The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-12-05
VIOARIOUs ATONEMENT.
BY REV. JAMES BILLINGS.

To large portion of the Christian
world God and his human children
are supposed to be at variance. To
bring about condition of reconcilia
ton, or of at-one-ment, there is, what
is termed scheme of salvation"
AS mankind in a natural state is
thought to be ignorant and in dark
ness, it is claimed man is unable to
devise plan by which the necessa y
at-one-ment can be secured.
In such ignorance, how is humanity
to know of this variance. 1t is said:
''This is a lesson that must be
learned; without it there can be no
salvation, no happiness in the future
life.
Christ says, know the truth and
the truth shall make you free" The
variance Gf there is any is lesson
for humanity to learn. God needs
nothing of the kind; for he knoweth
all things, and there is nothing hid
den from him.
What is the truth for humanity to
learn which will insure the freedom
promised by Christ? Is it not obedi-
ence to the law of Coda Disobedi-
ence incurs penalties. The infiction
of punishment is remedy designed
to cure the love of disobedience.
When human beings learn to obey
Gods laws, which are always just,
then, they are free indeed. They are
atone -ment with him. This is all
that God requires of his human
children.
The so-called Orthodoxy claims
that God is the disturbed one, hold
ing mans disobedience as debt
that must be paid to him to satisfy
his justice. Hence. it says, "The
object of Christ's mission on earth
was to reconcile God to humanity"
This, Universalists believe and teach,
is reversing the truth concerning
Christ and his mission. Mankind
thus being in debt to God from the
sin of Adam down to the present
time, and by Adams transgression
corrupted so as to be incapable Of
paying the debt and escaping from
its endless penalty, scheme must be
devised to meet the case.
The doctrine of the Trinity here
comes in. Jesus is installed as the
second person in the Godhead. He,
being "very God" as also man, in
coming to the earth, allows himself
to suffer instead of humanity for dis
obedience to Gods laws, Himself
(marv lous contradiction J being
God, thus reconciling himself to the
world by the sacrifice of himself,
and satisfying divine justice for the
original sin of Adam and Ewes DISC
bedience of his commands in the be-
ginning of their creationl Could
any religious scheme" be more alb
surd?
Again: Notwithstanding all this
sacrifice of himself to himself, the
scheme of redemption fails in every
ooca m laoo Tho ;,l;u;l,,ol Lo1:o,oo
on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepts
him as the Saviour. Calvinism, max
ing the matter more cruel as we'll as
absurd, says: "Only those elected by
God can be redeemed" Thus the
sacrifice of Christ can not save the
myriads of human souls that are not
among the elect who must forever
suffer in the future life for their own
sins and the sins of the first parents
of the race. When the Arminian
system of redemption is analysed, it's
so-called foundation has no sure sup
port, but rests upon uncertainty.
Infants and idiots, not knowing sin,
will not have to suffer its endless
penalty.
God is willing that all souls may
be saved from future never-ending
torment, but the sinner seals his own
doom, despite of Gods will, though
at the last, he may possibly repent
of his evil doing, accept pardoning
mercy, and escape the tortures of the
condemned. Those who never heard
of Christ and the "Vicarious Atone
ment" cannot have any part in that
very uncertain scheme. On the con-
trary, Universalism enters this court
of investigation, and rejects both of
these schemes stated here. 1t AYERS
that they are based on false con-
ception of the being and character of
God. That there is but one God,
whose nature is infinitely just, benev-
olent, wise, and good That man
must atone in his own person for his
own sinfulness. That no vicarious
sacrifice can save him from the lust