last he was the subject of a moral process, a moral growth, and a moral education. It is this which it is the object of the author to set forth and elucidate in the following pages. His aim and endeavour will be to show that the whole and entire work of redemption is spiritual and moral, and that no fact, or incident, or circumstance, has any value whatever in the production of that result, save in its moral and spiritual aspects; and that the sole moral agent in effecting this result-viz., the 'turning of the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just-is the knowledge of the truth, which is through Christ, the Word of God. In pursuance of this end it will be necessary to consider next, the true nature and intention of Christ's life and death, as set forth and insisted on in the Scriptures. CHAPTER I. THE CROSS OF CHRIST. THE FAITH OF CHRIST.' In considering the method adopted by God, and carried out by His Son, for redeeming the human race, it is evident that the death of Christ on the cross is presented by the Bible as the central and principal feature of that method. The question, then, is: How is it, or how will it be, the means of the redemption of man? If the spiritual death of man is such as has been described, how does Christ's death affect man's spiritual death? How does it give man LIFE? Now, the generally received idea throughout Christendom is that Christ's death atoned for, or expiated the sins of mankind; yet, if that is all that is accomplished, the spiritual DEATH of man, the death under which he is perishing, would seem to be unaffected by it. Indeed, the sin and wickedness of the nations who profess to believe in Christ might be urged as an evidence that Christ's death has not affected man's condition of spiritual death. If, however, the warnings of Christ and the Apostles are duly weighed, such a conclusion is not necessary. For, if the world cannot receive the spirit of truth, we are not to take every professing Christian. as an illustration of the effect produced by that truth. It may be that the God of this world hath blinded the minds of many to the truth of the Gospel of Christ, and that their very way of regarding the cross of Christ has deprived it of all power on their hearts and minds. The doctrine of expiation, as generally received, is based on the supposition that the perfect holiness and justice of God requires of every sinner the full penalty due to his sin, and as that penalty is death eternal, all must have perished, had not Christ in some mysterious way borne that penalty instead of man, and in so doing appeased the wrath, and satisfied the justice of God, and enabled Him to exercise His mercy in forgiving the sinner; the condition of such forgiveness being the sinner's belief in the satisfaction thus made by Christ. This doctrine, however, has been eagerly seized upon by the sceptic as a a warrant for his rejection of Christianity, and has even been opposed by some professed believers in Christianity. It is objected, that it is inconsistent with reason and justice to suppose that God could accept the sufferings of an innocent and holy being, instead of those of a guilty person, and pardon the wickedness of a world for the sake of the sufferings of one who was without sin. Certainly this would seem to represent the God of Christianity as a very Moloch, indifferent as to who it was that suffered, so long as He could obtain that amount of suffering which would appease His wrath. Equally difficult is it to understand how the sufferings of the innocent for the guilty can satisfy the justice of God, or vindicate Him in forgiving the guilty. So, again, the argument used by some, that it was necessary for God to manifest His hatred against sin, loses sight of the fact that the fate of the lost hereafter will fully manifest His abhorrence of sin. Another difficulty with regard to expiation, is the amount of suffering necessary to expiate the sins of mankind. The accumulated suffering due, as the |