SECTION XV. Future Punishment. Q. What evidence have we, that impenitent sinners will be punished in the future world? A. Were it not that men may be found, who will disbelieve any doctrine that is opposed to their wishes, however it may be supported with evidence, no arguments would be necessary to show, that if the Bible may be relied on, the wicked will be punished in the future world. If it were the sole intention of a man, to see how plain and prominent a doctrine of the Scriptures, he might discredit in the minds of many, there is no one on which he would be more likely to try his skill, than the doctrine in question. The question now before us, is not whether sinners will be punished without end; but, whether they will be punished at all. 1. The first argument we shall adduce, in proof that they will be punished, is the fact that they cannot be happy in the enjoyment of God, without a change of heart; and the cer tainty that all men do not experience this change in the pres ent life. That sinners must be born again before they can be reconciled to God, is what we have already repeatedly established. (See pages 111, 119, 144.) It is sufficient here to remark, that the happiness of heaven it is acknowledged by all, consists in an inward and perfect delight in spiritual and holy objects; and that for such objects, sinners by nature have not the least relish. There is no possibility of avoiding the conclusion, that they are miserable in the future world, only by saying that this change is experienced at death. This opinion we have already shown, cannot be reconciled with the Scriptures. (See page 134.) It only re mains to be shown, that all men are not born again in the present world. If any thing can be determined concerning the effects of regeneration, from the conduct of men, it is equally as certain that many die unregenerate. What arguments do we need to convince us, that he who dies an open and bitter infidel; or an habitual blasphemer; or a wilful and deliberate murderer, does not act under the influence of a new heart? If we have any evidence that the carnal heart is "enmity against God," we have the same that with all this enmity many are overtaken by death. We are brought unavoidably to this result, that such as die in impenitence, are miserable in the future world. 2. If the wicked suffer no punishment beyond the grave, it will be impossible to exculpate the writers of the Bible, from the charge of designing to mislead its readers. If all the wicked upon their leaving this world, are to be received immediately to heaven as certainly as the righteous; it would seem if the Bible is designed to be our guide, we should find it as evidently revealed. Have mankind been uniformly as liable to believe from the Scriptures, that the incorrigible sinner is as fair a candidate for heaven, as the saint? This question need only be suggested, to furnish its own answer. Neither can it be pretended that this difference is occasioned by the nature of the subject. To be sure it is sometimes said, that the doctrine of future punishment is popular. But, is it popular, to inform men that unless they forsake their sin, however pleasing it may be to their hearts, it will conduct them inevitably to a world of wretchedness and despair? If it be, it would be a curious question for the moral philosopher to tell why, unless it is because it is so plainly taught in the Bible, that to deny it is to wage open war with every dictate of reason and judgment. The truth is, that men would never believe in a sentiment as unpleasant to the natural heart as this, unless the Scrip tures were so plain and unequivocal in support of it, that they could not be honestly believed, while that was rejected. How often, as the Bible is generally understood, is this subject suggested! Such declarations as the following cannot be understood upon honest principles, if this doctrine be not true: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." a "These shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." b. "For. wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction; and many there be which go in thereat." c. If the men by whom these passages were penned, had no belief in a future punishment, they must have known that they should mislead the honest reader. The word hell, and other words that as clearly imply a state of punishment beyond the grave, are used in the New Testament only, more than fifty times. If no punishment be meant by these expressions, of what possi ble use can be such a Bible? To suppose that the meaning or opinion of the writers, is so different from what their language would naturally intimate, is a more bold and impious attack on the character of God, than an open rejection of the whole of Revelation. It would clearly and undeniably show that he had given the Scriptures for the purpose of misleading or of deceiving mankind. 3. If sinners are not punished in the future world, in many of the dealings of divine providence, God has shown himself to be a friend to sin and an enemy to holiness. To prove this, we need only advert to the destruction of the old world, of Sodom and Gomorrah. That the inhabitants who perished with the flood, were extremely wicked, there can be ne doubt. Noah is said to be a just person, and a preacher of righteousness, d Now if there be no punishment in the fi a Ps. ix. 17. b Mat, xxv. 56. € Mat. vii. 13. d 2. Pet. ii. 5-8 ture world, to which of these characters has the Almighty manifested the greatest kindness? On this supposition how could he manifest greater kindness to those guilty wretches, than he has done in their destruction from the earth? He has taken them by a sudden exit, from all their trials and all their sins, and has virtually said to them, "Well done good and faithful servants, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." On the other hand, Noah, as a reward for his faithfulness, and his opposition to their ungodliness, was preserved from the flood that he might experience a while longer the toils of life; while his ungodly neighbours with whom his “righteous soul had been vexed from day to day," were already entered into the joy of their Lord! The same remarks it is plain, are applicable in reference to the destruction of Sodom, and the cities of the plain. 4. It is clearly represented in the Bible, that there will be a separation between the righteous and the wicked, after the resurrection. "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." a "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." b "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoev er loveth and maketh a lie." c The city which is here mentioned, is uniformly admitted to be heaven, the future resi a Mat xxv, 31, 32. b John v. 28, 29. c Rev. xxii. 14, 15. dence of the just; but that some will be excluded from it, nothing can be more certain. On the whole, whoever examines the Scriptures with an honest and attentive mind, will find it to contain more unequivocal declarations in support of this doctrine, than that the righteous will be received to happiness; and of course so far as they are believed, this doctrine will be received as truth. ་ Q. Will the punishment of the wicked be endless? A. As the Bible is our only guide, on every question that relates to the future world, and as this is a question in which we have an important interest, it ought to be our object to determine simply, what the Bible says on the subject. While men are influenced by their feelings, more than by reason or Revelation; they decide at once, that this doctrine is inconsistent with the character of God. Many go so far as to affirm with confidence, that it would be unjust for God to suffer his creatures to have an existence, if he knew that they would render themselves eternally miserable. To answer the question before us, it will be our first object to prove, that endless punishment is just. 1. Endless punishment is threatened by the divine law. By turning to what has been said on the penalty of the law, the reader will see that this point has been already established. It was shown that the penalty of the law was eternal death, and that only. As we have not room to repeat the arguments upon this point, and as it is a point which has an important bearing on the subject of future punishment, we must sincerely request the reader to examine what has been said upon it, before he comes to a decision on the question before us. As an additional argument, we would remark, that if such a penalty be not just, then it would not be just for God to permit the sinner to continue in his present course. It is admitted by all, that if men continue in their sins, they |