d Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath
begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead unto an inheritance, incorruptible,
undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed." "Him hath God raised on high by his right
hand, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." How
clear it is here that not the vicarious death of Christ buys off
sinners, but his resurrection shows sins to be freely forgiven,
the penalty remitted! "Remember that Jesus Christ was raised from
the dead, according to my gospel: therefore I endure all things
for the elect's sake, that they may obtain the salvation which is
in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." "Be it known unto you,
therefore, men, brethren, that through Him whom God raised again
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins." The passage in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, ninth chapter, from the twenty third verse
to the twenty seventh, most emphatically connects the annulling of
sin through the sacrifice of Christ with his ascended appearance
in heaven. "Jesus who was delivered for our offences and was
raised again for our justification:" that is, Jesus died because
he had entered the condition of sinful humanity, the penalty of
which was death; he was raised to show that God had forgiven us
our sins and would receive us to heaven instead of banishing us to
the under world. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Belief in the resurrection of
Christ is here undeniably made the great condition of salvation.
No text can be found in which belief in the death, or blood, or
atoning merits, of Christ is made that condition. And yet nine
tenths of Christendom by their creeds are to day proclaiming,
"Believe in the vicarious sufferings of Christ, and thou shalt be
saved; believe not in them, and thou shalt be damned!" "God hath
both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us." "If Christ be
not raised, your faith is vain: ye are yet in your sins." This
text cannot be explained upon the common Calvinistic or Unitarian
theories. Whether Christ was risen or not made no difference in
their justification before God if his death had atoned for them,
made no difference in their moral condition, which was as it was