The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1864-04-08

'ii"h hcouoin Is uou SHt, anu MUS
have been bestowed not to defeat, but tt
harmonize with Gods will. Any end, there
fore,which God proposed,in creating man
can bo reached in harmony with the liberty
given man. Is that ambiguous 9. Pray
er implies that God CAN mould mems
hearts, and bring their wills into GLAD
concurrence with his own. Does it, OF
does it not I?
next proved, by Tie Billie, that Goo
has power to change mans heart, and Sc
cure the consenting will Do you, or mo-
believe that? You pass these points and
text cited. in utter silence. Do you shrink
from meeting the turning point in the
present debate Will you admit, or de-
ny? Your words imply denial, or doubt
Some things, you say, God cannot do
He cannot lie. But that is no Limitation
of power. His perfections forbid any
such choice. The saved in heaven can.
notlie, for similar reason. This how
ever is the moral sense Of the term, God
has no inclination or desire to lie. But
infinite power implies that he can do what
ever his heart chooses to do.
And to say he cannot do what his in.
finite wisdom and infinite love incline
him to do, is to say plainly that his power
is not equal to his wisdom and his 1--we,
and to imply that, ,cah additional poper,
another end would certainly be reached
But God cannot leave men free and
then necessitate repentance or faith, cam
not make salvation conditional, and
then force the sinner to accept it,. Who
claims that he will /? I readily grant
that mans repentance must be as vol,
untary as his sin.
No man is saved now, or can be saved
hereafter except as his will is in volunta-
ry concurrence with the divine will. But
what then?
Granting moral freedom, is the final
holiness and happiness of all men, then
possibility with God ? A plain yea or
nay is respectfully sought.
The position you have taken, implies
that the moral agency of man limits the
power of God. lie cannot save all men,
because salvation is conditional, and men
will not comply with the conditions
He connot subdue the will, because the
will is free, or change the will and sill
leave it free.
Your words are, "God cannot make
the sinners salvation optional with him
self, and then force him to accept it. He
cannot impose upon men the obligation
to repent and believe, and then repent
and believe for them, or necessitate re.
pentence or faith" In a moral system,
such terms as compulsion, force and ne
cessity, are entirely out of place. main
tain that man is freej free TO choose and
to do; free in this world. and free forever,
and, therefore, do not hold that God now
does, or over will, necessitate the virtue,
or salvation Of any man. But the ques-
ton returns, can God secure the volunta-
ry repentance and holiness of all men?
/. If God cannot secure the final holi-
ness and happiness of all men-moral free
dom granted-then He cannot, of course,
secure the salvation of any individual
man, aud for like reason, moral agency
must be the same in all men.
2. II the nature OF moral agency is
such that God cannot SO work in the
hearts of men as to secure universal re-
pentance and holiness, then, and for a
like reason, the ma ure of moral agency
must bo such that, with moral beings,
God can never carry out his own desires
or secure any end which bis soul yearns
to reach. And if he cannot guide, and
direct moral agency so as to make it har'
monize with his plan, manifestly it is
idle to say that he does or can govern the
moral world !
8. In your theory the devil is the author
of evil. And while the devil does not neces
state sin, yet he has actually secured the
positive sinfulness of all men, and that will
out any violation Of their moral freedom
Now if God cannot secure the holmes
Of all men, and that without any viola
ton of free will, then the devil weult
seem to possess more moral inhuonc
than God
A. You will sllow--I am sure, tina
Christ, in his human nature, like all 9th
on ,rao morally fraa His virtu