ready to number themselves among its warmest advocates. It is hated on many accounts ;
1 . As too humiliating in its representations —
[It represents the whole human race as in a state of guilt and condemnation, and as utterly incapable of delivering them- selves by any thing that they can do. It presents to their view a Saviour, in and through whom all their wants must be supplied, and to whom they must stand indebted for their whole salvation, from first to laste. But men cannot endure to think themselves so guilty, so polluted, so enslaved, so utterly helpless and hopeless, as the Scripture represents them to be ; and this will be found to be at the root of all their objections against the Gospel : examine all the writings of those who oppose the truth, and this will appear to be the leading feature of them, that they suppose some degree of goodness and sufficiency to remain in fallen man ; whilst the Gospel declares, that we are " altogether become abominable f," and that even the will, as well as the power, to do good must be given us from the Lordg.]
2. As too easy in its proposals —
[It offers salvation freely to every human being, saying, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be savedh." It requires nothing on our parts to earn salvation, nothing to merit it ; but only to receive it thankfully as the free gift of God to us in Christ Jesus1. But the proud heart of man does not like to be so indebted to the free grace of God : that in- vitation, " Come, ye that have no money, come buy wine and milk without money and without price," is offensive to him : he would rather hear of some duties to perform that shall render him worthy of God's favour, and of some good works to be done, in order to form a ground of glorying before God : and, if works be declared to be utterly ineffectual to these ends, he immediately supposes them to be unnecessary alto- gether, and that we leave men at liberty to indulge in all manner of licentiousness.]
3. As too strict in its requirements —
[We stop not now to notice the inconsistency between the former objection and this : suffice it to say, that they are made by the same persons, and oftentimes almost in the same breath. The Gospel requires, that we mortify all sin whatever ; that we " crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts ;" and that we " live altogether not to ourselves, but unto Him that died for us, and rose again." But this is supposed to be incompatible
e 1 Cor. i. 30. f Rom. iii. 10—19. b Phil. ii. 13.
h Mark xvi. 10. Acts xvi. 30, 31. * Rom. vi. 23.