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Weeks:

A[spasio]. But why could not his mercy be glorified in the offer of forgiveness to them, if Christ had not died for them?

P[aulinus]. Could mercy have been glorified in the pardon of sinners, if no atonement had been made?

A. By no means. ” Without the shedding of blood is no remission.” If sinners had been forgiven without an atonement, it would not have been a manifestation of the glorious attribute of mercy, but of a weak and inglorious partiality for the wicked.

P. If, then, where no atonement is made, no forgiveness can be granted, it follows that where no atonement is made, no forgiveness can be offered; at least, there is no manifestation of mercy in such an offer. For if the offer should be accepted, the forgiveness could not be granted. What will the non-elect think in the great day, if they find that forgiveness was offered them on the part of God, with the greatest appearance of compassion for them, and at the same time discover that if they had accepted the offer forgiveness would have been refused? Will their mouths be stopped ? Will they not rather be opened wide? Will they not consider it, and justly too, as so far from being a manifestation of mercy, that it was altogether insincere, and no better than mocking their misery?

A. But you suppose a case that never can happen. “If you suppose a non-elect man may believe, you should suppose, at the same time, that both the decree of election and of redemption correspond with this event; and then all difficulty will be removed.”

P. The non-elect are either able or unable to accept the offer. If they are able, then the case can happen; and the appearance of mercy, expressed in the offer, should be judged of accordingly. If they are unable, then the difficulty is greatly increased; for they are not only tantalized with the offer of forgiveness which cannot be granted, but they are mocked with proposals which they cannot comply with. It is like calling upon a drowning man to take hold of a rope and save himself, when there is not only no rope within his reach, but he has no hands to take hold of one if there were.

But if Christ has died for all men, they can all be forgiven if they will repent and believe. And so the offer of forgiveness can be consistently made to them on the part of God, and be a real expression of his mercy. And since they are all moral agents, and able to accept the offer, their salvation is, by this means, put entirely at their own option. Should an earthly government offer pardon to a criminal, upon the easy condition of his own voluntary acceptance, and should it appear that every obstacle was removed, so that he might be pardoned if he would, there would be no doubt of the merciful disposition of that government. Even the criminal himself would say, with his dying breath, ” The government was merciful, but I would not receive pardon at their hands.”

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