Mexico weekly ledger., 1886-02-18

next week and the paper must have
some local matter.
NJ. Y. DUNCAN.
THE GOSPEL OF NJ. Y. DUNCAN.
No. s.
l have in my possession a card
tract printed in Madisonville, Ky,
by j. ". Hlgbee, from which, l have
reason to believe Mr.. Duncan got his
illustration of entering the kingdom
of God by likenlng it to the natural
birth only the card-traet has more
births than Mr.. Duncan's gospel.
The card-tract has a "birth into
natural life, q birth into sin or carnal
life, a birth into spiritual life and a
birth into eternal life,' or, In other
words, "born of the fesh," "born of
sin," ''born of the spirit and water"
and ''born from the grave
In his No. 8, Mr.. Duncan talks ex-
tensively about "voluntary act" and
'sman's free will" Now would like
to ask hIr. d. and his readers how
much voluntary act' and free
will' the child exercises when it is
born? Is natural birth the ''volun-
tary act" of the babe2 Dare Mr..
Duncan insult the intelligence Of the
readers of the LEDGER by asserting
that any child is born of its own free
will? Every child born into the
world is born because 1t can't help
itself. This is a stubborn fact. Mr..
Duncan may not like the doctrine
logically adduced from his own prem
Uses; but | can't help that. And
how much voluntary act or free
will does the dead man exercise when
he is ''born from the grave"-raised
from the dead? just simply none
at all. So there are two of the four
births belonging to Mr.. DIS system
in which there is no sort of ''volun.
tary act" or Stree will" exercised by
any individual. Now how much
voluntary act or Stree will" does
the sinner exercise when he is born
of the spirit? Turn to John, Isl
Chap. and 18th yerse-''Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will Of
the flesh, nor of the mU of man, but
Of God" So in John 3:3, Except
a man be bern from above (again) he
cannot see the kingdom of Cod
Mr.. Duncan makes the birth Of the
spirit depend entirely on the free
will of man, but Gods word says pos
itively that it does not depend or
1.-The will of the flesh nor the will Of
man." John 1:13. See also Isl
Peter :23; the very 6 of wha'
Duncan says is true. If mans sal
walton depend on mans own ''volun
tary act and "free will' then, of
surety, no man will ever be saved
1t does seem strange to me that an,
man can write as much as Mr.. d
does and get so near everythin!
wrong.
/ found one statement in his No.
that 1 can endorse. He says. ~
nan sins because he can and want
to, Of his own free will and accord.
That sentiment is the only scripture
statement Mr.. d. has uttered sine
he began writing thofe lessons for u
poor people, But when a ma
''sins of his own free will and &C
cord" how does it happen than an
man ever leases to follow "his ow
free will and accord?" Does he c
"his own free will and accord" chang
his Gown free will and accord!" MI
Duncan will say he can and doe.
/ But the Bible (that is the platforr
r where Mr.. d. proposes to meet u
) ALI says, "Can the Ethiopian chang
. his skin or the leopard his spots
r then may ye also do good, that al
: accustomed to do evil" Jeremia
5 1928. Mr.. Duncan does not b.
! lieve that a man can baptize himss
: and according to his own system
! mans being born OF water depend
on the 'free will and accord" {
? somebody else, then why is it s
T hard for him to admit that his beiu
J born of the spirit depends on som,
thing else than a mans own free wi
and consent. Whenever the babe
''born of its own free will and a
: cord" whenever the dead bodies =,
t men are raised from the dead ii
their own free will and accord
then, and not till then, will the sou
e OF those, dead in trespasses an
o sins, (Eph. 2:1) quicken themselv,
to life, and he born again by the
own free will and accord"
s MI. d. seems to have a mortal fes
e and dread Of any "mysterious, al
1 stract, incomprehensibIe operation I
! the Holy Spirit" And we'll he ms
5 have. For if he should ever exper
ence anything Of the kind 1t woul
> soon take al kinks out Of his hea,