680 THI: SACRI$ICS OF CHRIST.. V. Is it not a possible thing that one good man may be suffered to fall so far into a mistake, as to believe the atonement of Christ is but figurative and emblematical, and not real and proper? Is it i.r.possible that a sincere and diligent searcher of the truth, who loves and values his bible, and reads it night and day, with prayer that lie may learn the mind and will of his Maker there, should fallinto the sentiments of Agrippa concern- ing the deathof Christ ? 1)o you pronounce it an utter impos- sibility that a man should be convinced of sin, should be humble and penitent before God, should return to his Maker in all the ways of known duty, and yet should mistake the true sense of such scriptures as speak of this atonement ? Surely, I think, there are two or three persons of my acquaintance, whose souls are very sincere in their searches of divine truth, in order to practise all the knownwill of God, and yet they have not hitherto been persuaded to believe that Christ was a proper propitia- tion for the sins of men by his death in your sense : Is all their repentance, all their love to God, all their holiness and sincere desires to please him, all their trust in Jesus Christ as a Mediator with the Father, and their submission to him as a king, is it all made void by their ignorance of this one doctrine, viz. his atoning sacrifice in the scriptural sense of it ? I desire also to put in one word here concerning those who have all these characters of sincere christians, and yet doubt of the effectual and irresistible influences of the Spirit of God in our day, turning the hearts of sinners to' God, and with an almighty power changing the bent of their souls to holiness. May not the blessed Spirit bestow this favour on any ofthose who know not this doctrine ? Is such an ignorance an eternal bar against his enlightening and converting operations ? Can they be enlightene&in this truth without his influences? Will he for ever deny these blessings to those honest souls who happen to mistake the extent of his influences, and limit them only to the primitive times ? I might repeat almost all the former questions with regard to this doctrine also, and ask if Ferventio would judge and condemn all such persons, and leave them no hope. I wish Ferventiowould answer such queries as these : I beg you would take them, Sir, into your further consideration when you are alone and retired. In the mean time I would appeal to Charistes here present, whether there is not a great deal to be said on the negative side of this question, concerning the necessity of believing these doctrines in order to the salvation of men. And I, says Ferventio, will appeal to Charistes too, though I believe, by what I lave heard of him, that his charity is some- times stretched to a length beyond my reach; But before he kronounced his opinion, I beg leave to make these two orthree
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