or the sentence of some must have been unjust.And we are therefore assured, my brethren, that this mercy shall be equally accorded to all-" that as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Who then shall be made alive? All who died in Adam-all who have died under the law. But can this apply to those who never lived till that law was fulfilled and abrogated; to those who were never subject to it; to those who even yet have never had existence ? No, my brethren. But it is said, that all who have died in Adam, shall be made alive in Christ. I readily admit, therefore, that there are many passages in the New Testament, in some of which it is expressly stated, and in many others implied, that all those who have died in Adam, or under the law, shall again be made alive in Christ; and that there is nothing contained in the Holy Scriptures, which implies that the sentence executed upon them, should be endless; but on the contrary, that the Almighty had pre-determined that he would recreate them; that he had concluded all under sin, that he might have mercy upon all; and in the fullness of time, sent forth his Son to redeem them that were under the law. We, however, my brethren, are not under the law, nor ever were, unless it can be proved that our souls have existed previous to the death and resurrection of Christ, and have sinned under the law. But they were not in being, till a full expiation had been made; till that law had been satisfied and done away, and until a new dispensation of mercy had been substituted in its stead; and we were therefore, born not under the law, but under the dispensation of grace. Now then, let us THENEW YORK 170483 ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 1900 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, ss. L. S. BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-seventh day of June, in the fifty-second year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1828, Messrs MORSE & WILLSON, of the said district, have deposited in this Office the title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit: "A Series of Sermons, on the doctrine of Everlasting Punishment, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. By Rev. John Sellon, Minister of St. John's Church, Canandaigua." In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the authors and proprietor of such copies, during the times therein mentioned;" and also, to the act entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled 'An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned,' and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of - Designing, Engraving, and Etching historical and other prints." R. R. LANSING, TO THE RIGHT REVEREND THE BISHOPS, AND THE REVEREND CLERGY, OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE United States of America, THESE DISCOURSES ARE HUMBLY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. PREFACE. THE author makes no apology for the publication of these Sermons, be cause he is convinced, trom the observations which have been made upou them, that the Scriptural facts therein stated, although well known to those who are in the habit of studying the Scriptures, are not so frequently brought forward and explained to the generality of hearers, as from their importance they ought to be. In the following Discourses, the author has not advanced any opinions of his own: neither has he delivered any doctrine, except in the express words of Divine Revelation; nor has he stated any fact, respecting which he is a ware that there is any dispute or controversy existing, among Christians of any denomination. All that is contended for in these Discourses, may be comprehended in a very few words: First: That it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, that the wicked "shall go into everlasting punishment." Second: That it is likewise revealed, that they "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Third: That the word GEHENNA, or HELL, is used to represent the place or state of the everlasting punishment of the wicked, and therefore the place or state of everlasting destruction. Fourth: That the word DIABOLOS, or DEVIL, is used to represent the principle or cause of the everlasting punishment of the wicked, and therefore the principle or cause of everlasting destruction. If any thing further than this has been advanced in these Discourses, on the subject of everlasting punishment, the author will confess that he has delivered doctrines which are not to be found in the Holy Scriptures, and which are therefore false. But, he does not hold himself responsible for the ideas which may be represented to the minds of any, by the words of Scripture. If, for instance, though the Holy Scriptures declare that the sentence of the wicked is, that they shall |