ranee that is in them because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciv- iousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." (Eph. iv. 17-19.)
5. All men being sinners, justly chargeable with inexcusable impietj and immorality, they cannot be saved by any effort or resource of their own. For we are told that " the unrighteous shall not iniierit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived ; neither for- nicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunk- ards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (I Cor. vi. 9.) "For this ye know, that no whoremon- ger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." (Eph. V. 5.) More than this, the Bible teaches us that a man may be outwardly righteous in the sight of men, and yet be a whitened sepulchre, his heart being the seat of pride, envy, or malice. In other words, he may be moral in his conduct, and by reason of inward evil passions, be in the sight of God the chief of sinners, as was the case with Paul himself And more even than this, although a man were free from outward sins, and, v^'ere it possible, from the sins of the heart, this negative goodness would not suffice. Without holiness " no man shall see the Lord." (Heb. xii. 14.) " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John iii. 3-) " He that loveth not, knoweth not God." (1 John iv. 8.) " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John ii. 15.) " He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." (1 John, iv. 8.) Who then can be saved? If the Bible excludes from the kingdom of heaven all the immoral ; all whose hearts are cor- rupted by pride, envy, malice, or covetousness ; all who love the world ; all who are not holy ; all in whom the love of God is not the supreme and controlling principle of action, it is evident that, so far as adults are concerned, salvation must be confined' to very narrow limits. It is also evident that mere natural religion, the mere objective power of general religious truth, must be as ineffi- cacious in preparing men for the presence of God, as the waters of Syria to heal the leprosy.
D. The necessary Conditions of Salvation.
6. Seeing then that the world by wisdom knows not God ; see- ing that men when left to themselves inevitably die in their sins ; it
80 INTRODUCTION^. [Ch. U. — Theoloot.
lias "pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (1 Cor. i. 21.) God has sent his Son into the world to save sinners. Had any other method of salvation been possible, Christ is dead in vain. (Gal. ii. 21 ; iii. 21.) There is, there- fore, no other name whereby men can be saved. (Acts iv. 12.) The knowledge of Christ and faith in Him are declared to be essential to salvation. This is proved : (1.) Because men are declared to be guilty before God. (2.) Because no man can expiate his own guilt and restore himself to the image of God. (3.) Be- cause it is expressly declared that Christ is the only Saviour of men. (4.) Because Christ gave his Church the commission to preach the gospel to every creature under heaven, as the appointed means of salvation. (5.) Because the Apostles in the execution of this com- mission went everywhere preaching the Word, testifj'ing to all men, Jews and Gentiles, to the wise and the unwise, that they must believe in Christ as the Son of God in order to be saved. Our Lord himself teaching through his forerunner said, " He that be- lieveth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John iii. 36.) (6.) Because faith without knowledge is declared to be impossible. " Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach, except they be sent ? " (Rom. x. 13-15.)
It is, therefore, as before stated, the common faith of the Chris- tian world, that, so far as adults are concerned, there is no salvation without the knowledge of Christ and faith in Him. This has ever been regarded as the ground of the obligation which rests upon the Church to preach the gospel to every creature.
E. Objections. To the objection that this doctrine is inconsistent with the good- ness and justice of God, it may be answered : (1.) That the doc- trine only assumes what the objector, if a Theist, must admit, namely, that God will deal with men according to their character and conduct, and that He will judge them according to the light which they have severally enjoyed. It is because the judge of all the earth must do right that all sinners receive the wages of sin, by an inexorable law, unless saved by the miracle of redemption. In teaching, therefore, that there is no salvation for those ignorant