5. The doctrines of the Bible are so related that one of necessity implies others. If the Scriptures teach that men, since the Fall, are born in a state of sin and
condemnation, and are spiritually dead until renewed by the Holy Ghost; if this death in sin involves en- tire helplessness, or inability to any spiritually good ; if regeneration, or effectual calling, is effected, not bj' the moral influence of the truth, or by those divine in- fluences common to all who hear the Gospel, but " by the mighty power of God," then of necessity the call- ing and consequently the election of those who are saved is a matter of sovereignty'. If Christ, when on earth, raised some from the dead and not others, it was not anything in the state of one dead bodj' as dis- tinguished from others which determined which should rise and which should remain in their graves. As this connection between doctrines exists, all the evi- dence which the Bible contains of one of the truths just mentioned is so much evidence in favor of the others.
6. The system of doctrine with which these views are connected is frequently designated as Pauline. But this is a misnomer. Although clearly taught by the apostle Paul, these views are far from being peculiar to his writings. They not only pervade the Scriptures, but were inculcated with greater solemnity, clearness, and frequenc}' bj' our blessed Lord himself than by any other of the messengers of God. He constantly addressed men as in a hopeless and helpless state of sin and miser}', from which nothing but the almighty power of God could deliver them. Of the mass of mankind thus lying under the just displeasure of God, he speaks of those whom the Father had given him, who should certainly come to him, and whom he would without fail bring into his heavenl}' kingdom. He constant!}' refers to the good pleasure of God as the only assignable reason why one is saved and not another. "Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias .... but unto none of them was Elias sent save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman, and she was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian" (Luke iv, 25-27). " At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight" (Matt, xi, 25, 26). "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables; thit seeing they might not see, and hearing they mi;;ht not under- stand" (Luke viii, 10). "All that tiie Father hath given me shall come to me ; and liim that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. . . . An<l this is tho Father's will which hath sent me, that jf all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, J)ut raise it up again at the last day" (John vi, 37, 39). "No man can come to me except the Father draw him ; and I will raise him up at the last day" (v. 44). "No man can come to me except it were given unto him of my Father" (v. 65). "Ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world" (John xv, lil). " Ye be- lieve not because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me : and I give unto them eter- nal life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one" (John x, 26-2s). " Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he might give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him" (John xvii, 2). "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me" (v. 6). " I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me ; for they are thine" (v. 9). ' ' Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me" (v. 11). " Father, I will that they also, whom thon liast given me, be with me where I am." Our Lord thus teaches that those who are saved are certain .oersons chosen out of the world and given
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to him liy the Father ; that those thus given to him certainly come to liim ; that tliis certainty is secured by the drawing of the Father; and that those thus given to him are certainly saved.
7. There is an intimate relation between truth and Christian experience. The one accords with the other. "What the Bible teaches of the sinfulness of man, the believer feels to be true concerning himself. What it teaches of the helplessness and dependence of the sin- ner, his own experience teaches him to be true; what is said of the nature and effects of faith answers to •what he linds in his own heart. If, therefore, the Bi- ble teaches that it is of God, and not of himself, that the believer is in Christ Jesus ; that he, and not oth- ers, repent and believe ; that he has been made to hear the divine voice, while others remain deaf — this will lincl a response in the bosom of the experienced Christian. AVe consequently find all these truths im- pressed upon the common consciousness of the Church, as it finds expression in its liturgies, its prayers, praises, and confessions. " Not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name be the glory," is the spon- taneous language of the believer's heart. It is not in experimental religion, in the theology of the heart, that the children of God differ, but in the form in ■which the understanding undertakes to reduce these facts of Scripture experience to logical consistency.