under the meer Law of Works as remediless Men are not then examined meerly whether ever they Sinned nor accused meerly as Sinners But the Question will be of that Sin in Specie which consisteth in refusing to repent or believe or abusing that mercy which should have led them to repentance Mat. 25. It is for not improving their Talents which is not the legal reason as the Law of Works is alone or for not loving and cherishing Christ Jesus in his Members It is for not knowing God nor obeying the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ It is true that all their Sins also against the Law shall cause their condemnation for they were never pardoned But that is consequentially because they abused the Grace that should have recovered them and so the Wrath of God abideth on them that would not yield to his means for removing it I no where read that God will make this Rigorous Law alone the Norma Judicii and pass sentence on any meerly on these terms If thou have never Sinned thou shalt be saved else thou shalt be condemned so that if we have no discovery what way or on what terms in special God will judg them that hear not of Christ yet we have a plain discovery of the Negative that he will not deal with them on the forementioned terms of the sole Covenant of Works And consequently for the affirmative we are sure in general that he deals with them upon terms of Grace i. e. Mercy contrary to their desert More of this may be added anon Arg. 5. Ab aequitate novae Legis Credendi Debitum Constituentis The Faith which God requireth of Men to their Justification hath not a feigned or deceiving object But it should have such an object if Christ have not satisfied for all who are commanded to belieâ— ergo c. Or tâ—â—s if Christ have not satisfied for all who are commanded to believe in him to Justification then the Faith commanded them should have a feigned or deceiving object But the Faith commanded them hath not a feigned or deceiving object ergo c. All the proof requisite is of the consequence of the Major Proposition And here we must first know what the justifying Act of Faith is and then what the object must be and then the consequence will manifest it self Divines are not agreed what the justifying Act of Faith is some think it must be but one Act and therefore it must be placed but in one faculty Of these some place it only in the understanding as Camero and many others Some only in the Will as Amesius and some few with him Some and most place it in both faculties and so in divers Acts and that rightly And inded it hath divers Acts in each faculty For as it is more then one particular Truth or exunciation which is the object of Assent and therefore must have divers Acts of Assent so it is in more then one shape and profitable respect that the Goodness of the object is presented to the Will and therefore it must there have several Acts as consent affiance c. Now let us first enquire after the Acts of the understanding where I will meddle with none but what is ordinarily by Divines asserted to be justifying or prerequisite thereto And 1. I will let that pass which Dr. Twiss makes the first Act viz. To believe Gods word to be true For if it be not known what that word is here is no material object of Faith but the formal object alone 2. I will pass over the duty of repenting which Dr. Twiss saith is next required contrary to the usual Doctrine though it is manifest that repentance it self as a means to remission cannot be required but on supposition of satisfaction for Sin The common answer to the Arminians Quicquid tenemur credere verum est c. Is We are all bound to believe that Christ died for all that will believe in him See what Twiss saith against this Answer in Piscator Vindic. de promiss lib. 2. Part 2. Sect. 20. Page 475. Vol. Parv. 1. Men are not supposed first to be believers and then Christ to dye for them nor hath died at random without determining in quorum Loco in whose stead and left it to their Faith to determine afterwards He hath not said either if thou believe I will die for thee Or if thou believe that Death which I have undergone shall be tui loco in thy stead or for thy Sins Mans Sin being the loco causae meritoriae of Christs sufferings it must be determined whose Sins he should suffer for before he suffer For the meritorious cause is before the effect And therefore Christ died for them before they are believers for else how did he procure them grace to believe Not only Davenant hath well cleared this in his dissert de redempt but Twiss ubi super P. 474. could say Neque enim hujus propositionis veritas Christus est Redemptor Noster est veritas consequens fidem nostram Nec ejus falsitas est falsitas consequens infidelitatem nostram sed antecedens Antecedens inquam natura in genere causae moralis nempe meritoriae non autem in genere causae Physicae Quod eo tantum addo quoniam quod est prius natura in genere causae Physicae impossibile est ut sit posterius tempore eo quo prius est natura At quod est prius natura in genere causae moralis meritoriae presertim ex libera Dei constitutione proficiscens potest esse posterius tempore etiam eo quod est prius naturâ 2. There must therefore be some former consideration of those for whom Christ died Antecedent Moraliter to his Death And that can be nothing but for Sinners as such It is therefore for all Sinners or only for some And the Doctrine of those that contradict me is that it was not indeterminately for all that will believe but determinately to these particular Elect Persons that they may believe for whom Christ satisfied Now then according to this Doctrine all Men where the Gospel is preached are bound to believe that Christ satisfied for the Elect to procure them Faith and consequently justification that by so believing themselves may be justified But if they should so believe this Faith would not justifie them for whom Christ Died not so that here is a justifying Faith Commanded without a justifying object as I shall fullier shew anon 2. And whereas Dr. Twiss saith It is only the penitent that are commanded to believe on Christ for justification I Answer 1. Then the Impenitent shall not be condemned for not believing in Christ for justification which is false for the omission is not so much as a Sin much less damning if faith be not commanded them 2. It is nevertheless their duty because other duties as suppose repentance are first to be performed God may constitute many duties at once though they are not to be performed at once
therefore should be saved Ans The Persons are determined of long ago for whom Christ satisfied Either he hath satisfied for me or he hath not before my Faith If he have not then my Faith will not cause him to satisfie for me either by suffering again or by making that satisfaction to have been paid for me which was not Object But it is a thing that never will be for one to believe for whom Christ did not satisfie And therefore it is a thing not to be supposed Ans 1. Things may and must be supposed in dispute that never will be That the Elect should have the desert of their Sin or be unredeemed or be forsaken of God or deprived of any mercy which God will give them are all things that never will be And yet a Christian may argue on supposition they had been or should be to raise his thankfulness What if God should have denied me his Grace Or his Redemption Or let me perish in my Sin and State of nature What a Case would my Sin have brought me under 2. If it be a thing not to be supposed in dispute that a Man should believe for whom Christ satisfied not then it is because it implieth a contradiction Else it may be supposed But it implieth no contradiction Ergo c. Object It is a contradiction Because Christ purchased Faith for all those for whom he satisfied and therefore for a Man to believe for whom Christ purchased not Faith is a contradiction Ans 1. I shall take it as a groundless fancy till it be proved that Christ purchased Faith to be eventually certainly given to all those for whom he satisfied 2. If he had this argument is not from satisfaction as such but as it is meritorious of Faith 3. still it is no contradiction because it implyeth no contradiction for a man to believe without that Grace which Christ hath purchased though it be a thing that will never be done 4. They that will still affirm the contrary do the more destroy their own Cause For they then assert that all Gods commands by his Laws and Ministers to the unredeemed as they suppose them for believing in Christ do require meer impossibilities and such contradictions as are not to be so much as supposed in dispute which I think few sober men will grant but rather avoid that opinion that is the ground of such an assertion 5. And which is more the same absurdity will follow as to all other means whatsoever as well as Faith which God hath prescribed to such men for pardon and salvation as they are means and so bring this reproach on the whole New Law as made to all such Men. Object But the same may be said against Gods Foreknowledge or Decree For if God Fore-know or Decree that men shall certainly perish then it may as well be said that though they should believe God neither would nor could save them Answ 1. As to the Power of God it is not straitened by his Decree It follows not God will not do such a thing therefore he cannot The same Divines whom I now argue against use to argue thus about Physical Predetermination God 's Determination of his own will destroyeth not his Power or liberty to the contrary act therefore his determination of our wills destroyeth not our Power or Liberty to the contrary acts whereby they grant that God can save those that he decreeth not to save and so can give them Faith c. and that he is still free to do it or not do it Object If he should believe and be saved whom God hath foreknow nor decreed to be condemned for Unbelief then God should be deceived or change But it is impossible for God to be deceived or change therefore it is impossible for him to believe and be saved whom God hath foreknown or decreed to condemn for unbelief Answ It is a vicious Argument There 's more in the conclusion than in the premises No more will follow but this therefore he will not believe and be saved whom God c. not it is impossible for God never foreknew or decreed that it should be impossible for him to believe and be saved but only that he would not eventually believe and be saved 2. When I speak before in the Argument of Gods will it is not of his will of Decree but of his will as he is in the relation of Rector per Leges and so giveth that Salvation as executor of his Laws and Sentence which by his Laws he first gave Right to God as Rector and Legislator neither will nor can give Salvation to any that Christ dyed not for if they should believe But God as Legislator or Rector would give salvation to all that Christ Dyed for if they believe though it were supposed that he had foreknown or decreed that such men would not believe Only it would follow that God was mistaken And therefore such a thing will never come to pass for God will not be mistaken It is God as â—egislator to whom it belongs to be true in making good his promises which is the thing in Question 3. The want of an expiatory sacrifice doth morally necessitate the Damnation of Man though he should believe both in respect of the Law of works as â—hrists Death is Causa necessaria liberationis as want of a Ransome may be said to necessitate a Captives perishing and properly in respect to the new Law whose Penalty is 1. Non-liberation 2. And a sorer punishment For the chief cause of that Non-liberation or Non-salvation must needs be the defect of that which should be the chief cause of Deliverance and Salvation rather than the defect of Faith a subservieâ— cause or condition which ever supposeth thâ— former cause If two men at Christs bar be â—â—â—leaded as lyable to Damnation and it be â—â—â—d to one Thou hast no Right to Salvation for Christ never Dyed for thee and to the other thou hast no right because thou didst not believe is not the former more valid then the latter or as valid But to say Thou hast no right because God did decree the contrary is not right arguing 4. We must not argue a minus notis as the Decrees are as shall be shewed Arg. 8th A Causa pereundi negativè If Christ hath not satisfied for all men then the cause of mens perishing is for want of an expiatory sâ—criâ—iâ—e But the want of an expiatory 〈◊〉 is not the cause of mens 〈◊〉 therefore Christ hath satisfied for all By 〈◊〉 cause I mean not the meritorious cause for that no doubt must be some sin of Man And I suppose that Unbelievers are not condemned according to the first Law of works as standing without Remedy that is not meerly because they did not perfectly obey but at the Redeemers bar because they believed not and would not have Christ to Reign over them or because they improved not their Talents of Grace that is of mercy given contrary
effects products and Issues of it with what in its own nature it is fit and able to do Is it not therefore strange that this Author should Page 175. 176 say 1. That this fulness and sufficiency of the merit of the Death of Christ is a foundation for the general publishing of the Gospel to all Nations with the right that it hath to be preached to every creature because the way of Salvation which it declares is wide enough for all to walk in There is enough in the remedy it brings to light to heal all their diseases to deliver them from all their evils If there were 1000 Worlds the Gospel of Christ might on this ground be Preached to them all there being enough in Christ for the Salvation of them all if so be they will derive vertue from him by touching him by Faith the only way to draw refreshment from this Fountain of Salvation 2. That the Teachers of the Gospel in their particular Congregations c. may from hence justifiably call upon every Man to believe with assurance of Salvation to every Man in particular upon his doing knowing and being fully perswaded of this that there is enough in the death of Christ to save every one that shall so do To all which I briefly reply 1. I have disproved this in what is said before and shewed that Christs death cannot be affirmed sufficient for any Mans Salvation for whom it never satisfied though he should believe 2. How can he say there is sufficient merit where there is no merit at all The Death of Christ hath no merit as to the Pardon of Devils or any for whom it was never suffered 3. How can he call any thing a way of Salvation wide enough which presupposeth not Christs satisfaction for the person Can Men walk to Heaven by Faith without a Redeemer Or is there such a true Faith 4. How can he truely say there is enough in the remedy Which is as to them no Remedy Is there enough in that remedy to heal the Devils if they believed 5. How can there be enough in it or how can it be any remedy to heal all diseases and deliver from all evils before it have made satisfaction Must it not do that before it can heal any other disease 6. How can he say There is enough in Christ for the Salvation of them all if so be they will derive virtue from him by touching him by Faith Must not the application be first to God by satisfying him before it can be made to Man by believing Is not the Salvation of Men the Fruit of Christs dying for them And can there be the effect without the cause Hath Christ virtue to be derived for the saving of any that he died not for Will believing make Christ to die for them that he hath not died for already 7. In plain truth your ground of preaching Christ to all is your foreknowledge that only the Elect will believe and not the sufficiency of Christs Death knowing that there is nothing in Christs Death to save any man that he did not Die and Satisfie for though he should believe never so strongly 2. But let us come to the first effect of Christs Death and see whether it were sufficient to that viz. to be a satisfaction for the Sins of all And here they do maintain that it is only materially or aptitudinally sufficient as the money which my rich neighbour hath in his purse is sufficient to pay my debt which he resolveth never to pay Or as the Ransome paid for one man was enough to have redeemed another also if it had been paid for him And what the better is he for whom it was never paid And what difference as to their ransome between most men and Devils For the form of a satisfaction or Price for all they affirm that Christs Death hath it not sufficiently or at all These men must once more therefore new moddel their Doctrine or reform their expressions and give over saying that Christs death is sufficient for the pardon of all if they would believe for that is notoriously false according to them seeing the effecting of satisfaction is that wherein the sufficiency of it lyes as to remission But they must hereafter say only that Christs Death was sufficient to have procured pardon for all men if he would have suffered it for all And I will give them this encouragement so far to innovate viz. Though they speak not only against Scripture and the Primitive Fathers and the Church of Christ in all Ages and the generallity of our most severe Protestant Divines yet because 1. It is against Arminius an adversary 2. And tendeth to extreams 3. And so is agreeable to Nature they shall perhaps with applause at least with far less wounding of their Reputation raise up these novelties than a Sober Moderate Judicious Divine shall beat them down again or revive any one Truth which extreams have clouded laid by and trodden under foot But I will not stay here to shew the absurdity of mens so confident asserting Christs death to be aptitudinally sufficient for so many for whom it was never suffered seeing I shall deal on this purposely in the next Argument But how useless this sufficiency is and no foundation at all for our general offer of Christ and mercy to all if they will believe may be seen in what is said before And how useless and insufficient it is to encourage any man to believe we shall yet further have occasion to shew anon In the mean time I think the unsoundness of their Doctrine who deny Universal Satisfaction is manifest hence in that it fully overthrows the sufficiency of Christs Death for the pardon of all mens sins if they should believe which yet the generality of our Divines do maintain Arg. 10th Ab absurdo injurià coutrariae Doctrinae in Christum If Christ have paid a Price of satisfaction sufficient for the sins of all the World and yet paid it not for all the World then he suffered much in vain But he suffered not any thing in vain Ergo c. The Minor none will deny that is a Christian The consequence of the Major is proved ad hominem by the concessions of them of the contrary Opinion For 1. No Reformed Divine doth deny but that as one part of the value of Christs sufferings was from the Dignity of the person so the other and a necessary part was from the greatness of his sufferings 2. And all conclude that there was more suffering necessary for the expiation of the sins of all the World than for one particular sin or then for one mans sins and so more necessary to expiate the sins of all men then of the few only that are chosen And consequently if Christ suffered no more than was sufficient for the Redemption of the Elect then it was not sufficient for the Redemption of all And if it were sufficient for the Redemption of
pardoned and saved the efficacy of Christ's satisfaction is before all possibility of any power or snccess of Man's Faith So in those that perish if they had no price of satisfaction paid for them the want of a Redeemer would be the first want concluding their damnation and non-deliverance from former misery and the want of Faith could be but the secondary consequential want which Faith if it were present would not satisfie or save no more than believing now would save the Devils And thus it is evident that on the grounds opposed the Gospel would causally per â—e unavoidably be the greatest plague on earth to all where it comes except the Elect and not only accidentally by their own Sin Now for the Minor that the Gospel is not so I prove from Scripture it is called the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God Luke 8. 1. Before men are Converted the Apostles say we declare unto you glad tidings Acts 13. 32. 33. The Preachers of it bring glad tidings of good things preaching the Gospel of peace Rom. 10. 15. even the unsanctified receive the word with joy Mat. 13. 20. and not so great joy as they had cause so Mark 4. 16. it is called the Gospel of the grace of God Acts 20. 24. it is a Wedding-Feast even ready for those that would not come to it who are therefore said to be unworthy of it and so it was to him that came without the Wedding garment Mat. 22. if it were not a mercy then Men did not sin against mercy in rejecting it which who dare say It gives men promises of entring into rest who yet by wilful unbelief may come short of it Heb. 4. 1 2 3 c. See 1 Cor. 10. to the 13th God sent Jesus to bless the Jews more than Elect in turning every one of them from his Iniquity Acts 3. last The unthankful Servant had his debt freely pardoned him and that was a mercy who after took his fellow by the throat and by ingratitude lost that pardon which he had It declareth God's tender Mercies over all his works and such mercies as are to lead all men to Repentance Psal 145. 9. Rom. 2. It is good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people Acts 2. 10. It freely giveth to all the water of life if they refuse not the gift Rev. 22. It is the Gospel that bringeth Salvation to all men Tit. 12. 11. A hundred Texts might be brought to prove how great a blessing of it self the Gospel is to that People to whom it is given and if it be turned to a Judgment and hurt them it is meerly accidentally through their wilful rejecting it or turning the grace of God into wantonness or sinning because Grace hath abounded and not from any thing in it nor for want of a reality in the benefit which it offereth Arg. 25. A differentiâ status damnatorum viatorum If Christ dyed not for all men then the state of most men all that he dyed not for were as deplorate and remediless as the State of the Damned But the consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent The Consequence of the Major proposition is plain in that the state of all men that Christ dyed not for must needs be utterly hopeless and remediless for there is no other satisfaction to be hoped for besides that made by the blood of Jesus and that is nothing to them nor is there any hope or possibility that ever they should have part in a satisfaction that is no satisfaction for them without blood there is no remission If they should believe and repent and pray for mercy night and day it would be but as the Rich Epicure in Hell pray'd for a drop of water all in vain for betwixt God and them is so great a gulf or distance by sin that nothing without a Redeemer can do them any good as to the least hope of Salvation If you say it is not to be supposed that they can believe repent and pray I answer that is in your own sense because it is supposed they are not redeemed and the impossibility of their not repenting and believing shews the more fully the impossibility of their Salvation And the reason why they do not actually despair is not because they have any more remedy than the Damned or cause to hope but only because they are yet ignorant of the hopelesness of their own Condition and as soon as they know the truth they will fully despair So that there is no more possibility that a Man for whom Christ dyed not should be pardoned or saved than that the Damned should for both are equally impossible If any say that God can find out another remedy besides and without Christs satisfaction though he will not and therefore it is not impossible I will not examine the truth of that now but if it be true of them on Earth why not also of them in Hell When once Men are in that state that there is no Sacrifice for their sin then there remaineth nothing but the fearful expectation of Judgment and Fire that shall devour the Adverâ—ary Object But doth not God's foreknowledge and decree make mens Salvation impossible as well as Christs not Dying for them and so your argument is as much against them Answ No They do nihil ponere in Objecto nor are the removal or denyal of any efficient cause of Salvation they infer only Necessitatem Consequentiae they make no Mans Salvation impossible but only prove it not future And as it is not omne Possible that is futurum so neither omne non futurum that is Impossibile And it is agreed that foreknowledge presupposeth the futurition or non futurition of the thing foreknown But there is much more necessary to be said to resolve this doubt which I may not now insist on only I add that the matter of God's Decrees and the futurition of things as depending thereon are so high and so far above us that it becomes us not to be too inquisitive into them much less so peremptorily to determine of them as some do and least of all to try plainer Cases by such determinations and reduce certainties to uncertainties when we should tather reduce uncertainties to certainties And for the Minor that the state of most men even in the Church is not so hopeless deplorate and remediless as is the case of the Damned I prove it thus They might be saved who are yet on Earth if they would but receive the love of the truth 2 Thes 2. 9 10. If they would believe they might all be justified and should not perish but have everlasting life whoever of them will may have the water of Life freely and it is offered them and they intreated to take it and if they have it not it is because they will not and not because there was no object or ground for their willing or no Sacrifice for their sin God offers them pardon and
or offered to them nor any satisfaction ever made for them by Christ then should they escape all the sorer punishment of the new Law and never suffer at all for Abuse of that mercy or rejecting a Redeemer or any fruit of his satisfaction which he made for them And this would be an easie Hell in comparison of theirs that refuse Christ offered them Prop. XXVIII We must in all our Controversies try the Minus nota pro notiora minus certa per certiora non contra We must reduce uncertainties to certainties and dark points to clear ones and not certainties to uncertainties Seeing therefore it hath pleased God to leave his final dealing with Pagans that hear not the Gospel Ideots and Infants so uncertain and dark the Controversy of Universal Redemption is not to be tryed hereby nor all the plain Scripture for it to be reduced to the uncertainties herein So much to this Argument Let the Reader note that since the writing of this I am clearer than I was then in the assurance of this Truth that the Covenant or Law of Grace as it is the Rule of Duty and Retribution was made with all Mankind in the first Edition in Adam and Noah and is not repealed to any that have not the second Edition in the Gospel but the rest of the World are still under it When I had gone thus far Dalleus's Defence of Universal Redemption and Grace came out with Blondels Preface where are so great a number of Witnesses cited of all Ages that I not only stopt my work but cast away a multitude of Testimonies which I had collected even of English Anti-Arminians such as Davenant Ward Hall Carlton Rob. Abbots Bishop of Salisbury Dr. Preston Whately Will. Fenner Ezek. Culverwel and many such DISPUTATION OF Special Redemption Whether Christ Died with a Special Intention of bringing Infallibly Immutably and Insuperably certain Chosen Persons to Saving Faith Justification and Salvation THE Question is so cautelously and clearly expressed that I need not say much for the explication of it but shall directly determine it Affirmatively only in brief take notice of these things as the Reasons of the Terms First We mean here the Intention of Christ as God for so he knew all things and Willed all the Good which he knew But whether as Man he that knew not the day nor hour of his own coming to Judgment did know the number and names of his own Elect that ever were and should be and consequently whether he had a special Intention concerning the Salvation of each of them in particular this I shall purposely leave undetermined Secondly It is therefore implied by us that the Father and Holy Ghost had the same Intention which we affirm Christ to have had Thirdly By the word Intention we mean that Act of Christ's Will which is resembled by Intention in mere man and so is Analogically called Intention And we confine it not to the Will alone but take it as comprehending that Counsel of the Understanding or that simple Knowledge which the act of the Will supposeth Nor do we take it in the strict sense as it is terminated only on the End and so Intentio Finis is distinct from Election of the means but more largely as it may comprehend either of these for that which we commonly call a Purpose or Resolution Fourthly We call it a Special Intention because it is about a Special Object and is not General or Common to all Fifthly We call it an Intention of Bringing men to Faith c. because it is Christ's own Work to give these things which he Intendeth and so we difference it both from his Intention to Permit if such there be in case of Sin and from that imagined Intention of a Partial Causation of a Concurse determinable by the Will of Man But tho' it be an intention of Effecting that we mention yet the Manner of this effecting or bringing men to Believe we here meddle not with Sixthly It is an Infallible effecting of this that we mention thereby differencing it from a mere Velleity or a conditional willing so as that the very act of willing should depend upon some uncertain condition as distinct from this we may call it Absolute And in the word Infallible which respecteth the act of the Divine Understanding we imply also Immutable which respecteth Gods Will and Invincible as to his operation and had we one word that comprehended these it would contain our full sense It is the same thing which our Divines mean by the word Irresistible or Insuperable Seventhly It is Certain Persons or Individuals that are the objects of this Purpose which we mention as against the Arminian Conceit that it is only Believers in General or All men Conditionally if they will Believe that Christ Decreed to Justifie and Save without determining infallibly of any certain Individuals till he foresaw that themselves would make the difference by Believing Eighthly We call them Chosen Persons not a Posteriore upon the foresight of their Faith but a priore before and without any moving cause or condition in themselves It is the same act which we here call Chusing as considered in Eternity determining of the future difference of Persons and which we before call Special Intention there considering it as respecting the time of Christ's Death Ninthly The Intended effect is 1. Saving Faith such as is not common to the Unjustified This we express against the Pelagian Conceit that giveth Justification and Salvation on condition of Faith but not Faith it self or at least not Certainly and Infallibly to any we say both that God Decreeth us to Faith as well as to Salvation by Faith and that Christ dying did purpose Infallibly to bring his chosen to Believe and this as a fruit of his Death 2. When we speak of Justification as the second Intended effect we take it in Connexion with the foregoing Faith and subsequent Salvation meaning that all the Elect that are at Age and Believe and they only have that Justification which follows their personal Faith We own not their opinion that think that many persons that were never Elected to Salvation were yet Elected to Faith and Justification and do fall from these at last and perish Tho' yet we reverence many that have maintained or owned this opinion as precious Servants of God and think not so hardly of their opinion as of their's who maintain the Apostacy of the Elect if now there be any such Austin himself seems fully to go that way who yet maintaineth the perseverance of all the Elect And so doth Musculus and some others among the Reformed Divines called Calvinists But for the Justification of Infants which hath no such connexion to a personal Faith of their own whether it may cease when they come to the use of Reason for want of personal faith to continue it which was the Judgment of Davenant Dr. Ward Amyraldus and many of our own this
gift of God Joh. 3. 27. A man can receive nothing except it be given him from Heaven If nothing then not Faith If they say they received it not the Apostles question may shame them What hast thou which thou hast not received Obj. That 's meant of gifts that were for Edification Answ I. Much more of Faith which is a special Grace II. It is General implying that we have nothing that we received not that thence he might conclude Therefore not such Gifts Joh. 6. 44. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him ver 65. Therefore said I unto you No man can come unto me except it were given to him of my Father Obj. God drawing Morally those that will not follow him Answ I. The Drawing here mentioned is the same with giving to come to him II. It is given as the Reason why some Believed not because none can come except it be given them and they be drawn Those that believed not had your Moral drawing which was uneffectual but it is evident they had not the drawing which Christ mentioneth Luk. 17. 5. Lord increase our Faith Therefore he must give it Obj. That is a Faith of Miracles Answ Saving Faith is as much Gods Gift as that and the Soul as unapt to it till he give it Mark 9. 24. Lord I believe help thou mine Unbelief He that must Help our Unbelief that is give us more Faith must help our total Unbelief by giving us our first Faith which we are most unable to perform of our selves Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the Spirit is Love Faith c. Obj. That 's meant of Fidelity Answ I. That 's unproved that it 's only meant of that II. If common fidelity must be wrought by the Spirit much more Saving Faith in Christ To all these it 's further objected that God giveth Faith equally to All that is his help to Believe but it is only the Materia Disposita that receiveth it and the reason why some have it not is because they are not disposed or prepared Ans 1. If this be so that this is the Reason of his denying faith to some yet the contrary disposition is not the Reason of his giving faith to others And therefore the Undisposedness is only a Reason sufficient to Justifie God's denial of Grace but not Disabling him to give it or necessitating him to deny it Else all men should perish who are undisposed unless they dispose themselves And this is plain Semi-Polagianism that Grace is tyed to such Dispositions of our own 2. Prove if you can that ever God hath made a Promise of Faith to men on condition of any prerequisite Dispositions I find no such thing in the Word 3. Are those Dispositions Gods Gifts or not If not then all is ultimately resolved into mans will and we have something that we have not received If they be then they are given Absolutely or Conditionally If Absolutely then they are not so given to All else All should have them and so Believe If Conditionally 1. What is the Condition They say our Non-resistance But our Resistance is either Habitual or Actual The Actual is our Actual Niâ—ing The Habitual is our Habitual Unwillingness Deadness c. Must we cure all this of our selves before God will give us Faith I will not say as Dr. Twisse that Non-resistance is Credere that is Faith it self that is the contrary to this Resistance or Unwillingness because you may tell me that to be unwilling of Christ as offered and to be Unwilling that God should make me willing of Christ or give me Faith by the means of my hearing is not all one But this I say that the best did resist and were unwilling both of Christ and Faith till God did overcome their Resistance And that God hath not promised Faith on condition of mans Non-resistance that I know of 2. Is this Non-resistance or Willingness to Believe the Gift of God or not If not then we have somewhat which we did not receive and then all Grace still is ultimately resolved with the Pelagians into mans will and man makes himself to differ which I disproved in the last days Exercise If it be Gods Gift then either Absolute and so proper to some Or Conditional and then that must have a Condition and so in infinitum till you stop in some Absolute Gift not common to all Object God is not the total but partial Cause and therefore he doth quantum in se give Faith to all and that some are yet without it is long of themselves Answ I. I confess that it is long of themselves that any are Unbelievers II. Though man believe yet it seems to me that God is not to be called Causa partialis but totalis in that Supream Causality which he exerciseth III. That God doth quantum in se give all men Faith may be understood either 1. Quantum in se quoad potentiam as much as â—e can But that 's Blasphemy 2. Quantum in se quoad Decentiam as much as is meet for him to do But who dare say that it is unmeet for God to give men such effectual grace as shall Infallibly cause them to Believe He giveth such to his Elect and therein doth not any thing that is unmeet 3. Or else it is meant that God giveth so much help to unbelievers as leaves all the blame of their unbelief upon themselves and justifieth him from being the culpable deficient or efficient Cause And this I grant but this is no advantage to the Adversary But I have been too long on this first Argument Arg. II. Jesus Christ dying intended the Infallible Glorification of Gods free grace in the certain Regeneration Justification and Glorification of certain men therefore he intended the infallible certain Regeneration or Faith and Justification and Glorification of those men That Christ came into the World with a certain intention to accomplish the glorifying of God as his end is undoubted For to say either that he undertook so great a work without an end or that the glory of Gods grace and love was not that end are both impious And as certain is it that it was the glory of Gods grace in the certain Salvation of some men that was intended For as there is no other way of this full glorification of Gods grace manifested to us but only by mans Salvation so the Scripture most frequently tells us that this is the way and this was God's design and therefore Christ is stiled the Saviour which certainly implyeth that he hath some infallibly to save and that he came to seek and to save that which was lost And if it were not the Salvation of Determinate Persons that God intended to glorify himself in then was it not in the Salvation of any man at all for all Salvation is some ones Salvation Accidents exist not without a Subject And if it were not a certain obtaining of this end by
Young Converts that hold not Universal Satisfaction may be sincere though not rightly ordered grounded or raised Answ True for if one should conceit that Christ Dyed but for Englishmen or for a very few at least and that he is one of those few he might truly love Christ for dying for him though yet he grounded his apprehension amiss of his interest in Christ But still here is no certainty of Faith without certainty of Love Nor certainty or any knowledge of Election without the knowledge of both Faith and Love Object Then a Socinian can have no â—ertainty of Election For he that believeth not Christs Satisfaction can have no Love or Thankfulness for it Answ No wonder if he have no certainty of Election who can have no grounded hope of Salvation If it be not only some circumstances or Terms or Law-notions but the substance of this Doctrine which any Man shall deny viz. That Christ hath taken away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself and having made Purgation of our sins is ascended c. And hath by one Sacrifice perfected for ever them that are sanctified and became a Curse for us to free us from the Curse and so hath taken away the Sins of the World quoad pretium And hath born our transgressions that we might be healed by his stripes and hath Dyed for us the just for the unjust so that now we must be justified by his Blood I say he that believeth not this I think is no Christian See 1 Cor. 5. 7. Heb. 9. 26. and 10. 1 2. c. and 1. 3. and 10. 14. Gal. 3. 13. Isa 53. 4 5. John 1. 29. 1 Pet. 3. 18. Eph. 1. 17. Rom. 3. 25. and 5. 9. Col. 1. 20. Heb. 9. 22. and 13. 12. 1. Pet. 1. 2. 19. I know nothing more of moment that can be here objected and therefore will go to the next Reply 2. Which was that men may know their Election by the Testimony of the Spirit To which I answer 1. The Spirit sheweth to us the things given of God of which Love to Christ is a principal 2. The Spirit witnesseth our Election mediately and not immediately that I know of 1. By giving those graces that will prove it and do flow from it 2. By exciting them 3. By illuminating us to see them and try by them 4. Filling the Soul with those sweet affections which are a kind of tast of the Love of God But all affections are raised mediante intellectu and therefore knowledge goes before them Who can know that he rejoyceth Spiritually and that his Joy is a fruit of Election that knoweth not why he rejoiceth 3. However it is desperate Doctrine to teach poor Christians that they have no ground to Love or Thank Christ for Redeeming them till the Spirit have without any signs revealed their Election to them which I think it never doth Lastly The Spirit witnesseth with our Spirit Now our Spirit witnesseth only from evidence that we are Gods Children and not without and therefore whether the Spirit be a concurring witness in the same Testimony or its Testimony be a concomitant Testimony distinct from though conjunct with that of our Conscience I think the former yet all 's one to the point in hand seeing they witness together So much for the Minor viz. that the Elect are bound to love and thankfulness for Redemption before they know themselves Elect. Now for the consequence of the Major it it clear from what is said that the Elect could not be bound to this except the Non-Elect are also Because as is proved no Man can know whether he be Elect or not before he know himself so much as obliged to love and gratitude for Redemption For Elect and Non-Elect are not to to be discerned till Faith and love do put a difference And therefore methinks I may conclude confidently that the Non-Elect are bound to love and thankfulness for Redemption or satisfaction and therefore they are redeemed or satisfyed for If any shall make the common objection viz. The Non-elect or the Elect not yet converted are bound to love and gratitude to Christ for satisfying for all that will believe I have answered this oft already 1. The Doctrine which I oppose is that Christ hath not only died for Men if they will believe but died only for the Elect that they might believe so that it is determined by name for whom he Died and the rest he Died not for at all and therefore his Dying for another is not that which obligeth a man to Thankfulness And their Ignorance that they are excluded I have shewed can add no obligation 2. Mens believing will not cause Christ to Die for them nor is it a condition of it as if Christ would Die for Men if they will believe Believing presupposeth Christs Dying for us and what then can be their meaning that say Christ Died and Satisfied for all men if they will Believe When they say absolutely withal that he Died not for all at all but only for the Elect that they might believe Will they say that he Died for the Non-elect if they will believe Then either they must mean that he underwent the Penalty and left it undetermined quorum loco in whose stead and for whose sins it should be till their believing determine it But 1. This is as much denyed by those whom I oppose as by me 2. And it is a contradiction For it is Essential to Punishment to be propter peccatum that Relation is its formal Nature as it differs from Affliction in general And therefore Christ suffered no Punishment if it were not determinately for Sin And the meritorious cause is considered as before the effect and not after it Or else if they speak of Believing not as any condition on mans part but a Divinely-infused Character of those for whom Christ Died then the sence of their words is but this Christ Died for the Non-elect if they be Elect or Christ satisfied for all men if all men be Elect or Christ Died in stead of all if he will give Faith to all And who sees not that these words are a plain Negation and all one with these Christ satisfied not for all q. d. I leave in my Will such a Legacy to Titus if Titus be not Titus but Sempronius what Lawyer knows not that is a denyal or an illusory nothing And how then can this bind men to Love and Gratitude If I could bethink me of any other considerable Objection I would answer it But I cannot Furthermore for the Antecedency of the obligation to love mark how Christ maketh it a condition to his own Love and his Fathers as in a greater degree and as manifested Joh. 14. 21. He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Christ Loveth Men before they Love as he is Dominus Absolutus and a free Benefactor and as a Natural Lover of his own
nisi virtute satisfactionis plenae Deo anteapro nobis presentatae Neque quidquam per nos facit quod ipsemet antea satis perfecte fecit 3. Per Causas secundas Deus non operatur Creationem ex nihilo sed Satisfactio Redemptio eundem locum habent in ordine Gratiae quem Creatio habet in ordine naturae p. 172. Deus aliquando parcit iis quibus non est propriè reconciliatus c. 2. Sadeel is full this way Adversus humanas Satisfactiones p 211. he saith Aut Christus merito mortis suae delet culpam peccatorum venialium ut vocant aut non delet Si dicant non delere Ergo Christus non pro omnibus peccatis mortuus est sed tantum pro mortalibus O blasphemos homines si quidem id dixerint quid est aliud delere ac remittere culpam ejus peccati quod ex ipsorum sententia poenas temporales promeretur quam nullas exigere poenas temporales propter illud peccatum promeritas Nesciunt profectò isti homines quid sit peccati culpa nec advertunt poenam peccati non posse definiri absque mentione culpae So that sin it self may be said so far to be pardoned as the punishment is remitted and therefore he saith it was only the punishment and not the fault that Christ bore p. 215. At quomodo Christus satisfecit Deo pro peccatis nostris An non id factum est quia Christus peccatorum nostrorum non culpam pertulit sed poenam Sic. p. 228. Nam Chrisius ut nostram non nostris sed Augustini verbis explicemus sententiam suscipiendo poenam non suscipiendo culpam culpam delevit poenam 3. So Chamier at large shews that it is only through Christ's Satisfaction that fault or punishment is remitted and that God cannot remit without satisfaction Tom. 3. l. 23. c. 2. § 22. Itaque in genere concedo non posse Deum impunita peccata dimittere id est nisi puniantur vel in peccatore vel in Mediatore of which Voetius in his Thesis is full and § 31. Nihil ergo rectius quam luisse pro nobis Christum poenas num aliquas tantum an vero omnes c. si non luisset omnes neminem liberant ab omnibus So that he takes the argument to be good a liberatione ad solutionem per Christum and § 27. Remissio opponitur exactioni poenarum Now I have proved that God remitteth much punishment to wicked men not Elect yea even in Scripture phrase the remitting of that punishment is called the Remission of their sin as is shewed before and lest any should say it is but a delay of their punishment till the Life to come I answer 1. Is not punishment due to them both in this Life and that to come And therefore to remit one is true remission 2. No Scripture intimateth that God will lay so much the more on them in Hell meerly because he punished them not more on Earth but for their abuse of Mercy on Earth 3. Doth not Christ himself expresly speak of not forgiving sin in this life or that to come 4. Many have so much remission here as tends to the great abatement of their everlasting torments for Christ gives them that freedom from temptations and such means and common Grace as brings them to be almost Christians and almost Saved and such as the man whom he is said to have loved and said to him thou art not far from the Kingdom of God Whereas doubtless the rigorous execution of the Curse of the Law requires that men be wholly forsaken of God as to any such Grace or Mercy and consequently given up to the prevalency of their own Lusts And it is a doubt whether they that make all this Remission and Mercy to the Non-Elect to befal them without the satisfaction of Christ do not wrong Christ somewhat more than the Papists themselves who in their vile Doctrine of Satisfaction and Indulgence do ascribe all to Christ radically and remotely and to man directly saying that for temporal punishments Christ satisfieth in and by man to whom he hath procured that power by his own immediate satisfaction These give Christ some part of the honour but the other none at all And that a conditional remission of the eternal punishment is given in the Gospel to the Non-Elect under Gods hand is so plain that he that knows it not knows not the plain tenour of the Gospel Besides if it be said that all this can be given to the Non-Elect without Christs satisfying for them then it would follow that it may be given to the Elect also without Christs satisfying for them but all our Divines call that Impious and blasphemous in their disputes against Purgatory Indulgences and humane Satisfactions Nay mark well that the same conditional deed of Gift of Christ and his Benefits which is uneffectual to Unbelievers because they perform not the condition is the same that becomes effectual to the Justification and Adoption of Believers and that without any new additional real act of God Lastly Satisfaction for one man will not serve to the remitting of any part of the Debt of another so that I may conclude that Christ satisfied for All seeing all receive the fruits of that satisfaction The effects cannot be without their cause Arg. 19. A comparatione Legis Gratiae cum Lege operum If Christ Died not for all to whom the Gospel comes then the Law of Grace doth contain far harder terms than the Law of Works But the consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent The Consequence of the Major Proposition I prove thus The Law of Works as given to man in Innocency required nothing that was Impossible for man in that state to do But if Christ satisfied not for all the Law of Grace should require Impossibilities and condemn men for want of them and so should contain much harder terms than the Law of Works Yea the Law of Works as given to fallen man if so it were contained nothing contradictory and so impossible in it self though man through sin was disabled to perform it But the Law of Grace should if this Doctrine opposed were true If the Law of Grace require men to take him for their Redeemer and rest on him as their Redeemer that never redeemed them it should contain a contradiction If according to this Law men must be everlastingly condemned because they did not receive him as their Lord-Redeemer that never paid for them any price of Redemption and because they did not receive and apply to themselves the effects and benefits of a satisfaction which was never made for them and so could not possibly be a cause of such effects and because they did not rest on Christ to Justifie and Save them by his Blood which was never shed for them these are impossibilities and far harder terms than those of the Law of Works Yea if
well conclude that the Doctrin is not sound which makes Christ to have died no more to expiate the Sins of the Non-Elect then of the Devils but left them equally remediless But such is the Doctrin now opposed Ergo c. Argum. 23d A statu hominum saltem non pejore statu Daemonum If Christ Died not for all that hear the Gospel then Gods dealing with the Non-elect part of fallen Man is much harder than his dealing with the Devils but the Consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent The Minor I think I need not prove all acknowledge it that ever I heard or read on this subject If they should think that God dealt alike with the Non-elect and the Devils yet sure none will say that he deals far hardlier with the Non-elect Hell is prepared for the Devil and his Angels they are reserved in Chains of Darkness to the Judgment of the great Day till then they believe and tremble and look for the time of their full torment without any hope of escape Compare with this but what I have before proved to be Gods dealing with men even them that perish and you will see that their case is not worse than the Devils And for the Consequence of the Major Proposition I prove it thus by comparing both together When the Devils had fallen from their first estate God leaves them without remedy or hope of recovery But when man is fallen according to the Doctrine which I oppose God doth not only leave him remediless but also makes a new Law that shall oblige him to suffer a far sorer punishment except he will believe in a Redeemer that is not his Redeemer and trust for salvation to that Blood that was never shed for him and accept the benefits of a satisfaction that was never made for him even effects without a cause Yea and causeth his Son to make a satisfaction materially sufficient for the sins of all and yet had rather it were superfluous and vain and meerly lost then that it should be paid for him As if he would rather when three Men owe 100 l. a piece pay 300 l. for one of the three than the other 200 l. should be tendred for the rest And when he knows that Christ never satisfied for any of the Non-elect yet doth he follow them with daily sollicitations by his Word Spirit and Embassadors beseeching them to come in and accept of Christ ordaining and resolving that all these beseechings shall harden them or at least aggravate their sin and and misery that it may be easier with Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment than with them that refuse these Offers And thus Christ shall necessitate them causally by his Law to a far greater torment as if their misery were not sad enough before without procuring them any possibility of escape for there is no such possibility without satisfaction to God's justice If God should make a Law that the Devils who are miserable already should have â—ar sorer punishment if they would not believe in Christ as their Redeemer who never redeemed them would not this be harder dealing than now God useth toward them when all the offer is on supposition that they cannot and therefore will not believe and if it were possible to believe it would do them no good If then this would be harder dealing with them than those are hardlier used than the Devils with whom God so deals and therefore he dealeth so with none Arg. 24. A beneficâ Naturâ Evangelii If Christ died only for the Elect then should the Gospel to most men where it comes be of it self directly one of the greatest plagues and signs of God's wrath that ever he sendeth on a People on earth but the Gospel is no such Curse but a great blessing Ergo c. The Consequence is thus proved That which brings an unavoidable obligation to a far sorer punishment without giving any possiblity either of escaping former misery or this additional misery must needs be one of the greatest Curses and Plagues in the World and so the sign of Gods greatest wrath but such were the Gospel or new Law to most men where it comes if the opposed Doctrine were true Ergo c. Let him that denys the Major shew me a sorer Plague that ever God inflicted on any man on Earth if he can Object Is not the Gospel the savour of death to some and Christ a stumbling stone and Rock of offence Answ That is not of his own nature nor of the nature of the Gospel nor yet as a proper Cause per se but as an occasion and by accident through Mans own wickedness and wilful rejection and abuse A Man may burn himself with the fire that should warm him or choak himself with the food that should nourish him Object But doth not God decree it Answ His decree causeth not the thing any more than his foreknowledge having no influence into the Object as our Divines actus immanens nihil ponit in objectio Predestinatio â—iâ—â—l ponit in praedestinato It imposeth no causal necessity as all confess only as foreknowledge so decree hath a Logical necessity in ordine argumentandi called Necessitas Consequentiae Twisse himself saith there is no more and the Schoolmen are of his mind in that and affirm no more And for the minor its evident in each part 1. The new Law obligeth all that believe not to damnation because they believe not and to a far sorer punishment than before was due to them Heb. 10. 29. Mar. 16. 16. Joh. 3. 18 19. Mat. 25. last 2. And that it is an unavoidable obligation appears 1 In that God made the Law whether Man will or not Man could not hinder that 2. And it is an impossibility which the Law is feigned to require To accept a Redeemer that never Redeemed them to rest on a satisfaction for their justification and pardon which is no satisfaction for as to them it is none It being maintain'd by them whom I oppose that it is none and that it is only materially sufficient that is matter of suffering sufficient to have made a satisfaction if God would but not formally sufficient that is indeed it is no price or satisfaction as to their debt at all for if my Neighbour and I owe each of us 20 l. he that pays his debt though he over-pay doth no more thereby to the discharge of mine than if he had done nothing at all I have proved before that here is no sufficient ground for that faith supposing Christ satisfied not for the Believer And even those whom I argue against will not endure to have it supposed that any Man should believe for whom Christ dyed not Or if they will let us sppose such a thing then it is undeniable that such a Man would be never the more pardoned or saved because there is no Salvation withont a Saviour and no Remission without satisfaction And as in those that are
to an Angel not to be Redeemed nor to the Devils not to be partakers of Christ and of Pardon and Salvation by him Now its true the Pardon of the Damned and their Salvation was not actually effected but the meritorious cause was full and perfect in Christs satisfaction and moral causes go long before the effects sometimes and may do all their part and yet the effect not follow through the defect of some other and the effects were conditionally given or produced by the New Covenant and thereby become not only possible and probable but certain if the condition were performed So that here is a proper privation and not a bare Negation Nor is it the meer matter of such effects that men are deprived of but formally as they were effects conditionally granted and were to have been effects actually of the death of Christ They should have been such effects if they had done their part to procure them by performing the condition as Christ did in the Cause for he required not them to effect it as concauses but only suspended the effects of his own full sufficient but Moral cause on their condition which all Lawyers and all that know what a Moral Cause is or what a proper condition is know to be most usual Now if you suppose that Christ died not and satisfied not for these men then the loss of Pardon Adoption Membership of Christ final Absolution Salvation besides all the greater Glory and all the Spirits Graces and Workings in this life cannot possibly be punishments to them for they cannot be Privations For there was never any cause to procure them and therefore they were never possible much less due and Mans Faith was not required by God to be the meritorious cause or to satisfie Gods Justice nor yet to procure Christ or any other to satisfie it nor yet to make that satisfaction to be now for us which was made for others and not for us to none of these ends was Faith required but only to be the condition of our enjoying Christ and the fruits of his satisfaction on performance whereof the Moral Cause which was long before in full being should produce its effect or else not as to us so that satisfaction as the Cause is necessarily supposed to Faith as the condition seeing the office of the condition is that on it the effect of the cause be suspended till that condition be performed And therefore there can be no condition where there is not first the Moral Cause I mean there can neither be condition constituted by Law Testament Deed of Gift or Covenant nor yet condition performed for it cannot have the form of a condition Or if that be disputable as to any other case I am sure it is not in the case in hand No man will say that the non-remission non-salvation of the Devils by the Blood of Christ is a Punishment to them Object That is because it was never offered or conditionally given them by Covenant as it was to the Unbelievers Answ Nor could it have been given so to Unbelievers if Christ had not died for them Could God give them Christ as a Satisfier and Redeemer who never had satisfied for them or redeemed Or could he make over to them effects which had no Cause viz. the effects of his dying for them when he did not dye for them Would the New Covenant serve to pardon men without Christs Sacrifice and Satisfaction Nay is it not beyond all doubt that this which I call the New Covenant or Testament He that believeth shall be saved c. is the Redeemers Law and Testament and presupposeth his Death and Satisfaction in esse Morali at least It is the New Testament in his Blood he first buyeth men to be his own by satisfaction and then dealeth with them as his own by Promise and Legislation Only the Promise of God to give Christ for a Redeemer to the World and his Prophesies of him therein are in order of nature before the Moral being of Christs death but so is not the Law of Grace I know nothing that hath any great shew of Reason that can be said against this Argument which so clearly evinceth the truth of Universal Redemption and for vain objections I will not trouble my self and the Reader with them Arg. 30. A Comparatione doctrinae universalem satisfactionem affirmantis cum doctrinâ— eandem negante If they who assert Universal Redemption quoad satisfactionem pretium have all these forementioned Arguments from Scripture for their cause and a multitude of express Texts and no one ill consequence following their doctrine nor one sound Reason nor one text of Scripture against them And if the deniers of Universal Satisfaction have all the contrary disadvantages then they that affirm Universal Satisfaction are in the right and they that deny it do err But the antecedent is true Ergo. c. Here I will 1. Look over these Arguments again and from thence shew you the face of the consequents of the denial of Universal Satisfaction 2. I will lay you down together the express Texts that are for Universal Satisfaction 3. And also the Texts that are brought against it 4. And then the particular search of those texts on both sides and the answer to all the Arguments that are usually brought against Universal Satisfaction I intend shall follow afterward in their own places more fully The Doctrine which denyeth Universal Satisfaction hath all these inconveniences and absurd consequents following therefore it is not of God nor true 1. It either denieth the Universal Promise or Conditional Gift of Pardon and Life to all men if they will believe and then it overturneth the substance of Christs Law and Gospel promise or else it maketh God to give conditionally to all men a Pardon and Salvation which Christ never purchased and without his dying for men 2. It maketh God either not to offer the effects of Christs satisfaction Pardon and Life to all but only to the Elect or else to offer that which is not and which he cannot give 3. It denieth the direct object of Faith and of Gods offer that is Christum qui satisfecit a Christ that hath satisfied 4. It either denieth the Non-Elects deliverance from that flat necessity of perishing which came on man for sinning against the first Law by its remediless unsuspended obligation and so neither Christ Gospel or Mercy had ever any nature of a remedy to them nor any more done toward their deliverance then towards the deliverance of the Devils Or else it maketh this deliverance and remedy to be without satisfaction by Christ for them 5. It either denieth that God commandeth all to believe but only the Elect Or else maketh God to assign them a deceiving Object for their Faith commanding them to believe in that which never was and to trust that which would deceive them if they did trust it 6. It maketh God either to have appointed and commanded the
Non-Elect to use no means at all for their Recovery and Salvation or else to have appointed them means which are all utterly useless and insufficient for want of a prerequisite cause without them yea which imply a contradiction 7. It maketh the True and Righteous God to make promises of Pardon and Salvation to all men on condition of believing which he neither would nor could perform for want of such satisfaction to his Justice if they did believe 8. It denieth the true sufficiency of Christs Death for the pardoning and saving of all men if they did believe 9. It makes the cause of mens Damnation to be principally for want of an expiatory Sacrifice and of a Saviour and not of believing 10. It maketh Christ to have suffered much in vain enduring as much for the sins of the Elect only as if the sins of all men had layen on him 11. Or else it dangerously extenuateth and denieth the sufferings of Christ as if he did not suffer as much as was due for the sins of all and it extenuateth his love as if he took on him only the sins of the Elect. 12. It either denieth that any but the Elect should love Christ or be thankful to him as their Redeemer yea or any Elect that have not the knowledg of their Election and so should not repent of the want of this love and thankfulness or else that they should love him and be thankful for that which never was true and never was done for them or given them 13. It maketh God to have inflicted more on Christ then was due even as much for the Sins of the Elect only as was due for the Sins of all the World 14. It leaveth all the World Elect as well as others without any ground and object for their first justifying Faith and in an utter uncertainty whether they may believe to justification or not 15. It maketh the knowledg that we have justifying Faith to go before the having of that Faith 16. It denieth the most necessary humbling aggravation of Mens Sins so that neither the Minister can tell wicked Men that they have sinned against him that bought them nor can any wicked Man so accuse himself no nor any Man that doth not know himself to be Elect They cannot say my Sins put Christ to Death and were the Cause of his sufferings Nay a Minister cannot tell any Man in the World certainly thy Sins put Christ to death because he is not certain who is Elect or sincere in the Faith 17. It subverteth Christs new Dominion and Government of the World and his general legislation and Judgment according to his Law which is now founded in his Title of Redemption as the first Dominion and Government was on the Title of Creation 18. It maketh all the benefits that the Non-Elect receive whether Spiritual or corporal and so even the relaxation of the curse of the Law without which relaxation no Man could have such mercies to befall Men without the satisfaction of Christ and so either make satisfaction as to all those mercies needless or else must find another Satisfier 19. It maketh the Law of Grace to contain far harder terms then the Law of Works did in its utmost rigor 20. It maketh the Law of Moses either to bind all the Non-Elect still to all Ceremonies and bondage-ordinances and so sets up judaism or else to be abrogated and taken down and Men delivered from it without Christs suffering for them 21. It destroys almost the whole work of the Ministry disabling Ministers either to humble Men by the chiefest aggravations of their Sins and to convince them of ingratitude and unkind dealing with Christ or to shew them any hopes to draw them to repentance or any love and mercy tending to Salvation to melt and win them to the Love of Christ or any sufficient object for their Faith and affiance or any means to be used for pardon or Salvation or any promise to encourage them to come in or any threatening to deter them 22. It makes God and the Redeemer to have done no more for the remedying of the misery of most of faln mankind then for the Devils nor to have put them into any more possibility of pardon or Salvation 23. Nay it makes God to have dealt far hardlier with most Men then with the Devils making them a Law which requireth their believing in one that never died for them and taking him for their Redeemer that never redeemed them and that on the meer foresight that they would not believe it or decree that they should not and so to create by that Law a necessity of their far sorer punishment without procuring them any possibility of avoiding it 24. It makes the Gospel of its own Nature to be the greatest Plague and Judgment to most of Men that receive it that ever God sendeth to Men on Earth by binding them over to a greater punishment and aggravating their Sin without giving them any possibility of remedy 25. It maketh the case of all the World except the Elect as deplorate remediless and hopeless as the Case of the damned and so denieth them to have any day of Grace Visitation or Salvation or any price for happiness put into their Hands 26. It maketh Christ to condemn Men to Hell Fire for not receiving him for their Redeemer that never redeemed them and for not resting on him for Salvation by his Blood which was never shed for them and for not repenting unto life when they had no hope of mercy and Faith and repentance could not have saved them 27. It putteth sufficient excuses into the Mouths of the condemned 28. It maketh the torments of conscience in Hell to be none at all and teacheth the damned to put away all their sorrows and self accusations 29. It denieth all the privative part of those torments which Men are obliged to suffer by the obligation of Christs Law and so maketh Hell either no Hell at all or next to none 30. And I shall anon shew how it leads to Infidelity and other Sins And after this what Face of Religion is left unsubverted Not that I charge those that deny Universal satisfaction with holding all these abominations but their Doctrin of introducing them by necessary consequence It is the opinion and not the Men that I accuse 2. Next let me give you some express Texts of Scripture which I shall anon run over more fully and vindicate and see which opinion is the truth of God Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life 2 Pet. 2. 1 20 21. But there were false Prophets also among the People even as there shall be false teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction 20. 21. And as Jude hath it 4. There are certain Men crept
all may accept it if they will and then there would be no distribution But because all will not and this is foreknown therefore consequently it is distributive So here and that it is distributive is from the will of Man and the event and other exteriour differencing Causes but not properly from the promise or deed of gift at all except by accident 3. The next words shew what World it is that is here spoken of viz. That which comprizeth men that believe and so are not Condemned and those that believe not which Consideration is consequential and not antecedent to Christ's dying for them and so are Condemned already because they have not believed c. v. 18. They that will affirm a greater restriction in the sense of the word must prove it For though I have proved here the larger sense yet indeed it belongs to them to prove their assertion who recede from the commoner and more extensive sense I shall briefly examine what they say to that end Only I must intreat the Reader that if they compare my Writings with any Book which contains the Reasons which I confute that you would not expect that I should take any notice of any of those strangely-confident Juvenile Triumphant Expressions which some do abound with but that I draw out only the pith of their Arguments and set Reason against Reason and let the heaps of Worldly Rhetorical Gloryings alone Much more must I expect that you will not take me to be engaged to defend any Arminian misinterpretations and weaknesses and to confute what any man saith against them but only that which seems of force against the interpretations or assertions that I my self do maintain The first Reason they give for proving that it is only the Elect that here are called the World is drawn from the Love which is here said to have the World for its object which cannot be common to all but is proper to the Elect. This we deny and they attempt to prove by these five Reasons 1. Say they it is the most transcendent and remarkable Love and therefore proper to the Elect. I must desire the Reader to see this answered afterward in my answer to their interpretation of John 2. It is an Eternal act of God's will Answ But what that is to the purpose I know not 3. It was the cause of sending Christ Answ That 's true it was one cause but how follows the consequence 4. They say that Love which is the cause of giving Christ is always the cause of bestowing all other good things Answ That Love which caused the giving of Christ for the Elect is the cause of giving them all things with him but that love which caused the giving of Christ for all shall not eventually give them all things I refer you to what I shall say anon to Rom. 8. 32. for the full answer to this 5. They say this Love is an assured Fountain of Salvation to all that are beloved with it Answ I deny it if they mean by assured such as shall eventually be saved but say they the issue of this Love being not perishing but obtaining Eternal Life happens only to the Elect Ergo c. Answ The Text speaks of no other effect of this Love but the giving of Christ and the giving of Eternal Life on Condition of believing Now for the former there is a twofold giving of Christ First giving him on the Cross for us Secondly Giving him in the word of Promise to us The Text seems to comprehend both He is given on the Cross for all he is given in the word conditionally to all and so is Eternal Life with him Now though the actual right to Eternal Life and fruition of it be not the portion of all yet that makes no alteration or differencing nature in this Universal Conditional promise it is because one believed and another did not The Promise antecedently to the performance or non-performance of the Condition gave Christ alike to the Elect and non-Elect and Life with him But that some believed rather than others was not from the gift of this Universal Conditional Promise but from another cause even Gods secret decree of Election Their second Reason for proving that by the World is meant only the Elect is because it is the same World that Christ came to save ver 17. but that is only the Elect else God should fail of his intention Answ This is to pervert one Text by perverting another as I shall shew anon when we come to that Text. Their Third Reason is that its usual to call the Elect the World Answ It was a very Pious Judicious Grave Divine that said I profess I cannot find any one clear place where the World must of necessity be taken for the Elect only Ezek. Culverwell in his Answer to Objections against his Treaty of Faith They alledge for what they say these Texts John 4. 42. where Christ is called the Saviour of the World a Saviour of Men not saved is strange Answ So are all things strange to Men till they understand them It 's no more strange than that God Created all Men to Life that Happiness which the first Covenant promised who yet did dye for Sin The Second is John 6. 33 57. which shall be vindicated anon The Third is Rom. 4. 13. Abraham is said by Faith to be Heir of the World which ver 11. is called to be the Father of the Faithful Answ A bold interpretation but here 's no proof nor appearance of any that the Father of the faithful is all one with Heir of the World is too unlikely a thing to be received on a Mans bare word Especially considering that it is proper to Abraham to be Father of all them that believe verse 11. But to be Heir of the World verse 13. is not proper to him For it is said the promise that he should be Heir of the World was not to Abraham or to his Seed through the Law I never read where Abraham is called Heir of the Faithful nor can he so be conveniently called But he is called Heir of the World Therefore by the World is not meant only the Faithful The Next is Rom. 11. 12. If the fall of them be the Riches of the World and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles c. Ans It is more than the Elect Gentiles that shall be and are enricht by Christ though not as the Elect others are enriched with that Church state visible which Paul here speaks that the Jews were broken off from As also with the Gospel and ordinances and conditional gift of Christ and justification and glory besides many other mercies The next Text cited to prove that the World is put only for the Elect is Col. 1. 6. Which Gospel is come unto you as it is in all the World and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you c. Ans 1. It is not said that it bringeth forth
that did his best in the use of these means and lost his labour So that if all men have not Faith it is their own fault not only as Originally Sinners but as rejecting sufficient Grace to have brought them nearer Christ than they were for which it is that they justly perish as is more fully opened in the Dispute of sufficient Grace I think now I may fafely conclude that there is no proof yet brought that Christ will give Faith to all that he dyed for but the contrary I have proved Argument 3. Against Universal Satisfaction Christ dyed not for those who were in Hell at the time of his Death therefore he dyed not for all Answ I cannot discern any strong appearance of proof that can be brought for the Antecedent however it take with very many as I confess in the time of my ignorance it did with me 1. Jesus Christ satisfied God's Justice 1. Morally at his first undertaking interposing or engagement according to our apprehension presently upon mans fall 2. By that Natural Suffering which he had before undertaken and this was in the fulness of time It is usual for moral effects to go before the natural part of the Cause but the Cause is in esse morali in moral being Many a man upon his word to pay so much money such a day or upon earnest given hath the thing bought delivered to him tho' he pay not the price till long after So may a man redeem Slaves by such an undertaking So did Christ undertake to bear the punishment due to the Sins of all and this undertaking satisfied God not without his suffering but by its respect to his future suffering giving it a moral Being before hand so that when Christs satisfaction was in its first moral being no man of this World was in Heaven or in Hell 2. It was necessary for Christ having undertaken to suffer the punishment due to their sins before they were Condemned to perform his undertaking after they are Condemned If you give earnest for the buying of Beasts or Slaves and take them into your possession and promise such a day to make payment though they dye the while you must pay the price 3. Christ had as much of his ends obtained in those that perished by Rejecting Grace before his death as he hath for those that perish for the same cause since 4. The Wicked that perished before Christ's death had the same benefits by it as those that perish after his death allowing the difference that the clear discovery of the mystery of Salvation now doth cause they had mercy offered them and Remission and Salvation given them on Condition of repenting and believing and sufficient grace to have brought them nearer God than they were which if they had obeyed they had a high probability of having more added 5. All this presupposeth Christ then a sufficient Object for their Faith that is Christ who had satisfied for them as to his Undertaking and must and would do it afterwards in performance was then the Object propounded for them to believe in and therefore their Unbelief was Consequential and not Antecedent to Christ's moral satisfaction and suffering for them even as the Faith of the Godly also was 6. It is as good arguing to say some were in Heaven when Christ dyed therefore he dyed not for them as to say some were in Hell therefore he dyed not for them For it may as wisely be said those in Heaven were past all need of satisfaction as that those in Hell were past all hope and remedy The time was when they had hope from that satisfaction set before them and when it was a sufficient remedy for them and wanted nothing but their own consent to make it fully effectual As the time was when those now in Heaven had need of it and did accept it offered them Abraham saw Christ's day and rejoyced and Moses counted the reproaches of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt But the impenitent then refused Christ and his Government and therefore were justly denied his further Mercies 7. Only this much may be concluded by this arguing that Christ at the time of his dying did not intend the Saving of those that were then in Hell and so it is as true that Christ at his death did not intend for the future to give Regeneration the first Reconciliation Pardon Adoption Union with him or Glory to those in Heaven for they had received them all long before as the Damned had lost them all before by their Rejection But it follows not hence that therefore Christ bore not the punishment of all mens sins according to his first undertaking I know great dissimilitudes are pretended between the Cases of the Saved and the Damned when Christ dyed as to this Argument but they are but pretended and none is shewed and I think it needless to strive against meer words But a fore-mentioned Disputer undertaketh to shew that the Answer drawn from the state of them that were Saved when Christ dyed will not hold and why 1. He saith Those that were saved were saved on this ground that Christ should certainly suffer for them in due time which suffering was as effectual in the purpose and promise as in the execution and accomplishment c. Answ 1. And those that were Damned had Pardon and Salvation given them freely if they would have accepted them on God's terms and this was on the same consideration of Christ's future dying for them 2. And consequently they who were then Damned for unbelief were Damned for rejecting a Christ that had undertaken to dye for them and the mercy purchased by his undertaken death 2. This Author produceth such a Simile as I mentioned even now of one that undertaketh the ransom of Prisoners and sendeth to them thereupon to come forth for he that detaineth them taketh his word Now if some come forth and the rest refuse and be dead in Prison and others hear not of that and that according to his appointment and were dead long since when the Ransomer comes to pay the Debt or Ransom doth he intend it for them that dyed obstinately in Prison or only for those that came forth doubtless only for these last Answ 1. To answer as confidently doubtless it is the Debt and Ransom undertaken for all and paid according to the undertaking 2. Bring home the Similitude nearer the case from payment of money to suffering of the punishment which they should have suffered or some other ad fines Rectoris equivalent and doubtless then he suffered Loco omnium instead even of those that are dead in Prison or else he is not a man of his word if his action answer not his undertaking But he did not at his actual suffering intend it for the further good of the dead not in bonum ulterius omnium supposing what good they had before received by it and might have received a full deliverance if they would And to make them
Knowledge Prop. IX All this Revelation is some part of the Law of Jesus Christ and so these Truths are discovered and this light sent by him as the Lord Redeemer of the World or as Rector upon his Redemption Title For all things being now delivered into his hands and the whole frame of Government being laid on his shoulders and built on his Redemption even on Christ the head Corner Stone the very moral Law now is his Law and its obligation to obedience is his obligation yea the very Law of Works obligeth to punishment now not as it was at first given and remaineth in the hands of an offended unsatisfied Creator but as it is suspended and delivered up into the hands of the Satisfier or Redeemer to remit wholly or execute only conditionally as men shall receive or reject the grace of Redemption so that as God ruleth among those blindest of Heathens that yet know him not so doth Christ Rule among them that know not him Prop. X. The Ten last Particulars before mentioned which these men may know are properly Gospel Truths for the Law of Works sheweth nothing of Mercy contrary to desert nor of any hope of Recovery Object But how can the meer light of Nature discern Gospel Truths without a supernatural Revelation Answ The Light of Nature is either Reason it self which is the Souls viâ—ive faculty 2. Or the External Light which in the nature of things shines forth 3. Or the Species and Knowledge received by Reason through the mediation of this External Light Also supernatural Revelation is 1. Either the Rectitude of the Soul as a Recipient Power or Faculty which was natural to Adam and may be called supernatural to us because it is not born with us and because it is not wrought but by a supernatural efficient though it be most natural to us as a thing congruous to our Natures welfare as health is to our Bodies 2. Or it is the Objective Extrinsical Revelation by a supernatural way and that either as distinct from that which should have been according to the Tenor of the first Law or from that which is ordinary by common Causes tho' beyond the former 3. Lastly it is taken for the actual efficient impressing of the Species on the Intellect by a supernatural Assisting Power On these distinctions I Answer 1. Natural Reason or the Intellectual faculty is the recipient of all Revelations natural or supernatural 2. There are many Objective Revelations supernatural as being such as according to the first Law of Nature would never have been manifested which yet are not supernatural as Miracles are in opposition to a natural Causality in the way of Revealing And so Rain and Fruitful Seasons Health Wealth Deliverances c. are Mercies that come in a natural way of Causality and yet they may teach a Sinner those Truths which the meer Law of Nature never taught him Mercies and such Mercies given to those that deserve Misery and are obliged to extremity of Punishment by Law do teach us that there is Remission of Sin and a way found out for the Relaxing the obligation that mens deserts do not fall upon them These Providences therefore are so far supernatural as being the clear effects of the Law of Grace which relaxeth the obligation of the Law of Nature Prop. XI It is not proper or fit to say that the Gospel is Preached to these Heathens that never heard of Christ because that the word Gospel most properly signifieth the main heart and substance of it viz The discovery of Christs Incarnation Life Death Resurrection Ascention Dignity Office and the full New Covenant But yet it may truly be said that some Gospel Truths and so some small part of the Gospel is revealed to these men viz. the ten particulars forementioned No doubt Paul Preached part of the Gospel to the Heathens at Lystra Acts 14. 7 15. c. when he mentioned Jesus Christ ver 23. Heb. 4. 2 3. It is said that the Gospel was Preached to the Jews in the Wilderness who yet had little of that which now is the substance of our Creed about Christ Prop. XII That Repentance which God requirerh now of all men even them that never heard the Gospel is not a Hellish Judas-like despairing Repentance such as was due according to the violated Law of works but it is a Repentance that is appointed as means toward recovery and therefore hath a tendency to Salvation Gods mercies lead to Repentance but not to a despairing Repentance for they contradict that All the precepts of Repentance prove this and the course of Gods dealings And indeed else all the remnants of Religion would be banished out of the World For despairing men will not Worship God nor seek to please him nor forbear sinning but will hate God and live like Devils and sin while they may without voluntary restraint All the Sacrifices that the Heathens offered and all their Prayers and Conscience of Sinning shewed that they apprehended God merciful and placable and their case remediable Hope did keep up all that remnant of Religion which all Nations of the World have maintained which else had been extinguished long ago and Earth been like Hell Prop. XIII These Heathens do all of them receive some Grace which was purchased by the Blood of Christ and there is a Natural aptitude in it as in other effects to lead the enquirer to the knowledge of the cause and fountain caeteris concurrentibus Grace is Mercy contrary to Merit Heathens have much Mercy contrary to Merit therefore they have some Grace Now all such Grace is inseparable from some Revelation of Gospel Truths Nay indeed it is a Revelation there of it self Prop. XIV Though Christ giveth not to these Heathens sufficient Grace to believe in his name yet he giveth them sufficient Grace or merciful aid to receive and obey those or some of those Truths fore-mentioned which he doth reveal to them and so to come nearer to Christ than before they were I have before shewed that all men are far from Christ Naturally and that they must be brought divers steps or degrees nearer him before they are brought to the very act of Faith which unites men to him specially Heathens that are at the remotest distance Also I have shewed that there is such a thing as sufficient Grace not effectual as to the event and that both from the example of Adam of the wicked now and fot he Godly themselves I shall therefore now suppose what is already proved I have shewed also that though God thought it not meet to engage himself in Covenant with such nor to make any thing short of true Faith to be the condition of his Promise yet he hath appointed means to others that yet have not Faith which they are bound to use towards the getting of it and he hath given them sufficient encouragement to address themselves cheerfully and vigorously to the use of those means with hope to speed So
I intend not here to determine or meddle with 3. We anumerate Salvation that is Glorification to these intended effects of Christ's Death for his chosen this being the End of all the former and therefore we imply that Perseverance in Faith and a State of Justification was intended infallibly and certainly to be given them Tenthly Observe that we do not here enquire after the present immediate effects of Christ's Death as a satisfaction to Justice For I doubt not but the sins of the Non-Elect did lye upon him as the pro meritorious Cause of his Suffering as well as the sins of the Elect and consequently that he made Satisfaction for them to God and purchased them by his Blood Eleventh and Lastly Observe that in affirming this Infallible Immutable purpose of God to save his Elect and them only we do not deny his Purpose of giving Pardon and Life in Christ Conditionally to those that are not Elect For that which he hath done in Time he Purposed before Time and so did Christ at his Death But in Time he hath made such a general Conditional Grant or Gift of Christ and Life as is legible in the Gospel beyond all exceptions Ergo c. And therefore according to his Legislative Will antecedently God would have all men to be saved tho' consequently considering many as finally Impenitent Unbelievers he Wills as a Righteous Judge their Damnation Nor will I dispute whether as we ascribe a Volition to God as the cause of his Effectual Grace so we may ascribe a Velleity to him as Lud. Crocius and other of our Divines do as the cause of that Grace which proveth not-effectual in both speaking of him from the manner of man Upon this very cursory explication I proceed to prove the Thesis thus Argum. I. If Christ Died with a Special Intention to bring his chosen Infallibly to Believe and to give them Justification and Glorification on condition of believing then he died with a special Intention of bringing infallibly certain chosen persons to Faith Justification and Salvation But the Antecedent is true therefore so is the consequent That which we have to prove therefore is that he had a Special Intent to give Faith to some Infallibly and then there will be no more question of Justification and Glorification And that I prove thus Whatever Grace Christ giveth absolutely and infallibly that he purposed before to give absolutely and infallibly But Christ giveth the Grace of Faith and Repentance to his chosen and them only absolutely and infallibly Ergo c. By giving in this Argument I mean the actual Causation or Collation of faith it self and not merely a Legal giving a right to it of which anon The Major I think no sober Christian will deny For how can the Omniscient Immutable God be suddenly surprized with a new purpose which never came into his mind before our being Believers The Minor is proved 1. From the visible Event 2. From Scripture 1. We see undâ—niably that some men have Faith and others have not therefore we know that God giveth it absolutely and infallibly to those only Obj God gave it to all alike but the rest refused it Answ I. If that were true of God's Moral Civil way of giving yet it cannot be true of his Physical gift or operation which we now speak of for that giving is ever connexed with receiving As God never giveth a Soul to any Body nor health to any Sick man but those that receive them so he never thus gives Faith Repentance a New-heart to any but those that receive them Obj. He offereth Christ and Grace to believe in him to All and offering is conditional giving and he doth no more to any but on supposition of their Reception or performance of the Condition Answ I. It 's false that he actually offers Christ to all tho' as to the tenour of the Gift he doth which without the Promulgation which extends not to Millions of Heathens is no actual offer II. Much less or as little doth he offer them Faith III. It 's false that he doth no more but offer Faith conditionally to his chosen For he effecteth it absolutely To offer Conditionally is a Civil act and we are speaking of a Physical Causing This objection therefore flatly denieth that God is the Author of any man's Faith We therefore prove it out of Scripture Eph. 2. 8. By Grace ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God The Expositors that are most against the Doctrine which I defend do confess that it is Faith and not Salvatiin only that is here called the Gift of God but they say God giveth it by giving the object Christ and the Gospel Answ That is somewhat towards the giving of Faith but that is not the giving of Faith if there be no more Do these men think that the unrenewed faculty hath need of no Grace but an object or perswasion from without to cause it to believe Many have the Gospel that have not Faith therefore God hath not caused such to believe 1 Pet. 1. 5. Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation God's Power is exercised in keeping us in Faith as the means to Salvation the end And he that by his mighty Power keeps us in Faith no doubt did cause it 2 Pet. 1. 3. According as his Divine Power hath given to us all things that pertain to Life and Godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to Glory and Virtue If he give us all things pertaining to Life then he gives us Faith Obj. Faith is expresly excepted in the Words through the knowledge of him that hath called us that is through our own believing Answ I. It is distinguished from the rest as a Gift which is a means to the other gifts but not excepted II. Our following acts of Faith seem to be included in the All things here mentioned viz. Through our first believing God giveth us Christ the Spirit and all following Grace And if the following acts of Faith are the gifts of God then no doubt the first was so which was required of us when we were less able of our selves to perform it then when we are Sanctified Heb. 12. 2. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith Obj. That 's meant of the Doctrine of our belief and Objects of Faith the Christian Religion Answ I. Then to be the Finisher and to be the Author would be all one For as soon as Christ was the Author of Christian Doctrine he was the Finisher but not so about our own Faith II. If it were so yet may it be meant of Faith as it contains both even the whole work of our Christianity and Salvation Phil. 1. 29. For to you it is given on the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake From this Text Grotius himself confesseth that it is proved that Faith is the
when man is already condemned the Law of Grace say that he shall undergo a far sorer punishment and it shall be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment than him except he will do these impossibilities this is still harder It is not all the believing in the World supposing it were performed that would make Christs Death which is past to be suffered for those that it was not suffered for This makes Christ to come into the World to condemn the World and that to a far sorer punishment than the Law of Works did oblige them to without procuring them any possibility of escaping For there 's no possibility of that mans escape for whom no price of Redemption is paid Nay it lays an absolute necessity ab extra and unavoidable on men of perishing under this double damnation For he that before I am born makes a Law that I shall dye except I have part in a payment that was made 1000 years ago and that only for others and not at all for me he doth necessitate my Death by that Law For it is impossible that I should ever have part in it if it were not paid for me Now I know our Divines speak of Gods necessitating mans Damnation by Foreknowledge and Decree which they call only Necessitas Antecedentis non Causae But who ever affirmed that Christ in giving the New Law He that believeth shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned did necessitate and that Causally and that Antecedenter ad Culpam the far greater damnation of miserable wretches that were condemned already And that the Gospel is not so much harder than the Law I prove Mat. 11. 27 28 30. My Yoak is easie and my Burden is light Heb. 8. 6. Jesus is the Mediator of a better Covenant stablished on better promises Heb. 7. 22. And the Author of a better Testament Rom. 5. 14 15 20. Where sin abounded Grace much more abounded John 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave c. Eph. 3. 19 20. Heb. 11. 40. His service is a reasonable service His Commandments are not grievous His tender mercy is over all his Works He is kind to the unthankful and unjust His mercies lead men to Repentance He delighteth not in the death of him that dyeth but rather that he Repent and Live He calleth all men every where to repent and seek after God All the day long doth he stretch out his hand to a froward and gain-saying generation He dealeth not with us after our sins He inviteth the Non Elect to the Wedding Feast and telleth them that all things are ready and some of them he compelleth to come in as he did him that had not on the Wedding Garment he chargeth his Messengers to beseech men in his stead to be reconciled unto God He would gather under his Wings even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens those that Will not be gathered All these with a multitude the like are the Scripture expressions of Gods gentle and merciful dealing with men under the Law of Grace And so much of the execution as we see is answerable He offers mercy to all in the Church and confers much Mercy on every man in the World He dealeth with no man according to the strict rigour of the unremedied Curse of the Law of Works Abuse of the Talents of undeserved Mercy is the thing that men must be condemned and perish for No one sinner on Earth is excepted or excluded by him out of his Offer and Promise of Mercy so be it they will themselves consent whoever Will may have the Living Waters freely without Money and without Price and if their sins be as red as Scarlet he offers to make them as white as Snow and to cast them all behind his back and bury them in the depths of the Sea He calls to them return why will ye dye How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and ye scorners delight in scorning and fools hate knowledge Turn you at my reproof behold I will pour out my spirit unto you I will make known my words unto you Prov. 1. 22 23. He hath received Gifts for men even for the Rebellious that the Lord may dwell among them God hath sent his Son Jesus to you saith the Apostle Act. 3. last to bless you in turning every one of you from his iniquities And when men will not hear he saith O that my People had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my mays Psal 81. 13. O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always that it might be well with them and their Children for ever Deut. 5. 29. Can any man then believe that the tenour of the new Law or Covenant is so much harder than ever was the Law of Works as is before expressed As for them that say the New Covenant is no Law and Wicked men or the Non-Elect are not under it they manifest so great ignorance and go against so full light of express Scripture that I think them not worthy a confutation Only I would have the Lutheran Divines remember that near to the Apostles times it was not only an unquestioned truth but also was part of the Christian Creed Christum predicasse Novam legem novam promissionem Regni Caelorum Tertullian de Prescription cap. Arg. 20. A Legis Mosaicae Abrogatione If all men that were any way under it are freed by the blood of Christ from the Bondage of the Mosaical Law of Ceremonies then Christ died for All such and consequently not only for the Elect But the Antecedent is certain Ergo c. Some Divines say that All the World were thus far subject to the Jewish Law that they could not be saved without knowing it and submitting to it in obedience because God had then no other Church nor stablished way of Worship If this be true then all the World hath a deliverance in the Abrogation of that Law Others say that it obliged only the Jews and Proselites and that others at the remotest distance should not have been obliged by that Law if they had known it If that be so then it was only the Jews and Proselytes such as had opportunity to incorporate with them or joyn to them that had this deliverence However it is evident it was to all the Jews and so to more than the Elect and then almost all the Arguments against Universal Satisfaction are hereby overthrown for they are built on this that Christ died only for the Elect. Here I must prove 1. That Moses Ceremonial Law is abrogate 2. That it was done by the shedding of Christ's Blood for those that were under it 3. That it is abrogated to All. 1. And for the first it is so generally acknowledged and the Scripture so express in it specially Act. 15. and all the Epistle to the Galatians that I may spare that labour only some doubt whether