little more at present than to Repeat these words of Christ Joh. 3.3 5. Except a man be born again of Water and of the Spirit He cannot enter into the Kingdome of God And that of the Apostle Heb. 12.14 Without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. A Wicked Life will never bring us to Heaven And then what is like to be their condition themselves may judge The other Enemy to this Doctrine is the Papist For though they talk much of Good Works yea Works of Supererogation Works better than they need to be Yet are they no friends to the doctrine of Sanctification and a holy Life Their first Artifice is to confound Justification and Sanctification For so they doe when they tell us we are Justified by Inherent Righteousness Now what is Inherent Righteousness but Holiness and a Good Life Next this Holiness or Inherent Righteousness doth silently pass into the term of Good Works And here the Opus operatum as they call it shall serve the turn without much troubling themselves about the Habite of Grace or Holiness from whence these Good Works should proceed and without which our Church tells us Good Works Works materially good cannot be acceptable unto God And 't is craftily done to annex Justification to Good Works Else there would be no need for those who have no Good Works of their own to purchase out of the Churches treasury the Good Works of other men and so the Market of Indulgences would fail Next these Good Works are Signally though not only to be understood of Alms-deeds And these principally to the Church that is to their Priests or other Ecclesiasticks as they be contradistinguished from the Laicks or to some of their Religious Orders For Alms-deeds will hardly pass for meritorious unless to some of these Then these Good Works are to be commuted for Penance and the Priests Absolution For though they have nothing of Good Works at all nay though they be guilty of very great Immoralities Yet if they Confess to a Priest and receive Absolution which may be had at an easy rate they are then declared as Innocent as the Child that is New-born Especially if they perform the Penance imposed that is for the most part if they say so many Pater-nosters and so many Ave-Maries or if it be for a great Offence say over the seven Penetential Psalms for that is a great Penance or at least get some body to say it for them Nor is it necessary to this Absolution that they should be Contrite or heartily sorry For Attrition with Auricular Confession shall pass in stead of Contrition That is in effect if they be but sorry for the Penance though they be not sorry for the Sin Or if all this should fail it is but being at the charge of an Indulgence or Popes Pardon That is to purchase so many penyworth of other mens Merits having none of their own out of that Surplusage which those others have had to spare more than to serve their own turn which remain Stored up in the Churches Treasury to be dispensed at the Popes pleasure to those who will give so much Money for them Or lastly if they leave a Legacy at their Death or their Friends will be at that Charge when they are gone to purchase so many Masses to be said for them as shall be thought necessary to deliver their Souls out of Purgatory And in case they purchase more than are necessary for that occasion the Surplusage shall remain in the Churches Treasury for the Benefit of others to be dispensed as was aforesaid And this is what they require by way of Commutation in stead of Regeneration Sanctification Holiness and a Godly Life But I shall leave them And Exhort those of our Own Communion who desire truly to please God to seek after real Holiness in their Hearts and the Practice of it in their Lives First I say Real Holiness in the Heart Mat. 7.16 Men do not gather Grapes of Thorns or Figs of Thistles Ver. 18. A good Tree cannot bring forth Evil fruit nor a corrupt Tree Good fruit Mat. 12.33 Therefore make the Tree good that the Fruit may be good also Ver. 34. O generation of Vipers saith Christ how can ye being Evil speak Good things For out of the abundance of the Heart the Mouth speaketh 'T is not enough to lop off some of the Branches in practice so long as there remains a Root of Bitterness in the Heart Heb. 12.15 My Son give me thy Heart saith Solomon Pro. 23.26 And 't is out of the good treasure of the Heart that the Good man bringeth forth Good things Mat. 12.35 'T was Hezekiah's great Comfort that he had walked before God in Truth and with a perfect Heart 2 King 20.3 And contrariwise a Blemish on Amaziah's Good Actions that he did what was Right in the sight of the Lord but not with a perfect Heart 2 Chron. 25.2 Without which Bodily exercise profiteth little 1 Tim. 4.8 'T was for want of this that God complains of the Solemn Services of his own people Isai. 1.11 To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices I am full of your Burnt-offerings of Rams and the Fat of fed Beasts I delight not in the bloud of Bullocks or of Lambs or of Hee goats Ver. 13. Bring no more vain Oblations Incense is an Abomination to me Ver. 14. Your New Moons and your appointed Feasts my Soul hateth They are a Trouble to me I am Weary to bear them Because though these were Good Things they were Ill done And God will not accept of Outward Services in lieu of Holiness I know 't is a Fancy that some have taken up That of those before Christ God required only Outward Services And therefore promised only Temporal Rewards Whereas say they if he had required Spiritual Services the Rewards promised would have been sutable thereunto But sure as to the Services David was of another mind Psal. 51.16 Thou delightest not in Sacrifice else would I give it Thou delightest not in Burnt-Offerings that is comparatively Ver. 17. But the Sacrifices of God are a Broken Spirit A Broken and a Contrite Heart O God thou wilt not despise Ver. 19. Then shalt thou be pleased with Sacrifices of Righteousness with Burnt-Offering and whole Burnt-Offering But not till then And as to the Rewards promised our Church is positive in her Seventh Article The Old Testament is not contrary to the New For both in the Old and New Testament Everlasting Life is offered to Mankind by Christ who is the onely Mediator between God and Man being both God and Man Wherefore they are not to be heard who feign that the Old Fathers looked only for Transitory Promises And truely they might as well say That when God Threatens In the day that thou Eatest thereof thou shalt Dye the Death Gen. 2.17 't was meant only of a Temporal Death and how comes he then to Punish with Hell As That when he Promiseth The
THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION In Two SERMONS To the UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD By JOHN WALLIS D.D. Professor of Geometry in that University One of His MAJESTY'S Chaplaines in Ordinary and a Member of the Royal Society LONDON Printed for Will. Rogers at the Sign of the Sun in Fleet-street over against St. Dunstan's Church 1682. To the Right Honourable JOHN Lord ROBERTS Earl of RADNOR Lord President of His MAJESTY'S most Honourable Privy Council May it please Your Lordship THE ensuing Sermons Preached in my ordinary turns to the Vniversity were not intended to be more publick than that Auditory But being made acquainted that they would not be unacceptable to your Lordship I have presumed to Publish them under your Lordships Patronage I have therein purposely waved as I alwaies do all nice disputes of Speculative Subtilties in Controversal Points wherein those may possibly differ who yet agree in the setled Doctrine of the Church of England as more tending to disturb the peace of the Church than to promote Piety The design of them is to shew the Necessity of Habitual Grace in our Hearts with the Practice of it in our Lives and the need we have of God's Assistance to both And I therein keep close to the Doctrine of our own Church which I judge in the whole to be Sound and Orthodox and as near as may be in her own Words If any shall please themselves with thoughts of Doing good without Being so or contrariwise of a good Heart without a good Life or that he is of himself sufficient for One or Both of these so as to please God without the Divine Assistance I am sure he is therein no true Son of the Church of England Thus far I hope we do all agree And being to speak to many of those whose Function calls them to speak to others I thought it seasonable to inculcate these Necessary Truths Whereof they cannot be Ignorant and of which I would not have them Vnmindfull in their great Work of saving Souls And I heartily wish there were more Zeal for these Great Truths and less Animosities about little things which unhappily Divide good Men Break our Peace and Gratifie those who seek our Ruine I am My LORD Your Honours very humble Servant JOHN WALLIS The Necessity of REGENERATION A SERMON Preached before the UNIVERSITY of OXFORD AT CHRIST CHURCH September 10th 1676. JOHN iij. 3. Jesus answered and said unto him Verily verily I say unto thee Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God THE words are Christ's to Nicodemus a great man among the Jews A Pharisee a Ruler of the Jews a Master in Israel for so we find him stiled ver 1. 10. Yet did not understand the Doctrine of Regeneration As appears by his questions ver 4 9. How can these things be How can a man be born when he is old Can he enter a second time into his Mothers womb c. And by Christ's Expostulation ver 10. Art thou a Master in Israel and knowest not these things Much like that of the Apostle to those Heb. 5.12 who when for the time they ought to be Teachers had need themselves to be taught again the first principles of the oracles of God and had need of Milk not of strong Meat The Pharisees we know though great pretenders to Religion and a strain of Devotion beyond others and to a great exactness to the modes and formalities of the Jewish Worship then in practice yet were no great friends to Christ or to his Doctrine This made Nicodemus being one of them not willing at first to own it openly that he might not give a publick scandal to those of his own party till he should be better informed of the truth of it And therefore in a private way to avoid offence came to Jesus by night For being an inquisitive person willing to satisfie himself and not relying only upon others judgements to go blindfold as the crowd carried him and suspecting there might be somewhat more than men were commonly aware of in this despised Doctrine He resolved first to know what it was before he would condemn it And therefore made this address to Christ as best able to inform him And he came not as at some other times the Pharisees did to Tempt him to Deride him to Cavil at him to Blaspheme him to Insnare him seeking how they might Destroy him But with an honest intention to be Informed As appears by that his respectfull address ver 2. Rabbi we know that thou art a Teacher come from God for no man can doe those miracles that thou dost except God be with him And Christ being as willing to Teach as he was to Learn sets him first this Lesson Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God Not as being the most Easie to learn for we see to Nicodemus it seemed at first very strange But as being one of the most Necessary and Fundamental Doctrines in Religion And that which is Christ's Doctrine in the Text shall be my Doctrine at present whereof through God's assistance I now purpose to speak The Necessity of Regeneration or a New Birth Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God It is a Doctrine which perhaps may seem as strange to some in this age as it did to Nicodemus then There being those who do not only as perhaps at first he did Doubt of it but Scoff and Reproch it who make but a Jest of it at the best if not a subject of Burlesk and Drollery and such like unsavoury discourse unbeseeming a Christians Mouth and Ears But we shall find it first or last to be a Serious thing Not so Needless nor yet so very Easie as prophane persons perswade themselves As to the truth of this Doctrine it will need no great Proof being the very words of the Text. And those who upon the evidence of this one Text will not believe it would perhaps as little believe it if I should produce many more It will rather need Explication than Confirmation And two things there are to be explained What is here meant by seeing the Kingdome of God and what by being born again First What is meant by seeing the Kingdome of God The word Kingdome in its first and proper signification imports that State Dignity and Power which Earthly Kings and Princes have over their People and Subjects with the Greatness Splendour and other Appurtenances to such Dominion But is here to be understood in a Figurative sense for something Great Splendid and Excellent as Kingdomes are or be thought to be For it is not meant that those who are here said to be born again shall be Kings and Princes such as on Earth are so called But that they shall injoy a condition as Great as Glorious as Excellent as that of Kings and Princes Yea much more than so And thus much is implyed in that Addition when it is called the
Kingdome of God Which is partly a Note of Distinction partly a Note of Eminence 'T is usual in Scripture when a word of ordinary use for Natural and Earthly things is Metaphorically applied to signifie somewhat that is Spiritual to add some Epithete for Distinction As when Christ is called the True Vine the True Shepheard the Bread of Life the Bread that came down from Heaven the Spiritual Rock c. by way of distinction from Bread a Rock a Vine a Shepheard in the proper acceptation of the words But they do withall imply an Eminency or Greater Excellency of the things so Metaphorically described then of that which the words in their proper sense do signifie For the meaning is not that Christ is Truly a Vine or Truly a Shepheard c. in the proper sense of those words But somewhat that is thereby resembled more Excellent than it That he is so Fruitfull so Pleasant so Comfortable as that the Fruitfulness of the Vine the Pleasantness of the Grape the Comfortableness of the Wine which makes glad the heart of man is but a faint Shadow and Resemblance of what he is in Truth That he is so Kind so Tender so Carefull of his as that the Kindness the Tenderness the Care of a Shepheard towards his Flock doth but faintly Resemble what he is in Truth So here The Kingdom of God or as elsewhere the Kingdome of Heaven the Heavenly Kingdome with the like expressions do import not such as what Men on Earth call a Kingdome But somewhat else thereby resembled and somewhat more Excellent which God vouchsafes to call by that name as much surpassing that of Men as Heaven is above the Earth Heb. 12.28 A Kingdome that cannot be shaken 1 Pet. 1.4 An Inheritance Incorruptible and Vndefiled and which fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us 1 Pet. 5.4 A Crown of Righteousness which fadeth not away 2 Tim. 4.8 A Crown of Righteousness laid up for us which God the Righteous Judge shall give us in that day Mat. 25.34 A Kingdome prepared for us from the beginning of the world By the Kingdome of God therefore we are to understand that Glory that Happiness that Blessed Condition whatever it is which the Children of God those that are born again do seek after and shall enjoy Partly in this life where it is called the Kingdome of Grace and partly hereafter which is the Kingdome of Glory And thus we are to understand it in Mat. 6.33 Seek first the Kingdome of God and his righteousness And 1. Cor. 6.9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Gal. 5.19 21. The works of the flesh are manifest adultery fornication uncleanness c. with a large Catalogue of such others which concludes with this They which doe such things shall not inherit the Kingdome of God But Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdome of God Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdome of God Mat. 5.3 10. Now this Blessedness of the Children of God here and hereafter is called by the name of a Kingdome Not as if this did fully express the nature of it But because as the saying is Nihil est in intellectu quod non fuit prius in sensu We cannot easily apprehend Intellectual objects otherwise than by some resemblance of things to Sense And therefore there being a want of Words and of Notions too which might adequately express the nature of this Spiritual and Heavenly Happiness we are fain to make use of sensible things some way to Resemble them though not perfectly to Express them by And all those things which are looked upon here as the most Excellent the most Desirable in any kind are made use of to this purpose 'T is called Life and Life Eternal 'T is called a Treasure laid up in Heaven and Durable Riches 'T is called Fulness of Joy and Pleasures for evermore 'T is called a Royal Feast a Marriage Supper a Feast of fat things 'T is called a Reward a glorious Inheritance Everlasting Mansions an House not made with hands and the like 'T is called a Crown of Glory a Crown of Righteousness a Heavenly Kingdome the Kingdome of Heaven and as here the Kingdome of God Not as if any or all of those did adequately express its worth But these being the great Desirable things of the World and which our Senses are carried away with They are all made use of to represent a Condition which hath as much and more of Happiness than all that of Riches and Honours Profits and Pleasures Gladness and Feasting Houses and Lands Treasures and Inheritances Crowns and Kingdoms yea and Life it self And when we have fancy'd all that is Great and Glorious in all these Sensible Objects we must then conceive there is somewhat yet more Excellent than all that we can fancy 1 Cor. 2.9 For Eye hath not seen nor hath Ear heard nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared for them that love him And such is that Kingdome of God which the Text speaks of Now what it is to see this Kingdome of God is not hard to understand It is not to see it afar off so as to have no concernment in it as the Rich Glutton Luk. 16.23 in the Parable might See Lazarus in Abrahams bosome but without any possibility of coming there But so to see as to Enjoy it and bear a part in it So to see as when Christ saith Mat. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Or as Saint Paul 2 Cor. 3.18 So to see the Glory of God as to be changed into the same image from glory to glory Or as St. John 1 Joh. 3.2 Behold we are now the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be But when he shall appear or as the words may as well be rendered when it shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is An Operative sight not meerly Speculative So here To see it is To enjoy it or as Christ explains himself ver 5. To enter into it For what is here said He cannot See the Kingdome of God is there He cannot Enter into the Kingdome of God Or to Inherit it As 1 Cor. 15.50 Flesh and bloud cannot Inherit the Kingdome of God To See the Kingdome of God therefore is to Enjoy to Enter into and to Inherit that Glory that Happy and Blessed Condition which God hath designed for those that he makes his Children But those who are to Enjoy this Happiness must first be Born again For so we heard but now Flesh and Bloud cannot inherit the Kingdome of God And as the Text hath it Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God We are therefore in the second place to consider what it is To be Born again or as the Margin reads it To be Born