Continued from Sweetser’s Universalism Explained, part six
Merely to punish men for their sins, however, is not a sufficient means to bring about their salvation. It is a necessary means, but not a sufficient one. No one was ever yet saved by mere punishment, and no one ever will be. For one cannot be truly saved until he give his heart to God, which is something that punishment cannot force him to do. Punishment may prevent him to a certain extent from committing transgressions, especially when he understands that it is an evidence of God’s love to him. But punishment alone cannot reveal that great truth to him. It cannot teach him that God loves him; and until he knows that God loves him, he cannot love God.
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