If God promised his creatures eternal life before the world began, will they not obtain it? They will for this passage says that he cannot lie. But says the objector, he has not promised it to the unbeliever. We would then inquire, what is it that constitutes him an unbeliever? Why do you call him an unbeliever? Do you say because he disbelieves the truth of God's promise? Then you must, of course, admit the truth of God's promise to him. If so, it must stand, for God cannot lie. You cannot call upon a sinner to believe, until you admit the existence of that very truth, you wish him to believe, God's promise of eternal life in Christ, is the gospel we are called upon to believe with a sincere heart. If you contend that it is promised to an elect number only, and not to the reprobates, then if they should all be brought to the knowledge of the truth, what would they believe? Ans. The elect would believe the promise of eternal life was made to them, the reprobates would believe right the reverse of the elect, and all would be believers. No, says the objector, the reprobates ought to believe just as the elect do. But in this case, they would believe that they also have the promise of eternal life. This would be believing a lie, because you say that God has not made them that promise? How would you preach to such persons? If you called upon them to believe the truth of the gospel, which is eternal life, you would call upon them to believe a lie. How can you extricate yourself from this difficulty? But inquires the objector, how do you know that God has promised eternal life to all? Ans. Because the scriptures do call all men either believers, or unbelievers, in view of the promise that God has made. Take away that promise and belief or unbelief respecting it can no longer have an existence— Believers and unbelievers would be no more.
But says the objector this is not proof that eternal life is promised to an unbeliever. Well I am surprised at this assertion of my opponent! First, I ask, what do you call a believer? Ans. One who believes that God has promised, and given him eternal life in Christ before the world began. Then, of course, an unbeliever must be one, to whom God has also promised and given eternal life in Christ before the world, but will not believe it. But says the objector this cannot be. I would then ask whether eternal life was not promised, and given in Christ to the believer before he believed it? Certainly. It must have been the truth before he could believe. Well, what was he at that time? An unbeliever of course. Then eternal [life] is promised to all, because it is the lack of faith in that never failing promise of Jehovah that constitutes an unbeliever. But says the objector—a man "must do so and so," or he cannot be saved. This is not correct; he must believe, or he cannot be saved. We are saved by faith in the promise and are permitted to look forward with satisfaction and joy to an immortal existence where we shall be free from sin, sorrow and pain. This faith and hope fill the soul with love to God, and induce us to break off our sins by righteousness. So a salvation by faith can only be enjoyed in this life, and is to end when faith and hope are lost in certainty and in joy. Though only few are saved by faith, yet all shall know the Lord from the greatest to the least, whom to know is life eternal.
SERMON VIII
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John iii. 3.
As we have in the last three sermons dwelt particularly on a salvation by faith, we will take the liberty to introduce the subject of the new birth next in order, as it will be, more readily, retained by the reader, in this connexion than otherwise. Indeed, it hears a strong resemblance to them so far as the subject of faith is concerned in our present exposition. But whoever is a careful reader of the New Testament, will discover that the subject of faith, and the genuine repentance which that faith produces, is not of trivial moment.
There is no subject of divine revelation, on which more has been said, preached and written than the one, which we are now about to consider. It has been brought forward by men of talents and erudition as an insuperable barrier against Universal Salvation, and their several adherents have taken it for granted, that it can never be explained in harmony with the sentiment, that all men shall eventually obtain eternal life through the Redeemer of men. But these impressions have arisen from the fact, that they have taken their own views and explanations to be scripturally correct, and from these premises, they have drawn conclusions utterly opposed to the final holiness and happiness of God's intelligent creation. They have supposed the new birth to be some mysterious change produced by some mysterious operation of the divine spirit on the mind, and that it is in substance a miracle.
One denomination has contended that if a man once obtained this change, he was safe, could never "finally fall from grace," but would eventually land in the kingdom of immortal glory. Several other denominations admit the new birth to be the same change already noticed, but contend that the subject may fall from grace, and be finally lost. Here then the man, who was, according to their views, born again, might still never see the kingdom of God beyond the grave. On this principle the new birth would be no security, that any one would obtain heaven. According to this sentiment, a man might be born again, fall away, and be born again "until seven times," and in the end not see the kingdom of God. Those, who advocate this sentiment, believe that faith and repentance prerequisites to the new birth, and also believe in the salvation of infants.
This being so, it will come to pass that half of the world will be saved, inasmuch as about that number die in what may be, justly termed an infant state. But of those, who come to years of accountability, they believe but few will be saved. So the greater proportion of those, who will finally surround the throne of God, will be those, who have never been born again according to their views. It will not, I presume, be contended, that infants who, they believe, are totally depraved, ever exercise faith, or experience the new birth in this life.
From the above views, I shall take the liberty to dissent, and may probably differ some from the expositions given by others. It is evident that Jesus Christ in his instructions frequently brought forward some natural facts plainly understood by those whom he addressed, in order more clearly to illustrate his subject, and then made his illustrations so nearly resemble that natural fact, that no man could possible misunderstand him, unless he had been led into tradition by blind guides. In the context, he makes allusion to natural birth, of which every man knows the meaning, and says to Nicodemus, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit."
Natural birth pre-supposes the perfect formation of the human body by that secret energy of nature, God only can comprehend. But that formation, itself, is not birth. Birth is that operation, that introduced us into this world. We are now flesh and blood, which cannot inherit the kingdom. What is born of the flesh is flesh. We must now be born again from mortal to immortality, otherwise we could not see the kingdom of God.