“Come dirty, come filthy, come ragged, come bare:
You can’t come too filthy—come just as you are.”
The preacher did not intend to promote immorality, but no doubt this telling people, that unwashed scoundrels at the end of a long life in every crime can be instantly transformed into saints of the first water, and so escape all punishment for a misspent life, has a very immoral influence. A hardened sinner may to-day right-about face, and resolve to travel upward hereafter, but he has a long journey before him. But if he pursues it, he will finally reach the heavenly city, and walk its golden streets.
A man at the meeting asked me if a person could be “saved without repentance and regeneration?” I replied:
“You might as well ask if a man can see without eyes, hear without ears, think without a head, talk without a tongue, or walk without legs. You misunderstand salvation. It is not from an outward hell, but from ignorance, error, sin, and all their debasing effects. He who has thoroughly repented, or reformed, which is the same thing, is saved, not will be; a regenerated soul is saved, not will be saved at some future period, and in some other world. Repentance and regeneration sweep and garnish the soul, make it a fit habitation for the heavenly guest—salvation. Jesus said, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.’ It is always ‘at hand,’ ready to be established in every reformed, regenerated heart.”
Said another, “If Universalism is true, what is the use of preaching?”
“Why, my dear sir,” I answered, “preaching is one means by which salvation is effected. God works by means. By means of the sun he lightens and warms the earth; by means of the rain he cools and purifies the atmosphere, fertilizes the soil, and fills our fountains with living water. By means of natural laws he controls every globe, and every particle of matter in the universe. So, by wise and righteous instrumentalities, he blesses man spiritually, and will continue to bless him forever and ever. And the proclamation of truth and righteousness, through the christian ministry, is one means appointed by heaven to this blessed end. Eighteen hundred years ago Jesus said, ‘Know the truth, and the truth shall make you free;’ and he consecrated men, and commissioned them, to ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ It is freedom now that we need; it is salvation now, that the proclamation of the truth produces. As the presence of Jesus brought salvation into Zaccheus’ house, so the preaching of the gospel brings a present salvation to the soul. Give up the wretched delusion, that the chief end of preaching is to save us from a hell beyond the grave. It is for no such a purpose. Its object is to enlighten and purify man now, that he may be happy in this world.”
In Kimball, I delivered a discourse; and at its close a Methodist minister told the congregation that he, heart and soul, believed in the “Restitution of all things;” and that he would not part with that faith for the world. He said it was the joy of his life; it made him a better man; it prepared him to live, and he trusted that it would be his stay and his hope in the hour of death.
I stopped in Moline, Ill., and delivered one discourse. This is a manufacturing place, at the head of Rock Island, and exhibits much thrift and enterprise. Said a man to me in the town:
“The Bible says, no self-murderer shall enter the kingdom of God. What do you do with that passage?”