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(84-85) message or gospel held forth. Nevertheless, there are three distinct lines of faith, or doctrine—three distinct gospels set forth in Christendom, all recognized as “oithodox,” because they all contain as their fundamental the doctrine of the eternal torment of all mankind, except the comparatively few “saved.” Each of these three gospels has millions of supporters, divided into numerous denominations. These in point of numbers are (1) The Roman Catholic faith, or gospel, in which coneur the Greek Catholics and Armenian Catholics, and some of the high-church Episcopahans. (2) The Calvinistie gospel, which is held by the various Presbyterian denomin itions, the Congregationalists, Baptists, and many Lutherans and Episcopalians. (3) The Armiman gospel, held and chiefly represented hy the Methodists of various names and connections, and hy the Vree-Will Baptists however, many of the denominations at heart accept the Arminian gospel, while their church connections identify them with the Calvinistic gospel. Hence we may say, so far as Protestantism is concerned, that the Arminian and the Calvinist gospels are about equally supported, It may not be possible for us to handle our subject properly and thoroughly without offering some cniticism of these thiee gospels which for centuries have entrenched themselves in Christian minds, each fortified hy the decisions of its own Councils, backed by volumimons opinions from their several theological seminaries, but we can and assmedly will strennously avoid saying one solitary word in criticism of those who we believe conscientiously uphold these several conflicting Gospels We call you to witness that we are all Seripturally enjomed to “Contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints” (the true Gospel), at the same time that we are enjomned by the same authority to “Speak evil of no man.” We shall endeavor to keep strictly within these admittedly proper lines, and, additionally, as the Apostle admonishes, “Speak the truth in love.” THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM The yospel according to Roman Catholicism is that all men fell into sin and under sentence of eternal torment: that Christ. accomplished a redemptive work which, supplemented by the sacrifices of the mass, and by prayers and penances. permits all believers (Roman Catholies) to escape that eternal torment, which will be the sure portion of all heretics, regardless of their good works or morals. As for its own people, it holds that even its highest officials, including Bishops and Popes, go to Purgatory for refinement, purification from sin and to be prepared for heaven. It claims that some will spend only a short time in Purgatory, assisted out of it by the merit of prayers, masses, ete.. on their behalf by their friends after death But their expectation is that ultimately Purgatory will be no more, its thousands of millions being prepared for a hetter and happier condition. But according to all the great theologians of Papacy, and according to all the Papal bulls, all Protestants. all rejecters of Papacy’s teachings, will suffer endless torment. This is the Roman Catholic gospel fairly presented, as we understand it. It does not seem to us to be very good news-—not very good tidings, even to those who get the very best it has to offer, and it certamly would be very bad tidings to all out of harmony with Papaey Let us next look at the great Protestant doctrine represented in the word Calvinism—the doctrine of the election of the church and the reprobation of all others, THE GOSPEL PRESENTED BY CALVINISM Calvinism clvims that faith in Christ is essential to salvation and it adimts that faith eames hy hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Calvinism requires more than a mere knowledge of Christ and belief in hin as a good and exemplary man, who died a martyr to his extreme convictions. It requires faith in Christ’s death as a sacrifice for man’s sin, and at least some manifestation towards righteousness of life before any could be recognized as being of the elect church. Consequently, according to Calvinism, the elect church could not include the heathen of the present time and all the way back through the past, who have never heard of the only name given under heaven or amongst men_ whereby we must be saved. Stretched to its very broadest. Calvinism could not include more than one in twenty of earth’s fifty thousand millions that are estimated to have lived from Adam’s day until the present time. In other words, according to the broadest possible estimate of this view, more than forty-seven thousand millions of humanity were, in the language of the Westminster Confession of Faith, “passed by” as non-elect in the divine plan. And what does this mean—“passed by” or “non-elect?” ZION’S WATCH TOWER ALLEGHENY, Pa, It means, according to Calvinism, that God, who knew the end from the beginning, before creating this world and mankind upon it, determined that he would “pass by” and not elect those forty-seven thousand millions of his creatures to hfe and happiness, but would predestine them to an eternity of torture, and that carrying out this diabolical plan, he prepared a great place large enough to hold forty-scven thousand millions, and fuel sufficient to produce the necessary combustion there to all eternity—did all this with a full appreciation of all the awful facts and circumstances of the case. Moreover, we remember the statement of Calvinism which many of us learned in our youth, to the effect that God’s favor toward the elect is not because of any worthiness on their part, nor because of any works which they had done, but “of his own sovereign grace” he saves them from all the horrible conditions which he hag predestined shall be upon the others. Now if the salvation of the elect is not because of their works or worthiness, but because of God’s sovereign grace only, the simplest mind can see that God might without any violation of principle have extended that sovereign grace to others—to all, since it was not because of worthiness nor because of works, but merely of his own volition that anv are saved,—according to Calvinism. _ The celebrated Jonathan Edwards, when preaching upon this subject in New England years ago, after picturing the awful torment of the non-elect, was asked the question, Would not ithe thought of the anguish of the lost mar the bliss of God’s people in glory? His answer in substance was, No: you will be so changed that such matters will not affect vou; you will look over the battlements of heaven and see in’ torment your neighbors and friends, yea, Your own parents and children, brothers and sisters, and turning round will praise God the louder heeause his justice is made manifest. Now, mv dear friends. I do not charge any who are here present with having so false a view of the divine character and plan as this. Indeed, I am glad to note that our Calvinistie friends in general are repudiating this doctrine, realizing that there is in it a serious lack, not only as respects divine love, but also as respects divine justice. I was glad some years ago to note that some of our Presbyterian friends were so moved by higher and nobler conceptions of the Almighty that they wished to rid themselves of any part in so blasphemous a_ statement respecting his character and_ his plan. I was sorry, however, that when the matter of “the revision of the Presbyterian standards” was taken up it was found that only a minority was in favor of revision, and I was still more sorry to note that that minority of intelligent, godly people was willing to continue to confess to such a horrible mis-statement of their true views—willing, shall I say, to continue to “blaspheme that holy name” because @ majority of their brethren were unwilling that such blasphemous misrepresentations should he discontinued. I am glad to believe that if this matter were brought to the intelligent attention of Presbyterians in general, a large majority would be found willing, nay, anxious, to undo the wrong and to make such reparation as would he within their power, by way of honoring the great Jehovah and attesting their appreciation of his love and his justice, as well as of his wisdom and of his power. This is just tho point: Calvinism, in its anxiety to establish the wisdom and power of God, his foreknowledge and his ability to carry out his plan, has coneeived ot a plan which is far from the correct one, lacking both in justice and in love. It may be argued that love is a grace and thot its exercise 1s not incumbent upon Jehovah: that all that could he asked or expected of him would be simple justice, and some might be ready to claim that for God to eternally torment these forty-seven thousand millions “passed by” would be in strict accord with justice. This we deny’ We claim that having the power to create mankind would not justify their creation if the Creator saw that the result would he the everlasting torture of a single creature. Justice would say that power is not to be exercised to the injury of another, and that to exercise the creative power under such foreknown conditions would be injustice. And wisdom attuned to justice would say, Better a thousand times never to have created anybody than to have created one being to suffer unjustly eternally. This statement, dear friends, is a fair, imparvial statement of the gospel according to our beloved brother, John Calvin, and those who subscribe to the Westminster Confession, and their allies. This surely is not the gospel of which the Apostle Peul, in our text, declared, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” Paul would assuredly have been [2594]