Page:A Defence of Revealed Religion.pdf/24

24 "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

We "die in Adam," when, imbued with his spirit of disobedience, we follow his example—we "live in Christ," when, imbued with His spirit, we follow His example. Thus there is a parallelism between the Fall and Atonement. We neither fall nor rise by proxy—the curse of the fall, "eternal death," and the blessing of Atonement, "eternal life," are alike the results of our own choice and conduct.

Our hereditary nature leads us to sin. "We have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God.""The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear : but our iniquities have separated between us and our God, and our sins have hid His face from us." But yet He does not spurn us. In the words of Jesus we hear His universal calls to peace and pardon: "Whosoever cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out;""Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.""If a man keep My saying, he shall never taste of death."

We regard the "fall" and its curse as incontrovertible facts, to be seen in our everyday experience. But the fall is perpetually going on in those who confirm themselves in sin, and the curse is self-inflicted. We deem the Atonement a necessary work for the