But does not universal atonement imply universal salvation?
If we may speak of such things in the language of mathematics may we not
say that universal salvation is the corollary of universal atonement? To
this conclusion it does seem to me that we are inevitably led.
I was speaking lately to a Methodist minister of a very acute but candid
mind. He put the matter in this way: Either Christ made an atonement for
each one, or He did not. Did He not actually bear upon His heart the
sins of the whole world? And if the whole world, then surely each one
singly, so that every child of humanity may truthfully say with Paul,
"He loved me, and gave Himself for me." Does not justice then demand
that each one will be saved? In our present limited outlook there may be
a difficulty as to how and where; but the glorious fact seems to be
beyond question.
This matter is so important that I would try to make it plain from my
own point of view, even if that involves some degree of repetition.
I raise the question elsewhere: Can man commit an infinite sin? Some say
he can, because his sin is against God, a Being of infinite purity. If
his sin then is of this infinite nature, infinite justice may demand
that he suffer an infinite punishment. But being a finite being, he
cannot suffer infinite punishment in quality.
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