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A66347
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Gospel-truth stated and vindicated wherein some of Dr. Crisp's opinions are considered, and the opposite truths are plainly stated and confirmed / by Daniel Williams.
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Williams, Daniel, 1643?-1716.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing W2649; ESTC R24559
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134,616
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268
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of Faith ch 14. a. 2. Declarat ch 14. a. 2. of Saving Faith By this Grace a Christian believeth to be true whatever is revealed in the Word for the Authority of God speaking therein and acteth differently upon that which each particular Passage thereof containeth yielding Obedience to the Commands Trembling at the Threatnings and Embracing the Promises of God for this Life and that which is to come But the principal Acts of Saving Faith are Accepting Receiving and Resting upon Christ alone for Justification Sanctification and Eternal Life by virtue of the Covenant of Grace Reader weigh this sound Account of Faith Which if it were regarded and no Essential part of it excluded when Faith is considered as a Condition of any Gospel-Benefit How much vain Disputes would be prevented as well as Danger to poor Souls And one would think no Man need prove That it is not Saving Faith when any Essential part of it is wanting And that it must be Saving Faith when we mention Faith as the Condition or Moral Instrument of any Saving Benefit ERROUR Saving Faith is nothing but our Persuasion or absolute Concluding within our selves That our Sins are pardoned and that Christ is ours Proved that this is Doctor Crisp 's Opinion The Doctor tells us pag. 493. The whole Essence of Faith is nothing else but the Echo of the Heart answering the foregoing Voice of the Spirit and Word of Grace Thy Sins are forgiven thee saith the Spirit and Word of Grace My Sins are forgiven me saith Faith And the Soul that can assume thus from the Spirit and Word of Grace hath the whole Essence of Believing When the Doctor pag. 107. puts a Man on examining his Faith he hath these words How do I know I believe in Christ He Answers Do I rest my Heart upon this Truth Do I receive it as a Truth that I do believe Or do I reject it and will not receive it Then I do not believe But if you sit down and rest upon this Truth and receive it and do in reality believe it then you may absolutely conclude Christ is yours And pag. 296. If the Lord I say again give to any to believe this Truth That it is his Iniquity the Lord hath laid on Christ God himself cannot charge one Sin on that Man And pag. 158. he makes the difference betwixt a strong and weak Believer to consist in the Degree of this Persuasion See more in chap. 10 11. Wherein the Difference is not 1. It is not whether Assurance be attainable in this Life as the Effect of Faith 2. Nor whether a Sinner ought to apply yea doth personally apply the general Offers of Christ and Life by his own Compliance with the Terms of the Gospel For upon a true Acceptance of a whole Christ he is mine in virtue of the Gospel Promise which God will perform in giving Christ and Life to all that accept of him as he is proposed for our Acceptance 3. Nor whether a convinced Sinner hath at first a more especial regard to Christ's Priestly Offices and Sufferings as what are more sensibly fitted to his guilty State 4. Nor whether every thing recorded in the Scriptures must not be dwelt on with the same regard concern and assurance as the Essentials of the Covenant of Life 5. Nor whether Faith contain in it a reliance on Christ as the only Saviour and on his Satisfaction and Merits as what alone purchased our Pardon and Acceptance as well as it includes the realizing Assent to the Truth and unfeigned fiducial Consent to and Acceptance of a whole Christ in all his Offices All these I affirm The real Difference 1. Whether the whole Essence of Saving Faith consists in an Inward Persuasion or Assurance that our Sins are pardoned and Christ is ours This the Doctor affirms and I deny yea I deny that it is at all of the Essence of Saving Faith 2. Whether Saving Faith include not in its nature that powerful efficacious Assent to the Word and fiducial consenting Acceptance of Christ as Prophet Priest and King with a Reliance on his Merits and obediential Regards to God as the TRUTH above-mentioned doth express This the Doctor denies and I affirm The Truth confirmed 1. Faith is not an Assurance or Inward Persuasion That Christ is ours and our Sins are pardoned For 1. Men may have this Persuasion who do not savingly believe They in Mat. 7. 22. had this when they cried Lord Lord open to us Neither did the foolish Virgins seem without it Mal. 25. 1 2. Yea it's what the most profligate Sinners grow secure by to their own Destruction and this upon the general Word of Grace 2. Many true Believers have not this Persuasion let common Experience be consulted 3. Such as have had Assurance do by the Doctor 's Opinion fall into the Sin of damning Unbelief whenever they doubt their Interest in Christ and especially if they conclude that they have not this Interest A sad Doom on many pious Souls 4. This Persuasion should suppose an Interest in Christ and doth not give it It 's a false Conclusion That Christ is mine before he is so And must the great term of Life be a Lye We are to examine our selves whether we be in the Faith and so whether Christ be in us before we assure our selves that he is in us 2 Cor. 13. 5. And where hath God made this Proposition My Sins are laid upon Christ to be the Object of Saving Faith This Proposition is not God nor Christ nor any part of the Scripture unless you suppose a General Redemption and that to the actual Pardon of every Sinner And as the Word of Grace promiseth Pardon to none but a Believer so the Spirit speaks it to none but to the Believer as a Believer 2. Saving Faith includes the Essentials expressed in the above-mentioned Truth as Assent Trust Consenting Acceptance of Christ Reliance c. This appears 1. Faith can be no less than the Soul's Answer to the Call of God in our effectual Vocation And to this all those things are necessary 2 Pet. 1. 3. 2. The Scriptures describe Saving Faith by all these Acts It 's the Evidence of things not seen and Substance of things hoped for Heb. 11. 1. It 's a Receiving of Christ Joh. 1. 12. which must be as God gives him and that is a Witness a Leader and Commander of the People Isa. 55. 4. Acts 3. 26. to bless us in turning every one of you from his iniquity Rom. 15. 12. In him shall the Gentiles trust Isa. 44. 5. One shall say I am the Lord's and another shall subscribe with his Hand unto the Lord which express consent 3. Christ cannot be received as a Saviour nor as the Way of a Sinner to God if Faith include not these Great things He is not a Saviour if you exclude any of his Offices and as an intire Saviour we must receive him Mat. 1. 21. Can any Man receive
they preached the Gospel See their Call to turn to God from Idols as part of it 4. The nature of the Gospel requires that the Ministry should include these things and it be preached in this manner It 's the Gospel of the Kingdom Luk. 9. 60. It 's the Law of Christ to whom all Judgment is committed Gal. 6. 2. The Law of Liberty The Law of Faith c. The great design of it is to destroy Satan's Empire and recover lost Sinners to God To this end it reveals that Salvation is to be had in Christ if we come to God by him though we be lost in our selves And it is the Call of God in Christ to come to him and hear him Nay it 's the Charge of Christ who is for dying made Lord both of the dead and living Now can any think that many Duties must not be parts of the Gospel as well as Believing Or That Christ hath not Arguments from Benefits and Dangers from Promises and Threats to strengthen his Charge The Preceptive part of the whole Law is in his hand and there is Authority in all his Injunctions and Calls Else what means Obeying the Gospel Subjection to the Gospel Disobeying the Gospel Obeyed the Truth Obedience of Faith and many such Expressions And that there be Gospel-Threats and Promises annexed to his Precepts I have fully proved And I could easily shew that the Substance of all Obedience is said to be Obedience to the Law Truth and Word of Christ. If things be so can we think that we preach not the Gospel when we preach Duties Or that we preach not the Gospel when we urge Obedience to these Duties from Gospel-Promises and Threats As if all Christ's Commands were mere Counsels It 's no Preaching with Authority if we omit this It 's no answering the Eng of Gospel if we wave this There 's no aptitude in the Ministry to draw Christ without this The Apostle gives us another Specimen Col. 1. 28. whom we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every Man perfect in Christ. What 's Snatching Men as Brands out of the Burning Compelling to come in c. What Pleas do the Apostles use Rom. 12. 1. 1 Pet. 4. 17 18. 2 Pet. 3. 11 12 14 c. 5. They do not preach the Gospel of Christ at all who preach contrary to the scope of this Truth no nor they duly who neglect to Preach according to it Christ never sent such News to Sinners That they were always Pardoned and Adopted and they need only believe it to know that it is so He never told them That they have nothing to do to the Participation of Saving Benefits he hath Believed for them and Repented for them c. Woe to them that will live as believing this Christ knew how to support the Honour of his Grace without overturning his Throne To Preach at this rate may excite the Affections of some but without a Miracle will never Convert a Soul and it needs an Antidote which I hope some of the Upholders of it have It 's the same with the Language of the Tempter the Arguings of the Flesh and the Conceits of presumptuous Sinners Could they that knock'd at the door Mat. 7. 21. be kept out Or the five foolish Virgins be excluded who went out to meet the Bridegroom if this be true Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come will be the Language of the Spirit to the Impenitent Mat. 3. 7. He is my Brother saith Christ that doth the Will of my Father Mark 3. 35. If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholsom words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Doctrine which is according to godliness he is proud knowing nothing c. 1 Tim. 6. 3 4. He that talks of preaching Christ without preaching his Laws his Title to rule us his Offers his Method of Grace and his Motives to urge Men profaneth and plays with that sacred Name TESTIMONIES The Assembly and Elders at the Savoy have given us their Thoughts in what I have cited of the Conditionality of the Covenant the Necessity of Faith to Union with Christ and Justification Free Offers of Christ to Sinners and Necessity of Holiness Consult the places See Large Catech. Q. What doth God require of us that we may escape his Wrath and Curse A. He Requireth of us Repentance towards God Faith towards our Lord Jesus and diligent Use of the Outward Means c. The Elders at the Savoy Declar. ch 20. a. 3. The Revelation of the Gospel unto Sinners made in divers times and by sundry parts with the Addition of Promises and Precepts for the Obedience required thereto c. But I cannot enlarge or I could shew how Doctor Owen pleads for this Gospel-Ordination and shews there be Threats and Promises therein See what the New-England Synod say on the former Heads They cite Errour 33. To act by Virtue or in Obedience to a Command is legal They thus confute it So is it also Evangelical The Mystery of the Gospel is said to be revealed for the Obedience of Faith 〈◊〉 16. 25. The Lord is Author of Eterâ—â—â—â—alvation to all that obey him Heb. 5. 9. c. The 29th Errour of Mrs. H. was That such Exhortations as these Work out your Salvation with Fear Make your Calling and Election sure are spoken to such as are under the Covenant of Works Mr. Norton Orth Evang. p. 211. Believers obey the Gospel perfectly with the Perfection of Parts The Gospel is the Law in Christ The Rule of Righteousness is the same in the Law and in the Gospel though the Manner and End of Obeying are changed P. 105. The Obedience of good Men is rewarded by the Promise annexed to the Precept See what all these say in the Chap. of the Conditionality of the Govenant The Grounds of the Doctor 's Mistake Because Christ's Sufferings procured Salvation and assure it to such as Obey the Gospel therefore the Gospel enjoyneth nothing to be Obeyed Because the Law enjoyned Doing as the perfect Righteousness for which Life was a Debt therefore the Gospel requireth nothing to be done as the Means of Partaking of that Salvation which is merited by Christ. Because it's legal to Preach the Sanction of the Law of Innocency therefore it 's not Gospel to press the Gospel-Sanction The Reverend Mr. Cole affirms There 's Law enough in the Gospel The Gospel holds forth the Danger and Remedy too See his Treat of Regen p. 101. Had Doctor Crisp noted this Truth many Mistakes had been prevented CHAP. XXI Of Legal Preaching BEfore I proceed let me inform thee That Legal Preaching hath an uncertain Sound 1. If by Legal is meant the Precepts and Revelations of God in Christ for the Conversion and Government of lost Man under Gospel-Threats and Promises then to be Legal Preachers as Preachers of this Law we account our Duty and Honour All