SECTION VI. 571 rel to be preached to all, and pronounces damnation on him that believes it rot, there must be sufficient light and evidence suppo- sed : And none can incur this sentence but such as by some fault of the will, either neglect, avoid, or resistthis evidente. IV. If this be admitted, will it not follow then, that there is no one of all the peculiar essentials ,of christianity which are absolutely and certainly necessary to salvation, where there lias not been sufficient means of light andevidence for the knowledge of them ? And consequently the necessary requisites to the sal. vation of particular persons in christianity itself, as well as in all the rest of the dispensations of God towards fallen man, must be as various as are the cases and circumstances of every particular person, with regard to their different opportunities and advanta- ges for light and knowledge. And upon this foot of reasoning, not only in different na- tions and in different ages, the things that are necessary to the salvation of particular persons must be very different, according to the different revelations and advantages under which they lived, but even in the sane nation and the same age, some of those articles of christianity may be necessary to the salvation of those persons who live in religious families, and in towns where the gospel is preached in its fulness and glory, which articles are not necessary to the salvation of those who live in obscure villa- ges, among rocks and woods, in little cottages and dark corners of the country, where there is no preaching, and where very few people are possessed of bibles, or are able to read them: Some points of faith and practice may be necessary for those, who are educated in the constant profession of them, amongst the brightest evidences of reason and scripture to support them, which may not be necessary to those who are 'bred up from their infancy amidst the contrary errors, and are surrounded and clouded with a thousand unavoidable prejudicesagainst them. It is only a neglect or resistance of light that renders error so very criminal a thing. V. Thence it will follow, that however christian churches must form the best judgment they can for themselves, how many of these essentials of christianity are necessary to be professed in order to church-fellowship, which atfiúr must be transacted by the general rules of scripture and men's outward profession, yet it is God alone, who is the supreme and final Judge of men's eternal states, that can determine how much of these essentials in faith or practice is necessary to thesalvation of each particular person: He alone knows the precise measure of light and evi- dence which is sufficient to convince every man of the truth, and it is he whohas authority to say, The soul that believes it not shall be damned: I say, it is he alone has sufficient penetration and cognizance of the situation and circumstances, and the workings
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