make the New Testament his rule of faith and of practice. All clearly revealed truths are by him received without question, and he forms his creed and regulates the conduct of his life by the teachings of Jesus. Any truth plainly declared, even though it were not fully understood, is implicitly received, if it is not against reason. Truths announced by revelation are often, if not always, of such a character that a full knowledge of them cannot be gained by research and investigation alone. The more important the truth revealed, the more necessary is it that we understand it correctly, for otherwise the greatest benefit cannot be derived from it.

Salvation is confessedly one of the most important matters respecting which the author of our religion has seen fit to instruct us. Indeed, the great object of his mission was to secure to men the blessings and joys of salvation. When one has attained to this, he is elevated to heavenly places in Christ Jesus, he receives of the divine fulness, and is at one with God. But though the subject is one of so much importance, is so often made a theme of discourse, and men are so often exhorted to seek for it, yet it seems not to be well understood generally. It is certain that widely different views are entertained respecting it. One professedly Christian doctrine teaches that the saved are those only who are participating in the joys of heaven, not those who are Christ-like here; and that men must be good and pious here that they may be saved hereafter. There is another doctrine which teaches that all will be saved in the sense of being holy and happy in the future life. But this doctrine, so congenial with the desires of the benevolent heart, and so earnestly prayed for by all the good, has not always been stated with that clearness and precision which are desirable. It has been taught that salvation may be enjoyed here as well as hereafter. It is unquestionably true that the Scriptures speak of a certain moral and spiritual condition as salvation, to which the genuine Christian has already attained. Again, it has been taught that the salvation enjoyed here is only a foretaste of the salvation which is to be enjoyed hereafter. When such a double application of the term is made, confusion of ideas is, no doubt, produced in many minds. To remove this confusion and to divest the subject of all real difficulty, different theories have been

adopted. A seemingly plausible one was often used for this purpose a few years ago. It was this: There are two kinds of salvation, one of which is conditional and is enjoyed here, and is secured by the diligent use of the appropriate means; the other is unconditional, is enjoyed in the future life, and is freely bestowed on men by their heavenly Father, as a gift. But unfortunately for this theory, it was shown. by a leading mind among us, that the salvation which is conditional and is enjoyed here, is sometimes spoken of in the Scriptures as bestowed on men of God, and the salvation which he confers is sometimes spoken of as conditional. The result is, that many now seem to be at a loss how to harmonize that salvation which is present with that which is future, so that the doctrine of salvation, as a whole, shall be consistent, reasonable and scriptural. It is the object of this paper to show in what sense the New Testament writers use the terms saved and salvation; and it is hoped that the views advanced will have one merit, that of clearness of statement.

These words, save and salvation, evidently have different meanings; and to show what they are, it is proposed to classify them, and to give examples under each class for illustration. It is not presumed that the classification here presented is perfect, yet it is believed that each class has a distinct meaning, and that not so many shades of meaning are united in one class as to lead to any essential error.

1. Salvation from sickness and infirmity. Both Jesus and the apostles often speak of saving the sick and infirm, and large numbers rejoiced in this salvation. On a certain occasion a diseased woman came behind Jesus, saying within herself, If I may but touch the hem of his garment I shall be whole, sound. (Matt. ix. 21.) Jesus said to the blind Bartimeus, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole, saved thee. (Mark. x. 52.) James says, that The prayer of faith shall save the sick; and the Lord shall raise him up. (James, v. 15.) When Jesus spoke of Lazarus as asleep, the disciples said, If he sleep, he shall do well, shall be saved. (John, xi. 12.) Peter and John, on going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, saw a lame man sitting at the gate Beautiful, asking alms. They healed him, but the good deed resulted in their seizure and imprisonment. Being asked by what power or by what name they had done this, Peter re

replied, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole, is saved, be it known unto you .. that it is by the name of Jesus Christ. . . . Neither is there salvation in (by) any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. (Acts, iv. 9-12.) We are aware that this passage is often understood quite differently; but the connection is such as to make it quite evident to us that the apostle is speaking of salvation from sickness and infirmity. It is certain that he speaks of such salvation in verse 9, and the circumstances of the case make it highly probable, if not certain, that he is speaking of the same salvation in verse 12. Peter declares that they had saved the impotent man in the name of Jesus, and then affirms that there is no other name by which they could save men, or by which men could be saved. If he wished his hearers to understand him, he would, it seems, have used the word saved in the same sense in both places.

Space not permitting a lengthy examination and illustration, a brief statement must suffice.

2. Salvation from danger or death. Examples of this use of the word in the New Testament are very numerous, but only a few of them can be given.

When Peter began to sink while walking on the water at the command of Jesus, he cried, Lord, save me. (Matt. xiv. 30.) Moses supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver, save, them. (Acts, vii. 25.) Paul says, when amidst the perils of shipwreck, all hope was taken away that they should be saved. (Acts, xxvii. 20.) Noah prepared an ark to the saving of his house. (Hebrews. xi. 7.) Jesus, in the days of his flesh, offered up prayers and supplications unto him who was able to save him from death. (Hebrews, v. 7.)

Jesus says, Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. xvi. 25.) He said this in reference to the perilous times which would come after his death, when an open profession of faith in him would expose one to great danger, and when from policy some would not profess their faith, thinking to be safe thereby. But this temporizing policy would result in the very destruction which it was desired to avoid; whereas those who made profession of their faith in him,

even at the risk of suffering death, would thereby save their lives. God would so order it that the way which was seemingly fullest of danger and death, would be the only way of safety. The prediction was verified by the event.

The jailor, when he thought his prisoners had escaped, fell down before Paul and Silas, exclaiming, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts, xvi. 30.) Had he permitted the prisoners to escape, he would have been punished with death. Though the prisoners were in their places, the doors were open so they could escape at pleasure. He was told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and he would be saved, safe. Accordingly, the minds of the magistrates were so influenced during the night that on the morrow they sent orders to the jailor to release his prisoners. Whence he was neither called to account nor punished for remissness of duty, and the prediction of Paul was verified. Had the minds of the magistrates remained unchanged, the jailor would have been put to death. What, save divine power, wrought this change in a single night?

The Philippians were exhorted to stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel; and in nothing terrified by their adversaries: which, says Paul, is to them an evident token of perdition, destruction, but to you of salvation and that of God. (Phil. i. 27, 28.) Their great faithfulness and perseverance was, in the minds of their opposers, sufficient evidence that they were infatuated and would be destroyed; whereas the Christians regarded their own perseverance and zeal as an evidence that they should be saved, or be delivered from any danger which might then be impending. They found the way of peril, as others regarded it, to be the way of safety.

A text of similar meaning is found in 1 Peter, iv. 18, in which the apostle asks, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and ungodly appear? "Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear in safety from these dreadful judgments which are coming on the Jewish nation? (Prov. xi. 31.)"-Whitby. The expression, house of God, means Christians. The judgments or afflictions predicted would begin with the Christians, or had begun with them, but they would end with the unbelieving, thus implying their utter destruction.

The examination of this class of texts might be greatly

extended, and it would be interesting to do so, did space permit.

3. Salvation from sin through Christ, as experienced in this life. It being one of the principal objects of Christ's mission to save men from their sins in this life, and to make them the children of God, in a moral sense we should expect that frequent allusion would be made to this salvation, that definite instruction would be given respecting it, and men be urged to secure it. Such is indeed, the fact; so that a large proportion of the texts which speak of salvation relate to present salvation from sin, and to a happy introduction into the kingdom of Christ on earth. The importance of the subject might warrant a copious illustration, yet a few examples must suffice.

Jesus was so named because he should save his people from their sins. (Matt. i. 21.) Were we in doubt as to the sense in which he would save his people, an inspired apostle would relieve us from all uncertainty, since he affirms that "him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Here it is distinctly stated what Jesus accomplished as a Saviour is to give repentance to his people, and forgiveness of sins. In exact accordance with this statement we are informed that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved; or, in the language of Dr. Sawyer's translation, "The Lord added the saved, day by day, to the assembly." (Acts, ii. 47.)

When Zaccheus manifested a great interest in the Saviour, and declared his readiness to be governed by his teachings, Jesus said to him, This day is salvation come to this house. (Luke, xix. 9.) He had such faith in Jesus, and was imbued to such an extent with the spirit of the Gospel, that he had already entered upon the enjoyment of salvation.

The Christians are often spoken of as those who had already attained to salvation. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God. (1 Cor. i. 18.) Timothy is exhorted to be a partaker of the afflictions according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling. (2 Timothy, i. 9.) And Titus is taught that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he (hath) saved us. (Titus, iii.