this world sinful will finally be reconciled to God, and saved." I am fearful that all, or about all, the adult portion of mankind leave this world more or less sinful. The wisest and best well know their imperfections and shortcomings. With sorrow they acknowledge that they fall far short of spending life as the Master requires, for he admits of no compromise with sin. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, soul, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself." "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." "Bless, and curse not." "Render good for evil." Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect." All this the master requires. This is the gospel standard. All who reach it are perfect Christians-Christlike, Godlike. All who fall below are sinners. There are grand and glorious characters in the world-multitudes of them-but do the best reach the Gospel standard? If not, then "all leave this world sinful." If Mr. Sweeney is right, I do not see but all the adult population of this world are on the direct road to hell.

Is the infant portion of mankind any better off than the adult? It is well known that the Catholics, and a majority of the Protestants, will have it, that children. inherit from father Adam a sinful nature. And this seems to be the creed of Mr. Sweeney's church. If I am wrong he will please correct me, as I do not wish to misrepresent his people. Rev. Alexander Campbell, a great man in his communion, is very clear on the infant depravity question. There is no mistaking his meaning. "There is, therefore," he says, "a sin of our nature as well as a personal transgression." Our nature was corrupted by the fall of Adam before it was transmitted to us." "All

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inherit a fallen, consequently a sinful nature, though all are not equally depraved." "Condemned to a natural death, and greatly fallen and depraved in o ir whole constitution we certainly are in consequence of the sin of Adam." Christian System, pp. 28, 29. All mankind, according to Mr. Campbell, come into this world fallen, greatly fallen, depraved, sinful. If this is correct, all who die in childhood must die in sin. They come into this world sinful and must leave it sinful, if Mr. Campbell is correct, for in the same book he repeats time and again, that no one can scripturally be said to be converted to God until he is immersed in water," and he and his whole church discard infant baptism as an abomination in the sight of God. They believe in infant depravity, but not in infant baptism, or infant conversion to God. Children are born sinful, live their brief life sinful, die sinful, enter the other world sinful, and I do not see but they must be sinful forever if conversion to God is not allowed in that world, and that is Mr. Sweeney's ground. I call particular attention to this point, for it looks very much like WHOLESALE INFANT DAMNATION. If the gentleman's church is right, all, or about all, of Adam's race, infants and adults, will be "gobbled up" by satan. In affirming, then, "that all who leave this world sinful will finally be reconciled to God, and saved," I am advocating the immortal interests of mankind, for if the converse is true, the world en masse will go headlong down to hell.

The New Testament, as I read it, places all mankind in three respects on an equality. 1st, All are mortal, and must die; 2nd, All shall live again, and forever; 3rd, All shall finally be reconciled to God, and saved. But all do not die at once; all are not raised from the dead at

once; all will not be saved at once.

Salvation is pro

gressive here and hereafter. It is a growth in grace. The consummation is to be realized in the fulness of times, as the apostle Paul expresses it. And Peter speaks of "the times of the restitution of all things."

Our truest, highest, and best conceptions of God, are derived, not from physical nature, but from Man. He is the offspring of God, the image of God, the type of God, and therefore partakes of the character of his parent, his archetype; hence Man has all the attributes of God in a latent or active condition, but in a finite degree. Our Savior was a Man-"THE MAN Christ Jesus -a Man annointed and qualified to instruct his brethren, mankind, in the ways of truth and righteousness, and thereby save them. He was a perfect Man, a colossal Man, the wisest of the wise, the best of the best; hence it is said he "was God manifested in the flesh," was God with us," and for the same reason he said, "I and my Father are one." He was so Godlike that a Prophet actually calls him "The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. ix. 6. If we would know God, then, we must know Man, especially the Man Christ Jesus. Let us, then, see God through Christ - - learn the character of God, by learning the character of Christ, who was emphatically the Image of God, the Glory of God, the Son of God.

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If this is so and what Christian will question its correctness? the Old Testament, and the New Testament, the Law and the Gospel, yea, all God's providences in all ages and climes, must be interpreted by Christ's Life and Character. When properly understood, they perfectly harmonize with the Life and Character of our Lord and Master. This view of our Redeemer makes

him doubly dear, precious, and necessary to the world. We may, then, expect to learn the Will, Purpose, Desire and Pleasure of God relative to human destiny; we may expect to learn how the Love of God, the Justice of God, the Mercy of God, will dispose of mankind; we may expect to learn how God, by his Law and Government, will deal with our race; we may expect, I say, to learn all this by studying the Life and Character of Christ as he was God manifested in the flesh."

I. What was the Will of Christ concerning man's final Destiny? Did he will our salvation or damnation? Did he will that we should ascend to heaven, or sink to hell? Did he will that we should do God's will, or eternally frustrate it? I expect Mr. S. will admit that it was the will of Jesus that all should be reconciled and saved. All that Jesus ever said or did shows that the blessedness of mankind was the will of his soul. "My meat," says he, "is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." John iv. 34. "Thy will be done" was his constant prayer. An apostle clearly states what is the Will of God. "God will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim. ii. 4. This being the will of God it was the will of Christ.

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The will of Jesus never changed. From his baptism in Jordan to his ascension to heaven, under all circumstances, among friends and foes, the will of God was his will. When betrayed by a professed friend, when forsaken by his disciples, when being murdered by a brutal and blood-thirsty rabble, he was true to the will of his heart, to the will of his God, and hence prayed amid the yells of the mob, "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM." So God's will for the salvation of men will never change. It

is his will now that all shall be saved, and it eternally will be his will that all shall be saved. Will this be denied?

"If any man After his res

In

In perfect harmony with the unchangeable will of God, Jesus called on all men to do his will. "Repent," cried he, when he began his work, "for the kingdom of God is at hand." Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." thirst, let him come unto me and drink." urrection he commissioned his disciples to "go unto all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, and almost the last verse, is the last verbal communication of Jesus to the world, and how exactly it corresponds with all he had ever uttered. "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. Let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. xxii. 16, 17. These words of Jesus are the words of God. Jesus never revoked them. God never revoked them. The Spirit now cries to every soul that God ever created, let that soul be where it may, in the body or out of the body, in this world or in the immortal world, “Come — come from your wanderings, come to your Father's house and he will joyfully give you of his abundance." Never, in time or eternity, will a soul be put beyond the reach of mercy. Salvation is now free as the air, free as the sunshine; it ever will be free to mankind, whether they walk the earth, or tread the courts of the immortal realm. I know Mr. Sweeney emphatically denies all this, and -contends equally as emphatically, that an endless hell