Hence you must see that man's rewards and punishments are not eternal; as it would be altogether incoherent to suppose that man, who is a finite being, limited in his sphere of action, could perform actions which would be worthy of either an infinite reward, or an infinite punishment.

Well then, when does man receive the due reward of his deeds? Answer, in the time of his probation, not a probation for eternity, for Holy Scripture neither mentions, nor implies that man is a probationer for eternity, (although I have heard men frequently mention it,) but a probationer for rewards and punishments, and he receives his rewards or punishments in the time of his probation according to his works; and it is fully evident from all I have quoted from Scripture in this Apology, that eternal life is the gift of God, given to all men in Christ, which is not the reward of any man's doing good, and it is evident that we have made use of those Scriptures, in time past, to ascertain how man would be punished in eternity, which speak of his punishment in time and at his death. But whether man's probation, in any instance, continues in a future world, or not, I have no ground for argument, because I cannot find that the Holy Scriptures teach that man will sin, or will not, in the future world, nor that man will be subject to suffering in a future world, or that he will not; but I will observe, that if all men are raised from the dead, immortal, it is more than I can comprehend how a creature can be subject to misery in an immortal state. But I think it not difficult to understand, that the man. who dies ignorant of God and heavenly things, may, even after he is raised into an immortal state, be placed in such a state of instruction as to learn the things of God and Heaven.

I will now reply to the other part of the objec tion, viz. Why is faith, or believing made the turning point of salvation? I have argued some

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on this point before, but will now answer: Because the constitution of man's mind is such, that he cannot come into the enjoyment of any truth, until he believes it. And it seems to me that the objector must see that if God requires the sinner to believe in his eternal salvation, it proves in the most positive manner, that the sinner will be saved, for how can it be supposed that God would require the sinner to believe the gospel, or good tidings, or the word of truth, the gospel of his salvation, if it were not true? and surely that tidings which informs the sinner of his eternal salvation could not be strictly true, if there was a danger that the sinner would not finally be saved, for if he should fail of salvation finally, then the tidings which proclaimed his salvation would certainly be false.

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I have not forgotten, that both Calvinists and Arminians deny that the gospel is the tidings of man's eternal salvation, for while Calvinists say that Calvinism is the gospel; Arminians say, that the gospel proclaims eternal life to man on conditions which man must fulfil; but the Holy Scriptures of both testaments consider the gospel to be good tidings," "salvation," "the word of truth," "the gospel of salvation," "the gospel of the grace of God," "the gospel of peace," "good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people," "that in Christ all nations and kindred of the earth shall be blessed," « that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them," and all this, and much more. without any condition for man to fulfil, only with this instruction: That while man does not believe it, he is under the condemnation of the law of God, and can see no end to his condemnation, only as he is in hopes that he shall be able to work himself clear by and by; but that he that believ eth this good tidings is justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law

of Moses. Let it be supposed that I have a very rich father, but that I have in the space of a number of years past, wandered away from home, many scores of miles, and am now in a distant land from him; let it be supposed that my father wills to me an hundred thousand dollars, and causes the same to be published in the circulating newspapers, so that I may hear the tidings, which papers I see, and read, in which I see that my father has recorded that he has given me a hundred thousand dollars, and has deposited it in a sure bank to be kept till I come and receive it. Now if I believe the tidings without any doubt, I immediately set out and go home, and receive the money, but if I do not believe it, I do not make use of any means, either to ascertain the certainty of it, or procure it, and of course, there lays the money in the bank until the time comes that I believe the tidings and go and receive it, meanwhile I am just as poor where I am, as if no such money had been willed to me.

I consider this a proper figure of faith and unbelief. God has willed" that All men should be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth," 1. Tim. Ii, 4, and has published it as his record, that he hath given to all men eternal life in Christ. Rom. v, 18: 1. John v, 10, 11: and the man who believes this tidings with all his heart, his faith immediately puts the powers of his soul in motion towards God, to love and adore him, and to receive Christ his all in all; while the man who does not believe the tidings of his eternal salvation, remains as indifferent, and careless, and of course as destitute of the riches of Christ, as if no such salvation had been willed to him, while Christ is appointed to reign over him, and is good enough, and wise enough to rule him in such a manner, as finally to bring him to bow to God, and confess at the name of Jesus by the holy Spirit, that he has righteousness and strength in

the Lord. Isaiah Xlv, 23, 24: PHILIPPIANS II, 9, 11.

Another objection which seems to be nearly connected with the foregoing, is founded on 2. Cor. v, 10, "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad."— This is generally considered to signify at least, that the time of this judgment must be after man has left his body, because it is said, "That every one may receive the things done in his body," &c. It is only necessary to desire the reader to take notice of the italic words in this verse, which were supplied by the English translators, and of course, were not the words of the Apostle. No doubt the translators (whose sincerity, or honesty, I do not call in question) thought the Apostle meant a judgment after the death of the body, (as doubtless they had been educated much as we have,) and therefore they supplied the words, done, his, it, be, which makes the text read as if it was a judgment after the death of the body. But only leave them out, and read the text as the Apostle wrote it, or as Titus and Lucas wrote it for the Apostle, and then it reads thus: "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things in body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad." Now, as the Apostle was looking for the spiritual coming of Christ in that generation, is it not evident that he meant that Christ's Judgment Seat would be erected spiritually in the minds of the people, so that they should stand before it, and be judged. and rewarded according to their works, while they were in the body? I think if this text should always be read as it was originals ly written, no person could think that it alluded to a judgment after the death of the body.

Another objection which is often made against

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the truth of the gospel is founded on St. John V, 28, 29, "For the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." This is figurative language, representing the time of his spiritual coming, to reign over, and judge all men, meaning that all who were in unbelief, were in a state represented by the figure, graves, as God shewed by the Prophet Ezek. Xxxvii, J, on to 14, by the figure of dry bones in their graves and their rising to life; that although the whole house of Israel was like these dry bones in graves, yet they should come forth to a resurrection of life. So Jesus shewed here, that when his spiritual reign should begin, all men who were in the graves of sin and death, should be awakened by the voice of his spirit, and those who had done well, or done good, (such ones say, as Cornelius, who, though he had not heard of Christ till Peter went there and preached Christ to him, yet he had done many good deeds, see Acts X, 2. And doubtless there were many others such as he,) came forth in their minds at the voice of the gospel trumpet, to a sweet resurrection of life.

While all those who had lived wickedly when they had known better, when the spirit of Christ called them to the judgment in their own minds, they came forth to a resurrection of damnation, or condemnation, which damnation continued until they left off their rebellion, and submitted to the reign of Christ in their hearts. That Jesus spake figuratively in this verse, is evident from the manner of his speaking in the context, which evidently was figurative: see verse 25, on to 27, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God,and they that hear shall live, for as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he gives to the Son to have life iz