only himself but all his Posterity if he should have had any under Sentence of Death and Condemnation yet did the Lord who delights in Mercy before he pronounc'd the Sentence due to him for Sin graciously promise a Saviour Gen. 3. 15. by which he was put into a state of Recovery from this dreadful Fall And God by this gracious Promise took whole Adam into Grace and Favour And you can no more exclude any from Justification of Life which hath abounded towards all by Christ than you can exclude them from the Condemnation which hath abounded towards them by Adam Rom. 5. 16 17 18 19. Here the condemned Ones by Adam and the justified of Christ are computed by one and the same Number For as we hear of the Condemnation of all Men by the Offence of Adam so of no fewer than all Men justified by Christ and no more than many made Sinners by Adam or of any fewer than many made Righteous by Christ Mar. Let it be well observed that the Scope of the Apostle in this place is to shew that as Death and Condemnation came inevitably upon all the first Adam's Posterity by his Fall so shall the free Gift of Righteousness come infallibly upon all in whose room and stead Christ died as their Second Adam their Surety and Mediator the first Adam's All was all Mankind the second Adam's All was the Elect upon which Justification and Sanctification shall most certainly and infallibly be bestowed upon them Philad But why the All in the first Clause should be taken for all Mankind without excepting so much as one and All in the latter should exclude all Men a few only excepted I know not For unless Persons will take to themselves a lawless Liberty to exercise Dominion over the Expression of the Holy Ghost they cannot make them greater or lesser in one Clause than in the other for if Condemnation should come upon all Men by the offence of Adam and Righteousness only upon some few by the Obedience of Christ then where Sin abounded Grace should not super-abound as Verse 20. unless Grace hath a proportionable Reign unto Life so as to put all Men into a Capacity of Life and Salvation as Sin reigned over all Men without exception unto Death Philet The Apostle's Scope is to shew that as Death came in by one publick Person so Life and Salvation came in by another publick Person and that the Lord Jesus will infallibly justify and save his All for whom he undertook and died as their Head and Representative Philad But it seems you will not own that the Grace of Christ did profit Mankind as much as the Sin of Adam damnified it No you make Christ less than Adam and that Adam did more to the damning of the Souls and Bodies of all his Posterity than Christ did for the saving of them if so what will become of Paul's glorying over the Grace of God in Christ as much more abounding as in Verse 15. For if thro the offence of one many be dead much more the Grace of God and the Gift by Grace which is by one Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many But now if many more Millions of Men are dead thro the offence of Adam than are made alive by the Grace of God in Christ where 's the much more Philet All Men being fallen in Adam God beholding Mankind in the corrupt Mass and he being the Sovereign Lord of all might at his Pleasure and in his electing Love pardon one or a few of fallen Mankind and by an eternal Decree of Reprobation leave the greatest part of Mankind in that sad and depraved Condition without any Power to believe or a Christ to believe in and this he might do because he hath an absolute and uncontroulable Power and Dominion over his Creatures Philad Now you run upon a Fundamental Mistake about personal and absolute Election and Reprobation You make Adam's Sin the Foundation of building your fearful Opinion upon that Man suffers Eternal Damnation for Adam's Sin This is a most sad Doctrine that God should lay men under a necessity of being born under the Guilt of that Sin which was out of their Power to help or withstand for men can no more help Adam's Sin than they could help being born and yet for that cast away the greatest part of Mankind forever Shall one Man sin and will the Lord be wrath with all Num. 16. 22. 'T is true when Man by disobedience became Bankrupt of the Divine Bounty and had run himself so far in Debt both to the Law and Justice beyond any possibility to pay the Debt the Lord in Justice might have left him in the Fall and made him Partaker of his fierce Wrath Yet was the Lord pleased to break forth in high and much Mercy and in the tenderness of his Love deeply compassionating Man's Misery entered into a Covenant of Peace freely giving his only Son to satisfy the whole Debt and set us free for which we are obliged to be unfeignedly thankful to our dear Lord and truly to love him that first loved us and hath promised that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have Everlasting Life God hath now tied himself by promise and hath firmly indented with us in the Covenant of Grace and Mercy through Christ that if we believe and obey the Lord we shall undoubtedly reap the blessed Fruits of the Promise in Eternal Life Therefore I beseech you do not entertain such dreadful Apprehensions of an Infinite Gracious God that he should send Millions of Men to endless torments for Adam's single Transgression Surely if it was so the Holy Ghost who so effectually in the Scriptures of Truth vindicates the Righteousness and Equity of God's Proceedings in the Condemnation of wicked and ungodly Men would have insisted more or less upon it we should find something of it in the Word of God either from Christ or some of his Servants but I cannot find the least hint of it in the whole Scripture that ever the Lord decreed to assign Men their Portions with Devils for that Sin it being taken away as to the condemning Guilt of it by the Grace of God in Christ Where doth the Scripture say that for Adam's Sin in eating the forbidden Fruit God hateth the greatest part of his Posterity yea so hates them as to reprobate them to the second Death but plainly tells us the Child shall not suffer for the Father's Sins Ezek. 18. Philet But doth not the Lord say Exod. 20. 5. That he will visit the Sins of the Father upon the Children c. Philad Yea but 't is to those that hate him mind the words If Children come to be haters of God as their Fathers were treading in the same steps of sin and disobedience with their wicked Parents they thereby becoming partakers of their sins shall share with them in their punishment But this doth not shew that God will condemn any for that offence which
6. and when they assayed to go into Bithynia the Spirit suffered them not ver 7. Philad For what reason God would not that the Gospel should at that time be preached by Paul and Timothy in Asia is hid from us he might have many either that he would make use of their Ministry somewhere else or that he had appointed some others to the Work whatsoever it was certainly the Reason is not to be brought from God's absolute Decree of Reprobation as Calvin upon this place doth for it is certain that the Gospel was at least soon after preached and that in this place by Paul himself so that Demetrius the Siver-smith did greatly lament the admirable progress of the Gospel in Asia Acts 19. 26. And in the 10th Verse you may see that Paul continued for the space of two years at Ephesus which was the Metropolis of Asia insomuch that it was said That all they that dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus both Jews and Greeks Mar. But all Men have not the Gospel preached to them nor the same Light and Means to know the Lord and so come to believe in him and surely if Christ died for all Men for the whole World he would have sent amongst them the Word of Life and removed out of the way all those things which he knew would have hindered their Salvation and therefore I cannot think but all those Nations which the Gospel is not sent to are left by the Lord in the Fall and reserved for Eternal Punishment Philad As it was in Paul's time so it is now the Jews prided themselves against the Gentiles as being the only Elect People and the Gentiles but Reprobates and Cast-aways and so do such as you are at this day by the Nations which have not the Gospel-light as I have often heard to my great grief even damn them by whole-sale looking upon them little better than Devils What tho the Lord according to his manifold Wisdom is pleased to vouchsafe a greater sufficiency of means to know the Lord and to know what God hath done for them and by the Gospel reveals those things which otherwise in an ordinary way could not be known to one Nation or one Age and Generation of Men more than another yet knowing and by daily experience finding God to be infinite in Goodness and Mercy I cannot but believe he hath effectually provided for their Salvation as well as ours tho the ordinary means is wanting as at this day in many parts of the World for tho Faith is not now begotten in them by preaching and hearing as with us at this day yet God hath many ways to instruct and communicate his Will to Man Job 33. yea to reveal Christ in such manner and ways as may be available for Jesus Christ who took Man's Nature upon him and who hath taken away their original Guilt and who enlightens every Man that comes into the World may by the Operation of his Spirit how and when he pleaseth so help them to improve their single Talent of Reason and the Light set up in their Consciences which may so perfect what is wanting of the ordinary means that many thousands according to our Saviour's words Mat. 8. 11. shall come from the East and the West and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven when the Children of the Visible Kingdom or Church who judged themselves the sole Inheritors of it and all the rest of the World but Castaways shall be shut out and if you look Psal 87. you may see that those that had their natural Birth in Rahab Tyre Ethiopia Philistia Babylon shall be accounted as born in the Spiritual Zion or Church of God And tho the Lord in his Wisdom and Mercy is pleased to vouchsafe a greater measure of Grace Light and Knowledg and of Salvation unto us than unto them yet hath not God left himself without Witness all the common Providences of God being given to direct Men to seek the Lord. In Rom. 2. 14 15. we read that the Gentiles which have not the Law do by Nature the things c. That Law which was given in two Tables of Stone was that which was purely moral and imprinted in their Hearts namely that God is to be worshipped that Parents should be honoured and in a word to do to all as they would be done to These were Duties written in he very Book of Nature and tho they have not the Evangelical Law in the preaching of the Gospel as we have become a Law to themselves and by observing the Dictates of that Light living up to a true informed Conscience and to that Law which warreth against the rebellious Lusts in their Members have gradually so prevailed with them as to bring them to a good measure of conformity to the Will of God and have quite outdone many Christians in their practices Mar. What tho yet if Christ as Mediator be not some-way made known to Men they are lost for ever He that believeth on the Son hath Life and he that believeth not on the Son hath not Life But you seem to hold that it is not absolutely necessary to Salvation to know Christ and him crucified as Mediator but to live up to that which God hath manifested to them and to have some Notions of Unisersal Grace and Mercy in the Divine Essence But I must tell you all that ever were saved before Christ came were saved not by living up to that Light which God had given to all Men or by living up to a true conformity to the Law planted in their Hearts or by believing God was merciful and gracious but by believing on Christ who was to come to be a Sacrifice for their Sins and all that are saved since our Saviour's coming do in some measure know and believe in Jesus Christ that died without the Gates of Jerusalem Philad Have you forgot that you told me that I went too far to assert the Salvation of all those that died in Infancy I not being the Sovereign Lord and Judg of all and now are you not guilty of the same thus to determine the final State of all Men both before and since Christ's coming in the Flesh as if none were saved but only such as distinctly knew Jesus Christ the Seed of the Woman that was to break the Serpent's Head as he that was to offer himself a Sacrifice for Sin seeing I believe neither you nor any other is able to prove that no Heathen wanting the Letter of the Gospel and the Oral Ministry of it which is the ordinary Means to beget Faith never yet believed on God to Justification or were accepted with him And whereas you say none can be saved who diligently frame their Lives according to the Light God hath given them or live in a true conformity to the Law written in their Hearts This is but your presumption for if God hath given them no other Law or Light
4. Neither must we think that Men stumbling at Christ and being disobedient to the Word to which they were appointed to learn their Duty is the Result of fatal Necessity But prethee Philetus tell me whether you be of Moderatus's mind that Christ died so far for all that the Gospel which is glad tidings should be preached to all and whether the Lord by the preaching of the Gospel doth not call all Men to Faith and Repentance promising Salvation to all that do believe Philet I know Faith and Repentance are required of all and God by the Gospel invites all Men to believe in him promising Salvation to all that do so believe yet only those will believe for whom Christ died to purchase these things for them and to purchase their Salvation Ye believe not because you are not of my Sheep John 10. 26. Philad That is I suppose you mean because they were not elected and because Christ did not die for them to purchase a Power to believe and therefore they could not believe because God had decreed their unbelief this is plainly to charge all the unbelief of Men upon the Lord but saith Christ They believe not because they were not of his Sheep And who those are he tells you in the next verse They are such as hearing his Voice follow him Such fallacious reasoning strikes at the Root of the Gospel of Grace and free Love of God and frees the Devil and wicked Men from bringing destruction on themselves for by such Doctrine God Almighty is the sole cause of all the incredulity in the World and tho he offers and invites all Men to partake of Grace yet he doth it not really and in good earnest and while your Ministers call upon Persons to believe and seem to wonder that they do not believe and yet hold that God hath decreed they shall never believe their Sermons are mere dissimulations and nonsense What would they bind Men to believe that which is untrue and charge them to take and receive Christ as tendred to them in the Gospel and to believe there is remission of Sins in Christ's Blood for them when he never shed it for them and so to lay hold upon that which they had no kind of interest in This not only makes your Ministers false Witnesses to offer Salvation to those whose Damnation is absolutely determined but also makes God a mere deluder of miserable Man whom he calleth by the preaching of the Gospel to partake of Salvation by his Son and yet fully before intended their ruin Is not this as much as in you lyeth to make God a lier as 1 Joh. 5. 10. for they that believe not God make him a lier because they believe not the Record God gave of his Son and what is that namely That whosoever believe on him should not perish but have Everlasting Life not that any Man can possibly make God a Lier no let God be True and all Men Liers but Men by their not believing on Christ do represent God as untrue in his Word because they reject that as a Fable which hath been spoken by the Lord himself for a Truth and those that preach the glad-tidings of Grace and Peace to all Men and every Creature sin in preaching in that they preach Lies to most Men yea and require Men to believe Lies May we not easily see that all your Exhortations Chidings your whining and seemingly bemoaning the state of poor Sinners is but a dissembling Art Mar. O what pangs are faithful Ministers in lest poor Souls should perish Philad Yea true Gospel-Ministers may but what Pangs your Ministers are in that hold Reprobation without respect to actual Sins part of their Creed I know not is commiseration in you a Virtue and is not all Good originally in God and can I take your Ministers to be filled with more compassion than the God of Love or to be better than they represent God to be For do they not hold that notwithstanding all the passionate wishes of the Lord his Exhortations and Perswasions Reprovings Expostulations mourning over the perishing state of poor Sinners yea tho he useth Promises to allure them and Threatnings to deter them and calls all Men by the Gospel to believe on his Son that they may live through him and swears that he wills not their Death yet hath he by an eternal and uncontrolable Decree shut up the greatest part of those to whom these Tenders are made under Sin and Misery that they shall never repent and be saved Christ never died intentionally nor really to save them they have thereby no more interest in him than the fallen Angels and therefore there is no more reason why the Gospel should be preached to the one more than the other whereby it must needs follow that many Men by the Gospel are bound in Conscience to believe that which is untrue and by your Ministers pressed and charged to receive that which they have nothing to do with by this you make the Lord guilty of the deepest dissimulation in his Promises and tenders of Grace to all And pray what are your Ministers but false Witnesses if they promise Salvation for all Men when they believe there is no Salvation for far the greatest part of Men whom Christ never purchased by his Blood If they exhort Sinners to turn from their Sins to the Lord and promise them that if they do so they shall live and tell all Men that God would not have one of them die in their Sins but rather turn and live is not this according to your Notion Lying And do not they promise and undertake more in the behalf of God than God himself is willing to perform What a bustle do your Ministers keep and to what purpose unless to get Money seeing the most powerful Ministers and Sermons cannot in the least alter the Intention of the Lord about the Salvation or Damnation of one Soul Man's final and eternal State being fixed in Heaven And thus do you give the Truth of God the lie and highly impeach the glorious Gospel and make your Ministers teach nothing but absurdities nay more than this it overthrows not only his Goodness and Mercy but also his Justice that Men before they partake of the Breath of Life or are any ways guilty of actual Sins should be so rigidly condemned to perpetual Misery yea appointed to receive the Wages of Sin before they committed any this is inconsistent with common Justice and Equity amongst Men and Shall not the Judg of all the World do right said good Abraham to God Gen. 18. 25. And saith Job shall mortal Man be more just than God and so our Apostle Is there unrighteousness with God how then shall God judg the World Doth it not wrong the pure Justice of God to hold that he will judg and condemn Men for ever to lie under his Wrath for doing that which he himself decreed them to do or that God Almighty should behold
Mankind in the Fall and so totally desert them without affording them a Saviour to believe in or any power to believe whereby they must unavoidably perish and yet at the same time command all Men without exception to believe in his Son Acts 17. 30. 1 Joh. 3. 23. Mat. 16. 5. Rom. 10. 16 17. and severely threaten all those that shall not believe on him Mark 16. 16. John 8. 24. John 3. 36. John 16. 9. And Jesus Christ not only commands all Men to repent and believe on him and threatens all with Death that refuse to believe but also hath promised Life and Salvation to all without exception which shall believe John 3. 16. 11. 25 26. 1 Pet. 2. 6. And also by many sweet encouraging ways labours to induce them to believe Sometimes he presents them with his great Love John 3. 16. Tit. 3. 4. sometimes with his Mercy and tender Compassion Exodus 34. 6. Luke 1. 72. sometimes with his delight in shewing Mercy Micha 7. 18. Ezek. 33. 11. and with his desire after their Salvation 1 Tim. 2. 4. At other times with the great trouble of his Soul at their stubborn courses and that because if they persisted in them it would bring destruction to them Ezek. 18. 31. Jer. 44. 4. likewise shewing what Glory would accrue to them Ephes 1. 6 12. Now to think or say that under all these Expressions of Love and Desire to save Mankind he hath past and sealed a firm Decree in his Eternal Counsel to the contrary is a great dishonour done to God making him guilty of horrid and notorious Hypocrisy to destroy his Creatures under the specious pretence of Justice and shewing Mercy and as a great * The Lord Russel's Speech Statesman once said To kill by Forms and Subtilties of Law is the worst sort of Murders And to destroy Millions of Persons under a colour of Mercy and Good-will is like a Cat playing with a Mouse and making sport with other Mens miserys and one of the greatest Cruelties in the World which Doctrine I am sure is altogether inconsistent with his incomprehensible Justice Mar. I deny that which I hold clasheth against or oppugneth the Justice of God 't is true it sheweth there is much of Sovereignty in God but nothing of Injustice he doth but leave the Dog in his Vomit the Viper to his own Poison and as Philetus said before God was not bound to bring forth a Saviour for any of fallen Mankind nor is he obliged to give restituent Grace to fallen Man so that this Preterition is not a substraction of any inherent Grace but a suspension of Assistance for God may do what he will with his own and there can be no injustice in it May not God who is the Supreme Lord of all deny a free Benefit without wrong to his Justice Besides God is not bound to restore to Man a Power to believe because he once had it and lost it through his own fault Philad Most of this I have answered already and so shall say the less to it now I believe that the God of Heaven is not absolutely bound to any Man but hath free liberty to dispense his Favour where and to whom he will yet hath he engaged himself for our assistance if we be not wanting to our selves to let in such spiritual strength as to inable us to perform that Duty that is required of us the Lord always giveth strength where he giveth a Command or else the neglect of it will not be their condemnation if it was not so he would be as the evil Servant stiled him a hard Master reaping where he hath not sawed c. or like Pharaoh whom God punished as a Tyrant to deny Straw and yet require the tale of Brick to require obedience to his Divine Will and yet deny supernatural Grace without which it was impossible for them to keep it But if your Doctrine be true Persons are required to believe and are condemned for not believing and yet God hath shut them under unbelief they have no power to believe and God hath decreed they shall never have a power to believe whilst they live nay he not only denys a Power to believe but a Christ to believe in the greatest part of Men have no more part in Christ and the Covenant of Grace than the Devils have and yet the Gospel is to be preached to all for the obedience of Faith Is not this a piece of the highest Blasphemy making the great Creator as vile and treacherous as a Creature yea to make the Almighty subject to the most servile Art of Flattery pretending one thing when the contrary is really intended as if the Lord designed to sport himself â—…th the ruin and destruction of miserable Man This would be the visible effects of injustice and guile in God and it would be mere folly in Man to walk in any Christian Practice Philet I would not have you Philetus wade too deep into God's Secrets there are different Intentions in God in affording the Gospel which we know not of and we may say O the height and depth both of the Wisdom and Knowledg of God c. No Creature knows the ground and reason why God in his Wisdom doth so order the Affairs of the World as he doth nor why the Gospel is sent to one more than to another especially the Word of his Grace to Salvation this only comes by Divine Counsel Acts 13. 26. To you is the Word of this Salvation sent Philad Truly Philetus you are one of those that stand in need of the same Caution as you give me for if you did not carry it at too great a height of confidence you would not take liberty to speak of God's Decrees and of the Transactions of Heaven as if you fully knew the Lord's Secrets or how dare you speak of such Decrees to be in God which he hath no where revealed in his Word nay which are contrary to it and so set the Secret Will and Revealed Will of God to wage Wâ—… one with the other and set the Decrees of God and his Commands at open defiance I do acknowledg that the way which God takes about the Government of the World and in his Wisdom c. as Rom. 11. 33. is an unfathomable depth and is so unconceivable and incomprehensible that it is above all comprehension of Men and Angels I also grant that it may be consistent both with the Wisdom and Mercy of God to vouchsafe a greater means of Grace Light and Knowledg and of Salvation to some more than to others Philet How can Persons be saved without Faith for whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin and how shall they believe of him of whom they have not heard and how can any preach the Gospel as they ought except they be sent Some the Word of Salvation is sent to and not to others you know the Apostle was forbid to preach the Word in Asia Acts 16.
break off at this time only give me leave to ask you and your Friend Martha this Question viz. What is the reason you go about to perswade your selves and others that God is so severe with the greatest part of Mankind as to leave them in the Fall without giving his Son to die for them but leaving them to perish is it to make your own Salvation doubtful for if Christ died for scarce one in a thousand what grounds have you to believe Christ died for you or that you were elected and chosen to Life Philet I do not question but I was beloved of God and chosen in Christ before the Foundation of the World Philad I suppose that you must needs have a high Opinion of your self that you are one of the Darlings of Heaven one beyond all possibility of miscarrying one that shall never behold the angry Countenance of the Almighty otherwise I believe you would be glad to hear the joyful Tidings of Peace and Reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ for tho you represent God at so dreadful a rate towards others yet you would not have him appear in such Wrath and Fury to your self nay your Doctrine would not be so readily imbraced by so many if they thought they themselves were of that number that God had by an absolute Decree of Reprobation shut under Wrath from all possibility of obtaining Life and Salvation And should the Lord awaken your Conscience under a sense of the dread and horror of your being absolutely rejected from Grace and Glory from having any saving benefit by the Death of Christ this might so amaze you that all Means and Arguments used to comfort you might be of no value your Opinion walks Antipodes to all words of comfort What would it avail you then at such a time to tell you of God's great Love to his Elect and that he had such a Love for some few of the degenerate Sons of Adam that rather than they should perish he would give his Son a Ransom for them and with him give them Faith and Repentance and by a strong hand of irresistible Grace carry them through this World to Glory but that far the greater number are left of the Lord to die and perish for the manifestation of his Justice and Displeasure against Sin Would this fasten any comfort upon you when you behold the Lord's angry Countenance only speaking Blood and Ruin to you Come Philetus this hath been so dreadful to many that they have run some to the Sword and others to the Halter Now seeing that you make the number of the Elect so small as not one in a hundred or one in a thousand how can you have any comfortable assurance that you are one of those that Christ died for unless you prove it by his dying for all and so consequently for you including a part in the whole Philet What rotten stuff have we here at what a pitiful rate do you talk would you have me believe Christ died for me because he died for the whole World if I had no other assurance and hopes for Heaven than this I should be in a miserable state I injoy saving Grace there is an inward Work of God upon my Heart and I am really brought over to Christ this is a better proof that I am not one of those that are left in the Fall to perish but one of those Christ died for Philad I own that there are Marks and Signs which may be sufficient proof of a Person 's Regeneration and may be a good Mark of Election and a sound Evidence for Heaven Rom. 8. 16. the Spirit witnessing with our Spirits But now in this weighty concern of our Souls and Salvation nothing ought to be believed by any but what they have grounds to believe from the Word of God and from that inward Witness which if true never contradicts but is always sutable and agreeable to the Word Now since by your Doctrine the Death of Christ did not extend to one of a thousand how is it possible for you to know that Christ died for you unless it be revealed in the Word of God since he that Christ did or did not die for must be built upon the Testimony of the Lord therefore I say shew me if you can a proof from the Scripture that Christ died for you or if you cannot do that shew me that Man now living in the World for whom Christ did not die Philet I cannot shew you my Name written in the Scriptures nor no place that saith that he died for I. S. but if I can prove my self a Believer I can prove that I am no Reprobate but an Elect Person and consequently one that Christ died for for believing is an infallible Fruit of Election Philad But what if you mistake and think you have true Faith when you have not there is a Faith which is only sancy nay mere presumption a Faith besides the Word of God 't is easy for Men to deceive themselves and others with false Appearances and deceivable Marks in this case since all saving Graces in the Saints have their Counterfeits in Hypocrites yea oftner furnished and set forth with more gaudy paint in Hypocrites than real Christians the Devil can shew himself to be an Angel of Light But come to your Marks of Election Are you the Child of believing Parents this is not sufficient to prove you in the Love and Favour of God for so was Cain Ishmael and Esau yet you say they were reprobated Have you been baptized and so initiated into the visible Church of Christ so have many thousands who by their Conversation shew themselves to be of the Synagogue of Satan Have you done Miracles so did Jannes and Jambres yet they were Cheats Do you outwardly partake of the Lord's Table so do many that have no part in him as Judas Do you preach the Word to others prophesy in Christ's Name so may many to whom Christ will say Depart you cursed and while they preach Salvation to others miss it themselves Philet These are outward Marks which may very well stand with Hypocrisy mine is a supernatural spiritual and inward Work the saving Effect of the sanctifying Spirit of God What say you to Faith is not that a Fruit of the Spirit Philad Yea true justifying Faith is but what would you prove that Christ died for you because you are a Believer Philet No Christ did not die for me and elect me because I believe but because God elected me and gave his Son to die for me therefore I believe I being to prove that God loved me and gave his Son to die for me and that Faith is a Fruit of God's electing Love Philad But what if your Faith be the Faith of the Hypocrite which will perish Simon Magus Acts 8. 13. believed the Doctrine preached by Philip and professed his Faith publickly by being baptized in Water according to our Lord's Command and yet in the
Death those Infants and Sucklings no more than to take away by Death many thousands which daily die through the World for Death reigns over all and when Infants are taken away either by a Natural Death or in any cruel manner 't is for Sin even that of Adam's yea many times their own Parents Sin hastens the Death of the Child and in Temporals very often the Children suffer for the Father's fault not only in the good things of this Life but also Death it self as in the Old World and in the overthrow of Sodom and are slain with the Sword as in this Case and likewise in those common Calamities which have befallen Nations and Cities But what will any one dare to say that such Infants and Sucklings are damned Who can forbear trembling at such a dreadful conceit And surely you that hold than Infants have sin enough from Adam to damn them to Hell had need bring good Scripture-proof for such a dreadful Doctrine But I need say no more to this than to refer you to what Mr. Grantham hath writ upon this Subject in his Answer to Mr. Petto and Mr. Firmin in his Presumption no Proof and his Infants Advocate First and Second Parts where if you be not wedded to your Opinion or blinded with Prejudice you will see that though all are guilty of Adam's Sin Rom. 5. 14. yet Infants by the presentment of the Satisfaction of Christ are and shall be sav'd for the free Gift cometh upon all Rom 5. 18. Mar. Come leave this Philetus you may easily perceive that Philadelphus owns that rotten and corrupt Opinion of universal Redemption a grand piece of Popery Philet Yea I see he 's an Arminian and I doubt a Free-willer too which is an old Pelagian Heresy and hath been condemned for an Error long since by the best and most knowing Christians Philad This is but the Devil's subtilty and delusion to hood-wink Peoples Eyes and to draw on a Vizor upon the lovely Face of true Religion to make it extremely deformed that so People may start at the naming of it Mod. Come pray let us have no Heats Philad There shall be none for me yet methinks they deal in our Day and Time by those that own the Truths of the Lord much like the barbarous Pagans did by the Christians under the persecuting Emperors who that they might have some Pretence to put them to death loaded them with odious Names and Imputations as if all the Troubles that were in the World happened for their Sakes As may be seen in Tertullian's Apology for the Christians Or as they did when they put them to death in their publick Theater they put upon them the Skin of some Savage Beast or put them into the shape of Monsters such as the nature of Man has the most Antipathy against that they might be the more excited to destroy them and the more expos'd to the fury of the Dogs Even so the noise of Arminians Pelagians Popery Free-willers and I know not what sounds so terrible to the Ears of some that they neither will nor dare examine either the Writings or Opinions of those that differ from them by the Word of God Mod. Neither will nor dare for what reason Philad Why only their Teachers whom they admire have drawn them into a dislike of the Truth of God by putting the Name of Ignominy and Reproach upon them What tho the Papists hold universal Redemption and are so unhappy to hold this part of Truth in unrighteousness Doth it therefore cease to be a Truth Or must I be ashamed or afraid to own it because held for a Truth by them May I not as well renounce the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament yea God and Christ too lest I should be accounted a Papist The Devil held that Christ was the Holy One of God and may not I do so too It will not excuse any in the Rejection of any Truth to say the Papists hold it Tho it was told Paul Acts 28. 22. That this Sect was every-where spoken against yet it did not turn him out of the way or make him out of love with the Truths of God neither ought it to do any and tho you may call this Truth Popery Arminianism c. yet was it owned for a Truth before Popery or James Arminius was heard of or had any being in the World and is indeed the ground of all Saving-Truth and Soul-establishing Comfort since the Foundation of the World and the contrary to it will be found to appear rotten and unsound having no firm footing in the Word of God let it be varnish'd over with never such dresses of Words or pretence of Zeal thereby to make the Face of it shine in the Eyes of others And I must tell you I look upon it to be a piece of daring Pride in any that shall confidently attempt to set bounds and limits to God's infinite Wisdom and Goodness acted towards all Men in the death of his Son Philet Well I am one of those that hold that God looking upon Man in the Fall did set his Love upon some of the fallen Race chusing some to eternal Life and Salvation for which he gave his Son to die for them and rejected others and never afforded them an Object to believe in nor power to believe but hath left them to perish Philad Pray prove what you affirm if you can Philet That God chuseth some to Life and leaveth others in the Fall of his meer Will and Pleasure I prove it by the Instance of Jacob and Esau Rom. 9. 13. As it is written Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated And this was done before they were born the one elected to eternal Life and the other reprobated to eternal Death and this at the meer Will and Pleasure of God Philad I know it is concluded from this Text that Esau in Person was damned but this is but Mens Rashness and Presumption there is not the least Syllable in all the word of God that I know of for Persons to ground such a Belief or from whence to draw such a dreadful Conclusion that Esau should be damned eternally Love and Hatred in this Text may be with respect to Temporal Blessings and so Esau may be said to be hated and Jacob loved because to Jacob was given the fruitful Land of Canaan and to Esau was given the barren Country of Mount Seir Or Love and Hatred may be with respect to Christ the promised Seed and so Jacob was separated or sanctified to be the Fore-father of Christ according to the Flesh and Esau with respect to that rejected and so was but a common or profane Person Now this was one end of Circumcision to distinguish the Family of whom Christ should be born and to keep that People of whom the Messiah was to come unmixt from the idolatrous Nations Now Esau very justly lost that Blessing for selling his Birth-Right at so base a Price for
apprehends the Mercy of God in Christ c. yet this is not all that Faith doth for it sanctifies Act. 26. 18. and purifies the Heart Act. 15. 9. 't is a Flesh-mortifying and a World-conquering Faith 1 John 5. 4 5. and leads forth the Soul to cleave to the Lord in obedience to his Will Hence is it said that Enoch by Faith walked with God and Abraham by Faith obeyed and went and by Faith offer'd his Son Isaac All Faith that is not such a Faith is but a fancy or a fantastical Faith a Faith of the most wicked and profane that believe they shall be saved tho they never are sanctified and so over-look the Precept of our Lord and Injunction of our Saviour I may say in this case as Peter in another many while they promise to themselves Liberty become the Servants of Sin so many while they advance the Grace of Faith destroy the Power of Godliness not considering that they are two inseparable Companions Persons may as well separate Light from the Sun or Heat from the Fire as true Faith and Holiness but for the present let this pass Have you any thing to say farther to prove that God hath chosen some to Life and rejected others without any respect to Faith or Holiness Philet I might prove it from Cain and Abel Gen. 4. 4 5. where you may see that the Lord had respect to Abel and to his Offering and not to Cain and his Offering and so Heb. 11. 4. Abel offered a more acceptable Sacrifice than Cain Now it is not said that the Lord had respect to Abel's Offering but to Abel and his Offering so that if you ask me why the Lord had respect to Abel's Offering I must answer because he had respect to Abel's Person And why did he respect Abel's Person but because it was his pleasure to chuse him in Christ For had not Abel's Person pleased God his Offering could not and so the contrary of Cain to Cain and his Offering he had no regard Cain being reprobated in his Person his very Sacrifice was abominable in the sight of God and no less than Sin Philad Abel did offer a more acceptable Sacrifice and God had a respect unto it for this Reason because Abel offered with a chearful Heart and willing Mind in Faith to which purpose 't is said that he brought not only of his Sheep but of the fattest and best of them he did not think the best of his Flock too good to serve the Lord with what he did was from an upright Heart and for holy and divine Ends and offer'd in Faith spiritually But Cain's Oblation was of the Fruits of the Ground and as it seemeth without choice or difference and from an impure Heart and wicked Mind or at the best done in Formality so that the Lord accepting Abel was not the Effect of absolute Election but sheweth the sincerity of Abel's heart and the demonstration of his great Faith neither was Cain's Rejection the real effect of an irrespective Reprobation but rather of his outward formality and inward corruption for afterwards the Lord said to Cain If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and Cain amongst the rest Mar. I suppose Philetus if you could but own that rotten Notion of Universal Redemption you might soon agree otherwise there 's no hopes of doing any good with him or drawing to any conclusion in this point Philad Martha Universal Redemption is no rotten or unsound Doctrine for if it be then Christ did not die for all which is to give the Lie to the Holy Ghost seeing the Scriptures in great plainness and expresness of Words assert the Redemption of all by Christ without excepting so much as one For to my knowledg I never yet read in the Scripture that Christ laid down his Life for some few elect Persons only neither do I believe any Scripture can be produced that affirms that Christ died only for the Elect only for Believers or any Text that denieth that he died for all Men without exception if it doth shew me the place Philet Doth not Christ say John 10. 11. I am the good Shepherd the good Shepherd giveth his Life for the Sheep Verse 15. I lay down my Life for the Sheep and so Eph. 5. 25. where Christ is said to love his Church and to give himself for it Doth it not therefore follow that he gave his Life for his Church his Elect only Philad No not at all tho Christ did lay down his Life for his Sheep for such as hear his Voice and follow him and loved his Church so as to give himself for it yet it doth not say that he loved no other nor laid down his Life for none but his Sheep seeing the Scripture saith he bought those that deny him neither did Christ die for any as they were his Sheep as Saints or as his Friends but as his Enemies and Sinners such as were polluted in their Blood and without his gracious Undertaking for them were like to perish Philet But saith the Scripture Christ came not to be ministred unto but to minister c. and to give his Life a Ransom for many Matt. 20. 28. Rom. 5. 15. Heb. 9. 28. Surely he that gave his Life a Ransom for many shed his Blood for many did not die for all Philad What you would have these Scriptures prove I grant you Christ died for many for his Church for his Elect for his Saints and Sheep yet it doth not prove that he died for none else this is contrary to Scripture Reason and Sense for no Scripture saith that he died for none but such and I may as well prove from Gal. 2. 20. that Christ died only for Paul because he saith that Christ loved him and gave his Life for him as you can prove from these Texts that Christ died only for Saints Philet Had Christ died for all he would have prayed for all John 17. 9. You have these Words I pray for them I pray not for the World that is the wicked Reprobates of the World Surely those that Christ never prayed for he never died for but the Non-Elect he never prayed for therefore he never died for them Who can imagine that if Christ had loved the World so as to shed his Blood for them that he would refuse to pray for them yet in ver 19. he saith that he prayed for them that were given him of the Father that had or should receive his word believingly and he said he prayed not for the World which World must be understood of those that were not given him by the Father the Non-Elect he had no desire they should be saved Now those whose Salvation he prayed not for on Earth he interceeds not for in Heaven and those that he interceeds not for he purchased not with his Blood Mar. Our Saviour being now near his
Death he declares who he was to die for not for all Adam's Posterity but those whom the Father had given him to be his mystical Body and for those I pray as ver 9. I pray for them I pray not for the World As if Christ had said I am so far from dying for all Adam's Posterity that I will not so much as pray as Mediator for any but those thou hast given me Philad Could it be proved that Christ did not pray for all yet it doth not follow that he did not die for all because no Scripture saith Christ did not die for those he did not pray for Scripture Redemption freed from Restraints p. 75. And Dr. Homes in many things a Friend of yours yet upon John 3. 37. p. 15. says When Men urge that Argument out of John 17. 9. Christ prayed not for the World therefore he paid not for the World The Consequence may be excepted upon many good Reasons for tho Christ did not pray for the World yet he might pay for the World 1st Paying is giving Satisfaction praying solicites God's Mercy 2dly Paying containeth a Preparation of the Plaster necessary for Man's Salvation Praying is the means of applying the Remedy to the Malady 3dly Paying Satisfaction belongs to the common Nature of Man which Christ assumeth Praying is a special Privilege vouchsafed to such Persons only as the Father hath given to his Son Thus you see one of your Favourites against you in this Case But what if Christ did not pray for the World in this 9th Verse doth it therefore follow that he did not pray for the World at all Christ being now just taking his leave of the World and about to be taken from his faithful and true Followers and to leave them as Sheep amongst Wolves doth therefore most earnestly recommend them to his Father and from Verse the 6th to the 19th makes mention of his Disciples only and then in verse 20 and 21. prays for all those that should believe on him through their Words and in ver 21 and 23. prays for the World that they might have a belief and knowledg of him Philet Ay but what Belief and Knowledge Philad Why doubtless saving Knowledg such a Faith and Knowledg as was accompanied with Salvation Philet But surely if Christ had prayed for the World that the World might have savingly believed in him and known him then the World would have believed on him and known him because whatsoever Christ prayed for to the Father shall certainly be granted Christ was always heard of the Father and the Father's Mind and Will was eternally known to the Son and he came into the World to do the Father 's Will. Now Christ knowing that there was a World which the Father never intended to redeem to give him to die for it would have been vain yea inconsistent with the Wisdom of Christ to have prayed for that which stood diametrically opposite to the Will and Intention of the Father Philad Christ made Intercession for Transgressors Isa 53. 12. and prayed for his Enemies for those that crucified him that they might be forgiven Luke 23. 34. and also commanded us to pray for our Enemies for those that persecute us Matt. 5. 44. and for the World Christ prayed for as I have proved but it seems by what you say that Christ did not pray for the World with his whole Heart or with a desire to obtain what he prayed for Now whereas you say that whatsoever Christ prayed for shall certainly be done and that he was always heard this I believe it was and shall be according to what he intended yet when Christ prayed that the Cup might pass by him tho he prayed very earnestly he was not heard because this Prayer was conditional and with Submission to his Father's Will and so Heb. 5. 7. saith of Christ who in the Days of his Flesh c. How was Christ heard in this was he exempted from Suffering no his Prayer was conditional if the Lord will but he was so heard as to get support under his Sufferings But if whatsoever Christ prayed for was absolutely granted without any Qualification to fit the Creature for Mercy then those Jews and Gentiles that crucified him must be forgiven without Faith or Repentance because Christ prayed that they might be forgiven This would be inconsistent with the Wisdom of Christ to pray for that which stood diametrically opposite to the revealed Will of his Father For where do you find the Lord hath promised that any shall be forgiven their Sins whether they repent or not you your selves grant notwithstanding this Prayer of Christ that the Wrath of God burned at the same instant of time and afterwards against some of the Accusers Condemners Crucifiers and Mockers of Christ Synod of Dort Part 2. p. 82 83. Goodwin p. 565. Again Christ prayed in this Chapter that all those that believe in him might be one as he and his Father were one yet where do you find that Christ was heard in this that there was no Disunion in Affection between the Saints as there was none between him and his Father And did not he pray the Father to keep his Disciples from Evil can you infer from thence that they never sinned nor suffered Whatsoever Christ prayed for I believe God the Father did grant him an Answer to according to the true intent of his Prayer Philet Well I could give you many Arguments that Christ did not die for the wicked and unbelieving World but for the Elect. Philad We will leave that to the Learned yet give me leave to produce some Scriptures to prove Universal Redemption a Truth and the first sort of Scriptures that speak the Universality of Redemption by Christ are John 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and so John 6. 51. He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but the sins of the whole World 1 John 2. 2. God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself Here you see from these Scriptures with many more that might be added that Universal Redemption is no rotten nor no unsound Opinion here Christ died for the whole Word Philet Ay for what World for the World of Believers the World of the Elect that shall in the successive Generations of the World believe 't is not to be understood in such a Comprehensive Signification to include all the Men and Women in the World for the World is taken two ways in Scripture largely for all Men and strictly in a restrained Sense for the Elect or Believers Taken in this Sense Christ died for the whole World by the World understanding the Elect dispersed up and down the World Philad But where doth the Scripture speak of a World of Elect Persons but rather the Elect are opposed to the World as 1 John 5. 19. we know c. John 14.
17. John 15. 19. but if by the World be meant the Elect only then it will follow that God gave his Son to dye for those that stood in no need of him for God by Virtue of his Absolute Prerogative might pardon Sinners without the Death of his Son Now for you that hold there was an absolute Election and an absolute Reprobation consider'd under the Fall and that without respect to Faith in Christ on the one hand or disobedience on the other what do you do but overthrow the Truth and real Expiation of their Sins by the Death of Christ for them For if God in his Elective Love did in the very Act of Election freely and of his meer good Will and Pleasure irrevocably assign and give to his Elect Justification and Salvation then Christ could not die to purchase these things for them because they were theirs truly and of right before and so he needed not die to bring those into Covenant with God and to make them near by his Blood and to make them dear Children to God who were all this before for those that were Elected unto Life upon the account of their being absolutely Elected to Salvation they are likewise upon the same account in actual favour with God and already beloved of him with the highest Love and such as is peculiar to those that are the Sons of God But again if by the word World be understood the Elect only then this word whosoever must needs imply that some of the Elect might possibly not believe and so Christ must be supposed to speak at no better a rate of Wisdom and Sense than thus God so loved the world of Believers that whosoever of the world of Believers believe on him shall not perish Nay further if there be Salvation in Christ for none but the Elect in your sense then it is not true that whosoever believes in him shall be saved But that it cannot be meant of the Elect only read the two preceding Verses 14 15. with this whole Verse and the words following for as Moses lifted up the Serpent c. and Ver. 17. for God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the World If then we must understand the Elect here by the World then we may read the words thus God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the Elect but that the Elect should be saved this was to affirm that which none was likely to deny or ever trouble themselves or the World about But again if by the World we must needs understand the Elect only then will the Parallel between Moses's lifting up the Serpent in the Wilderness and Christ's being lifted up upon the Cross run very lame for Moses did not lift up the Serpent with an intent that none should look upon it and receive healing by it save a small parcel but that whosoever was stung might look upon it and that whosoever did look upon it should receive healing thereby Numb 21. 8. Now you will hold that all without exception are stung with Sin will you not Philet Yea I do Philad Very well then unless Christ be lifted up with an intent that every Man might believe on him and every one that should believe on him should be saved by him he could not be said to be lifted up for the universal benefit of all those that were stung with Sin as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness for the benefit of all that were stung with the fiery Serpent Thus you may see that by the World must needs be meant the whole Lump of Mankind and those that take it otherwise do greatly eclipse the Mercy Love and Goodness of God to all his Creatures Very well Musculus upon this place John 3. 15 16. by World understands the Universe of Mankind so that here his love of the World and his love of Man is the same After the same manner it is in this Redemption of Mankind whereof we spake that Reprobates and desperately wicked Men partake not of it 'T is not through any defect of the Grace of God nor is it meet for the sake of the Sons of Perdition it should lose the Glory and Title of a Universal Redemption since it is prepared for all and all are called to it De Redemption Gen. humani Yea Calvin himself upon this place with other more antient and modern Expositors take this word World in a universal sense But take another Scripture 2 Cor. 5. 19. God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself Philet Well pray read out the whole Verse and you may see cause to believe that by the World is there meant the Elect because he says not imputing their Trespasses Now it is plain he doth impute the Sins of all Men to them but the Elect only but unto them he doth not impute Sin therefore he reconciles unto himself none other but those he doth not impute Sin to which are the Elect. Besides the word World signifieth only some part of Men in the World and not the intire Universality of Men as Luke 2. 1. Acts 19. 27. Rev. 13. 3. Yea World is put sometimes for those that believe and are converted The Bread of God is he that cometh down from Heaven and giveth Life to the World that is to the Elect to Believers of all ranks throughout the whole World and no more is intended in any such-like Expressions Again John 14. 31. That the World may know that I love the Father And John 17. 21. That the World may believe that thou hast sent me By the World here we are to understand such as shall be saved Philad I know the word World signifies only some part of the World but where do you find the Elect called the World in opposition to those that are Enemies and Strangers unto God but it is rather put for the Wicked who are the greatest part of the World as John 1. 10. and 7. 7. 14. 17. 15. 19. 16. 20. 17. 9 14. 1 Cor. 11. 32. 1 John 3. 1. 4. 5. 5. 4 5. Hence the Devil is called the Prince of the World John 12. 31. 14. 30. 16. 11. But that this 2 Cor. 5. 19. cannot be meant only of the Elect may be proved from the word reconciling Reconciliation signifieth a making those Friends that were before at variance Now how can it be said That God was in Christ reconciling to himself those with whom he is not nor ever was offended Nay he was so far from being offended with them that he loved them with such a Love that he did absolutely purpose from the Fall which was long before the coming of Christ in the Flesh to confer Eternal Life upon them Besides the Apostle is not there speaking of any inward Act of God upon the Souls of Persons whereby they are brought to believe in Christ whereby they come to witness their Peace with God Being justified by Faith we have Peace with
are sanctified an unholy thing and make all the Precepts of the Gospel uncertain whether they be the Will of God or not or whether Christ when he prayed to his Father for his People or for Sinners prayed as a Mediator or as Man only yea give footing to that Opinion which begins to evidence it self too much in many even denying the personal Union of God and Man in Jesus Christ in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily Col. 2. 9. which did influence and give a value and worth to all things done for us by the Manhood and therefore his Righteousness and his Blood was called the Righteousness and Blood of God Acts 20. 28. 1 John 3. 16. Rom. 10. 3. Christ as he was God-Man and our Mediator what he did upon this account in the Flesh he did in the Spirit also Now in this place where Christ bewailed Jerusalem's state with tears either they flowed from true inward compassion or they did not if the first then Christ in the Flesh and in the Spirit willed one and the same thing and had no distinct Will for Jerusalem's Salvation as Man different from his Will as God but if the second then his tears were only feigned and his bewailing nothing but dissimulation which is a capital Sin to affirm And tho the Lord was resolved to bring Jerusalem to desolation by delivering them into the hands of their Enemies yet as you say and say truly it was an effect of their Sins the neglect of the Day of their Visitation mocking his Messengers and stoning them that were sent to her to have drawn her from the evil of her ways and for crucifying the Lord of Life thereby filling up the measure of her Iniquity So tho the Lord brought her to desolation yet Punishment is rather his refuge than his choice and his defence against Sin than the hurt of his Creatures and the Sinner with his own hands most cruelly pulleth down punishment upon his own head for the evil of Sin and the evil of Suffering are Twins or rather Sin gives birth and being to the other God never inflicted the least punishment on any merely as Men but as workers of Evil as continuing sinful and disobedient So that it was Jerusalem's actual Sins and her refusing to be healed that brought her to ruin and not any irresistible Decree of the Almighty for you may as well deny the Being of a God as entertain a belief that he takes pleasure in the death and destruction of his Creatures His Nature is perfect Goodness and he is a stranger to Cruelty and all the expressions of Love and Good-will in Christ to poor Sinners are such that they neither admit nor are consistent with fraud or falshood so that yet you have not told me where the Attribute of God merely takes place upon those that God is resolved against all means possible to be used to punish by his Decree as you use to say But before I leave this let me ask you one Question more which is this Ought not or do not all Men stand ingaged to love God Philet To love God yea who should they love if they do not love God Philad Ay but I ask you for what Reason Mar. There may be many Reasons given the receiving the good things of this Life may engage all Men to love God Philad Yea but you will not own that God gives the good things of this Life with any good intention to the greatest number but rather gives them to them to heighten their misery doth God intend any good to the Souls of such by what he gives Mar. No yet are they to be accountable for the abuse of them Philad But you hold that God did decree they should abuse them accordingly and for that end were they given to them that so the abuse of them might heighten their misery this is but like the Proverb Give a Man Roastmeat and beat him with the Spit Can any Man become grateful or be tied in the Bonds of Love and Gratitude to such a Man that should feast him for a while yet after condemn him to Death and Destruction Philet The Apostle saith 1 John 4. 19. We love him because he first loved us but this is meant of the Elect only Philad Why should you go about to confine the Lor'd Mercy which is altogether Infinite and as incomprehensible as his Divine Essence why should you thus contract the Divine Goodness whose Mercies are not only exalted above our Conceptions but also above and over all his Works Therefore do not presume to measure the Lord 's Mercys by your narrow conceit nor labour to make it run into a lesser Channel than the Lord intended But God's great Love to all Men in giving his Son to die for them is the ground and cause of their Love to God again True love must first spring from the knowledg of God's Love to them neither can I think that any Men in the World will ever heartily and cordially love God unless they believe that God Almighty had designs of Love to them yea so far loved them as to send his Son to die for them otherwise instead of loving and living to God it would tend to a most horrid and desperate alienation of the Hearts of poor Creatures from their dear and ever-blessed Creator For how is it possible that the poor Creature should devest himself of those Delights and Pleasures of this Life and intirely love and delight himself in God and his blessed Will if he knew or had strong grounds of fear that before he made him or without respect to his Sins or unworthy carriage in the least he so far hated him as to resolve against all Mediation whatsoever to cast him out of his sight and to doom him to suffer the Vengeance of Eternal Fire You may preach up God's Sovereignty pronounce Justice and Judgment as some have done till they have brought Despair and Hell into the Souls of many and beget more Fear than Love make God feared as a Tyrant but 't is the making known Christ's meek Condescension Long-suffering and the superexcellent Amiableness of free Love and tender Mercy that soonest and most effectually works in us Repentance of our Sins and inclines us to love him that first loved us Wither's Paraphrase upon the Lord's Prayer Who is able to perswade Men by Arguments or move them by Threatnings to love God whose love to them in particular is doubtful Do you think it can or ever will be a motive for Persons to love God to tell them That before all Worlds or before they were born or there were any possibility of offending him in any manner it was decreed that the greatest number of Adam's Off-spring should be eternally reprobated and damned And tho he had provided means whereby Man might have been saved and that the worth and value was so great that it was sufficient for the Redemption of thousands of Worlds yet then it was
to believe in him or to cast himself upon him for Salvation no more than the fallen Angels Now either Christ shed his Blood for all with an intent to save them unless they be their own destroyers or to damn them or for nothing pray tell me which of these three things Christ intended in dying for all Philet I cannot say to save all Philad For what then Philet Why truly I believe all that Christ did for the Reprobate was to effect for them the good things of this Life Philad But doth he not give his Grace to all Philet Yea common Grace Philad For what use is it given Philet For no use in respect of Eternal Life all that it effects for them is to make their Condemnation in Hell the greater or as some say if they use it well the lighter Mar. Others beside the Elect may have the inlightning and conviction of the Spirit and God hath wise and holy Ends in it to restrain some of them from being Persecutors of his Church and to restrain them from gross Idolatry and such-like Sins whereby they are less punished in Hell but if they abuse these common Graces it will make their condemnation in Hell the greater Philad Then was Christ's Death rather grievous than gracious and Christ came not that they might have life more abundantly but that they might have Hell and Damnation more abundantly Blush O ye Heavens at this How cruel do you represent the God of Love For if Christ shed his Blood for all and yet did not intend Salvation to all then he must needs shed his Blood not for them but against them and so God gave his Son to die for the condemnation of the World contrary to our Saviour's Expressions John 3. 17. 12. 47. 1. 29. So that here can be no potent Argument used to perswade all Men to love and live to him for he that shall pay for the ease and benefit of another what was sufficient to have eased me as well as him and yet shall neglect me in such a Paiment and leave me in misery when he might without the least trouble or charge to himself above what he voluntarily put himself upon for the sake of others have relieved me and of miserable made me happy what reason is there that I should wholly live to him who wholly neglected me in my greatest need or that he should expect service or thanks for doing nothing 'T is a sensless conceit to think Men are engaged in any Bond of thankfulness or service unto Christ for dying sufficiently for them unless he died intentionally also Philet What do you believe Christ shed his Blood intentionally to save all then if all be not saved Christ must miss of his Intention God shall be frustrated of his Design and Jesus Christ be defeated of that excellent Honour provided by his Father for him Now if one of those that Christ died with an intent to save should miscarry why not another and consequently all and so by this God's Counsel and Christ's Honour must be laid in the Dust Mar. For all you make such a noise about Christ's dying for all Adam's Posterity yet do you really deny that Christ died for any Man or Woman in the World in a true Scripture-sense for unless Christ died so for Persons as to make satisfaction for all their Sins and to purchase saving Grace here and Glory hereafter to be infallibly bestowed upon them all you talk of universal Redemption by Christ is a universal Nothing Philad It may very well be conceived that God may intend the Salvation of all Men by Jesus Christ and yet not all Men saved nay should all Men prove so neglective of themselves as voluntarily to deprive themselves of that great Salvation which Christ out of his great Love hath provided for them yet it doth not follow from hence that the Counsel or Design of God should thereby miscarry nor Christ's Honour be laid in the dust because of the wilful folly of Men to forsake their own Mercy and destroy themselves see Isa 49. 5. And now saith the Lord that formed me from the Womb c. Tho Christ was sent to save and make Israel blessed and as the Apostle saith Acts 3. ult Hath raised up Jesus and hath sent him to bless you and to turn every one of you from your evil ways here you see it was God's Mind to gather Israel and to turn them from their Sins yet all Israel was not gathered nor turned from their Sins yet no disparagement to Christ nor a defeating the Counsel of God Indeed if it had been the Design and Intent of God that the saving Benefits intended to Sinners by the Obedience and Sufferings of Christ should immediately become theirs upon the bare shedding of his Blood and that therefore God must needs pardon the Sinner and bring him in by head and shoulders that is by a strong and irresistible hand save him whether he will or no or whether they repent of their Sins believe in him or continue in impenitency then indeed if any should miscarry here would be a defeating of the Counsel and Intention of God but seeing that as the Grace and Mercy of God in Christ to Sinners is absolutely free so is the Lord free to apply the Merits of his Son's Blood to whom and in what way and upon what terms he in his Wisdom thinks fit for we must not conceive that God intended to save Man upon any terms or without any provision or exception at all but to put the World into a capacity of Salvation by removing those grand Obstacles which stood in the way of Mercy and obstructed its communication to the Offender and to afford unto the Sons and Daughters of Men means and opportunities to repent and believe and consequently to be saved so that whensoever Christ is faithfully and effectually preached to Men and the Holy Spirit convinces Men of Sin in order to their Salvation God obtains his end and intent concerning their Salvation whether they come to be saved or no so Christ is said 1 John 2. 2. to be the Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World it doth not therefore follow that the Sins of the whole World are so actually and compleatly atoned by him that they shall never be charged against them but that which Christ offered in order to atoning the Sins of the whole World is so full of Virtue and withal is so propounded and held forth by the Lord unto the whole World that if any Man's Sins remain actually unpardoned 't is through their voluntary neglect of this Sacrifice not from any intention on God's part that their Sins should not be atoned as well as others Many more such Testimonies I might add Dr. Holmes upon John 6. 37. pag. 13. saith That all the Sins of Mankind are become venial in respect of the Price paid by Christ unto the Father c. But all do not obtain actual remission
of Sins because most Offenders do not take out nor plead their Pardon as they ought to do And pag. 15. That the Lamb of God offering up himself clothed with humane Nature a Sacrifice for the Sins of the whole World intended by giving satisfaction sufficiently to God's Justice c. to prepare a Sovereign Medicine for the Sins of the whole World which should be denied to none that were minded to take the Benefit thereof howsoever he intended not by applying this Alsufficient Sacrifice to every one in particular to make it effectual unto the Salvation of all or to procure thereby at the hands of his Father actual Pardon for the Sins of the whole World he applys this only effectually to them who make claim to the Satisfaction by promise suing for the Spirit and Faith upon other Promises in Prayer waiting for a gracious answer till they have it c. So in respect of his Merit he may be accounted a kind of universal Cause of restoring our Nature as Adam was of the depraving of it Much of the same nature and almost word for word is that of Bishop Vsher quoted by Mr. Grantham in his Dialogue pag. 22. And saith Hockin on God's Decree pag. 45 46. We need not refer the deplorable misery of the Sons of Adam to the Divine Will as Mr. Calvin is pleased to do Instit lib. 18. cap. 1. but the horrid perversness of our own Wills for the highest Act of Divine Intention is to save Men if they do not by the wickedness of their own perverse Will frustrate the same by refusing the gracious Offers of Salvation by Christ and not observing the real Conditions upon which the Proposals of Mercy are made for the Lord doth solemnly prove that he is not willing that any should perish 2 Pet. 3. 9. Therefore we cannot lay the blame upon God in any thing but wholly upon Man who doth voluntarily bring Death and Misery upon himself Nay Calvin himself upon John 3. 16. saith That Faith in Christ is of a saving Nature to all and that Christ brought Life because his Heavenly Father would not have Mankind to perish which he loved c. For tho there will be nothing in the World found worthy of the Favour of God yet he sheweth himself favourable unto the whole World in that he calls all Men without exception to believe in Christ Here you may see that in the Eyes of these God may intend the Salvation of all Men by Jesus Christ and yet all Men may not be saved without any prejudice in the least either to the Grace and Goodness of God or to his power of working in this behalf Mar. But Philadelphus pray consider with respect to Christ's dying for all that when our Saviour died as a Mediator it was near 2000 Years from the Creation and there were multitudes then in the Prison of Hell from whence there is no redemption and do you think that Christ died upon the Cross and bore such unutterable Dolours for them to redeem them that were there There was need indeed that Christ should die for those Saints that were in Heaven before he died because they were saved upon the account of his having undertaken as a Surety for them to make Satisfaction to the Justice of God for their Sins but surely it will sound very harshly in the Ears of all Christians that Christ should sweat drops of Blood and bear the Curse of the Law for them who were then in Hell when he died 1 Pet. 3. 18 19 20. Philad The 1 Pet. 3. 18 19 20. is of doubtful interpretation and by your own grant the doubtful ought to be expounded and tried by the Light and Testimony of such as are more clear and evident Now in this Text the Apostle sheweth the great patience of God toward that wicked Generation and that he strove with them by his Spirit and gave unto them a Preacher of Righteousness and a hundred years space to repent in and doubtless the patience of God towards them was for this end to allure and draw them to Repentance But it seems you would not have any believe that Christ died for any of those that before his coming in the Flesh had withstood the Day of Grace and sinned beyond the reach of Mercy But there was need for him to die for those that were in Heaven before he died because they were saved upon the account of his dying for them Now I might shew you from your own sense of Election being from Eternity without any consideration of Faith in Christ how you abrogate the Grace of God in Christ and make his Death to be in vain seeing that God loved them every whit as well and intended to do as much for them before Christ died for them or before their ingrafting into Christ by Faith yea before the Blood of the Covenant was sprinkled upon them as after and therefore there was no reason that Christ should shed his Blood to procure those things for the Elect which were truly and properly theirs before in and by God's purpose in electing of them yea and that without any consideration of Christ's dying for them or their believing in him Philet Nay hold we do not say that God intends actually to confer Remission of Sins or Eternal Life upon the Elect otherwise than through the Satisfaction made by Christ for them in his Death and tho God might intend and purpose Salvation to the Elect without the consideration of the Death of Christ yet in the execution of this his purpose the Death of Christ is all in all and you ought to distinguish between God's Decrees and the execution of them Philad If it was consistent with the Wisdom and Justice of God to decree forgiveness of Sins and Salvation unto Men without consideration of the Death of Christ or their believing in him he may as well confer these things upon them without any such consideration and then to what purpose should Christ die But Philetus were those that were in Heaven before Christ's coming saved without Faith in him that was to come Philet No all that were saved before Christ's coming were saved by believing and imbracing him that was to come and to be a Sacrifice for their Sins in the belief of which they offered Sacrifices and through which they looked at Jesus who was to come Philad Then it is sufficient to tell you that the want of that Faith in the Christ to come and obedience to his Will was the cause of their destruction Besides consider Christ was the Lamb slain virtually in the Decree or Purpose of God from the Foundation of the World and it was on the account of Christ's taking humane Nature upon him that Man was preserved in the World from returning to the Dust from whence he was taken for all Men live and move and have a being here by virtue of the Lord Jesus the Seed of the Woman and Believers did before Christ's coming in
Christ died for all so that all should injoy all these equally alike but that God did really truly and cordially intend the Salvation of one Man as well as another considered as Men in and by Christ's Death What tho there be great disparity of Means and of Grace also according to the Divine Will yet sufficient Grace is afforded to all both to those that do not actually believe nor are really converted as well as those that are Ezek. 18. Pro. 1. 24. Mat. 23. 37. Luke 8. 12. for whomsoever God calleth to Faith and Salvation he doth it sincerely and with unfeigned Intentions of saving them John 5. 34. and 10. 20. Tit. 2. 11 12. 2 Tim. 1. 9. 2 Cor. 5. 20. and 6. 1. From all I conclude that Christ in dying for Man intended nothing but that which was real and saving in the proper nature and tendency of it But as to your third Moderatus you say Christ died for all Men so far that the Gospel might be preached unto all Now if you mean that in the Gospel terms of Reconciliation are offered to all poor Sinners and that the Word preached is by the Lord appointed an instrumental means to make Men new Creatures and that the Lord by sending the Gospel and his Ministers upon the Gospel errand doth not thereby intend the Obduration and Destruction of any but the Conversion and Salvation of all if this be your meaning I and you are no more two but one and I will say in the words of Abraham to Lot Let there be no strife between thee and me for we are brethren But if with Calvin in his Institut Lib. 3. Chap. 24. you say that God sendeth his Word to Reprobates that they may be made more deaf he setteth a Light to some Men that they may be so much the more blind and offers them Instruction that they may be the more ignorant and he useth a Remedy but to the end they may not be healed Or what Maccour in his disputation 14. Page 11 12. That Christ knocketh at the heart of Reprobates who he knoweth neither can nor will open unto him not that he may enter in but that he might upbraid them for their Impotency and increase their Damnation c. therefore did God speak to them by his Son that by the contempt and hatred of his Son they might procure the greater damnation If this be your Opinion produce some word to evince such a Decree and I 'll cease contending with you Philet Do not the Scriptures say Mat. 13. 13 14. and John 12. 39 40. in both places you have it expresly said that they could not believe because that Esaias said he hath blinded their Eyes c. and Deut. 29. 4. And doth not Simeon say of Christ Luke 2. 34. that he was set for the rising and falling of many in Israel 2 Cor. 2. 16. Christ is there said to be the savour of Death to some as well as of Life to others And our Saviour in John 9. 39. expresly saith That for Judgment am I come into the World that they that see not might see and those that see might be made blind Do not these Scriptures shew that tho the Gospel is preached to all yet for the blinding the Eyes and hardning the Hearts of those that believe not Philad Do not we look upon the Gospel the greatest Blessing next to Christ that we can injoy or receive But if the choicest Blessings are intended as Snares to intrap our Souls we have little cause to be thankful to God for them These Scriptures speak not of the primary and direct Intention of God in sending Christ into the World but of the Event and that which many times is effected by it through Mens voluntary Rebellion Christ was not sent into the World with any intent on God's part nor came with any intention of his own to make those that see to become blind but with an intent to heal the blindness of all to their Peace and Glory so that if any be blind ignorant and foolish 't is merely accidental and tho the glorious Light of the Gospel should equally shine on all Men as the natural Sun doth diffuse his Beams to all Places yet it hath not an equal effect on all alike for the same Beams that cause the Flowers to smell make the Dunghils stink yet this is but accidentally as it finds matter to work on no fault being in the Sun so in Mat. 13. we read of several effects the Word hath not from any defect in the Seed sown the Seed being one and the same but from the badness or goodness of the Soil it shews that some hearers of the Gospel would hear so that their hearing would turn to a blessed account others would hear without reaping any Soul benefit thereby So that these Scriptures speak not any thing of God's intention of sending Christ and so the Gospel into the World but they shew how unworthily some Men will behave themselves towards Christ and the tenders of Salvation by the Gospel and what will be the end and effects the Gospel will have upon those that despise and reject it for it is with the Gospel preached and the Gifts of Nature and Grace also as it is with the good things of this Life which are by the Lord given to the Children of Men that so his bountifulness and goodness might lead them to repentance but if their Table be a Snare and their Prosperity their Ruin 't is through their own perversness and horrid impieties so if the Gospel hardens or blinds any 't is through the ill temper of Mens Hearts and their desperate obstinacy to refuse such means of Salvation and the severity of God who giveth up obstinate Men to their own hearts lust and in his just Judgment permits them to dash against Christ and other means of Salvation What saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. If our Gospel be hid 't is hid to them that are lost whom the God of the World hath blinded their Eyes that are alienated from the Life of God through the ignorance that is in them and so give up themselves to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness and despise the Light of the Gospel cavil and quarrel at it no wonder then that God withdraws his Spirit from striving with them and gives them up to their own hearts lust and if ever the Lord restrains the heavenly Influences of his Spirit and withdraws his Blessing that usually accompanies the faithful and sincere preaching of the Gospel a stupid blindness must needs follow so tho there be Preaching and Prayer and other Ordinances yet when the presence of God is not with them there is no Milk in the Breast and to such 't is all one as if there was none nay as some the Gospel enlightens these it smites with blindness as it softens some so it hardens these as Isa 6. 10. Acts 28. 26. make the Hearts of this People
hath not the least power of his Will but is merely passive in all why then should the Lord so passionately complain of Mens obstinacy and why did Christ wonder at the unbelief of many Mark 6. 6. Here was not the least cause for Christ to marvel at the unbelief of any when it never was in their power to believe unless Christ should wonder that Man should act and do more than he had power to do or more than all the Creatures in Heaven or Earth could enable him to do Nay if Men be wholly as passive as Stones and can neither repent nor believe by means of those Abilities vouchsafed to them by the Lord then can no reward nor punishment be justly awarded to any Man for believing or not believing for if Faith and Repentance be wrought in Man only by the Omnipotent and Irresistible Power of God without Man then cannot that Obedience be a free Obedience and in vain is it required of Man when it is to be wrought by such a Force as cannot be resisted neither can any Man be rewarded as one truly and really obedient And in this case we may safely affirm that the Lord rewards himself and not the Man who is truly passive doing nothing or if any thing 't is purely effected by the Force of another for what things are produced in us by God's irresistible Omnipotency without us cannot of right come under the name of Obedience and therefore cannot justly be rewarded or judged worthy of any commendation Remonstrants Confession pag. 148. Also Eternal Punishment is unjustly and cruelly inflicted on him that doth not repent and believe when he had no power to do either but the want of it was through the alone defect of irresistible Grace and should the Lord punish Men for not repenting and believing he should punish them for not attempting to make themselves equal in Power with himself and then pray to what purpose are all the inviting Promises of Life and Glory and all the Dangers that Souls expose themselves to expressed in the Scripture and pressed so much by your Preachers if we through Grace have not power to obtain the one or escape the other Very well saith S. Jerom as quoted by Dr. Goodman in his Parable of the Prodigal Son p. 100. God bound not Man under the rigid Bonds of Necessity whereby he should be forcibly over-ruled and determined to one thing but put him 〈◊〉 a capacity of making his own choice to the end that being thereby distinguished from Beasts and more like his Maker he might be capable of Virtue and Reward and that as nothing should make him miserable without his own act and consent so he might have the comfort and delight of co-operating freely towards his own Good and Felicity Philet If God works Conversion not in an insuperable or irresistible way then he works it in a dependent way putting Man's Will in an Aequilibrium or even Ballance That this is not God's way appears because he works Conversion in such a way as is most depressive of the Creature and exaltive of himself But now by what you say Grace only sets the Will in an Aequilibrium and that 's all and Free-will must do the business this is a robbing God of his Glory and ascribing to our selves more than belongs to us Philad It 's rather an honouring of him by laying all the blame of our Misdoings upon our selves and acknowledging his free Grace in giving us not only time but abilities and means to know the Lord and to cleave to him and to work with God when he is pleased to be moving upon our Hearts Wills and Consciences by his Divine Grace that so we might be curbed and restrained from being carried headlong into destruction by the sway of our unruly Lusts Yea that which I affirm is as depressive of the Creature and as exaltive of God's Glory as what you hold nay more as I shall make appear by and by Where have I said that we are able to do any thing that 's good to repent believe or obey the Lord and serve him acceptably by our own natural strength without the effectual assistance of Divine Grace I say this is not possible now for Man in his lapsed state tho it be generally held that Man had at the first a perfect liberty to stand or fall in an equal possibility of sinning or not sinning If this were so then his condition was in Aequilibrio and it was in the Creatures choice to turn the Scales but long he did not stand in this equal State for being tempted to aspire above his place at the very first onset at the first temptation he lost his Innocency and fell into a depraved State and so his Will became infirm relation to its acting for Virtue and Goodness But now God having pity on fallen Man in his infinite Goodness and Wisdom found out a way to restore him to a more noble and excellent State than Adam injoyed which was by the promised Seed and what perfection the Will had in the state of perfect Nature is restored by the Spirit of Grace So that a good and real Christian may be said to injoy as free a Will by Grace since the Fall as Adam had by Nature before the Fall John 8. 36. If the Son make you free you shall be free indeed Philet 'T is Christ's work to act Faith and God is said to give Faith and Repentance which are called his Gift Philad I acknowledg that we are all of us from first to last indebted to Divine Grace for all we do all good and pious Actions are begun carried on and perfected by the Lord 't is God that gives Power and Ability 't is he that enables People to repent and believe yea makes Persons willing actually to repent yea and supports them in the act of repenting and believing and so the whole of all Good in us is of free Love and not of Nature The Lord is both the Author and Finisher of our Faith If I be better â—…n any Man it is God that makes me â—…er and therefore he that will glory let him glory in the Lord saying with the Psalmist Psal 115. 1. Not unto us not unto us but unto thy Name be the praise and therefore we stand bound to make that humble acknowledgment as Paul did 1 Cor. 15. 10. that by the Grace of God I am what I am c. What good we do 't is not by our own natural Abilities or the power of natural Reason but by the powerful influence of Divine Grace James 1. 17. John 15. 5. 1 Pet. 5. 10. And we may all say as Holy David did 1 Chron. 29. 11 to 17. So that you may see that I am none of those that hold that we are converted by the power of our own Free-will Neither have we any saving Faith of our selves Mat. 11. 17. 13. 11. 16. 17. 7. 7. John 3. 5. But it is as I said
before wholly to be ascribed to the Grace of God in Christ as the principal and primary Cause Now as to Faith and Repentance being the Gift of God this is a truth God is said to give Faith and Repentance yea to intend the Salvation of all Men when he vouchsafeth a sufficiency of means Now Faith is taken many ways sometimes and very frequently 't is taken for the Gospel Acts 6. 7. Gal. 1. 23. So it is the Gift of God and he is said to give Faith and Repentance when he gives the Gospel which is the Word of Faith and so Faith is the Gift of God and when any Soul is by the goodness of God led to repentance God is said to give Repentance Also God gives the power or ability to repent and believe or else Man could do neither yet doth not God's Grace destroy our Duty tho God gives not only Grace necessary but also sufficient for yielding Faith and Obedience yet the Act or Duty of believing is not God's Work but Man's Heb. 11. Rom. 10. 17. James 3. 2. And the Person that is regenerate must be so far active in the Work that the Work it self may be as truly and properly ascribed unto Man and called his as it is ascribed to God and called his Gift now this you must believe unless you have so far forsaken your Reason as to say that Christ acts the Creature 's Actions and so Jesus Christ repents and Jesus Christ believes and Man doth nothing But surely we stand bound to believe repent and obey the Lord if we expect Salvation these are our own acts and 't is impossible they should be the acts of Christ for he that is said to act any action is said to do it Now if when we are exhorted to do these Duties Christ should do them for us while we sit still what sense must we make of Scripture must Jesus Christ break off his Sins by Repentance and amend his evil ways and doings or must Christ believe in Christ or walk in the steps of Christ And from hence it will infallibly follow that Persons shall be damned because God did not only make them Believers by an irresistible Power but also act their Work too Saith Paul Rom. 8. If ye through the Spirit not the Spirit without you nor ye without the Spirit intimating that Man must be an Agent in the Work it must be his own act and therefore he is not wholly passive neither have we ground to believe God will work these in such a way as shall be impossible to be frustrated Philet But if God works Conversion in a resistible way still Free-Grace loseth the triumph and Free will takes the Crown but when God works he works irresistibly Men cannot resist his Will if he works none can hinder it Philad I believe that God hath and still works and none can be able to hinder such are the Works of Creation and Redemption c. When Man was fallen none could hinder the Lord from setting his Love upon him nor hinder him from shewing Mercy to him in sending his only Son to die for them nor hinder the planting of his Will and Light in their Hearts convincing them of Sin Nor could the Jews of old or any in our days hinder or prevent God from rising early and sending his Prophets and Ministers to call Persons to Repentance nor hinder him from administring Grace and Mercy to them nor is it in the power of Man to frustrate God in raising up Persons from the dead in the Resurrection and setting the Godly with Christ in Glory and all the Rejecters of his Grace and Love in endless Misery Neither do I deny but God hath and may still if he please convert some by an irresistible Power we must not care to limit the Holy One of Israel in any of his ways yet it is not God's usual way of working to force Persons against their Wills to be Holy and to accept of Life but he is pressing by his Holy Spirit and by his Word and Ministers which is the ordinary way that the Lord takes to beget Faith c. and therefore Gospel-Ministers are said 2 Cor. 6. 1. to be workers together with God that is Ministers do co-operate with God in order to one and the same effect not that Ministers in their pressing and preaching should so work with God as to be able to do as much as God himself doth in perswading Men but rather they work after one and the same way Ministers in their preaching incline and move the Heart of Men to accept of Christ and this he doth perswadingly without forcing or necessitating their Wills to such or such Election this is God's usual way of working in the dispensation of his Divine Will Philet But I tell you 't is effected by the irresistible act of free Grace Persons are altogether passive in the work of Conversion yea have no more power to stir than Lazarus had when he had lain four days in the Grave Persons are dead in Sins and Trespasses and what less than the almighty Power of God can cause them to live a spiritual Life I do not know You ought not to believe there is any annext Power in the act of Conversion doth not the Apostle Ephes 1. 19 20. speak of the exceeding greatness of the Lord's Power wrought in them that believe according to his mighty Power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead Philad As for your urging Christ and Lazarus being both dead to prove Persons as unable to act in Conversion it is impertinent for tho the Lord in raising up Christ did the work wholly of himself by his mighty Power neither was Lazarus able to act any thing in the Grave towards restoring his Life yet in the Work of conversion the Lord comes to a Creature which he hath by free Grace furnished with Abilities to do what he requires of him And Lazarus after he heard the Voice of the Lord and received Life was active and came forth and so when Persons hear the Voice of the Lord and are thereby raised from a death in Sin or a deadly custom of Sinning to live soberly justly and godly this is said to be a raising from the Dead and a new Creation begotten again and by Faith and Repentance making new Creatures tho the Lord bestoweth Grace sufficient for the yielding to the Voice of the Lord when he calleth them by the Gospel yet through the alone proper fault of Man it becomes unfruitful for the Lord doth not usually come to Persons in such a mighty Whirlwind as 1 Kings 19. 11. to force their consent and carry them headlong to their duty and irresistibly compel them to embrace eternal Happiness and shew such a Miracle of his mighty Power as he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead or upon Lazarus when he had lain four days dead in the Grave Now it is true the Power by
And pray you to what end are all his Promises in Scriptures are they not to spur us on to a holy and pious Life but how vain are they when they are upon condition of our repentance believing and obeying the Lord which is as possible to perform without Grace as to eat up a Rock Now if God makes a promise to give us Heaven on condition we do believe and yet never gives us a Christ to believe in nor power to believe these are Promises equal to a bare denial but far be it from the most High that any of his Promises should be either false or fraudulent his Promises are in Christ Yea and Amen they are as unchangeable as his being they are not fair to look on like the Apples of Sodom but afterwards die in a mere nothing of performance And to conclude this Point I must needs tell you that I look upon all those no better than ungrateful Blasphemers and Liers that say God hath required us to perform those things which he hath not given us abilitys whereby we may cooperate with him in doing those things which he hath injoyned us to do and in avoiding those things he hath forbidden and yet it shall be our Condemnation Calvin himself acknowledgeth that Man's refusing God's Grace evidently presupposes there is in every Man a real power to imbrace it Philet But do you hold that God gives special discriminating Grace to all you ought to make a distinction between God's Grace for there is common Grace and special Grace his common Grace is given to the whole Universe but his special Grace only to the Elect. Philad I believe God gives not his Grace to all alike but to some more and to others less according to the good pleasure of his Will yet he is wanting to none but such as are wanting to themselves O Israel thy destruction is of thy self Hosea 13. 9. Man's destruction is of himself for not faithfully doing of that which God by his Grace hath enabled him to perform But pray what is this you call common Grace and what discriminating Grace Philet Common Grace is the single Talent of Reason and Understanding with the good things of this Life which all Men injoy and those that live under or within the sound of the Gospel call are under the external Offers of Grace we are not under the Law but under Grace that is the Gospel yea and may from thence receive common Grace viz. Illumination Conviction legal Humiliation c. But special Grace is an inward Work wrought in the Hearts of the Elect by the irresistible Power of the Spirit Philad Pray tell me one thing For what End and Use is God's Grace given to any let it be never so small was it given to do Evil Philet No. Philad What then to do nothing withal Philet No Men that receive it are not to be idle with it Philad Then doubtless it was to honour and glorify the Lord with it here on Earth and through Christ is sufficient to glorify him in Heaven if he be a faithful improver of it But it doth appear that those that have received one Talent have receiv'd a small measure of Grace this you will not call by the name of Special Grace what is not the least measure of Grace which we injoy from God a special Favour and is not Grace as it comes from God whether great or small the same in Nature and will not the least measure of Grace faithfully improved through Christ lead us to Heaven and the non-improvement of it lay the receiver under unpardonable guilt for we shall be accountable to God for what he gives and no more God did not require the improvement of two Talents of him that had received but one neither did the Lord take away the one Talent from him that had it till he hid it and would not improve it Philet Why he that had received the one Talent receiv'd but common Grace and one reason he could not make that one Talent two was because he had not special Grace to inable him to improve it so tho he might have received so much as to leave him without excuse yet it was not sufficient for Salvation Philad But it was not sufficient to leave him without excuse if not sufficient to effect that which the Lord expected from him and still Mens not believing or obeying the Lord must be laid at his door as if God would damn Persons for not improving their Talent that never had sufficient Means or Power to do it You in effect say that God requires Persons to believe and obey him yet he hath not enabled them so to do is not this plainly to say God exacts more of his Creatures than they are able to do God grant you repentance for these your hard sayings Surely if he that had received the one Talent had not thereby received power and opportunity sufficient to improve it according to the Lord's Will it would not have been so provoking in the sight of the Lord as to cause him to pass so heavy a Doom upon him as to be bound hand and foot and cast into utter Darkness This is not like the Righteousness and Equity of God's Proceedings with wicked and ungodly Men to bring the Vengeance of Eternal Fire upon the Heads of those who did not do that which was impossible for them to do surely we shall be accountable to the Lord for no more than what we receive from him according to that principle of Equity attested by our Saviour Luke 12. 48. for unto whom much is given of him much shall be required and then by the rule of contraries unto whom but little is given but little shall be required He that hath one Talent must be only accountable for that and he that is faithful in a little shall be ruler over much And seeing you pretend very high to Grace above others know this God expects sutable returns he that improves his one Talent well shall be rewarded with a well done good and faithful Servant when thou with all thy Light and Talents if not improved according to the Will of the Doner thereof shall receive the greater condemnation and then instead of free Love thou wilt meet with just Wrath therefore fear and tremble lest gracious Favour be abused But come Philetus let us leave this I believe you cannot make it out how the Gospel should be preached to those that God hath not given a Christ to believe in nor power to believe You know it was the Gospel Ministers Work and the first thing they were to do was to say Peace be to this House Luke 10. 5. But what Peace or Glad-tydings could they bring or speak to those where God intended none Philet But it is not known whom the Lord hath chosen to Life and therefore the Word of Life is to be preached to all tho only those will receive it whose Hearts the Lord opens by his mighty Power so
gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity for his heart was not right in the sight of God And saith Duveil upon this place Many that are not of a right heart in the sight of God may oftentimes excel in the Gift of the Spirit for neither did the perverseness and Hypocrisy of Judas the Traitor hinder him to excel in the Gifts of the Spirit neither had the Gifts of the Spirit been so corrupted 1 Cor. 14. if their hearts had been sincere Luke 8. 13. These are they which for a time believe and in time of temptation fall a way But we are fallen into an Age that the practick part of Christianity is almost destroy'd by the speculative part As if the truth of our Faith did not stand with a course of holiness and strict walking with God And as Dr. Burnet saith in his Preface to the Life of God in the Soul of Man That in more antient times those that wrote Apologies for the Christian Religion did appeal to the Lives of the Christians to prove their Doctrine holy but alas when we write Apologies we must appeal from the Life to the Rule and Precepts of Faith which ought not to be Philet But it hath wrought Reformation of Life in me Philad Hyprocrites have been famous for moral virtues yea many that you will not own for Christians in many things excel you at this day Remember the Scribes and Pharisees read 2 Pet. 2. 20 21 22. where you may see that some that shall not escape the damnation of Hell may notwithstanding escape the pollutions of the World and that through the knowledg of the Son of God Philet But I see such Excellencies in Christ that I have longings of Heart after more intimate acquaintance with him Philad Strong desires may Hypocrites have after Christ and Heavenly things John 6. 34. Mat. 25. 8. Numb 23. 10. Philet But the Lord hath given me through the Spirit a foretast of Heaven it self in the first-Fruits of it Philad May not this be found in Apostates also Heb. 6. 4 5 6 So tho I do not charge you to be a Hypocrite to pretend to what you do not injoy yet this I say since every saving Grace in the true Christian hath its counterfeit in others this will not be sufficient to prove Christ died for you but must find better grounds for it than such marks which are as proper for Hypocrites as true Believers you may indeed have an opinion that Christ died for you but where are your grounds seeing the certain knowledg whom Christ died for must not be built upon any good which we may suppose in us but upon the Word of the Lord so till it be proved beyond all Objection that Christ died for you and hath not decreed to leave you in the Fall c. all comfortable assurance of your Eternal State will be cut off if ever you should fall under the dread and horror of it and methinks could I be got to believe that Christ died but for a few and no Man could prove Christ died for him but by such Marks as you talk of I am so conscious to the failings and deceitfulness of my own heart that I should despair of Mercy but here 's my support that God would have all Men to be saved hath redeemed all calleth all to Repentance and believing in him with gracious promises of Life and Salvation and now seeing God loveth all Men and desireth their eternal good therefore mine as well as others if I by true Faith apply that through the assistance of the Spirit to my self which is offered in general to all And how doth the certain knowledg of this tend to beget honourable thoughts of God and fill our Hearts with precious indearedness to Christ yea soften our Hearts when we sin against such Mercy and Grace yea make us look upon him whom we have pierced Zach. 12. Yea and if at any time poor Souls come to be bowed down under the weight of Sin and knows not how to be delivered from their fears and dangers but are ready with the Church Lam. 3. 18. to sit down and say My hope is perished from the Lord Now at such a time as this when the Love of God in Jesus Christ is set home upon the Heart O what work will this make upon such a one O the dear Love that this begets in a sincere Soul for Christ and O methinks what a comfort is it to Gospel-Ministers that in their declarations of the Gospel they can offer it to all and labour with Souls to bring them over to the Lord But how faint and cooly must other Ministers be in tendering of Christ to Sinners or how can your Ministers tender Christ to their hearers or be earnest with them to imbrace Christ or believe in him when they do not know whether Christ died for one of them So notwithstanding all you have said to prove your Title for Heaven and to be one of those that Christ died for yet since you place Salvation upon the absolute Decree of God and that Decree is kept secret to you you cannot say of your self you are one of those that Christ died for and that you shall go to Heaven because you at present believe no more than you can say of any wicked Man in the World that he is one of those that God hath left in the Fall without a Saviour since he that is now wicked may be called and saved such were some of you 1 Cor. 6. and you may make shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience fall from your first Love and so miss Heaven Philet I see you are for falling away from Grace Philad No I am not I am against falling away Philet Yea but you hold that a true Believer a Child of God and in a state of Grace may so far fall away as to miss Heaven you are not able to prove by any Example in the Scripture where any true Believer hath fallen from Grace Philad Suppose I cannot prove by any Example in Scripture that any true Believer hath fallen doth it therefore follow that no true Believer can possibly fall suppose no true Believers ever yet fell away yet 't is possible they may Philet How prove you that Philad From 2 Pet. 2. 20. If those that have clean escaped the pollution of the World and that thro the knowledg c. may fall away then other Believers may Philet That is not the description of a true Believer Philad How any one can escape the Pollutions of the World c. and yet not be a Believer I know not Philet 'T is meant of gross Pollutions of the World and so a Man may be free from the gross pollutions of this World in the midst of inward Impurities and Hypocrisies they were free from the gross acts of Sin so that they did not come into the view of the World Philad That is as much as to say their escaping was not
real they had but seemingly escaped the pollutions of the World they were at best but Hypocrites how then could the latter end of such be worse than their beginning Nay what if they had put off their guise of Religion wherewith they deceive the World and appeared like themselves in their swinish nature could that make their end worse than before seeing Hypocrites are like to meet with the greatest condemnation Mat. 24. 51. But how those can be said to be Hypocrites that have clean escaped the Pollution of the World thro the knowledg of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ I cannot see unless Hypocrisy be no Pollution and if it be then were they no Hypocrites or else they had not clean escaped the pollution of the World nor from them that live in Error ver 18. which he affirms But we must hasten to put an end to this days Discourse Now consider Heb. 6. 6. where the Author speaks of the impossibility of renewing some by repentance in case they fall away which plainly supposeth there is or may be such a thing incident to Man and it is very evident from this Scripture that the Author admonisheth those whom he judged true and sound Believers for he here speaketh not of ordinary and common but of special and excellent Grace and yet these are under a possibility of falling away for ever for doth not the Author give them to understand that notwithstanding they were most eminent Saints and Believers yet through carelesness and carnal Security they might make Shipwrack of their Souls and perish Philet What are these Characters applicable to none but true Believers Philad If there be any Persons under Heaven that may be judged true Believers they are such as these mentioned and if you can shew me any that had all these Gifts and yet were destitute of true Grace Philet I cannot give you a particular Instance of all these meeting together in one Person that was not a Believer But can you prove that these Qualifications are applicable to none but true Believers Philad If they be applicable to any others give me an Instance where for I know of none from whence we have cause to believe that true Believers may possibly apostatize so far as to be under an impossibility of being renewed again by Repentance and so perish Again in 1 Cor. 9. 27. you may see that Holy Paul after his Conversion to Christ took great care and pains to beat down his Body c. which was needless in him if he were under no possibility of falling Again that true Believers are under a possibility of falling appears a truth because the Lord by his Holy Spirit in his Prophets and Apostles doth by many Exhortations Promises and Threatnings labour to prevent apostatizing in them and to cause them to persevere But if your Doctrine be true that there is an utter impossibility of a final falling away what savour of Wisdom or Sense is there in admonishing Persons against that which there is no possibility of ever coming to pass but that God will by an irresistible hand of Grace and Power preserve them in a state of Grace and Favour how desperately careless or wicked soever they shall be yea tho they fall into ten thousand abominable Sins yet they shall be brought to repentance before they die doth not this make all Exhortations Threatnings and Promises unnecessary For if Men be assured they shall never perish pray tell me why they should labour to prevent their perishing Moderat But you must understand that the Means and the End are coupled together and that God that hath appointed the End hath appointed the Means to attain the End and God makes use of our own Endeavours as the Means to attain Heaven and prevent our Apostacy as in the case of Noah tho he was assured and that from God himself that he should not perish by the Water yet he was to make the Ark here you see that tho he knew God would save him yet he used the means or else he knew he should not be saved he did not say to himself God hath bound himself by Covenant to save me now if I make not the Ark his Word is his Word and he will stand to it tho I be false yet he will be true tho I do not as I should yet he will do as he hath promised and therefore I 'll spare my labour but you see Noah is of another mind he will not sever God's Word from the Means he judged that if he made not the Ark he was to look for no deliverance this was his Divinity So in Hezekiah's Case tho God had promised to add fifteen years to his Life yet he was to use the means God had appointed to sustain Life as Meat Drink Rest c. yea tho the Lord had absolutely promised that he would add fifteen years to his Life yet there was to be a Plaister of Figs applied to his Sore in order to his recovery So likewise in that of Paul Acts 27. 22. compared with 31. tho the Lord had promised there should be no loss of any Man's Life yet afterwards Paul said to the Centurion and the Souldiers Except these to wit the Mariners by whose skill the Ship should be brought nearer to Land for their safety abide in the Ship ye cannot be safe So tho Christ had assured his Disciples that they should never perish and none should pluck them out of his Father's Hands yet he bid them watch and pray lest they fall into temptation Philad I perceive you look upon these Promises tho absolutely express'd yet conditionally intended so that none of all these should perish provided they should obey wholesom Advice and use all Means that in them lay for their preservation now do you believe this is true in Spirituals Moderat Yea doubtless Philad I say so too and dare be bold to assure from the Word and Promise of that God that cannot lie that not one true Believer shall ever perish who faithfully uses the means God hath prescribed in order to his standing And if Philetus be of this mind we shall soon agree What say you Philetus Philet I believe as God hath required his Children to use the means of Perseverance so he hath decreed they shall all of them use it accordingly and that he will so overpower them by his Spirit that it shall be beyond all possibility of miscarrying Philad Pray produce such a Decree if you can Philet In Jer 31. 33 to 37. you have an absolute Promise of Perseverance made by the Lord to the Church of God Philad You cannot prove by this Text that none can fall away this Promise was made to the dispersed Nation of the Jews whom the Lord in his anger had driven into all Countrys and therefore had a respect as well to the Unbelievers as true Believers amongst them Compare Ezek. 11. 17 18. where is a Promise of the same import yet in vers 21.
those that walk after their detestable things may bring ruin upon themselves Philet John 10. 29. there you have the Omnipotent God ingaging himself to preserve the Saints or sheep of Christ from either total or final Apostacy Philad John 10. 27 28. My Sheep hear my Voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them Eternal Life and they shall never perish c. Now I believe that those that are the Sheep of Christ which hearing his Voice follow him perseveringly to the end he will give unto them Eternal Life there 's no danger of perishing so long as they remain the Sheep of Christ Philet This cavil is cut off in the next Words neither shall any pluck them out of my hands therefore neither Sin the Devil the World nor Flesh can by any Temptation draw the Sheep of Christ from their Faith Philad How who told you so I give them Eterual Life neither shall may be able to pluck them out of Christ's hands when once they are landed upon the Celestial Canaan they may then say Now Sin Satan and wicked World do your worst But if you would have it respect the Saints as to this Life yet here is not the least shew of the great power of God ingaged for the compelling or necessitating of them to continue such to the end of their days and that they cannot cease from following him or any promise made to those that for the present hear his Voice and follow him yet if they shall quit the Faith and draw back from him they shall never perish how sinful and wicked soever they be Neither is it to be conceived as if Sin Wickedness Looseness and Profaneness could not unsaint Persons or pluck them from under the Lord's protection or separate them from the Love of God but that Sin will separate between Men and their God is evident from Isa 49. 2. But this rather shews That those that continue following of Christ shall be safe under the protection and safeguard of the Lord so as no Creature whatsoever shall be able to separate them from God Martha As God the Father looks for nothing from Man to partake of Christ so it is not Sin nor Evil that can debar any true Believer from a part in Christ It is a desperate thing in any so much as to serve a Writ of Damnation upon a Believer for in doing so they injure the Lord Jesus overthrowing the fulness of his Grace Philad That God hath made an assurance to any of injoying his Love and Favour but upon condition of their Love and Loyalty to him I suppose the Scripture is wholly silent nay such assurance is not honourable for God to make nor meet for a Creature to expect or desire for who can imagine that an infinitely wise and righteous God should ever ingage himself to any People to be their God unless they be also willing to be his People to love and live to him or what ingenuous Soul that truly loves God doth desire to be pardoned and protected and delivered from eternal Misery and injoy all the Blessings of his Child and yet pay nothing of that love and reverence that is due to him for such Mercys And whereas you speak as if it were not Sin and Evil that can make him that was once a Believer less beloved of God the Lord having once loved him he cannot cease to love him this I have answered before But such Expressions as these cannot be short of Blasphemy to put such a Saying as this in the Mouth of the Lord Tho thou addest Drunkenness to Thirst tho thou committest Whoredom Adultery Incest Murder and every ways cast my Commandments behind thy back yet shalt thou be precious in my Eyes and my heart shall be towards thee in the greatest Love and dearest Affection for ever And tho this may seem harsh yet your opinion leads directly to such horrid conceits of God For if Christ be not given Covenant-wise but the Promise of Life is made absolutely without any condition or proviso at all of Persons Love and Loyalty to him then it follows that the obstinate and resolved Sinners the loosest and most debauched Persons may as well lay claim to the Promise of Eternal Life as the most faithful and virtuous in the World and if you say 't is not Absolute it follows that it is Conditional for the wit of Man cannot shew a Medium between these two Philet We do not say that no Believers can fall into Sin fall they may fearfully but not totally and finally Philad Who ever said that the Elect such that believe and persevere to the end ever fell away finally I know none that say any such thing the Question is Whether the Grace of God may not be so resisted Isa 5. 4. Acts 7. 51. Mat. 23. 37. as to cause the Lord to take away his Holy Spirit from them and to suffer them to fall into a state of Perdition I would know why our Saviour hath told us that from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have if it be not for this reason because he hath lavished out his Talent and hath rejected the Power of doing well which was offered him surely there is no better arguing than that Man can resist the Grace of God because he doth and 't is a wonder that such as you are are not confuted by your own experience that Grace is resistible unless you will deny your self to be of the number of the Elect. Surely David had Grace to have done better than he did in the matter of Vriah but he resisted it and lay in his Sin a long time which shews that the precious Vessels of Election may fall away from Grace whether we take it for a gracious Life or for the Love and Favour of God for had he been taken away in his Sin without Repentance he might have perished Philet Ay but David being an elected Person tho he did fall into Sin God almighty decreed that David should repent and return neither could he die until he had repented Philad By these words you seem to hold that had David died before he had repented he had perished which he could not have done if he had not fallen from Grace Mar. The Apostle John 1 John 3. 9. saith Whosoever is born of God cannot commit Sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God he that cannot sin cannot fall either totally or finally Philad What cannot sin at all what then saith the same Apostle That if we say we have no Sin we deceive our selves Chap. 1. 8. And so James 3. 2. In many things we offend all we Apostles that are born of God which are regenerate and have the Seed of God abiding in us as much as any yet in many things all of us offend Mar. I do not say commit no act of sin but they sin not as wicked Men
to walk by 't is far more safe to leave them to the Lord who will not gather where he hath not strewed than thus to censure them for where much is given much is required Mr. Baxter tells us More proof pag. 95. That as the Jews had by Promises Prophecies and Types more means to know God than other Nations so they were answerably obliged to more Knowledg and Faith than other Nations were that had not or could not have their means Yea Mr. Calvin in his Epistle to the French New Testament as quoted by Mr. Goodwin says After Adam was left in such confusion he was fruitful in his cursed Seed to bring forth a Generation like to himself vicious perverse void and destitute of all Good and abounding in Evil nevertheless the Lord of his Mercy who doth not only love but is himself Love and Charity being yet willing by his infinite Goodness to love that which is not worthy of Love hath not altogether lost and overwhelmed Men as their Sins did require but hath supported them in Sweetness and Patience giving them time and leasure to return to him and set themselves to that Obedience from which they had strayed and tho he did suffer them to go after the desires and wishes of their own Hearts without Law without Government without any correction by his Word yet he hath given them warning enough which might have incited them to seek taste and find him to know and honour him as it behoveth them for he hath lifted up every where and in all places and things his Ensign and Arms that there were none could pretend ignorance of the knowledg of so Sovereign a Lord for that in all parts of the World in Heaven and in Earth he hath written and engraven the Glory of his Might Goodness Wisdom and Eternity St. Paul therefore saith true That the Lord never left himself without Witness even towards those to whom he hath not sent the Knowledg of his Word forasmuch as all Creatures might be Witnesses and Messengers of his Glory unto all Men to draw them to seek him and having found him to welcome him and do him Homage according to the Dignity of a Lord so Good so Powerful so Wise and Eternal and also did help each other in its place to this Guest for the Birds singing sung God Beasts cried aloud to him the Elements stood in fear of him Mountains reasoned with him Rivers and Fountains cast their Eyes upon him Herbs and Flowers smiled upon him altho indeed there was no necessity to seek him very far by reason that each one might find him in his own self being that we are all kept up and preserved by his Virtue dwelling in us in the mean while for to manifest more amply his Goodness and Infinite Clemency among Men he hath not contented himself to instruct them all by such Documents as we have exprest but hath especially given to understand his Voice to a certain People Surely here Mr. Calvin hath acknowledged that God hath vouchsafed sufficient Means to all whereby to come to the knowledg of him and consequently to repent and believe in him Philet But without Christ and a Work of Grace upon the Heart and Faith in him none can be saved doth not our Saviour tell Nicodemus John 3. 5. Except a Man be born again of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God That is he cannot be saved Philad Do you think our Saviour did there mean the Kingdom of Glory Philet Yea doubtless Philad I rather think that Christ spoke it of the Kingdom of Grace or the Visible Church of Christ that none could not or at least wise ought not come into it without Regeneration and holy Baptism yet may a Person be a Member of the Universal Church yea and be received a Member of the Triumphant Church in Heaven that may not be a Member of the Visible Church of Christ here on Earth for there are two sorts of Persons that cannot in an ordinary way be regenerated and born again which yet may and shall go to Heaven to wit Children and Idiots So tho it is a truth that without Jesus Christ there can be no Salvation yet if there is no Salvation without believing on the Name of the Lord Jesus what then will become of these and all dying Infants who neither have Faith nor are regenerated and yet they shall have Salvation by him Now as God hath one way to bring Persons of Age to Heaven and another way to bring infants why may not those that never had the means to know the Mediator particularly and distinctly have Salvation by him Infants and those many millions of Heathens in some remote parts of the Earth to whom the Gospel was never preached must unavoidablely and eternally perish if God hath provided no other means of Salvation by Christ than such a way of preaching it as is vouchsafed to us We know that the Judgment of God will be according to Equity he knows what he hath laid down what he hath given and what to require and how to reward every Man according to his Works and his Mercys are infinitely extended over all his Works and he is not so severe as to exact more than frail Man is able to perform but according to what light and knowledg he hath given him and whosoever worship God and do his Will according to the manifestation which he hath given them of his Will shall be accepted of him Acts 10. 34 35. He that improves one Talent well shall be accepted as well as he that improves five for surely the Almighty will never require any more of a Man than he hath given him therefore I believe that all those that are obedient to that Light or Law which the Lord hath given them endeavouring according to their measure an exact conformity to the Divine Will shall be happy and it would be a great piece of uncharitableness to exclude them from all interest in Christ and to allow none to have any saving benefit by Christ's Death but such as own the true Orthodox Faith as it is called by some we may by this damn by wholesale not only all the Gentile Nations but also most other Christians who have erred in Judgment and have unwittingly mistaken the Truth 〈◊〉 God forbid Tho many in our days 〈◊〉 that without hopes or sense of their â—ondition exclude them from any part in Christ or the Church of God as did the Jews of old who reputed themselves the only Children of the Kingdom boasted of their Privileges as having Abraham to their Father and cried the Temple of the Lord how much soever they abused the means and neglected God and reputed the Gentiles but Castaways not being circumcised nor brought into the visible Jewish Church-state yet had the Lord a regard to them when the Visible Church-state extended it self no farther than the Familys of Abraham Isaac and Jacob as appears by the effect