ΘΥΡΑ ΑÎΕΩΓΜΕÎΗ THE OPEN DOOR For MANS Appoach to GOD. OR A VINDICATION of the Record of GOD Concerning the Extent of the Death of CHRIST in its Object In Answer to a Treatise of Master Iohn Owen of Cogshall in Essex about that Subject By John Horn a Servant of God in the Gospel of his Son and Preacher thereof at Lyn in Norffolk The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation to All Men hath appeared teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world c. Tit. 2.11 12 13. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life John 3.16 And he is the propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the whole world's 1 John 2.2 Mysticus sol ille justitiae omnibus ortus est omnibus venit omnibus passus est omnibus resurrexit ideo autem passus est ut tolleret peccatum mundi Si quis autem non credit in Christum generali beneficio ipse se fraudat Ambros Ut si quis clausis fenestris radios solis excludat non ideo sol non ortus est omnibus quia colore ejus se ipse fraudavit nam quod solis est praerogativam suam servat quod autem imprudent is communis a se gratiam lucis excludit Ambros in Psal 118. secund vulg Lat. Octon Octavo Omnia probate quod bonum est tenete London Printed by Robert White and are to be sold by Giles Calvert at his Shop at the Sign of the Black-Spred Eagle at the West End of Pauls 1650. REader My necessitated absence from the Press hath occasioned some mistakes both of words and pointings in the printing which least envy take occasion by them to traduce me with the simple and ingenuity it self be at a loss I have here shewed thee how thou shouldst correct Viz. In the Epistle to the Reader PAge 14 Line 6 read 2 for 1. p. 18 l. 18 r. them p. 26 l. 15 r. that rule p. 28 l. 29 r. lately In the Answer Pa. 12 Lin 22 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 15 l. 18r call p 23 l. 10 r. too p. 24 marg r. ver 18. p. 27 l. 11 r. as are then not so p. 28 l. 1 2 r. Psal 78 Mat. 18. p. 45 l. 36 t John 5. p 48 l. 6 r. dawne p 49. l. 25 r. they would not p. 54 l 2 put the stop after second p. 56 l. 15 r. oppose p. 67 l. 20 r. but as an example p. 75 l. 38 r. rather without marks p. 80 l. 35 r. third p 84 l. 29 r. liked not to have p. 85 l. 8 r. talents alike open p. 87 l. 30 r. not that some p. 95 l. 1 r. then p. 118 l. 17 r. Job 5. p. 125 l. 26 r. conferrer p. 131 l. 21 r. having given p. 132 l. 29 r. distinguished p. 141 l. 6 11 r. if we p. 142 l. 38 r. had p. 143 l. 38 r. nor p. 148 l. 38 r. quia post omnia p. 156 l. 6 r. yet p. 161 l. 20 r. pact p 173 l. 3 r. Grecians p. 176 l. 29 r. City l 30 r. 2 Chron. 28. p. 177 l. 39 r. that p. 178 l. 24 r. that that declares l. 35 r. Saviour having p. 182 l. 3 r. them p. 184 l. 7 r. denies l. 9 r. 1 will p. 185 l. 3 r. is as l. 25 r. these words p. 191 l. 8 r. that it doth not l. 33 r. contain p. 195 l. 2 r. stung p. 200 l. 14 r. them or without p. 203 l. 36 r. nor had they any p. 204 l. 29 r. â—lts p 207 l. 11 r. of l. 20 r. warn l. ibid. r. any p. 223 l. 2 r Luc. 19. p. 229 l. 4 r. mistate p. 235 l. 32 r. it s p 236 l. 35. r. reference p. 238 l. 22 r. to all which we p. 255 l. 13 l. delivered from p. 259 l. 16 blot out we p. 262 l. 17 r. would p 263 l. 8 r. to whom they p. 265 l. 14 put the comma after here p. 268 l. 18 r. also p. 271 l. 38 r. as frothy p. 279 l. 17 r. that p. 297 l. 17 r. because l. 28 r. righteousness of the Law p. 299 l. 21 26 put a parenthests before As and after So p. 300 l. 22 take away the stop at name and read name for p. 305 l. 25 r. mea p. 306 l. 26 r. something p. 319 l. 4 r. Repro 〈…〉 To the Honorable Colonel Valentine Walton One of the Members of the Supream Authority of this Commonwealth and of the Council of State and Governor of the Garrisons of Lyn Yarmouth Crowland and the I le of Ely c. AND ALSO To the Right Worshipful Mr. Thomas Toll Burgess for the Town of Lyn Regis and Mr. Miles Corbet Burgess for the Town of Yarmouth in Norfolk Esquires both Members of the said Supream Authority c. Grace and Mercy and Peace in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our LORD Honorable and Right Worshipfull IT was the saying of Socrates as * Zenoph de dictis factis Socratis Xenophon relates a By 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That ungrateful persons are to be numbred amongst the unjust and that b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by how much the more and greater favours any have received so much the unjuster he is if he be unthankeful Yea and so hateful was the crime of Ingratitude to the Persians as the same Xenophon tells us that they used to teach their children to abhor and condemn it and c Zenoph de Cyri paediâ lib. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. severely to punish those that were guilty of it as conceiving that not amiss That Ingratitude is that cursed Principle and a compendium of Vices that leads those in whom it s planted and by whom it s nourished to be injurious to and neglective of both God and man and to be attended with a shameless impudency which is the very Ringleader unto all filthiness and abomination And verily Sir as they guessed not amiss for the d Ingratum si dixeris omnia dixeris holy Scriptures couples e 2 Tim. 3.2 3. unthankefulness with unholiness yea puts it before it as the inlet to profaneness and follows it with want of natural affections Deut. 32.14 15. truce breaking false accusing c. and elsewhere speaks of it as the beginning of Apostacy so are their sayings especially considerable with reference unto God the supream fountain and soveraign Author of all good towards whom unthankefulness is so much the greater injustice as he exceeds and excels all others in favors towards us If we should go about to number up his kindnesses Psal 40.7 they would arise to such a reckoning as is far beyond us Great and many are his kindnesses to us in this life as his giving us life breath
's common to good and bad doth good to many being the power of God to salvation to them that believe The Death of Christ yea and the patience of God that 's common to all is effectuall for good to salvation to many and shall be to any that are led to repentance by it * The grace of God that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to all men saving teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live godlily righteously and soberly c. 1 it 2.11 12. He askes further If they be not the two properties of the grace of God that it be Discriminating and effectuall He should have proved rather then have moved questions only We say it is both effectuall in all that receive it rightly and Discriminates them both in priviledge and disposition from all those that reject it and so doth this that 's extended in Christ to All men Besides the grace of God in the Death of Christ discriminates men from fallen Angels its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If he say all they for whom it is and to whom it is extended in any degree are made to receive it effectually to life eternall we waite for his proof for it but surely Paul intimates otherwise 2 Cor. 6.1 These that follow are slanders viz. That we make the bestowing of Faith no part of free grace or at least leave room to free-will to have the best share in the work of salvation even of believing it self which is as untrue or more then that Naaman had the best share in the work of his healing because he washed in the river Jordan or the blind man Joh 9. in his receiving his eye-sight because he went at Christs bidding to the pool of Siloam and washed there would that be good Doctrine that Because upon the doing those triviall things God gave them healing therefore not God and Christ but themselves were to have the greatest share in the glory of it Apage has impietates calumniosissimas of which nature is that too that follows That this Assertion brings Roprobates to be the object of free grace and denies the free grace of God to the Elect makes it Vniversall to all but ineffectuall to the Elect all to have a share in it and none to be saved by it which are all as gross untruths against us as he could have invented But then he askes In what point their Doctrine makes it not free grace I answer in that ye debar the greatest numbers of any liberty and possibility of coming to partake of it ye make it not free to or for all but bound it up to some few We know in some regard ye make it free that is in point of any merit of it in them to whom yee say it is but not free for any to come to and hope in as pertaining to them nay for none so without much fored one by them to evidence that it belongeth to them but he says He cals not that grace that goes to hell No sure nor we neither nor is that goodness or patience that goes to hell or Gospell that goes to hell but I hope we may say they that having free grace extended and held forth to them not receiving it or receiving it in vain or turning it into wantonness may go to Hell as well as they that abuse Gods goodness patience Gospell and yet none of these things abused go to hell So Psal 139 8. Jonas 2.3 except in a sense to the disordered dismall conditions of men to bring them from the nethermost hell in that sense as David sometime speaketh Psal 86.13 6.3 I can but wonder that wise men should be so infatuated as to think there is any weight in such their sorry expressions but for not inlarging it to all he says Is it in their power to enlarge it No Sir not further then it is but it s in your power surely to let it alone to have its own bounds that God hath given it and so to speak largelyer of it then you do We know he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy in point of more abundant striving with men and compelling them and in receiving whom he pleases even the worst of sinners coming to him and hardens and gives over whom he will and we know too by the same authority that he is good to all and free for all to look to would have all to be saved and come to know the truth delights not in the Death of the wicked but rather that he should turn and live and that Christ hath given himself a ransome for all Le ts not have the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ neither with respect of persons nor of places of Scripture either let us believe all or reject all He says further Should he throw the childrens bread to Dogs Nor Sir nor yet be wiser and holier then God to shun his words out of pretense of service to him nor call that common that God hath cleansed esteem any as Dogs but such as turn again and bite against the favours shewed them and are scorners of the mercies tendred them or deceitfull workers that bark against Gods truths and are ready to bite too if power be given them otherwise take heed that you deny not free grace to ungodly and sinners under opinion that they are Dogs to whom mercy is not to be tendred He saith further that they believe that the grace of God works faith in all to whom its extended Yes I believe that they are readier to believe their own conceptions for which they have no Scripture proof yea against diverse intimations of Scripture then the plain Scripture-expressions For the New Covenant here again mentioned by him I have before expressed my self about it I believe righter then that he can disprove it What follows are generally revilings of the truth of God despising the grace extended to All as not worthy mens thanking God for it a grace that doth no good a sigment of our own making c. only he tels us he will pray for us that we may have infinitely more of his love then is contained in effectual Vniversal Grace and indeavor to keep people from being seduced by us For the first We tell him it s his unbelief of it makes it seeme ineffectual to him Tit. 2.11 12. 3.4 5. but to such as believe it we we find it effectual both towards God and others and prove it an open doore and way for our approaching to him for those more especiall things that all through unbelief receive not For the second I pray God shew him and his companions in doctrine how much they stand in peoples light to hinder them from seeing that goodness by which they should be saved But what need he indeavor to keep me from being seduced Seeing he thinks it impossible for any that Christ dyed for to be seduced and all the rest must perish to to what end
it which is not to be seen by climbing up into heaven to search into Gods secrets but by finding in themselves faith and sanctification they say and those too such as are so and so qualified as may evidence them to be fruits of election and so men must have the effects before and without their proper cause which is love discovered to men Tit. 3.4 5 6. they must have all these Repentance Faith Love to God and men Justification Sanctification yea and perhaps too eternal Glory before they shall see any solid ground or motive to repent believe in him serve and love him or that Christ hath done any thing for them by vertue of which he can justifie and sanctifie them and bring them to glory with him And so they are not lead to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godlily by Gods grace appearing in the Gospel to them but deny ungodliness and live godlily or rather pretend and seem to do so that so grace might appear to them and that they might see the gospel declaration to belong to them The Gospel doctrine is to them but like the law that is a doctrine that consists of duties commanded with promises and threatnings annexed without Gospel motives of Gods love propounded the viewing of which things the Spirit of Love breaths in to lead and to produce the things required and so their endeavours after those works and duties are looked upon as the fruits of grace and goodness yea as the arguments of their Election past and future happiness when they may be as far from both as the Pharisee that denied Gods free Grace to Publicans and sinners and yet judged himself a partaker of Gods Grace by his works of righteousness magnifying grace against free will and thanking God as giving such grace in those things which were but the products of his will neglecting and abiding ignorant of that grace in Christ which would have truly corrected both his Judgment and will such the effect of this limiting restraining doctrine as theirs also was Men are led hereby to bottom the Gospel it self with all arguments of love and goodness therein leading to faith and repentance upon their faith and repentance which they pretend they may have before they know whether they have any solid ground for them or no as if they could winde in themselves into the perception of Gods love by their frames and endeavors and not first be wrought up to them by the love and goodness of God perceived by them and as if men should look to themselves and their endeavors as the glass through which they shall see Gods love as for them and not rather upon God and Christ as declared in the Gospel to love them as the glass in which they may see their obligation to God in Christ and be moved to and strengthened in their seeking after him hoping in him In that their way thou mayst see that God commands thee to repent or change thy minde to Judg him good and to love him and that he threatens thee if thou dost not and promises great things to thee if thou dost but whether thou beest one of them that he intends any good in his promises to or that art in a possibility of attaining them or only hast them propounded to thy hearing without good will towards thee but that thou mightest thereby have the greater destruction that by it thou knowest not for it presents no act of love from him that according to it thou canst say respects thee or takes thee in as the object of it only do all those things first repent believe love serve him and then it shall be true for thee to believe that he hath good will to thee a most preposterous way that doth to men as Pharaoh to the Israelites takes away their straw and bids them get it themselves and yet exacts their number of brick takes away that declaration of Gods love and good will to men that should properly move them to repent believe c. and sets men upon seeking arguments and demonstrations of these to themselves and yet not fail to perform those duties required of them A doctrine it is that presents less love to this or that man then the Law it self did whereas the Apostle magnifies the true Gospel as more excellent and more un vailed for it set some certain demonstrations of Gods goodness to the Israelites before them as his bringing them out of Egypt chusing them in their Fathers to be a peculiar people to him and many typical sacrifices representing Christs death for them upon which they were commanded to love and serve him but for ought this tells thee thou wert hated by him from all eternity yea this suggests to thee that all he doth to thee may be but to bring thee to misery Nay I might safely say Gods dealings with the Gentiles represented more goodness as to their particulars without suggestions of eternal hatred of them then this kind of Gospell-preaching ascertains any one man of as yet unregenerate as truly goodness and out of good will to him in particular And O how injurious is that doctrine to men that withholds the most absolute perfect motive to their duties and way to meet with consolation Whence it comes to pass that first many are led by it into presumption to lean upon themselves and their own works as evidences of that distinguishing love of God that makes them sure of salvation as the Pharisee Luke 18.9 10. and so of their being pure and righteous when as yet they have never believed and through faith received that love of God into their hearts thats preached in the Gospel to wash and purify them yea to bring them out of themselves into Christ that they might be reckoned after him conformed to him to salvation These are of those that justifie themselves and labour to establish a righteousness of their own and are ignorant of and fight against the righteousness of God despising others and hindring them of that Gospel of grace that should be opened to them stumbling as much that the Death of Jesus Christ should be preached to all to ungodly and sinners not so qualified as they as ever did the presumptuous proud Pharisees that Christ should eat and drink with Publicans and sinners and that his Apostles should preach the Gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles 2. Others again are held in bondage all their dayes and are ever ready to fall into desperation while not having the Love of God and his goodness and grace propounded to them as for them that should beget faith hope fruitfulness c. or being hindered from believing it as so propounded by occasion of this limiting doctrine and yet being pressed on to believe repent be humble and broken that so they may know that God hath good will to them and hath given his Son for them they labor and strive and finde nothing which they can attain to
was the object of that love of God that moved him to send Christ We believe he denies it but how doth he disprove it why thus He made some for the day of wrath Prov. 16.4 but he should have told us whom The Scripture saith The wicked such as persist in wickedness if by evil day we mean a day of destruction to themselves for otherwise in turning they shall live and God swears he had rather they should turn and live then go on in sin and die Ez. k 33.11 which rather argues a Mediator for them to turn to God by and such as refuse to turn to God by him God works them as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to an evil day Omnia operatur Deus sibi vel in causam suam etiam improbum in Diem mali Drus like that in Rom. 2.4 5. If Mr. Owen think that them that are now wicked God made them at first for the day of destruction and therefore left them to be wicked for I hope he thinks not that God made any wicked then he must say his creating work was to most an act of hatred and that God hated men while innocent and righteous and while his own meer workmanship for in that instant he intimates that he made them unto wrath which suits not with the Nature of God which is Love nor with the Truth of God that saith That God loves the righteous as all were when God created them The truth is the word Made signifies also to order and frame providentially and so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more properly signifies being never that I finde applied to his creating things and so his disposing Israel to Mercy or Judgment in his providential government of them is compared to a Potter making a Vessel Jer. 18.4 5 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or making it another Vessel when marred Jer. 18.4 5 6. The meaning of the sentence then is this That the Lord wrought as all things for himself or for its cause as Drusius notes so the wicked those that are so and persist to be so against the goodness and grace of God leading them to Repentance them he works or by an Ellipsis they are for the evil day That is to be his rods to afflict and exercise men withall to make a day of affliction and tryall which in Scripture is called a Eph. 6.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Sam. 24.13 Isa 10.5 an evil day as the word is here* As it s said Wickedness proceeds from the wicked and Ashur the rod of my wrath And so it s said That ungodly men turners of the grace of God into wantonness were b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fore-written to this condemnation or judgment viz. to be exercises to the Saints of God and put them to trial about their faith Jude 4. another place quoted by him but surely they had that grace vouchsafed to them which they abused or else how did they abuse it c Compare 2 Pet. 2. with this Epistle of Jude These are the same men with those in 2 Pet. 2.1 that are said to be bought by the Lord and that buying them and his goodness toward them being bought was the grace they turned into wantonness And surely he that says that God fore-ordained that those that being bought by him and having grace and favor extended to them through Christ leading them to Repentance should deny the Lord and turn his grace into wantonness and so persist in wickedness should be for exercises and rods to the Church for so the words to this judgment or condemnation seem to import or if ye will that they should be condemned He say that so saith doth intimately say that God ordained them first to be bought by Christ and to have such grace extended to them and I think grace is love and favor and then he saies nothing to deny that even those also though not looked upon as such persisting in ungodliness and wickedness but in an Antecedent condition as we noted before were also the objects of Gods love in sending his Son no more then he that saies that God intended to throw faln Adam out of Paradise and deny him communion with himself denies that God made Adam righteous and shewed him much favor in Paradise But he saith again That some were hated before they were born pointing to Rom. 9.12 But there is no such passage there Onely that before the children were born or had done good or evil it was said to Rebeccah The elder shall serve the younger And that we shal finde indeed spoken before they were born Gen. 25.22 23. but the other Esau have I hated was spoken in Malachies time long after they were dead and was spoken inclusively of Esaus posterity too as the other part of the speech of Jacobs and it s produced by the Apostle to shew the standing of Gods purpose for exalting the younger above the elder for this proves Gods purpose to stand that Esau not submitting to serve Jacob according to the Oracle in which he might have met with blessing God hated rejected and cast him out and destroyed his mountains You may as well say that God laid his mountains wast before he was born too and so before he had any as that he hated him before he was born For they are put together Mal. 1.2 yet I hated Esau and made his mountains wast But again From Rom. 9.22 He tells us that some were fitted for destruction but that 's impertinent For it s not He that is God fitted them to destruction much less in his first creating them But they being fitted for destruction yet he says God to shew his power and wrath to make known his Name for the good of others spares them As when Pharoah to whom he seems there to allude was fitted and ripened for destruction and might have been justly cut off Yet that he might make him more exemplary he treated with him a long time before he destroyed him and what doth this hinder but that he might send his Son to dye for such as considered in a precedent condition A man for whom Christ died by stumbling and turning from Christ may be fitted for destruction So the Apostle intimates 1 Cor. 8.11 2 Pet. 2.1 Except a man may perish and not be fit for it which I think none shall He produces also 2 Pet. 2.12 like bruit beasts made to be taken c. which being spoken of such as deny the Lord that bought them vers 1. it cannot be in reason conceived that Christ dyed not for them except he bought them by some other price then his death which I finde not affirmed Beside Mr. Owen may abuse his reader making him believe that the Apostle says that those men were made to be taken and destroyed when indeed the words are these Like bruit beasts made to be taken and destroyed the words Made to be taken and destroyed agree with the word Beasts