Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A36515
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A friendly debate between Satan and Sherlock containing a discovery of the unsoundness of Mr. William Sherlocks principles in a late book entituled A discourse concerning the knowledge of Jesus Christ &c., by this only medium, that they afford the Devil the same grounds for his hope of salvation that they do mankind, and so subvert the Gospel and transform Christianity into Mahumetanism / by an hearty enemy of Mahumetanism.
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Danson, Thomas, d. 1694.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing D213; ESTC R24867
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29,839
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72
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imputed to sinners yet I presume there is need of one to die as a surety in their stead and place Sherlock When Christ died for us he died not as a surely p. 290. The Socinians have no reason to be afraid of such Adversaries who have no better way to defend the satisfaction of Christ than by the notion of suretiship p. 291. Satan 'T is well J. O. that parlous man is not within hearing What will you acknowledg the Socinians stand on the vantage ground when Christians defend the satisfaction of Christ by the notion of suretiship I am apt to think they cannot defend it by any other notion the sum whereof is as I warrant you J. O. T. J. and all the letters of the Alphabet will tell you that Christ put himself into the stead of sinners to suffer what they should have suffer'd upon which God makes over Christs satisfaction to them And they will take for their warrant that place where Christ is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The suerty of the Covenant Sherlock I confess I do not like to be call'd a Socinian because that name does male audire some ill in the Church of England And I reckon my self therefore much beholden to my two Brethren whereof one tacitly by an Imprimatur and the other by express words vindicated me from the imputation of Heresie and particularly of being tainted with Cracovian Divinity But let J. O. T. J. and who will besides please themselves with their own notion of suertiship I say To be a surety of the Covenant signifies no more than to confirm and ratifie this Covenant and to undertake for the performance of it that all the promises of the Covenant shall be made good upon such terms and conditions as are annexed to them p. 289. Satan Then it seems Christ is but Gods surety to man that he will be as gsood as his word but I should think that notion of suretiship were out of doors by the grounds you laid down a while since For if the light of nature assures sinners that God is so good that he hath a natural love for all good men and will not fail to reward them though he never made them a promise p. 42 43. Methinks it may assure them too that God is so faithful that he will not break his promise when he hath made it And it may seem that as to the confirmation of the Covenant of God with man whatever your sentiments are of Christs God-head Christ needed not to have been God for whatever assurance can be gathered from the undertakers being God is afforded us in the promisers being so And in fine Christ is no surety at all and so we need not dispute about our interest in him for as far as I can perceive by your principles that sinners might have been saved if he had never died for them and they may be damned though he hath And now I am prevented in my enquiry how the benefit of what Christ hath done and suffered might redound to me I had thought to have asked what Faith is requisite to the participation of the benefits of Christs righteousness and what Vnion results from that Faith whereby his righteousness and its effects become a sinners Sherlock You mistake the matter you may enquire and I will satisfy you about the nature of Faith and the Union thence resulting For as hasty as you are in your censure of my making Christ useless which I should take very hainously but that I think you do but personate the Fan's I will tell you The death of Christ upon the cross assures us what the merit is and what the portion of sin shall be that all sinners deserve to die and shall certainly have their deserts without a sincere repentance and reformation of their lives for to expiate sin by death can signifie no less than this that death is the proper recompence of sin p. 92. Satan A goodly end of Christs death would J. O. say were he within hearing which hath been and may be otherwise obtained The light of nature or natural notions of Gods justice and works of Providence God 's judgments upon the wicked would assure men of the merit of sin and what the portion of sin should be without sincere repentance and reformation and with it too as well as assure them which you have often told me of Gods readiness to pardon upon repentance and reformation Again J. O. would say that the death of Christ would not assure us that death is the recompence of sin unless Christs death was the punishment of sin which if it was it must be of mans sin for he had none of his own and then Christ died as a surety in the sinners stead a notion which J. O. embraces and W. S. rejects and so you have brought your hogs to a fair market indeed Sherlock In verbo sacerdotis on the word of a Priest I think you are turned Fanatick Satan You have granted one use of Christs death which will serve my turn as for the other I presume it was Lapsus linguae a slip of your tongue but the hopes you give me with one hand you take away with the other when you tell me The Sacrifice of his death extends no farther than the example of his life he was made manifest to destroy sin and in him was no sin p. 93. It seems then that Christ died only for those in whom was no sin at all And then I am too sure Christ died not for me but one comfort then is that neither died he for any body else Sherlock I explain my meaning well enough when I say that Considering how holy our Priest and Sacrifice was we cannot reasonably conceive that he died or that he interceded for incorrigible sinners p. 93 Satan All that I can gather from thence for explication is that we cannot reasonably conceive that he died for any sinners unless he were a sinner himself though not incorrigible for otherwise the Sacrifice of his death would extend farther then the example of his life He that was no sinner would die for them that were sinners To leave this to further consideration pray tell me what use you assign to Christs active obedience Sherlock Though the pardon of our sins and our justification be attributed to the blood of Christ yet I could never perswade my self that this wholly excludes the perfect obedience and righteousness of his life p. 330. Satan Very good now J. O. and you are very good friends for he could never perswade himself so neither Sherlock 'T is not good manners to interrupt me J.O. and I are far enough from being good friends For the Aqostle tell us That we are accepted in the Beloved Eph. 1.6 Satan That very plaee J. O. brings for his own justification in being always of your perswasion in this point Sherlock You are very unmannerly methinks Satan Excuse me Sir I am afraid you should forget your self and say as J. O.
without ground in your opinion And your reason against it confirms me more in my suspicion that you do but verba dare deceive when you say The Vnion of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ did excellently qualifie him for the office of a Mediator p. 205 206. For if Christ as a Mediator be not the fountain of Grace secundum naturam divinam i. e. as God he may pass from a Mediator though he were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a meer man then he might perswade men to be gracious by powerful motives though he could not bestow grace upon them which is all you intend by Christs being a minister of Grace The Fanaticks indeed silly souls as they are think that Christs Obedience was the meritorious cause of Grace and his Spirit the efficient or fountain of it but you instruct them better that Christ by his blood purchased only a Covenant of Salvation to them that have grace come by it as they can But pray Sir what Vnion do you allow of any or none Sherlock The Union between Christ and the Christian Church is but a Political Union that is such an Union as is between a King and his Subjects p. 156. Satan Then am I united already which is more than ever I knew before for Christ is Head of Principalities and Powers and they are his subjects de jure I am sure Sherlock Hold there our union to Christ consists in our belief of his Revelations Ib. Satan Then still my claim is good for I believe all his Revelations and were I sure none but friends were within hearing I would say that 's more than you do Sherlock You are a jeering Companion and a little too hasty our union to Christ consists also in our obedience to his Laws and subjection to his Authority p. 156. Satan Now I am half gone But yet I live in hopes that the powerful motives you have talked so much of may be powerful enough to move me to that obedience and subjection I owe to Christs Laws and Authority seeing I already believe all his Revelations I will not give you much longer trouble I have but one scruple more I perceive by your last discourse That God requir'd not such a sacrifice as the death of Christ for the expiation of our sins because he could not do otherwise p. 46. This I would have made plain For it sticks much with me that I am a debtor to Divine Justice and therefore I do not understand how God can be good to me till that debt be paid and Justice satisfied For if he should it seems to me that God should raise one of his Attributes upon the ruin of another and so do himself a prejudice to do me a kindness Your charity I believe is such that you wish me well as you do all mankind Answer but this one Objection and I am satisfied Sherlock That God is so just and righteous that he cannot pardon sin without satisfaction to his justice is indeed such a notion of justice as is perfectly new which neither Scripture nor nature acquaints us with for all mankind have accounted it an act of goodness without the least suspition of injustice in it to remit injuries and offences without exacting any punishment and that he is so far from being just that he is cruel and savage who will remit no offence till he hath satisfied his revenge That part of justice which consists in punishing of offenders was always looked on as an iustrument of Government and therefore the exacting or remitting punishment was referred to the wisdom of Governours who might spare or punish as they saw reason for it without being unjust in either p. 45 46. And this is so rational that thou canst not but subscribe to the judgment of all mankind And but that I think you propose this scruple only to try what answer I can make I should wonder one of so pregnant wit should talk so like a fool Satan I doubt Sir you have not consulted all mankind I have heard other doctrine constantly taught in the Assemblies of Christians who sure are part of mankind where I have been a constant and attentive hearer and I cannot but believe and tremble Sherlock I doubt Sir Satan your ears have not been matches It may be you have heard such doctrine in Conventicles There is one John Owen that hath given us a faste of the gift he exercises in such Assembles in a late Book Entituled Communion with God the Father c. that tells us what ever discoveries were made of the patience and lenity of God to us yet if it were not withal revealed that the other Properties of God as his Justice and Revenge for Sin had their actings assigned them to the full there could be little consolation gathered from the former p. 95. But what say I to this That is J. O. would not believe God himself though he should make never so many promises of being good and gracious to sinners unless he were sure that he had first satisfied his reveng The sume of which is That God is all love and patience when he has taken his fill of revenge as others use to say That the Devil is good when he is pleased p. 47. Excuse me that I make use of your name Satan I willingly excuse your making use of my name for seeing I have failed in my ambition of being like God I am well enough content you should make God like me Sherlock Elsewhere the same J.O. says That in Christ the very nature of God is discovered to be love and kindness But I think I pay him off Hearken and you shall have my Comment with his Text to a tittle An happy change this from all Justice to all Love but how comes this to pass why the account of that is very plain because the Justice of God hath glutted it self with revenge on sin in the death of Christ and so henceforward we may be sure he will be very kind as a revengeful man is when his passion is over p. 46. Satan But what 's the matter then that sinners which I know by woful experience my self are haunted with continual fears of Gods Justice Those fears seem to be the effects of the natural notions of God's Justice which we carry about with us Sherlock The workings of the Law the amazing terrors of Gods wrath the raging despair of damned spirits are the working of an heated fancy and Religious distraction p. 95. These must needs be the effect of ignorance not of an acquaintance with Christ which suggests so many encouraging-considerations to return to God as to a merciful and compassionate Father and not to tremble at his presence as a severe and inexorable Judg. Ib. Satan O bene factum O well done my white Boy O Lepidum caput now your work is done you have obliged me for ever For now I undeastand that my fears are but melancholy and hypochondraical such as timerous persons are subject