ii6 The Gospel preached to the dead, CHAP. 



may be passed. " Christ also suffered for sins once, 

 the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might 

 bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, 

 but made alive in the spirit; in which also He 

 went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which 

 aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering 

 of God waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark 

 was a preparing." 1 " Who shall give account to 

 Him that is ready to judge the living and the dead. 

 For unto this end were the good tidings preached 

 even to the dead, that they might be judged 

 according to men in the flesh, but live according to 

 God in the spirit." 2 I do not fully understand these 

 passages probably no one does ; but they are con- 

 clusive as to the Apostle's belief that death is no 

 barrier to the mercy of God. 



It is true that there are passages in the New Testa- 

 ment which, taken alone, appear to teach that there 

 are sins which cannot be forgiven. Saint John 

 speaks of a sin which is unto death, and sins which 

 are not unto death. 3 And Our Lord says : "Whoso- 

 ever shall speak a word against the Son of Man it 

 shall be forgiven him (not may, but shall) ; but 

 whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit it 

 shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor 

 in that which is to come." 4 Or, as reported by 

 another Evangelist: "All their sins shall be forgiven 

 unto the sons of men, and all blasphemies wherewith- 



1 1 Peter iii. 18-20. 2 1 Peter iv. 5, 6. 



3 1st Epistle of John v. 16. 4 Matt. xii. 32. 



