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that this mistaken writer was hasty and inconsiderate , and not that he deliberately falsified Scripture , fu short , his whole argument proceeds upon a misapprehended of the meaning : of the word ransom . I wonder hedid not remember
the many instances in Scripture which declare that created beings can in some sense raasoin others , and which therefore overthrow the conclusion he attempts to draw from the passage before us . Were not the sacrifices of brute animals under the Mosaic dispensation
accepted by Jehovah as so many ransoms for his people ? What will the writer say to the following passage ? c If there be Jaid on him a sum of money , then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him . ' Exod . xxi . 30 . Let us be careful how we are led away
by the mere resemblance of words , without considering their true meaning , or the scope of the passages where they occur , before we infer conclusions injurious to the reputation of our fellowchristians . Only a few words more on
this part of the subject . Is it presumptuous in us to suppose that sins may be forgiven , and salvation may be wrought out in any method which God might appoint , even though that method came short of the absolute sacrifice of the
eternal and all-powerful Jehovah ? Unitarians regard the proclamations , threateuings , invitations and whole gospel of Jesus Christ as of divine authority . They believe that Christ became a sacrifice hi their behalf while in the act of
conveying this blessed message to mankind . They profess to love and to be grateful to him for thus suffering on their account , nor can they conceive any limits to the obedience which they owe Mm as the authorized delegate of the Father . But they dare not go so fur as to
believe , that God either could not or would not forgive the sins of mankind without the sufferings and death of an infinite and perfect being . Forgiveness of sins , according to Scripture , depends upon certain dispositions and states of > n » nd in the penitent himself , rather than wpon an external apparatus of divine sufc * v ^| . » . ti « v « u vi v- » i < iiiv / nui "
enngs , of which many sinners can never » j * e heard , and by which many , even slwfb l i do hear > are astonished and emh ni ° « 'edulity , or are perhaps emboldened to sin the more , if they can be made to believe it . I will cite a few 7 ? f to shew that forgiveness depends a pvT ° T State of mind rather than veaiv k ? f ^ tre sPasses , your hea-^ Father will forgive < your trespasses . ' Al > d m another place , Forgive , and ye
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shall be forgiven . ' TIms ; Apostle James assures , us , ! ( ch . y . ver . 8 , ) ,. that sins shall be forgiven by theiuterces ^ ion , a . n 4 prayem of one man for another , "« RePENt /
says Peter to the Jews , in Acts ii ) . 19 , 6 that your sins may be blotted out . ' \ see not in these texts the awful condition of forgiveness which our opponents require us to embrace on the alternative of being ' shut out of heaven . "
** Heb . i . 6 , 7 , it is written , when he ( the FatherJ bringeth in the first-begotten into the world , he saith , Let alt the angels of God worship him . **** Thy throne , O God , is for ever and ever . Hence Reason concludes that Christ is essentially God , or all the angels of God ( who disobey not his commands ) are idolaters . No ,
indeed . Reason concludes no such thing . By the way , I am glad to see my Trinitarian brethren willing to appeal sometimes to Reason . God forbid that we should ever place its authority above Scripture , but it is an excellent handmaid to discover the true sense of Scripture ; and adopting it as such , I will now
join issue with the writer before me . In this passage , then , the fatal word which has deluded our opponents , is worship . They forget that its scriptural signification is not always the adoration which created beings owe to their Creator . In one of Christ's parables , a servant falls down and worships his master .
( Matt . xvui . 26 . ) Surely not as the Supreme Being , but only as an object <* f deep fear and reverence . So iu 1 Chrou , xxix . 20 , all the congregation worshiped the Lord and the king , i . e . c bowed down their heads , ' in token of legal obedience to the one , and religious awe to the other . That worship is said in
Scripture to be due to Christ , can never therefore be adduced as a proof of hfs divinity ; and we must always interpret the meaning oi the word according to the passage where it occurs , and Hot according to a preconceived creed . Now , then , let us look at the passage in qu&s * tion—Heb . i . Here we find the ApostJe
descanting on the official character of Jesus as the Messiah , not upon his nie * - taphysical divine nature . Instead of confounding Jesus with Jehovah , he says that God has spoken unto us by his Sony in the same way ( mark the very words . of the Apostle , in like manner ) as he
formerly did by the prophets ; he say * , that God has appointed him heir of all things ; he says , that Christ is the express image of God's person ; ( an image is generally inferior to the origiitfal ;) hie says , that he was made better thanjhe angels ; ( this cannot be spok ^ nrjpf |^ s human nature , siiice * niau , U < frp 4 te ^ » ,
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Unitarian Controversy , Charleston , S , C . — U S . 459
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1826, page 459, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2551/page/15/
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