Heb. 7.25 Q. Whereby doth the willingness of Christ to save sinners so exceedingly appear A. It appears as many ways as it is possible to have a willingness to any thing discovered in particular By his 1. Expressions 2. Affections 3. Actions Q. By what expressions of his doth his willingness to save sinners appear A. By his x importunity in calling upon us to believe in him for Salvation and his y Complainings of us when we refuse so to do x Cant. 5.2 Apoc. 3.20 y Mat. 23.37 Joh. 5.40 Esa 65.2 Q. By what Affections of his doth Christ declare his willingness to save Sinners A. By his ardent z longings to accomplish the work of our Salvation by his a Joy when we accept of it and by his b Grief when we refuse it z Luke 12.50 a Luke 15.5,9,20,23 b Mar. 3.5 Q. By what Actions of Christ is his willingness to save Sinners discovered A. By his willingness to come down c from Heaven and making the Salvation of Sinners his d great business into the world and by his willingness e to suffer what their sins deserved when he was upon the earth c John 16.28 Heb. 10.7 d 1 Tim. 1.15 Mat. 20.28 Luke 19.10 John 10.10 e John 10.18 Phil. 2.7 Q. You have given me a sufficient account of the free tender of Jesus Christ in the Gospel to every sort of Sinners and of the encouragement they have to come unto Christ for Salvation I would now know of you that since we are by nature in a state of damnation how comes it to pass that there is this way of life and happiness by Christ yet left us A. We are indebted for it to the f Eternal and free love and favour of God who g ordained us to it before the World began f Joh. 3.16 1 John 4.9,10 g Ephes 1.4,5 1 Thes 5.9 Q. Are all Sinners ordained to life in and by Christ A. No some in justice are passed by Rom. 9.13,22 Jude 13. Q. May not this discourage you as to believing in Christ A. No it ought not to discourage me for as much as God tendereth Christ to all but doth not discover their particular reprobation to any Q. But how can it stand with God's justice to save you by Christ since the wages of your sin is death A. Very well because this wages was h willingly received by Christ and so i justice is fully satisfied by him k our surety although not by us sinners who are the principals h John 10.18 Esa 53.5 1 Cor. 15.3 i Mat. 3.17 k Heb. 7.22 Q. Was Jesus Christ then a man that he was capable of suffering and dying A. Jesus Christ was Man John 1.14 Heb. 2.14,15,17 Q. Had he no sins of his own that he could be accepted to suffer for the sins of others A. Jesus Christ was free from all Sin both l Original and m Actual l Luk. 1.35 m Mat. 3.15 Heb. 7.26 1 Pet. 2.22 Q. Could the sufferings of one man how sinless and holy soever satisfie God's justice for the sins of so many A. If Christ had been only Man he could not have done it but Christ was also n God as well as Man which made his sufferings of an o infinite value n John 1.1 Rom. 9.5 0 Act. 20.28 Q. How do the sufferings of Christ become yours A. By God's free and gracious imputation 2 Cor. 5.21 Rom. 3.24,25 Q. But is there nothing required to Salvation but that sin be suffered for A. Yes an absolute and a perfect p Righteousness which is also in q Christ and in r none else and it is in Christ for s us God graciously imputing it unto us p 1 Cor. 6.9 Rom. 5.17 q Mat. 3.15 Heb. 7.26 1 Pet. 2.22 r Eccles 7.20 s 1 Cor. 1.30 2 Cor. 5.21 Phil. 3.9 Q. Can you believe in this Christ and so partake of the benefits that come by him upon your own strength A. No t Faith is the gift of God t Jam. 1,17 Eph. 2.8 Phil. 1.29 Acts 18.27 Q. Why then is the Gospel Preached and why are sinners by it called upon to believe A. Because the same Gospel which God appoints to call upon sinners to believe is God's ordinary u Instrument to work faith in them u Rom. 10.17 Joh. 5.25 Q. What place hath Faith in the business of your Salvation and in what sense is it said to justifie A. Faith is only an Instrument of God's forming in us and is said to justifie us only in a relative sense as it apprehends Christ and no otherwise Our life and happiness being in the object not in the act in Christ not in believing Q. Do you think you do well to lay the whole work of your Salvation thus upon the Free Grace of God in Christ A. I know I do well because the Gospel lays it x all there and whosoever doth not seek Salvation in this y way shall never find it x Acts 4.12 1 Cor. 3.11 y John 14.6 Q. What if a wicked man give over his sinful courses as to be drunk no more swear no more c. will not this save him A. No it will not for were it possible for a man to sin but once and ever afterward to live as innocently as Adam before his fall yet would not this save him Q. What is your reason for this A. My reason is because that one sin deserves z Hell and shall not be remitted without a satisfaction z Rom. 6.23 Gal. 3.10 a Exod. 34.7 Q. But if a sinner forsake his sins and withall heartily repent him of them is it not enough to save him A. It is not for a man not brought to Christ is yet under the b first Covenant that of Works where all the repentance in the world goes for nothing b Gal. 4.24 Q. How do you prove that Repentance under the first Covenant and consequently that the Repentance of a Man out of Christ goes for nothing A. Because true and acceptable repentance is a Grace of the c Gospel The Law gives no grace to repent it makes no promise to repentance yea it gives not the least space to repent the d Tenor of it is Sin and dye c Acts 5.31 Ezek. 36.26 Zach. 12.10 d Gen. 2.17 Jude 6. Q. Suppose then that men cannot come up as high as to believe is it all one whether they be Drunkards or Sober Covetous or Liberal c A. As to their Eternal Condition it is all one for to come short of Christ is to come short of e Salvation yet have we ground to f believe that the greatest sinners shall have in Hell the greatest torments e Acts 4.12 f Mat. 11.22,24 Mat. 23.14 Q. But what if a man do not only leave his sins but doth also set himself to perform good duties shall not such a one be saved without believing A. No because no performance of an unbeliever can be g good the Tree must be good or else the h Fruit cannot and no man is a good Tree but he that is
ingrafted into i Christ who is our k Life and all works that do not flow from this Life are dead works Moreover if the works of such men were good yet they do not make amends for former sins which put them under the l curse g Tit. 1.15 h Mat. 7.18 Mat. 12.33 i Isa 61.3 John 15.2,4 k Col. 3.4 1 John 5.12 l Gal. 3.10 Q. May we not then endeavour after Life and happiness by our own performances A. By no means For as we shall never attain unto it in this wrong m way so it seems to render us more uncapable of attaining it in the right way which is n Christ than other o sinners m Rom. 3.20 Rom. 8.3,4 n Rom. 8.3,4 John 14.6 o Rom. 9.30,31,32 Rom. 10.3 Mat. 21.31 Q. Well the works of natural men being excluded from being causes of Salvation what say you to the Duties and good Works of the Saints Do you exclude them also A. Yes I exclude the best duties of the Saints themselves who must first be saved before they can do any p good duty Neither are the performances of the Saints q perfectly good nor r properly their own nor s beneficial to God nor proportionable to that t exceeding great reward which they shall receive p Mat. 7.18 Eph. 2.10 q Eccles 7.20 James 3.2 r John 15.5 2 Cor. 3.5 s Job 35.7 Job 22.3 Psal 16.2 Rom. 11.35 t Gen. 15.1 Q. Why then are believers so often pressed unto duties A. Not that by them they might in part or in whole procure their Salvation there being many causes of the duties of the Saints though this be none Q. Can you give me a distinct account what those causes are A. They may I suppose be considered under a Threefold relation Viz. To 1. God 2. Our Neighbours 3. Our selves Q. Why are the Saints to perform good Duties in relation to God A. They are to perform them That 1. Gods u glory may be advanced 2. His * Will obeyed 3. His x Free Grace honoured u Mat. 5.16 Joh. 15.8 Phil. 1.11 * 1 Thes 4.3 x Titus 2.11 Q. Why ought the Saints to perform good Duties in relation to their Neighbours A. That they may 1. Be profitable by their y example y Tit. 2.7 2. Gain upon those that be z without z 1 Pet. 3.1 3. Avoid a scandal a Rom. 2.24 4. Stop the b Adversaries mouths b 1 Pet. 2.15 3.16 Q. Why in relation to our selves A. 1. That we may not 1. Defile c Gods Temple c 1 Cor. 6.19 2. Grieve d Gods Spirit d Eph. 4.30 A. 2. That we may 1. Walk as e Saints ought e Rom. 8.1 1 John 2.6 2. Answer the end of our f Election f Eph. 1.4 2.10 3. Have some evidence of our Faith g besides what shines from its own light g James 2.26 Q. If Salvation be thus built upon the free Grace of God in Christ will not men turn licentious and wallow in sin that Grace may abound A. As no men ought h to do it so they that are indeed gracious i cannot Christ in us being not only k the Hope of Glory but the Fountain also of l Grace and Holiness not only dying for us as a Priest but also living in us and ruling over us as a King h Rom. 6.1 i Rom. 6.2 2 Cor. 5.17 Titus 2.11,12 k Col. 1.27 l 1 Cor. 1.30 Q. But what if men pretend to believe and yet walk in the same sinful courses that other wicked men do what is to be thought of such A. We have no warrant to think of them otherwise than as meer pretenders to faith in Christ m for the Gospel doth not only assure us that our Salvation is n of Faith that it might be by Grace but it assures us also that it is of a o working and lively Faith that we cannot discover our selves to be graceless m 1 John 2.6 n Rom. 4.16 o James 2.14,17,20,24,26 Q. I see you are competently acquainted with the Mystery of Salvation by Free-grace in Christ tell me now what is the duty of such persons who are brought into a condition of Life and Happiness by it A. It is their duty to obey from p the heart whatever q shall appear to be the mind and will of God p Rom. 6.17 q Matth. 6.10 Q. Is it the mind of God that the Saints should do any duties at all Doth not their condition of Grace in Christ set them above and beyond duties A. The Saints Triumphant are not above r Duties much less are the highest of them that are yet Militant here below r Matth. 6.10 Q. How do you make this good A. From the holy Scriptures where we find that the end of our s Election t Redemption u Vocation and of * God 's Free-Grace in all the expressions of it towards us is Duty and Service as well as enjoyment and that the Saints x are pressed to it s Eph. 1.4 2.10 t Luke 1.74,75 u Gal. 5.13,14 * 1 Thes 4.7 x Tit. 2.11,12 1 Pet. 2.9 Q. What should be the Saints great motive to set them upon the Duties which God hath commanded them A. The Incomprehensible x Love and y Free-grace of God in making them Saints it being the way of the Gospel to fetch perswasions from z Mercy to Duty x Eph. 2.4 John 3.16 Apoc. 1.5,6 2 Cor. 5.14 y Eph. 2.8 Rom. 3.24 z Rom. 12.1,2 Eph. 5.8 1 Thes 5.4,5,6 c. Eph. 4.17,20,21,22,23 1 Cor. 6.20 2 Cor. 6.18 7.1 Q. What rule must the Saints walk by in their obedience A. By the Ten Commandments or the Moral Law of God as it appears a to be the mind and is in b the hand of Jesus Christ a Mat. 5.19 b 〈…〉 Q. How do you prove that the Moral Law of God ought to be a rule of life to believers under the Gospel A. I prove it by the Doctrine of the Gospel it self where the Law is not c abrogated as a Rule but d confirmed by Christ and e his Apostles who do f command the same duties and forbid g the same sins which the Law doth and the Gospel doth press us to aspire after conforâ—…ity to the Law both in h our affections and i actions and declares the breach of it to be k sin c Mat. 5.17,18 d Mat. 5.19 e Rom. 3.31 f Eph. 6.1 Rom. 13.9,10 g Rom. 13.9 1 Thes 4.3 h Rom. 7.22,25 i Psal 119.4,5,6 k Rom. 4.15 1 John 3.4 Q. What ought to be a believers utmost end in all his duties and performances A. The Glory of l God l Prov. 16.4 1 Cor. 10.31 1 Pet. 4.10,11 Q. You said before as I remember that the Gospel is Gods ordinary means to work faith and to bring Christ and the soul together but when men are once in Christ are they not above the use of this and of all other Ordinances A. No For as God is pleased to make use of Ordinances to m convert Sinners so is he pleased by the same means to n build up Saints both to their o Comforts and p Duties to which purpose his Ordinances shall continue in his Church q to the end of the world m Rom. 10.17 1 Cor. 1.21 n Ephes 4.11,12 Acts 20.32 o Rom. 15.4 p 2 Tim. 3.16 q Eph. 4.13 Mat. 28.20 Q. What Ordinance is a believer especially to wait upon God in for his building up and confirmation in Faith and other Graces A. A believer is to wait upon God in r Hearing and s Reading his holy Word in t Private and u Publique Prayer in the use of those Sacraments which are of * Christs institution and in x Holy conference with such as are Godly wise r 1 Thess 5.20 s John 5.39 t Matt. 6.6 u Acts 16.13 Acts 1.4 * Mark 16.16 Luke 22.19,20 x Luke 24.14,15 Mal. 3.16 FINIS
THE Door Open for Sinners AND THE Duty of Saints TO Iesus Christ FITTED To the Understanding of the Meanest Capacity In a plain way of QUESTION and ANSWER By EDWARD BUCKLER Preacher of the Gospel 1 Cor. 2.2 I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him Crucified 1 Cor. 3.2 I have fed you with milk and not with meat for hitherto ye were not able to bear it neither yet now are ye able LONDON Printed by J. Astwood behind St. Christophers-Church in Thredneedle-street the back-side of the Royal Exchange 1695. TO THE READERS That are within my CHARGE Dearly beloved Friends YOV are a numerous people amongst whom the Providence of God for the space of five years last passed hath set me to preach the Gospel of his Son I have made it my business to intreat you in Christs stead to be reconciled unto God whom I bless from my heart for any success that he hath given his Ordinances with you But the harvest is great and the labourer but one a weak a very weak and an unworthy one and many of you remain yet ungathered Two things in the course of my Ministry I have very much dwelt upon and in both I have observed a great difficulty One is to perswade you to seek after righteousness life and happiness out of your selves in Jesus Christ The other that whatever you are in your selves there you may find it the Gospel freely tendering the greatest sinners a gracious Saviour and the emptiest soul a full Christ And because a continued discourse in which these truths have been delivered unto you might not possibly with ease enough get into some mens understandings and might with too much slip out of most mens memories I have drawn them into a plain short and familiar way to provide against both You may not think that I leave this paper with and commend it to you as containing all that you ought but as informing you of what you first and principally must know of the Mystery of Salvation by Jesus Christ And that it may do your souls good which is all the design it hath upon you I shall with it commend unto you these few Directions 1. Lay up the answer to every question in your memories that you may have at least the speculation of every truth contained in it 2. Turn to every text of Scripture that is quoted and see how it proves that for which it is brought 3. Get if possibly you can by heart as well the Scriptures as the Answers that these truths appearing to be the truths of Jesus Christ they may come in with a divine authority upon your souls which shall be the daily prayer of Your Servant in the Work of the GOSPEL E. B. THE Door Open for Sinners AND THE Duty of Saints TO Iesus Christ Quest WHO made the World and all Creatures in it Answ a God who is b an Eternal c Infinite d Immutable e Omnipotent f Independent g Holy h Wise i Just k Gracious l Spiritual m Being Distinguished into n Father o Son and p Holy Ghost q each of which is with the other equally God a Gen. 1.1 Act. 17.24 b Psal 90.2 1 Tim. 1.17 c Job 11.7,8,9 Psal 139.7 c. Jer. 23.23,24 d Psal 102.27 Mal. 3.6 Jam. 1.17 e Exod. 6.3 Job 42.2 Psal 115.3 f Exod. 3.14 g Psal 5.4,5 Isa 6.3 Hab. 1.13 h 1 Tim. 1.17 Psal 104.24 Heb. 4.13 i Job 34.10,11,12 Psal 145.17 k Exod. 34.6,7 Psal 145.8,9 l Joh. 4.24 m Exod. 3.14 n Eph. 1.3 o Joh. 3.16 p Luke 11.13 q Eph. 1.3 Rom. 9.5 Act. 5.3,4 1 Joh. 5.7 Q. Which were the most excellent of all the Creatures that God made Ans Angels and Men. Q. Wherein did the excellency of Man consist A. Mans excellency was in this that God created him after his own r Image which consisted especially in his Original s righteousness and holiness and rendred him capable of serving and enjoying God r Gen. 1.26 s Ephes 4.24 Q. Was eternal happiness due unto man in his created condition for that righteousness and holiness which God endowed him withall A. No otherwise then as God had engaged himself by Covenant to give it him in case he obeyed the contents of that Conant as he threatned him with death in case of t Rebellion t Gen. 2.17 Q. What were the contents of that Covenant A. That the Law which God then gave Man should be perfectly obeyed Q. What Law was that A. It was the summ of those ten Commandments which God afterward repeated to the Jews so that though in fewer words and with less noise Adam had as full a charge in the u Garden as Israel had from Mount * Sinai u Gen. 2.17 * Exod. 20.1,2 c. Q. Did God covenant with all mankind in covenanting with Adam A. Yes for we were all in him Legally as in our representative and Naturally as in our common root Q. Did we keep this Covenant that God made with us or did we break it A. We did x break it almost as y soon as we entred into it x Gen. 3.6 Eccles 9.27 y Psal 49.12 Q. What case are we in by reason of this breach A. We are all z sinners and so subject to all that sin deserves the a Curse of the Law the b Wrath of God and c Eternal damnation z Rom. 3.9,10 c. Rom. 5.12 a Gal. 3.10 b Eph. 2.3 c Rom. 6.23 Q. What way is there now for you as the case now stands to be delivered from all this and to be brought into a condition of Grace and life A. I must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I shall be saved Act. 16.31 Q. Are you sure that if you believe you shall be saved A. I am sure of it forasmuch as the Gospel d all along holds out Salvation by Christ in a way of believing d John 3.14,16 Acts 13.39 Rom. 3.28 Q. What is it to believe A. To believe is e to receive and accept of Jesus Christ as he is f Freely tendred in the Gospel g to sinners and to h trust in him only for Life and Salvation e John 1.11,12 Joh. 5.43 Col. 2.6 1 John 5.12 f Isa 55.1 John 3.14 Apoc. 22.17 g Mar. 2.17 h Psalm 2.12 Eph. 1.13 Q. But have you any ground to think that Christ doth belong unto you A. The Gospel doth not any where say the contrary and it offers Christ indefinitely to i all that are within the sound of it and consequently to me also i Mar. 16.15 Isa 55.1 Apoc. 22.17 Q. But are you sufficiently prepared and duly qualified to receive Christ A. I know my self to be a k sinner and in a lost condition and I see nothing to the contrary in the Gospel but that this is enough k Mark 2.17 l Luke 19.10 1 Tim. 1.15 Q. Do you think that Christ is tendered in the Gospel to Sinners as Sinners A. I do think so and hope upon sufficient grounds Q. What grounds I pray