An antidote for Unitarianism...

Front matter

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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, i

AN ANTIDOTE

Preface

of the truth should propagate it with renewed zeal and diligence.

It is a painful fact, that great numbers calling themselves Christians, deny the doctrines of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, the original and total depravity of man, the necessity of the agency of the Spirit to renew the heart, the substitution of Christ for his people, and justification by his righteousness. To stop the progress of errors so fatal in their tendencies is the object of the following work. Something in a new and concise form, adapted to all classes of readers, and afforded at little expence, is now needed. Unitarianism is advancing under different forms, and in various denominations; and in all its forms, it is a spiritual poison that pervades the head and the heart, produces derangement in all the moral system, and sooner or later, it will bring on the chills of the second death, unless its progress be arrested by the application of the truth — by the power of the Holy Ghost.

There are two classes of Unitarians. One hold Christ to be a mere man, commissioned

PREFACE.

to be the Savior. These are called Socinians, from Socinus, a prominent propagator of their doctrines. The other class hold that Christ is the first and greatest being created — some say begotten — but not eternal, not God, except as the Father dwells in him. These are called Arians, from Arius, a distinguished propagator of their doctrines. Both classes alike deny the divinity of Christ, the personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, and are alike Unitarians, so called, because they hold that there is but one person in the Godhead. They also deny the original and total depravity of man, the necessity of the agency of the Spirit to renew the heart, the substitution of Christ for his people, and justification by his righteousness.

A suitable work, defending, in small compass, the important doctrines they deny, put into every family that would receive it, would, to great extent, prevent the progress of the dangerous errors propagated by Unitarians.

Of the suitableness of the following work to

the end designed the christian public must

judge. If they deem it in any good degree

calculated to answer the end for which it has 1*

PREFACE.

been composed, it is hoped they will take a suitable interest in its circulation ; and, if they do not so deem it, it is desired that some one will undertake a work that will fill the place for which this is intended. It is important that every family should possess a small work on the subjects it embraces.

AN

ANTIDOTE FOR UNITARIANISM.

Chapter I. God As Revealed In The Scriptures

Of all knowledge professed by rational beings, that which relates to the existence and perfections of God is the most important. He alone possesses that boundless perfection which can fully and forever satisfy the vast desires of immortal minds. Spiritual beings are constituted with capacities so immense that nothing short of uncreated excellence can render them happy. It is the effulgence of the divine perfections that lights up heaven, and fills its inhabitants with happiness unspeakable, and full of glory. And if fallen and benighted man is to be renovated, and made happy, it must be by a revelation of God and his glorious perfections. Nothing less than the unfolding of infinite excellence can illuminate this dark world, and elevate the sin-degraded souls of . men. Man, stupid, and lost man, although surrounded by all the grand scenery of nature, and cheered by the amazing effulgence of the natural sun, blindly bows down and worships wood and stone. So deeply seated in his immortal mind is the darkness of sin that all the splendors of nature have failed to dispel his blindness and elevate his soul. The sun, and the moon, and the stars, since the morning of creation, have shone in brightness and beauty; still whole nations are shrouded in the deepest moral darkness. A brighter sun than that which lights up this world must shine upon man, or he will wander on in darkness without end. Every thing short of divine revelation has failed to illuminate apostate men, and bring them back to God. He that made us, saw our necessities, and revealed to us himself and his boundless perfections. The sacred Scriptures were given to unfold to us God in his true character, and make us wise unto eternal life. Then with earnestness and delight we should study the sacred oracles to gain the knowledge indispensable to salvation. Then it is worthy of notice,

1. That although the existence of the universe is proof that God exists; yet it is from the sacred volume we learn that he is purely a spiritual being. Every thing to which we have access by our senses, is material and bears no resemblance to spirituality, and consequently, cannot convey to us the idea of spiritual existence. Although the heathen nations descended from ancestors favored with divine revelation, and might, by tradition, have some knowledge of spiritual beings, yet they attached the idea of materiality to even their

IN THE SCRIPTURES.

gods. The impression of materiality is made upon ns so deeply, by every thing around us, that it is extremely difficult for us to form any conception of beings purely spiritual. Hence, there is reason to believe that we are indebted to the Scriptures for our knowledge of spiritual existences. It is from them we learn the important fact that " God is a spirit," John iv. 24. But for the knowledge of this fact, we might have been worshiping some material being instead of the true God.

2. Every thing around us has had a beginning, and therefore, the idea that every thing must have begun to exist, is so strongly impressed upon our minds, that it is exceedingly difficult to conceive of any thing existing without a beginning. There is nothing in creation calculated to impart to us the idea of eternal existence. The interesting fact that God is an eternal being, existing without beginning, and without end, is no where written but on the sacred page. 44 From everlasting to everlasting thou art God." Psalm xc. 2. This is a glorious ray of the sun of righteousness sent forth to illuminate the moral world. Suns, and moons, and stars, with all their dazzling splendor, are less than feeble tapers at noonday, when compared to him whose effulgence lights up vast eternity. Eternal existence is infinitely above the powers of reason. The mightest intellect ever formed cannot fathom the endless depths of such existence. How glorious and overwelming is such a view of Deity! and how well is it calculated to fill our souls with admiration and holy devotion !

3. Every thing around us is liable to change. Mutability seems to be written on the whole face of creation. Were we to reason from what we see, we would, no doubt, come to the conclusion that God is a changeable being. From the mutability of creation we might infer the mutability of the creator. How dubious is the boasted light of nature ! and how dear is the light of the sacred volume! "I am the Lord, I change not." Mai. iii. 6. God is " the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James i. 17. These declarations are in accordance w r ith infinite perfection. How could infinite excellence change ? Every change must be either for the better or the worse, and therefore necessarily implies imperfection. It is true that in the Scriptures God is said to repent; but this implies merely a change in his providences and dealings, w r hich he always intended to make ; but it implies no mental change ; for in this respect "he is not man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent."

4. The mighty worlds that revolve around us, with all their vast trains of creatures, are evidences of God's immense power. Ancient philosophers, uninstructed by divine revelation, supposed that the world was formed of preexisting atoms. They seem not to have en-

IN THE SCRIPTURES.

tertained the idea that there was an actual creation of something out of nothing. That matter was brought from non-entity into being by the power of God they deemed impossible. The Scriptures teach that creation was an actual production by the power of God, Heb. xi. :3: "Through faith we understand that the worlds were formed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." There were no preexisting atoms out of which the worlds were made. They were called into existence by the word of God. 44 He spake and it was done — He commanded, and it stood fast." " God said, let there be light, and there was light." By his word the universe was lighted up. Such is the account the Scriptures give of God's power. He is the "Lord God Almighty." Rev. iv. 48. All holy intelligences are represented as rejoicing in his power, "saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." Rev. xix. 6.

5. In the visible world nothing can occupy more than one place at a time, consequently, there is nothing in the system of nature to teach us the omnipresence of Deity. It is from the sacred oracles we learn with clearness the important truth that God is omnipresent. These teach us that he fills immensity, and of course, is in every place at the same time ! "Behold the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee." 1 Kings viii. 27. "Whither shall I go from thy spirit ? or whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Psal. cxxxix. 7 — 10. " The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Prov. xv. 3. Thus clearly is the important fact of God's omnipresence revealed ; and in this respect, how incomprehensible is the divine nature! How grand, and how interesting is the idea of an Almighty being filling immensity, being, at the same instant, present in every part of his vast dominions, moving alike the floating atom and the massy world ; sustaining, at every moment, with unabating energy, all the immense trains of his creatures, from the mightiest angel to the feeblest insect.

6. All creatures are limited in knowledge. They cannot even comprehend their own existence, much less can they comprehend how it is possible that a being should know and comprehend every thing past, present, and to come. The Scriptures reveal to us the fact that God is omniscient. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." Acts xv. 18. " God knoweth all things." John iii. 20. "His understanding is infinite." Psal. cxlvii. 5. "Neither is there

IN THE SCRIPTURES.

any creature that is not manifest in his sight ; but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Heb. iv. 13. Such knowledge infinitely transcends the comprehension of finite beings. It is higher than the heavens, it is deeper than hell: the mightiest created intellect cannot ascend to its heights, or fathom its depths.

7i In the works of creation we have striking displays of God's wisdom. To be wise is to be capable of devising and employing the best means to accomplish important ends. He who devised the stupendous plan of creation, as a means of accomplishing great and important ends, must be immensely wise. The sacred oracles give us a still brighter display of divine wisdom in the glorious plan of redemption. In view of this we may with rapture exclaim " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who hath been his counsellor?" Rom. xi. 33. How amazing is the scheme of uniting the human and divine natures in the person of Jesus Christ. " Great is the mystery of Godliness ; God was manifest in the flesh." 1 Tim. ii. 16. " The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John i. 14. Had the whole intelligent creation been summoned into one 2 council, and the momentous question been presented, how shall God be just, and be the justifier of guilty man ? all must have failed to answer ; the wisdom of the created universe could not have approached a solution of the astounding difficulty. The brightest seraph could not have originated the stupendous thought, that he whose effulgence lighted up heaven, and filled it with glory immense, should take upon him the degraded nature of man, in it, bear the punishment due to sin, and then wear it forever! O what amazing condescension! Nothing short of infinite wisdom could have devised and executed the plan of salvation. Holy beings will, to all eternity, look upon it as containing in it the fathomless depths of divine wisdom. And to " God only wise," they will ascribe endless glory.

8. In creation God has displayed his sovereignty in creating one being a man, another a beast, and another a crawling worm. He has made all his creatures according to his pleasure, and no one of them has a right to say to him "why hast thou made me thus?" The Scriptures teach us that he as a sovereign will do all his pleasure. Isa. xlvi. 10: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Both in the natural and moral world he disposes of every thing as he will. The little sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice. He appoints every atom where to float, and where to rest. His providences ex-

IN THE SCRIPTURES.

tend to all his creatures, all their motions and exercises. Acts xvii. 28: 44 For in him we live, and move, and have our being." He dispenses and withholds his favors as he pleases, and every holy being is prepared to say, let it be so, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."

9. On earth we have no examples of perfect holiness. While men exhibit some apparent good qualities they manifest a strong tendency to evil. We see in the same individual a wonderful mixture of good and evil tendencies. Consequently, were we to judge of Deity by the rational creatures he has made, we would likely conclude that he is partially good and partially evil. Were we, on this point, left to nature's light alone, sad would be our conclusions. We should doubtless fall into fundamental error with respect to the real character of God. The sacred volume teaches us that God is perfectly holy. Isa. vi. 3: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts." The holiness of God consists in the purity and rectitude of his nature. The divine nature is the standard of holiness. That fitness of things which exists in creation, and is recognized by the divine law as the standard of right among men, originated in the perfect will of God. He constituted that appropriate order of things, the violation of which is always wrong, and consequently, forbidden by the law of God. The idea that the law exists in the nature of things independently of Deity, and that God himself, as well as his creatures, is bound by it, is an absurdity. Both the law and the relations it recognizes emanated from the perfect nature of God. He eternally exists an infinitely perfect being. The eternal and unchangeable tendency of his nature is to do right. His nature is so perfect that it is infinitely impossible that he should do wrong. His exercises are the results of infinite and unchangeable perfections. Hence God's holiness is infinitely above the holiness of creatures, whose perfections are finite and mutable.

Holiness includes truth, justice and benevolence. God's infinite regard to truth has been manifested in fulfilling his promises at infinite expense. To fulfil the promises made to his people, he delivered up his own Son to become man, and bear their sins 44 in his own body upon the tree." In doing this he gave the highest possible evidence of regard to truth. ( 'He is not man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent."

In sending rebellious angels to endless perdition, God gave a striking manifestation of his regard to justice ; but how immense was the exhibition of justice given in the death of his Son ! When his own Son took the sinner's place, the Father did not spare him, but caused him to drink the dreadful cup of wrath justly due to sinners. The Son prayed in the anguish of his spirit, " 0 Father, if it be pos-

IN THE SCRIPTURES.

sible, let this cup pass from me ;" but the Father did not let it pass from him. " It pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to grief." When he hung upon the bloody tree, enduring agonies inexpressibly great, the Father withdrew from him, and left him to endure the full demands of the broken law. O how dreadful were the sufferings the Son endured when he cried in loud, and doleful accents, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Thus the Father has given the highest possible evidence of his regard to justice by exacting it of his own Son, who took the sinner's place. Although he was an oaly begotten Son, infinitely beloved by the Father, and in himself, perfectly innocent, yet when he took our sins upon him, the Father exacted of him the full demands of justice.

In creating creatures^ and providing for them according to their necessities, God has manifested to great extent the benevolence of his nature. Creation abounds with evidences of God's goodness. " He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." But in the gift of his Son there is still greater evidences of his benevolence. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoseover believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. 16. This was love to enemies, and love at infinite expense. From love, or benevolence, flows 2* B goodness to the innocent and mercy to the guilty. Benevolence is so prominent in Deity that the Scriptures declare that " God is love." All the perfections of God are exercised in perfect accordance with infinite benevolence. In all his vast plans of creation, providence and grace, the end is the exhibition of his own glory for the greater happiness of holy beings.

The Scriptures then reveal to us a God who is purely a spirit, eternal, unchangeable, almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, infinitely wise ; a sovereign, doing all his pleasure ; so perfect in his nature, that it is infinitely impossible that he should tlo wrong, and who has displayed his truth, justice and benevolence at infinite expense. How incomprehensible and glorious is the being revealed in the sacred oracles as the true God, the everlasting Jehovah, the creator, the upholder, and governor of all things. Such a being alone is worthy to be at the helm of universal empire, and to do all his pleasure ; under his control all things are infinitely safe. To him we may cheerfully commit our temporal and eternal interests. He is worthy of our highest love and confidence, and we ought ever to be able to say with all our hearts, " Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." And most ardently should we unite with enraptured seraphs in exclaiming, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts," — "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth

THE GODHEAD. 19

upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever."

Chapter II. The Scriptures Teach That God Exists In A Plurality Of Persons

That there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead, is, by some, believed to be incredible, because incomprehensible. But among finite beings there is but little that can; in every respect, be comprehended. We cannot so much as comprehend our own existence, much less can we comprehend the existence of Deity. That God exists in three persons is no more incomprehensible than that he exists eternally, without beginning and without end. There is no one perfection in Deity that we can fully comprehend. God is an incomprehensible being, and therefore, incomprehensibility must be involved in every fact revealed in relation to him. If the Scriptures involved nothing incomprehensible, in describing an infinite being, we should have the most decisive evidence that they were not a divine revelation. Finite minds cannot comprehend such a being. We are not, then, on the ground of incomprehensibility, to reject any fact revealed in the sacred volume.

The existence of three persons in one God

PLURALITY 01 PERSON'S involves no contradiction. They are three in one sense and one in another sense. These three persons are one God, but not one person. God is three in personality, and one in divinity.

The term person means an intelligent agent, or actor. Every person is an intelligent agent or actor, that is, one that acts intelligently and distinctly from others. When we apply the term person to Deity, we must make allowance for the difference between the nature of God and that of man. A human person acts intelligently, and so does a divine person — in this respect there is a point of likeness ; but a divine person is infinitely above a human person. Each is a person ; but one is a finite, the other an infinite person. The Scriptures teach that God exists in a plurality of persons : the sacred volume opens with this doctrine. In the very first sentence of inspiration the name of God is plural. Gen. i. 1 : ''In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew word translated God is plural. This plurality in name was, no doubt, intended to designate a plurality of persons. That three persons operated in creating the universe is clearly revealed. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — All things were made by him ; and without him was not any thing made that was made." John i. 1. 3. This proves that the Father and Son were present,

IN THE GODHEAD.

and it is expressly said that the Spirit was active in creating the world. Gen. i. 2 : " The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Job. xxvi. 13: "By his Spirit he garnished the heavens." The Hebrew word translated creator, is plural. Eccles. xii. 1 : " Remember now thy creator." This implies that there was a plurality of persons operating in creation ; hence they are called, in the Hebrew Scriptures, creators. Thus the fact is clearly revealed that Father, Son, and Spirit were present in creating the heavens and the earth. They were also present in creating man. Gen. i. 26: "Let US make man in OUR image after OUR likeness." Gen. iii. 22: "Behold, the man is become as ONE of US."— "US, OUR, ONE of US," were doubtless used in accordance with facts, and not in accordance with the custom of princes, before any princes were created, as some suppose. The Father, Son and Spirit were present in these transactions, and therefore the terms "US, OUR, ONE of US," were appropriate, and used in a natural sense. Were these the only intimations of a plurality of persons in Deity, given in the Old Testament, there might be some reason to doubt; but when three divine persons have distinctly since been revealed, there can be no room for reasonable doubt.

The Father and the Son are distinctly mentioned at the same time. Prov. xxx. 4:

PLURALITY OF PERSON'S

"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the winds in his fists ? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his Son's name, if thou canst tell ?" This passage reveals the fact that the Father has a Son.

The Psalmist teaches the same truth. Psal. ii. 7 — 12: "The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. — Be wise now, therefore, 0 ye kings — kiss the Son lest he be angry." In this place the Father and Son are distinctly mentioned as two intelligent agents. The Father promises the Son an inheritance, and advises the kings of the earth to seek his favor.

In the Old Testament the Spirit is also clearly revealed. To prove this a few out of the many passages that might be presented will be sufficient. Job. xxxiii. 4 : " The Spirit of God made me." Isa. Ixiii. 10 : "But they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit. — Where is he that put his Holy Spirit, within him?" Thus the Holy Spirit is mentioned as an intelligent agent capable of creating man, and of being vexed by the rebellion of Israel. This proves that the Spirit is a real person and not a mere quality in Deity.

Isa. xlviii. 16: "The Lord God and his

IN THE GODHEAD.

Spirit sent rne." Or as some translate it, " the Lord God hath sent his Spirit and me." The meaning seems to be that the Father sent the Son and Spirit.

The several passages above presented show clearly that the Old Testament Scriptures reveal the fact that God exists in Father, Son and Spirit.

The New Testament Scriptures assume the same fact without explanation, or any intimation of its being either a new doctrine or a new revelation. Luke speaks of the Holy Spirit just as did the writers of the Old Testament, and presents him as a being in whose existence the Jews believed. Luke i. 15. 35. 41: "And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee." "And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." The word translated Ghost should have been rendered Spirit. The word Ghost means the same as the word Spirit. Isaiah says that Israel vexed the 44 Holy Spirit," and Luke says "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." Thus the New Testament perfectly accords with the Old in relation to the Holy Spirit.

Peter speaks of the Son just as he was revealed in the Old Testament. Matt. xvi. 16: "And Simon Peter answered, and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Daniel calls him Messiah, that is, anointed, or Christ. Dan. ix. 25, 26. Messiah is from the

PLURALITY OF PERSONS

Hebrew, and Christ from the Greek, both signify anointed. Both Testaments then call him the Christ, or the Anointed, and both call him the Son of God. In the Old he is called the Anointed, and the Son of God, and in the New he is called the Anointed, and the Son of God. " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The high priest used similar language. Mark xiv. 61: "Art the Christ, the Son of the Blessed." He seems to have understood that the Messiah or Christ was also the Son of the Blessed, that is, the Son of God.

John says, ''these things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." He speaks of the Savior just as the Old Testament writers did, as being both Messiah, and the Son of God.

The New Testament writers call the Father God just as the Old did. Thus there is a remarkable accordance in the language of the two Testaments in relation to the existence of God in Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

At the baptism of the Savior the Spirit descended upon him, and the Father spoke from heaven, "saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matth. iii. 16, 17. Three persons, or intelligent agents, are here represented as acting their several parts. The Father acted, the Son acted, and the Spirit acted, and each a separate part. Hence, the idea of three persons, or intelligent agents, is

IN THE GODHEAD.

clearly conveyed, and that by indubitable facts, in view of which, it is impossible that any opposite idea should enter the mind. No one can read the passage without receiving the impression of three distinct agents or actors.

The same impression is made by the formula of baptism. Matth. xxviii. 19: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." In view of this, no one can avoid receiving the impression of three persons. And as baptism is an act of worship, and a consecration to the service of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, an impression of the equality of these persons, or agents, is forced upon the mind, whenever the formula is repeated in the administration of that sacred ordinance. If any disbelieve that there are three persons in the Godhead, and that the three are equal, they must do it against the natural impressions which this sacred text forces upon the mind.