Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n
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A81101
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The Christian laver. Or, a discourse opening the nature of participation with, and demonstrating the necessity of purification by Christ By T. Cruso.
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Cruso, Timothy, 1656?-1697.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing C7434; ESTC R225717
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25,680
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95
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considering its Infinite value may well be represented as a Sea deep enough to drown all our guilt in according to that Promise in the Prophet Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the Sea Micah 7.19 Christ's Blood is to our sins as the Red Sea was to the Egyptians a perpetual Grave from which they can never be raised again Now that Blood which stifles the Guilt even in so doing washes the Person Jer. 33.8 I will cleanse them says God from all their Iniquity and I will pardon all their Iniquities Pardoning and cleansing are the same thing and the Blood of the Cross is the only consideration with God upon which 't is done If that had not been pour'd out Isa 1.18 the Dye of Scarlet and Crimson sins could never have been turn'd into the whiteness of Wool and Snow All things by the Law says the great Apostle are purged with Blood Heb. 9.22 and without shedding of Blood is no remission The same Method holds under the Gospel as before under the Law so that there is neither Real nor Typical neither Ceremonial nor Spiritual remission or purgation but by Blood shed Typical and Ceremonial by the Blood of Calves and Goats c. Real and Spiritual by the Blood of Christ. Secondly By the sprinkling of Christs ' Blood upon the Conscience of every Believer they come to be actually washt For there must be a particular application of the Merit of that Blood to every one by Faith or else no one can have any advantage by it We must through the operations of Gods Grace in and upon us positively concur to the sprinkling of Christs Blood upon our hearts though the shedding of it upon the Tree was wholy without us That great multitude of whom John speaks Rev. 7.14 are said to have washed their own Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. This intimates a Believers betaking of himself and flying for refuge to the satisfaction of Jesus Christ for till then sin is not actually remitted nor the preson justified If this were not a necessary antecedent qualification for Actual forgiveness how is it to be understood that God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in his Blood Rom. 3.25 And that we are justified by Faith c. 5.1 We are therefore commanded to draw near to God Heb. 10.22 having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience i.e. not only having a pardon procur'd and prepar'd for us by Christ but brought home to us by believing in him And the Blood of Jesus thus apprehended and laid hold of by Faith is called the Blood of sprinkling c. 12.24 Hence it is that we read of our being Elected through the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.2 as a means to attain the end of Election It is one of the excellent Characters given to Moses Heb. 11.28 that by faith he kept the Passeover and sprinkling of Bolld For after the Sacrifices were offered he took of the Blood Exod. 24.8 and sprinkled it upon the people David very plainly alludes to this in that famous Penitential Pasalm Isal 31.7 Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean because that was used by Gods appointment in the cleansing of the Leper Levit. 24.47 to sprinkle the Blood upon him All this signifies the particular exercises and actings of Faith upon Christ as the Lamb slain and so our washing of Justification is compleated Secondly There is a washing of Sanctification which is also the work of Christ 1 Joh. 5.6 This is he says the Beloved Bisciple whocame by water as well as by blood A lively Emblem whereof was the water which came out with the Blood Joh. 19.34 when the Souldier pierc'd his side with a Spear Therefore the Prophet describes him by a Fountain opened to the House of David Zech. 13.1 and to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness He cleanses us not only from our Guilt but from our Corruption too This he does principally by his Spirit and instrumentally by his Word and Providences First Christs washing of us as it respects Sanctification is principally performed by the Spirit It was promised under the Old Testament Ezek. 36.25 Then will I sprinkle water upon you c. This is expresly interpreted in the New Testament Joh. 7.33 39. of the Effusion of the Spirit He is the great Operator employed by our Lord Jesus in the purifying of defiled Souls According to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration Tit. 3.5 6. and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour Nature in its present depraved state neither can nor will ever purge it self Solomons Challenge is not to be answer'd Prov. 20.9 Who can say I have made my heart clean He that first made the heart must now make it clean We are no more able to be our own Cleansers than our own Creators for this is such a kind of work Psal 51.10 Create in me a clean heart oh God was Davids earnest request after his Fall Gen. 1.2 It was the Spirits moving upon the face of the waters which produc'd this beautiful World 'T is the influence of the same Spirit which must produce an holy Comeliness in us Job 26.13 God by his Spirit garnisht the vifible Heavens and Christ by his Spirit must fit us to inhabit the Invisible Nor does the Merit of Christs bloud appear more in our forgiveness than its vertue and efficacy does in our renovation Secondly Christ washes us instrumentally by his Word and Providences 1. By his Word This is a Divine Instrument consecrated by a Divine Authority to this very purpose Psul 12.6 The words of the Lord are not onely pure words in themselves but are often blest and succeeded for the working of purity in us So our Lord tells his Disciples sciples Joh. 15.3 Now ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you he does not onely tell them that they were clean but by what means they came to be so Thus the Apostle Paul says that Christ gave himself for the Church Eph. 5.25 26. that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word Two great Truths are evidently contained in this Text 1. That our Sanctification is the price of Blood Our Living to God is the effect of Christs dying for us if he had not given himself the Spirit had not been given 2. That the word of Christ is ordinarily made use of by him in the cleansing of those whom he designs to save It hath his special Institution for this end these waters of the Sanctuary are the pool which we must come to and where we must wait to be heal'd of our Impurities This is Gods way for the cleansing of our own way Psal 119.9 Not
blessed in the end The Fourth and last thing proposed was the Application of the whole A double Use may be made of this point by infering such Truths and perswading to such Duties as naturally flow from it The first improvement we may make of this Doctrine VSE 1 is by way of lnformation as to several Truths resulting thence First From hence we may learn wherein the great evil and mischief of sin lyes It hath many bad effects even in this Life and with respect to the concerns of this Life but the worst of all is that it defiles the Soul This is that which fools make a mock at and which common sinners think most slightly of but this is that which is of the most fatal ruining consequence This is that which calls for such a valuable and effectual expiation this is that which calls for the pouring out of the soul of Christ in our stead and the pouring out of the spirit of Christ upon us The necessity of Christs washing every one that hath part with him is an undeniable convincing proof of the loathsome filthiness which is in sin Otherwise we might cry as the Disciples did when the Ointment was pour'd on their Masters head Mat. 26.8 To what purpose is this wast Why might not our Lord Jesus have spared this pains and cost and left us in the same condition wherein he found us Certainly he was at a vast expence and trouble to wash us in vain if fin had not greatly polluted and deprav'd us It would do well therefore if we remember'd this and laid it to heart that in every act of wickedness we make work for the fire of Hell or the bloud of God Consuming by the one or purging by the other must be the issue of it Secondly This plainly shews that the defiling effects of sin have extended to all mankind The Doctrine of Souls being washt by Christ does suppose that we are universally in a corrupt state If any man were born clean that man might have part with Christ though he were never washt We may easily infer from this necessary act of the second Adam what misery was brought upon us by the first The very Heathens were sensible and sometimes complain'd of the Souls being out of frame but they knew not distinctly what this disorder was nor how it must be remedyed If we had not lost the amiable purity which we were once becautified with and if there did not an heap of dirt appear in the place of that dissolved snew why should even the Saints of God who are brought out of a state of sin though afflicted with the remnants of sin cry out so often of their wretchedness And indeed if the same Scripture which gives us an account of our primitive Creation did not also report the means and manner of our fall it would not be credible that mankind could have so degenerated As there are the seeds of all distempers in our Bodies at the time of our birth so the principles of all manner of corruption in our hearts by nature No part is free from the infection but the Leprosie covers our whole skin Levit. 13.12 from the head to the foot wheresoever we look What Jesus Christ hath done for our Healing and Cleansing does lead us to the humble consideration of this General Plague Thirdly This teaches us the Insufficiency of the Legal Sacrifices and the reason of their Cessation He i.e. the Messiah shall cause the Sacrifice and Oblation to cease Christ by his Death took them away Dan. 9.27 because they could not take away sin They were weak and unprofitable insignificant and worthless in themselves only as they typified and represented the Blood of the Lamb which was to be actually slain in the fullness of time Heb. 9.13 What could the Blood of Bulls and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean do more than purifie the flesh How could such carnal Ordinances have any vertue for the removing of Spiritual defilements God therefore impos'd them only for a time and when his Son had fulfilled the end of them he put an end to them Nay even while they were enjoyn'd and us'd the Imperfection of them was plainly intimated by their frequent repetition if they could have purg'd the Conscience from sin c. 10.2 they needed only to have been offered once Christ dyed but once and that once dying was enough he hath thereby perfected for ever them that are sanctified v. 4 And we read of this act of washing his Disciples feet but once once for all to shew that what the yearly and dayly Offerings under the Law could not do his one offering did The reason of their prescription and Observation in the Jewish Church so long was their being sigures of the Sacrifice of Christ the reason of their abrogation at last was their real invalidity and his full performance Fourthly This Discovers to us the falshood of the Doctrine of Penance in the Romish Church This Text is evidence enough that the Refuge of Humane Satisfactions which Sinners in their Communion fly to is indeed a Pefuge of Lyes If I wash thee not c. 't is proper to Christ and not possible to any Creature to wash a Soul from the smallest sin Men may inflict what they please upon themselves and use the utmost severities to their flesh but it will be no advantage to them in this case the greatest of voluntary sufferings avails nothing as to the purging of the least transgression the tormenting of our bodies can never put away the sin of our souls It must be puret blood than ours that makes us clean Poor deluded Creatures commonly increase their guilt by such practises but they cannot lessen it they whip and lance themselves it may be and think by that means to be rid of some of their pollution but this makes them rather greater sinners than they were before It is therefore a piece of folly and madness like his in the Gospel who being possest with an Vnclean spirit Mark 5.5 ran among the Mountains and Tombs crying and cutting himself with stones Fisthly We may gather from hence that the most sincere Evangelical Repentance makes no compensation to God for Sin The best Penitent in the World if his head were Waters and his eyes a fountain of tears would not be able to wash himself How can the largest floods of godly sorrow blot out iniquity from Gods book or remove the stain which is so deep in our own Consciences Suppose that we do bring forth fruits meet for Repentanee in a Life of new Obedience for the time to come what is this as to the expiating of sins that are past Obj. Yes perhaps some may say the Holy Ghost assures us Prov. 16.6 that By Mercy and Truth Iniqity quity is purged To this I anser 1. Ans We may very well understand those words to hold forth the Mercy and Truthof God