PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Systematic Theology — Volume 3
Hodge, Charles, 1797–1878 · 407,138 words · 462 reading sections
PAGX
§ 1. Usage of the word Regeneration 5 § 2. Nature of Regeneration 5 Not a Change in the Substance of the Soul. — Not an Act of the Soul. -— Doctor Emmon's Doctrine. — Professor Finney's Doc- trine.— Doctor Nathaniel Taylor's View. — Not a Change in any one Faculty. — Not merely Ulumination. — Not a Change of the High…
136 wordsSECTION 2FAITH.
§ 1. Preliminary Remarks 41 § 2. Psychological Nature of Faith 42 Primary Idea of Faith is Trust. — More limited Sense of the Word Definitions of Faith founded on its Subjective Nature, — First, a Degree of Conviction less than Knowledge, but stronger than Opinion 46 Second, a Conviction determined by the Will * .…
145 wordsSECTION 3JUSTIFICATION.
§ 1. Symbolical Statement of the Doctrine . . . . .114 §2. Justification a forensic Act 118 Proof of the Doctrine 120 Calvin's Doctrine 133 § 3. Works not the Ground of Justification 134 Romish Doctrine. — Remonstrant Doctrine. — Protestant Doctrine 137 § 4. The Righteousness of Christ the Ground of Justification .…
118 wordsSECTION 4SANCTIFICATION.
§ 1. Its Nature 218 Supernatural 213 § 2. Wherein it consists m 220 § 3. Method of * . ' . 226 § 4. Fruits of . . # § 231 Nature of Good Works. — Romish Doctrine. — Works of Super- erogation. — Precepts and Counsels 235 § 5. Necessity o£ Good Works 238 Antinomianism 241 § 6. Relation of Good Works to Reward . .…
62 wordsSECTION 5PAQI
§ 1. Preliminary Principles 259 Theism the Foundation of the Moral Law. — Christian Liberty in Matters of Indifference. — Scriptural Use of the Word " Law." — Different Kinds of Laws. — Perfection of the Law. — The Decalogue. — Rules of Interpretation 272 § 2. Division of the Contents of the Decalogue 272 § 3. The …
220 wordsSECTION 6PAGE
§ 12. The Eighth Commandment . . .421 Foundation of the Right of Property. - Community of Goods - Communism and Socialism. — International Society. — Viola- tions of the Eighth Commandment 434 § 13. The Ninth Commandment . . • • 437 Importance of Truth. — Detraction. — Falsehood. — Mental Res- ervation. — Pious Frauds…
49 wordsSECTION 7THE MEANS OF GRACE.
§ 1. The Word of God 466 Office "f the Word as a Means of Grace. — Lutheran Doctrine 479 § 2. The Sacraments . . . .485 Their Nature. — Usage of the Word.— Theological Definition.— Lutheran Doctrine. — Romish Doctrine. — Remonstrant Doc- trine 490 § 8. Number of the Sacraments 492 § 4. Efficacy of the Sacraments . .…
238 wordsSECTION 8CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. vll
mm §18. Lutheran Doctrine of Baptism 604 § 14. Doctrine of the Church of Rome 609 § 15. The Lord's Supper . . . .611 Of Perpetual Obligation 612 Elements to be Used. — Sacramental Actions. — Its Design. — Qualifications for the Lord's Supper 623 § 16. Doctrine of the Reformed Churches 626 Zwinglian View. — Calv…
149 wordsSECTION 93TATE OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH.
§ 1. Protestant Doctrine 718 The Old Testament Doctrine on the Future State . . .716 Intermediate State 724 § 2. Sleep of the Soul 780 § 3. Patristic Doctrine of the Intermediate State 733 § 4. Doctrine of the Church of Rome 743 Purgatory 749…
40 wordsSECTION 10SECOND ADVENT.
PAdl § 1. Preliminary Remarks .... 790 § 2. The Church Doctrine 792 § 3. Personal Advent of Christ 792 § 4. Calling of the Gentiles 800 § 5. Conversion of the Jews 805 Are the Jews to be Restored to their Own Land ? . .807 §6. Antichrist 812 The Papacy the Antichrist of St. Paul. — The Antichrist of Daniel 823 …
66 wordsSECTION 11CONCOMITANTS OP THE SECOND ADVENT.
§ 1. The General Resurrection 887 § 2. The Final Judgment 844 § 3. The End of the World 851 § 4. The Kingdom of Heaven 855 § 5. Theory of the Premillennial Advent 861 Did the Apostles expect the Second Advent in their Day? . .867 ] 6. Future Punishment 868 Duration of Future Punishment. — Objections to the Script…
55 wordsSECTION 12REGENERATION.
§ 1. Usage of the Word, The subjective change wrought in the soul by the grace of God, is variously designated in Scripture. It is called a new birth, a resurrection, a new life, a new creature, a renewing of the mind, a dying to sin and living to righteousness, a translation from darkness to light, etc. In theologica…
704 wordsSECTION 13§2.J ITS NATURE. 5
et renovatione (quse fidei justificationem sequitur) usurpatur. In qua significatione D. Lutherus hac voce, turn in libro de ecclesia et conciliis, turn alibi etiam, multum usus est."1 As this lax use of terms was unavoidably attended with great confusion, the " Form of Concord " itself, and the later Lutheran theolog…
853 wordsSECTION 14ITS NATURE.
Regeneration does not consist in an Act of the Soul. Regeneration does not consist in any act or acts of the soul. The word here, of course, is to be understood not as including conversion, much less the whole work of sanctification, but in its restricted sense for the commencement of spiritual life. The opposite view…
863 wordsSECTION 15§2.] ITS NATURE. 9
extremes the human mind may be carried when abandoned to ita own guidance. He begins with certain axioms, or, as he calls them, truths of the reason, and from these he draws conclusions which are indeed logical deductions, but which shock the moral sense, and proye nothing but that his premises are false. His fundament…
968 wordsSECTION 16§2.] ITS NATURE. 11
benevolence, and to murder a parent from a feeling of malice, involve the same degree of guilt ! Such a sacrifice to logic was never made by any man before. But still more wonderful, if possible, is the declaration that a man may " feel deeply malicious and revengeful feelings toward God. But sin does not consist in th…
909 wordsSECTION 17§2.] ITS NATURE. 13
acts, consisting of the perception and comparison of motives, the estimate of their relative worth, and the choice or willing of the external action." " When we speak of the means of regenera- tion, we shall use the word regeneration in a more limited import than its ordinary popular import ; and shall confine it, chie…
944 wordsSECTION 18ITS NATURE.
15 of a creature upon the creator, that it cannot act. No creature can be a cause. There is no efficiency in second causes. Then, of course, the first cause must produce all effects. God creates everything, even volitions. In the soul there are only acts or ex- ercises. Regeneration, therefore, is an act or volition c…
900 wordsSECTION 19§ 2.] ITS NATURE. 17
is always evil and often fatal ; and that the effects of regenera- tion, so far as they reveal themselves in our consciousness, con- sist largely in the spiritual apprehension or discernment of divine things. These representations also prove that in the order of nature, knowledge, or spiritual discernment, is anteceden…
895 wordsSECTION 20§2.] ITS NATURE. 19
his dwelling in the hearts of believers. The forms of this new theology are very diversified. They are all perhaps compre- hended under three classes : first, those which are avowedly pan- theistic, although claiming to be Christian ; secondly, those which are Theistic but do not admit the doctrine of the Trinity ; and…
1,494 wordsSECTION 21Part 21
If asked what is regeneration according to this system, the proper answer would probably be, that it is an obsolete term. There is no room for the thing usually signified by the word, and no reason for retaining the word itself. Regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit. But this system in its integrity does not acknow…
302 wordsSECTION 22§ 2.] ITS NATURE. 23
than others. Dr. J. H. A. Ebrard, of Erlangen, has already been repeatedly referred to as addicted to the Reformed faith ; and where he consciously departs from it, he considers himself as only carrying out its legitimate principles. His " Dogmatik " has, in fact, a far more Scriptural character than most of the modern…
1,463 wordsSECTION 23Part 23
The communication of the theanthropic life to the soul is an act of the divine Spirit in which we have neither agency nor con- sciousness. Delitzsch infers from what our Lord said to Nicode- mus, John iii. that " The operation of the Spirit of regeneration is, therefore, (1.) A free one, withdrawn from the power of hu-…
365 wordsSECTION 24ITS NATURE. 27
communication of humanity as it existed in fallen Adam to his descendants is by a natural process of organic development ; so the communication of the renovated humanity as it exists in Christ, to his people, and through the world, is also a natural process. It supposes no special interference or intervention on the pa…
835 wordsSECTION 25§8.] THE EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE. 29
without doubt perish everlastingly ; his condemnation not being avoided, but rather increased, by his baptismal privilege." 1 3. A third form of doctrine on this subject, held by some di- vines of this church, is that regeneration properly expresses an external change of relation, and not an internal change of the sta…
815 wordsSECTION 26§8.] THE EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE. 31
Regeneration an Act of God. 1. Regeneration is an act of God. It is not simply referred to Him as its giver, and, in that sense, its author, as He is the giver of faith and of repentance. It is not an act which, by argument and persuasion, or by moral power, He induces the sinner to per- form. But it is an act of whic…
894 wordsSECTION 27§3.] THE EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE. 33
stitute character and give it stability, and are the proximate, determining cause why our voluntary exercises and conscious states are what they are. This is what the Bible calls the heart, which has the same relation to all our acts that the nature of a tree, as good or bad, has to the character of its fruit. A good t…
918 wordsSECTION 28§3.] THE EVANGELICAL DOCTRINE. 35
life. And this spiritual life unfolds or manifests itself just as any other form of life, in all the exercises appropriate to its nature. It is a New Birth. The same doctrine on this subject is taught in other words when regeneration is declared to be a new birth. At birth the child enters upon a new state of existenc…
845 wordsSECTION 29§ 4.] OBJECTIONS. 37
§ 4. Objections. The same objections which are urged against other doctrines of grace are pressed against the Augustinian view of the nature of regeneration. These objections are of three classes. Denial of Supernaturalism. 1. The first class of objections are founded on the denial of Theism ; or at least on the deni…
819 wordsSECTION 30§ 4.] OBJECTIONS. 39
salvation, it remains true that few are saved, and that God does not interpose to prevent the great majority of adult men in the present state of the world perishing in their sins. Augustinians do not deny these difficulties. They only main- tain that they are not peculiar to their system ; and they rest content with …
579 wordsSECTION 31CHAPTER XVI. FAITH.
§ 1. Preliminary Remarks. The first conscious exercise of the renewed soul is faith ; as the first conscious act of a man born blind whose eyes have been opened, is seeing. The exercise of vision in such a man is indeed attended by so many new sensations and emotions that he cannot determine how much of this new exper…
821 wordsSECTION 32§ 2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 43
etymologists," says Richardson, " do not attempt to account for this important word : it is undoubtedly formed on the Dut. Le- ven ; Ger. Leben; A.-S. Lif-ian, Be-lif-ian ; Goth. Liban, vivere, to live, or be-live, to dwell. Live or leve, be- or bi-live or leve, are used indifferently by old writers, whether to denote …
854 wordsSECTION 33§2.1 ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 45
Faith not to be regarded as simply a Christian Grraee. No less unsatisfactory are those descriptions of faith which regard it only in its character as a Christian and saving grace. Delitzsch, for example,1 describes faith as the most central act of our being ; the return to God, the going out of our inner life to Him.…
858 wordsSECTION 34§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 47
heute regnen wird)." " By faith is understood any persuasion which is weaker than knowledge, but somewhat stronger than a mere deeming possible or probable, as, e. g., I believe it will rain to-day." This he gives as the commonly accepted meaning of the word, although he utterly repudiates it as a definition of re- lig…
956 wordsSECTION 35§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 49
eludes the possibility of doubt. Paul says, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which 1 have committed unto him against that day." (2 Tim. i. 12.) As Job had said ages before, "I know that my Re- deemer liveth." The Apostle declares, Hebrews xi. 1, faith to be an woWac-is and &cy…
926 wordsSECTION 36§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 51
speculative truth, or some historical event past or future ; or when the evidence or testimony on which faith is founded is ad- dressed only to the understanding and not to the conscience or to our emotional or religious nature, then faith does not involve feeling. We believe the great mass of historical facts to which…
958 wordsSECTION 37§ 2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 53
his consciousness. He tries to believe. He earnestly prays for faith ; but he cannot exercise it. It is true, as concerns the sin- ner in relation to the gospel, that this inability to believe arises from the state of his mind. But this state of the mind lies below the will. It cannot be determined or changed by the ex…
942 wordsSECTION 38§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 55
represented is absent. It is not before the mind. It belongs to the category of things not seen. The conception which is present is the object of knowledge ; the thing represented is an object of faith. That is, we know we have the conception ; we believe that the thing which it represents, does or did exist. If we vis…
951 wordsSECTION 39§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 57
The definition which makes faith to be the persuasion of the truth of things not seen, is, however, correct, if by " things not seen " are meant things which are neither objects of the senses, nor of intuition, nor of demonstrative proof. But it does not seem to be correct to include among the "things not seen," which …
886 wordsSECTION 40§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 59
Remarks on this Definition. With regard to the definition of faith which makes it a convic- tion founded on feeling, it may be remarked, — First, That there are forms of faith of which this is not true. As remarked above, when treating of the cognate definition of faith as a voluntary assent of the mind, it is not tr…
916 wordsSECTION 41§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 61
Alexandrian School also, the Christian tticttis, was Auctoritats- Glaube, a faith founded on authority, opposed, on the one hand, to the heathen iina-rrjixT}, and on the other to the Christian y»wis, or philosophical explanation and proof of the truths believed. Among the school-men also, this was the prevalent idea. W…
932 wordsSECTION 42§2.] ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 63
The Strict Sense of the Word " Faith." But in the strict and special sense of the word, as discrimi- nated from knowledge or opinion, faith means the belief of things not seen, on the ground of testimony. By testimony, however, is not meant merely the affirmation of an intelligent witness. There are othef methods by wh…
913 wordsSECTION 43§2.J ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NATURE. 65
come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts i. 8). When they de- clared the death and resurrection of Christ, as facts to be be- lieved, they said, " Whereof we are witnesses " (Acts ii. 32, iii. 15, v. 32). In …
958 wordsSECTION 44DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAITH.
67 that way avenge his violated law ; but simply on the testimony of God. Thus when God promised to Abraham the possession of the land of Canaan, that he, a childless old man, should become the father of many nations, that through his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, his faith could have no other f…
850 wordsSECTION 45§8.] DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAITH. 69
What is meant by the Testimony of the Spirit, It is necessary, before going further, to determine what is meant by the testimony of the Spirit, which is said to be the ground of saving faith. God, or the Spirit of God, testifies to the truth of the Scrip- tures and of the doctrines which they contain. This testimony,…
905 wordsSECTION 46§3.] DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAITH. 71
said to believe in virtue of the same power which wrought in Christ, when God raised Him from the dead. (Eph i. 19, 20.) The Apostle Paul elaborately sets forth the ground of faith in the second chapter of First Corinthians. He declares that hs relied for success not on the enticing words of man's wisdom, but on the de…
929 wordsSECTION 47§ S.J DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAITH. 73
and demanded its instant reception, under the pain of eternal death. Our Lord did the same. " He that believeth not is con- demned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John iii. 18.) Immediate faith was demanded. Being demanded by Christ, and at his command by the Apostle…
949 wordsSECTION 481 4:] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 75
§ 4. Faith and Knowledge. The relation of faith to knowledge is a wide field. The dis- cussions on the subject have been varied and endless. There is little probability that the points at issue will ever be settled to the satisfaction of all parties. The ground of faith is authority. The ground of knowledge is sense or…
837 wordsSECTION 49§4.] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 77
culture and intelligence should take up a volume of what is called " Speculative Theology," (that is, theology presented in the forms of the speculative philosophy,) he would not understand a page and would hardly understand a sentence. He could not tell whether the theology which it proposed to present was Christianit…
875 wordsSECTION 50§4.] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 79
for Church doctrines, were inclined to deny to reason even the prerogative of a judicium contradictions. They were constrained to take this ground because they were called upon to defend doc- trines which contradicted not only reason but the senses. When it was objected to the doctrine that the consecrated wafer is the…
899 wordsSECTION 51§4.] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 81
the constitution of their nature do believe, can be proved to be false. There is thus an irreconcilable conflict between our intel- lectual and moral nature. But as, according to the idealist, reason forces us to the conclusion that the external world does not exist, while, nevertheless, it is safe and proper to act on…
909 wordsSECTION 52§4.] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 83
varieties of our race have the same anatomical structure; the same physical nature ; the same rational and moral faculties. The Bible teaches that man is a free, accountable agent ; that all men are sinners ; that all need redemption, and that no man can redeem himself or find a ransom for his brother. With these teach…
883 wordsSECTION 53§4.] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 85
Some say the term Son is an official title, and therefore the prop- osition " Jesus is the Son of God," means that Jesus is a ruler. Others say it is a term of affection, then the proposition means that Jesus was the special object of the love of God. Others say that it means that Jesus is of the same nature with God ;…
908 wordsSECTION 54§4.] FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE. 8T
this subject Thomas Aquinas says, " Quantum ad prima credibi- lia, quae sunt articuli fidei, tenetur homo explicite credere. Quan- tum autem ad aha credibilia non tenetur homo explicite credere, sed solum implicite, vel in praeparatione animi, in quantum para- tus est credere quidquid divina Scriptura continet."1 Impli…
862 wordsSECTION 55§5.] FAITH AND FEELING. 89
fluences of the Spirit, to which those exercises owe their origin and nature. Thus also in the exercise of faith, consciousness does not reach the inward testimony of the Spirit on which that faith is founded. Nevertheless, notwithstanding these admissions, it is still incorrect to say that faith is founded on feeling,…
823 wordsSECTION 56§5.] FAITH AND FEELING. 91
That saving faith is not a mere speculative assent of the un- derstanding, is the uniform doctrine of the Protestant symbols. On this point, however, it may be remarked, in the first place, that, as has often been stated before, the Scriptures do not make the sharp distinction between the understanding, the feelings, a…
1,566 wordsSECTION 57Part 57
3. The third doctrinal view on this subject is that of the Ro- manists, who make love the essence of faith. In other words, love with them is the form (in the scholastic sense of the word) of faith ; it is that which gives it being or character as a Christian virtue or grace. While on the one hand they teach, as we hav…
299 wordsSECTION 58§ 7.] ITS OBJECT. 95
magis charitas ipsa justificat Fides quae agitur, ac move- tur, formatur, et quasi animatur per dilectionem Apostolus Paulus .... explicat dilectionem formam esse extrinsecam fidei non intrinsecam, quae det illi, non ut sit, sed ut moveatur." All this is intelligible and reasonable, provided we admit subjective justi…
865 wordsSECTION 59§ 7.] ITS OBJECT. 97
do not do, is to believe on Him. He was lifted up, " That who- soever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John iii. 15.) " He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (v. 18…
932 wordsSECTION 60§ ;.] ITS OBJECT. 99
our sins and to rise again for our justification. In Him dwells the fulness of the Godhead, from his fulness we are filled. He to us is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Those who receive this Saviour as being all He claimed to be, and com- mit their souls into his hands to be used in his service a…
914 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1872). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.