The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-12-31
REV. JAS. D. MOFFAT.
DiScOurSeS on Infant kalvatiOn
YestcrtlaJ..And also Upon the
Bible AZ n Standard Of Religious
Trufh.

DiScOurSeS on Infant kalvatiOn
Yesterday ..And also Upon the
Bible AZ a Standard Of O1IteIigiOuS
Truth.
We present below an abstract Of two
discourses yesterday by Rev. Jas. D.
Mofat at the Second Presbyterian Church.
The subject of the morning sermon was
"Infant Salvation" and Of the evening,
"The Bible as Standard Of Religious
Truth"
The following is an ab,tract OF the
morning sermon. Taking for his text l
Tim 2S, 4, viz: "God our savior, who will
have all men to be saved"-he went on 10
remark as follows: There is in the Bible
no explicit assertion that all who die in
infancy are saved. When this fact is
combined with another, that God is un-
der no obligations 10 save any Of the
human race, there is reason, in the judy
ment Of many persons, for not going be-
yond the expression Of hope that it
may be well with departed children.
Those who hesitate to express themselves
as decidedly upon this subject as Others,
are not TO be condemned as narrow
minded, uncharitable or behind the age
for they are as desirous as any Of us can
be that all infants may be saved; but they
properly demand proof from scripture
upon a point about which, aside from
scripture, there can be no certainty, Ii ii
child may be born once into world OF
sin and suffering, il may again at death
be ushered into another similar world.
l. The scriptures teach in a variety OF
ways Gods exceeding willingness 10 save
all the members Of the human race. This
is asserted in the text-viz-"God our
Saviour is willing, wishes, or desires that
all men should be saved" Eek. 1928,
80, 32:ll expresses the came truth. II
Pet. iii:0 declares that the Lord "is not
willing that any should perish" The
principle underlying PAul's argument in
Rom. v:l2 20, is that it is more congen.
ial with the nature Of God to bless than
to curse; 10 save than to destroy. II the
race fell in Adam much more shall it be
restored in Christ" The easincsa OF the
terms oi salvation demanded by God OF
adults exhibits the same exceeding will
lingnesS. The fact that 40 many adults
are not saved does not detrNct from this
expression of Willingness for il is due
to their unwillingness TO be saved.
One may be very desirous Of bes.owing u
favor upon friend though the friend
decline 10 accept it. But the supposition
that any infants dying are lost must nee
essarily be held as detraCiing from these
explicit declarations OF Gods Willingness
to save. II He is Ns willing to save them
as adults TO whom the gospel comes, no
reason can be imagined why he should
not But 10 pass them by would indi-
cate that He cared moro for adults than
for infants, a fact cOntradiCted by scrip.
ture, Should not l spare Ninevah wherein
are more than Hix.score persons that
cannot discern between their right hand
and their left hand? Jonah All.
Our ground for believing in our own
salvation as adults is simply Gods prom.
ise 10 save all who believe in Christ,
but this faith has its basis in this
very conviction that God is WiHing to
save all. 1t 10 not until a convicted ain.
ner is convinced Of this Willingness that
he ventures TO believe. So that We may
say that eur belief that all who die in
infancy are saved has rs solid basis in
Scripture as our belief in our own saliva.
tion.
9. They declare that all who are con.
demned by the ain Of Adam are saved by
the Righteousness Of Christ, those only
excepted whom the Scriptures except.
"As in Adam all die, 40 in Christ shall all
be made alive" l Cor. 1899, Rom. 5;lS,
10. These passages could properly be
held to teach absolute universal
ism, il it were not for exceptions made
elsewhere. But no class Of infants Ia
any where in the Bible made all exCep-
ti0n to these sweeping assertions.
8. Though Christ's words, "of such Is
the Kingdom oi Heaven" cannot be in.
terpreted as explicitly teaching infant
salvation, yet they confirm the doctrine II
considered as taught elsewhere. Thus, II
half the human race die in infancy, and
all these are saved, then the Kingdom il
largely made up OF little children and
there would be peculiar appropriateness
in saying ofsuch is the Kingdom"
EVENING SERMON.
In the evening the subject was "The
Bible as Standard Of Religious Truth"
from II Pet, j.; 10.
1t being admitted that God is, and that
the soul is immortal great questions
arise and demand answers, What ia God ?
What will come after death2 Until these
questions are satisfactorily answered no
man can be either good or happy. They
are to be answered either by the human
mind interpreting nature IA within us
and outside Of us, or by the human mind
interpreting both Gods works aud Cots
word.
|. Men may learn much from the
study Of nature but they cannot find an.
EwerS 10 these questions. IL God juAt
viii hC deal with ia according TO the
principles OF JuStico2 Can we hope to
esca re tho just consequences Of our sins?
And il 40 upon what terms Rejecting
the Bible IA Coda Revelation to man, we
cannot be Eurc that the world'A and ages
TO come will not 10 at best nero repro.
duction OF the present. There Is no way
Of Judging the future by the past and tho
preaent.
2. Tho fact that we need moro than
nature ia not proof that wc have more,
but 1t gives rest to tho inquiry "IIave We
mOrcY"
8. II can bc said Of The Bible that for
eighteen centuries body Of people tho
most moral and tho most intelligent Of
their times has accepted and treated il as
Coda RnSwer TO these great questions.
This fact creates a presumption in its fl.
yor, and demands for II earncat invcstlga.
lion,