our righteousness Jer. 23. we dare not set the servant above the master we acknowledge no righteousness but what the obedience and satisfaction of Christ yields us his blood not our faith his satisfaction not our believing it is the matter of our justification before God Secondly We dare not yield this point lest we undermine all the comfort of Christians by bottoming their pardon and peace upon a weak imperfect work of their own Oh how tottering and unstable must their station be that stand upon such a bottom as this what ups and downs are there in our faith what mixtures of unbelief at all times and prevalency of unbelief at some times and is this a foundation to build our justification and hope upon debile fundamentum fallit opus if we lay the stress here we build upon very loose ground and must be at a continual loss both as to safety and comfort Thirdly We dare not wrong the justice and truth of God at that rate as to affirm that he esteems and imputes our poor weak faith for perfect legal righteousness we know that the judgement of God is always according to truth if Ergo quia fides Christum justitiam nostram recipit gratiae dei in Christo omnia tribuit ideo fidei tribuitur justificatio maxime propter Christum non ideo quia nostrum opus est Confess Helv. 〈◊〉 the justice of God requires full payment sure it will not say it 's fully satisfied by any act of ours when all that we can do amounts not to one mite of the vast summ we owe to God So that we deservedly reject this opinion also Thirdly And for the third opinion that it justifies as the Condition of the new Covenant though some of great name and worth among our Protestant Divines seem to go that way yet I cannot see according to this opinion any reason why repentance may not as properly be said to justifie us as faith for it is a condition of the new Covenant as much as faith and if faith justifie as a condition then every other grace that is a condition must justifie as well as faith I acknowledge faith to be a condition of the Covenant but cannot allow that it justifies as a condition And therefore must profess my self best satisfied in the last opinion which speaks it an instrument in our justification it is the hand which receives the righteousness of Christ that justifies us and that gives it its value above all other graces as when we say a Diamond Ring is worth one hundred pounds we mean not the Gold that receives but the stone that is set in it is worth so much faith consider'd as an habit is no more precious than other gracious habits are but consider'd as an instrument to receive Christ and his righteousness so it excels them all and this instrumentality of faith is noted in those phrases 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 3. 28. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 3. 22. by faith and through faith And thus much of the nature and excellency of saving faith The Seventh SERMON Serm. 7. JOH 1. 12. Text. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name THe Nature and Excellency of saving faith together with its relation to justification as an Instrument in receiving Christ and his righteousness having been discoursed doctrinally already I now come to make application of it according to the nature of this weighty and fruitful point And the Uses I shall make of it will be for our 1. Information 2. Examination 3. Exhortation And. 4. Direction First Use of Information And in the first place this point yields us many and great 1. Use. and useful truths for our Information as Infer 1. Is the receiving of Christ the vital and saving act of faith Infer 1. which gives the soul right to the person and priviledges of Christ Then it follows That the rejecting of Christ by unbelief must needs be the damning and soul-destroying sin which cuts a man off from Christ and all the benefits purchased by his blood If there be life in receiving there must needs be death in rejecting Christ. There is no grace more excellent than faith no sin more execrable and abominable than unbelief faith is the saving grace and unbelief is the damning sin Mark 16. 16. He that believeth not shall be damned See Joh. 3. 18 36. and Joh. 8. 24. And the reason why this sin of unbelief is the damning sin is this because in the justification of a sinner there must be a cooperation of all the Concauses that have a joint influence into that blessed effect As there must be free grace for an impulsive cause The blood of Christ as the meritorious cause so of necessity there must be faith the Instrumental cause to receive and apply what the free grace of God designed and the blood of Christ purchased for us For where there are many social causes or concauses to produce one effect there the effect is not produced till the last cause be in Act. To him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remissions of sins Acts 10. 43. Faith in its place is as necessary as the blood of Christ in its place 't is Christ in you the hope of glory Col. 1. 27. not Christ in the womb nor Christ in the grave nor Christ in heaven except he be also Christ in you Though Christ be come in the flesh though he dyed and rose again from the dead yet if you believe not you must for all that dye in your sins Joh. 8. 24. and what a dreadful thing is this better dye the death of a dog better dye in a ditch than dye in your sins if you dye in your sins you will also rise in your sins and stand at the bar of Christ in your sins you can never receive remission till first you have received Christ. O cursed unbelief which damns the soul dishonours God 1 Joh. 5. 10. sleights Jesus Christ the wisdome of God as if that glorious design of redemption by his blood the triumph and master-piece of divine wisdome were meer foolishness 1 Cor. 1. 23 24. frustrates the great design of the Gospel Gal. 4. 11. and consequently it must be the sin of sins the worst and most dangerous of all sins leaving a man under the guilt of all his other sins Infer 2. If such a receiving of Christ as hath been described be saving and justifying faith Then faith is a work of greater difficulty Infer 2. than most men understand it to be and there are but few sound believers in the world Before Christ can be received the heart must be emptied and opened but most mens hearts are full of self righteousness and vain confidence this was the case of the Jews Rom. 10. 3. being ignorant of Gods righteousness and
effect of pure grace done for his own name sake Isai. 43. 25. discharging us without any satisfaction at all by us there is much grace in that and providing a surety for us every way able to pay our debt there is more grace in that 'T is the gracious act of God in and through Christ the satisfaction of Christ is the procuring cause of our remission and so God declares himself just in the remission of our sin Rom. 3 25. Gracious is the Lord and righteous Psal. 116. 5. Justice and mercy meet here and embrace each other in whom saith the Text we have remission no other price could purchase this priviledge Micah 6. 6 7. not rivers of Oyl or humane Blood And this gracious act of God discharges the pardoned soul both from guilt and punishment guilt is nothing else but the force and power that is in sin to oblige the sinner to undergo the penalty due to sin Therefore sinners are said to be guilty of Hell-fire Mat. 5. 22. Guilty of eternal judgement Mark 3. 29. to be under the judgement of God Rom. 3. 19. Remission takes away both guilt and punishment together it takes away all guilt Acts 13. 38 39. and all punishment And so much of the first thing to be opened namely what the remission of sin is Secondly Now that this remission of sin is the priviledge of Believers is most apparent for all the causes of remission are in conjunction to procure it for them The love of God which is the impulsive cause of pardon the blood of Christ which is the meritorious cause of pardon and saving faith which is the instrumental cause of pardon do all cooperate for their remission as is plain in the Text. Besides all the promises of pardon are made to them Jer. 31. 34. Micah 7. 18. and Lastly All the signs of pardon are sound in them and in them only that love God Luk. 7. 47. mercisulness to others Mat. 6. 14. a blessed calmness and peace in the Conscience Rom. 5. 1. So that it is a truth beyond controversie that all that are in Christ are in a pardoned state Secondly Next I will shew you that the Pardon of Believers 2. is the purchase of the blood of Christ nothing but the blood of Christ is a price equivalent to the remission of sin for this blood was innocent and untainted blood 1 Pet. 1. 19. the blood of a Lamb without spot This blood was precious blood blood of infinite worth and value the blood of God Acts 20. 28. it was prepared blood for this very purpose Heb. 10. 5. prepared by Gods eternal appointment prepared by Christs miraculous and extraordinary production by the operation of the Spirit prepared by his voluntary sequestration or sanctification of himself to this very use and purpose The blood of Jesus is not only innocent precious and prepared blood but it is also blood actually shed and sacrificed to the justice of God for the expiation of guilt and procurement of our discharge Isai. 53. 5. To conclude the severe justice of God could put in no exception against the blood of Christ 't is unexceptionable blood being as before was noted untainted by sin and dignified above all estimation by the person whose blood it was Justice required no less and could demand no more and this is the price at which our pardons are purchased and without which no sin could be pardoned for without shedding of blood such blood as this there is no remission Heb. 9. 22. Thirdly The last thing to be opened is That God hath 3. manifested the riches of his grace in the remission of our sins so speaks the Apostle Rom. 5. 20. Where sin abounded grace did much more abound And 1 Tim. 1. 14. The grace of our Lord viz. in the pardon of sin was exceeding abundant Which will appear if we bring our thoughts close to the matter in several particulars First From the nature of the mercy which is the richest of all mercies except Christ the purchaser of it no mercy sweeter than a pardon to a condemned sinner No pardon like Gods pardon to a man condemned at his Bar all the goodness of God is made to pass before our eyes in his pardoning acts of grace Exod. 33. 19. Secondly The very riches of grace must needs be in the pardon of sin if we consider the method in which pardons are dispensed which is as the Text speaks through his blood Herein God commends his love to us Rom. 5. 8. he commends it more than if he had pardoned sin without such a sacrifice for then he had only displayed his mercy but not caused Mercy and Justice to meet and triumph together Thirdly The riches of his grace shines forth in the peculiarity of the mercy Remission is no common favour it was never extended to the fallen Angels nor to the far greater part of the children of men but only to a little flock a small remnant of mankind Luke 12. 32. Joh. 17. 9. Fourthly The riches of grace are manifested in remission if we consider the subjects of this priviledge who are not only equally plunged into sin and misery with others by nature Eph. 2. 3. but many of the Lords pardoned ones are actually guilty of deeper-died abominations than many unpardoned ones in the civilized world are defiled with To me saith Paul the greatest of sinners one that was before a blasphemer a persecutor c. yet to me is this grace given I obtained mercy 1 Tim. 1. 15. and such were some of you but ye are justified 1 Cor. 6. 11. Yea God singles out the most base despised poor and contemptible ones among men to be the subjects of this glorious priviledge 1 Cor. 1. 26. You see your calling brethren c. Fifthly More of the riches of grace still appears if we view the latitude and extent of this act of grace Oh how innumerable are our transgressions Who can understand his errors Psal. 19. 12. Yet the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin 1 Joh. 1. 7. Small and great sins open and secret sins old and new sins all pardoned without exception O the riches of grace O the unsearchable goodness of God! With the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his Iniquities Psal. 130. 7 8. Sixthly and lastly The riches of Grace shine forth in the irrevocableness and perpetuity of remission as grace pardons all sins without exception so the pardons it bestows are without revocation The pardoned soul shall never come into condemnation Joh. 5. 24. As far as the East is from the West so far hath he removed our transgressions from us Psal. 103. 10. The East and West are the two opposite points of Heaven which can never come together neither shall the pardoned soul and its sins ever meet any more Thou hast cast saith Hezekiah all my sins behind thy back The penitent Believer sets his sins
and the soul in which it is may draw very sad conclusions about the issue and event concluding its life not only to be hazarded but quite extinguished Psal. 51. 10 11 12. but though it be ready to dye God wonderfully preserves it from death it hath as well its reviving as its fainting seasons and thus you see what are the lovely and eximious properties of the new creature In the next place Fourthly We will demonstrate the necessity of this new creation to all that are in Christ and by him expect to attain 4. salvation and the necessity of the new creature will appear divers ways First From the positive and express will of God revealed in Scripture touching this matter search the Scriptures and you shall find God hath laid the whole stress and weight of your eternal happiness by Jesus Christ upon this work of the spirit in your souls So our Saviour tells Nicodemus John 3. 5. Verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God agreeable whereunto are those words of the Apostle Heb. 12. 14. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. And whereas some may think that their birth right priviledges injoyment of Ordinances and profession of Religion may commend them to Gods acceptance without this new creation he shews them how fond and ungrounded all such hopes are Gal. 6. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new creature Christ and Heaven are the gifts of God and he is at liberty to bestow them upon what terms and conditions he pleaseth and this is the way the only way and stated method in which he will bring men by Christ unto glory men may raze out the impressions of these things from their own hearts but they can never alter the setled course and method of Salvation either we must be new creatures as the precepts of the word command us or lost and damned creatures as the threatnings of the word plainly tell us Secondly This new Creation is the inchoative part of that great Salvation which we expect through Christ and therefore without this all hopes and expectations of Salvation must vanish Salvation and renovation are inseparably connected Our glory in Heaven if we rightly understand its nature consisteth in two things namely our assimilation to God and our fruition of God and both these take their beginning and rise from our renovation in this world here we begin to be changed into his Image in some degree 2 Cor. 3. 18. for the new man is created after God as was opened above In the work of grace God is said to begin that good work which is to be finished or consummated in the day of Christ Phil. 1. 6. Now nothing can be more irrational than to imagine that ever that design or work should be finished and perfected which never had a beginning Thirdly So necessary is the new creation to all that expect salvation by Christ that without this Heaven would be no Heaven and the glory thereof no glory to us by reason of the unsuitableness and aversation of our carnal minds thereunto the carnal mind is enmity against God Rom. 8. 7. and enmity is exclusive of all complacency and delight there is a necessity of a suitable and agreeable frame of heart to God in order to that complacential rest of our souls in him and this agreeable temper is wrought by our new creation 2 Cor. 5. 5. He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God renovation you see is the working or moulding of a mans spirit into an agreeable temper or as it is in Col. 1. 12. the making of us meet for the inheritance of the Saints in light From all which it follows that seeing there can be no complacence or delight in God without suitableness and conformity to him as is plain from 1 Joh. 3. 2. as well as from the reason and nature of the thing it self either God must become like us suitable to our sinful corrupt and vain hearts which were but a rude blasphemy once to imagine or else we must be made agreeable and suitable to God which is the very thing I am now proving the necessity of Fourthly There is an absolute necessity of the new creature to all that expect interest in Christ and the glory to come since all the characters marks and signs of such an interest are constantly taken from the new creature wrought in us Look over all the marks and signs of interest in Christ or salvation by him which are dispersed through the Scriptures and you shall still find purity of heart Matth. 5. 8. holiness both in principle and practice Heb. 12. 14. mortification of sin Rom. 8. 13. longing for Christs appearance 2 Tim. 4. 8. with multitudes more of the same nature to be constantly made the marks and signs of our salvation by Christ. So that either we must have a new Bible or a new Heart for if these Scriptures be the true and faithful words of God no unrenewed creature can see his face which was the fourth thing to be opened Fifthly The last thing to be opened is how the new creation is an infallible proof and evidence of the souls interest 5. in Christ and this will appear divers ways First Where all the saving graces of the spirit are there interest in Christ must needs be certain and where the new creature is there all the saving graces of the spirit are for what is the new creature but the frame or Systeme of all special saving graces it is not this or that particular grace as faith or hope or love to God which constitutes the new creature for these are but as so many particular limbs or branches of it but the new creature is comprehensive of all the graces of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22 23. The fruit of the Spirit is love peace joy long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance c. any one of the saving special graces of the Spirit gives proof of our interest in Christ how much more then the new creature which is the complex frame or Systeme of all the graces together Secondly To conclude where all the causes of an interest in Christ are found and all the effects and fruits of an interest in Christ do appear there undoubtedly a real interest in Christ is found but where-ever you find a new creature you find all the causes and all the effects of an interest in Christ for there you shall find First The impulsive cause viz. the electing love of God from which the new creature is inseparable 1 Pet. 1. 2. with the new creature also the meritorious efficient and final causes of interest in Christ and union with him are ever found Eph. 2. 10. Eph. 1. 4 5 6. Secondly All the effects and fruits of interest in Christ are found with the new creature there are all the fruits
assenting act of faith in the very foundation and hence I doubt I do not believe There may be and often is a true and sincere assent found in the soul that is assaulted with violent atheistical suggestions Sol. from Satan and thereupon questions the truth of it and this is a very clear evidence of the reality of our assent that whatever doubts or contrary suggestions there be yet we dare not in our practice contradict or slight those truths or duties which we are tempted to disbelieve Ex. gr we are assaulted with atheistical thoughts and tempted to slight and cast off all fears of sin and practice of religious duties yet when it comes to the point of practice we dare not commit a known sin the awe of God is upon us we dare not omit a known duty the tye of conscience is found strong enough to hold us close to it in this case 't is plain we do really assent when we think we do not A man thinks he doth not love his child yet carefully provides for him in health and is full of grief and fears about him in sickness why now so long as I see all fath rly duties performed and affections to his childs welfare manifested let him say what he will as to the want of love to him whilest I see this he must excuse me if I do not believe him when he saith he hath no love for him Just so is it in this case A man saith I do not assent to the being necessity or excellency of Jesus Christ yet in the mean time his soul is fill'd with cares and fears about securing his interest in him he is found panting and thirsting for him with vehement desires there 's nothing in all the world would give him such joy as to be well assured of an interest in him while it is thus with any man let him say or think what he will of his assent it 's manifest by this he doth truly and heartily assent and there can be no better proof of it than these real effects produc'd by it Secondly But if these and other objections were never so fully answer'd for the clearing of the assumption yet it often falls out that believers are afraid to draw the conclusion and that fear arises partly from First The weighty importance of the matter Secondly The sense of the deceitfulness of their own hearts First The conclusion is of infinite importance to them it is the everlasting happiness of their souls than which nothing is or can be of greater weight upon their spirits things in which we are most deeply concerned are not lightly and hastily received by us it seems so great and so good that we are still apt if there be any room for it to suspect the truth and certainty thereof as never being sure enough Thus when the women that were the first messengers and witnesses of Christs resurrection Luke 24. 10 11. came and told the disciples those wonderful and comfortable tydings it 's said that their words seemed to them as idle tales and they believed them not they thought it was too good to be true too great to be hastily received so is it in this case Secondly The sense they have of the deceitfulness of their own hearts and the dayly workings of hypocrisie there makes them afraid to conclude in so great a point as this is They know that very many dayly cozen and cheat themselves in this matter they know also that their own hearts are full of falseness and deceit they find them so in their daily observations of them and what if they should prove so in this why then they are lost for ever they also know there is not the like danger in their fears and jealousies that would be in their vain confidences and presumptions by the one they are only deprived of their present comfort but by the other they would be ruined for ever and therefore choose rather to dwell with their own fears though they be uncomfortable companions than run the danger of so great a mistake which would be infinitely more fatal And this being the common case of most Christians it follows that there must be many more believers in the world than do think or dare conclude themselves to be such Infer 4. If the right receiving of Jesus Christ be true saving and justifying faith then those that have the least and lowest degree and measure Infer 4. of saving faith have cause for ever to admire the bounty and riches of the grace of God to them therein If you have received never so little of his bounty by the hand of providence in the good things of this life yet if he have given you any measure of true saving faith he hath dealt bountifully indeed with you this mercy alone is enough to ballance all other wants and inconveniencies of this life Poor in the world rich in faith James 2. 5. O let your hearts take in the full sense of this bounty of God to you say with the Apostle Eph. 1. 3. blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus and you will in this one mercy find matter enough of praise and thanksgiving wonder and admiration to your dying day yea to all eternity for do but consider First The smallest measure of saving faith which is found in any of the poople of God receives Jesus Christ and in receiving him what mercy is there which the believing soul doth not receive in him and with him Rom. 8. 32. O believer though the arms of thy faith be small and weak yet they embrace a great Christ and receive the richest gift that ever God bestowed upon the world no sooner art thou become a believer but Christ is in thee the hope of glory and thou hast authority to become a son or daughter of God thou hast the broad seal of heaven to confirm thy title and claim to the priviledges of Adoption for to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God To as many be they strong or be they weak provided they really receive Christ by faith there is authority or power given so that it 's no act of presumption in them to say God is our Father heaven is our inheritance Oh precious faith the treasures of ten thousand worlds cannot purchase such priviledges as these all the Crowns and Scepters of the earth sold at their full value are no price for such mercies Secondly The least degree of saving faith brings the soul into a state of perfect and full Justification For if it receives Jesus Christ it must therefore needs in him and with him receive a free full and final pardon of sin the least measure of faith receives remission for the greatest sins By him all that believe are justified from all things Acts 13. 39. it unites thy soul with Christ and then as
the way of faith He is a restless spirit himself and would make us so too it is an excellent note of Minutius Foelix Those desperate Ad Solamen calamitatis suae non definunt per iâ—…i perdere Minut Felix and restless Spirits saith he have no other pleasure but in bringing us to the same misery themselves are in he goeth about as a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour It frets and grates his proud and envious mind to see others find rest when he can find none an effectual Plaister applied to heal our wound when his own must bleed to eternity and he obtains his end fully if he can but keep off souls from Christ look therefore upon all those objections and discouragements raised in your hearts against coming to Christ as so many Artifices and cunning Devices of the Devil to destroy and ruine your souls 'T is true they have a very specious and colourable appearance they are guilded over with pretences of the Justice of God the heinous nature of sin the want of due and befitting qualifications for so holy and pure a God the lapsing of the reason of mercy and an hundred other of like nature but I beseech you lay down this as a sure conclusion and hold it fast that whatever it be that discourages and hinders you from coming to Christ is directly against the interest of your souls and the hand of the Divil is certainly in it Inference 2. Hence also it follows That unbelief is the true reason of all that disquietness and trouble by which the minds of poor sinners are Inference 2. so rackt and tortured If you will not believe you cannot be established till you come to Christ peace cannot come to you Christ and peace are undivided Good souls consider this you have tryed all other ways you have tried duties and no rest comes you have tried reformation restitution and a stricter course of life yet your wounds are still open and fresh bleeding these things I grant are in their places both good and necessary but of themselves without Christ utterly insufficient to give what you expect from them why will you not try the way of faith why will you not carry your burthen to Christ O that you would be perswaded to it how soon would you find what so long you have been seeking in vain how long will you thus oppose your own good how long will you keep your selves upon the rack of Conscience is it easie to go under the throbs and wounds of an accusing and condemning Conscience You know it is not you look for peace but no good comes for a time of healing and behold trouble alas it must and will be so still untill you fall into the way of faith which is the true and only method to obtain rest Inference 3. What cause have we all to admire the goodness of God in providing for us a Christ in whom we may find rest to our Inference 3. souls How hath the Lord filled and furnished Jesus Christ with all that is suitable to a Believers wants Doth the guilt of sin terrifie his Conscience Lo in him is perfect righteousness to remove that guilt so that it shall neither be imputed to his person nor reflected by his Conscience in the way of condemnation as it was before In him also is a Fountain opened for washing and for cleansing the filth of sin from our souls in him is the fulness both of Merit and of Spirit two sweet Springs of Peace to the souls of men well might the Apostle say Christ the wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1. 30. and well might the Church say he is altogether lovely Cant 5. 16. Had not God provided Jesus Christ for us we had never known one hours rest to all eternity Inference 4. How unreasonable and wholly inexcusable in Believers is the sin of backsliding from Christ Have you found rest in him Inference 4. when you could not find it in any other Did he receive and ease your souls when all other persons and things were Physicians of no value and will you after this backslide from him again O what madness is this Will a man leave the Snow of Lebanon which cometh from the Rock of the Field or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken No man that is in his wits would leave the pure cold refreshing streams of a Crystal Fountain to go to a filthy pudled Lake or an empty Cistern as the best enjoyments of this world are in comparison with Jesus Christ. It was Christs melting expostulation with the Disciples Joh. 6. 67 68. when some had forsaken him will ye also go away and it was a very suitable return they made Lord whither away from thee should we go q. d. from thee Lord no no where can we mend our selves Be sure of it when ever you go from Christ ye go from rest to trouble Had Judas rest had Spira rest and do you think you shall have reâ—… no no The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways Prov. 14. 14. you shall have your bellies full of it Cursed be the man that departeth from him he shall be as the Heath in the Desart that seeth not when good cometh and shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness Jer. 17. 5. If fear of sufferings and worldly temptations ever draw you off from Christ you may come to those straights and terrors of Conscience that will make you wish your selves back again with Christ in a Prison with Christ at a Stake Inference 5. Let all that come to Christ learn to improve him to the rest and peace of their own souls in the midst of all the troubles and Inference 5. outward distresses they meet with in the world Surely rest may be found in Christ in any condition he is able to give you peace in the midst of all your troubles here So he tells you in Joh. 16. ult These things have I spoken to you that in me you might have peace in the world you shall have tribulation by peace he means not a deliverance from troubles by taking off affliction from them or taking them away by death from all afflictions but it is something they enjoy from Christ in the very thick of troubles and amidst all their afflictions that quiets and gives them rest so that troubles cannot hurt them certainly Believers you have peace in Christ when there is little in your own hearts and your hearts might be filled with peace too if you would exercise faith upon Christ for that end 't is your own fault if you be without rest in any condition in this world Set your selves to study the fulness of Christ and to clear your interest in him believe what the Scriptures reveal of him and live as you believe and you will quickly find the peace of God filling your hearts and minds Blessed be God for Jesus Christ. The Tenth SERMON
and what an account have those men to give to God for the blood of those souls by them betrayed to the everlasting burnings Such flattery is the greatest cruelty those whom you bless upon earth will curse you in Hell and the day in which they trusted their souls to your conduct Inference 3. How great a mercy is it to be awakened out of that general sleep and security which is fallen upon the world You cannot estimate Inference 3. the value of that mercy for it is a peculiar mercy O that ever the Spirit of the Lord should give thy soul a jog under the Ministry of the word startle and rouse thy Conscience whilst others are left snoring in the deep sleep of security round about thee when the Lord shall deal with thy soul much after that rate he did with Paul in the way to Damascus who not only saw a light shining from Heaven which those that travelled with him saw as well as he but heard that voice from Heaven which did the work upon his heart though his Companions heard it not Besides it is not only a peculiar mercy but it is a leading introductive mercy to all other spiritual mercies that follow it to all eternity if God had not done this for thee thou hadst never been brought to faith to Christ or Heaven for from this act of the Spirit all other saving acts take their rise so that you have cause for ever to admire the goodness of God in such a favour as this is Inference 4. Lastly Hence it follows that the generality of the world are in the direct way to eternal ruine and whatever their vain confidences Inference 4. are they cannot be saved Narrow is the way and strait is the gate that leadeth unto life and few there be that find it Hear me all you that live this dangerous life of carnal security and vain hope whatever your perswasions and confidences are except you give them up and get better grounds for your hope you cannot be saved For First Such hopes and confidences as yours are directly contradictory to the established order of the Gospel which requires repentance Acts 5. 31. faith Acts 13. 39. and regeneration John 3. 3. in all that shall be saved and this order shall never be altered for any mans sake Secondly If such as you be saved all the threatnings in Scripture must be reversed which lie in full opposition to your vain hopes Mark 16. 16. John 3. 16. Rom. 3. 8 9. either the truth of God in these threatnings must fail or your vain hopes must fail Thirdly If ever such as you be saved new conditions must be set to all the promises for there is no condition of any special promise found in any unregenerate person Compare your hearts with these Scriptures Mat. 5. 3 4 5 6. Psal. 24. 4. Psal. 84. 11. Gen. 17. 1 2. Fourthly If ever such a hope as yours bring you to Heaven then the saving hope of Gods elect is not rightly described to us in the Scriptures Scripture hope is the effect of regeneration 1 Pet. 1. 3. and purity of heart is the effect of that hope 1 John 3. 3. Nay Fifthly The very nature of Heaven is mistaken in Scripture if such as you be Subjects qualified for its enjoyment for assimilation or the conformity of the soul to God in holiness is in the Scripture account a principal ingredient of that blessedness by all which it manifestly appears that the hopes of most men are vain and will never bring them to Heaven The Twenty first SERMON Sermon 21. Doct. 2. That there is a mighty efficacy in the Word or Law Doct. 2. of God to kill vain Confidence and quench carnal Mirth in the hearts of men when God sets it home upon their Consciences THe weapons of the word are not carnal but mighty 2 Cor. 10. 4 5. through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. In the opening of this point I shall 1. Demonstrate the efficacy of the word or Law of God 2. Shew wherein the efficacy thereof lies 3. From whence it hath all this mighty power and efficacy First I shall give you some demonstrations of the mighty power and efficacy that there is in the word or Law of God 1. which will appear with fullest evidence First From the various subjects upon whom it works the hearts and Consciences of men of all orders and qualities 1. have been reached and wounded to the quick by the two-edged sword of Gods Law Some among the great and honourable of the earth though indeed the fewest of that rank have been made to stoop and tremble under the word Act. 24. 16. Mark 6. 20. 1 Sam. 15. 24. the wise and learned of the world have felt its power and been brought over to imbrace the humbling and self-denying ways of Christ Acts 17. 34. Thus Origen Hierom Tertullian Bradwardine and many more came into Canaan laden with Egyptian Gold as one speaks i. e. they came into the Church of God abundantly enriched and furnished with the learned arts and sciences devoting them all to the service of Christ Yea and which is as strange the most simple weak and illiterate have been wonderfully changed and wrought upon by the power of the word the testimonies of the Lord make wise the simple Men of weak understandings in all other matters have been made wise to salvation by the power of the word Mat. 11. 25. 1 Cor. 1. 27. Nay the most malicious and obstinate enemies of Christ have been wounded and converted by the word 1 Tim. 1. 13. Act. 16. 24. Those that have been under the prejudice of the worst and most idolatrous education have been the subjects of its mighty power Act. 19. 26. To conclude men of the most profligate and debauched lives have been wonderfully changed and altered by the power of the word 1 Cor. 6. 10 11. Secondly The mighty efficacy of the Law of God appears in the manner of its operation which works suddenly strikes like a Dart through the hearts and Consciences of men Act. 2. 37. a wonderful change is made in a short time and as it works quickly and suddenly so it works irresistibly with an uncontrouled power upon the spirits of men 1 Thes. 1. 5. Rom. 1. 16. Let the soul be armed against conviction with the thickest ignorance strongest prejudice or most obstinate resolution the word of God will wound the breast even of such a man when God sends it forth in his authority and power Thirdly The wonderful power of the Law or word of God is evidently seen in the strange effects which are produced by it in the hearts and lives of men For First It changes and alters the frame and temper of the mind it moulds a man into a quite contrary
needs be satisfied that Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him which is the sixth Lesson Believers are taught of God Lesson 7. Every man that cometh to Christ is taught of God that it can never reap any benefit by the blood of Christ except he have union with the person of Christ 1 Joh. 5. 12. Eph. 4. 16. Time was when men fondly thought nothing was necessary to their salvation but the death of Christ but now the Lord shews them that their union with Christ by faith is as necessary in the place of an applying cause as the death of Christ is in the place of a meritorious cause the purchase of salvation is an act of Christ without us whilst we are yet sinners the application thereof is by a work wrought within us when we are believers Col. 1. 27. In the purchase all the elect are redeemed together by way of price In the application they are actually redeemed man by man by way of power Look as the sin of the first Adam could never hurt us unless he had been our head by way of generation so the righteousness of Christ can never benefit us unless he be our head in the way of regeneration In teaching this Lesson the Lord in mercy unteaches and blots out that dangerous principle by which the greatest part of the Christianized world do perish viz. that the death of Christ is in it self effectual to salvation though a man be never regenerated or united unto him by saving faith Lesson 8. God teaches the soul whom he is bringing to Christ that whatsoever is necessary to be wrought in us or done by us in order to our union with Christ is to be obtained from him in the way of prayer Ezek. 36. 37. And it is observable that the soul no sooner comes under the effectual teachings of God but the spirit of prayer begins to breath in it Acts 9. 8. behold he prayeth those that were taught to pray by men before are now taught of the Lord to pray to pray did I say yea and to pray fervently too as men concerned for their eternal happiness to pray not only with others but to pour out their souls before the Lord in secret for their hearts are as bottles full of new wine which must vent or break Now the soul returns upon its God often in the same day now it can express its burthens and wants in words and groans which the spirit teacheth they pray and will not give over praying till Christ come with compleat salvation Lesson 9. Ninthly All that come to Christ â—…e taught of God to abandon their former wayes and companions in sin as ever they expect to be received unto mercy Isai. 55. 7. 2 Cor. 5. 17. Sins that were profitable and pleasant as the right hand and right eye must now be cut off Companions in sin who were once the delight of their lives must now be cast off Christ saith to the soul concerning these as he said in another case John 18. 8. if therefore ye seek me let these go their way and the soul saith unto Christ as it is Psalm 119. 115. depart from me ye evil doers for I will keep the Commandments of my God and now pleasant sins and companions in sin become the very burthen and shame of a mans soul objects of delight are become objects of pity and compassion no endearments no union of blood no earthly interests whatsoever are found strong enough to hold the soul any longer from Christ nothing but the effectual teachings of God is found sufficient to dissolve such bonds of iniquity as these Lesson 10. Tenthly All that come unto Christ are taught of God that there is such a beauty and excellency in the wayes and people of God as is not to be matcht in the whole world Psal. 16. 3. When the eyes of strangers to Christ begin to be opened and enlightned in his knowledge you may see what a change of judgement is wrought in them with respect to the people of God and towards them especially whom God hath any way made instrumental for the good of their souls Cant. 5. 9. they then called the spouse of Christ the fairest among women the convincing holiness of the Bride then began to enamour and affect them with a desire of nearer conjunction and communion we will seek him with thee with thee that hast so charged us that hast taken so much pains for the good of our souls now and never before the righteous appeareth more excellent than his Neighbour Change of heart is always accompanied with change of judgement with respect to the people of God thus the Jaylor Act. 16. 33. washed the Apostles stripes to whom he had been so cruel before The godly now seem to be the glory of the places where they live and the glory of any place seems to be darkned by their removal As one said of holy Mr. Barrington Methinks the Town is not at home when Mr. Barrington is out of Town they esteem it a choice mercy to be in their company and acquaintance Zech. 8. 23. we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you no people like the people of God now as one said when he heard of two faithful friends utinam tertius essem O that I might make the third Whatever vile or low thoughts they had of the people of God before to be sure now they are the excellent of the earth in whom is all their delight the holiness of the Saints might have some interest in their Consciences before but they never had such an interest in their estimations and affections till this Lesson was taught them by the Father Lesson 11. Eleventhly All that come to Christ are taught of God that whatever difficulties they apprehend in Religion yet they must not upon pain of damnation be discouraged thereby or return back again to sin Luke 9. 62. No man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God plowing work is hard work a strong and steady hand is required for it he that plows must keep on and make no balks of the hardest and toughest ground he meets with Religion also is the running of a Race 1 Cor. 9. 24. there is no standing still much less turning back if ever we hope to win the prize The Devil indeed labours every way to discourage and daunt the soul by representing the insuperable difficulties of Religion to it and young beginners are but too apt to be discouraged and fall under despondency but the teachings of the Father are encouraging teachings they are carried on from strength to strength against all the oppositions they meet from without them and the many discouragements they find within them to this conclusion they are brought by the teaching of God we must have Christ we must get a pardon we must strive for salvation let the difficulties troubles and sufferings in
97. 11. though the harvest to reap and gather in that Joy and Comfort be not yet come and there are many other wayes beside that of joy and comfort whereby the indwelling of the spirit may evidence it self in thy soul if he do not enable thee to rejoyce yet if he enable thee sincerely to mourn for sin if he do not enlarge thy heart in Comfort yet if he humble and purge thy heart by sorrows if he deny thee the assurance of faith and yet give thee the dependance of faith thou hast no reason to call in question or deny the indwelling of the spirit in thee for that cause But the Apostle saith they that walk in the spirit do not fulfil Obj. 5. the Lusts of the flesh Gal. 5. 16. but I find my self entangled and frequently overcome by them therefore I doubt the spirit of God is not in me 'T is possible the ground of your doubting may be your Sol. mistake of the true sense and meaning of that Scripture it is not the Apostles meaning in that place that sin in believers doth not work tempt and oftentimes overcome and captivate them for then he would contradict himself in Rom. 7. 23. where he thus complains but I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members but two things are meant by that expression you shall not fulfil the Lusts of the flesh First That the principle of grace will give cheque to sin in its first motions and cause it to miscarry in the womb like an untimely birth before it comes to its full maturity it shall never be able to gain the full consent of the will as it doth in the unregenerate Secondly if notwithstanding all the opposition grace makes to hinder the birth or commission of it it do yet prevail and break forth into act yet such acts of sin as they are not committed without regret so they are followed with shame sorrow and true repentance and those very surprizals and captivities of sin at one time are made cautions and warnings to prevent it at another time if it be so with thee thou dost not fulfill the Lusts of the flesh And now Reader upon the whole if upon examination of thy heart by these rules the Lord shall help thee to discern the saving work of his spirit upon thy soul and thereby thine interest in Christ what a happy man or woman art thou what pleasure will arise to thy soul from such a discovery Look upon the frame of thine heart absolutely as it is in it self at present or comparatively with what once it was and others still are and thou wilt find enough to transport and melt thy heart within thee certainly this is the most glorious piece of Workmanship that ever God wrought in the world upon any man Eph. 2. 10. the spirit of God is come down from heaven and hath hallowed thy soul to be a Temple for himself to dwell in as he hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people 2 Cor. 7. 16. Moreover this gift of the spirit is a sure pledge and earnest of thy future glory time was when there was no such work upon thy soul and considering the frame and temper of it the total aversation strong opposition and rooted enmity that was in it it is the wonder of wonders that ever such a work as this should be wrought upon such an heart as thine that ever the spirit of God whose nature is pure and perfect holiness should choose such an unclean polluted abominable heart to frame an habitation for himself there to dwell in to say of thy soul now his spiritual Temple as he once said of the material Temple at Jerusalem Psal. 132. 13 14. The Lord hath chosen it he hath desired it for his habitation this is my rest for ever here will I dwell for I have desired it O what hath God done for thy soul Think Reader and think again are there not many thousands in the world of more ingenuous sweet and amiable disposition than thy self whom yet the spirit of God passeth by and leaveth them as Tabernacles for Satâ—… to dwell in such a one thou lately wast and hadst still remained if God had not wrought for thee beyond all the expectation and desires of thine own heart O bless God that you have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God that ye might know the things which are freely given unto you of God The Twenty fifth SERMON Sermon 25. 2 COR. 5. 17. Text. Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a New Creature Of the nature and necessity of the New Creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new YOU have seen one tryal of an interest in Christ in our last discourse namely by the donation of the Spirit we have here another Tryal of the same matter from one of the greatest and most noble effects of the Spirit upon our souls namely his work of renovation or new creation if any man be in Christ he is a new Creature The Apostles scope in the immediate context is to disswade Christians from a carnal sinful partiality in their respects to men not to dispense them after the manner of the world according to the external differences but the real internal worth and excellency that is in men This the Apostle presses by two arguments one drawn from the end of Christs death verse 15. which was to take us off from those selfish designs and carnal ends by which the world is swayed Secondly from the new spirit by which believers are acted they that are in Christ are to judge and measure all things by a new rule if any man be in Christ he is a new Creature old things are passed away q. d. we have done with that low selfish spirit of the world which was wholly governed by Carnal interest we are now to judge by a new rule to be acted from a new principle aim at a new and more noble end behold all things are become new In these words we have three general parts to be distinctly considered viz. 1. The great question to be determined if any man be in Christ. 2. The Rule by which it may be determined viz. he is a new Creature 3. This general rule more particularly explained old things are passed away behold all things are become new First We have here the great question to be determined Whether a man be in Christ a question upon the determination 1. whereof we must stand or fall for ever by being in Christ the Apostle doth not here mean the general profession of Christianity which gives a man the reputation of an interest in him but by being in Christ he means an interest in him by vital union with his
nature but is a pure work of creation The heathen Philosophers could neither understand nor acknowledge the creation of the world because that notion was repugnant to this maxime of reason ex nihilo nihil fit out of nothing nothing can be made thus did they insanire cum ratione befool themselves with their own reasonings and after the same manner some great pretenders to reason among us voting it an absurdity to affirm that the work of grace is not virtually and potentially contained in nature the new Creation in the old Fourthly It was the vertue and efficacy of the spirit of God which gave the natural world its being by Creation Gen. 1. 2. the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters it hovered over the chaos as the wings of a bird do over her eggs as the same word is rendred Deut. 32. 11. cherishing as it were by incubation that rude mass by a secret quickening influence by which it drew all the Creatures into their several forms and particular natures So it is in the new Creation a quickning influence must come from the spirit of God or else the new creature can never be formed in us Joh. 3. 8. So is every one that is born of the Spirit and ver 6. that which is born of the spirit is spirit Fifthly The word of God was the instrument of the first creation Psal. 33. 6 9. By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth for he spake and it was done he commanded and it stood fast the word of God is also the instrument of the new Creation or work of Grace in man 1 Pet. 1. 23. Being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever So James 1. 18. Of his own will beg at he us with the word of truth of his own will that was the impulsive cause with the word of truth that is the instrumental cause great respect and honour love and delight is due to the word upon this account that it is the instrument of our regeneration or new Creation Sixthly The same power which created the world still under-props and supports it in its being the world owes its conservation as well as its existence to the power of God without which it could not subsist one moment Just so it is with the new Creation which entirely depends upon the preserving power which first formed it Jude ver 1. Preserved in Christ Jesus and 1 Pet. 1. 5. Who were kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation as in a natural way we live move and have our being in God Acts 17. 28. so in a spiritual way we continue believing repenting loving and delighting in God without whose continued influence upon our souls we could do neither Seventhly In a word God surveyed the first Creation with complacence and great delight he beheld the work of his hands and approved them as very good Gen. 1. 31. so is it also in the second creation nothing pleaseth and delights God more than the works of grace in the souls of his people it is not any outward priviledge of nature or gift of Providence which commends any man to God circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but a new creature Gal. 6. 15. And thus you see upon what grounds the work of regeneration in man is stiled a new Creature which was the first thing to be opened Secondly Next we must enquire in what respects every soul that is in Christ is renewed or made a new Creature 2. and here we shall find a threefold renovation of every man that is in Christ viz. He is renewed 1. In his state and Condition 2. In his frame and Constitution 3. In his practice and Conversation First He is renewed in his state and condition for he passeth from death to life in his Justification 1 Joh. 3. 14. he was condemned by the Law he is now Justified freely by grace through the redemption which is in Christ he was under the curse of the first Covenant he is under the blessing of the new Covenant he was afar off but is now made nigh unto God an alien a stranger once now of the houshold of God Eph. 2. 12 13. O blessed change from a sad to a sweet and comfortable condition There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. Secondly Every man in Christ is renewed in his frame and constitution all the faculties and affections of his soul are renewed by regeneration his understanding was dark but now is light in the Lord Eph. 5. 8. his conscience was dead and secure or full of guilt and horrour but is now become tender watchful and full of peace Heb. 9. 14. his will was rebellious stubborn and inflexible but is now made obedient and complying with the will of God Psal. 110. 2. his desires did once pant and spend themselves in the pursuit of vanities now they are set upon God Isa. 26. 8. his Love did fondly dote upon ensnaring earthly objects now it is swallowed up in the infinite excellencies of God and Christ Psal. 119. 97. his joy was once in trifles and things of nought now his rejoycing is in Christ Jesus Phil. 3. 3. his fears once were versant about noxious creatures now God is the object of the fear of reverence Act. 9. 31. and sin the object of the fear of caution 2 Cor. 7. 11. his hopes and expectations were only from the world present but now from that to come Heb. 6. 19. Thus the soul in its faculties and affections is renewed which being done the members and senses of the body must needs be destinated and imployed by it in new services no more to be the weapons of unrighteousness but instruments of service to Jesus Christ Rom. 6. 19. and thus all that are in Christ are renewed in their frame and constitution Thirdly The man in Christ is renewed in his practice and Conversation the manner of operation alwayes follows the nature of beings now the regenerate not being what they were cannot walk and act as once they did Eph. 2. 1 2 3. And you hath he quickned who were once dead in trespasses and sins wherein ye walked according to the course of this world c. they were carryed away like water by the strength of the tyde by the influence of their own corrupt natures and the customes and examples of the world but the case is now altered So in 1 Cor. 6. 11. the Apostle shews believers their old companions in sin and tells them such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified c. q. d. the world is now well altered with you thanks be to the grace of God for it This wonderful change of practice which is so universal and remarkable in all the regenerate and immediately consequent to their conversion sets
which there is no cure but Christ lifted up in the Gospel as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness ver 14. Neither doth Christ cure any but those that believingly apply him to their own souls The result and conclusion of all you have in my Text He that believeth in him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already c. In this clause which I have pitched upon we find these three parts 1. The sin threatned viz. unbelief 2. The punishment inflicted viz. Condemnation 3. The immediate relation of the one to the other he is condemned already First Let us take into consideration the sin which is here threatned viz. unbelief The neglecting or refusing of an 1. exalted and offered Jesus Unbelief is twofold viz. Negative or Positive Negative unbelief is the sin of the heathens who never had the Gospel among them nor the offers of Christ made to them these cannot believe on him of whom they have not heard Positive unbelief is the sin of men and women under the Gospel to whom Christ is actually opened and offered by the preaching of the Gospel but they make light of it neglect the great salvation receive not Christ into their hearts nor consent to the severe and self denying terms upon which he is offered This is the sin threatned Secondly The punishment inflicted and that is condemnation 2. a word of deep and dreadful signification appearing in this Text as the hand-writing upon the plaister of the wall unto Belteshazzar Dan. 5. 5. A word whose deep sense and Emphasis is fully understood in hell Condemnation is the Judgment or Sentence of God condemning a man to bear the punishment of his eternal wrath for sin the most terrible of all sentences Thirdly The immediate relation or respect this punishment 3. hath to that sin of unbelief The unbeliever is condemned already i. e. he is virtually condemned by the law of God His mittimus is already made for hell he is condemned as a sinner by the breach oâ—… the first Covenant but that condemnation had never â—…n his ruine except it had been ratified by the sentence of God condemning him as an unbeliever for slighting and rejecting the grace offered in the second Covenant So that the unbeliever is already virtually condemned by both as he is a sinner and as he is an unbeliever as he hath transgressed the law and as he hath refused the gospel as he hath contracted sin the mortal disease and refused Christ the only effectual remedy He is virtually condemned now and will be sententially condemned in the Judgment of the great day Unbelief is his great sin and condemnation is his great misery Hence the observation will be this DOCT. That all unbelievers are presently and immediately under the Doct. just and dreadful sentence of Gods Condemnation John 12. 48. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day John 3. 36. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Three things are to be opened in the Doctrinal part of this point 1. What unbelief or the not receiving of Jesus Christ is 2. What condemnation the punishment of this sin is 3. Why this punishment unavoidably follows that sin First What the sin of unbelief or not receiving Christ is By unbelief we are not here to understand the reliques or remains 1. of that sin in the people of God which is mixed with their imperfect faith for there is some unbelief still mingled with faith in the best hearts He that can say Lord I believe hath cause enough to cry out with tears help thou my unbelief However this doth not bring the soul under condemnation or into the state of wrath The word condemns this unbelief in them but doth not condemn their persons for this unbelief But the unbelief here spoken of is the neglecting or refusing to take Christ upon the terms of the Gospel and so is exclusive of the saving act or effects of faith First It is exclusive of the saving act of faith which as hath been already declared is the due receiving of Christ offered in the Gospel consenting to take him upon his own terms This the unbeliever will by no means be perswaded to do He will be perswaded to accept the promises of Christ but not to accept the person of Christ he is willing to accept Christ in part a divided Christ but not to accept Christ entirely in all his offices He will accept the righteousness of Christ in conjunction with his own righteousness but he will not accept the righteousness of Christ as the sole matter of his Justification exclusive of his own righteousness he is willing to wear the Crown of Christ but cannot be perswaded to bear the cross of Christ. Thus Christ and unbelievers part upon terms God will come down no lower and the unbeliever will come up no higher God will not alter his terms and the unbeliever will not alter his resolution and so Christ is refused Salvation neglected and in effect the unbeliever chooseth rather to be damned than to comply with the severe terms of self-denial mortification and bearing the cross of Christ. Thus it excludes the saving act of faith Secondly It is exclusive of the saving fruits and effects of faith Faith produces love to God but the unbeliever doth not truly love him But I know you saith Christ to unbelievers that the love of God is not in you John 5. 42. Faith purifies the heart of a believer but the hearts of unbelievers are full of all impurity The believer overcomes the world the world overcomes the unbeliever Faith makes the Cross of Christ sweet and easie to the believer Unbelief makes Christ because of the Cross bitter and distastful to the unbeliever Thus unbelief excludes both the saving act and fruits of faith and consequently bars the soul from the saving benefits and priviledges of faith viz. Justification and peace with God Secondly Next let us consider the punishment of this sin which is condemnation Condemnation in the general is the 2. sentence of a Judge awarding a mulct or penalty to be inflicted upon the guilty person There is a twofold Condemnation 1. Respectu culpâ—… in respect of the fault 2. Respectu poenae in respect of the punishment First Condemnation with respect to the fault is the casting of the person as guilty of the crime charged upon him Condemnation with respect to the punishment is the sentencing of the convicted offender to undergo such a punishment for such a fault to bear a penal for a moral evil This forensick word Condemnation is here applied unto the case of a guilty sinner cast at the bar of God where the fact is clearly proved and the punishment righteously awarded Thou art an unbeliever for this sin thou shalt die eternally
Condemnation with respect to the fault stands opposed to Justification Rom. 5. 16. Condemnation with respect to the punishment stands opposed to Salvation Mar. 16. 16. More particularly First Condemnation is the sentence of God the great and terrible God the omniscient omnipotent supream and impartial Judge at whose bâ—…r the guilty sinner stands 'T is the Law of God that condemns him now He hath one that judgeth him a great and terrible one too 'T is a dreadful thing to be condemned at mans bar But the Courts of humane Judicature how awful and solemn soever they are are but trifles and childrens play to this Court of heaven and conscience wherein the unbeliever is arraigned and condemned Secondly 'T is the sentence of God adjudging the unbeliever to eternal death than which nothing is more terrible What is a prison to hell what is a Scaffold and an Ax to go ye cursed into everlasting fire What is a Gallows and a Halter to everlasting burnings Thirdly Condemnation is the final sentence of God the Supream Judge from whose Bar and Judgment there lies no appeal for the unbeliever but Execution certainly follows Condemnation Luke 19. 27. If man condemn God may justifie and save But if God condemn no man can save or deliver If the law cast a man as a sinner the Gospel may save him as a believer But if the Gospel cast him as an unbeliever a man that finally rejects Jesus Christ whom it offers to him all the world cannot save that man O then what a dreadful word is Condemnation All the evils and miseries of this life are nothing to it put all afflictions calamities sufferings and miseries of this world into one scale and this sentence of God into the other and they will all be lighter than a feather Thirdly In the next place I shall shew you that this punishment viz. Condemnation must unavoidably follow that sin of unbelief So many unbelieving persons as be in the world so many condemned persons there are in the world and this will appear two ways 1. By considering what unbelief excludes a man from 2. By considering what unbelief includes a man under First Let us consider what unbelief excludes a man from and it will be found that it excludes him from all that may help and save him for First it excludes him from the pardon of sin John 8. 24. If ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins Now he that dies under the guilt of all his sins must needs die in a state of wrath and condemnation for ever For the wages of sin is death Rom. 6. ult If a man may be saved without a pardon then may the unbeliever hope to be saved Secondly Unbelief excludes a man from all the saving benefits that come by the sacrifice or death of Christ. For if faith be the only instrument that applies and brings home to the soul the benefits of the blood of Christ as unquestionably it is then unbelief must of necessity exclude a man from all those benefits and consequently leave him in the state of death and condemnation Faith is the applying cause the instrument by which we receive the special saving benefit of the blood of Christ Rom. 5. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood Eph. 2. 8. By grace are ye saved through faith So then if the unbeliever be acquitted and saved it must be without the benefit of Christs death and sacrifice which is utterly impossible Thirdly Unbelief excludes a man from the saving efficacy and operation of the Gospel by shutting up the heart against it and crossing the main drift and scope of it which is to bring up men to the terms of salvation to perswade them to believe this is its great design the scope of all its commands 1 John 3. 23. Mark 1. 14 15. John 12. 36. 'T is the scope of all its promises they are written to encourage men to believe Joh. 6. 35 37. So then if the unbeliever escape condemnation it must be in a way unknown to us by the Gospel Yea contrary to the established order therein For the unbeliever obeyeth not the great command of the Gospel 1 John 3. 17. Nor is he under any one saving promise of it Gal. 3. 14 22. Fourthly Unbelief excludes a man from Union with Christ faith being the bond of that Union Eph. 3. 17. The unbeliever therefore may as reasonably expect to be saved without Christ as to be saved without faith Thus you see what unbelief excludes a man from Secondly Let us next see what guilt and misery unbelief includes men under and certainly it will be found to be the greatest guilt and misery in the world For First It is a sin which reflects the greatest dishonour upon God 1 John 5. 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself He that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record which God gave of his Son Secondly Unbelief makes a man guilty of the vilest contempt of Christ and the whole design of Redemption managed by him All the glorious attributes of God were signally manifested in the work of Redemption by Christ therefore the Apostle calls him the wisdom of God and the power of God 1 Cor. 1. 23 24. But what doth the careless neglect and wilful rejection of Christ speak but the weakness and folly of that design of Redemption by him Thirdly Unbelief includes in it the sorest spiritual judgement that is or can be inflicted in this world upon the soul of man Even spiritual blindness and the fatal darkening of the understanding by Satan 2 Cor. 4. 4. of which more hereafter Fourthly Unbelief includes a man under the curse and shuts him up under all the threatnings that are written in the book of God amongst which that is an express and terrible one Mark 16. 10. He that believeth not shall be damned So that nothing can be more evident than this that condemnation necessarily follows unbelief This sin and that punishment are fastned together with chains of Adamant The Uses follow Inference 1. If this be so then how great a number of persons are visibly Inference 1. in the state of condemnation so many unbelievers so many condemned men and women That 's a sad complaint of the prophet Isa. 53. 1. Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed Many there be that talk of faith and many that profess faith but they only talk of and profess it there are but few in the world unto whom the arm of the Lord hath been revealed in the work of faith with power 't is put among the great mysteries and wonders of the world 1 Tim. 3. 16. That Christ is believed on in the world O what a great and terrible day will the day of Christs coming to judgement be when so many Millions of unbelievers shall be brought to