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A66345
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An end to discord wherein is demonstrated that no doctrinal controversy remains between the Presbyterian and Congregational ministers fit to justify longer divisions : with a true account of Socinianism as to the satisfaction of Christ / by Daniel Williams.
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Williams, Daniel, 1643?-1716.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing W2647; ESTC R26372
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65,210
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134
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he hath appointed them to Salvation Note Reader that these Divines do here join together the Covenant of Redemption with Christ and the Gospel-Covenant whereby are dispensed to us the Benefits impetrated by Christ which two distinguished would lead to clearer thoughts Error The Covenant of Grace hath no Condition to be performed on Man's part tho in the strentgh of Christ Neither is Faith it self the Condition of this Covenant but all the saving Benefits of this Covenant are actually ours before we are born Neither are we required so much as to believe that we may come to have an Interest in the Covenant Benefits Truth 9. I shall express this in the words of the Assembly and Congregational Elders at the Savoy Confes. of Faith ch 14. 2. Declarat ch 14. a. 2. of saving Faith By this Grace a Christian believeth to be true whatever is revealed in the Word for the Authority of God speaking therein and acteth differently upon that which each particular Passage thereof containeth yielding Obedience to the Commands trembling at the Threatnings and embracing the Promises of God for this Life and that which is to come But the principal Acts of saving Faith are accepting receiving and resting upon Christ alone for Justification Sanctification and Eternal Life by virtue of the Covenant of Grace Error Saving Faith is nothing but our Persuasion or absolute concluding within our selves that our Sins are pardoned and that Christ is ours Truth 10. Christ is freely offered to be a Head and Saviour to the vilest Sinners who will knowingly assent to the Truth of the Gospel and from a Conviction of their Sin and Misery out of Christ are humbled and truly willing to renounce all their Idols and Sins denying their own carnal Self and Merits and accept of Christ as offered in the Gospel relying on him alone for Justification Sanctification and Eternal Life Error Christ is offered to Blasphemers Murderers and the worst of Sinners that they remaining ignorant unconvinced unhumbled and resolved in their purpose to continue such they may be assured they have a full Interest in Christ and this by only concluding in their own Minds upon this Offer that Christ is theirs Truth 11. Every Man is without Christ or not united to Christ until he be effectually called but when by this Call the Spirit of God enclineth and enableth him willingly to accept of Christ as a Head and Saviour a Man becomes united to him and Partaker of those Influences and Privileges which are peculiar to the Members of the Lord Jesus Error All the Elect are actually united to Christ before they have the Spirit of Christ or at all believe in him even before they are born yea and against their Will Truth 12. Tho Faith be no way a meritorious Cause of a Sinner's Justification yet God hath promised to justify all such as truly believe and requires Faith as an indispensible Qualification in all whom he will justify for Christ's Merits declaring that Unbelief shall not only hinder Mens knowing that they are justified but that it is a bar to any Person 's being justified while he continues an Unbeliever Error The whole use of Faith in Justification is only to manifest that we were justified before and Faith is no way necessary to bring a Sinner into a justified State nor at all useful to that end In a Digression there about Repentance is added Truth Altho neither Faith nor Repentance be any part of the meriting Righteousness for which we are justified and the Habits of both are wrought at the same time and included in the Regenerating Principle and there must be an assenting Act of Faith before there be any exercise of true Repentance And Repentance as consisting in the fruits meet for it viz. an external Reformation and a fruitful Life must follow Pardon as doth also an ingenuous Sorrow for Sin in the sense of Pardon Nevertheless Repentance as it consists in some degree of Humblings and Sorrow from Convictions of our lost State and the Evil of Sin with a sincere purpose of Heart to turn from our Sin and Idols to God is absolutely necessary in order to the forgiveness of Sin Error Our Sins are forgiven before any Repentance and Believers ought not to complain or mourn or sorrow for the Sins they have committed Truth 13. Tho neither Holiness sincere Obedience or good Works do make any Atonement for Sin or are in the least the meritorious Righteousness whereby Salvation is caused or for which this or any Blessing becomes due to us as of Debt yet as the Spirit of Christ freely worketh all Holiness in the Soul and enableth us to sincere Obedience and good Works so the Lord Jesus hath of Grace and for his own Merits promised to bring to Heaven such as are Partakers of true Holiness perform this sincere Obedience and do these good Works perseveringly and appoints these as the Way and Means of a Believer's obtaining Salvation and several other Blessings requiring these as indispensible Duties and Qualifications of all such whom he will so save and bless and excluding all that want or neglect them or live under the Power of what 's contrary thereto viz. Profaneness Rebellion and utter Unfruitfulness Error Men have nothing to do in order to Salvation nor is Sanctification a jot the way of any Person to Heaven nor can the Graces or Duties of Believers no nor Faith it self do them the least Good or prevent the least Evil nor are they of any use to their Peace or Comfort yea tho Christ be explicitely owned and they be done in the strength of the Spirit of God And a Believer ought not to think he is more pleasing to God by any Grace he acteth or Good he doth nor may Men expect any Good to a Nation by the Humiliation earnest Prayer or Reformation of a People Truth 14. Tho we ought to intend God's Glory as our supream End in all our Duties and design therein the expressing our Love and Gratitude to God for his Benefits with a great regard to publick Good Yet we also lawfully may and ought to strive after Grace grow in it and perform holy Duties and Services with an Eye to and Concern for our own spiritual and eternal Advantage Error No Man ought to propose to himself any Advantage by any Religious Duty he performeth nor ought he in the least to intend the Profit of his own Soul by any Christian Endeavours it being vain and unlawful to do any thing with an Eye to our spiritual or eternal Good tho in Subordination to God's Glory in Christ. Truth 15. The ordinary way whereby a Man attaineth a well-grounded Assurance is not by immediate objective Revelation or an inward Voice saying Thy Sins are forgiven thee But when the Believer is examining his Heart and Life by the Word the holy Spirit enlightens the Mind there to discern Faith and Love and such other Qualifications which the Gospel declareth to be infallible
Satisfaction still interposeth between the Justice of God and a believing Sinner Neither are they backward to ascribe to efficacious Grace that Virtue whereby we are enclined and enabled to believe Men may expose each other by fiery Debates after such Concessions but he who expresseth most Heat discovers the more ungospel Spirit if not the weaker Cause and weaker Judgment 2. As for such who own Christ's Righteousness in se to be imputed in the second sense and those who say it 's not imputed in it self but as to Effects if they contend the first must quarrel the other for denying in words what he grants for substance and the latter must be warm against the former because he will not join with him in offending the weak and hazarding Truth by rejecting a Phrase which well explained doth properly express what both intend CHAP. IX An Abstract of what helped me to avoid some Perplexity concerning Iustification with some account of our being justified at the Creator and Redeemer's Bar. THO I avoid arguing any Controversy in these Sheets which are designed for Peace yet I think it may promote this healing Design to give a short Abstract of some Thoughts whereby I arrived to Satisfaction in the Doctrine of Justification § 1. Justification being a forensick Act our Thoughts ought not to wander beyond what 's necessary to it as a judicial Sentence nor disregard whatever belongs to that Here the principal Considerations are the Judg the Rule of Judgment the Cause and Person to be tried by that Rule and the Sentence to be past by the Judg on the Person whose Cause is so tried which must be no other than what that Rule of Judgment duly applied containeth Hereby what some call Constitutive Justification is strictly no other than the Conformity of the Person to the Rule of Judgment by which he is acquittable or rewardable or both Passive Justification is no other than the Effect of the judicial Sentence or the Person 's State considered as absolved or to be rewarded or both by the Sentence now judicially past upon him and supposeth a Sentence and is measured by it § 2. A justifying Sentence is past upon every justified Person and continues to pass upon him by the Gospel-Promises applied by an Omnipresent All-seeing Infallible Faithful Almighty God Rom. 5. 1 2. The Gospel-offer is the Rule of Judgment the Gospel in its respective Promises complied with is God's justifying Sentence and that conclusive and effectual tho not so discernable by us as if it were solemnly pronounced 1. Here the transcendent Perfections of God must raise our Minds above Human Judicatories he needs no Evidence because he knoweth all things there needs no Summons to appear for he is ever with us he cannot err in Judgment for he is inflexibly righteous and knows the Rule of Judgment in its extent and allowances 2. We know not what Solemnity this Sentence may be pronounced with concerning us tho out of our hearing what in Heaven where there is Joy for the Conversion of Sinners what at the Throne where Christ is our interceding Advocate c. And sometimes God condescends to make it audible to our own Consciences by the received Testimony of his Spirit 3. This Sentence is in part executed upon every Believer as to what is promised for the present as well as his Title is adjudged to what is reserved for the future The in-dwelling Spirit Assistances peculiar to Christ's Members Answers of Prayer the Comforts of the Holy Ghost and whatever special Actings of Providence belong only to God's adopted Ones are the Execution of the justifying Sentence and suppose such a Sentence past as well as that it is a gracious one 4. God still pronounceth a justifying Sentence according to the variety of his Gospel-Promises tho that great one which alters our State passeth upon our first believing As he adjudgeth us to Pardon and Adoption upon our first acceptance of his Grace so he adjudgeth us non-forfeiters upon our abiding in Christ or persevering acceptance instanced as the various Promises describe the Heirs thereof § 3. The same justifying Sentence that God past by his Promises applied by himself in this Life will be more solemnly and convincingly pronounced at the Judgment-day when the full and perfect Execution of the Sentence is to take place 1. We shall be as truly judged at that day as if we had not been sentenced or the Sentence executed at all in this Life or at Death The wise God who knows the Subserviency hereof to Practical Religion doth oft and most expresly deliver it and in words as if we were all to be among those found alive when the Trumpet sounds 2 Cor. 5. 10. We must all appear before the Iudgment-seat of Christ that we may all receive c. Rom. 14. 10 12. Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God 1 Pet. 4. 5. And what must we give an account of Our Words Mat. 12. 36. Secrets of Hearts Rom. 2. 16. use of Talents Mat. 25. Heb. 13. 17. our Works c. that is every thing as gives Evidence concerning Mens Condition as it 's determinable by the Rule of Judgment and principally centers in this Have they sincerely accepted of the Salvation offered by the Redeemer 2. The Rule of Judgment and Sentence at that day will be the same as that by which every Believer is justified on this side Death it 's no new or other Sentence but the same more solemnly declared unless you 'll say it includes the entire extent of the Rule for the time of trial as well as that which changed our State 3. The great design of that solemn Process and open Sentence is to vindicate God in Christ as no Respecter of Persons in the extremely different State of the Damned and the Saved both in this Life and Eternity especially such as lived under the offers of Salvation and withal to vindicate his own mysterious Methods towards the Justified in their past Life as also them from unjust Aspersions 2 Thess. 1. Dan. 12. Mat. 22. 25. But to instance no more than the first he 'll convince Angels and Men by manifested Instances that they whom he justified and now saveth were Persons justifiable by that Rule of Judgment whereby the others are condemned and that the Sentence he pronounceth and executes on each is the very Sentence which that Rule impartially applied to their real Cases denounced § 4. The Rule of Judgment in its nature and scope is to be principally regarded in order to right Apprehensions concerning the justifying Sentence This determineth what is a justifying Righteousness and what is not this declares the nature of the adjudged Title whether it be of Grace or Debt dependent or independent thereby is evident what we are adjudged to and whether the Sentence passeth upon several complex Conditions or one particular one for we must be free from whatever the Rule of Judgment denounceth condemnable and not be