ogy, the ransom or deliverance of sinners from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God's violated law by the atonement of Christ." Indeed, these terms are so well understood that it can hardly be necessary to produce authority to establish their meaning; and yet, if Christ has redeemed us in this sense, the controversy is ended in plain English, and the doctrine of vicarious atonement is established. Now, that it is in this sense that Christ has redeemed us, appears from the following considerations :

1. These English terms well express the sense of the original Greek.

In Rom. iii. 24. in the expression, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," the apostle uses the word apolutroseos which our translators have rendered redemption, and which literally signifies deliverance from captivity. In Tit. ii. 14. in which it is said Christ " gave himself for us that he might redeem us,' "the verb which is rendered redeem is, in the original, lutrosetia which is derived from luo to pay, and signifies to ransom or to redeem, and the very derivation of the word shows that it signifies to redeem by paying a redemption price.

In Gal. iv. 4, 5. where the apostle says, Christ " was made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law," the original word which is rendered redeem, is exagorase. This word is compounded of ex, from, and agorazo, to buy, and signifies to buy from, or out of, implying that Christ has redeemed, i. e. bought us from or out of the claims or power of the law, so as to deliver us from the penalty which it inflicts on transgressors as the apostle states, Chap. iii. 13. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law."

2. The connection in which these terms are used is sufficient to convince the plain English reader, without any reference to the original, that redemption by price or purchase is intended. It is said that "Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us." 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." These forms of expression clearly imply that a price was paid for our redemption, and that the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ constituted such price.

This view is farther supported by other expressions which represent us as being purchased, bought, &c. Acts xx. 28. "Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." 1 Cor. vi. 20. "Ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are his." 2 Pet. ii. 1. "There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them." In the first of these texts, the church is said to be bought, and the blood of Christ is stated to have been the price paid. In the second of the above texts, the Corinthians are said to be bought with a price, and what was that price more or less than the sufferings, and death of Christ," who gave himself a ransom for all?" In the third of the above quotations, some persons are said to deny the Lord that bought them, they must, therefore, have been bought.

VI. The vicarious and propitiatory character of Christ's sufferings and death, is farther established by those scriptures which represent him as a mediator, intercessor and reconciler 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6. "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all." The word, mesites, mediator, literally signifies a middle person, whose office it is to reconcile the parties between whom he acts, who are supposed to be at variance. The apostle says Gal. ii. 20. "A mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one." That is, a mediator does not act exclusively for one party, but equally for both parties, between whom he mediates. This was true of Moses, of whom the apostle was speaking; he spake to the people on the part of God, and interceded with God on the part of the people. The same is true of Jesus Christ who is a mediator between God and all men, he being both God and man, God manifest in the flesh, acts for both parties in effecting a reconciliation. Christ as mediator reconciles God to men by his death for their sins, and men to God by the word of his gospel and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. That he is our mediator, to render God propitious to us, as well as to reconcile us to God, is evident from the manner of his exercising his mediatorial office, marked by the apostle in the above text. "There is one God and one Mediator between

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God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all." Christ then, as mediator, gave himself a ransom (antilutron, the price of redemption) for all. To whom was this ransom paid? It was not paid to man, to purchase his favour and reconciliation to God, by the payment of a price! The apostle informs us to whom Christ gave himself a ransom, Heb. ix. 14. " Who" (Christ) "through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God." Christ then, as mediator offered himself to God for man. The offering was made to God to render him propitious and to procure, consistently with the principles of divine government, that grace by which sinners are renewed, pardoned, and reconciled to God. Heb. vii. 25. "Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Does Christ intercede with men, in the sense of this text, to reconcile them to God? Or does he intercede with God for man, der him propitious, that they may receive reconciling grace? Let God, by the mouth of his apostle, answer this question. Heb. ix. 24. "Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. " It is clear, then, that Christ intercedes with God for us. Eph. v. 2. "Christ hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. "This not only fully refutes the notion held by universalists, that men only, and not God, are reconciled by Christ, but il establishes, beyond doubt, the fact that an atonement for the sins of men has been made to God, the object of which is to lender bim propitious to his offending offspring, by enabling him to "be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Je"If, as universalists contend, God never was unreconciled to man but was always propitious, without reference to a vicarious atonement, man only being an unreconciled party, the offering and intercession of Christ should have been made to and with man; for it would not be necessary for Christ to offer himself to God, and intercede with him in behalf of man if God was not unreconciled, man only being the subject of reconciliation through the mediation of Christ. But in opposition to this absurd notion, the scriptures uniformly repre

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sent Christ as offering himself to God for man and as interceding with him in behalf of his rebellious offspring.

This view is farther supported by Rom. iii. 25. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." On this text we remark,

1. That to propitiate is to conciliate or to appease one offended and render him favorable. In this sense Christ is our propitiation, turning away from us the wrath of God.

2. That God is the offended party with whom Christ propitiates for us to turn away his displeasure from us, is evident from the fact that the object of his propitiation is the remission of our sins; he "is set forth to be a propitiation to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Now, as the remission or pardon of sin is the act of God, and as this is the object of Christ's propitiation, it is clear that God is the offended party and that he is rendered propitious, even to the remission of our sins, by the interposition of his son Jesus Christ.

3. That this interposition of Jesus Christ, in our behalf, is on the ground of his having died for us, appears from the fact that it is through faith in his blood that the blessing sought for us, is received. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood for the remission of sins." This shows that the whole rests upon his having shed his blood for us, or upon the merits of his death.

To this we may add the testimony of St. John.

1 John ii. 1, 2. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

1. This text speaks of our sinning against God by which we most certainly incur the divine displeasure. Rom. i. 18. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men."

2. The text declares that Christ is the propitiation, hilasmos, atoning sacrifice, for our sins.

3. That Christ as our propitiation or sacrifice for sin ren'ers God propitious, or reconciles him to us, is clearly shown

by his being our advocate with the Father; "If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." If it is not the office of Christ, as mediator between God and man, to reconcile God to us as well as to reconcile us to God, if God requires no sacrifice for sin to render him propitious to sinners, and if he is never unreconciled to us we need no advocate with the Father; the pleadings, in such case, should all be on the other side to persuade men to be reconciled to God. If the case of a master and servant should be presented to the reader, the master always kind and propitious, never unreconciled to his servant; the servant rebellious, manifesting the blackest ingratitude and the most inveterate enmity towards his master; but notwithstanding all this the master still smiles and asks for no redress of wrongs only that his rebellious servant should return to his duty and to his arms that are extended to embrace him: now, should the son of the kind master undertake the work of mediation, to effect a reconciliation between them, what would the reader think to see him undertake to effect a reconciliation by making an offering to the master on the part of the servant, and by turning advocate for the rebellious servant and pleading in his behalf with the kind master, who was never unreconciled, instead of spending all his energies to bring the rebellious servant to his duty? As much as such a procedure would shock the common sense of every beholder, yet this is the very point of light in which Jesus Christ is presented, in view of the the above text, by those who deny the necessity of Christ's atonement and intercession for us in order to render God propitious.

Before we close our remarks on this subject, it may be well to offer a few observations, in answer to some of the principal objections which are urged against the preceding views of a vicarious atonement.

1. It has been objected to the doctrine of a vicarious atonement that it would be unjust for the innocent to suffer in the place of the guilty.

To this objection we reply,

1. To suffer, endure privation or inconvenience for the good of others, is uniformly represented as virtuous and benevolent. "I could wish," said Paul, "that myself were accursed from