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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86420	Fourteen queries and ten absurdities about the extent of Christ's death, the power of the creatures, the justice of God in condemning some, and saving others, presented by a free-willer to the Church of Christ at Newcastle, and answered by Paul Hobson a member of the said Church. In which answer is discovered, the extent of Christs death, the nature and truth of election, the condition of the creature both before and after conversion, &c. Published in tenderness of love for the good of all, especially for the Churches of Christ.	Hobson, Paul.	1655 (1655)	Wing H2273; Thomason E1492_4; ESTC R208520	40,720	127

to us if you minde these Particulars First it is in the power of God to condemn all it is onely grace and love that he saves any according to these Scriptures Ephes 2.5 8. 2 Tim. 1.9 Tit. 3.5 2. God doth condemn no man if you look upon the meritorious cause not for the creatures not expressing of a power of believing in entertaining CHRIST but for the exercising of a power in rejecting CHRIST should God condemn creatures for their not exercising a power in receiving CHRIST then he did condemn them for what they have not 2 Thess 3.2 but he condemns them for their rejecting CHRIST which power they have it is true the Scripture saith He that believes not is damned for not believing is a declaration of an abid●●● in a state without CHRIST which is a state of condemnation It is also said that they are condemned because they believe not the Son of God but that cause is the declarative cause but the meritorious cause which is that God doth and will go upon to clear up his justice by is not the creatures refusing to exercise a power in receiving CHRIST for that they have not 2 Thess 3.2 but it is the exercising of a power of darkness in rejecting CHRIST and that men have and God is just in doing it and that that is the ground God will go upon is clear from these Scriptures John 3.19 20. Acts 7.51 Hebr. 12.25 Psalm 118.22 And so much in answer to this Objection Now there are other Objections which I judg may occasion mistakes but I shall speak to them in the next thing which is the third Particular that I promised in the beginning of my writing to wit to discover your mistakes which the cause of your stumbling in which discovery you will see some of the Objections that further may be made both exprest and answered Now as for the mistakes which is the cause of your stumbling they are many I shall mention so many as I have been acquainted with which are as followeth First the measuring or judging of mans ability by the extent of Gods authority which is manifest in his Word for in all the Scripture God manifests his authority over us and your mistakes are from his authority to conclude the creatures ability as in such Scriptures where God saith Do this and you shall live and Turn your selves or be this or be that which Scriptures are principally to discover Gods authority but not the creatures ability when man fell he lost his ability but this change wrought no alteration in God if no change in God then why should any change be in his language ●f God had changed that way of his language the creature would have been apt to conceive that in mans fall there had been a change of Gods power or authority as well as of the creatures ability which is not so A second mistake is your not distinguishing of causes putting no difference between the essential meritorious instrumental and final causes and so it occasions you to conclude God or some of his eminent acts done in himself to be subject to something that are but instrumental causes and so you do bring the efficient cause into subjection unto the instrumental cause and sometimes the effects of the efficient cause is declared in Scripture as a declarative cause as He that believes not is damned or as an instrumental cause He that believes shall be saved Now your not understanding causes is an occasion of your stumbling A third mistake is your not applying one Scripture with another in the understanding of the extent of some expressions in Scripture as the word all and the word world 1. Now the word all and the word world they are diversly taken sometimes the word all doth signifie some of all sorts as appears in these Scriptures Matth. 3.5 6. 4.23 Acts 10.12 2. The word all doth signifie the greater part as in Luke 16.26 Phil. 2.21 3. The word all is many times understood with limitation unto the present subject according to these Scriptures Heb. 12.8 So the word world sometimes is taken for a part according to these Scriptures John 14.17 ch 15.18 19. 1 John 2.2 chap. 4.14 Sometimes for the better part as Professors in the world John 12.19 Rom. 11.12 Sometimes for the wicked of the world according to these Scriptures as Acts 17.31 Rom. 12.2 1 Cor. 3.19 chap. 4.9 chap 6.2 Heb. 11.7.22 Peter 2.5 1 John 5.19 Sometimes for the whole world comprehending every thing in the world according to these Scriptures as Joh 34.18 Psalm 24.1 Psal 50.12 Acts 17.24 Now not distinguishing the extent of words applying one Scripture with another is very dangerous and a special cause of your stumbling A fourth cause relating to the language of God in Scripture is the misapplying of things to the subject that is exprest in a particular Scripture without understanding that Scripture by another as in Ezek. 33.11 where the Lord saith As I live I delight not in the death of a sinner From which Particular you conclude all sinners Now if you look in the Scriptures you will see your selves mistaken for there are three sorts of sinners One sort that sins out of confidence of Gods mercy and upon that account resolves to sin Deu. 29.19 We will add Drunkenness to Thirst for God will be mercifull See what the Lord saith in v. 20 The Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against that man and all the curses that are written in this Book shall light upon him If so then this cannot be the sinner God intends in Ezek. 33.11 A second sort of sinners are those that sin and are not sensible of their sinning but rather thinks it goes well with them when they sin as the generality of the world doth this sort of sinner God speaks of in Jer. 44.17 18. and Isai 27. Now if you look in Jer. 44.26 God there swears he will shew them no mercy And in Isai 27.11 there God doth affirm he will shew no mercy to them Now both these sorts of sinners cannot be those God intends when he saith As I live I delight not in the death of a sinner A third sort of sinners are sinners in a Gospel sense and they are those that CHRIST 1●th I come not to save the righteous but sinners as in these Scriptures Matth. 9.13 Mark 2.17 Luke 5.32 1 Tim. 1.15 And those sinners appear to be such and are declared to be such when they have through the gracious appearance of God a discovery of themselves to themselves that in the sense of their sins groan and long after JESUS CHRIST These are those that CHRIST invites Matthew 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest And so much of that Scripture and so in some other Scriptures you take one person for another mis-understanding the drift or scope of what is there intended

still in the state of wrath or damnation as in John 3.18 But now to the meritorious cause of condemnation which God goes upon is not the creatures neglect in the exercising of a power to receive CHRIST but for exercising darkness in rejecting CHRIST John 3.19 which truth I have fully made good before from Scripture Query 5. I have answered in my Answer to the third Query wherein I have shewed you the ground and cause why all are exhorted to repentance and to believe and how clearly God is justified in it and how eminently his grace and love is discovered by it Quer. 6. Whether hath not Christ given out power and ability to all men to believe on him That I have fully answered by shewing you that the work of God is beyond the improvements of nature in the highest sense and is not common to all but peculiar to some and yet there remains power in all as I have shewed you to do more than most creatures at present do yet in the highest improvement the work of Faith is above it Query 7. It is one with the sixth Query and that which doth answer the one doth fully answer the other for I have in the discovery of the work of believing on CHRIST and salvation by CHRIST discovered how things are between God and us wherein you will see if you reade them over where the stick lieth and that in all God and CHRIST are just Query 8. Whether unbelief be not the condemning sin That I have answered in answering the second and the fourth Query and that Particular doth very fully answer this especially if you consider first what I have said as to the distinction of causes Secondly what I have said as to the meritorious cause of mans condemnation Query 9. Whether God hath not appointed all to be saved To that my Answer hth been very full first in shewing that there is a general salvation that every man partakes of Secondly shewing you that there is a peculiar people ordained before the world was unto a special salvation which is peculiar unto some not to all and yet God eminently abides just not onely upon the prerogative of his will but upon the exercise of his power and justice in condemning creatures not for want of what they have not but for the ill exercising of what they have Query 10. Whether Adam was in a state of grace before his fall To that I answer Where the Scripture wants a mouth let us want a tongue besides you do not express what you mean by grace if you meant by grace 〈◊〉 grace is under stood in a Gospel sense relating to faith in Christ that the Scripture doth clear up that Christ was not discovered till man fell and there was no imployment for faith in that sense before Query 11. Whether insants by generation are in a state of damnation or in a state of salvation As to that I have fully answered by shewing you that man by nature consider him in himself in which every man is to be considered till God is pleased to bring forth the effects of election which is alone to distinguish and till then every man so considered as before is in a state of wrath or condemnation according to these Scriptures Ephes 2.3 1 Cor. 6.11 Query 11. Is one with the eleventh and the answer of the one may serve to answer the application of the other Query 13. Which doth arise from the unchangeableness of Predestination from whence you q●●●y For what end the Scriptures are set forth That I have fully answered in my answer to the third Query Query 14. Whose names they are that are written in the Book of Life whether they be the Elects or the Reprobates If the Elects whether they shall not be blotted out if they add or diminish from the Word of God Answer I know you are not ignonorant but you know that the Word presents the Book of Life in a several sense the Book of Life doth not onely hold out eternal Life but the visible Kingdom of Grace and God hath also provided a way and means that any that are received in shall as well be cast out if they appear to be such that walk in Doctrines contrary to that Gospel which was by CHRIST and the Apostles delivered if you can prove that by that Book of Life is onely meant election and that those that are elected may so add and be diminishers of that Revelation that John spake of and upon that from being elected to become reprobated then you had some ground to query or else your Queries are groundless as to what I judg you intend but I have at large shewed you the sad danger of drawing up forms from variety of faces in Gods outward declaration especially when fancy is the former which of necessity must be unless you distinguish causes and distinguish between Gods essential and declarative will and the difference between the general and the special exercises of Gods power understanding one Scripture with another all which I desire you in the fear of the Lord to consider of which is in full to all your Queries and now I shall shew ye the fallacy of your Absurdities Now as for your Absurdities though they must needs full with the Answer of your Queries and need no other return yet that you may see the fallacy of them more fully I shall briefly speak a word or two to them most of them depends upon the conclusion of Christs dying for all and doth arise from absolute denial of that now you may clearly see by what I writ that as to that which is the foundation of your Absurdities that I and others do not deny but with you hold that Christ tasted death for every man according to that Scripture in Peter which you mention in your sixth Absurdity and I in your first Absurdity and therefore your first Absurdity to wit that the Devil destroys not those men for whom Christ died which say you is contrary to that Scripture before mentioned I need say no more in answer to that Absurdity onely it is impossible for the Devil to destroy any for whom CHRIST died not because he died for all Absurdity 2. If Christ died not for all men then Despair is no sin in them that perish Answer Despair or Infidelity is a sin in it self Further consider that it is unknown that CHRIST did not die for them till the conclusion comes Further that which is appliable to every creature and to be believed by every creature is not in a Gospel sense believed by them that perish for they that do not in that sense believe one thing cannot in that sense believe any thing But further minde the want of ability doth not take off Gods authority nor change the nature of sin in it self therefore your Absurdity is absurd Absurdity 3. If Christ died not for all men then it were a sin for some men to believe that Christ died for them The Answer