c Gal. iii. 13. that, as the result of the general judgment must be the establishment of the guilt of "all the world;" so, must the full display of that universal guilt, in the sight of men and angels, be necessary, in order, to display the necessity that existed for the sacrifice of Christ, and to shew, incontrovertibly, that, to that sacrifice, and to that alone, man is indebted for full and free justification. The declarations, then, respecting the "eternal punishment" of the wicked, may have a conditional import; may shew what would be the necessary consequence of sin, its natural recompense, had not Christ, by the sacrifice of Himself, made a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. But, if, notwithstanding the inconceivable costliness of the sacrifice offered by Christ for the expiation of human guilt, man is, yet, liable to all the penalties attached to violations of the law of righteousness; if transgressors are, yet, liable to be addressed in those words of eternal denunciation, "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels;" how is man "redeemed from the curse of the law?" c For, as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them; but, that no man is justified by the law, in the sight of God, is evident." If, then, by the law no man can be justified; if Christ was sacrificed to satisfy the law; will that law be brought forward to condemn the human race, with any other design but that of proving the necessity of the sacrifice of Christ, and man's entire dependence on that sacrifice for justification? If, all are to be judged by the law of works, and all are to incur the penalties attached to the violations of that law, excepting those few persons, who, during the period of their existence in the flesh, have manifested a lively faith in Christ; then, is a vast majority of the human race, still, under the curse of the law, and, as regards them and their justification, the sacrifice of Christ is inoperative and ineffectual, and will have been offered in vain. In such a case, the eternal scheme of Christianity, the vast sacrifice of the eternal Son of GOD, will be limited, as regards its application to man, to a small minority of the human race, and an overwhelming majority of that race will have neither part nor lot in the matter. But, if, according to the eternal d Gal. iii. 10, 11. law of righteousness, all men are equally without merit, all equally guilty in the sight of God; and, if, Christ has offered a full expiation for the sins of the whole world, then, as no works of man can merit reward, so, neither, can any works of man, of necessity, demand punishment. If the law of holiness has been, amply, satisfied by the sacrifice of Christ, all further sacrifice to it must be unnecessary, must be derogatory to the all-sufficient character of the sacrifice of Christ. As eternal life must be a free gift; so, also, must any further punishment of sin be perfectly gratuitous; it cannot be required by the eternal law of holiness, which has already been fully satisfied. It is to be remembered that Christ came to satisfy the law in all its strictness; and, by His sufferings and passion, to uphold its eternal enactments, He came to offer himself as a sacrifice to that law. He came, therefore, not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. He, therefore, of necessity, upheld and confirmed all the obligations of the law, and ratified all its claims of vengeance for all infractions of it. It was not until after He had exclaimed, "It is finished," after He had expired on the cross, after He had visited Hades, after He had risen from the dead, after, in short, He had made full expiation for all offences against the law, that He said "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Then were the sufferings of the Saviour substituted for the penalties of the law, then were the statutes of vengeance repealed, and salvation through Christ was fully established. Christ, therefore, before He had fully satisfied the law, could not but uphold it in all its force; He could not but denounce vengeance against all breaches of it; for the law remained in force until after His passion and resurrection. The whole matter, may, thus, summarily be stated: The eternal law of righteousness declares that the slightest infraction of any of its precepts is tantamount to a violation of the whole law. No man ever has satisfied, no man ever can satisfy, all the requirements of that law. Therefore, as judged by that law, the whole human race must be convicted of sin, must be adjudged to be guilty; no distinction can be made among any of the sons of man, none can be pronounced to be righteous, none can be declared to be just; but all, without an exception, must be made guilty. Christ was offered as a sacrifice to that law, as the expiator of every violation of it, as making a full and perfect and allsufficient satisfaction to it for every transgression of its precepts committed by every individual of the whole race of man. Christ has, therefore, freed man from the penalties of that law; He has placed mankind in that situation in which it would have stood if it had fulfilled every requirement of the law, and, in no instance, had transgressed. Christ has become our righteousness, our justification. He has become the Saviour of the whole race, from the first to the last man inclusive. But the glorious scheme of salvation through Christ, although planned before creation commenced, has been kept, more or less, secret from angels as well as from men ever since it was planned, even to the present hour. Millions of the human race have died without ever hearing of it. But, at the final consummation of this magnificent scheme, before all its glorious and benevolent provisions are carried into effect, it will be fully and explicitly revealed and displayed to the whole of GOD's rational creatures, to the assemblage of men and angels. Then, but not till then, will the necessity, as well as the |