the gift of righteousness reign in life by one even Jesus Christ.
For, he says, where sin abounded, God's grace and free gift has much
more abounded. Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the
free gift came upon all men to justification of life. Upon all men,
you see. There can be no doubt about it. Upon you and me, and
foreigners, and gipsies, and heathens, and thieves, and harlots--upon
all mankind, let them be as bad or as good, as young or as old, as
they may, the free gift of God has come to justification of life;
they are justified, pardoned, and beloved in the sight of Almighty
God; they have a right and a share to a new life; a different sort of
life from what they are inclined to lead, and do lead, by nature--to
a life which death cannot take away, a life which may grow, and
strengthen, and widen, and blossom, and bear fruit for ever and ever.
They have a share in Christ's resurrection, in the blessing of
Easter-day. They have a share in Christ, every one of them whether
they claim that share or not. How far they will be punished for not
claiming it, is a very different matter, of which we know nothing
whatsoever. And how far the heathen who have never heard of Christ,
or of their share in Him, will be punished, we know not--we are not
meant to know. But we know that to their own Master they stand or
fall, and that their Master is our Master too, and that He is a just
Master, and requires little of him to whom He gives little; a just
and merciful Master, who loved this sinful world enough to come down
and die for it, while mankind were all rebels and sinners, and has
gone on taking care of it, and improving it, in spite of all its sin
and rebellion ever since, and that is enough for us.

St. Paul knew no more. It was a mystery, he says, a wonderful and
unfathomable matter, which had been hidden since the foundation of