| A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH; | 5 |
| or, Brief Notice of the author of the Six Sermons: his birth - parentage - religious teaching, p.5; exercises of mind when young - religious experience, 7; first marriage, 8; impression to preach, 8; joined the Methodist Episcopal Church and commenced preaching, 8; withdrew from that church, 9; first awakening of his mind to doubt man’s natural immortality, 9; his previous standing, 10; his Three Letters to a Methodist Preacher, 11; origin of the original Six Sermons, 11; unexpectedly led to preach to multitudes which gave a rapid spread to his views, 13; fifteen thousand of the Six Sermons scattered in the winter of 1842-3; more laborers come into the work, 15. | |
| SERMON I | 19 |
| Introductory Remarks, 19. - The Question at Issue, 21. - Examination of the arguments in proof of man’s immortality, 21. - The belief of all nations, 22. - Archbishop Whately’s remarks on this point, 23-27. The heathen Philosopher’s belief amounts to Annihilation, 26. - The desire all men feel for immortality, 28. - The soul immaterial, &c., 29. - What is immateriality? 29 - The soul indestructible, 31. - The Philosophy of the question, 33. - Is it the will of God men shall be immortal if wicked? 32. - What man lost by the Fall, 32-35. - The Tree of Life, 35. - Watson’s remarks thereon, 36. - Facts from God’s word, 38. - Eternal, Eternity, Eternal Life, 38,39. Principles of interpretation, 40. - Meaning of the term death, 41. - The term immortal occurs but once in the Bible, 41. - Contradiction in poetry, 42. - Immortality, the phrase found but five times in the Bible, 43. - Beauty of Scripture on the theory advocated, 44. | |
| SERMON II | 45 |
| The old Serpent’s discourse, and its destroying nature, 45. - The terms employed to denote the punishment of the wicked, 47. - Objections answered, “Worm dieth not,” 51. - “Hell fire” Gehenna, 54. - “These shall go away into everlasting punishment, 56. - Pain and punishment not necessarily identical, 58. - “Kolasin” of this text, 59. - Paul’s commentary on the text, 59. - Sodom and Gomorrah, 62. - Concluding remarks, 63. | |
| SERMON III | 65 |
| Searching the Scriptures, 65. - Examination of Revelation 14:9-11. Is this language spoken of all wicked men? 68. - Does it relate to any beyond this life? 70. - It is fulfilled “on the earth?” 71. Revelation 20:10, considered, 72. - The devil to be destroyed, 73. Summing up of the argument of the advocates of man’s immortality, 74. - Watson on immortality, 74. Other objections considered, 74. - The benevolence of God obliges Him to inflict the greatest possible punishment, 75. - Such a punishment uncalled for and useless, 77. - “Sin an infinite evil,” 79. - “Destruction no punishment at all,” 79. - Folly of such an objection, 79. - Henry’s notion of “damnation,” 80. - Benson outstrips Henry, and finds it impossible to obtain satisfaction to Divine justice, 80-82. - Concluding remarks, 82. - Faith defined, 83. | |
| SERMON IV | 85 |
| Prove all things, 85. - Province of reason, 85-87. - Further objections. - “The fathers believed in the endless torments of the wicked, 87. - Corruption of Christianity by its defenders, Mosheim, 88. - Attempt to unite heathen philosophy with Christianity, Enfield, 88. - Jews believed in endless torments, 89. - Isaiah 33:14, considered, 89. - Jews belief not proof, 90. - Testimony of New Testament, 91. - John the Baptist, 91. - Jesus Christ, 91-94. - Peter’s testimony, 94. - James’, 95. - John’s, 96. - Jude’s, 96. - Paul’s, 97-104. - Concluding remarks, 105. | |
| SERMON V | 107 |
| Further objections considered, 108. - Destruction not so terrible as endless misery, 108. - “Puts an end to the sinner’s misery,” 109. “Spiritual death is the penalty,” 110-115. The preposition “in,” Genesis 2:17, examined, 114. - Destruction of sins or happiness, 115. - Daniel 12:2, considered, 115. - John 5:28, 29 noticed, 116. - The Doctrine held by the Arians, &c., 117. - “Gone half way to Universalism,” 118. - “If this doctrine is true why not found out before? 120. - Benson on the misery of the wicked in hell, 123. | |
| SERMON VI | 129 |
| Isaiah 57:16 considered, 129. - Evil of common theory of immortality, 131. - Beauty of texts destroyed, 132-137. - Extravagant notions of Adam’s perfection considered, 138-150. - God’s works always progressive, 138. - The creation of man, 140. - Adam’s intellectual nature, 141. - Adam’s ignorance, 141. - Adam’s holiness, 142. - His temptation, 146. - Character cannot be known without trial, 147. - Adam’s failure, with remarks on inherent depravity 149-152. - Assembly’s Catechism, 150. - Conclusion, 152. | |
| CHRIST THE LIFE-GIVER: OR THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL. | 153 |
| The Syriac version of the New Testament, 153 - Its translation by Prof. Murdock, 154. - The true meaning of the terms Saviour, save, and salvation, 154. - An examination of various texts where these terms occur, 155-164. | |
| ADDENDA | 165 |
| “THE BIBLE EXAMINER” | 168 |
