will do the turn and this wiil do it most infallibly and most fully as to the procuring of Pardon of Sin and the making of their Peace with God So that by the right making use of this Sacrifice a Sinner may most really expect â—emission of Sins and Peace with God and His Friendship as if Sin had never been For otherwayes Christ could not be called the Sin-offering or an offering for sin If He were not accepted in Room of the Sinner that comes to Him To clear it a little There are Four thingâ— in and about this Sacrifice to make out this and to prove That a Sinner that makes use of this Sacrifice may expect the Pardon of Sin and Peace with God The 1. Is the excellency of His Offering He offered himself As it is Heb. 7.27 and Heb. 10.10.12.14 The Offering up of Himself and of His Blessed Body on the Tree was another sort of Sacrifice then all these Bulls Rams and Goats Offered under the Law that were but Types of Him The 2. Is the excellency of the Person that Offered up this Offering which is in effect the excellency of the Priest As the Sacrifice was excellent beyond all other Sacrifices so also is the Priest above all other Priests Heb. 7.26 Such an high Priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled seperat from sinners A Priest who is the Son and is set over the House as the Heir and though the Humane Nature was the Sacrifice yet as was said before not as abstracted from the Divine Nature the Person being but One and so the Priest Offering commends the Sacrifice Offered and makes that it cannot but be accepted The 3d. is His Willing condescending to be the Sin-offering to Interpose Himself and to become this Sacrifice out of respect to the Honour of God that His Justice might be Vindicated and Satisfied And that thereby access might be made for shewing Mercy to the Heirs of Salvation which exceedingly commends this Sacrifice according to that of John 10.17 Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again No man taketh my life from me but I lay it down of my self and take it again It commends His Sacrifice that He was not constrained to it but did it most Willingly and with Delight It 's true if we look to Him as the Eternal Son of God and the second Person of the blessed Trinity He could not but be Loved of the Father as well before His Incarnation as after but that He sayes Therefore doth my Father love me It is to be understood an account of His Voluntary condescending as Mediator to do His Fathers will and out of respect to His Honour ingadging and according to His ingadgement satisfying His Justice for the Elect And this cannot but commend His Offering That such a glorious Person who was Holy Harmless and Undefiled should out of tenderness to the Honour of God and that the wrong done to it by Sinners might be repaired and out of love to the Elect should condescend to stoup so low as to make Himself a Sin-offering This regard for the Honour of God and Willing condescendencie to Suffer for the Repairing of it is abundantly Valuable and though it be a great Word above the disrespect that Sinners evidenced to the Honour of God by their sinning The 4th is the Covenant which is the ground of this Offering and that whereby it is regulated and the Terms of it It was not an undertaking as a piece of Will-worship but according to the deliberat Counsel and Fore-knowledge of God wherein it was Determined that the Son should become Cautioner and be made lyable for the Debt of the Elect and be an Offering for their Sin by which Freedom from Sin and Wrath should accresce to Elect Sinners and all this being concluded in the Covenant of Redemption His Offering could not but be accepted for us The Lord having condescended on the Articles of that Covenant for this very end This Doctrine is of mighty great and notable concernment to Sinners and were there any such Wakening and Rouring amongst us that Souls were put to say and cry What shal we do to be saved The opening up of the Truth to wit That Christ is a Sin-offering for Sinners and that by His Offering the Atonement is made would be much more acceptable and refreshfull And therefore let this be the 1. Use That though there be nothing imaginable that can be brought before God which will be acceptable to Him as a satisfaction to His Justice yet here there is a Ransome found by the Offering whereof to God a Soul that is lying under challenges for Sin and apprehensions of Wrath may expect absolution This is in effect that which Elihu sayes Job 33. If there be an interpreter one of a thousand to shew unto man his righteousnesse then he is gracious unto him and saith deliver him from going down to the pit I have found a ransome here is the Ransome our Lord Jesus Christ stepping in in Sinners Room and Offering Himself up a Sacrifice to satisfie the Justice of God So that a Sinner in making use of that may come to be in good terms with God and are not these glad Tydings of great joy that an Offering is provided a Ransome payed and a way found out how Sinners lyable to the Curse may expect Freedome It 's no small matter that God hath given this Subject to us to speak of and to you to hear of that the Torturing Anxiety of a Soul driven almost to Dispair may have this for an answer even the Blood of Jesus that blood of sprinkling that purges the conscience from dead works which as it satisfies Justice so it quiets the Conscience of the Sinner that flies unto it and makes right use of it It would become Sinners well to think more of these Glad Tydings and to study to have them alwayes Fresh There are many Parts of the World wherein Men are Sacrificing Beasts some Lambs some Rams some other Beasts And some it may be the First-born of their Bodies for the Sin of their Souls and which is lamentable Sacrificing these things to the Devil on the matter at least and not to God and yet all that does not their turn And not having hard of this Offering they cannot make use of it neither can their Conscienee ever be quiet But our Lord Jesus hath sent these blessed News to us and hath shewed us what is the Sin-offering the Atonement and Propitiatory Sacrifice We need not send our Children through the fire nor bring any other Offering to God to appease His Wrath He hath given us His Son and hath accepted Him for a Sin-offering and hath told us that this shall be as sufficient and satisfying as if we had made the satisfaction our selves here O! here is the wonder even a wonder of wonders Use 2. See here the way how we come to Life by Christ It's imported
his purchase before Believing but when he comes to believe the obstruction is taken away that hindered his application and then he hath a new right not only to but in Christs purchase even as a Person that is Minor or mad may have a right to a great possession but by the law he is secluded from the use of it till he come to majority and have the use of reason and this distinction we have as one of the clauses of the Covenant John 6.39 40. where 1. in the 39. Verse Christ says This is the Fathers will that sent me that of all that he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day It 's the Fathers will that Eternal Life be given to as many as are given to Christ on his Satisfaction and Christ hath purchased it to them by his Satisfaction absolute as to the event and therefore they have an accessibleness to it a right to it and cannot but partake of it yet not simply but in the way that he hath laid down And therefore 2ly In the 40. Verse he saith This is the will of him that sent me that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him may have eternal life by believing they come to the application of that to themselves which they had a legal right to before by Christs death 2. Respect must be had to the Covenant of Grace which is not quite an other thing then the Covenant of Redemption but the making offer of it and the benefits contained in it in the preached Gospel when Christ sends out his Ambassadours to woo and invite Sinners to Christ and to bring them to the application of his Purchase and it is by closing with and receiving of Christs offer that the actual Cure comes and that by Christs stripes our sores are healed Even as when a Child that was Minor becomes Major he comes to have a right to possess the same Lands or Sums of Money by the same Law that gave him a legal or simple right to them before or he comes to have a right in that which before he had a right to So elect Souls that have a right to Christs purchase before believing while they are mad in nature are under the curse and wrath threatned in the word of God for not believing but when they come to believe they come to get an extract from the same word of their right in Christs purchase because the Word says He that believes is past from death to life and shall not come into condemnation and so the same word that did condemn before believing doth now absolve upon a Sinners believing and we come at this absolution by receiving of Christs offer in the Covenant of Grace And if it be asked how comes it that the receiving of Christs free offer in the Covevant of Grace gives a right to Christs purchase we answer It is by vertue of the Covenant of Redemption wherein it is so transacted betwixt God and the Mediator so that there is the offer of the Covenant received and the Covenant it self that concur for making over and deriving a compleat Right to wretched Sinners in Christs purchase Let the 1. Use of this be for your instruction and information which is the end wherefore we have chosen in this way by this short view to give you in a very short sum the marrow of the Gospel And if ye remember these few Questions ye may be in a capacity not only to answer us but through grace to exercise Faith on Christ And we think ye will all readily grant that these who cannot at all answer them should not go to the Communion And therefore that ye may take them with you we shall shortly resume them 1. What condition is man in by nature Answer Under sin and misery and even under the curse of God Or thus every man is a sinner and hath a sinful nature or he is under transgressions and iniquities is naturally loathsome wants peace with God and hath need of healing Let this in the first place sink in your hearts 2. How is man freed from this sinfulness and misery Answer He cannot be free from it till there be a condign satisfaction made to Divine Justice wounding and bruising must be to procure pardon and stripes must be to procure healing and chastisement must be to bring about our peace That word Exod. 34. Who will by no means acquit the guilty would alwayes be remembred and Faith would look to a Saviour for satisfaction 3. Who can satisfie Answer Neither Man nor Angel can do it no penances no prayers nor performances of any meer creature will do it but He only that was wounded and bruised He who by Nature is the Son of God the express Image of the Fathers Person and who in respect of His Humane Nature was born of the Virgin Mary like to us in all things except sin It 's he that satisfies Justice and it 's by no other way that we get pardon and peace with God and Holiness 4. What way doth Christ satisfie Justice and make peace betwixt God and sinners Answer He entered himself in our room and as Cautioner undertook our debt suffered the condign punishmens that was due for our sins and payed the price that we should have payed He in a manner left Heaven and became Man had a mean life in the World drank the Cup of his Fathers Wrath was wounded bruised chastised and died a cursed death whereof his hanging on the Cross was but a sign 5. What benefites come to us by his sufferings Answer Pardon of sin Peace with God and healing The Conscience by his blood is sprinkled from dead works the person absolved reconciled to God made whole and made at last to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing And this is not as Papists blasphemously speak a putative effect but a most real one 6. Who are made partakers of this pardon peace and healing Answer The Elect have right to it and by believing they make the application therefore it 's said here our and we And we may look upon the Prophet speaking in the name of all the Elect or in name of the believing Elect who on believing are actually healed The Elect then are healed and the way how is by faith making application of Jesus Christ 7. How in Justice can he be condemned that was free of sin and how can we be absolved that were guilty Answer He in Justice was condemned because as our Cautioner he came in our room and undertook to pay our debt And on the same ground we wretched sinners may in his way make application of his purchase because it was on these terms that he undertook the debt that we might be set free And it 's on these terms that it is offered in the Gospel that seing he hath payed for elect sinners they may upon the hearing of the offer close with it But how
Faith as it is a laying hold upon Christ 3. When we speak of the necessity of Faith in order to Justification we mean not as if there were such an absolute necessity of it in it self that God could not do otherwayes or Justifie without it but we mean a necessity in respect of the order which God hath laid down and held forth in the Gospel which is by the Knowledge of His Son to Justifie many And from these considerations many Arguments of our Adversaries are made very little regardable yea utterly void For Confirmation of the Doctrine then 1. Consider these Scriptures that expresly limit confine and bound Justification and pardon of Sin to the Person that doth believe So Rom. 1.17 The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith Rom. 3.24 25. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood c. Col. 3.22 God hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe Act. 13.38.39 Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses Consult the Scriptures and we will find that Paul clears both these Questions 1. who are Justified All that believe 2. When are they Justified When they believe 2ly Consider these Scriptures that place all men before believing into a state of Wrath and they will furnish a second ground for this as John 3.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already He lyes under the Covenant of Works and is condemned as considered in himself though God may have a purpose to make a change of his state So Ephes 2.1 2 3. You hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past ye walked and were children of wrath even as others c. and v. 12 13. We were sometimes without Christ being alians from the common wealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenant of promise without hope and without God in the world but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far of are made near by the blood of Christ and v. 8. By grace are ye saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works least any man should boast it 's Faith that gives the Title which we had not before 3. Consider That the Scriptures do expresly make believing to preceed Justification and make Justification to be an effect or rather a consequent of Faith to which Faith necessarly concurrs as all these places which say that we are Justified by Faith in Christ do clear as Rom. 5.1 Being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ which place looks on Faiths concurring in Justification with a kind of causality Rom. 3.22.25 The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe c. Ephes 2.8 By grace are ye saved through faith See more fully to this purpose Gal. 2.16 where the Apostle designedly as it were sets himself to confirm this Truth For speaking of the way how Sinners come to be Justified and as it were entring in the Debate he says Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even as we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ In which place we have three things considerable to make out the point 1. He compares the concurring of Faith to Justification in the Covenant of Gracâ— to the concurring of Works to Justification or to the obtaining of Life in the Covenant of Works as Works did Justifie in the Covenant of Works so does Faith in the Covenant of Grace Now certainly the performing of Works in the Covenant of Works behoved to go before Justification that way therefore the want of Works made Adam to come short of Justification by Works 2. He looks on Faith and speaks of it as concurring to Justification with a respect to Christ and never looks on it in this matter as a Grace considered in and by it self but as acting on Christ in a peculiar manner 3. In expresse words he sayes We have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified which clearly implyes that they could not be Justified before they believed and we may well and easily gather that the Justification here meant is that which is real and actual and not the declaring of a man to be Justified to Himself else Works might declare a man to be Justified to himself as well as Faith But he contradistinguishes Faith and Works here and opposes the one to the other The 1. Use Serves for clearing of this Truth That there is a necessity of Faith's taking hold of and resting on Christ ere we can be absolved and Justified And so both these Errors of Antinomians fall to the ground 1. That by which they assert that these who are Justified were Justified from Eternity and were never under God's Curse And 2. That Faith is not necessary to the attaining of Justification but only to a Persons knowing that he is Justified and so they say that Faith enters us not in the Covenant which is false it being the terms or condition on which God proposeth and promiseth pardon in his Covenant as is clear John 3.18 Whosoever believes shall not be condemned but shall have everlasting life and Mark 16.16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved with this opposition He that believeth not shall be damned Faith being it which enters us in the Covenant For either Sinners are Justified before they can be in Covenant with God which is an absurdity and inconsistent with Gods Covenant or it 's by Faith that they are entered in the Covenant There is here also a clear discovery and confutation of a 3d. Error of Antinomians concerning the nature of Faith That it is Persons believing that they are Justified No not so For as the Apostle sayes Gal. 2.16 We have believed that we might be justified We believe in order to Justification And to say as Antinomians do would do much to infer universality of Justification as well as of Redemption It 's Gods mercy that this Error is discovered and that we have His Truth pointing out to us that Justification must have Faith going before it and alongst with it The 2d Use Serves to demonstrat the absolute necessity of believing and taking hold of Christ If Absolution and Justification be necessary Faith must be necessary And therefore if Christ be preached to you and if by Him all that believe are Justified Take hold then I beseech you of the Offer receive embrace close with it and let
Phrases that the Scripture useth to this purpose and where we are said to be Justified by faith There is a sort of causality attributed to Faith that can be attributed to no other Grace nor Works Hence the Righteousnesse of Christ is called the Righteousness of faith and we are said to be Justified by faith in his blood So Phil. 3.8 9. I count all things to be but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God bâ— faith and Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood many moe such Phrases there are And truly it would look very unlike the Scripture to expone these Scripture Phrases of a Righteousnesse of Works or by Works 3. Consider how the Apostle opposeth the two Covenants The Covenant of Works made with Adam and the Covenant of Grace made with Believers in Jesus Christ Rom. 10.5 6 7. Moses describeth the righteousness of the law that the man which doth these things shall live by them The Righteousnesse of the Law speaks of doing by which we come to be Justified But the righteousnesse of faith or the Covenant of Grace Speaketh on this wise The word is near thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Where the Apostle opposeth these two Covenants not in respect of merit only as if the one were inconsistent with Grace and not the other but he opposeth them in this that the Righteousnesse of the one Covenant is in doing and the Riâ—hteousness of the other Covenant is by believing And therefore according to this opposition whaâ—ever is a mans doing is not the ground of his Peace and Justification before God because the Righteousnesse of his doing is the condition of the Covenâ—nt of Works and the Righteousnesse of the Covenant of Grace is quite of another nature to wit Believing in him who justifieth the ungodly 4. Consider that the thing that is the ground of our Justification before God is Christ's Righteousness inherent in Himself and imputed to us for the covering of our nakedness because He is as our Cautioner hath payed our Debt Hence it follows that Faith hath another way of concurring in Justification then any other thing can have because it 's Faith which receives and puâ—s on that Righteousnesse which no other thing doth That I may be found in him saith the Apostle Philip. 3.9 not having my own righteousness but the righteousness which is by the faith of Christ So that to be in him is to hâ—ve His Righteousnesse and this Righteousnesse is put on by Faith Only take two words of Adverisement ere we come to clear the other branch of the Doctrine The 1. is this when we speak of the peculiarness of the way of Faith's concurring in Justification so as no other Grace or Work doth we design not to weaken or cry down the necessity of Repentance and of other Graces nor of good Works the very thoughts whereof we abhore but to give every one of them their own and the right place and therefore it 's a gross calumnie to say that we affirm that the study and practice of Holiness and good Works is not necessary we only cry them down on this account that when we come before God our Works or Holinesse aâ—e not to be presented to Him as the ground of our Justification and Absolution but the Righteousnesse of Christ that Faith takes hold of and in this we say that Faith peculiarly concurres as no other Grace doth because iâ—'s fitted with an aptitude to receive and apply Christs Righteousnesse which no other Grace is as we say iâ—'s by the eye that a man sees though if he had not a â—ead and brains he would not see So though Fai h and Hol nesse or good Works be not sepâ—rat yet Faith is as it were â—he eye of the Soul that discerns and takes hold of Christs Righteousnesse The 2. is this That when we speak of good Works we speak of tâ—â—m as the Apostle doth Tit. 3.5 where 〈◊〉 saith not â—y the works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us and by good Works denyed in the point of Justification we understand all that is our own doing not excluding â—nly some things that were so accounted iâ— the time of darkness as almesdeedâ— and the like but as we have said all that is our own doing The 2d Branch is that this peculiarness of Faiths concurring in Justification is not from any efficacy in Faith or from Faith considered as our Deed or Work but as it Acts on Christ as the Objâ—ct of it and therefore when it is said Rom. 4.3 That Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness The meaning is not as if God had accepted his believing as an Act or Work for his Righteousnesse and that it was accounted as a perfite Grace but the meaning is that Christ Jesus the promised Seed received by Faith or his betaking of himself to the Riâ—hteousness of Christ holden out to him in the Promise was accounted his Righteousnesse as if he had had an inherent Righteousnesse of his own and so Faith is imputed not in respect of it's Act but in respect of it's Object By his union with Christ through Faith Christs Satisfaction becomes his To clear it a little take these considerâ—tions 1. Consider Faith as a Grace in us and so it cannot be imputed for Righteousness for in that respect it 's a Work and is excluded by the Apostles opposition made of Grace and Works It must therefore be Faith considered as acting in it's Object 2. Consider that in Scripture to be Justified by Christ by his blood and by Faith are all one because when it is said we are justified by Christ or by His Blood it takes in Christ and His Blood laid hold on by Faith therefore sometimes Christ sometimes Faith is called our Righteousnesse because as Christ considered as suffering and satisfying is the meritorious cause of our Justification so Faith is the instrumental cause taking hold of His Satisfaction which is our Righteousnesse both are necessary in their own way and Christs Righteousnesse implyes Faith and Faith implyes Christ and His Righteousnesse the one implyes the other necessarily 3. Consider the Phrases used in Scripture to this purpose as where we are said to be justified by faith it ever respects Christ and where we are said by faith to put on Christ It is not Faith considered as Righteousness of it self but it 's Faith considered as Acting on Christ and His Righteousness Therefore it 's the Righteousness which is by Faith the Righteousnesse which is in Christ and by Faith taken hold of by us and