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FOR the purpose of God whereby He made man not to perish but to live
for ever, stands immovable. And when His goodness sees in us even the very
smallest spark of good will shining forth, which He Himself has struck as
it were out of the hard flints of our hearts, He fans and fosters it and
nurses it with His breath, as He "willeth all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth," for as He says, "it is not the will of your
Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish," and
again it says: "Neither will God have a soul to perish, but recalleth,"
meaning that he that is cast off should not altogether perish. For He is
true, and lieth not when He lays down with an oath: "As I live, saith the
Lord God, for I will not the death of a sinner, but that he should turn
from his way and live." For if He willeth not that one of His little
ones should perish, how can we imagine without grievous blasphemy that He
does not generally will all men, but only some instead of all to be saved?
Those then who perish, perish against His will, as He testifies against
each one of them day by day: "Turn from your evil ways, and why will ye
die, O house of Israel?" And again: "How often would I have gathered thy
children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not;" and: "Wherefore is this people in Jerusalem turned away with a
stubborn revolting? They have hardened their faces and refused to
return." The grace of Christ then is at hand every day, which, while it
"willeth all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,"
calleth all without any exception, saying: "Come unto Me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." But if He calls not
all generally but only some, it follows that not all are heavy laden either
with original or actual sin, and that this saying is not a true one: "For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;" nor can we believe
that "death passed on all men." And so far do all who perish, perish
against the will of God, that God cannot be said to have made death, as
Scripture itself testifies: "For God made not death, neither rejoiceth in
the destruction of the living." And hence it comes that for the most
part when instead of good things we ask for the opposite, our prayer is
either heard but tardily or not at all; and again the Lord vouchsafes to
bring upon us even against our will, like some most beneficent physician,
for our good what we think is opposed to it, and sometimes He delays and
hinders our injurious purposes and deadly attempts from having their
horrible effects, and, while we are rushing headlong towards death, draws
us back to salvation, and rescues us without our knowing it from the jaws
of hell.
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