r against Universal Salvation, and their several
adherents have taken it for granted, that it can never be explained in
harmony with the sentiment, that all men shall eventually obtain
eternal life through the Redeemer of men. But these impressions have
arisen from the fact, that they have taken their own views and
explanations to be scripturally correct, and from these premises, they
have drawn conclusions utterly opposed to the final holiness and
happiness of God's intelligent creation. They have supposed the new
birth to be some mysterious change produced by some mysterious
operation of the divine spirit on the mind, and that it is in
substance a miracle.

One denomination has contended that if a man once obtained this
change, he was safe, could never "finally fall from grace," but would
eventually land in the kingdom of immortal glory. Several other
denominations admit the new birth to be the same change already
noticed, but contend that the subject may fall from grace, and be
finally lost. Here then the man, who was, according to their views,
_born again_, might still never see the kingdom of God beyond the
grave. On this principle the new birth would be no security, that any
one would obtain heaven. According to this sentiment, a man might be
born again, fall away, and be born again "until seven times," and in
the end not see the kingdom of God. Those, who advocate this
sentiment, believe that _faith and repentance_ prerequisites to the
new birth, and also believe in the salvation of infants.

This being so, it will come to pass that half of the world will be
saved, inasmuch as about that number die in what may be, justly termed
an infant state. But of those, who come to years of accountability,
they believe but few will be saved. So the greater proportion of
those, who will finally surround the throne of God, will be those, who
have never been born again according to their views. It will not, I
presume, be contended, that infants who, they believe, are totally
depraved, ever exercise _faith_, or experience the _new birth_ in this
life.

From the above views, I shall take the liberty to dissent, and may
probably differ some from the expositions given by others. It is
evident that Jesus Christ in his instructions frequently brought
forward some natural facts plainly understood by those whom he
addressed, in order more clearly to illustrate his subject, and then
made his illustrations so nearly resemble that nat