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SECT.

IV.]

PROOF

OF

h

:SEPARATE

STATE.

31.

bour

is

not

in

vain

in

the

Lord," that

is,

there

is

certainly

a

future

state

of

recompence for piety, and the discovery

of

it

at

the

resurrection of the

dead

is

the most

public

and

glorious

part of

it,

and, therefore, he insists

upon this

alone.

Answer

2.

But

we

may

give yet

a

more

particular

answer

to this

objection

;

for

if

we

take

in

the

whole

scheme

of

the apostle's argument

in this chapter,

we

shall

find

there

is

no sufficient

ground for

this

objection

against a separate state.

He

begins, verses

13

-23.

and

argues

thus,

"

If

there

be no

resurrection

of

the dead,

then Christie not

risen,"

for

he, rose

as the

first

-

fruits,

and

his

followers shall be

the harvest, verse

23.

but

if

there

were no harvest,

there

were

no

first-fruits:

And

"if

Christ

be

not

risen,

then

our

preaching

is

vain,

and

your

faith

is

vain;"

verse

14.

Then

we

are found

false

wit-

nesses in

matters

that relate

to

God,

verse

15.

mere

impostors,

who

preach

a

wicked falsehood,

and

lead

you

to hope

for

a

happiness, which

ye

shall

never

obtain:

For " if

Christ,

who died

for

our

sins,

verse

3.

be

not

raised

for

our justification,

as

in

Rom.

iv.

25.

then

ye

are

yet

in

your

sins,

ye lie

yet under

the

guilt

of

sin

:

and,

if

so,

then

also they, which

have fallen asleep in

Christ, or

have

died

in

the faith

of

Christ,

are perished."

verse

18.

they must

either

be

condemned, or

be

utterly

lost, both

soul

and

body, having

no

ground

for hope

of

eternal

life,

or any

life

or happiness

at

all

hereafter.

Then

the hope

of

christians

would be in this

life only,

and

we

are

miserable

creatures,

who suffer

so

much for

Christ's

sake,

verse

19.

It

would be

better

for

us,

who

have senses and

appetites

as well as

other

men, to

in-

dulge these

senses

and appetites,

and

eat

and

drink,

for

to-morrow

we

die, and

there

is

an end

of

us

:

There

can

be no

future state

of

happiness,

of

any kind, for

us

to

expect,

either

in

soul

or

body,

if

we

have deceived you

in

the

doctrine

of

the

resurrection of

Christ,

and

all

our

gospel

be

false: We

are

then such

sort

of

impostors and

wicked cheats, as

can

have no

belief

of

a

future state

of

rewards

or

punishments,

and

we

had

better act

like

ourselves, and, like mere

epicureans,

give

ourselves ùp

to all

present

pleasures,

than expose

ourselves

to

perpe-

tual

sufferings for

the sake

of

a

man, who,

if

there

be

no resurrection,

died,

and never rose again, and,

there-