The Heathen Inexcusable for Their Idolatry [pp. 427-448]

1860.] The Heathen inexcusable for their Idolatry.
the Bible, and refusing unconditional submission to its declarations, they profess faith in its mysteries "as they understand
them;" and kindling the fires of their "Reason" about it,
they have thought in the light of these sparks to see divine
truth. Thus this one immutable oracle is made to utter the
most diverse, often contradictory and absurd voices. They
have speculated upon the revelations of this sacred book as
though they "contained" the "germs and seeds of truth,"
forgetting that not the germs and seeds of truth, but perfect
truth itself, is both contained in the Bible, and is the Bible;
that this book contains nothing else. Rationalismn, whether
issuing from the ranks of avowed infidels, or from the bosom
of the visible church, is the enemy that is coming in upon us
like a flood. The Bible, in its divine majesty and might, is
the standard which the Spirit of the Lord will lift up against
it. The Bible, attested by real prophecy and miracle, selfinterpretative, and shining in its own light-this is the citadel
of all true religion, against which nothing can prevail. Omniscience and Omnipotence guard it, and spread their sheltering
wings over all its sacred domain.
ART. II. —The Heathen inexcusable for their Idolatry.
IT is no uncommon thing to meet with those who feel much
difficulty in understanding the relation of the heathen to the
law of God. They see that the condemnation of those under
the gospel is different from those without it. They who disobey Christ shall find that this will be the heaviest charge
brought against them in the day of judgment. But they who
have never known of a Saviour cannot be guilty of the sin of
rejecting him. What then is the ground of their condemnation? This question is an important one, for if the heathen
are not under condemnation, what is the use of sending them
the gospel? If the heathen, or the greater portion of them, are
to get to heaven through their ignorance, where is the neces
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