into which his Posterity should be sub-divided If it was not I conceive the Fault was theirs not God's as if it would have been a Fault in God if he did not give means for all to be Saved when they had Damned themselves Thus Antisozzo has in a manner laid Salvation open in common to Elect and Non-elect to Vessels before of old ordained to Condemnation Jude 4. as well as to Vessels of Mercy for whom the Kingdom was prepared from the Foundation of the World Matt. 25 directly contrary to the Confession of the Assembly which they both have Subscribed though I find not that they ever recanted this Expression The Assembly say on the Point of God's Decree directly that none but the Elect can be Saved thus These Angels and Men their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be increased or diminished neither are any other redeemed by Christ effectually Called Justified Adopted Sanctified and Saved but the Elect only For the proof of which they quote 2 Tim. 2.19 John 13.18 17.9 6.64 65. 10.26 Rom. 8.28 I lay down my Life for the sheep and ye Pharisees ye believe not because ye are not my sheep Thus these great Men have asserted and this our Neonomians subscribe to in order to deceive the Simple to believe they are Orthodox when here 't is visible how Heterodox these two great Contenders for the New Law are plainly deviating from the Assembly in allowing a Possibility for the Non elect to be Saved But I beg for them the Mercy of God to give them the Eye-salve of his Spirit to shew them their Mistake §. XXXIV The Ninth and Tenth Heresies are scarce worth mentioning they being only some curtailed Expressions that the Antagonists to the Free Grace of God in his eternal Love to poor Sinners in Christ do take from the Writings of some of the Asserters of our Sins being fully done away by the Death of our Lord Jesus and from thence this Pharisaical Spirit quarrels at them and charges them for laying a ninth Heresie It is denied that God requires Faith as an indispensible Qualification in them whom he will Justifie by Christ's Merits How this is worded by his Antinomians he mentions not whether they deny Faith indispensibly in Infants or Lunaticks or no So that this Quarrel needs little answer seeing they know that we are as much for Faith as themselves if not more as it excludes Works in the Point of Justification but not for Faith to take the Crown off from the Head of Jesus and it self to wear the Honour of Saving us in whole or in part §. XXXV Such another is his Tenth Heresie All that a Believer can pray for is the farther Manifestation of Pardon for he knows that all his Sins are pardoned This is a manifest Breach of Charity for he knows they pray for more and though they may at some Seasons have full Assurance of being accepted in the Beloved Jesus wherein they see all their Sins were done away in his Blood when he to Sanctifie the People Suffered without the Gate Whereupon they upon Believing cry Glory to him who hath loved them and washed them from their Sins with his Blood Yet they daily pray for fresh Discoveries of the same which as to their Consciences is a Fresh Pardon or renewing of Pardon I hope my Dear Kratiste will not deny That by one Offering he hath for ever perfected those that are Sanctified and that he Sanctified the People with his own Blood when he Suffered without the Gate If so then all successive Pardons upon fresh Acts of Faith are only the Clearing up of Pardon to the Conscience that there should be no more Conscience of Sin Whereas the Grand Pardon in the Court of Heaven was as Mr. Pemble says when Christ was delivered for our Offences and raised for our Justification which is not manifest to the Conscience till Faith comes And thus this Heresie vanishes having only left us a Testimony that the Neonomians do Boggle in the point of Pardon and would hook in our Faith to be a Joynt-Saviour with Christ by being a procurer of Pardon rather than a Manifestation of it §. XXXVI It is an Amazement his 11th Heresie which is this A Believer is to work from Life and not for Life For answer If a Man be a Believer he is a Living Member of Christ and so he Works from Life in Christ Sure then this cannot be the Heresie intended here to say he works from Life Then this is his Heresie That a Believer works not for Life But how can that be Heresie to say A Believer doth not work for Life when the word saith The Gift of God is Eternal Life Rom. 6.23 If it be Gift then it is not Work'd for by us do Men call that a Gift that is wrought for that is Wages Death indeed is wrought for by Sin for the Wages of Sin which is in our best Works is Death but Life is the Free Gift of God How then can it be called Heresie to say A Believer works not for Life Antisozzo was once of another Mind I find but the Rebuker does well to conceal his Name for to call this Heresie must needs cast a sad Reflection What more substantial Truth is there than that a Believer works from Life and not to gain Life by his Works Whither shall we run if we do not maintain this for Truth That a Believer works not that he by his good Works might procure to himself Eternal Life No but he works from a Divine Principle of Life in him that he may glorifie God for the Gift of Eternal Life through his Son Jesus Christ O! how true is that of Luther Every Man hath a Pope in his Belly and how ready are we to run into the Dregs of Popery to Work for Life §. XXXVII The Twelfth is 'T is Heresie to say It 's a great Truth that God sees no Sin in a Believer I hope it is a great Truth and no Heresie that God saith I have blotted out as a thick Cloud thy Transgressions and as a Cloud thy Sins Isa 44.22 And if blotted out it is to shew that God doth not see them And if God saith He has cast them into the Depth of the Sea and he has cast them behind his Back and he will remember them no more Is it not the same thing as not to see them And doth he not say He hath not beheld Iniquity in Jacob not but that they had Iniquity enough but when their Sins are covered with the Robe the fine white Linnen of Christ's Righteousness then it may be said without Imputation of Heresie 't is a great Truth and a Blessed one that God sees no Sin in a Believer Sure my Dear Kratiste had strangely forgot himself to call this glorious Truth a Heresie §. XXXVIII The Thirteenth Sin can do no real hurt to a Believer Answer If as Sin abounds Grace much more abounds which
Presbyterian Society to fall so much below himself as to use such Terms as are very indecent in small Matters but much more in so weighty a Matter as the Debate was about viz. The Justification of Sinners and the Satisfaction of our Lord Jesus O whither will the gratifying of a fluent Wit transport a Man that is in love with himself when the luscious Humour of advancing it is a float However his Juvenile Strains of Wit might be pleasant yea laudable in a Protestant Almanack they are not at all palatable but distastful in a grave Divine especially when treating of the greatest Points of God's Glory in Man's Salvation by our Lord Jesus O that he and I could often mind that blessed Advice of our Lord Learn of me for I am meek and lowly who when he was reviled reviled not again §. III. From this blustering Porch let us see if we may find better Weather in the House though some Men find the worst Storms within doors I come therefore to Page the 5th of the Rebuke where he saith the Reporter has left out New Obedience and Good Works out of the account he gives of the Substance of the Gospel and then by way of a smiling Banter he saith the Reporter said The Substance of the Gospel lyes in what Christ suffered for them This he seems to disallow which I look on with a sad Eye For if what Christ hath done for us all his Life as well as his Death being his Suffering if this be not the Substance of the Gospel what will become of us If the Rebuker consults Luke 2.10 he will find that our New Obedience and Good Works are not the Substance of the Gospel but that to us is born a Saviour The Angel tells the Substance of the Gospel there I evangelize to you great Joy which shall be to all People for to you is born this day a Saviour Christ the Lord. Evangelizomai I Gospelize this to you Here we see what the Gospel is it is glad Tidings And what is this glad Tidings It is that Christ a Saviour was born Here 's not one word of New Obedience or our Good Works to be part of the Substance of the Gospel they come in as Fruits of the Spirit upon receiving the Gospel but are no more the Substance of the Gospel than the Holy Law of God is the Substance of the Gospel But the Law came by Moses and Grace and Truth by Jesus Christ Surely the Spirit of God knew better how to give an account of the Gospel what it is than any he calls We poor Presbyterians And for any to jeer at Christ's Sufferings for us for its being called the Substance of the Gospel it may trouble their Consciences one day when they shall be forc'd to fly to that as their tutissimum est as Bellarmine did though some think too late O! how should we have a Care that our Wit do not put us on jesting with the Gospel which in its discovering Christ to be all in all to us our Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption is the Power of God to Salvation We should consider what the Apostle counted the Substance of the Gospel when he said I determined to know nothing among you but Christ and him crucified This was his great Study Christ and his Sufferings so it should be ours §. IV. In Page 6. he saith Give me my Bible again This Jest may be returned with seriousness It is well he call'd for his Bible again for he had spoke without Book sadly before in saying Good Works are to come in in the Substance of the Gospel This 't is for Men to speak without the Bible which alone by the Spirit makes wise to Salvation But I fear some sad use he will make of his Bible for it soon follows in the same Page that which I grieve at viz. his making a Jest of Christ's putting himself into our Place State and Condition which he jeers with the Socinian Retort If so then saith he Christ was destitute of a Righteousness and we too to intitle us to Eternal Life For Answer If Christ was not in our Place State and Condition what 's become of the Gospel We have lost it if the Just did not suffer for the Unjust if the Lord did not lay on him the Iniquity of us all if he was not the Man of Sorrows that bare our Griefs Was he not in our Place State and Condition in all this And to say that then he was destitute of a Righteousness is to deny his being God-Man or not to distinguish between his being Perfect in himself and so holy harmless separate from Sinners and his being made Sin and a Curse for us as being our Representative Methinks those that call themselves Poor Presbyterians should not so coalesce with the Socinians to enforce such a Consequence from Christs being our Surety as the Socinians do to say That if Christ stood in our Place then he wanted a Righteousness in himself You may as well say that Christ was not made Righteousness to us if he was made Sin for us how could he be both Very well He was made our Righteousness as we having his compleat God-like yea God's Righteousness as it was his Righteousness the Son of God imputed to us so he was made Righteousness to us and he was made Sin for us by the Lord 's imputing and laying our Sins on him and yet he though made Sin was still the most holy Son of God without Sin in him §. V. In the next Assault he insults over the Reporter for saying we are Sin What though that very word is not in the Text What is it less to be sinful to be sold under Sin conceived in Sin yea to be a Body of Sin But the fling is against the Change Christ's being made Sin and a Curse and we thereby delivered from Sin and the Curse Suppose Man is not said in Scripture to be Sin Sin it self and that that is a debasing Man below being born in Sin and having a Body of Sin will you find fault with him or any for lessening of Man so whereas Christ is far more lessened For it is said positively God made him to be Sin for us and that no Man can have the Face to deny that owns Revealed Religion But many will so mince his being made Sin for us that at last it shall be like some Minc'd Pyes that shall not taste a jot of the Meat in them They say in words he was made Sin but they distinguish away every bit of the Sin and say Christ only bore the Punishment due to Sin As if God should be so Unjust as to punish Christ for Sin when no Sin was upon him If Christ our Lord in being made Sin for us had not our very Sins laid on him by God and borne by himself on the Tree why was he punished Will you make God Unrighteous to lay Sin upon him to bruise him for our
standing in Christ's Person being found in him having put on Christ and his Righteousness as the Apostle Paul hath it in Phil. 3.9 who according to some Mens way of dogmatizing and making Antinomians is the King-leader of them all by saying as we frequently must quote That God made him Sin for us and us the Righteousness of God in him I must beg Pardon for casting this Salt so oft into the bitter Waters to make them sweet these two Passages into their Broth of Antinomianism and until you race them out of the Bible they will be a good defence of the Change of Persons between Christ and Sinners §. LXX These Two Pillars are the Jakin and Boaz Establishment and Strength in him that King Solomon our Lord Jesus hath erected before the Temple the Basis of the Commutation of Persons Christ made Sin for us and Righteousness to us and I am sure The Gates of Hell will never prevail against them let the Socinians or Deists or Quietists and let their Friends the Arminians be never so rampant One Athanasius one Hylary one Mr. Cole could withstand Ten Thousand Batteries and be no more shaken than a pair of Three penny Fellows can shake down the Monument and so extinguish the Memory of the Papists burning of London in 1666 witness Mr. Cole's sealing his Doctrine with Triumph at his departure dying in the Joy of what he had preach'd though by Mr. Williams called Mysterious Nonsense he saying a little before his Death in opposition to our Modern 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the resisters of the Truth Now I can spit in the Face of the Devil and so dyed in the Joy of having preach'd the Doctrine of Justification by Free Grace through Christ without any Works of ours concurring thereunto §. LXXI In Page 43 he asks Where has this Doctrine of Justification been settled all this while since the Reformation This is just copying after the Papists Where was your Religion before Luther We answer It was in the Scripture and in abundance of faithful Witnesses and so was this Doctrine in particular Read but the Apostle Paul and he 'll tell you where it was settled viz. In our being chosen in Christ before the World was and in Grace given us then in him and in Christ's being made Sin for us and the Righteousness of God to us Besides if you will read Calvin Twiss and Luther with multitudes more in your Study you will find how they settled it Antisozzo hath it in part also and why may not Dr. Tho. Goodwin come in for an Author O no now I remember a great Reason for said Kratiste he speaks in his Treatise on the Ephesians of the Spirit himself dwelling in Believers but I utterly deny it said he And I affirm said he he dwells in Believers only by his gracious Operations To which was opposed The Spirit himself witnesses with our Spirits that we are the Children of God And besides the Rebuker 't is like will say he is as dreadful an Antinomian as wild a Monster as the Dregs of it Dr. Crisp therefore I will not allow him to be an Author in this great Point of Justification for he is all for Free Grace §. LXXII He proceeds It is strange to me That Councils General and Provincial Synods Assemblies of Holy Learned Men should so oft so strenuously assert and confirm by the Word of God this great Truth and yet never once dream of Dr. Crisp ' s Commutation of Persons upon which to superstruct the Doctrine of Justification But it will appear more strange by and by I am perswaded that my Dear Kratiste with his Eagle-eyed Talent should so far over-shoot himself as to talk as if he had read all Councils and Synods c. when it will appear he has not well read our English Homilies setting forth clear Gospel-Truth in the Doctrine of the Church of England He is got into a large Field with a mighty Challenge like a Goliah defying all Councils c. to shew the Commutation of Persons He wages War under the Banner of all Councils c. as he thinks whereas one little David with a Stone out of the Brook of Life the River that makes glad the City of God one Text of Scripture will answer all his Rodomantado Challenge What if Councils c. that contract principal Articles of Faith into short Terms have not used the Doctor 's very words yet if they are consonant to Scripture one would think they may pass without such a strangeness Are there no Sentences in Antisozzo and Melius that are not in Synods and Councils and yet pass for Authentick I am confident the Doctor could not think it worth his while to tumble over the Records of all Councils c. to authorise him to speak to the Rebuker's approbation if the Scripture do but warrant him in his Change of Persons 't is enough and that is very abundant in Terms that may bear him out As where it speaks of Christ in us the hope of Glory do not we sustain his Person there or rather he being in us our hope he sustains our Persons in hope It speaks of our putting off our Sins in the circumcision of Christ Col. 3.11 which cannot be otherwise than by Christ's sustaining our Persons when he was circumcised and so our putting off our Sins is by our being in him representatively when the Fore-Skin of Christ's Flesh was cut off in order to the putting off our Sins in our Faith in a circumcised Christ It speaks of our being buried with him of our being raised in him of our being found in him What is this but a Change or Commutation of Persons I live saith the Apostle yet not I but Christ lives in me Is not this a Change of Person that answers Dr. Crisp's Commutation And yet still we are not Christ Personal but Christ Mystical and Christ was not Paul Personal but Paul and all Believers Mystical as sustaining their Persons as many Eminent Divines besides the Doctor speak without being accounted strange Monsters §. LXXIII For further Satisfaction in this great Point I refer the Rebuker to the great Pains of Dr. Chancy who hath gathered the Sentiments of very great Men among whom take this of Luther on Gal. 3.14 who saith It behoveth him to bear the Punishment and Wrath of God not for his own Person but for our Persons and so making A HAPPY CHANGE with us he took upon him our Sinful Person and gave unto us his Innocent and Victorious Person Is not this as monstrous a wild Sense as Dr. Crisp's But my Dear Kratiste hath more Sense than to call this new uncooth unintelligible Non-sense because of the great Name of Martin Luther Another of Dr. Chancy's Quotations is out of Mr. Stone of New England no Antinomian unless made so by the Rebuker he adds in the same Page 102 of Dr. Chancy There must be an Exchange between the Mediator and us 1 Tim. 2.6 There must be an
the Scripture foreseeing what distinctions and evasions would be made the Holy Ghost to fortifie and compleat the matter sums up all in the last Verse and saith He poured out his Soul unto death and he BARE the Sin of many Here is another word for bearing and the proper word it is for bearing away Chete rabbim nasa the Sin of many he bare Now put all these together and can the Wit of Man or Wisdom of Angels find out Words more plain and full more clear and nervous for Christ's bearing our Sins our very Sins The blessed Lord knowing what shifts windings and turnings would be made to evacuate to exinanitiate this great Point of Christ's being made Sin and bearing our Sins therefore in his Grace and Wisdom to stop all mouths he reiterates the Expression and delineates the matter with all the Flowery Varugation to invite our â—ttention and consent that can be imagined and so to obviate the Objections of Men of corrupt Minds that cannot endure this sound Doctrine That Christ bare our very Sins therefore the Lord saith The Loâ—d laid our Iniquity on him Hiphgiya b-o yavon and again He shall bear their Iniquities Iâ—ball yavonoth am and again His Soul was made a Sin-Offering and he bare the Sin of many All full home to the Point And that which makes it most conspicuous is God's making Christ Asham in ver 10. we render it When thou shalt make his â—oul an Offering for Sin But the Bishop knows full well that Asham in the Hebrew is the proper word for Guilt So that the strict rendring that which we make to be Thou shalt make his Soul an Offering for Sin which in Hebrew is Tasim naphsh-o Asham it is Thou shalt constitute his Soul Guilt where Guilt we may easily see is put for Guilt-Offering but the very words are Thou shalt constitute his Soul Guilt that is God himself in laying our Sins and our Iniquities and our Transgressions on his Dear Son he therein did constitute or make the Soul of Christ to be Guilt or a Guilt-Offering which directly answers that direful word of the Apostle God made him to be Sin for us And now is all this by our new sort of Divinity dwindled to his bearing of Punishment only Dr. Harris of the Famous Assembly at Westminster was very free in this Case and saith This would look like Injustice in God to punish his Son as guilty if he had not laid on him or imputed to him those Sins that deserved that Punishment §. CXLIII There are many other Scriptures that shew plainly that Christ bare the very Sins of the Elect that 's a famous one where God's Name is proclaimed Exod. 34.6 there he stiles himself Jehovah God Merciful and Gracious c. forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin Here 's the Name of the Blessed Jehovah at length but it is to be noted the word in the Hebrew which is by our Translators rendred Forgiving is nose which is properly bearing and so is used at least 100 times in Scripture and is the same word as is in Isa 53. last he Bare the Sin of many 't is nasa chete Rabbim And 't is to be lamented that our Translators should not as well translate it so here in Exod. 34. as in Isa 53.12 so that the plain Name of God is among other glorious Titles he is nose yavon c. bearing Iniquity Transgression and Sin that is our Lord Jesus Jehovah our Righâ—eousness he is Gracious and Merciful in this that he hath borne away our Iniquity Transgression and Sin Here lies the transcendent â—ender Mercy and the Riches of God's Grace that the Lord Jesus hath â—orn and born away our Iniquity our very Iniquity so saith the Blessed God but this cannot go down in the shallow Reason of poor Man till God shine with the glorious Light of the Spirit to convince him and enable him to believe it because God faith it The like Expression we have in Psal 32 1. Blessed is the Man whose Transgression is forgiven it is the same word for forgiven 't is nesu O the Blessedness of the Man whose Transgressions are born away that is by Christ who bare the Sin of many so in Verse 5. I said I will confess my Transgressions unto thee and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin it is in Hebrew ve attah nasatha yavon chattash-i and thou hast born away the Iniquity of my Sin He did not only beare the very Sin but he bare also the Iniquity of it all the Iniquity that was in his Sin in his great and crying Sins all the Guilt and Obliquity in it God saith of it that it was borne away let Man mince it as he pleases God saith It is borne away So in many more Scriptures nose is translated forgiving whereas the proper rendring is it is borne away As for the proper word for forgive that we have in 1 Kings 8.30 in Solomon's Prayer salachta When thou hearest forgive which in the Hebrew is ve-shamayta ve-salachta and thou hearest and do thou forgive Thus we have plenty of Testimonies in the Old Testament that the very Sins of God's People were born away §. CXLIV The New Testament concurs in the same way of expressing Christ's taking away our very Sins as in 1 John 3 5. The Son of God was manifested to take away our Sins He not only bare the Punishment but he bare the very Sins and he bare them so effectually as to take them away and therefore he is called The Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin of the World John 1.29 How could he take them away if he bare only the Punishment upon account of the Guilt laid on him on the Offenders compliance whereas the Fault is denied to be laid on him So that with our New Divinity he took away Faultless Sin which in most Mens Opinions must be no Sin at all But the Scripture is plain He took away Sin he appeared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself Heb. 9.26 So that to insist on Christ's bearing Punishment for Sin and not bearing the Sin it self is not Scripture Dialect we shall lose the Gospel and our Christian Religion if we forsake Scripture Terms especially in this great Case of Christ's being made Sin and bearing our Sin and taking it quite away so as never by God to be remembred more for these are his words their Sins and their Iniquities I will remember no more Heb 9.22 and repeated for the Confirmation of that which Flesh and Blood cannot receive in Heb. 10.17 Now can any one imagine that when our Lord Jesus took away Sin by his Death and Oblation of himself on the Cross that he left the Guilt or the Fault behind This is Nonsense to take away Faultless Sin we should be but little the better for the Death of Christ If he left the Guilt or Fault for us to remove by Repentance or any of our good Works which at best are so far
run very clear Streams from the Fountain of Israel and they as I quoted before out of the first part of the Sermon of Salvation are wonderful clear for such a Change as the Doctor affirms and Mr. Williams denies saying So that Christ is now the Righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him He for them paid their Ransom by his Death he for them fulfilled the Law in his Life so that now IN HIM and BY HIM every true Christian Man may be called a fulfiller of the Law This Golden Sentence which might be for an Ornament in Gold Letters in every House in England doth fully vindicate to a Tittle Dr. Crisp's Change of Persons Christ himself is their Righteousness he paid Ransom for them they were fulfillers of the Law in him and by him What can be more full to the Point I hope the Bishop will not charge these great Men the Composers of this Sermon as he has done the Doctor with an imaginary unproved Change §. CLI One word more to the Bishop's Argument to prove that it is but an imaginary Notion to think that we are compleatly Righteous by the Righteousness of Christ without any act of ours which Argument of his is in these words I could easily prove that in all the Transactions between God and Mankind some Conditions were required on our side in order to his favour So it was in the State of Innocency so it continued after Man's Fall as it appears by those words of God to Cain If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted if thou dost not well Sin lyeth at the door Gen. 4.7 'T is strange so great a Man should offer so weak an Argument to argue from a state of Innocency or from the state of Reprobate Cain or from the Covenant of Works what belongs to the Elect under the Covenant of Grace and under the Gospel where Works and Grace are made opposite Terms If of Works then no more of Grace saith the Apostle Was not Abel first accepted and then his Offering Is not the first Promise all of Grace He Christ shall bruise thine the Devil's Head And is not the last Promise the like Whoever will let him take of the Water of Life freely But by the Bishop's Doctrine a clever way is made to overthrow the whole Gospel To you is born a Saviour and to subvert the Orthodox Doctrine of the Church of England at once by bringing from the Dead the Covenant of Works to be saved by our doing well and not by Christ's doing and dying for us Whereas Abel's Sacrifice was accepted he himself being first accepted and his Sacrifice being offered in Faith but Cain and his Sacrifice rejected being not offered in Faith not looking to Jesus alone for Salvation by him The Bishop seems to run counter diametrically against the Apostle who argues strenuously Not of Works of no sort kind or degree lest any boast and by the Deeds of the Law shall no Flesh he justified He sums it up in Eph. 2. By Grace ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God Not of Works lest any boast And Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Thus the Scripture is plain against this Argument of the Bishop That our performing of Conditions must be in order to gain God's Favour §. CLII. Then for the Doctrine of the Church see what that saith of Conditions or of any Works of ours to gain God's Favour In the second Sermon of Salvation the good Christians of those days that were singed by the Popish Fires in Queen Maries days they tell us So that the true understanding this Doctrine That we be justified by Faith freely without Works or that we be justified by Faith in Christ only is not that this our own Act to believe in Christ or this our Faith in Christ which is within us doth justifie us A Sentence fit to be ingraven in every Church in England in order to take Men from trusting to their Repentance or good Works The like again is in the same Sermon as followeth We must renounce the Merit of Faith Hope Charity and all other Vertues and good Deeds And we must trust only in God's Mercy and that Sacrifice which our High Priest and Saviour Christ Jesus once offered As great and as goodly a Vertue as lively Faith is yet it putteth us from it self and remitteth and appointeth us unto Christ for to have only by him Remission of our Sins Observe these Eminent Stars of the first Magnitude in the Heaven of that Church of Old they are so far from bringing in our Repentance Charity and good Deeds or any act of ours to obtain Favour with God which the Bishop pleads for that they exclude Faith it self as having any hand in justifying us any farther than as it remitteth us to Christ But alas how is our Gold become Dross How are our great Men fallen from the Pure Primitive Doctrines of the Church of England And though they live splendidly by subscribing to these Doctrines yet in their Preaching and Writing they miserably warp as here in part from them Witness the setting up some Acts of ours to be done in order to obtain God's Favour And because God treated with Adam on account of Do and live therefore 't is supposed monstrously that Men when dead in Sins must work for Life or as the Bishop The Ministry of Reconciliation in St. Paul is wholly founded on Conditions on our side which he calls Acts of ours and may as well be called our good Works And all this because the Apostle pray'd them to be reconciled to God which cannot well be construed to be more than to pray them to accept the Reconciliation which God had made of Sinners to himself by Christ at his Death For if as the Apostle saith God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself then the Work was done when Christ cryed out on the Cross It is finished And if the word of Reconciliation was committed to the Apostles to publish to the World the Reconciliation that God had made of Sinners to himself by Christ what could his Embassadors mean in praying Sinners to be reconciled to God but to accept of what he had mentioned before of the act done long before viz. That God had reconciled Sinners to himself by Christ and to let them know that they were some of the reconciled ones if they would accept thereof and take these Waters of Life freely and so accept the Exhortation as Titus did 2 Cor. 8.17 §. CLIII O! how sad is it to eclipse the glorious Gospel Truth That our Sins were laid by God on Christ as the Doctor insists on it while the Bishop is pleased to load it with such very bad Consequences as might deter the weak and unconsidering from believing the plainest Positions in the Scripture viz. That the Lord laid on him the Iniquity of us all and he bare
the Sin of many by the Bishop's saying This makes us apt to lessen the Divine Perfections and our just sense of the difference of Good and Evil and our Obligations to all sorts of Duties Cujus contrarium Nothing more contrary For what can honour more the Glory of God's Holiness and the Infiniteness of his Grace and Goodness than his sending his own Eternal Son to undergo that horrid Task by his own consent of bearing our Sins that we might be free And what greater Argument of the difference of Good and Evil than Christ's suffering so great an Evil as the bearing our Sins that we might have so great a Good as Reconciliation to God Pardon and Eternal Salvation thereby And what greater spur to all the Duties of Holiness than our being delivered from all our Enemies Sin Death and Hell by the precious Blood of his Dear Son O! what an ingagement is this to serve him without fear all the days of our Lives And this Love of God in Christ being shed abroad in our Hearts will constrain us so to do much more than all the thundring Terrors of the Law which only work Condemnation But this Grace of God bringing Salvation this teaches effectually to deny ungodliness and to live righteously c. Therefore I humbly conceive the Bishop is out in saying It makes us apt to lessen the Divine Perfections whereas all the Torments in Hell of all final Unbelievers to all Eternity cannot so heighten and glorifie the Justice and Holiness of God as our Lord Jesus shedding his precious Blood which is called the Blood of God doth heighten and glorifie both his Holiness and his Grace to all that believe in this Lord Jesus and accept of him and this way of Salvation by him and him alone §. CLIV. But the frightful Charge against Dr. Crisp is That this Change of Persons makes Christ the Sinner then Christ is the Murderer and the Adulterer not David I answer Could not Christ bear the Sin and be the reputed Criminal without his being really and personally the Sinner What more common among Men than for a Surety to bear the burden of that Debt which he never contracted a penny of yet lyes in Goal for the whole and before he comes out pays the whole So our Lord Jesus standing in our place paid the whole as the voluntary Surety in our stead and yet was no more the Murderer than David was the Christ But he took David's Person on him and put himself on David to be his Righteousness as David sweetly sings O God my Righteousness Psal 4.1 But the great Jealousie is That Men think if Christ did really bear the Sins of the Elect the very Murder and Adultery of David c. that this did defile and taint the Holy Nature of Jesus Christ and so they would infer that the Free Grace Teachers would be saved by a defiled polluted Saviour Whereas there is nothing more inconsistent for there is none that believes the infinite incomprehensible Holiness and Purity of our Lord Jesus Holy with all the perfection of Holiness as God his Eternal Father is Holy but must conclude it is impossible that his Holy Nature should be tainted or polluted by the Sins of the Elect charged upon him and lying upon him for if instead of bearing the Sins only of all that the Father had given to him he being God-Man he had born the Sins of Ten Thousand Worlds full of Sinners they could not have defiled his Holy Nature there being an infinite disproportion between his infinite Holiness and Man's finite Sins so that they could no more defile him than a Viper's or a Toad's spitting Poyson against the Sun can defile the Sun Therefore I say with boldness If we believe our Lord Jesus to be true God and consider the infinite Purity of this Holy God our Lord Jesus Christ in our Humane Nature we cannot conceive that this Humane Nature could possibly be tainted or contaminated by his being made Sin for us and by bearing our Sin for the same Scripture that saith God made him to be Sin for us saith also He knew no Sin that is so as to be in his Holy Person guilty of any Sin of his own or to allow of any Sin to go unpunished §. CLV It would do well for all that stumble at our Sins our very Sins being by God laid on Christ and he as our Surety made Sin for us and that think that this will lessen the Divine Perfections and our Sense of the difference of Good and Evil to consider that our Lord Jesus is called by the same Name as the Sacrifices of old were called that had the Sins of the People laid on them they were called Sin so is our Lord Jesus Nay he compares himself to the Serpent Was the Serpent cursed beyond all the Beasts of the Field Christ is said to be made a Curse for us Did the Brazen Serpent lifted up heal all that look'd to it of their Stings of the Fiery Serpents So saith our Lord Jesus As the Serpent was lifted up shall the Son of Man be That whosoever believeth in him that being taken for looking to him and being Saved he shall not perish but have everlasting Life Can any sober Christian think that God himself would lessen the Divine Perfections of his Nature or of his Son Jesus who is one with himself Whom he charges all Men to Honour as they Honour the Father by his giving up his Son to Death for us all and by putting our Sins on him and giving the Name of Sin and comparing him to the Serpent for being a Curse We should rather from hence learn the Infinite Love of the Father and the Son and his Infinite Hatred of Sin insomuch as nothing could expiate it or take out the Stain of it from us but the Blood of him that was God §. CLVI And because our whole Concern to all Eternity depends on God's making Christ to be Sin for us and thereby glorifying the Divine Perfections of his Wisdom Holiness and Goodness not lessening them as is intimated I think it may to some be useful to give an Instance or two of the Sacrifices that had the Sins of the People laid on them how they as Types of Christ were called Sin they are in near 100 places called Sin and Guilt and yet at the same time they were called Most Holy as in Lev. 6.17 it is said of the Meat-offering It is most Holy as the Sin-offering and the Trespass-offering and more plainly in v. 25. This is the Law of the sin-offering it shall be killed before the Lord It is most Holy Nay so Holy it was that in Verse 27. it is said Whosoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy Now though these were so Holy yet it is to be observed that in both these places the 17th and 25th Verses that the word which we translate Sin-offering is in the Original only Sin the word being Chattath
the Ministers of our Lord Jesus Thou art worthy for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood without one word of Condition but with thy Blood thy Blood thy Blood And let us say as that Number did which was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands with a loud Voice with highest Acclamations Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive Power Riches Wisdom Strength Honour Glory Blessing And every Creature on the Earth under the Earth and in the Sea heard I saying saith St. John Blessing Honour Glory and Power be unto him that sits on the Throne and the Lamb for ever And the same saith he that begs Pardon of God for his Failings herein and all other his Sins and Unworthinesses and of any Person that thinks he is not candidly dealt with herein with Thanks to the Bishop for his genteel treating the Root and Stock of the happy though unworthy Branch of Dr. Crisp July 23. 1698. Hananiel Philalethes FINIS Heads handled in this DISCOURSE A. ANtisozzo for all to strive for the Truth § 1 That many Clergy-Men are against their Doctrine § 98 For a possibility of all to be saved § 33 Antinomian liâ—e Dr. Crisp in § 107 108 Altum Silentium of the Reprimand of Williams § 13 Antinomianism called Heresies Socinianism but Errors § 19 The AnomÃa of Sin Christ did not bear saith the Rebuker § 23 Actual Remission at Christ's Death Dr. Twiss § 25 Awake O Sword shews Christ a reputed Sinner § 24 We apprehend that for which we are apprehended § 26 The Ass and Oxe of Works and Faith not draw together § 26 Arminianism that our Faith as a Work justifies § 28 Atonement at Christ's Death Pemble § 29 The Asseâ—bly say the Debt paid at Christ's Death § 31 Actual Pardon before we had a Being Pemble § 32 Adam's Sin we sin'd not said the Rebuker § 33 The Assembly say only the Elect saved § 33 72 Abounding Sin makes Grace abound § 38 Angels Life differs from Saints § 43 Accursed to say God allows Sin in his Law § 50 Allen the Stage-player the Devil appeared to § 59 Agars Humility condemns the Rebuker § 74 Apocryphal he calls the Change of Persons § 75 How his Antinomians call Christ a Sinner § 77 Adult and Infants saved the same way § 81 Accursed that brings another Gospel § 83 Apocryphal Tobias brought in § 91 Abhorred of God how Christ was § 89 104 130 131 Apology for Mr. A as if Ambodexter § 135 Abel first accepted then his Offering § 151 Christ affected not infected by being made Sin § 157 B. The Bible called for again by the Rebuker § 4 Dr. Bates to Mr. Cole about Dr. Crisp § 17 Branches in Christ before Fruit § 26 'T is betraying the Gospel to deny Christ's being Sin for us § 67 Bald Head they call'd Elisha and what followed § 68 Buried with Christ shews he sustained us § 72 Brainless Brains to set up a Law that allows sin § 78 The Barrier of the Rebuker § 80 The Blood of Christ the only Coyn in Heaven § 83 The Bishop of Worcester's Modesty § 139 His way of Christ's bearing Sin § 140 His evading plain Scripture § 142 His Arguments for Conditions § 146 151 Blood Blood Blood redeemed us § 159 C. Crispian Heresies and Heterodoxies § 1 17 Of the Change of Persons § 6 7 9 Dr. Crisp's Works brake not the Vnion § 10 Mr. Cole's Character of Dr. Crisp's Works § 17 Dr. Chancy shew'd unfairness in Mr. Williams § 11 Crimes charged on Mr. W owned by Mr. A § 14 Christ first receives us and then gives Faith § 22 No Curse on Christ if he bare not the Fault § 23 The Call of Christ makes Sinners Saints § 27 No Change in God's Eternal Love Pemble § 39 convictions before Faith to be Sin is called Heresie § 40 Coalescing into Christ another of their Heresies § 46 Christ and Believers one Mystical Person § 46 Christ made Sin the ground of Charge of Antinomianism § 53 Calvin how Christ a Sinner § 54 Dr. Crisp's monstrous Sense cleared § 55 He denies his Redeemer saith the Rebuker § 55 The Church called Christ § 66 Commutation of Persons our Basis § 69 Cole spit in the Devils Face at his Death § 70 Dr. Chancy proves a Change of Persons § 73 Christ could not sin § 77 Challenging all the World a Boldness § 74 In our Credenda to speak in the Person of Christ as Paul § 75 76 The Cassandrian way hath its Ten Thousands § 79 Co-heirs and co-body with Christ § 90 Canonical Daniel and Tobias § 91 The Clergies subscribing what they recant § 98 Calvin that Christ bare Wrath and took our Person § 102 The Climax in Mr. A Charge against Mr. Lob § 109 Cannibals to write against Mr. Williams saith the Rebuker § 109 Cham discovered Nakedness so the Rebuker § 113 To contend for the Faith § 110 120 Dr. Castle 's Poliglot for maas abhorring § 131 The Chaldee meaus abhorred § 131 Christ cleansed us at his Death the Homilies § 145 The Change a ground for Faith against the Bishop § 149 The Change proved from the Homilies § 150 Conditions argued for by the Bishop and against by Homilies § 151 152 D. The Elect Christ's Delight from Eternity § 18 Dead Sinners quickned by Christ § 26 The Dog Believers Faith even when a Dog § 27 Christ's Death discharged our Debt the Assembly § 31 The Spirit in form of a Dove no degradation to him § 45 No denying Christ Dr. Crisp's Change § 55 To deny Sin laid on Christ is to deny Christ § 67 David's slaying Goliah the Rebuker § 72 Degraders of God and Christ Socinians and Neonomians are § 78 The day of the Lord coming § 79 Millions made to be damned answered § 80 Damnati antequam nati Austin § 80 Debt and Debtor not to be insisted on saith Mr. A § 82 Degrees of Obedience in being pardoned Mr. Williams § 88 The displeasure of God on Christ for Sin § 102 104 The Rebuker not delirous as is charged § 124 The dangerous Passage in Dr. Crisp what and cleared § 126 Christ not defiled by our Sins explained § 154 A Drop of Poyson not defile a Ton of melted Gold § 158 E. Epithets of Mr. Williams on Mr. Cole c. § 11 Exinanition call'd by Mr. Williams Exaninition § 12 145 Everlasting Love a sort of Justification § 18 Enemies reconciled by Christ's Death § 27 The Elect only saved say the Assembly § 33 Elisha mock'd at so Dr. Crisp by the Rebuker § 68 Rotten Eggs of Mr. Williams's laying § 98 F. Faith not a Condition but hand to receive Pardon § 22 Faith not before we have Christ Pemble § 32 Faith necessary but not to uncrown Christ § 34 What is not of Faith is sin § 40 Faith indispensably necessary § 81 Faith saith I don't take away sin the Homilies § 88 Faith sends