hing as partly saved and partly lost; partly
justified and partly guilty; partly alive and partly dead; partly born
of God and partly not. There are but two states, and we must be in
either the one or the other."--_Wm. Reid, in "The Blood of Jesus."_

To many earnest men it seems dangerous to teach men that when they are
redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), and adopted as God's
children (Gal. 4:3-7), they then really have as an actual possession
_eternal_ life, and that they shall never perish, "_hath_ everlasting
life, and shall not come unto condemnation,"--John 5:24; "I give unto
them _eternal_ life, and they shall never perish,"--John 10:28; they
think that such a belief will be a temptation to sin; that it is
liable to lead to presumptuous, wilful sinning. They think it much
safer for men to believe that they have not really the eternal life
itself as an actual present possession, but only the promise of it;
and that by their sinning hereafter they may forfeit that promise and
be lost. They think that this fear of being lost will act as a check,
a safeguard, a restraining power. To the extent that it does, it
produces service from the motive of fear of Hell, fear of losing
Heaven, and not from the motive of love to Christ for having redeemed
them from all iniquity (Titus 2:14). But God's word on this point is
clear: "The love of Christ [_not_ the fear of Hell, nor the fear of
losing Heaven] constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one
died for all, then all died; and he died for all that they who live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for
them, and rose again."--2 Cor. 5:14, 15.

The teaching that the redeemed, saved man has now eternal life and
shall never perish, will lead to wilful, presumptuous sinning on the
part of hypocrites, and may lead to indifference and sin on the part
of those who honestly think they are redeemed, saved, but who really
are not; for such are not born again (1 Peter 1:23), and have not the
motive power of love, because really redeemed, prompting their action.

Those who think it is dangerous to teach a redeemed (1 Peter 1:18,
19), saved (Eph. 2:8, R. V.) man, a child of God (Gal. 4:4-7), that he
has here and now, as an actual possession, eternal life, and shall
never perish (John 10:28), shall not come into condemnation (John
5:24), lose sight of five facts in _God's plan with men_:--

First, the redeemed man is born again, born of God