There are many profitable points to be handled in the dispatch of this Doctrine I shall onely in this remnant of time prosecute a few And first I shall shew you what election is Secondly whether a man may be sure of his own election seeing election is an act from eternity How can a man be sure of that which was done in Gods counsell before we had a being Thirdly by what discoveries may a man infallibly judge that he is elected Q. 1 In the discussion of this doctrine I begin with the first What election is A. Which that you may know I shall lay down this briefe description of it Election is an eternall decree or purpose of God whereby he hath freely chosen out of the masse of mankind a small company of men and women that shall come to everlasting life and salvation by Jesus Christ This is election And here in this description there are these things to be taken notice of First I call it an eternall purpose because though a man be not justified from eternity yet he is elected from eternity God from eternity had a purpose that man should be justified and should be called and should be saved Election is from eternity though vocation justification and glorification be not so Hence you read in Scripture when it speaks of election Eph. 1.4 He hath elected us in Christ before the foundation of the world But it is never said so of Justification God had a purpose to make us happy and a purpose to call us in time and a purpose to justifie us from eternity though the acting of this purpose is in due time fulfilled Secondly I call it a purpose whereby he doth freely chuse And this I doe in opposition to that Papisticall Tenet that God doth predestinate or elect men to salvation upon the foresight of good works A most abominable opinion and takes off the freeness of this act of Gods election 2 Tim. 1.9 Not according to our works but according to his own purpose grace Eph. 1.5.11 so I say thirdly Whereby God doth freely chuse out of the masse of mankind a few to obtaine life and salvation In opposition to those that hold for universall Redemption and universall Grace As Origen and from him many more have been tainted with this errour to hold Election universall And so many of the Papists Now the Scripture tels us that many are called but few are chosen Election signifies a choice now a choice the very word imports a rejecting of some and a culling out of others The word Election imports that all shall not be saved Origen held this that all men should be saved that Election shall extend to every man Yea the very divels at the day of judgement shall be saved which is an opinion among Christians not to be named for Election belongs but to a few Fourthly I say that t is to bring them to eternall life and salvation therefore called ordination to eternall life Act. 13.48 Q. 2 Secondly Whether may a Christian in this life be assured of his eternall Election for as much as Election was done in the decree of God before ever he had a being or the world was Therefore seeing we are not privy to Gods decree and counsell how can it be said that we may know and be assured of our Eternall Election Indeed the Papists they beat down this doctrine And hence it is that in the Councell of Trent there was this Canon made that if any man should say he was bound to believe that he was of the number of them that God hath predestinate or elected to life let him be an accursed man They did endeavour to beat down assurance and held that all that a man could have must be onely a conjecturall assurance or some kinde of hopes of salvation and no other Now that you might not erre in this point see what the Scripture speaks in this case That though Election be an act of God from eternity yet a believer may firmly and fully know his own election And this I shall make good by severall places of Scripture Read Luke 10.20 Rejoyce not saith Christ to his Disciples that you have power to cast out divels that they are subject to you but rejoyce rather in this that your names are written in the book of life That is rejoyce not that you can work miracles that wicked men can doe that are not elected but rather rejoyce that your names are written in the book of life that is that in Gods decree you are elected to salvation Now how could they rejoyce unlesse they knew this So 1 Thes 1.4 Knowing brethren beloved your election of God The Apostle takes it for granted that believers did know they were elected So Ephes 1.3 4 5. The Lord hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the soundation of the world was having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Many more Scriptures I might urge but in the mouth of two or three witnesses it is enough to confirme every truth But now though the Scripture be thus cleare yet there are some objections that seemingly oppose this truth which I must satisfie The Papists as farre as I have read in their writings I finde five objections they draw from Scripture against this truth that a man may be assured of his Election for say they it was an act of Gods done before we had a being and how can we be assured of that I will therefore beloved first produce those Scriptures that they pretend wil overthrow this point and then take off what seems to make against it The first Text they urge is 1 Pet. 1.17 Passe the time of your sojourning here in feare This Scripture say they bids us passe our time in feare and if so then we cannot be assured of our election but we must feare all the daies of our life whether we are elected or no. To this I shall answer briefly You must know the feare that the holy Ghost here presseth that men should passe their time in feare is not meant of a feare about our election but it is meant of a feare of sinne that we must not sinne against God but feare God and feare to provoke God by our sinne And if you ask how this appeares I make it appeare plainly thus for vers 18. it is said Knowing beloved that you are not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold but with the precious blood of Christ c. Now this verse proves clearly that they knew they were redeemed by Christs bloud and so by consequence knew their election Therefore the Apostle did not presse a feare to beat down the knowledge of their election but passe your time in feare i. e. feare to offend God and feare to sinne against him Another objection they urge is this The Scripture say they doth often commend feare to us and surely feare and assurance
T. Cross Sculpsit A TREATISE OF EFFECTUAL CALLING AND Election In XVI SERMONS On 2 PET. 1.10 WHEREIN A Christian may discern whether yet he be effectually Called and Elected And what course he ought to take that he may attain the Assurance thereof Preached by that faithful Servant of CHRIST Mr. CHRISTOPHER LOVE late MINISTER of Lawrence Jury LONDON LONDON Printed for John Rothwell and are to be sold by John Clark entering into Mercâ—rs Chappel at the lower end of Cheapside 1653. TO THE Reader Good Reader IT 's a true saying that the Assurance of an eternal life is the life 〈…〉 temporal life The Apostle◠〈…〉 that if in this life only we 〈…〉 in Christ we were of all men most â—â—â—â—rable None being exposed to so many troubles and tribulations in this life aâ— the best Christian And what could sustain and beare us up under them all but the certain hope and expectation of a better Resurrection This makes Christians glory in tribulation despise all the glory of the world run as swiftly in wayes of duty as the charets of Amminadab in a word to enjoy a Heaven upon earth They therefore are the greatest enemies of a Christians comfort that teach a doctrine of doubting that a Christian must alwayes hang in suspense about his eternal state and can never arrive to any certainty whether he shall be saved or no. But as this assurance is excellent so is it hard to come by Difficilia quae pulchra 'T is not to be obtained without a great deal of labour and diligence 'T is usually the fruit of much prayer and care and humiliation and long-waiting those that come by it so easily and get it so soon have great cause to suspect that their assurance is not of the right kinde Carnal security and presumption is easily attained but Christian assurance not without great difficulty 'T is therefore much to be lamented that there is so little diligence used for obtaining the assurance of our effectual Calling and eternal Election which is of such great concernment to every Christian What care do men take what diligence do they give to make sure their lands and goods and worldly estates They cannot be at rest till they have secured these But upon what uncertainties do they venture the salvation of their precious and immortal souls They run the most desparate hazards of their eternal salvation never consider whether they are in the way to heaven or hell until they drop irrecoverably into the bottomlesse pit Oh what a strange madnesse possesseth the mindes of men that they should look no more to their own safety that they think it wisedome to secure every thing except their own soules What evil have they deserved of you that you should neglect them so much The designe of this Treatise is to awaken men from their security and to stirre them up to give all diligence to make their Calling and Election sure It was handled by the Author as a just Consectary from the doctrine of the Glory of Heaven and the Torments of Hell which Treatise is already published as appears in the Introduction to this discourse That seeing there is such glory prepared for the Elect and such torments for the reprobate it concerns every Christian to give all diligence to make sure to himself that he shall attain the one and escape the other So that these three Treatises have dependance upon each other and together make up one compleat Systeme In this last thou wilt finde many practical cases handled of great soul-concernment both for the comfort of such as are sincere and the discovery of those that are unsound If thou shalt reap any profit by the perusal hereof let God have the praise and let them have thy prayers who are Ready to spend and be spent for the good of thy soul EDMUND CALAMY SIME ON ASHE JEREMIAH WHITAKER WILLIAM TAYLOR ALLEN GEERE OF THE ASSURANCE OF OUR VOCATION AND ELECTION SERMON I. 2 PETER 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure TO give you an account why I pitch'd upon these words it is briefly thus Having spent seventeen Sermons in treating of the Glory of Heaven for the Elect and of the Torments of Hell for the Reprobate I deem'd it most meet to shut up those two Doctrines in the prosecution of this Subject of the Assurance of our Election and Vocation that so if this Doctrine be well improved you may have establishment in your own hearts that you are freed from the torments of the Damned and may be confident you shall be stated into the Glory of Heaven which God hath provided for all his Saints And to the end you might have assurance that you shall be freed from the one and shall enjoy the other you must make it your work according to the words of my Text to make your Calling and Election sure Make but that sure and you are sure of Heaven This is the reason why I pitch'd upon this Subject And it is my care in preaching the Word not to chuse those Texts that are most for my ease in study but for your profit in hearing that so one Subject might back another and one Subject might strengthen another and being put together might more serve for your edification and knowledg I shall not stand long in Prefacing All that I have to do in the managing of these words are these three things 1. To shew you the scope and dependance of the words 2. The sense and meaning 3. To draw out those practical Observations which naturally flow from them And then apply the Observations deduced For the scope and dependance of these words you may discern it lies thus Peter who is called an Apostle of the Circumcision that is an Apostle whose work and Office it was to preach to the Circumcised Jewes as it was Paul's Office to preach to the uncircumcised Gentiles he writ this Epistle to the dispersed Jewes that were scattered throughout the world through Pontus Asia Cappadocia Galatia and Bythinia Whence observe Gods people are a scattered people And to them he writes that though they were persons living in different places yet they had the same faith Simon Peter a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith So that you see the Spirit of God where it works in men though they live in different places yet they shall all believe the same Truth and all receive the same Faith Though different in Language yet but one God and one Faith The Spirit of God wrought the same Faith among those scattered Christians And the Apostle writing to these Jewes he begins his Epistle first by way of Salutation ver 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you 2. He writes by way of Consolation ver 4. telling them that they are Partakers of the Divine Nature that they are call'd to Glory and shall enjoy all the Promises of the Gospel These are
Ark to shew that God did never intend as if Noah's making an Ark should any way hinder his walking with God or carrying on the work of his soul Though you have callings to follow and Families to provide for yet God did never intend your outward calling should justle out your inward and effectual calling Secondly Consider you that make this Plea whether you do not imbezel away much time from your outward calling which you do not imploy in the concernments of your souls but in the works of sin and Satan There is many a man that can plead he hath no leasure to pray nor no leasure to hear a Sermon he must follow his calling yet this man can follow a Whore and follow a Tavern and these men can spend a whole day upon recreation and yet can spare no time find no leasure to hearken to Jesus Christ This now should be a great conviction to you that pretend you must follow your calling that you can neglect your calling to follow your sensual and vain courses and yet can spare no time to make your souls happy Thirdly You that plead your outward calling in the world to be an excuse why you cannot hearken to your effectual calling by Jesus Christ consider this that this plea hath damned many a soul before you and will damn you also if you look not to it This hath been an ancient plea Luke 14.18 19 20. When Christ called a company of men there to come to him what excuse have they Saith one I have bought a yoke of Oxen and I must prove them I have bought a Farm saith another and I must manage that I have marryed a wife and therefore cannot come saith a third All these were lawful callings and yet these callings kept them from heaven and kept them from Jesus Christ You read Acts 24.25 When Paul did startle Felix's conscience by a powerful Sermon of judgment to come Felix's heart trembled but mark now how did Felix put off the power of the word Why Now saith he I am not at leasure but go thy wayes and in convenient time I will send for thee to speak of this matter As if he should say I am now to go about some other business about the affairs of my Kingdome and cannot have leasure to hear thee now and so by some outward imployment he justled the power of the word from his heart and had not convenient time to imbrace Jesus Christ Fourthly Consider this That this plea of yours in making your callings an excuse to neglect your effectual calling it is the onely way to provoke God to curse and blast all your outward callings to you and to ingage him to curse all you put your hands unto Hagg. 1.6 9. Because they neglected Gods Worship and Gods Ordinances Therefore saith God you shall have much but it shall come to nothing and what you get you shall put into a bag with holes You shall lose all you get and all you sow and all you labour for because you would not look after Gods Worship So Micah 6.13 14. I will make thee sick in smiting thee and desolate because of thy sins Thou shalt eat and not be satisfied thou shalt sow and not reap thou shalt tread Olives and not anoint thy self with oyl and make sweet wine but shalt not drink it For the statutes of Omri are kept and all the manners of the house of Ahab and you walk in their counsels As much as if the Lord should say You will not hearken to my Statutes and to my Counsels but Omri's statutes and Ahab's counsel you will hearken to Therefore now you shall eat and not be satisfied sow and not reap that is God will curse what you have and what you do because you will not hearken to Gods call and counsel So Deut. 28.38 to 46. Thou shalt carry much seed into the field and gather but little the Locusts shall consume it there 's one curse And shalt plant Vineyards but shalt not drink the wine nor gather the grapes the worm shall eat them another curse Thou shalt have Olive-trees throughout all thy coasts but shalt not anoint thy self with Oyl for thy Olives shall fall there 's a third curse Thou shalt beget sons and daughters but shalt not enjoy them all the trees and fruit of the land shall be consumed Now what 's the reason of all this that God should thus blast their callings and their comforts to them verse 45. Yea all these curses shall come upon thee and pursue thee and overtake thee because thou hearkenedst no to the voyce of thy God to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee Here is the reason they would not hearken to God nor obey God and therefore God would blast their comforts to them Now then Beloved think of this you that make your callings a plea why you cannot hearken to the call of Christ this plea is a great provocation to engage God to blast and to curse your very callings to you Fifthly Take this consideration that God will the more bless you in your callings and prosper you in the work of your hands the more consciencious you are in hearkning to the call and invitation of Jesus Christ And the reason is because Godliness hath not onely a promise of the life to come but of this life also 1 Tim. 4.8 And Mal. 3.10 11 12. Bring ye all the tythes into the Store-house that there may be meat in my house that is saith God Use all means and take all care that there may be meat in my house that Ordinances may be on foot that my worship may be maintained and what then And if you will take care of his Ordinances God bids you prove him and try him if he will not take care of you ver 11. Mark the words Let there be meat in my house and prove me now saith the Lord if I will not open the windows of heaven and poure forth a blessing upon you and there shall not be room enough to receive it A strange blessing that if men will take care to have meat in Gods house and have a care of Gods ordinances God would open the very windows of heaven and make the earth so fruitful they should not have room to receive Gods blessings And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes and all nations shall call you blessed and call you a delightsome land Here now you see if you will take care of Gods ordinances and imbrace his call God will bless your outward calling the more and give you in a more abundant increase if you imbrace the call of Jesus Christ 6. You that urge your outward callings as a reason why you cannot hearken to the call of Christ take this for answer that if truth were known it is not the urgencie of your callings but the obstinacie of your wils and the sluggishnesse of your spirits is the cause you do not give entertainment to the
though they wanted these poor outward comforts they did not want Christs comfort and Christs graces and therefore when they had neither purse scrip nor shoos they wanted nothing Why O Beloved if you were of the temper of these gracious Disciples you would say so too that if you can find a grounded and real interest in Christ though you want many of the Comforts of this world you will say you want nothing Wanted yee any thing and they said Nothing 5. You that make povertie and persecution a plea Consider this that the poor are ordinarily the most people that Jesus Christ doth cal to imbrace his Gospel The poor receive the Gospel saith Christ and blessed are you that are not offended at it Not many wise not many noble are called but the poor things of the world hath God chosen 1 Cor. 1.26 And in James God hath chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith Do not therefore Beloved make this a plea to keep off from Christ because ordinarily they are the people Christ pitcheth most love upon and doth delight to make them rich in grace who are poor in goods 6. Consider That if upon this ground you refuse the call of Iesus Christ you are exposed to more Povertie and to worse persecution then ever you could be exposed to in the entertaining of Christ In the following of Christ you are only exposed to an outward povertie but in neglecting the cal of Christ you are exposed to be poor in faith and to be such a beggar as not to be endowed with one dram of grace and then you are beggars indeed As we say he is a poor man that God hates he that hath not Christ and hath not the treasures of heaven in him he is exposed to worse povertie a thousand times then he can be for embraceing the cal of Iesus Christ Rev. 3.17 Yea and he is exposed to worse persecution also that for fear of persecution neglects Iesus Christ Psal 83.5 The Lord will persecute them saith David with furie and wrath speaking of wicked men All persecution from man reaches but to the body but this from God reacheth to the soul 7. And then lastly This should not hinder you from following Iesus Christ considering that though you should be poor and should be persecuted yet heaven wil make you amends for al Heb. 11.35 Heavē wil make amends for poverty when you are indowed with all the riches of Christ and Heaven wil make amends for persecution when there the weary shal be at rest and there the troubled shal be at ease And thus much be spoken of the third suggestion of the Devil that if you entertain the cal of Jesus Christ you shal be exposed to much poverty and persecution here in the world SERMON VI. 2 Pet. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THe Doctrine I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the prosecution of which I have resolved one case of conscience and am yet upon the second case namely what suggestions the Devil doth use to keep men off from imbracing the call of Jesus Christ I have laid down and answered three already 4. Now there is one suggestion more when the Devil sees neither of these wil take place then he comes in with a fourth to disswade men from imbracing the call of Christ and that is this Why saith the Devil if you will entertain the call of Christ you will abridge your selves of all the joy and comfort of your lives you will never have merry daies while you live upon earth You see men that pretend to be converted and do hear Sermons what lumpish and melancholy men they are not so jocund and jolly as others are that walk not so precisely if you follow Christ and his Gospel this wil casheer all your merry daies and this wil put you into a sad temper all your jovial daies are gone Therefore to take off this aspersion that the wais of Christ are sad and melancholy waies which hath been an aspersion that from age to age generation to generation hath been as a Gin the Devil hath used to keep men from Christianity And I remember it is one of the great Engines Antichrist useth to support and uphold his Kingdome The Papists to deter men from Christianity and the Protestant Religion they would hold their Disciples in hand with this that the spirit of a Calvinist is a sad and lumpish spirit and therefore they would disswade all Nations from turning to their Religion and this the Priests were to tel in all the Churches of Rome how sad and melancholy they were that turned to the Calvinists Religion and this did mightily stay the people from imbracing the truth And this aspersion hath passed from hand to hand and is many times prevalent upon the spirits of men that are of the true Religion that they must not be too forward in the practice of Religion fearing lest this should work melancholy and sad thoughts in them Now to take off this I shal onely urge four or five heads briefly First Whereas you say they are melancholy and sad that are called by Christ to a profession of his waies I would answer thus That they of all people in the world have most cause of mirth and gladnes and they are the most truly joyful people in the world That they have most cause of rejoycing is apparent When the Disciples came triumphing that they could cast out Devils heal the diseased and work Miracles O but saith Christ Rejoyce not in this but rejoyce that your names are written in the book of Life Luke 10.20 As much as if Christ should say All the indowments and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit they are no such grounds of joy if you had them all but here is your joy and cause of rejoycing that your names are written in the book of Life that you are in Christ and your souls shal be saved And so Paul tels us Phil. 4.4 Rejoyce in the Lord alwaies again I say rejoyce The Apostle would not speak it to them with a single command but doubles his expression to shew that they that are people that have their sins pardoned that have their souls reconciled that have a Title to glory whose names are written in the book of Life these of all men in the world have most cause of joy and gladness And they have not onely most cause but they do most truly rejoyce and have more real joy in their hearts in one day then the wicked can have all their lives 1 Pet. 1.8 They rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory What joy you have in the world the tongue is able to speak of it but the tongue is not able to speak of that inward joy that godly men have in their hearts
upon the apprehension of the interest they have in Jesus Christ Psal 4.6 Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance And Thou shalt put more gladness in mine heart c. Prov. 14.13 A good conscience is a continual feast Men are never more merrie then when they are at a feast godly men they carry clear consciences about them and that makes them as ioyous and pleasant as if they were alwaies at a great and sumptuous feast Indeed this is true they do not rejoyce with such exorbitancies of joy as wicked men do Wicked men rejoyce in sin that they cannot do wicked men rejoyce in their lusts in their drunkenness and their adulteries and waies of sin that godly men dare not do Such a rejoycing as this is the foundation of sorrow This rejoycing like the Prodigal in a riotous course of living is the foundation of sorrow and wil meet with you when you are to die Secondly Grant this should be true yet consider that this sorrow that godly people have it is such a sorrow that they shal have no cause to repent thereof but it is a foundation of future joy to them 2 Cor. 7.9 10. I rejoyce saith the Apostle in that I have made you sorrowful What rejoyce to see them a sad people Yes for the sorrow I made you sorrowful with was a sorrow never to be repented of you wil never repent of that sorrow and therefore Paul would do it Psal 126. because it was a sorrow never to be sorrowed for nay it is not only such a sorrow as is not to be repented of but it is a sorrow that laies a foundation to a great deal of future joy They that sow in tears shall reap in joy But now all the joy of wicked men is a joy to be repented of They must repent of all their jovial bouts and repent of all their merrie pastimes this wil be sadness to their remembrance wheras the sorrow of the godly is ne'er to be sorrow'd for Thirdly It is true it may be they are sorrowful but they are sorrowful for sin which you have cause to be that are uncalled as wel as they and more Now if a godly man be sorrowful for sin this wil never prejudice him Indeed Worldly sorrow brings forth death saith the Apostle but godly sorrow brings forth salvation never to be repented of Fourthly It may be they are sorrowful but how is it They are not sorrowful because they are good but they are sorrowful because they are so bad It is not profession makes them sorrowful but it is because they can profess Christ no better and profess him no more zealously this is their sorrow and this sorrow should be in all of us that we can serve God no better and bring God no more glory Fifthly They are sorrowful but it is not for themselves but for thee they are not sorry because they are good but because thou art so bad they are sorry because of thy sins because they see thee an uncalled man stil and they see thee drunk and see thee profane and see thee dishonour God and damn thy soul and this makes them more sad then they would be Lot his righteous soul was vext within him for the wickednesse of the Sodomites 2 Pet. 2.8 And Jeremiah his eyes run down with tears for the iniquity of the people he lived amongst And so Paul I told you before and now tell you weeping there are wicked livers among you that walk not according to the truth Phil. 3.17 18. Paul did not weep because he was miserable but because he saw so many wicked and abominable in their lives So David Psal 119.136 Mine eyes run down with water because men keep not thy Law Ezek. 9.4 And lastly Though you see some men sad and melancholy yet think not ill of the waies of God because this way of all other doth most invite to joy and gladness in the Lord. Rejoyce evermore and again I say rejoyce Phil. 4.4 And John 16. These things I speak saith Christ that your joy might be full In the profession and following of Christ it is the intendment of Christ to give you more joy then ever you had before there is no such cause therefore to entertain a prejudice by the Divels temptation against the waies of Jesus Christ when he cals you to professe his Gospel And thus much be spoken to the second case of conscience in reference to wicked men There is a third case touching men uncalled and that is What delusions doth the Divell deceive hypocrites by to make them nourish presumptuous perswasions that they are effectually called when they are not And I intreat you give me your attentions a little in the dispatch of this material question I shall only lay down four Delusions whereby the Divel deceives many Delus 1. The Divel may delude men by this because they do delight to hear the word preacht therefore the Divel would egg on this perswasion surely your delighting to hear the word and your following of Sermons this must needs be an evidence of your effectual calling And here the Divel would misapply Scripture as John 8.47 He that heareth not my words saith Christ is not of God he that is of God heareth my words Now here thâ— Divel would misapply this Scripture and tel you you that hear Gods word and delight to hear Sermons this can be no other then an infallible evidence of your effectual calling Now I beseech you to follow me in the taking off this delusion and shewing you wherein and in what cases this wil prove but a broken reed unto you And I shall shew you that in five cases hearing the word of God with delight is no evidence of effectual calling but may be a meer delusion of Satan As 1. If your hearing the word be but a bare hearing and not a hearing with practice if you have not practice joyned with what you hear and know your thus hearing the word with delight is no evidence of your effectual calling Ezek. 33.31 They come before thee as my people cometh thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voyce as one that can play well upon an instrument of musick Here the Lord sets forth with what delight they heard Ezekiel preach they heard him as a man that had a very lovely voice and they heard him as a man that plaied upon an Instrument of Musick much delight they took in hearing Yet saith God they hear thy words but do them not Beloved though you take as much delight in hearing a Sermon as to hear the most melodious musick a cunning hand can make yet if you barely hear with delight not joyning practice with your hearing this is no evidence of effectual calling Hence it is James saith James 1.21 Be not hearers of the word only but doers also lest you deceive your own souls Implying that you wil deceive your souls about effectual calling
impossible and therefore in that we are commanded and bound to do it it is clear that it is possible and may be made sure Secondly Because it is the office of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to work this particular assurance in the hearts of those that are effectually called that they are in the state of grace and shall be brought to glory 1 Cor. 2.12 We have received not the spirit of this world but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given us of God 1 John 5.10 He that believeth he hath a witnesse in himselfe a witnesse to his own soul that he doth believe Eph. 1.13 14. There the Spirit is called a Seal you are sealed by the Spirit of Promise and verse 14. It is called the earnest of our inheritance Now a seal and earnest is to give more assurance to a Promise and here the Spirit of God is given to Believers as a Seal and earnest-Penny that as they have the first fruits in grace they shall have their harvest in glory 1 John 4.13 Hereby we know we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us his Spirit It is the office of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to assure our hearts in this particular Rom. 8.16 The Spirit it self beareth witnes with our spirits that we are the children of God Thirdly Particular servants of God in Scripture that have been partakers of this mercy they have had this firm assurance of their effectual calling I shall instance in three First in Paul and the Scripture tells us of him that he had a clear evidence of his effectual calling Gal. 2.20 I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me who loved me and gave himself for me There he had a particular assurance that Christ loved him and gave himself for him So 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded also that what I have committed to him he will keep till the last day So 2 Tim. 4.8 I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is a Crown laid up for me Nay not onely Paul but Job also Job 19.25 I know that my Redeemer liveth and I shall stand up before him at the last day he knew Jesus Christ was his Redeemer And so David also saith Thou art my God and I will praise thee Psal 118.28 and Psal 23.6 Surely the goodnesse and merey of God shall follow me all the dayes of my life So that put these together God commands it it is the spirits office to work assurance in the heart and particular servants of God have had this assurance therefore why may it not be obtained But if you say these were not ordinary servants of God these were servants of a higher rank and form but may ordinary weak Christians know this also Yes Therefore Fourthly Not only particular Saints have had this but the people of God in General they have declared in Scripture that they have injoyed this particular assurance of their effectual Calling and safety of their condition by Christ Instance in a few Isa 63.16 Doubtlesse thou art our Father They made no doubt of it they were so perswaded they feared it not Isa 45.24 Surely shall one say In the Lord have I righteousnesse and strength Surely a word of confidence they were assured they had righteousnesse for their justification in Christ Jesus So 2 Cor. 5.1 We know that if our earthly Tabernacle be dissolved we have a building of God eternal in the heavens They knew that when they died they should see God in heaven not only Paul but other godly Christians with him So Heb. 10.34 You know in your selves that God hath provided for you a better and more induring substance They were assured within themselves that when they should die or lose their estates here God had provided for them a more enduring substance So 1 John 3.19 Hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before God So verse 14. We know we are translated from death to life c. So that what can be more clearly proved then this that this assurance is to be attained in this life because God commands it it is the spirits office to work it particular Christians have had it and the people of God in general they have enjoyed and profest this Temper Vse Is it so then that assurance is attainable in this life Then how much to blame are our adversaries the Papists who hold their followers in suspense that they must live without the assurance of their own estate that their soules must hang in feares and doubts all their dayes that the most they can have is only a conjecture oh into what a gulph of discomforts do they plunge them Beloved the Lord in the Book of Deuteronomy chap. 29. did pronounce it as a curse that their lives should hang in suspense it 's a greater curse that mens souls should hang in suspense that men shall not know whether they shall be saved or damned it 's a hell on this side hell and therefore they are much to be blamed that hold their followers in hand with a peradventure they shall be saved peradventure not when the Scripture is so clear in this thing Secondly Let not the thoughts either of the impossibility or the difficulty of attaining this assurance discourage you from looking after it It is not impossible though it is difficult indeed and the difficulty should be so farre from discouraging you that it should quicken your endeavours to make your calling and election sure Thirdly Seeing assurance is attainable in this life inquire into the cause why you who are effectually called have not attained this assurance before now And this puts me upon handling of the second case of conscience seeing this assurance is attainable Therefore Answ Secondly what is the reason that many Christians who are called effectually by Jesus Christ do live in many doubts and feares about their effectual calling Doubt In answer to this I shall lay down these three particulars that the doubts that do arise in Christians about their calling they flow from this threefold fountain Either first from some seeming defect they apprehend in the manner of their calling Or Secondly some seeming defect they apprehend to be in the meanes of their calling Or else Thirdly some seeming defects they apprehend in the effects of their calling and these three grounds are the rise from whence many Christians effectually called do doubt of their call and are not assured of it First It doth arise from some seeming defect they apprehend to be in the manner of their calling They say I am not called in such a manner as I see others are As thus Think they I see other men when they are converted that their humiliations are great I see that they have horror of conscience that they are wrought upon by the terrors of the law
strength to maintaine this God say they foresaw men would believe in Christ and would be holy in their lives and therefore God did chuse them to life This you may remember I spent some time in overthrowing formerly and therefore pass it over now viz. That God did not chuse men to life with reference to any good works he foresaw in them This indeed is an undoubted truth All men whom God did elect to life he foresaw they would have good works in them but Gods foreseeing of this was not the cause for which God did elect them No the motive was his own will according to the pleasure of his own grace Rom. 9.11 and Rom. 11.5 A remnant are saved according to the election of grace for if it were of works grace is no more grace Were election upon foresight of good workes then it would follow that infants dying in infancy were not within the compasse of Gods election because an infant so dying could not performe any good works and so their case would be most miserable Besides we are not justified by actuall workes therefore not elected upon works foreseen Rom. 3.24 for there is the like reason of these two Fifthly That Gods election is so free that in chusing and electing men to life and salvation he doth not doe it for the sake of Jesus Christ himselfe Understand this well that therein you might both give Christ his due and God the father his due for mistake me not God doth save none but by Christ but God did elect men without reference to Jesus Christ as the motive of election meerly according to the purpose of his own will All modern and latter Divines lay down this for a truth that it was the meere pleasure and good will of God to man that was the motive of Gods electing us and not Christ Christ could not be the cause because he was the effect Now what is the effect cannot be the cause Gods love in electing mankind did produce Jesus Christ to be the meanes of our salvation and of bringing about Gods election therefore he being the effect of election cannot be the cause The cause of election was eternall but the merits of Christ were not so Again Christ was elected himselfe 1 Pet. 1.20 He was preordained of God before the World was Now he that was elected himself could not be the cause of our election Besides the elect are said to be given to Christ to be saved John 17.2 therefore he was not the cause of our election It is true the Scripture tels us Eph. 1.4 We are elected in Christ i. we are elected in Christ as a common person God first chose Christ and then believers in Christ as menbers of his body But God elects no man for Christs sake but man is chosen meerly of Gods bounty without reference to Jesus Christ And here Divines say Gods love in electing man to life was as free as if Christ had never died and it was so free that man was not beholding to Christ for his election and yet Christs sufferings were so full as if men were not bound to God for their election Thus they are pleased to expresse it And the reason why the Scripture speakes thâ—s that we are onely chosen in Christ not for Christ is to give God the Father his due in electing men to life that God did it meerly of his own grace and therein Gods love and favour is apparent to all the world that he did elect man without Christ as the motive of his election and yet Jesus Christ being come into the world he carries on our salvation and he is the cause of it though he was not the cause of Gods first thoughts in electing man to life 6. All men that are elected by God to life and salvation shall sooner or later before they die be called into a state of conversion and believing Rom. 8.30 Whom he did predestinate them he also called and Acts 13.48 As many as were ordained to eternall life believed So that God the father in ordaining man to life hath ordained this also that before they die they shall be a converted and believing people and therfore men remaining unconverted uncalled unbelieving they are not the objects of Gods election Seventhly that God in chusing or electing men to life doth let his election runne ordinarily unto the meanest and unto the worst sort of men in the world men that have least naturall endowments lest morall excellencies least worldly gallantry ordinarily election runs that way God hath chosen the poore things of this world and things despised and things that are not hath he chosen 1 Cor. 1.27 Jam. 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poore of this world to be rich in faith Ordinarily the Lord chuseth poor and meane men that have no naturall or morall excellencies Hence it was that when Christ left the learned Pharisees and Doctors among the Jewes the ignorant and poore people they flocked after Jesus Christ they looked after Jesus Christ when the rich and great men of the world had no share in him Eighthly that a man may be an elect child of God and yet not expresse the fruit of his election in many yeeres here in the world and this is a very comfortable point An instance you have of this in Paul It is observable of Paul the Scripture tels us he was a chosen vessell Acts 9.15 and yet Paul lived many yeeres before the fruit of his election appeared in him Some Historians say Paul lived 37. the least say 30 yeers before the fruit of election appeared in him for he was converted the very yeere after Christs death and all the while before he did expresse fruit that was seemingly repugnant to an elect estate as if a man could not be an elect vessell that was so vile as he he was a blaspheme a persecuter injurious to the Church haled men to prison mad with rage against the professors of Jesus Christ Nay he was a man that had a hand in putting Steven the first Martyr to death So long he lived in a course of iniquity for 30. yeeres together and yet this man was an elect vessell then So the Thiefe upon the Crosse an elect child of God yet did not expresse the fruit of his election in repentance and conversion untill the last houre of his life So that I say a man may be an elect childe of God and yet not expresse the fruit of his election in his life for many yeeres Ninthly that God for the great love he beares to his elect that are in the world lets Reprobates and wicked men enjoy many mercies and outward deliverances for their sakes Mark 13.19 20. There shall be tribulation saith Christ such as was not from the beginning of the world nor shall be to the end thereof but for the elect sake those daies shall be shortned For his elect sake God did mitigate did shorten God did take away that trouble from them So Esa 1.9 Had