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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63051	A vindication of the Protestant doctrine concerning justification, and of its preachers and professors, from the unjust charge of Antinomianism in a letter from a minister in the city, to a minister in the countrey.	Traill, Robert, 1642-1716.	1692 (1692)	Wing T2023; ESTC R938	36,348	46

by an Ignorant Flattering Minister though it may be the poor creatures never did in the whole course of their Life nor at their Death imploy Jesus Christ so much for an Entry to Heaven purchased by his Blood and only accessible by Faith in him as a poor Turk doth Mahomet for a Room in his Beastly Paradise How common and fearful a thing is this in this Land and City When we come to deal with a poor awakened sinner who seeth his lost state and that he is condemned by the Law of God we find the same Principles working in him for they are Natural and therefore Universal in all Men and hardly rooted out of any We find him sick and wounded we tell him where his Help lies in Jesus Christ what his proper work is to apply to him by Faith What is his Answer Alas saith the Man I have been and am so vile a sinner my heart is so bad and so full of Plagues and Corruptions that I cannot think of believing on Christ But if I had but Repentance and some Holiness in Heart and Life and such and such gracious Qualifications I would then believe When indeed this his Answer is as full of Nonsense Ignorance and Pride as words can contain or express They imply 1. If I were pretty well recovered I would imploy the Physician Christ 2. That there is some hope to work out these good things by my self without Christ 3. And when I come to Christ with a Price in my hand I shall be wellcome 4. That I can come to Christ when I will So ignorant are people Naturally of Faith in Jesus Christ and no Words or Warnings repeated nor plainest Instructions can beat into mens heads and hearts that the first coming to Christ by Faith or believing on him is not a believing we shall be saved by him but a believing on him that we may be saved by him And it is less to be wondered at that ignorant people do not when so many learned men will not understand it When we deal with a Proud Self-Righteous Hypocrite we find the same Principles of Enmity against the Grace of the Gospel A Profane Person is not so enraged at the rebukes of Sin from the Law as these Pharisees are at the discovery of their ruin by Unbelief They cannot endure to have their Idol of Self Righteousness touched neither by the Spirituality of God's Law that condemns all Men and all their Works while out of Christ nor by the Gospel which Reveals another Righteousness than their own by which they must be Saved but they will have God's Ark of the Covenant to stand as a Captive in the Temple of their Dagon of Self-Righteousness until the Vengeance of God's despised Covenant over throw both the Temple and Idol and Worshippers There is not a Minister that dealeth seriously with the Souls of Men but he finds an Arminian Scheme of Justification in every unrenewed Heart And is it not sadly to be bewailed that Divines should plead that same Cause that we daily find the Devil pleading in the Hearts of all Natural Men And that instead of casting down 2 Cor. 10.4 5. they should be making defences for such strong holds as must either be levelled with the dust or the Rebel that holds them out must eternally Perish It is no bad way of Studying the Gospel and of attaining more Light into it that may be us'd in dealing particularly with the Consciences of all sorts of Men as we have occasion More may be learned this way than out of many large Books And if Ministers would deal more with their own Consciences and the Consciences of others in and about these Points that are most properly Cases of Conscience we should find an increase of Gospel-Light and a growing fitness to Preach aright as Paul did 2 Cor. 4.2 By manifestation of the Truth commending our selves to every mans Conscience in the sight of God Let us keep up in our Hearts and Doctrine a reverend regard of the Holy Law of God and suffer not a reflecting disparaging word or thought of it The Great Salvation is contrived with a Regard to it and the satisfaction given to the Law by the Obedience and Death of Christ our Surety hath made it glorious and honourable more than all the Holiness of Saints on Earth or of the Glorified in Heaven and than all the Torments of the Damned in Hell though they do also magnifie the Law and make it honourable But if men will teach that the Law and Obedience unto it whether perfect or sincere is the Righteousness we must be found and stand in in our pleading for justification they neither understand what they say nor whereof they affirm 1 Tim. 1.7 They become Debters to it and Christ profits them nothing Gal. 2 21. and 5.2.5 And we know what will become of that man that hath his Debts to the Law to pay and hath no Interest in the Suretys Payment Yet many such offer their own Silver which whatever coin of Man be upon it is reprobate and rejected both by Law and Gospel Let us carefully keep the bounds clear betwixt the Law and Gospel which whosoever doth is a right perfect Divine saith blessed Luther in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians A Book that hath more plain sound Gospel than many Volumes of some other Divines Let us keep the Law as far from the business of Justification as we would keep Condemnation its contrary For the Law and Condemnation are inseparable but by the Intervention of Jesus Christ our Surety Gal. 3.10 14. But in the practice of Holiness the fulfilled Law given by Jesus Christ to Believers as a Rule is of great and good Use to them as hath been declared Lastly Be exact in your Communion and Church Administrations If any walk otherwise than it becometh the Gospel if any abuse the Doctrine of Grace to Licentiousness draw the Rod of Discipline against them the more severely that ye know so many wait for your halting and are ready to speak evil of the Ways and Truths of God The Wisdom of God sometimes orders the Different Opinions of Men about his Truth for the clearing and confirming of it while each side watch the extreams that others may be in hazard of running into And if controversie be fairly and meekly managed this way we may differ and plead our Opinions and both love and edifie them we oppose and may be loved and edified by them in their Opposition I know no fear possesseth our side but that of Arminianism Let us be fairly secured from that and as we ever hated true Antinomianism so we are ready to oppose it with all our might But having such grounds of jealousie as I have named and it s well known that I have not named all men will allow us to fear that this Noise of Antinomianism is raised and any advantage they have by the Rashness and Imprudence of some Ignorant Men is

understand a dream of being saved by Jesus Christ though they know nothing of him or of his way of saving men nor of the way of being saved by him 2. All Formalists are on their side People that place their Religion in Trifles because they are strangers to the substance thereof 3. All proud secure sinners are against us that go about with the Jews to establish their own Righteousness Rom. 10.3 The secure are whole and see no need of the Physician the proud have physick at home and despise that that came down from Heaven 4. All the zealous devout people in a Natural Religion are utter enemies to the Gospel By a Natural Religion I mean that that is the product of the remnants of God's image in fallen man a little improved by the Light of God's Word All such cannot endure to hear that God's Law must be perfectly fulfilled in every tittle of it or no man can be saved by doing That they must all perish for ever that have not the Righteousness of a man that never sinned who is also God over all blessed for ever to shelter and cover them from a holy God's anger and to render them accepted of him That this Righteousness is put on by the Grace of God and a man must betake himself to it and receive as a naked blushing sinner That no man can do any thing that is good till Gospel Grace renew him and make him first a good man This they will never receive but do still think that a man may grow good by doing good 3. Natural Reason is very fertile in its Objections and Cavils against the Doctrine of the Grace of God And especially when this corrupt Reason is polished by learning and strong natural parts When there are many to broach such Doctrines and many so disposed to receive it is it any wonder that the Gospel Truth makes little progress in the World Nay were it not for the Divine Power that supports it and the promises of its preservation its enemies are so many and strong and true friends so few and feeble we might fear its perishing from the earth But we know it is impossible And if the Lord have a design of mercy to these Nations and hath a vein of his Election to dig up amongst us we make no doubt but the Glory of Christ as a crucified Saviour shall yet be displaid in the midst of us to the joy of all that love his salvation and to the shame of others Isa 66.5 4. I might add the great Declension of some of the Reformed Churches from the purity and simplicity of that Doctrine they were first planted in The new Methodists about the Grace of God had too great an increase in the French Churches And which was very strange this Declension advanced amongst them at the same time when Jansonism was spreading amongst many of the Church of Rome So that a man might have seen Papists growing better in their Doctrine and Protestants growing worse See Mr. Gale's Idea of Jansenism with Dr. Owen's Preface What there is of this amongst us in England I leave the Reader to Mr. Jenkyn's Coleusma and to the Naked Truth Part 4. And if there be any warping toward Arminian Doctrine by some on our side in order to ingratiate themselves with that Church that hath the secular advantages to dispense and to make way for some accommodation with them I had rather wait in fear till a further discovery of it than offer to guess at Lastly It is no small disadvantage this Doctrine lies under from the Spirit of this Day we live in A light frothy trifling temper prevails generally Doctrines of the greatest weight are talked of and treated about with a vain unconcerned frame of Spirit as if men contended rather about Opinions and School-points than about the Oracles of God and matters of Faith But if mens hearts were seen by themselves if Sin were felt if mens Consciences were enlivened if God's Holy Law were known in its exactness and severity and the Glory and Majesty of the Law-giver shining before mens eyes if men were living as leaving Time and launching forth into Eternity the Gospel Salvation by Jesus Christ would be more regarded Object 1. Is there not a great decay amongst Professors in real practical Godliness Are we like the Old Protestants or the Old Puritans I answer That the Decay and Degeneracy is great and heavily to be bewailed But what is the cause and what will be its cure Is it because the Doctrine of Morality and Vertue and Good Works is not enough preached This cannot be For there hath been for many years a publick Ministry in the Nation that make these their constant themes Yet the Land is become as Sodom for all lewdness and the Tree of Prophaneness is so grown that the Sword of the Magistrate hath not yet been able to lop off any of its Branches Is it because men have too much Faith in Christ or too little or none at all Would not faith in Christ increase Holiness did it not always so and will it not still do it Was not the holiness of the first Protestants eminent and shining And yet they generally put assurance in the definition of their faith We cannot say that Gospel Holiness hath prospered much by the correction or mittigation of that harsh-like definition The certain spring of this prevailing Wickedness in the Land is peoples ignorance and unbelief of the Gospel of Christ and that grows by many Prophets that speak lies to them in the Name of the Lord. Object 2. But do not some abuse the Grace of the Gospel and turn it into Wantonness Answer Yes Some do ever did and still will do so But it is only the ill-understood and not-believed Doctrine of Grace that they abuse the Grace it self no man can abuse for its power prevents its abuse Let us see how Paul that blessed Herald of this Grace as he was an eminent instance of it dealeth with this Objection Rom. 6.1 c. What doth he to prevent this abuse Is it by extenuating what he had said Chap. 5.20 that Grace abounds much more where Sin had abounded Is it by mincing Grace smaller that men may not choke upon it or surfeit by it Is it by mixing somthing of the Law with it to make it more wholesome No But only by plain asserting the power and influence of this Grace wherever it really is as at length in that Chapter This Grace is all treasured up in Christ Jesus offered to all men in the Gospel poured forth by our Lord in the Working of Faith and drunk in by the Elect in the exercise of Faith and becomes in them a living spring which will and must break out and spring up in all holy conversation He exhorts them to drink in more and more of this Grace by Faith And as for such as pretend to Grace and live ungodly the Spirit of God declares they are void of Grace