SEC.

CHAPTER V.

SCRIPTURAL INDICATIONS OF FUTURE PROBATION.

1. Scripture teaches us that God speaks to man at

'sundry times and divers manners

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2. If such has been God's method of dealing with men in

the past, why may it not be also in the future?

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31

.

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32

3. God may extend the principle of so dealing into the

future

4. Christ's declaration respecting the sin against the Holy

Ghost clearly implies that some sins are forgiven in

the future

5. Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison:

may not this indicate that there are stages of proba-

tion beyond the present life?

6. Such conceptions of God's methods and ends are in

harmony with His Self-sacrificing Love

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34

34

35

35

CHAPTER VI.

SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES.

1. There are statements in the New Testament which at

first sight seem to clash

2. These apparently opposing texts must be capable of

reconciliation

3. This principle of reconciliation is not found in any
attempt to bring one class of texts within the seem-
ing limitations of the other class

4. St John speaks both of a limited and of an unlimited

power in Christ's death

5. St Paul similarly speaks of a longing of the whole

creation for emancipation from bondage

SEC.

CHAPTER VII.

SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES.

1. In the struggle between Self-sacrifice and Selfishness

Divine power always prevails

2. The Saviour shall see of the travail of His soul and be

3. Christ shall triumph over all His enemies, and finally

put down all opposition to Himself

4. God declares that He will have all men to be saved

5. Christ became incarnate that through death He might

destroy him that had the power of death

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43

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CHAPTER VIII.

INFERENCE FROM SCRIPTURE TEXTS.

1. There is a wide difference between plain statements of

facts and figurative descriptions

2. God is never spoken of in Scripture as Sovereignty, but

is declared to be Love

3. God being Love, Long-suffering, Mercy, and Self-sacri-

fice are dearer to Him than Sovereignty

4. Texts which speak of God's love are clear and lucid,

those which refer to His judgments are mostly

figurative

5. St John affirms that Christ enlightens every man that

cometh into the world

6. St Paul asserts that "God hath included them all in

unbelief that He might have mercy upon all

7. It is the good pleasure of the Father that Christ should

reconcile all things unto Himself

8. This final reconciliation is the great end for which

Christ became incarnate

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44

SEC.

CHAPTER IX.

APPARENTLY ADVERSE TEXTS.

1. Sin and suffering are inseparable

2. The terms "everlasting,"

," "eternal," and "for ever,"

do not always denote endlessness

3. "Damnation" signifies "judgment" or "condemna-

tion"

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50

50

51

52

52

4. “Hell” denotes "the grave” or the invisible state
5. Christ's description of the Scene of the Judgment is
figurative, not literal

6. No form of material existence is eternal

7. The texts quoted do not always denote endlessness

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1. The Atonement is the grandest work of the Godhead. 55

2. The development of the plan of Salvation is gradual

3. Can the Atonement be regarded as perfect if any are

left outside its beneficent influence?

56

4. Is there not a longing in the heart of humanity for

restoration?.

5. Man is capable of being benefited by the highest work

of God

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2. The after stages of probation will not conflict with the

equity of God

3. The stages of future probation will probably be longer

than those of the present

SEC.

4. Christ's preaching to the spirits in prison indicates

that there are dispensations of mercy in the invisible

world

5. The suffering of the sinner must necessarily increase

with the bitterness of his enmity

6. Late repentance can never regain the lost advantages

of early conversion

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62

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CHAPTER XII.

THE HIGHER EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINE OF SOULS.

1. Man's nature is the highest condition of finite existence 64

2. The education of the Soul is the disclosure to it of the

mysteries of the Infinite

3. The most mysterious incident of the Divine govern-

ment is the permission of evil.

4. The overruling of evil for the highest good is the

most sublime act of Divine providence

5. In the evolutions of evil, under the Divine providence,

there are no perversions of Divine principle or Law

6. The permission of evil is subservient to the highest

education of Souls

7. Christ's mission in time is the bringing back of the

kingdom to the Father

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65

66

67

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68

70

CHAPTER XIII.

THE POSSIBLE FUTURE.

1. The softening power of Self-sacrificing Love is infinite

2. The Self-sacrificing Love of the Godhead cannot be

ultimately baffled

3. The instinctive desire after wellbeing cannot die out of

the human spirit

4. Conversion is a new starting point of life for the Soul

5. The possible future of the redeemed exceeds the highest

human conception

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72

I.

IT

PENALTY AND LOVE.

T is a truth admitted by all jurists, and attested by experience, that the severity of penal law tends rather to increase than to diminish crime. It is equally certain that the representation of God as a Sovereign Despot, dooming myriads to endless perdition irrespective of their own deeds, does not diminish sin in man, but increases it. Instead of softening and leading to penitence, such a representation hardens the heart and makes the sinner more defiant.

2. To soften the heart and quicken the spirit of rebellious man, God must be exhibited as a God of love, sacrificing even the Godhead to rescue him from the consequences of his own guilt. This intention alone warranted the mission of the Son of God to earth. Some of the sayings of Christ warn the sinner of future perdition; but they ground this awful penalty on the sinner's own acts, not on any severity or lack of benevolence in God.