Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	act_n	believe_v	faith_n	1,015	5	5.7119	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97232	Chonoyterion he Sion. The refinement of Zion: or, The old orthodox Protestant doctrine justified, and defended against several exceptions of the Antinomians, methodically digested into questions, wherein many weighty and important cases of conscience are handled, concerning the nature of faith and repentance, or conversion to God: of his eternal love, and beholding of sin in his dearest children: of justification from eternity, of of [sic] preparations to the acceptance of Christ, of prayer for pardon of sin, and turning to God: of the gospel covenant, aud [sic] tenders of salvation, on the termes of faith and repentance. For the establishment of the scrupulous, conviction of the erroneous, and consolation of distressed consciences. By Anthony Warton, minister of the word at Breamore in Hampshire.	Warton, Anthony.	1657 (1657)	Wing W987; Thomason E914_2; ESTC R207476	171,315	250

evident unto us as our severall sins do require For so it is there are hardly any of Gods Children whose consciences are not more troubled with the remembrance and remorse of some of their sins then of others It will be necessary for them therefore to pray dayly as for the pardon of their other sins so especially of these that so they may grow more and more assured of the pardon of them considering what gratious promises Christ hath made to these their paayers Verily verily I say unto you Joh. 16.23 whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you And what things soever ye desire when ye pray Mar. 11.24 believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them Sure I am there is no man living upon the face of the earth that attaineth unto such a perfect assurance of the remission of his sins that he cannot have that assurance of his increased For all graces are here imperfect in us 2 Pet. 3.18 Whereupon we are all of us commanded to grow in grace In this regard therefore he that is most assured of the remission of his sins hath still need to pray for the pardon of them Thirdly We do all of us daily commit new sins Thirdly we have need therefore daily to solicite the Lord for the pardon of them Jam. 5.16 St. James exhorteth and stirreth us up unto this when he saith Confesse your sins one to another and pray one for another For I would know of these men what he would have us to pray for Not unlikely they will say for increase of grace to conquer and overcome our sins and for health in time of sicknesse It 's true no doubt but not for these onely but for pardon of those sins of ours which do pull down Gods judgments upon us for so he giveth us to understand when he saith Is any sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray for him And the prayer of faith shall save the sick and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him Here first the Apostle excepteth none no no not the best Christian that is but speaketh universally and saith Is Any man sick let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray for him Secondly he setteth down a double consequent of these their prayers when he saith the prayer of faith shall save the sick and Secondly if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him It is most evident and manifest therefore from hence that prayer is to be made for the forgivnesse not onely of the sins of those that are unregenerate and unbelievers as St. Stephen prayed for his persecutors saying Lord lay not this sin to their Charge Acts 7.60 but as well also for the sins of believers Fourthly Lastly we are daily to pray for the pardon of our sins because the day of judgment is not yet come when Christ with his own mouth will pronounce sentence of absolution on believers and of condemnation on all unbelievers and ungodly men There is none of us I presume that will say that he is holier then Epaphroditus or that hath more assurance of his sins then he had Notwithstanding Paul as much as he commendeth him prayeth heartily for him that the Lord would shew mercy unto him at that day the day of judgment in which he should be presented and appeare before Christ Now what meaneth he hereby but that the Lord would be mercifull unto him in blotting out his sins 2 Tim. 1.18 then as St. Peter speaketh that is in passing sentence of absolution upon him See Acts 3.19 and in freeing him from the dreadful sentence of condemnation which he will then passe and pronounce on the ungodly For that there shall then be not only an execution of the sentence already given in the word but a reall judgment the Scripture maketh plain Acts 17.31 God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousnesse by that man whom he hath Ordained 2. Tim. 4.1 that is by Jesus Christ And I Charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom St. Peter also speaking of himself and of the other Apostles saith that God commanded them to preach unto the people and to testifie that it is he Acts 10.42 that is Jesus Christ which was Ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead Here in the courts of this world the judgment goeth before the execution followeth after the former is the act of the judge himself the other of his Ministers that do it by his Authority and never till the judgment is past So Christ himself will sit in judgment on all the world at the latter day Math. 25.31 Math. 13.41 42. but the execution of his judgment he will commit to the Angels As long therefore as we live here who seeth not that we have all need to pray that our sins may be pardoned and that we may stand in judgment at that dreadfull day when we shall appear before the judgment Seat of Christ Psal 1.5 and every one receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5.10 SECT VI. Another Objection answered AFter I had thus finished this Question a friend of mine acquainted me with an argument drawn a Simili from a similitude which he heard a Souldier use to prove that he was not to pray for rhe pardon of his sins it was this If one give me a garment shall I still after I have it petition and pray him to give it me It were absurd so to do Seeing therefore God upon my repentance and faith in Christ hath forgiven me my sins it will be no lesse absurd in me still to pray for the pardon of them Whereunto I answer that an apt similitude doth excellently illustrate a matter after it is proved but otherwise there is little or no force in it at all of it self to prove any thing that is doubtfull or called into Question especially Si illo pede claudicat if it do halt on that foot wherein the force and strength of the Argument lieth Now so fareth it with this Similitude of his For that garment he speaketh of was absolutely given and he put into possession of it without being further bound to the performance of any thing for the time to come unlesse it were to a duty of thankfulnesse But our sins are not forgiven us absolutely by God but upon condition that we do repent and believe in Christ and pray for the pardon of them yea and this pardon is also granted not to one individuall act of repentance or of faith and prayer but to perseverance and continuance in all these as long as we live here as I have shewed already We can

as of many but as of one to thy seed They think therefore that St. Paul hath no reference to that promise In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed where this word And is not found but to these words To thee and to thy seed will I give the Land of Canaan unto which St. Paul by repeating this word And there expressed seemeth to relate But if we shall admit of this Exposition it will no way advantage Mr. S. For Piscator and those that follow it as also St. Augustine as Estius telleth us by Abrahams seed do understand not Christ in propria persona sua in his own person only sed Christum mysticum Cor. 12.12 but mystical Christ as Piscator speaketh that is Christ and his members as St. Paul also doth when he saith As the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body so also is Christ that is to say Christ and his members Piscator giveth two Reasons why these words of the Apostle which seed is Christ are not to be understood properly to wit of Christs person only First saith he the Apostles scope is against it which is to prove that eternal life is given unto believers for Christs sake and that according to the promises which he made unto Abraham as appeareth from the fourteenth Verse Again This absurdity is against it that eternal life should be given to Christ only I have thus laid down the several expositions of these words of the Apostle that it may appear the more evidently that it cannot from hence be collected that the covenant was made only with Christ and not with his members For otherwise if I shall speak what I think I am fully perswaded that St. Paul in saying To Abraham and his seed which is Christ were the promises made hath reference to that gracious evangelical promise in thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed This is the promise or the covenant as St. Paul speaketh in the foregoing words which the Lord made with Abraham as S. Peter plainly giveth us to understand in those words of his unto the Israelites Act. 3.25 Ye are the children of the covenant which God made with our Fathers saying unto Abraham And in thy seed shall all the kinreds of the Earth be blessed Where you see St. Peter expresseth the word And even in this promise as it is also set down Gen. 22.18 where the Lord speaketh to Abraham and saith In blessing I will blesse thee c. And in thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Thus the foundation of the latter Exposition before spoken of is removed and falleth to the ground Now from these words of St. Peter it may also be plainly proved against Mr. S. that the covenant of salvation is not made only with Christ For wherefore doth he say unto the Israelites Ye are the children of the covenant which God made with the Fathers but because this covenant belonged unto them and they were comprehended in it SECT III. Christ did not repent and believe for us but we must perform these conditions our selves LEt us now see whether Christ have fulfilled all the conditions of the covenant of the Gospel for us Whether he hath believed repented and was mortified and obeyed the Gospel for us We acknowledge with St. Paul that Christ is the end of the Law Rom. 10.4 for righteousness unto us and that we are justified before God by his obedience We acknowledge also that the spots of sin that adhere to our works of sanctification are washed away in his blood and so not only our persons but our works also become acceptable to God not for any merit or intrinsical holiness or worthiness of their own but as St. Peter saith by Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2.5 Rev. 7.14 in whose blood the Saints of God have washed their Robes of righteousness and holiness and made them white All this we do willingly grant but that Christ should perform for us those very duties of faith and repentance and mortification which are required of us in the Gospel seemeth to me very strange For as we are discharged from fulfilling the Law to be justified thereby because Christ hath thus fulfilled it for us so if Christ have believed and repented for us will it not follow hereupon that God will not require these duties of us or that he will not condemn us though we neglect and omit them no more than he will because we transgress his Law and do not perfectly fulfill it to be thereby justified When the Scripture saith that Christ died for us is not the meaning hereof that he died nostra vice in our stead and so by his death hath redeemed us from death and damnation everlasting so when David said Would God I had died for thee my Son Absolon his meaning was that he desired to have died in Absolons stead that he might by his own death have freed Absolon from death In like manner therefore if we shall say that Christ believed repented and was mortified for us the meaning hereof will be that he performed all these duties in our stead and so hath freed and discharged us from them What other construction these words will bear I know not but sure I am that many are imboldened by them too much to neglect the practice of repentance and the duties of sanctification and holiness But not to stand any longer upon this I would know how it can be justified that Christ either believed or repented or was mortified for us For first When Mr. S. saith that Christ believed for us he speaketh not of the legal faith or confidence in God for thus Christ believed for us seeing for us he fulfilled the whole Law nor of the faith and confidence that Christ had in God his Father that he would uphold and strengthen him to perform the great work of our Redemption but of justifying faith which is that whereby we rely on Christ for the pardon of our sins Now this justifying faith est in nobis subjectivè non in Christo is in us as in its proper subject not in Christ And this both the Prophet Habakuk Hab. 2.4 and the Apostle St. Paul do teach us when they say Justus fide suà vivet the just shall live by his own faith and not by the faith of another Gal. 2.16 The true believers therefore say not Christ hath believed for us but we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the Law But if it should be granted that Christ believed for us that we by that faith of his might be justified how shall we salve that other saying of his how shall we make it good that Christ repented for us for repentance alwayes presupposeth sin it is a turning from sin unto righteousness Such is the repentance which

their conversion will prove no better than that of those heathen people whom the King of Assyria 2 Kings 2.17 when he had carried away the ten Tribes brought from Babylon and other places to inhabit the Cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel For as those heathen people when one of the Priests of the captivated Israelites was by the King of Assyria sent unto them to instruct them how the God of Israel was to be worshipped are said after this to have borh worshipped the Lord and the gods of those Nations whence they came So if the Gospel only be preached to men before they have been brought by the Law to see what miserable sinners they are they hearing that Christ by his death hath redeemed us from hell and purchased Heaven for us may readily receive him for their Saviour and professe his name but so that they will still retain the same ignorant and proud conceit of their own good deeds and good deserving as they did before For so we see many of our people that are ignorant of the Law in words to acknowledge Christ for their Saviour and yet if they be asked how they hope to be saved they will tell you for their good prayers and for their good meaning and good serving of God And thus indeed all men naturally are ready to rely upon themselves until by the Law they come to see their sins and the great wrath that is hanging over their heads for them Wherefore as the Law was first given and after that man had transgressed it Gen. 3.15 the Gospel or evangelical Promise of salvation by Christ was made known unto him So the Law is first to be preached unto men and set before them as a looking-glasse that they may by comparing themselves with it see their sins and see and perceive in what a woful state and condition they are And when they are humbled and do renounce and deny themselves altogether acknowledging that if God should enter into judgement with them they must needs be damned to the everlasting torments of hell now is the Gospel to be preached unto them and Jesus Christ and the merits of his grace are in their excellency greatest luster to be set forth before them For now when they are truly humbled with the sight sense of their sins and of that woful condition wherein they are because of them they will highly esteem of Jesus Christ and long and thirst after him and desirously lay hold on him and renouncing all other means of salvation will rest themselves only on him Yea now the more miserable they see themselves to be the more will they magnifie the riches of Gods mercy in their salvation by Christ and the more ardently and affectionately will they love Christ and study and strive to be so much the more thankful unto him for their salvation all their daies For what is it that enlargeth the heart in thankfulness but an hearty acknowledgment of the greatness of the benefit that is done us As long therefore as a man is ignorant of his sins and of the danger that he is in by the means of them he can never acknowledge how greatly he is indebted and beholding unto Christ for his redemption and salvation and therefore he can never truly love him as he ought nor be truly thankful unto him You see then how necessary it is that the Law should be taught as well as the Gospel Now whereas it was objected unto me Object That the preaching of the Law was so far from preparing men for Christ that it hindred the salvation of many To this I answered Answ That if any did preach the Law alone without the Gospel or if they offer Christ unto their hearers upon condition that they do exactly fulfil the Law and so urge and presse it on them as it is the Covenant of works by the practice and performance whereof and no otherwise salvation is to be had no doubt in thus preaching the Law they may drive some into desperation and hinder others from Faith in Christ but shall never be a means of the conversion of any because no man living can observe the Law to be justified by it Yea I will say more if any do preach the Law to those who have timoratas conscientias tender and trembling consciences which are so cast down with the sight and sense of their sins that it is high time to poure the oyl of joy and the balm of the Gospel into their contrite broken hearts such undiscreet preaching of the Law cannot but be a great means to weaken Faith where it is wrought already and to hinder others from believing who by the comfortable Promises of the Gospel might be incouraged to lay hold of Christ by Faith and to cast themselves confidently on him for their salvation But though this be so yet the preaching of the Law is as necessary to humble those that see not their sins and the danger of them but live securely in them that so despairing of salvation in themselves they may seek it by Christ only Again after that men do deny themselves and their own works altogether and rely only on Christ for salvation although the Law is not to be pressed on them as it is a Covenant of works nor preached in the full latitude thereof yet that they may not turn the grace of God into lasciviousness as St. Jude speaketh but carry themselves so that they may glorifie the name of God and not cause it to be blasphemed it shall be necessary for them to set the Law before them as the Rule of their actions or as a directory according whereunto they are to frame and conform their life and conversation In this regard the moral Law for of that only I speak is not abrogated but subordinated unto the Gospel yea and after a sort incorporated into it For all the duties of the moral Law may be reduced to these three heads 1. Piety towards God 2. Justice or Righteousness towards a mans neighbour And thirdly Sobriety or temperance in ordering of himself Now all these the Gospel prescribeth and requireth as well as the Law ● 2.11.12 For as St. Paul saith the grace of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men to wit in the preaching of the Gospel not of the Law teaching that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godlily in this present world Thus both the Law and the Gospel do bind us to the practice of all moral duties Whereupon it is that St. Paul saith that he did herein exercise himself Acts 24.16 to have alwaies a conscience void of offence toward God Object and toward man But I know that some of those with whom I now deal will confesse that such duties are taught in the Gospel but that we are not bound to them by the Law it being wholly abrogated Answer To whom I return this answer That the

that ye believe in him whom he hath sent we may very well conceive his meaning to be that it is Faith only and no other work whereby we do receive Christ and feed upon him to the salvation of our souls Lastly It may also be said that Faith is by our Saviour called the work of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seu per modum eminentiae by way of excellency and eminency because it doth though not formally yet virtually contain all other good works in it Calv. in locum For as Calvin saith Faith excludeth not either charity or any other good work seeing it containeth them all in it For Faith is called the only work of God because we possessing Christ by it are made the Sons of God that he may govern us by his Spirit Because therefore Christ doth not separate Faith from its fruits non mirum est si in eâ constituat proram ut loquuntur et puppim it is no marvel if he do include all in it By this that hath been said it appeareth evidently that although faith in Christ be the only work of God which he requireth of us to our justification yet it is not the only work of God absolutely as if he required nothing else but Faith of us or as if he commanded us to practise none other good works in our life and conversation though otherwise in some sense or in some respect and to some purpose as hath been before shewed it may be said to be the only work of God Before I do proceed unto Mr. S. his second Objection I have thought good to demolish those other fortifications which he hath raysed and reared up to uphold his former assertion that Faith is the only work of the Gospel Object First He argueth thus Salvation is not a businesse of our working and doing it was done by Christ with the Father All our work is no work of salvation but in salvation We here receive all not by doing any thing that we may receive more but doing because we receive so much because we do not that we may be saved And yet we are to do as much as if we were to be saved by what we do because we should do as much for what is done already for us and to our hands as if we were to receive it for what we did our selves Answ That I may examine these things severally 1. Whereas he saith Salvation is not a business of our working and doing it was done by Christ with the Father Hereunto I answer That Christ only saveth us per modum meriti by his merits purchasing our salvation Secondly He also only saveth us tanquam author salutis nostrae as the author or principal efficient cause of our salvation by his Spirit regenerating us and by his power delivering us from the servitude of sin and Satan There is nothing therefore for us to do by way of merit neither can we do any thing that may any way conduce to our salvation virtute propriâ nostrâ by our own power or by our own strength Notwithstanding there are many things for us to do by the grace of God before we shall perfectly be saved even all those good works that God requireth of us which are as it were the way to Heaven Eph. 2.10 For as St. Paul saith VVe are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them In this regard we are not to be idle or to do nothing but as we are commanded we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling that is Phil. 2.12 we are to use the means which God hath appointed that we may come to Heaven and take possession of that salvation which Christ hath purchased for us In which regard St. Peter also counselled his hearers Acts 2.40 to save themselves from that untoward generation of the incredulous Jews amongst whom they lived to wit by departing from their infidelity and evil works 1 Tim. 4.18 And St. Paul exhorteth Timothy to attend unto himself and to doctrine and to continue therein telling him that in so doing he should both save himself by the faithful discharge of his duty those that did hear him by converting them to faith in Christ and leading them in the right way to Heaven But saith Mr. S. All our work is no work Of salvation but In salvation But I answer him It is both for the work of a Christian is to work out his salvation in that sense and in that manner as he is commanded by St. Paul as I have already sufficiently shewed And it is a work also In salvation because it is performed and done by those who are in statu salutis in the state of salvation or whose salvation is already begun in their Regeneration and Sanctification But saith he We here receive all not by doing any thing that we may receive more but doing because we receive so much because we do not that we may be saved What Mr. S. Do we here receive all that is if you speak consonantly to your self all our whole salvation I had thought that we had received only the a Rom. 8.23 first fruits of the Spirit as b 2 Cor. 1.22 Eph. 1.13.14 an earnest or a seal of our salvation to be perfected in Heaven as St. Paul teacheth and that we are in regard theteof only saved in c Rom. 8.24 hope and do here waite for d Rom. 8.23 24. the accomplishment of our adoption the redemption full and final of our body How then can you say that We are not to do any thing that we may receive more more then we have are actually possessed of already But say you We are not to do that we may be saved Is it so indeed Are we to do nothing that we may be saved This is new light or rather a new delusion of the Devil For when those Jews that were pricked in their hearts with sorrow and remorse at the hearing of St. Peter's Sermon Acts 2. said unto him and to the rest of the Apostles Men and Brethren What shall we do Peter answered them not Ye need to do nothing Christ hath done all for you but Repent Acts 2.37 and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Thus St. Peter teacheth that there is something to be done of us for the obtaining of the forgiveness of our sins Acts 16.30 and consequently of salvation by Christ And in like manner when the Jaylor came trembling to Paul and Silas and said unto them Sirs what must I do to be saved St. Paul did not check him for this question of his he told him not that it savoured of grosse ignorance for him to ask what he was to do that he might be saved but answered him and said Beleive in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy

the Lord in his Gospel required of us Now what Christian eares can indure to hear that Christ should be said to have turned from sin unto righteousness Christ was never overtaken with any sin he never turned from God therefore he cannot be said to have turned from sin unto God as we do when we are converted Nor can he be said to have been mortified for us for there was no flesh nor none of the old man in him that required any mortification SECT IV. How Christ is made unto us Sanctification BUt let us see now how Mr. S. endevoureth to prove and make good that Christ hath fulfilled all the conditions of the Gospel for us The Apostle saith he teacheth Object that Christ is made unto us of God Sanctification his holiness therefore is ours he wrought it for us 1 Cor. 1.20 Whatsoever holy duties therefore of faith or new obedience are required of us in the Gospel Christ hath fulfilled them for us Thus I have urged and inforced his Argument to his greatest advantage as I suppose For answer whereunto I say Answ that Christ may be said to be made unto us Sanctification three manner of wayes 1. Imputativè by way of imputation 2. Meritorie by way of merit 3. Effectivè efficiently or effectually working it in us The first of these Mr. S. maketh choyce of and pitcheth upon For he will have Christs holy obedience to be imputed unto us for our sanctification Now I grant that it is imputed unto us indeed Rom. 5.19 but for our justification not for our sanctification For as St. Paul saith by the obedience of one that is of Jesus Christ many are justified or made righteous Again If Christs holiness should be imputed unto us for our sanctification then sanctification should not be inherent in us but external and without us as our justification is And lastly Then there should be no real difference between our justification and sanctification neither should they be different graces but altogether the same For wherein consisteth our justification but in the imputation of Christs holy obedience unto us Now if our sanctification do consist in this also Heb. 10.29 13.12 what real difference will there be between them I do indeed acknowledge that the holy Scripture doth now and then make no real difference between sanctification and justification For whereas the Apostle saith ordinarily that we are justified by the blood of Christ it is said that we are sanctified by his blood Where I conceive that sanctification is either put for justification or at the least that justification is included in it as it must needs be if we shall say that the meaning of the Apostle is that the blood of Christ hath merited both our justification and our sanctification 2. In this sense I do willingly grant that Christ is made unto us sanctification that is by the merit of his passion purchasing it and by his blood washing away the spots of sin that do adhere to our sanctification 3 And lastly I do also acknowledge as all Orthodox Protestants do that Christ is our sanctification not only meritorieé by way of merit sed effectivé but efficiently also because by his spirit which he hath purchased of his Father he doth sanctifie us or effect and work holiness in us And thus as I take it I have cleared the Apostles meaning and made it manifest that he hath no intent to teach that Christ believed for us and obeyed the Gospel for us in that sense as Mr. S. taketh his words when he saith That Christ is made unto us of God sanctification SECT 5. Although the promises of the Gospel are offered unto sinners yet they have no right nor interest in them unless they do receive them LEt us now examine another of Mr. S. his Arguments whereby he goeth about ro prove that the promises of the Gospel do belong to sinners as sinners and that there is no condition of faith nor of repentance required of them that they may be partakers of remission of sins and of salvation through Christ What saith he were the Churches of the Corinthians Object Ephesians Colossians and what was Paul before Christ came to him were they sinners or qualified And what were all that believed before they believed Answ They were sinners It s true they were so but though the promises were then offered unto them yet they did not then belong to them nor had they any interest in them until they received them but as the Apostle saith Eph. 2.12 They were strangers from the Covenants of promise and so should have remained continued for ever had they rejected them as did the Jewes and some other Citizens of Antioch in Pisidia when Paul and Barnabas preached Act. 13.46 and offered Christ unto them Briefly therefore I do reason thus Promises do belong to those to whom they are made and not to any other but the promises of the Gospel concerning remission of sins and eternal salvation in Heaven are made to those that either do for the present or shall hereafter repent and believe in Christ and not to any other therefore none have any right to these promises but such believers and repentant sinners Object This was written before Mr. S. his death It may be Mr. S. or some other will here reply and say are the promises of the Gospel then to be offered to none but to those that do repent and believe Yes They are to be offered unto all neither Infidels nor any other sinners excluded but not absolutely sed sub conditione fidei resipiscentiae but upon condition that they do repent Mar. 16 16 Act. 3.19 and believe if they will have their sins blotted out and be saved through the mercy of God in Christ Thus indeed promissiones Evangelij sunt universales conditione promulgatione sed non applicatione the promises of the Gospel are to be preached and propounded unto all but all do not appropriate and apply them to themselves nor interest themselves in them Now wherefore is this but as I said before because the promises are not absolute but conditional For were they absolute and no condition at all were required then one man should have as great an interest in them and as good right to them as another whether he were believer or unbeliever SECT VI. How the promises of the Gospel or of the new Testament are said to be better then the promises of the old or of the Law Object BUt against this that hath been said it is further objected The Law promised life upon condition for so it saith Lev. 18.5 hoc fac vives do this and thou shalt live Heb. 8.6 The promises of the Gospel therefore seeing as the Apostle saith they are better then those of the Law are absolute and not conditional Answ But I answer No such thing followeth hereupon For the Apostles words are That Christ is the Mediator of a

out and that they may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Object What is this say these men but to teach and preach legally when you do thus tie men to conditions for the obtaining of salvation as the Law did Answ It s true indeed we should be legal teachers if we did require of men the same conditions for the obtaining of salvation and after the same manner that the Law doth but we are far from this for the Law requireth perfect obedience to all the Commandements thereof that is to say all manner of good works as that whereby we are to be justified before God or as the cause of our salvation Now we on the contrary do teach that we are saved only and altogether by the grace of God through the merits and satisfaction of Jesus Christ And we say that works are necessary to our justification at leastwise to the continuance of it after a far inferior manner that is necessitate presentiae non efficientiae as duties necessarily accompanying it and going with it not as any causes meriting or working it Thus whereas the Law requireth works as causes of our justification and salvation we require Faith Repentance and such works or duties as the Gospel teacheth only as necessary conditions without which we cannot be saved For as I have proved in the former Question the Gospel indeed offereth salvation unto all by Christ but not absolutely but upon condition of their faith and repentance Where faith therefore in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance are wanting it is in vain for men to believe that they are reconciled unto God or that they are in the state of salvation which is the Doctrine now taught by Mr. D Mr. S. and many others Whereas these men then do think that all conditions are legal they are herein deceived For the difference between the Law and the Gospel is not that the one requireth conditions to be performed and the other none at all which were it so then the Gospel should be a Doctrine of licentiousness and carnal liberty but in this that the Law offereth salvation unto none but unto those that do perfectly fulfill it without failing in any the least duty therein required and commanded but the Gospel offereth pardon of all sins and transgressions unto all that believe in Christ and rise up out of their sins by repentance when they are fallen and do not still lie in them Thus the Law is a covenant of works because it promiseth salvation to none but to those that do the works therein prescribed and commanded Rom. 10.8 but the Gospel is a covenant of faith or as St. Paul calleth it the word of faith because it promiseth forgiveness of sins and salvation to all those that renouncing themselves and their own works do relie only upon Christ for salvation according to the promises of his Gospel SECT II. Both repentance and all manner of good works are commanded and required in the Gospel THis that I have already said might be sufficient for an answer unto this Question notwithstanding because many at this day by hearing of our late new Preachers and reading of their Books have their mindes and understandings so vitiated and depraved that whensoever they hear us teach the necessity of repentance unto salvation or hear us presse the practise and performance of good works upon mens Consciences presently they think that we are enemies unto the grace of God and do preach nothing but the Law For so indeed some few years since when one heard me tell my hearers that as long as any one of them did live in sin and not practise repentance it was in vain for him to believe that his sins were forgiven and that he should at the comming of Christ to judgement rise again in his own body to live eternally with Christ After he was returned home from the Church he spake aloud in the hearing of divers and said here is nothing but preaching of the Law preaching of Repentance Repent and ye shall be saved repent and Heaven Gates shall be set open for you To the intent therefore that such poor seduced souls may be brought to see their error I will handle this matter a little more fully First of all then It is certain that the Law requireth perfect obedience of us unto all the Commandements thereof and will not accept of any repentance if we fall but into any one sin or fail in any one duty but concludeth and shutteth us up under the curse of God The Doctrine of Repentance therefore as these men think is not legal Deut. 27.26 but meerly Evangelical And therefore when Christ taught the people repentance it is said that he preached not the Law but the Gospel Now it is manifest and evident also Mar. 1.15 that all manner of good works which are the fruits and effects of repentance are required and commanded in the Gospel as well as in the Law For St. Paul telleth us that we are Gods workmanship Eph. 2.10 created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he hath appointed that we should walk in them When St. Paul saith here that we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works it is certain that this is the voyce not of the Law but of the Gospel For the Law neither speaketh of our new Creation in Christ Jesus that is of our Regeneration neither maketh any mention of Christ at all Christus enim non est revelationis naturalis sicut est lex Rom. 2.14 sed supernaturalis It is not the Law but the Gospel that revealeth Christ unto us It is therefore the Gospel also and not the Law that informeth us and telleth us that Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity Tit. 2.14 and purifie a peculiar people unto himself zealous of good works And seeing this is one end of Christs passion for as much as he hath delivered us out of the hands of our enemies that we might serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness Luk. 1.74 75. before him all the dayes of our life And did therefore bear our sins in his own body on the Tree that we being dead to sin should live to righteousness hereupon St. Paul wrote unto Titus and said This is a faithful saying and these things I will 1 Pet. 2.24 that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God Tit. 1.8 might be careful to maintain good works And afterwards in that Chapter Vers 14. He writeth thus unto him Let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses that they be not unfruitful In all these and many other places of the Gospel are good works required of us Yea I will say more they are required as necessary to our eternal salvation in Heaven though not by way of merit yet as a condition necessarily to be performed by us Eph. 2.10 and as the way wherein we are to walk