as in Heb. 10.29 Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath troden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the bloud of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace Now your mistake is in the taking one person for another for the Apostle doth not intend in the word he by which he was sanctified the party that treads the bloud of CHRIST under feet for it is not he that is sanctified but it is CHRIST that is sanctified now sanctification is to be set apart and it is CHRIST alone that was set apart through the bloud of the covenant through that God sanctified him through that he sanctified himself according to John 17. For CHRIST was capable of no other sanctification and if any man with an ingenious heart will but reade that Verse as it is in the Translation though there is much more to be considered otherwise they cannot conclude but the party there sanctified is properly intended CHRIST and not he that treads unless they will overthrow the intent of this Scripture and make Scripture to be of private interpretation which is not to be done 2 Peter 1.20 I might mention many other places of Scripture as to the mistakes of persons taking all for some and one for another I onely mention these two or three for the rest Fifthly as those former mistakes doth arise from your mistakes of the Letter of the Scripture as it is said in Matth. 22.29 You err not knowing the Scripture that is comprehended in what we have already said but see what followeth You err not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God that is to say the power and authority of Scripture which all are ignorant of till the truth of God in Scripture is made good in them so that a fifth cause of your mistakes which I much fear is your unacquaintedness with the power of God in Scripture that is the Scriptures being made good in you as to the work of conversion or the new birth for dear Friend though I am unwilling to speak any thing that hath the face of censuring yet I cannot but judg that if ever the power and authority of God had passed upon you in the great work of conversion there would need no further Argument but present experience to convince such a soul that power to stand up before the Lord and to entertain the tenders of CHRIST is soly and alone the work of God not upon a common or a general account but in a special and peculiar sense And so much of this fifth Particular A sixth mistake is your confining your judgment of the essentiality of God the unchangeableness of his essential will to the visibility of God in his outward Word and actions as they are in our view and though those things do declare the outward actions of God as they relate to our actings towards him yet they are not given to us to judg of and measure the unchangeable love of God in himself to us by I mean that good will and love that is in himself and hath no dependance upon any thing out of himself for God is said to repent Gen. 6.6 He is said to forsake Jer. 23.33 39.2 Chr. 2.15 He is said to be grieved Gen. 6.6 He is said to go down and see if things were so according to the cry of the sins of Sodom Gen. 18.20 21. as if he had not known before the same is in Gen. 11.15 Now these expressions doth declare the outward acts of God as they relate to our acting towards him or the manifesting the visibility of God as it is in our view and not to measure the essentiality of God and the unchangeableness of his love and good will by for if you do you will both wrong God deceive your own soul And so much of this sixth mistake There are many more causes of your stumbling I onely thought good to give you these which at present I remember desiring the Lord by them to manifest the rest and to clear up truth in your soul that you may no longer stumble but through the manifestation of Gods grace you may be made able to understand truth as itis in Jesus Now before I come to shew you the sad Absurdities that must of necessity follow your opinion and how injurious you are by that unto the glory of Gods grace to Christ and to your own soul I shall from what hath been said already give you a brief Answer to your Queries and Absurdities which briefly take thus Query 1. If Christ died not for all What ground hath any man to believe he died for him Answ I have discovered the fallacy of that Query by shewing ye that the efficient cause of our believing in Christ is more supernatural heavenly and spiritual than such low exercise of a common Reason as to conclude CHRIST died for us because he died for all The work of Faith I have shewed ye to be of nother nature Query 2. How can God be said to to be just to condemn those persons for whom Christ never died Answer How can God be just to condemn them for whom CHRIST died I mean in your sense but I have answered this Query fully in shewing you that CHRIST tasted death for every man 2. I shewed you that it was just with God to condemn all and it is onely singular mercy that he saved any 3. I have sufficiently declared from Scripture that the meritorious cause of condemnation is not for the creatures not exercising of a power of Faith in receiving CHRIST but for exercising darkness in rejecting CHRIST and though creatures want the first yet they are possest of the last Query 3. How can remission of sins be preached to these for whom Christ never died I have andswered that by shewing it is the great design of God to have CHRIST presented to all that from amongst all his own through his mercy might be called to believe 2. I have shewed to you that there is no exclusion as to the tenders of the Gospel for distinctions in that case are no where but in Ordination and Application and I have clearly proved to you that one depends upon the prerogative of his will and the other is produced by the singularity of his love and grace which in justice he might have with-held from all but for the advancement of his glory and grace he is pleased to bestow on some Query 4. I have fully answered in my Answer to the second Query about clearing up of Gods justice and in shewing you what is the meritorious cause of mans damnation Now as I have fully shewed you concerning faith first consider it in the real exercise then it is an instrumental cause of mans salvation Joh. 3.16 Again consider a mans state in the want of faith the want of faith is a declarative cause manifesting that a man so wanting Faith is
saith in his Book he declares a cause in all the seven things yet he shews you no cause why God should love us Now election or chusing is so considered in the singularity of his love and doth so live in the bowels of it that there is no more cause for the one than there is for the other and he requires nothing without himself to beget or maintain that in himself for us And now the thing I would have you consider followeth Thirdly consider what we minde by election it consisteth in Gods foreknowledg wherein he was pleased from all eternity in the riches of his grace and love to pitch upon and make choice of some in a peculiar sense to be vessels of glory whom he elected in the election of his Son who was the publick person comprehending the whole and this prerogative of God and privilege to us is not to be decyphered or discovered like as other privileges are for the death of Christ and our faith in Christ these have the time of their rise reign and perfection but for the other privilege it is done in God and with God without relation to any thing without himself it onely depends upon the prerogative of his will and his good pleasure according to these Scriptures Rom. 9.16 18 21 22. Matth. 11.16 Luke 10.21 Therefore when we speak of causes we must make a distinction between what is done by God out of God and what is done by God in God and whatsoever is done in the last sense hath no rise but himself and his own pleasure and if you give not God this you must deny his Prerogative and prove that he may not do with his own what seems good unto him which is contrary to these Scriptures Matth. 20.15 Exod. 33.19 Rom. 9.15 16 18 20 23. Now besides what hath been already said to prove that faith is but an effect and not the cause of election minde these Reasons First if election be before men have faith then faith cannot be a cause but it must be an effect but election is before we have faith Ergo. The Major is not to be questioned The Minor which is that election is before faith is proved from these Scriptures Acts 13.48 1 Tim. 1.9 Ephes 1.4 5. Reason 2. God is the first cause of causes and whatsoever doth take its rise or is immediate from him hath no other cause the truth of that you will see from the Scriptures before mentioned therefore faith must needs be an effect But besides all the Scriptures and Reasons I have brought Do but consider that election is not capable of being caused by any causes out of God for we are elected in the election of Christ and Christ did not merit his own election for his Death is not the cause of election though it be the meritorious cause and Gods great way to accomplish life and salvation If so be that faith is a cause of our election then election is subject to a cause and if in the lesser then in the greater but we know that in the greater which is the election of CHRIST in which general all particulars are comprehended it is not caused nor depends upon no condition or causes out of God but immediately flows from him and all other works and acts of grace and mercy done by God in CHRIST for us or by God in us towards CHRIST are the fruits of this fountain I mean Gods love in which Gods owning or chusing is so involved in it as it is one with it and both arise from one and the same fountain which is his own will and pleasure Now there being some that make Objections against this truth which peradventure may be the cause of your stumbling I shall in faithfulness to CHRIST and love to your soul mention some of them and give my answer to them First some there are as Henry Hagar in particular that do acknowledg this truth from these places of Scripture Ephes 1.4 where it is said that God hath chosen us in Christ before the world was And also the same in 1 Pet. 1 2. 2 Thess 2.13 Now though they acknowledg these words yet they endeavour to evade or turn the meaning another way by giving this answer from Rom. 4.17 where it is said that God declared unto Abraham that he hath made him the father of many Nations And in Rev. 13.8 CHRIST is said to be a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world Now from thence they reason thus The Apostle in Rom. 4.17 declaring the promise of God to Abraham saith that God calls those things that are not as though they were for saith he Abraham at that time was not the father of Isaâ—â— in whom the Nations should be blest and yet God saith I have made thee the father of many Nations but saith he It was not so for the Apostle doth declare it saying he calls things that are not as though they were and so CHRIST is said to be a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world though he was not slain many thousand years after So saith he are we to understand election for the Scripture saith that he did chuse and elect us before the world was yet it was not so onely God calls things that were not as if they were therefore men saith he are not elected till they are called Now dear friend in the fear of the Lord as you tender the information of your own soul seriously consider what an evasion here is without any way in truth discovering what the Apostle intends in these expressions for without controversie when God said I have made thee a father of many Nations he spake truth without any such evasion as our carnal wits will prompt us to believe But that I may give an Answer to this Objection judging that if that cover were removed the truth would lie naked I desire you to minde in Answer to it these Particulars First in every action there is these three things to be considered 1. The life or virtue of the Act. 2. The fruit of the Act. 3. The form of the Act. The life of the Act is that which produceth the form the fruit of the Act lives in the life and is spoke out or brought forth by the form had not this bin so the sin of Adam could never have brought a curse upon his posterity for the life of his act was in unity in all that were comprehended in his person and the evil fruit of his act took place upon all in that sense when it took place upon him but the manifestation or execution of this took place successively as Creatures were brought forth and so it appears the form of the act was to be made manifest according unto the succession or appearance of forms in Creatures but the life of the act from whence the denomination of the act comes was really acted and executed in Adam so in the promises of God to Abraham you are to look upon the life
over all which is manifest in his language commanding of them but the peculiarity of his love is not to be judged by the extent of his authority but by the application or making good of his mercy which work or privilege is but to some and is solely his work as we shall afterwards shew you Fourthly though faith be required in the declaration and is the way to enjoy the manifestation yet a want in faith doth not nor cannot make any alteration in the foundation which is clear from these Scriptures 2 Tim. 2.13 applied to v. 19 2 Sam. 23.2 3 4. Minde well now it is clear that the foundation is Gods unchangeable love and grace which if it were to all upon the condition of faith giving a propriety in the foundation then any want in faith would work some alteration which is contrary to the forementioned Scriptures Fifthly in the fear of the Lord consider this Scripture John 17.4 where CHRIST says to the Father I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do Now if CHRIST was ordained or appointed of the Father to satisfie for the sins of all and to purchase life and salvation for all then he hath finished it and they must be saved or else CHRIST doth not speak truth which were sad to aver but you see and must know all are not nor shall not be saved therefore it was not given him by the Father to do Now if any shall say that CHRIST hath finished the work of eternal life for any who will believe in him I answer the work cannot be finished if it depend upon any thing else and especially upon that which is so mutable as creatures minds whether to receive or not to receive as you affirm therefore without controversie CHRIST speaking truth the work is fully finished as the pardon of sin purchase of salvation and eternal life by him faith doth not make up the work but it is a fruit that floweth from it which is the next thing we shall enter upon and so I shall say no more to this fourth thing to wit That the great design of God in Christ was to satisfie for all sin and purchase salvation and eternal life for the elect and none but them The sixth thing is that faith which is required of all them that enjoy him is not a Cause but an Effect of the forementioned Privilege that is to say It is not the cause but an effect of election and that I shall punctually prove three ways 1. From Scripture 2. From the nature of causes 3. From the nature of the thing First from the Scripture see Acts 13.38 When the Gentiles heard they were glad and glorified the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed Which clearly shews that Ordination is before faith and this order and form CHRIST declares when he saith to his Disciples John 15.16 Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you They had chosen CHRIST that is to say loved him and by faith embraced him but his intent is they were first chosen by him and that is the cause the Apostle saith 1 John 4. We love him because he loved us first And for your further satisfaction minde these Scriptures Rom. 8.30 chap. 9.11 2 Tim. 1.9 Ezek. 16.6 Hosea 14.8 Secondly consider the order of Causes and you will finde that Henry Hagar who is a man I very much honour out of whose Book I see you have drawn your Absurdities if you do there but see how he decyphers Causes you will there finde that he makes no distinction of essential meritorious instrumental and final Causes but jumbles up all together without distinction Dear Friend it is not a form of words that will make things orderly in Gods sight unless there be divine wisdom to rectifie the judgment making man to deny his own natural wit when he goes about to decypher or discover Gods great design in CHRIST Again if you will say though he sets down successive causes yet he doth not set down the cause of Election in any of these seven causes he mentions neither can he unless he can discover a cause of him that is the Cause of Causes For my part I am of his judgment in these Particulars c. 1. That Gods love was the cause of his sending of his Son to die for sinners 2. That Christ's dying and rising is the cause of the Gospel being preached 3. The Gospel being preached is the cause of mens believing 4. That mens believing is the cause of justification but then it is justification in conscience and not justification before God in Christ which is the fountain and this in conscience is but the stream 5. That our knowing our selves justified by faith through the bloud of Christ is the cause of our love to Christ 6. That our love to Christ is the cause of our obedience to Christ But then the seventh cause which is That our obeying Christ is the cause of his giving us everlasting life that I deny And if you view these Scriptures he brings to prove it is will not make it good Mark 16.16 Revel 22.14 Heb. 6.9 He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved and blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gate into the City and Christ being made perfect through suffering he became the Author of everlasting salvation unto all them that obey him these Scriptures are truth and declare that they that obey Christ shall have eternal life but they nor no other Scripture declare anything contrary to this position that obedience is the way to life but not the cause of life if yea look upon causes either essential or meritorious but if you look upon it instrumental that is to say as the meanes or way to such an end then it is true and so is faith and so is prayer according to these Scriptures Philip. 1.19 1. Peter 1.5 Phil. 2.10 Heb. 12.14 Now when I tell you I do approve of these six causes successively before mentioned it is also with this restriction to put a diference between causes for the first cause which is Gods love that is the efficient cause 2. cause which is Christs death is the meritorious cause the 3 4 5 6. causes he spoke of are the instrumental causes and if you speak of these things in themselves and as they are to us then they are causes but if you speak of them all as they relate to God who is the Cause of Causes then they are but effects CHRIST'S death is but the effect of Gods love the preaching of the Gospel is but an effect of Gods love faith in him is but his gift and our love to him and obedience do all flow from him as the Fountain according to these Scriptures Gal. 5.22 Ephes 6.23 Heb. 12.2 James 1.17 18. they cannot in that sense be called causes but fruits Further consider what that Friend
to us if you minde these Particulars First it is in the power of God to condemn all it is onely grace and love that he saves any according to these Scriptures Ephes 2.5 8. 2 Tim. 1.9 Tit. 3.5 2. God doth condemn no man if you look upon the meritorious cause not for the creatures not expressing of a power of believing in entertaining CHRIST but for the exercising of a power in rejecting CHRIST should God condemn creatures for their not exercising a power in receiving CHRIST then he did condemn them for what they have not 2 Thess 3.2 but he condemns them for their rejecting CHRIST which power they have it is true the Scripture saith He that believes not is damned for not believing is a declaration of an abidâ—â—â— in a state without CHRIST which is a state of condemnation It is also said that they are condemned because they believe not the Son of God but that cause is the declarative cause but the meritorious cause which is that God doth and will go upon to clear up his justice by is not the creatures refusing to exercise a power in receiving CHRIST for that they have not 2 Thess 3.2 but it is the exercising of a power of darkness in rejecting CHRIST and that men have and God is just in doing it and that that is the ground God will go upon is clear from these Scriptures John 3.19 20. Acts 7.51 Hebr. 12.25 Psalm 118.22 And so much in answer to this Objection Now there are other Objections which I judg may occasion mistakes but I shall speak to them in the next thing which is the third Particular that I promised in the beginning of my writing to wit to discover your mistakes which the cause of your stumbling in which discovery you will see some of the Objections that further may be made both exprest and answered Now as for the mistakes which is the cause of your stumbling they are many I shall mention so many as I have been acquainted with which are as followeth First the measuring or judging of mans ability by the extent of Gods authority which is manifest in his Word for in all the Scripture God manifests his authority over us and your mistakes are from his authority to conclude the creatures ability as in such Scriptures where God saith Do this and you shall live and Turn your selves or be this or be that which Scriptures are principally to discover Gods authority but not the creatures ability when man fell he lost his ability but this change wrought no alteration in God if no change in God then why should any change be in his language â—f God had changed that way of his language the creature would have been apt to conceive that in mans fall there had been a change of Gods power or authority as well as of the creatures ability which is not so A second mistake is your not distinguishing of causes putting no difference between the essential meritorious instrumental and final causes and so it occasions you to conclude God or some of his eminent acts done in himself to be subject to something that are but instrumental causes and so you do bring the efficient cause into subjection unto the instrumental cause and sometimes the effects of the efficient cause is declared in Scripture as a declarative cause as He that believes not is damned or as an instrumental cause He that believes shall be saved Now your not understanding causes is an occasion of your stumbling A third mistake is your not applying one Scripture with another in the understanding of the extent of some expressions in Scripture as the word all and the word world 1. Now the word all and the word world they are diversly taken sometimes the word all doth signifie some of all sorts as appears in these Scriptures Matth. 3.5 6. 4.23 Acts 10.12 2. The word all doth signifie the greater part as in Luke 16.26 Phil. 2.21 3. The word all is many times understood with limitation unto the present subject according to these Scriptures Heb. 12.8 So the word world sometimes is taken for a part according to these Scriptures John 14.17 ch 15.18 19. 1 John 2.2 chap. 4.14 Sometimes for the better part as Professors in the world John 12.19 Rom. 11.12 Sometimes for the wicked of the world according to these Scriptures as Acts 17.31 Rom. 12.2 1 Cor. 3.19 chap. 4.9 chap 6.2 Heb. 11.7.22 Peter 2.5 1 John 5.19 Sometimes for the whole world comprehending every thing in the world according to these Scriptures as Joh 34.18 Psalm 24.1 Psal 50.12 Acts 17.24 Now not distinguishing the extent of words applying one Scripture with another is very dangerous and a special cause of your stumbling A fourth cause relating to the language of God in Scripture is the misapplying of things to the subject that is exprest in a particular Scripture without understanding that Scripture by another as in Ezek. 33.11 where the Lord saith As I live I delight not in the death of a sinner From which Particular you conclude all sinners Now if you look in the Scriptures you will see your selves mistaken for there are three sorts of sinners One sort that sins out of confidence of Gods mercy and upon that account resolves to sin Deu. 29.19 We will add Drunkenness to Thirst for God will be mercifull See what the Lord saith in v. 20 The Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against that man and all the curses that are written in this Book shall light upon him If so then this cannot be the sinner God intends in Ezek. 33.11 A second sort of sinners are those that sin and are not sensible of their sinning but rather thinks it goes well with them when they sin as the generality of the world doth this sort of sinner God speaks of in Jer. 44.17 18. and Isai 27. Now if you look in Jer. 44.26 God there swears he will shew them no mercy And in Isai 27.11 there God doth affirm he will shew no mercy to them Now both these sorts of sinners cannot be those God intends when he saith As I live I delight not in the death of a sinner A third sort of sinners are sinners in a Gospel sense and they are those that CHRIST 1â—th I come not to save the righteous but sinners as in these Scriptures Matth. 9.13 Mark 2.17 Luke 5.32 1 Tim. 1.15 And those sinners appear to be such and are declared to be such when they have through the gracious appearance of God a discovery of themselves to themselves that in the sense of their sins groan and long after JESUS CHRIST These are those that CHRIST invites Matthew 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest And so much of that Scripture and so in some other Scriptures you take one person for another mis-understanding the drift or scope of what is there intended
still in the state of wrath or damnation as in John 3.18 But now to the meritorious cause of condemnation which God goes upon is not the creatures neglect in the exercising of a power to receive CHRIST but for exercising darkness in rejecting CHRIST John 3.19 which truth I have fully made good before from Scripture Query 5. I have answered in my Answer to the third Query wherein I have shewed you the ground and cause why all are exhorted to repentance and to believe and how clearly God is justified in it and how eminently his grace and love is discovered by it Quer. 6. Whether hath not Christ given out power and ability to all men to believe on him That I have fully answered by shewing you that the work of God is beyond the improvements of nature in the highest sense and is not common to all but peculiar to some and yet there remains power in all as I have shewed you to do more than most creatures at present do yet in the highest improvement the work of Faith is above it Query 7. It is one with the sixth Query and that which doth answer the one doth fully answer the other for I have in the discovery of the work of believing on CHRIST and salvation by CHRIST discovered how things are between God and us wherein you will see if you reade them over where the stick lieth and that in all God and CHRIST are just Query 8. Whether unbelief be not the condemning sin That I have answered in answering the second and the fourth Query and that Particular doth very fully answer this especially if you consider first what I have said as to the distinction of causes Secondly what I have said as to the meritorious cause of mans condemnation Query 9. Whether God hath not appointed all to be saved To that my Answer hth been very full first in shewing that there is a general salvation that every man partakes of Secondly shewing you that there is a peculiar people ordained before the world was unto a special salvation which is peculiar unto some not to all and yet God eminently abides just not onely upon the prerogative of his will but upon the exercise of his power and justice in condemning creatures not for want of what they have not but for the ill exercising of what they have Query 10. Whether Adam was in a state of grace before his fall To that I answer Where the Scripture wants a mouth let us want a tongue besides you do not express what you mean by grace if you meant by grace 〈◊〉 grace is under stood in a Gospel sense relating to faith in Christ that the Scripture doth clear up that Christ was not discovered till man fell and there was no imployment for faith in that sense before Query 11. Whether insants by generation are in a state of damnation or in a state of salvation As to that I have fully answered by shewing you that man by nature consider him in himself in which every man is to be considered till God is pleased to bring forth the effects of election which is alone to distinguish and till then every man so considered as before is in a state of wrath or condemnation according to these Scriptures Ephes 2.3 1 Cor. 6.11 Query 11. Is one with the eleventh and the answer of the one may serve to answer the application of the other Query 13. Which doth arise from the unchangeableness of Predestination from whence you qâ—â—â—y For what end the Scriptures are set forth That I have fully answered in my answer to the third Query Query 14. Whose names they are that are written in the Book of Life whether they be the Elects or the Reprobates If the Elects whether they shall not be blotted out if they add or diminish from the Word of God Answer I know you are not ignonorant but you know that the Word presents the Book of Life in a several sense the Book of Life doth not onely hold out eternal Life but the visible Kingdom of Grace and God hath also provided a way and means that any that are received in shall as well be cast out if they appear to be such that walk in Doctrines contrary to that Gospel which was by CHRIST and the Apostles delivered if you can prove that by that Book of Life is onely meant election and that those that are elected may so add and be diminishers of that Revelation that John spake of and upon that from being elected to become reprobated then you had some ground to query or else your Queries are groundless as to what I judg you intend but I have at large shewed you the sad danger of drawing up forms from variety of faces in Gods outward declaration especially when fancy is the former which of necessity must be unless you distinguish causes and distinguish between Gods essential and declarative will and the difference between the general and the special exercises of Gods power understanding one Scripture with another all which I desire you in the fear of the Lord to consider of which is in full to all your Queries and now I shall shew ye the fallacy of your Absurdities Now as for your Absurdities though they must needs full with the Answer of your Queries and need no other return yet that you may see the fallacy of them more fully I shall briefly speak a word or two to them most of them depends upon the conclusion of Christs dying for all and doth arise from absolute denial of that now you may clearly see by what I writ that as to that which is the foundation of your Absurdities that I and others do not deny but with you hold that Christ tasted death for every man according to that Scripture in Peter which you mention in your sixth Absurdity and I in your first Absurdity and therefore your first Absurdity to wit that the Devil destroys not those men for whom Christ died which say you is contrary to that Scripture before mentioned I need say no more in answer to that Absurdity onely it is impossible for the Devil to destroy any for whom CHRIST died not because he died for all Absurdity 2. If Christ died not for all men then Despair is no sin in them that perish Answer Despair or Infidelity is a sin in it self Further consider that it is unknown that CHRIST did not die for them till the conclusion comes Further that which is appliable to every creature and to be believed by every creature is not in a Gospel sense believed by them that perish for they that do not in that sense believe one thing cannot in that sense believe any thing But further minde the want of ability doth not take off Gods authority nor change the nature of sin in it self therefore your Absurdity is absurd Absurdity 3. If Christ died not for all men then it were a sin for some men to believe that Christ died for them The Answer
of your second Absurdity answers this and the truth is the reading of either is sufficient to make a gracious heart to blush it being a language the Scripture doth not own Absurdity 4. If there were some men for whom Christ died â—â—t such men should be exempted or freed from the condemnation of unbelief or treading under feet the bloud of the Covenant by which they were sanctified Answer Though I have answered this fully yet minde that the outward tenders of CHRIST as we have proved excludes none that by it the chosen of God may be called out of the world through grace to believe and should the tenders make an exemption of some from believing it were a contradiction in the tender which is to all excluding none And further consider that infidelity is the declarative cause of mans damnation but I have fully proved that the meritorious cause of condemnation it self is the exercising of darkness in rejecting CHRIST As for that expression in your Absurdity about mens being sanctified by the bloud of Christ and yet treads under feet the bloud of CHRIST your misapprehending that Scripture have fully answered in one of your mistakes which is the cause of your stumbling Absurdity 5. If Christ died not for all Satan in perswading people Christ died not for them doth no evil Your Absurdity is very sad and you cannot have the least face to retort that upon us unless you can prove that infidelity in it self is no sin And secondly that the Devil knows exactly who it is that God designs for Heaven which secret God retains to himself and is revealable to none but them to whom CHRIST reveals it besides it is impossible for any footing to be for that Absurdity because CHRIST in some sense hath tasted death for every man Absurdity 6. If Christ died not for all men then it were not Heresie to teach some men to deny that Christ bought them contrary to that Scripture in 2 Pet. 2.1 I have proved from that Scripture that CHRIST tasted death for every man and to deny it is Heresie but if you mean dying for every man alike that Scripture doth not prove it yet for any man to make a particular application to this or that man saying CHRIST died not for him in particular that way is unwarrantable and contrary to truth for in the tender there is no exclusion and for Ordination and Application they are secrets belonging unto God made known to us as he seems good Absurdity 7. If there be some that Christ died not for it is an error for them to believe he died for them I have answered this Absurdity in the answering the former four it being one and the same onely you love to make repetition of one and the same thing Absurdity 8. If Christ died not for all men then some for whom Christ died not do believe a truth in believing Christ died not for them which say you is Blasphemy to affirm Answer There is no ground for such an Absurdity unless you can prove these three things 1. That we hold that Christ died in no sense for some which we deny 2. That men may know Reprobation or Election exactly before it is discovered 3. That men may truly believe and yet be damned Absurdity 9. If Christ died not for all men then some should be damned in Hell for not believing that which is not truth Absurdity 10. If Christ died not for all men their damnation is not to be attributed to their not believing but to Christs not dying I have answered these two Absurdities so fully that it will be but a vain repetition to say any more for I have clearly shewed what is the meritorious cause of Damnation and how just God is in doing of it not condemning the creature for his neglect in the exercising that power which he hath not but the exercising of a power of darkness which he hath which if you reade over you will see these two Absurdities with the rest not onely to be without foundation but will produce sad reflections upon your own spirit if you look upon them through the Rule of Truth and do not suffer God and his actions to be brought under the dispute and control of your low Reason So having spoke briefly to your Queries and Absurdities from what in general I did before declare I shall now draw up a few Absurdities which of necessity must flow from your opinion and so commit you to God The Absurdities are 1. You deny the Prerogative of Gods will as if he had not power to do with his own as seems good to him crossing these Scriptures Matth. 20.15 Rom. 9.18 21 22 23. Isai 45.9 43.13 2. You do as much as give Christ the Lie where he saith The work is finished that the Father gave him to do John 17.4 Where you say CHRIST died to purchase Salvation for all and yet you say All are not saved 3. You do exceedingly undervalue God and the â—â—ches of his grace and love whose love is the efficient cause of all grace in us when you affirm There is no privilege considered in his love for you till you do believe And withall you do affirm that Faith is produced by the improvement of mens abilities which all enjoy from God before conversion 4. You lay injustice upon God when as you say CHRIST died to satisfie fully for all the sin of all men And yet you say All men shall not be saved And whereas you in your second Query say How can God be just to condemn them for whom Christ died not It may with more ground be questioned how it is just to condemn them for whom CHRIST died I mean died in that sense you speak of 5. You change the nature of causes and set the effect before the cause when you say Faith is the cause of Election and consequently the cause of Gods special or singular lovâ— â—â—â—en his love is in himself nay the Apostle saith in 1 John 4.8 that is himself therefore you may as well say Faith is the cause of God The Lord make your soul sensible of the sadness of this opinion 6. You do by your opinion what in you lieth to strike down the great Ordinance or design of God in it I mean in that great distinction that God made between the Seed of the Woman and the Serpent and his Seed Gen. 3.15 That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head and the Serpent and his Seed should bruise their heel Now that by the Seed of the Woman is meant CHRIST and all the elect in him is not to be denied and by the Serpent and his Seed is meant the Devil and the Reprobates is as clear which division or distinction God made at the beginning as his great design or grand way to bring about his glory that is to say the glory of 〈◊〉 grace in vessels of mercy and the glory of his power and justice in vessels of wrath