius by his declaration asserts one of two
things: there is no such thing as transgression—
if transgression means violation of law—in the
universe; or, if there be transgression, then, God
is the transgressor;—man is only the tool in car¬
rying out the divine will. In this sense, there
can be no sin through disobedience.
We know there are transgressions by reason
of disobedience, and that has ever been acknowl¬
edged commencing in the Garden of Eden. We
know this fact by the exercise of reason; we know
it by experience; we know it by the declaration
of God. Let God speak for Himself—I. Samuel
15:22—"Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice
of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacri¬
fice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." Sam¬
uel said to Saul: "Because thou hast rejected the
word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from
being king."—I. Samuel 15: 23. If Saul really
obeyed the Lord, in going contrary to His com¬
mandment, because he could not do otherwise;
he really obeyed the Lord: how then could the
accusation be true ?
But Piscator is as bold and pointed as Zan-
206
PREDESTINATION.
chius, if not more so. He says: "Judas could
not but betray Christ, seeing that God's decrees
are immutable; and whether a man bless or curse,
he always doth it necessarily in respect of God's
providence, and in so doing he doeth always ac¬
cording to the will of God." This leaves noth¬
ing to be inferred, but positively makes God the
Author of all sin, as it is His will that men should
curse as well as bless. He tells us that fatality
is, "When, and how, and how much"; and closes
his declaration by nonsensically saying: "Every
one of us ought to study and love piety, or not
love it."
We scarcely think the word of God ought to be
used in contradiction of such statements—they
contradict themselves. We quote them to show
to what an unreasonable extent Calvinistic pre¬
destination reaches. We are sure many persons
who assert their belief in Calvinistic predestina¬
tion are not acquainted with its length, breadth,
and depth. To say God does every thing, and
Satan does nothing is saying too much.
SYNOD OF DORT.
One more reference then we proceed to our
closing chapter. We refer to the conclave en¬
titled the Synod of Dort.
In 1618-19, a number of Protestant ministers
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
207
met in conclave in the noted town of Dort, about
twelve miles southeast of Rotterdam, South Hol¬
land ; for the purpose of condemning what
seemed to them the heretical doctrine of Armin-
ius—the Whosoever Will Doctrine.
That synod affirmed the doctrine of Calvin
and his coadjutors, and condemned the calm and
thoughtful system of Arminius. History tells
us, that the Gothic building in which this synod
sat, and whose marvellous labors, according to
the president of the synod, in his closing address;
"made hell tremble", is now used as a public
house; and the particular room in which the syn¬
od met is degraded into a dancing saloon.
Even when we have occasion to believe we are
right, it is reasonable to be calm and modest, for
it is positively declared—James 4: 6—"God re-
sisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the hum-
ble."Rashness and boasting are the real signs of
weakness. The man who appears to be exasper¬
ated when he is accused, is generally guilty.
The salvation of the gospel is a "whosoever
will" salvation, and if it were not so, the gospel
of Jesus Christ would be as sounding brass and a
tinkling cymbal—it would have no meaning
whatever. The gospel is true, offers life, and is
full of hope—praise God.
CHAPTER VI.
REVIEW.
In closing this small volume, we desire to re¬
view calmly the subject in discussion, and if the
Holy Spirit will help us—we believe He will
—we will try to bring point to point, and show
that notwithstanding the mistaken view held by
predestinarians; Predestination is a Scriptural
doctrine; and where it is watched with a single
eye—in humble submission; the object of pre¬
destination is the central point of salvation. If
the index finger be carefully watched, it will be
seen pointing toward Christ, the eternal Source
and only Door to salvation—not to man; as we
pointed out in a previous chapter.
CENTRAL POINT OF PREDESTINATION.
We mentioned in a previous chapter, in order
to a thorough understanding of the declarations
of God, several things are indispensably neces¬
sary. We must understand God well enough to
208
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
209
be conversant with the manner of His expres¬
sions—we must be thoroughly acquainted with
the alphabet leading to His mode of utterances;
and this may not be obtained in a day nor a year,
except in cases of special endowment.
One of the real obstructions to obtaining sal¬
vation is, the simplicity of its offer and the mode
of acceptance; and the enemy uses that feature
for all that it is worth. Satan tries to show per¬
sons that as the Lord is a great God, His power
almighty, His wisdom incomprehensible, and His
working mysterious; so is His mode of distrib¬
uting salvation. Hence, there are those who are
not willing to take His simple word or promise
for all which are therein expressed. But few
persons are willing to look and live, and to do
this for no other reason than because God so de¬
clares ; yet, that is all which is indispensably nec¬
essary. Believe in Him and have eternal life;
continue that belief, and it becomes trusting; and
trusting produces its accompanying work. All
comes from the starting point, simplicity—Thou
say est, I believe. That is too simple for the mil¬
lions. They desire to find the fact by complicat¬
ed processes—reason it out.
Reason is excellent and commendable, and
yet though a noted guide, it is not infallible; for
210
PREDESTINATION.
mind can not always find the trackless path of
the mighty God of Jacob—yet He is reasonable.
There are times when His wisdom is too won¬
derful for man, yet He is never unreasonable.
In His wisdom He goes out farther and farther,
and yet farther, until horizon on neither side is
conceivable: yet onward He goes! In such
cases we can but hurry back to nature's limits
and cry: "We have heard of Thee by the hear¬
ing of the ears, but seeing we have lost sight of
Thee."
We repeat, that we may see God more cor¬
rectly, we must approach reverently and stead¬
fastly behold in simplicity. Naaman could not
be healed of his leprosy until he admitted the effi¬
cacy of the simple remedy recommended from
the mouth of God's prophet: "Wash and be
clean." Why, cold water bath kills the leper—
yes, that is true, but this is God's message. He
obeyed and was healed.
In the case of man's salvation, from the Alpha
to the Omega, Christ is the revealed Door. "I
am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall
be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pas¬
ture."—John 10: 9. In the matter of predesti¬
nation, Christ has not yielded this position one-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
211
thousandth part of an inch; nay, He stands out
more pre-eminently.
Man having lost his created image—the image
of his God—to be saved, he must renew it; and
this is God's prescription, in settling his (man's)
destiny—"To be conformed to the image of his
Son." This is as though God said, You were
created in our image and in our likeness, but you
have lost it; I decree you can not enter into rest
unless you renew it in the image of my Son—
conformed to the image of His Son.
SCRIPTURE PROOFS.'
Bear with us as we present Scriptural evi¬
dences to sustain our assertions, for we dare not
assume to walk in strange paths without the di¬
vine sanction; and we do this with the full
knowledge of our liability to err, but God's word
can not err.
It is true, reading Paul's letter to the Romans
Chapters 8: 28-30; 9: 11-24, unless one is more
than ordinarily careful to examine other pas¬
sages before coming to a fixed conclusion, the
conclusion arrived at by Calvin and his coadju¬
tors is likely to appear reasonable. When a
conclusion is once reached by a particularly
strong minded individual—right or wrong—it is
212
PREDESTINATION.
not so easily shaken. No matter however strong
adverse declarations may make their claim, they
go like the horsemen sent by Joram to Jehu to
inquire if there were peace; Jehu said: "What
hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind
me"—the men sent became a part of Jehu's army.
When conclusions are arrived at (reasonable or
unreasonable) the strongest controversal points
become evidence of former conclusions. When
the mind is once fixed, other passages which
otherwise would establish the reverse, strength¬
en the mistaken idea.
It can be seen, if one will allow his prejudice
to lift the veil, that in every place where pre¬
destination is mentioned, the divine index fin¬
ger points to Christ, and generally continues
throughout the declaration.
One of the strongest passages establishing the
doctrine of predestination is, Romans 8: 29, and
it reads: "For whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
His Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren." Here it is positively declared
that according to the divine knowledge (of those
who would yield to the overtures of salvation)
He fore-arranged their place, "To be conformed
to the image of His Son"; and gave as His rea-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
213
son, that Christ "might be the firstborn among
many brethren." As He has declared, there is no
other way out of the painful dilemma to reach
the desired place of happiness than to be con¬
formed to the image (once lost) of His Son.
But Paul's letter to the Ephesians is far more
explicit and pointed in this direction. The apos¬
tle says—Chapter i: 5-13—"Having predestin¬
ated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleas¬
ure of his will, To the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in
the beloved. In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, ac¬
cording to the riches of his grace; Wherein he
hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and pru¬
dence; Having made known unto us the mys¬
tery of his will, according to his good pleasure
which he hath purposed in himself: That in the
dispensation of the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth;
even in him: In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will: That we should be to
the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
214
PREDESTINATION.
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in
whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise."
These declarations, to us, seem so plain they
need no comment nor explanation; yet there are
those who are rather slow to see even things
which are plain and clear, especially if their
minds have been trained to see things differently.
The leading verse (5th) of our present quota¬
tion states positively that Christ is the predestin¬
ated source of salvation. Says the apostle:
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will"; and in the fol¬
lowing verse he declares that this was done to the
praise of the glory of His grace, "wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved."
The apostle makes it yet plainer, says: "Hav¬
ing made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he hath
purposed in himself." Here it may be noticed
predestinate and purpose, applying to God, are
synonymous. Predestination is a purpose un¬
changed, and can be appropriately applied to
God only. Purpose may be applied to man. A
man may have a purpose which he may not be
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
215
able to carry into effect, but God's purposes all
go into effect. This, therefore, makes predestine,
foreordain, and purpose synonymous terms,
when applied to God. It is not hard to compre¬
hend the fact that God's purposes are done when
they become His purposes.
In the passage just quoted, the apostle de¬
clares that Jesus Christ made known to us the
mystery of His will; that is, of His foreordained
plan, according to His good pleasure, "Which
he hath purposed" (or predestinated) "in him¬
self." The apostle continues: "In whom also
we have obtained an inheritance, being predesti¬
nated according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will: That we should be to the praise of his
glory, who first trusted in ChristBut the
apostle does not seem to consider himself tauto¬
logical in his expression, continuing his argu¬
ment, says: "In whom we also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvationand to make double sure his in ¬
tention, repeats: "In whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise." We are sure if any one fails to see
the apostle's point, it is not because he has not
made every effort to make himself clearly and
216
PREDESTINATION.
positively understood—his often repetition bears
him witness. The apostle wants us to know
that God's determination was to reveal to us that
Jesus Christ was not merely the foreordained me¬
dium, but the only and eternal Source of
salvation; and he brought it out more clearly (if
possible) in his epistle to the Ephesians—Chap¬
ter 3 : verse 9-11—"To make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world has been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ: To the in¬
tent that now unto the principalities and powers
in heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God, According to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Je¬
sus our Lord."
There can be no doubt in the latter quotation,
the apostle dwelt chiefly on the design of Provi¬
dence in revealing to the church, what was for¬
merly kept a mystery. May we ask reverently,
What good could be the result of a revelation to
us or to the church, in any special effort to re¬
veal the fact which contained the determined
plan of God in saving a part of mankind and
sinking the remainder into utter destruction?
Since the destiny of no one could be changed by
this information, what good could be the result
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
217
in saying to the church, say to men: A large
number of you have been cursed from the foun¬
dation of the world, and the remainder blessed
with salvation: nothing you can do will change
the decree ? does that seem to be an exhibition of
the wisdom of God ? would not such a revelation
cause any reasonable person to submit to the in¬
evitable without reverential fear?—God has
cursed me without any fault of my own: I sup¬
pose it will be all right. To us such a doctrine
seems inconsistent when it is applied to human
judgment, not to mention divine equity.
Paul wants it to be known in the church,
that from eternity, Jesus Christ is the
destined center of salvation. That He is the
Door, the only Door; and through Him alone
salvation may be obtained. The apostle desired
the church to know the manifold wisdom of God
in centralizing the salvation of man in Christ Je¬
sus the Lord; and it was to be known that He
purposed in Himself—in God—that all things
were created in Christ Jesus, and that though the
enemy had made an effort to destroy the plan,
salvation shall be through no other; and so the
carrying out of the plan of the divine counsel shall
be without variation. That all individuals shall
see what was formerly a mystery, even in heav-
218
PREDESTINATION.
en, revealed to the church, that the fellowship of
man with God shall be through Jesus Christ: be¬
side Him there is no other. And Christ Him¬
self declares—John 14: 6—"I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me." Paul writing to the Corin¬
thian church, handed to us this information—I.
Corinthians 2: 6-8—"Howbeit we speak wisdom
among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom
of this world, nor of the prince of this world,
that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom,
which God ordained before the world unto our
glory: Which none of the princes of this world
knew: for had they known it, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory."
In the foregoing quotation, the apostle de¬
clares that Jesus Christ was the foreordained me¬
dium of the plan of salvation, and that lie was a
mystery hidden in wisdom; that He was hidden
from the princes of this world; they did not
know it, for had they known it they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory. Any individ¬
ual who reads carefully and inquiringly will eas¬
ily discover the fact that Jesus Christ was or¬
dained (predestinated if you like) in the counsel
of divine wisdom as the medium of salvation.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
219
The apostle writing to the Ephesians, presents
Christ as the mystery of hidden wisdom or¬
dained from eternity as the great center of sal¬
tation—Chapter 3: 9-11, and gave guaranteed
information to the church at Corinth as is found
in I. Corinthians 2: 6-8.
CHRIST THE CENTRAL POINT.
The one thing the apostle seemed intent upon
establishing was, the one and only Medium of
salvation. He knew the diversity of minds of in¬
dividuals who had been heathen. In their poly¬
theistic views, how they might easily account for
distributive influences, and so distribute their
honor and worship to gods of the hills and of the
valleys, gods of water and fire, according to cus¬
tom. He uses all exactness possible, giving line
upon line, line upon line; precept upon precept,
precept upon precept, to convey the clear evi¬
dence of the doctrine he preached in relation to
man's salvation. He showed that it was not an
after thought put forth to meet the emergency
brought about by the fall of man—a strange coin¬
cidence—but that it was the plan ordained of
God from eternity. The plan was ordained to
meet every emergency, but it was not revealed,
not even to angels, though sought by them. On
220
PREDESTINATION.
this line Peter says:—I. Peter i: 8-12—"Whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye
see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un¬
speakable and full of glory: Receiving the end
of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired
and searched diligently, who prophesied of the
grace that should come unto you: Searching
what, or what manner of time the Spirit of
Christ which was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and
the glory that should follow. Unto whom it
was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto
us they did minister the things, which are now
reported unto you by them that have preached
the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven; which things the angels de¬
sire to look into."
It seems to be the desire of the Apostle Paul,
and other writers of the New Testament, that
the things which had been kept a mystery for
ages, not merely should be revealed, but he de¬
sired to make the revelation clear and pointed;
he speaks, therefore, of it as the eternal plan,
foreordained of God in His eternal counsel. It
follows as a sequence, that as no house is built
without looking toward inhabitants, prepara-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.'
221
tion for salvation would scarcely be made
without taking into consideration those for whom
the preparation was being made.
The all-seeing eye beholding from eternity all
things as they really would exist—with Him ex¬
isted—settles down on Christ as the only Door
—nothing to God being impenetrable—it would
be impossible for Him to take no notice of those
whom He sees walking in the path provided by
divine wisdom, leading from death to life eternal.
The individuals in whom He had special
interest, those for whom His only begotten Son
would die—died!
As it was only natural, God saw (sees) them,
and He registered those who would accept (ac¬
cepted) Heaven's plan of salvation. He kept the
plan and its workings in the bosom of the Trinity,
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of time
he might gather together in one all things in
Christ"; He revealed them to the church. In
His revelation He made known that from eter¬
nity He had placed His seal upon One mighty to
save, and sealed those who yielded to His divine
wooings.
Of this determination of God, Paul said—
Romans 8: 29—"For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the im-
222
PREDESTINATION.
age of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren"; and in his letter to his
Ephesian brethren, he said—Ephesians 1: 5—
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will." These expres¬
sions clearly demonstrate the mysterious plan of
the Father, made to the church, as though He de¬
clares : I set my seal upon my Son, to be the
eternal and only Source of salvation, and upon
those (I know them) who accept His offered
mercies.
THE WORK OF ETERNAL WISDOM.
We can not help knowing that none of the
workings of Providence are without reason and
purpose, for God is the source of reason, having
all things in His immediate presence at all times
—with Him an eternal now—with Almighty
power and wisdom to construct and guide, con¬
structing and guiding, it is utterly impossible for
any difficulty to arise where there is no provision
made to counteract the adverse current, when
His will is manifested.
God has given practical illustration in the var¬
ied walks of life, that no matter what plan the
enemy may adopt, God is eternally ahead, and
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
223
can not otherwise than be ahead; whether it be
in the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger at
Bethlehem, issuing blood from His side on the
cross of Calvary, in the agony of death, or pass¬
ing through the clouds ascending to the throne
of glory—God has always left His enemies be¬
hind, and His friends shall share His triumphs.
He has shown this in innumerable cases. Take
for instance the varied life of the patriarch Jos¬
eph, son of Jacob. Joseph had his difficulties.
They were not few, and some seemed insur¬
mountable, but he trusted in God always; and
while once he was at the mercy of his brothers,
then in the Egyptian prison house, at last he is
found sitting in the second chariot and ruling the
kingdom of Egypt.
In some cases it is God's eternal will that it
must be; then, there is nothing to obstruct His
will. Again, it is His will, if it be your will, it
shall be done. So it may be observed, there are
different phases of His will, and they are separ¬
ate and distinct—they are often confounded by
men.
In the case of His will, as it must be, we have
in the gospel expressions thereof in its unchange¬
able nature. As for example—John 17: 24—
"Father I will that they also whom thou hast
224
PREDESTINATION.
given me, be with me where I am; that they
may behold my glory, which thou hast given me."
There is naught to change this phase of the ful¬
fillment of His will—it must be done. Then,
there is another phase of His will which may be
seen in Matthew n : 28: "Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest." A similar expression of His will
may be seen in Matthew 10: 32—"Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will
I also confess before my Father which is in
heaven." In the latter quotations it may be seen
that God connects His will with that of His
creatures thus: I will give you rest, if you come
to me; I will confess you before my Father which
is in heaven, providing you confess me before
men.
This is reasonable. God's will is evidently for
every good and laudable work, a'nd He has the
unlimited power to carry His will into effect, but
if men are moral beings (and they are) they must
be given a chance to exercise the power of their
will, or not held responsible for its untoward ex¬
cise. That this moral being may be responsible
for his acts, God does not control his will; there¬
fore He says: I will, and if thou wilt, I will
carry out my will.
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
225
MAN AND GOD SEPARATE AND DISTINCT.
In giving Scriptural evidences that Christ is
the predestinated Source of salvation, it is not
our mind or intention to invalidate the fact, that
predestination points to man—his destiny. What
we desire to exhibit is, the Scriptural fact that
the revelation of the mystery of salvation was in¬
tended to hold to the gaze of the fallen race of
mankind, the only Medium of salvation; and in
so doing, pointed to the divine confirmation of
the saved in the same utterance; yet they are to
be understood separately and distinctly.
It has been the wisdom of God, never to mingle
the acts of man with those of his Creator, for
good reason; and in revelation they never will be
seen operating jointly; probably for the reason
that misconstruction and misunderstanding are
likely to disconcert intended plans. In the case
of predestination we have an example.
The apostle began by saying: "Whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate"; and that ex¬
pression made a deeper impression upon the
minds of individuals than that which gloriously
followed—"To be conformed to the image of his
Son"; and the excellent reason, "That he might
be the firstborn among many brethren." Yet one
226
PREDESTINATION.
can see that the utterance of the latter is so much
more glorious than the former. Failing to rec¬
ognize that fact, seems to be the loose screw
which threw men from the track, and many seem
to remain off.
The same may be seen in the expression of the
apostle to the Ephesian Church. "Having pre¬
destinated us", seems to call forth so much more
attention than the information which follows
that we can but wonder at going in a direction so
different from that intended—"Adoption of
children of Jesus Christ to himself"; that is,
adopting us as children by Jesus Christ to Him¬
self, and then comes the expression of His tender
and merciful reason: "According to the good
pleasure of his will." It is Jesus Christ to whom
God wants us to look, but looking so steadfastly
on ourselves, instead of Christ, we see the act of
God in an untoward light. If we looked more
steadfastly upon Him who adopted us into His
family, and saw in Him the worthy cleft of a
rock—"Cleft for us"—we would be enabled to
understand more clearly that He uses His good
pleasure to save every individual who can be sav¬
ed legally. That is to say, any individual who can
be saved according to means which may be used
in deference to justice. Justice makes his de-
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
227
mands—he is one of the attributes of God—and
must be heard when his case is favorable;
but Jesus Christ often takes from his clutches
(justice,) the condemned, through His
(Christ's) pleadings. This is chiefly what the
apostle wants us to know.
Let us look more carefully at the utterance of
the apostle, in relation to predestination, as it ap¬
plies, first to Jesus Christ as the eternal and only
Source of salvation, so ordained of God; then, to
those who are sealed in accordance with the
knowledge of God. V)fe think, then, the subject
will appear differently.
That the Principal appears second in the ex¬
pression, no doubt, may have caused some to look
upon Him secondarily, but the reason for the
place He occupies is suggestive, and may be no¬
ticed in each of the principal expressions, in the
apostle's letter touching predestination. One is,
"That he might be the firstborn among many
brethren"; and the other: "According to the
good pleasure of his will." These adjuncts could
be more easily applied to Christ if they followed
Him directly.
Looking at Jesus Christ as the Principal, the
Source of predestination—and that is true, for so
the Scripture presents Him—we see more clearly
228
PREDESTINATION.
the truth uttered by the apostle—man predestin¬
ated from eternity.
Is it not very strange that we should overlook
the leading word in the first sentence of the apos¬
tle on the subject of predestination, "foreknow"?
It is true, as we have said, literally God does not
foreknow anything, for all things are before Him
on all occasions. We were going to say at all
times, but with Him there is no time—time is ap¬
plied to mortals.
Predestinarians, of the Calvinistic school, tell
us positively, that in predestination God did ac¬
cording to His will, without reference to His
knowledge of what would or would not occur.
Paul tells us, that those who were sealed were
confirmed because of God's knowledge of them:
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predes¬
tinate." We can not see how that declaration
could be more plainly expressed in Scripture.
Any reasonable individual would interpret it:
I know these and am settled in the place of their
destiny. I have purposed that Jesus Christ is
the only Source of salvation, and have directed
all possible influence about them to draw them to
the only Source of salvation. A will yield to the
overtures of mercy, B will not. I have settled
the places of their destinies. A accepting the
ITS TRUE IMPORT.
229
atonement of the Anointed, is assigned to the
realms of light; B refusing acceptance, is eter¬
nally lost. This is done from perfect knowledge:
from eternity to eternity—an eternal now.
"Whom he did foreknow, he also did predesti¬
nate." But this is secondary. The primary is,
the revelation of Christ the Saviour of the world
—the only Saviour. Jesus turns away none who
is willing to go to the Father through Him.
conclusion.
One of the greatest mistakes in life has been
and is, man has been inclined to look more to
himself than to the Lord Jesus Christ; and in
such cases, if he has not utterly failed, he has in
turn numerous cross providences.
We believe in the Christ and His power and
will to save, but we lack finished confidence in
His mercies coupled with His equity. When we
hear of the doings of the court of so-called jus¬
tice, we readily agree that prisoners should have
the benefit of all doubts, but rarely look at the fact
that so anxious is Christ to save the purchase of
His blood, that he allows individuals the benefit
of every reasonable plea. The dying thief on the
cross is an evidence of this statement: "Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy king-
230
PREDESTINATION.
dom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Para¬
dise." Christ saves to the uttermost all that
come to God through Him. It is not agreeable
to nor in accordance with the nature of His sav¬
ing power, to create a part of mankind for eter¬
nal punishment. How then could it be said, He
saves to the uttermost ? yet this is true: "He is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them." Hebrews 7: 25.
Knowing our sincere intention, may the Divine
Spirit impress the truth, and make less conspic¬
uous any error herein expressed.
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