Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	add_v	law_n	zion_n	18	3	10.0059	5	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

the terrors of the law he be not first made to see in what a wofull case and condition he was by his sins to wit that he should have perished and been damned to unspeakable and unconceivable torments in Hell if God out of his surpassing love pity and compassion towards him had not provided and given him a Saviour Thus must we first be brought by the Law and the judgments and terrours thereof to apprehend our own misery before we can acknowledge the depth of Gods mercy and be inflamed with love towards him and stir up our selves unto thankfulnesse unto his Divine Majesty for the great and most gracious work of our redemption and salvation by Christ The preaching then of Hell and damnation and the rendring of a terrible account to a severe Judge is not the laying of the foundation neither of Faith nor of our justification and sanctification whereby we are made good Christians but a digging deep to remove the rubbish of self-confidence and spiritual pride and presumption that so the foundation of our conversions may be laid in the Love of God and of his comprehensible mercy towards us in Christ Jesus SECT VII Objections answered and the truth in this Controversy cleared AS long as any colourable specious and plausible objections against the truth remain unanswered men who have been taken and deluded by them will hardly be brought to renounce their errors no not when the truth shall be solidly taught and confirmed from the alone ground of all Divine and supernatural truth the holy Scripture Having therefore of late met with a Book of very high esteem with many intituled The exaltation of Christ in the dayes of the Gospel by T.C. and finding that the Author thereof doth teach that men are not at all prepared for Christ and Faith in him by the preaching of the Law but by hearing of the Gospel only I have thought good therefore not to passe over in silence but to examine those things he delivereth and the rather because his reasons and allegations do differ from those which I have before met with Exalt of Christ pag. 216. Edit 3 First he telleth us that though all are under the Law by nature yet it is the preaching of the Gospel that discovers it that is as he after explaineth himself that discovereth unto them that they are under the curse and condemnation of the Law See also before pag. 112. and so most miserable creatures He teacheth therefore that a man must first in the preaching of the Gospel see Christ and then by reflecting upon himself see his own misery which otherwise is not to be seen and discerned by the Law But in this he contradicteth St. Paul for he telleth us that by the Law cometh the knowledge of sin And he instanceth in himself Rom. 3.20 Rom. 7.7 and saith I had not known sin but by the Law for I had not known lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not covet Thus the Law sheweth us our sins yea and the punishment also Deut. 27.26 Gal. 3.10 that by them we have deserved when it saith Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the Book of the Law to do them 2 Cor. 3.7.9 And hereupon it is that the Apostle calleth it the ministration of death and of condemnation For as the Law at the promulgation and publishing thereof upon Mount Sinai was delivered with great terrour so it still of it self terrifieth and astonisheth the consciences of sinners accusing them when they do evil as both St. Paul Rom. 2.15 and every mans own experience teacheth But let us take notice of the Arguments of Mr. C. whereby he endeavoureth to make good that which he hath taught Object First he telleth us That a man never savingly seeth his evil condition without Christ And again That it is the Spirit of God that discovereth sin unto him Now the preaching of the Law bringeth not this Spirit but the hearing of Faith as witnesseth St. Paul Gal. 3.2 But here first I would know of him why he saith Answ a man never savingly knoweth his evil condition without Christ For our salvation consisteth not in knowing of our evil condition but in the knowledge of Jesus Christ John 17.3 Isa 53.11 For a man to know his evil condition by sin is to know that damnation is due unto him for his sin Now many a man hath attained to this knowledg who was never saved Salvation therefore doth not at all consist in this but in a mans flying unto Christ and laying hold of him when he seeth how miserable his condition is become through sin Now whereas he alledgeth the Apostles words Gal. 3.2 to prove that a man is not brought by the preaching of the Law but of Faith to be made partaker of the Spirit without which he cannot see his miserable condition by sin I answer him That the Apostle speaks there partly of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit which were by God bestowed on none but those that had heard the Gospel and made profession of Faith in Christ and partly of the Spirit of adoption which also is peculiar to believers Now thus indeed we do not receive the Spirit by the preaching of the Law but otherwise Rom. 8.15 as the same Apostle giveth us elsewhere to understand we did by the Law receive the Spirit of bondage to fear His meaning is that the Spirit of God which we received from him illightning our minds with the true knowledge and understanding of the Law did fill our hearts with fears and terrours and so did put us as it were in a state of bondage at or before our conversion unto Faith in Christ We have need therefore of the illumination of the Spirit that we may throughly understand the Law For as long as men are left to themselves their very knowledge of the Law is but shallow and superficial as it to be seen in the Pharisees and in all those who are only civilly honest which sort of men are either not at all or but a little troubled in their souls and consciences with the fear of their sins or of hell and damnation Whereas then Mr. C. saith The Apostle was once alive without the Law that is without the spiritual understanding of the Law but when the Commandement came sin revived and he died that is when Christ had opened his eyes to see into the spirit of the Law the spiritual sense thereof I trow he meaneth In all this I do agree with him but not in that which followeth when he addeth That we come thus to know the spiritual understanding of the Law only by the preaching of the Gospel For I have already proved the contrary to wit that when the Law is preached men come to understand it by the illumination of the Spirit opening their minds to see the true meaning of the several precepts thereof Object But Mr. C thinketh by instancing in

Free-grace do condemn us who teach that men must repent and believe if they will be saved for requiring such qualifications and preparations in them If the promise of salvation and justification saith Mr. Hobson had been tendred to us as a looking upon some qualification in us and not bringing in the bowels of it a power to produce all qualifications in us it had not been free but still a Covenant of works but it is free therefore there is a great deal of comfort to poor Souls And Mr. S. saith That Christ is offered to sinners as sinners and that no qualification is required of them that they may be saved by him Reconcil of God to man pag. 40. Mr. D. also telleth us That a man is to believe that God is his Father in Christ without any precedent qualifications Thus do they teach but we think it not good to speak thus confusedly of this matter knowing that many by these and the like speeches which they meet with in these mens writings are led into most dangerous errors To avoid therefore mistaking we say that salvation may be taken either pro salute inchoatâ or consummatâ that is either for our salvation as it is begun in us in our regeneration or in our conversion from sin to righteousness and from infidelity or incredulity to Faith in Christ or else for our salvation as it shall be consummated and perfected in us in heaven If we shall speak o salvation in the former sense we do not say That Faith and Repentance are precedent qualifications or previous qualifications or previous dispositions unto it for then we should be said to be saved before we are saved or saved and not saved which is a manifest contradiction For our salvation is begun in our conversion to God by Repentance and Faith in Christ It is no new light but the constant Doctrine formerly taught as well as now by all Orthodox Protestants that homo in primo puncto conversionis suae se habeat mere passivè et obedientialiter that is that man in the first instant of his conversion is no actor but a receiver of grace wrought in him by the Spirit of God but in the next instant actus agit being thus acted or wrought upon by God he also acteth or co-operateth and worketh with God And yet though we do constantly teach thus we do not reject all previous dispositions or preparations to saving grace or to the very first beginning of our salvation in our conversion to God to Christ For the Law Rom. 3.21 must ordinarily first be preached unto sinners to prepare and make way for the Gospel For by the Law cometh the knowledge of sin As long as men are ignorant thereof they are ready to rely on themselves do not see that they stand in any great need of Christ as it is to be seen in our ignorant people who put the confidence of their salvation not in Christ only and in his merits but in their good prayers good serving of God and good meaning boasting and bragging that they serve God truly and keep all his commandements Now our blessed Saviour offereth not himself unto such justitiaries as such or while they continue such but rejecteth them Matt. 9.13 and telleth them that he came not to call the righteous his meaning is those that justifie themselves and are righteous in their own conceits but sinners that is such as acknowledge themselves sinners unto Repentance and consequently unto salvation And in the same sense he telleth us Matt. 9.12 that the whole have no need of the Physitian but they that are sick hereby giving us to understand that as men slight the Physitian and will not send for him until they are afraid of sickness so neither will any seek to him or rely upon him for salvation until they feel their sins which are the deadly sicknesses and maladies of their souls Such poor and such distressed sinners therefore they are whom Christ inviteth unto him and promiseth to relieve them when he saith Matth. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will ease you And Esay 61.1 2 3. he telleth us that the Lord sent him to cure and to save not all in general or sinners as sinners as Mr. S. speaketh but poor contrite and broken hearted sinners for so he saith The spirit of the Lord is upon me therefore he hath annointed me he hath sent me to preach the Gospel unto the poor to bind up the broken hearted and to comfort those that mourn in Sion All these sayings of our blessed Saviour himself do evince and make it manifest that there are some previous dispositions necessary to the receiving of Christ even those which I have thus spoken of with some others Concerning which our own learned Divines at the Synod at Dort in their Suffragium Collegiale do speak excellently I 'le therefore set down their words at large as they are delivered in two distinct Theses I. There are certain outward works ordinarily required of men before they are brought to the estate of Regeneration or Conversion which are wont sometimes to be freely done by them and sometimes freely omitted as to go to the Church to hear the word preached and others of the like sort Rom. 10.14 It is manifest that such are required How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard Now that these are in our own power both reason telleth us seeing every one hath ability to move or not to move from place to place and experience proveth it seeing we see that men in outward things do either do this or that as they think good or omit them both They may sit still at home therefore when they should go to the Church they may stop their ears when the Minister is preaching the Gospel Mark 6.20 Acts 13.14 Herod heard John willingly The Jews refused to hear the Gospel Psal 58.5 The wicked do stop their ears like deaf aspes II. There are certain internal effects previous unto a mans Conversion or Regeneration which by the power of Gods Word and Spirit are excited in the hearts of men as yet not justified such as the knowledge of Gods Will the sense of sin the fear of punishment thoughts about their deliverance and some hopes of pardon God by his grace is not wont to bring men to the state of justification wherein we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by a sudden enthusiasm but being first subdued and prepared with many previous actions in the ministery of the word This we may see in those who upon the hearing of St. Peters Sermon feel the burden of sin are afraid do mourn desire deliverance and conceive some hope of pardon Acts 2.37 all which may be gathered out of those words When they had heard these things they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and the other Apostles Men

ones we are by sinners whom Christ professeth that he came to call to understand contrite and broken hearted sinners that being terrified with the judgements of the Law do acknowlege that they stand in great need of Christ the heavenly Physician and of every drop his blood which he shed for them But of this I have spoken enough before Object 7. He goeth on and saith All that ever received Christ Object 7 Corinthians Ephesians Colossians received him in a sinful condition when they were unwashen darkness dead in sins enemies in their minds by wicked works Answ Here also Mr. S. setteth up an adversa●y unto himself of his own devising and then dischargeth fiercely and furiously upon him For no Protestant teacheth that those that are only prepared for the preaching of the Gospel by the terrours of the Law are washed from their sins and do live the life of grace but on the contrary they hold That as yet they are dead in sin and if they proceed no further shall perish everlastingly Object 8. Object 8 Lastly He thus also objecteth God offereth Christ in time as God gave him God before all times gave him to us because we were sinners and now he is but offered as he was given Answ Hereunto I answer First That God neither before time gave Christ in his eternal decree because we were sinner nor in time doth he give us him because we are sinners For there is no cause in us at all of our salvation it is to be ascribed wholly to Gods grace As for sin it is in it self a cause of damnation not of salvation But if his meaning be that God before time considered us as sinners when he gave us Christ there followeth nothing more from hence but that God in time offered Christ unto us when we were sinners which we willingly grant But we add further that God before all time decreed not only to give Christ to sinners but that those sinners should by the power of his Spirit be brought in time to acknowledge their sins and spiritual misery and woful condition under sin and so be driven out of themselves and be made to fly unto Christ Seeing therefore whatsoever God decreed before time shall be fulfilled and accomplished in time hereupon therefore it followeth not that all sinners absolutely but that those only who do acknowledge their sins and their eternal misery by sin are they to whom Christ is offered in the Gospel and that do come unto him SECT 6. Two Objections of Mr. D. answered THere are two Objections of Master D. which I formerly passed over at my first reading of his Book whereunto I have thought good now to return an answer First Object he reasoneth thus against any qualification or preparation or other to be wrought in us before we be justified Reconcil of God to man pag. 16. Let us hear the Lord speaking of his own work upon the Creature Isa 57.18 He went on frowardly in the way of his heart I have seen his wayes and will heale him I will lead him also and restore comforts to him and to his mourners Whom wilt thou heale O Lord Whom wilt thou restore Even him whose wayes I have seen What are those wayes Even frowardnesse and perversnesse He went on frowardly in the way of his heart See again Isa 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my owne sake and will not remember thy sins Whose sins will the Lord blot out Look we back unto the 22. vers Thou hast not called upon me O Jacob thou hast been weary of me O Israel Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities verse 24. See Thou hast been weary of me Yea thou hast wearied me This is Iacobs qualification This is Israels preparation Then follows I even I am he that blotteth out thy trangressions As if the Lord should say unto his people as he speaketh by the prophet Ezek. 36.22 Say unto the house of Israel Thus saith the Lord God I do not this for your sakes O house of Israel but for my holy names sake which ye have prophaned among the heathen whither ye went See also Deut. 9.6 Isa 48.9 alleadged by him And then his conclusion is This is all the qualification we bring unto God to win his love and mercy Answer But I answer whereas the Lord saith he went on frowardly in the way of his heart c. This is not Jacobs qualification but a description of his perverse disposition being considered as he was in himself to the magnifying of Gods most rich mercy and superabundant grace towards him in pardoning his sins His qualification precedent to his justification was his humiliation and abenegation of himself wrought in him by Gods Spirit opening his eyes to see his sins and the great wrath that was due unto him for them This was that which through the gracious working of Gods Spirit drew him unto Christ the promised redeemer of his people when he was offered unto him that he might be saved through faith in him But it was not this nor any thing else that Jacob did or could do that merited the pardon of his sins or that moved made God to justifie him for we acknowledge that our justification is wholly of grace yea that this preparation is also of grace yet not necessitating our justification as if it did alway follow it But of this enough hath been said before Yet Mr. D Dr. C and others do so represent our doctrine as if we taught precedent qualifications to win Gods love to procure him to have mercy upon us to forgive us our sins Object Master D. second Objection against precedent qualifications not onely to our justification but to our Conversion and Sanctification Reconcil of God to man pag. 31. is this John Frith whose Learning was by his adversarie commended whose constancy and patience in his Martyrdome was admired writeth to this effect Thou maist preach Hell Damnation and the rendering of a terrible account to a severe Judge seven years together and yet not make one good Christian He that would make a good Christian let the love of God be the first stone which he layeth for the foundation Answ That which this holy man saith I acknowledge to be most true A minister may preach not only seven but seventy time seven years together and yet if he preach nothing else but Hell and Damnation not convert one soule For it are not the terrours of the law but the glad tydings of Salvation by Christ in the preaching of the Gospel whereby the Spirit of God worketh faith in us to our conversion and salvation and stirreth us up to love and thankfulness towards God Notwithstanding the terrours of the Law are necessary by way of preparation hereunto For how can a man se of apprehend the great love of God to him in giving his Son to death for his Redemption if by

of salvation But because it is not in our power to repent and believe the Lord therefore hath promised his Elect absolutely that he will put his spirit within them Zech. 36.27 and write his Law in their hearts and cause them to walk in his Statutes and to keep his judgements and do them Object In this regard we acknowledge the promises of the Gospel to be absolute and not conditional to the Elect which may serve also for an answer to that saying of the Lord I will put my spirit within them and cause them to walk in my Statutes alledged by Mr. S. to prove that the promises of the Gospel are absolute and not conditional They are indeed in that sense or in that respect and regard which I have specified and more then this cannot be inferred nor rightly concluded from these words SECT X. How the Evangelical Covenant may be said to be made with all the visible members of the Church I Le onely adde one thing more and that is this Although the Lord doth promise his Spirit unto his Elect onely whereby they are inabled to obey the Gospel and to lay hold of salvation yet he doth enter into a conditional covenant with all the visible members of his Church For as all that were circumcised of old were taken into covenant with God not only the Israelites but proselytes also of the Gentiles and their seed so unto all both Jewes and Gentiles that do joyn themselves unto the Church and are baptized doth God promise and covenant salvation upon condition that they do repent and believe in Christ and they for their parts do restipulate and bind themselves to perform the same As many therefore of these as do conform themselves unto the world and live still in sin and unbelief are Covenant-breakers and their Baptisme becommeth no Baptisme unto them Even as Circumcision of old was made uncircumcision unto those that lived wickedly Rom. 2.25 and did not keep covenant with God Not onely believing Parents therefore themselves but their seed also are taken into covenant with God and hereupon it is that the Children of believers are called holy 1 Cor. 7.14 that is sanctitate faederali by a federal sanctity or holiness whereby they are dedicated and consecrated unto God even as the Vessels of the Temple and the Priests and Levites and Tythes and all consecrated things were called holy not in regard of internal but external holiness being set apart for the most holy God and his service Thus as all the Israelites of old Parents and their Children were taken into Covenant with God and circumcised and therefore called an holy Nation Exod. 19.6 so all believers now and their Children are reputed and reckoned within the covenant of the Gospel and are therefore baptised and by their Baptisme consecrated unto God and bound to obey him and to serve him as an holy people It is manifest therefore that as God did with the Israelites of old so he doth now enter into a conditional covenant with all the visible members of the Church that is with all that make profession of the faith of Christ and of obedience to his Gospel and with their seed And this doth St. Paul plainly give us to understand Rom. 11.17 where speaking of believers of the Gentiles he saith that they were taken out of their own wild Olive-Tree and grafted into the true Olive-Tree and made pertakers of the Root and fatness thereof For what meaneth he hereby but that the Church of the Gentiles is by God joyned unto the Church of the Israelites or rather made one Church and people with them and invested with the self-same priviledges As the Israelites and their Children therefore were of old taken into covenant with God Deut. 29.11 12 13. so are we now and our Children SECT XI The absurdities which do insue and follow upon their assertion who do deny the Gospel to be a Covenant THus as I take it I have sufficiently corroborated and confirmed my first Reason or Argument against the exceptions taken and objections made against it by Mr. S. and others I have made it evident that there are conditions required of us in the Gospel it followeth therefore necessarily from his own words that the Gospel in regard of us as well as of Christ is really and properly a Covenant Now for the conclusion and shutting up of this present question and controversie I will put Mr. S. in mind of some of those absurdities which he and all those do thrust themselves upon who deny the Gospel to be a covenant in regard of us and affirm it to be nothing else but an absolute promise of salvation by Christ First From hence it will follow that neither Simon Magus nor any other Apostates no nor any Christians that live dissolutely or flagitiously after their Baptisme are to be accused or charged with any breach of Covenant against God no more then Infidels or Heathens that never heard of Christ at all Secondly It will also as necessarily follow from hence that not only others but even the primitive and most ancient Christians ever since the dayes of the Apostles have dealt impiously who received none into their Communion by Baptisme but those that first renounced the world the flesh and the Devil and bound themselves by a solem vow promise or covenant to believe in Christ and to serve God and to walk before him in the wayes of his Commandements all the dayes of their life Lastly From hence also it followeth that it is not lawful for Christians to enter into covenant with God because this would be superstition and will-worship having no foundation in the Gospel And so it will follow also that Mr. S. and as many as are of his Opinion if they have taken the Parliament Covenant have dissembled and played the Hypocrites both with God and Man For if the Law only be a Covenant in regard of us and not the Gospel then mens binding themselves to God by covenant was lawful under the Law but not under the Gospel Quest 14. Whether those Ministers that do offer remission of sins and salvation by Christ not to all absolutely but upon condition that they do repent and believe in Christ be legal teachers And whether by this their Doctrine they do make the Gospel a Covenant of works as the Law is SECT I. The Law neither teacheth nor accepteth of Faith and Repentance but requireth perfect obedience to all the Commandements thereof He therefore preacheth not legally but evangelically that offereth pardon to those that repent and believe Mr. S. and our new illuminated preachers do accuse us and charge us who preach as the Protestant and all Orthodox teachers have ever done that we are legal teachers because we do not with them offer remission of sins and salvation to all absolutely and without any conditions but tell men as the Apostles do that they must repent and believe in Christ that their sins may be blotted

sinners verily Mat. 9.12 not while they do continue in sin without repentance for he himself telleth us that he calleth them to repentance and so saveth them But for a man to continue in sin and yet to be saved are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that will not consist nor stand together for this implyeth a manifest contradiction Thus then it is Christ saveth sinners by freeing and delivering them both from the gilt of their sins and from the tyranny and dominion of sin by faith in his blood and by the power of his spirit For so St. Paul having rehearsed and reckoned up many foul and filthy and fearful sins wherewith the Corinthians had spotted and polluted themselves in times past before their conversion to the faith of Christ presently addeth But ye are washed but ye are sanctified 1 Cor. 6.11 but ye are justified in the blood of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God It is the greatest folly and madness in the World therefore for a man to believe that his sins are pardoned and that he is in the state of salvation as long as he continueth and remaineth an impenitent and unreformed sinner for the Angel of the Lord that was sent unto Joseph the espoused Husband of the blessed Virgin Mary telleth us how we are saved by Christ Act. 3.26.2 He shall save his people from their sins He doth not say He shall save his people in their sins that is while they live and lie in them But he shall save them from their sins that is by freeing and delivering them from them Whereof St. Peter also assureth us in that saying of his to the Jewes God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to blesse you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities 2. That I may make this matter yet more plain and remove all ambiguity this I add further that when St. Paul saith This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save sinners he speaketh not de partiali sed totali salute not of salvation in part but of that whole salvation which Christ hath purchased for us and worketh in us and bestoweth upon us that is to say not of the pardon of our sins only but as well also of our sanctification and of all other things that do any way or other concur to the perfecting of our salvation For Christ doth not save us in part but most perfectly He hath purchased for us not only our justification but our adoption sanctification redemption from Hell and glorification in Heaven And hereupon it is 1 Cor. 1.30 that St. Paul saith He is made unto us of God wisdom justice sanctification and redemption We must therefore rely upon Christ by faith for all these and not separate any one of them from the rest as carnal Protestants do who believe in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and for their salvation in Heaven but not for grace whereby to mortifie their sinful lusts and to live holily Now wha Can this faith of theirs save them no surely for Christs merits must not be separated and divided no more then his person Christ in his Gospel offereth both himself and all his merits unto us He therefore that receiveth him as man but not as God that receiveth him as his Priest to reconcile him unto God and to save him from Hell but not as his King to command him and to reign over him that receiveth him for his justification but not for his sanctification setteth up a false Christ unto himself and shall receive no salvation from him at all SECT V. A twofold Corollary or conclusion deduced and drawn from the former answers BY this that I have said in answer to the two former objections it may appear that faith is to be considered either more strictly as it relateth to our justification or more largely as it hath reference to our whole salvation 1. To believe in Christ to our justification is as I have said before for us to rely upon him for the pardon of our sins not according to our own fancies and imaginations but according to the gracious promises of his Gospel For so St. Paul calleth the Gospel verbum fidei Rom. 10.8 the word of faith that is the word of faith which we preach as if he should have said That Gospel which we the Apostles of Christ and other his faithful Ministers do preach is the word of faith Now wherefore is it that Paul doth call the Gospel the word of faith Is it not first Because faith is bred and begotten in our hearts by the hearing of the Gospel And secondly Because it is built and grounded on the Gospel as on its foundation For our Saviour himself also telleth us That the faith which he requireth of us is the faith of the Gospel or it is for us to believe the Gospel Now I have proved already Mar. 1.15 Psal 130.5 Psal 119.42 that Christ in his Gospel doth no where offer pardon to such as continue in sin but only to those that repent and turn unto him from their evil wayes And hereupon St. Peter having convicted the Jews of great and grosse impiety against God and his Sonne Christ Jesus afterwards exhorteth them and saith Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out c. And at the end of that Chapter Act. 3.19 he telleth the Jewes as we have already heard that God sent his Sonne to save them not by suffering them to continue in their sins but by turning every one of them from their iniquities This I have the more largely insisted on that none may neither fancy that their sins are pardoned while they do live in them without repentance nor yet rely upon Christ for the pardon of them unless they do stir up themselves to the practise of repentance Secondly If Faith be considered more largely as it hath reference to our whole salvation so as I have said before we are to rely upon Christ not for the pardon of our sins and for our redemption and deliverance from Hell only Joh. 7.38 but as well also for our sanctification and for all things which do accomplish consummate our salvation for all these are we to rely upon Christ in the use of all those means which he hath prescribed us such as are the reading hearing meditating of Gods word laying of it up in our hearts the applying of it to our souls with prayer godly conference striving against sin endeavouring to do the things which God commandeth and the like For God will not have us to be idle but to use such means as he hath appointed for the furtherance of our salvation and to depend upon him for his blessing on them Isa 38.18 which he will not deny but in due time vouchsafe us for as the holy Prophet saith Blessed are all they that wait for him For

Pauls conversion Acts 9 to prove that men come to know themselves that is their misery by sin by the preaching of Christ and that the preaching of the Law doth not prepare us for Jesus that we may believe in him For the ministery by which Paul came to see himself and to believe was the voice of Christ Answ I am Jesus of Nazareth Whereunto I answer that Pauls conversion was miraculous and extraordinary it cannot therefore be concluded from thence that men are ordinarily brought to Faith in Christ or enlightned to see their miserable estate by sin without the preaching of the Law But he goeth on forward and saith Object It is the sight and knowledge of Christ that brings men truly to see and know themselves not as they are in the estate of grace he meaneth not so but as they are in the estate of damnation for proof whereof he saith Saul Acts 9. thought himself a very holy and happy man till he met Christ in the way And biddeth us note that Christ taught him in the first place the knowledge of himself Who art thou Lord saith Saul I am Jesus of Nazareth saith Christ whom thou persecutest Christ did not tell him of his sin O thou art an accursed persecuting creature Dost ask who I am Thou hadst more need know thy self c. No no he discovereth Himself unto him And this I know was Gods usual dealing in the Gospel those whom he taught he taught them first to know Christ and this Christ our Prophet must teach thee if ever thou be taught Answ But I would know whether the Lord did not take another course with Adam when he was fallen Sure I am he first brought him to the sight and sense of his sin and misery by reproving him for the transgression of his Law before he comforted him raised him up with that Evangelical promise The seed of the woman shall break the head of the serpent And our blessed Saviour layeth it down for a general rule and direction Luke 24.47 That repentance and remission of sins must be preached in his name amongst all nations First repentance which cannot be without the knowledge of sin and then remission of sins by Faith in Christ Now as for the example of Sauls conversion which Mr. C. so much and so often urgeth it is not true which he saith as it were triumphantly Christ did not tell him of his sin O thou art an accursed persecuting creature c. For did he not plainly speak unto him and say Saul Saul why persecutest thou me And again I am Jesus whom thou persecutest It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks It 's evident that he did as manifestly and as soon if not before tell him of his sin in persecuting him as he told him that he was Jesus We may conclude therefore from hence that a man must be brought to know himself and his miserable estate and condition by sin either at the same time or before that Christ is preached and offered unto him But of this more hereafter only I will say this now that Paul was terrified and cast down indeed by those terrible words of Christ and by beholding his glorious Majesty but for the perfecting of his conversion Christ sent him to Ananias by whom he was to be taught and instructed what he was to do By him therefore he was taught all things necessary unto his salvation and so was ●●mforted and raised up again by Faith in Christ from his former terrours and fears I say therefore as Mr. C. doth It is Christ in the preaching of the Gospel that is glad tidings for sinners remission of sins for believers and this Gospel this glad tydings cannot rightly be held forth unto the world but withal men must be shewed that they are sinners and the emptiness of duties and of all other foundations must be discovered and the danger of not accepting Christ But I demand whether this is not to be done by shewing unto men their sins by the Law and their disability to do any thing of themselves that is pleasing unto God through the corruption that is in them by the fall of Adam For this impotency of doing good and the great wrath that is due unto us for our sins the Law re ealeth and maketh known unto us which when a sinner once apprehendeth then the Gospel is to be preached and he is to be exhorted to lay hold of Jesus Christ by Faith Object as the only means of salvation But let us examine another of Mr. C's Arguments and see whether there be any more force in that Beloved saith he God hath appointed the Spirit to be the means in the preaching of the Gospel to convince the world of sin Joh. 16.9 It is the Spirit of God that convinceth the world of sin and that in the preaching of the Gospel But hereunto I answer that our Saviour saith not Answ that the Spirit of God doth in the preaching of the Gospel only reprove the world of sin absolutely but of the sin of infidelity for thus he saith VVhen the Comforter is come he will reprove the world of sin because they believe not in me Now what shall we say that none believed in Christ before this coming of the Spirit and reproving of the world of unbelief Verily no for the Apostles with many other did before this believe in him For our Saviour speaks here of the coming of the Spirit in the miraculous gifts thereof as he came upon the Apostles and other believers in the day of Pentecost and afterwards until those gifts ceased in the Church when the Gospel had been by them sufficiently confirmed Besides the world of which our Saviour there speaketh though it was convinced of sin by the miraculous gifts of the Spirit yet it never believed for our Saviour calleth it the world that believed not in him Lastly If we should say they were unbelievers and worldlings before but afterward believed when they saw the miraculous gifts that were by Christ poured down and bestowed on his Apostles and others that reproved their infidelity yet it cannot hence be inferred that all in all succeeding ages are thus to be converted and brought unto Faith in Christ But of this more hereafter when I shall examine that which he alledgeth out of Acts 2.37 In the next place he reasoneth thus All preparations and qualifications whatsoever which are not of Faith Object are sin and I am sure Faith comes by the preaching of the Gospel not of the Law Therefore the preaching of qualifications before Faith is sin for all things before or without Faith are sin His Reason if we put it in form will be thus Sin cannot prepare us for Christ but all preparations before Faith are sin therefore no such preparations or qualifications can prepare us for Christ Here I would wish him first of all to consider that by reasoning thus he striketh himself as well as us For he will not