and refused to go where they went for the alms So that that 's impertinent That in Acts 13.48 seems to have the greatest force for proof that Faith is in some the fruit of Election The words are And they believed so many as were ordained to life eternal The word that we Translate Ordained is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is properly to rank and order and often in the Writings of the Apostles is used to signifie an actual appointing or ordering to a thing as Rom. 13.1 The Powers or Authorities that are are ordained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ordered or ranked of or under God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some expound it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from Acts 22.10.14 as if it were foreappoined or ordained But the word is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 foreappointed as if it spake of an act of Gods purpose and counsel in himself only But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Besides that word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies too an actual setting apart or separating in time unto a thing a transient act of God upon a creature as is plain Acts 26.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I have appeared to thee to ordain or foreappoint thee a Minister and Witness of those things that thou hast seen Where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to foreordain is a thing not precedent but consequent to Gods appearing to him for he appeared to him he saith not because I had fore-appointed thee but to fore-appoint thee which was an actual ordering him into such a place or office before he should or could act in it and so * Châ—â—s in locaâ— Chrysostom interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 separated to God and the Syriack interpreter by Positi put into such an order The sense then is So many as in the call of God and by the coming of his Word unto them were separated from the world unto and disposed ordered or set for eternal life believed And then it s further to be considered That the word Believed signifies here as sometimes else a continuing or abiding in believing as in Joh. 2.11 His Disciples believed on him They were Disciples and had faith before but now they believed that is went on believing in him they were furthered in their faith confirmed in it and so in verse 22. They believed the Scripture after the Resurrection They did so in part before but They believed there is all one with they were fastened or confirmed in believing them they believed them stronglier So Joh. 17.8 They have known and believed in opposition to those that believed for a time and then fell away these continued believing And so in Acts 17.34 Some clave to Paul and believed that is abid constant in the Doctrine and went on in it Such I conceive may be the meaning of it here too The Gentiles glorified God they were generally affected and taken with it Many were called And they believed so many as was ordered or ordained to life eternal that is they abode constant in the Doctrine they were not for a flash onely as the others were others thought the Word true and rejoyced in it and glorified it but none abid in it but them that God more especially pull'd in to himself These things we have noted on the Minor though the faultiness of the Major is sufficient to overthrow the Argument in the thing that should have been concluded viz. That Faith is the immediate fruit and effect of Christs death which God is obliged by it to give to All that Christ died for All the fruits of the New Covenant are procured and purchased by him Argu. 3 but Faith is one of them But neither doth this conclude And we have shewed before cap. 1. lib. 3. that he neither hath proved Faith to be a fruit of the New Covenant but a thing presupposed Nor that that Covenant is made with all them that Christ died for That without which its impossible that we should be saved Argu. 4 must be procured by him by whom we are fully and effectually saved This may be granted in the sense we have taken the word Procuring And yet it concludes not neither except he could infer But all that Christ died for are fully and effectually saved which he doth not nor can any where prove Besides his proofs prove neither the Major nor the Minor Matth. 1.21 His people Heb. 7.25 All that come to God by him And intimately Heb. 5.9 He is the Author of eternal salvation But to whom saith the Apostle To all that obey him None of which Scriptures takes in Faith as one of those things which he is the Author Procurer or Confirmer of For the very Suppositum in them all is Believers his people men called and of no people made a people of God as 1 Pet. 2.10 They have faith Them that come to him and obey him they have faith So that Christ may be affirmed to be the Author of their eternal and perfect salvation there mentioned and yet not the procurer of their faith As David was a protector of all that fled to him and stood by them to the utmost and yet it follows not that he purchased it of any to make them come to him So that this also is impertinent The last Argument is that of Phil. 1.29 Argu. 5 Its given to you to believe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He leaves out the Article 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which may be read thus It s given to you as pertaining to Christ not onely to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake This is given of grace As if he should say I speak not now of all sufferings and faith but of what pertains to Christ and what is in his Cause As pertaining to Christ its given by Grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not onely to believe c. Or thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. To you that which pertains to Christ was given freely not onely to believe on him but also to suffer for him But let the words be read as they are though I conceive not so rightly because of the Article 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 omitted yet it follows not either that it was given them as his purchase I may give a man a thing for my childs sake because I love him and would have him esteemed and loved which yet is not by him bought of me for that man Or if so yet it follows not that Christ did so for all that he died for Christ might procure that God should absolutely make some believe in him and yet leave him to glorifie his Mercy or Justice on others as he pleases leave them to such grace as whereby they might have been brought to believe in walking out in the means according to power given yea leave it wholly to the meer VVill of God whom to cause to believe both as to persons and their number So that no wayes doth this Argument conclude Nor doth Ephes 1.3 another
all Unbelievers CHAP. III. A consideration of 1 Joh. 2.2 and 2 Cor. 5.19 In Answer to what Mr. Owen says about him IN his third Chapter he proceeds to another instance of Scripture for us viz. 1 John 2.2 He is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins onely but also for the sins of the whole world Urged by us both from the plain full expression which except in opposition to some called out of the world always signifies All men the world and then All men besides those spoken of with or opposed to it when so joyned And 2. From its opposition here to believers or speaking of it as a distinct party beyond them To pass by his frivolous exposition of men living in all parts of the world which is as good as nothing by way of opposition to us That expression reaching to All men in the world except it were bounded with some limitation as onely some of all sorts living in All places And then we challenge him to shew us the words whole world so taken in any divine expression I shall view his more serious reply consisting of an indeavor to do these three things 1. Clear it to whom the Apostle writ 2. What his purpose and aim in this place is 3. What the meaning of Christs being a propitiation is and what he means by the whole world 1. For the first he saith This Epistle was peculiarly directed to the Jews But he holds in his proof of it For 1. He confesses he hath nothing in the Epistle that nominates them to whom he writ it to make the assertion infallibly true de fide and so what he can say is no matter of faith nor sufficient ground of limiting what what is evidently propounded in it to our faith Onely he brings probabilities as he calls them that it was intended to the Jews to them onely he must mean or he says nothing to the purpose they are these four 1. That John was one of them that was to preach to the Circumcision with Peter and James Now they writ to the Jews Ergo John also I answer Whether by the twelve Tribes and the strangers scattered abroad James and Peter mean the Jews onely is questionable seeing the place where the ten Tribes were carried was scarcely then known nor yet is And besides the Christians are taken into their place and made one body with them and I suppose are by our Saviour meant to be the twelve Tribes when he says The Apostles shall sit on twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel Matth. 19.28 Luke 22.30 And the Christians were strangers to the world more then the scattered Jews even the Gentile Christians also because of their conversation 1 Pet. 4.3 4. And sure that in 1 Pet. 2.10 Sometimes not a people but now a people agrees rather to the Gentiles then the Jews Again We finde Paul was one of them that was to preach to the Gentiles the prime of them and yet it s supposed he wrote to the Jews the Epistle to the Hebrews However that he preached often to them is manifest Acts 17. c. So John though firstly he was to preach to the Jews yet did take care of the seven Asian Churches and living after all the rest of the Apostles took care of all the Churches as an Apostle and its most probable that he writ to them all too his Epistle being Catholike that is universal and without any particular limitation and inscription to any Church or any sort of believers more then them of James and Peter were Yea he inscribes it to believers indefinitly not to Jew-believers Chap. 5.13 These things have I written to you that believe He says not to you that are believing Jews or the like but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Believers then as such and so all such are those he directed it to that they might know that they have eternal life c. So that there is more probability yea more from the very letter of the Epistle against his conceit then for it But 2. He tells us John frequently intimates that those he wrote to received the Word from the beginning Now the Jews had it first preached to them He instances Chap. 2. ver 7. That commandment which ye heard from the beginning The words are thus I write no new Commandment to you but an old Commandment which ye heard from the beginning the old commandment is the word that ye heard from the beginning Now who would conceive that the meaning of that is this The word that ye heard before the Gentiles The truth is He tells them He writes no new Commandment to them but that which they alwayes had heard from the beginning of the Gospels being preached to them They should not think they preached one to them at first but now as some false Apostles would perswade them and as many Deceivers would do believers now that its necessary that they should have some other Doctrine then that at first preached to them some higher things then the Gospel contains new things that they never heard of before no says he it s but the same as in ver 24. Let that therefore which ye have heard from the beginning abide in you Let not that slip those first foundamental Truths With that also in Revel 2.24 25. and 3.3 and if that abide in you that ye heard from the beginning ye shall abide in the Father and in the Son It s the same in substance with that of Paul to the Gentiles at Corinth 1 Cor. 15 1 2 3. I do you to wit of the Gospel which I preached to you not of another but that which ye also received and in which ye also stand and by which ye are saved if ye keep in memory how I preached to you viz. How that amongst the first truths 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ died for our sins Keep saith he those truths heard in the first place the word of the beginning of the Gospel of Christ as Marke calls it Mar. 1.1 and as it s called Heb. 6.1 The Word of the beginning of Christ and in Chap. 3.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the beginning of the Confidence those Doctrines which first begat confidence in them that 's the old Commandment though new in it self and comparatively to former Dispensations in shadows in darker Ages of the Church So that makes not one jot for him Beza In locum expounds it Verbum Evangelii ab iis jam pridem auditum quibus insâ—ribitur Epistola Christianis sc minime novitiis c. 3. He argues from the opposition between us and the world as a Jew reckoning himself with the Jews in opposition to the rest of believers in the world Which he thinks is enough alone to manifest whom he wrote to But this is the most improbable of all the rest as if the Apostle writing to all believers would not reckon himself one with them whether Jew or Gentile but keep open yet the
world by the knowledge of him do keep themselves such unspotted Virgins and walk constantly after Christ nor that they shal All be saved Not a syllable to that purpose It says those 144000. did keep themselves Virgins pure and chaste to him and that they overcame and triumphed according to the promises set before the Churches in general But these false Teachers did not so but returned back again to their pollutions and therefore though bought yea the rather for that they should be destroyed I wonder that men have no more fear of God before them then to say the Scripture expresses such things as are not expressed in it and in the mean time tell us they are but appearances like seeming dreams that are expressed 3. How this is a peculiar aggravation of their sin may be seen by what is said above viz. in that it hath more in it then meerly a dying for them yea more then is common to every one especially in the degree of their being bought As also further in that all do not so disserve him that bought them no not all of them that perish as these that by false doctrine should deny him and lead many others into the transgression with themselves 4. The last place is Heb. 10.29 of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy who counts the blood of the Covenanted a common thing c. He should have done well to have taken in ver 26. also If we sin willingly after the knowledg of the Truth received there remains no more sacrifice for sin c. And told us whether such a one as so sins had any sacrifice before his so sinning or not and so whether they deprived themselves of any benefit they might have otherwise had by Christs Sacrifice I have asked one or two that question from whom I could never yet get answer to it But let us view what he says to that other verse He tells us It s an argument to perswade to continuance in the Gospel-Doctrine taken ab incommodo and that 1. He speaks here onely of professors of the Gospel and so it cannot be applied to All that 's granted nor do we so apply it but to prove that mens perishing for whom Christ died is a thing that the Apostles supposed and so that Doctrine that confines Christs Death to them onely that shall be eternally saved is erroneous 2. That the Apostle asserts not what is or may be but onely adds a commination upon a supposition to deter from a thing impossible he should have said but if the Apostles speech doth not imply a possibility for one that is sanctified by the blood of Christ to count it a common thing and so to fall into condemnation yea if this doth not sometime fall out how is it that men generally make use of this place to describe the sin against the holy Ghost that is unpardonable Is there not such a sin as that or do they take incompatible and impossible expressions to describe it Certainly if the description be of impossibilities and things that never fall out then the thing defined is of that nature too Again will any say that its never found that any man tramples Christ under his feet that is despises and scorns him or that none ever despite the Spirit of Grace I suppose all will agree that these things sometimes at least are committed And why then shall we think that the expressions of either side are suppositions of things that may be and sometimes are and onely think otherwise of this that lies between them and is as much supposed as either of them Either let us say they are none of them possible or else say they are all so or shew some weighty ground to the contrary He tells us Paul supposed that if the Marriners left the Ship Acts 27. they could not be saved and yet it was not possible that they should not be drowned because God had told him he had given him all that were in the ship with him But first that concludes not this supposition to be of a thing impossible at least no more then it doth the other too that before it and that after it or then it doth any other supposition in Scripture it being to another business Secondly That saying of God might not hold forth to Paul that it was impossible they should any of them be drowned For Paul was not unacquainted that God oftentimes in such speeches intimates a condition As when he told David that Saul would come to Keilah and the men of Keilah deliver him up 1 Sam. 25.11 12. and yet neither of them came to pass because there was intimately ver 13. this condition in his Answers viz. if David staid there So he told Ely that his house and the house of his Father should walk before him for ever yet he after tells him it should not be so because he had not hearkned to him 1 Sam. 2.30 so he said by Jonas Yet forty days and Niniveh shall be destroyed and yet there being a condition implyed in it they were not destroyed Jonah 3. and 4. So Paul knew how to interpret Gods Sayings that they held forth a certainty of the event upon submission to him by them to whom they were spoken in the use of such means as he sets before men but yet include a possibility of missing upon tempting him or rebelling against him and so he might well say Except these men abide in the ship ye cannot have Gods Promise accomplished ye cannot be saved God doth not so promise us an end that 's that to be attained though we tempt him and reject the means as clearly appears by multitudes of the rebellious Israelites failing of the promised Canaan Yea the words I have given to thee all that are in the ship with thee might signifie a giving their lives into his hand so that he using the means propounded of God to him they should be preserved but his neglect of them might have been a willing throwing away or letting go what God had given him Again thirdly the case is different in this That there Paul had a promise of all their lives but I know no one word that says none of them that Christ died for or that are sanctified in any degree by his blood can or shall perish That they that believe in him hear his voyce and follow him shall not it s confest but in those speeches there is intimated an abiding and perseverance for else it s an evident case they would not But that all that do at any time in any measure or degree believe or that at any time hear his voyce shall alwayes do so or that they that in any degree are sanctified shall persevere therein to the end and cannot neglect Gods Salvation and by willing neglects fall away I finde no Scripture that affirms it but much to the contrary That he hath for ever perfected by his Sacrifice those that are sanctified is true if either
being translated into the English tongue for fear the Bakers and Plawmen not understanding some passages should be disheartned from or miscarry in their callings things without any great shew of weight worth other answering then Mr. Latimer gave to Hubberdine That in some places we are to take the Scripture as it lies none that are sober doubt Now if this objection suit not to the Scriptures in general but only to some places then who shall tell us what they are in which it suits not Sure the Apostles speak plainly in laying the foundation truths that are propounded to bring men to believe for if the language there be strange who shall understand what it is that is said if the trumpet there give an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself to battel Now this point we speak of namely the death of Christ and for whom it is is fundamental and the propositions that the Apostle the Teacher of the Gentiles lays down as the Testimony he Preached in the other parts of them are very plain and perspicuous And that this only that he gave himself a ransom for all should be obscure is a groundless evasion of them that do not believe the truth seeing in their preachings of the Gospel he himself tels us they put no vaile over their faces in their ministration but manifested the truth to every ones conscience which sure they did not if they spake so figuratively that many might mistake and few could perceive their meaning as is pretended It s true the Gospel is a mystery but yet a mystery now revealed many things hard to be understood says Peter speaking of Pauls writings but that 's spoken particularly in the things of Christs second coming the word is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in which things not in which writings Again the speeches that are figurative are generally conspicuous by the maner of speaking as plain as Latimers Fox preaching in a Monkes Cowle and sometimes expresly called parables but no such thing is conspicuous in those places except in the allusive words of ransom and propitiation nor will the places bear such limitations as they speak of as the following Treatise proveth As for that inference of transubstantiation we deny it or the rest proveable upon that supposal No one Scripture saying that either Christ called the bread his body or the cup he took in his hand his blood more then that he said to the Jews destroy the Temple that he was walking in John 2. but by this he might mean and indeed point to his present body and by this Cup his present instant sufferings that he was about to undergo which the Scripture and himself also cals a Cup and the Cup that his Father gave him much less say they that the one or other was turned into his natural body or blood nor is the parallel fair between the doctrines of the Gospel preached as the first principles of faith and these Sacramental and more mysterious speeches Gen. 17.14 15. with ver 2 3 21. As inept it is almost as to make the Every fowl and beast that entered into the Ark to be a fit exposition of the Every man that Christ dyed for whereas the Scripture there expresly limits them to seavens and to two and two of every kinde and excludes the rest and there is no such limitation to any sums numbers qualities or conditions about Christs death they would hiss at men that should produce such places to parallel and limit the All and Every that shall arise or give an account of themselves to God by which shews them to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 absurd and foolish men in these their reasonings for want of faith These and such like rubs are sorry Remoraes to any that are capable of understanding reason and will Judg impartially in this controversie 3. For free will we say that God deales not with men as with stocks and stones and so much all generally grant us But what other I pray are men if their wils have no power or freedome given it of God to act this or that but as external powers carry them if they can only go quò fata trahunt whether they are necessitated can avoid no evil that they commit or do no good that they neglect And yet good reader mistake me not I believe man hath no power but what is given him of God either in naturalls or in spiritualls nor any power or liberty to spiritual acts till some spiritual force or power come to him from God That men are naturally dead in sins and trespasses and wholly strangers to the life of God cannot come to Christ except God draw them and when they are brought to him they cannot of themselves as of themselves think any good thought that 's right and approveable without the grace of God But I believe that God in naturals hath given men as more understanding so also more liberty of choice then the bruit beasts to them more then to insensitive creatures and in reference to spiritual life he hath and doth afford means to the natural man suited to his liberty and power to make choice or refuse to make use of as to read the Scriptures hear the word look upon and view his works c. and we conceive that though those things have no natural ability in them to to save or spirituallize such as use them nor the acts of men in using them can do any more thereto then the blinde mans washing in cold water to open his eyes Yet in as much as God useth to work in them as mediums and sends forth his Spirit with them to inlighten and draw men they are justly guilty of their own destruction that neglect those things when God affords them Yea further I understand and believe that God by his goodness and with and in those means prevents men and wroks in them manifesting his truth in them and giving them a discerning apprehension of it with convincing or drawing power and that he then gives them ability to do what they could not before as to acknowledg the folly he shews them confess the truth and goodness he makes evident to them strive against the ways they see harm them c. though yet these are not spiritual acts of divine and Christ like life they springing from self-love and desire of their own proper good not out of love to God But they that when they are so prevented and in such preventions reproved called allured to listen further to God in the means afforded do stop their ears close their eyes harden their hearts imprison the truth they see and neglect to use the power given them in these strivings of Gods truth with them are justly guilty of their own destruction should God there leave them and strive no longer with them and they that turn at such reproofs and listen yet to the truth that speaks to them and do not slothfully
neglect the power and liberty therein given them may meet yea are in the way to meet with further operations of the truth to convert and heal them to give life yea divine principles of life hope in God and faith in God to them he having said that such as turn at his reproofs shall have the Spirit poured upon them and his words made known to them and they that listen to him though dead shall live c. and that meerly out of his grace and good will toward them not out of either merits of Congruity or Condignity found in them Though that God passes by many rebellions in such cases and out of more abundant love where he pleases draws more prevailingly even those that have more rebelled many times passes by those that have less may be easily proved And wherein this or any thing in this either contradicteth or jarreth with the Scriptures I as yet see not That men may exercise or use their inatural faculties in the things in which God useth to shine in light to men as well as in others as to hear the word as well as to hear other discourses I see no ground of denying though they cannot hear with such pleasure and delight as they do other things till something there heard doth take them yet hear they may and mens negligence in such things is called slothfulness which stands not in a man 's not doing what he cannot but in not assaying to do according to liberty and might and rebellion when joyned with wilfulness Now whereas it s said that should men do to the utmost what they can by that light and power given yet that their doing would not save them To that I answer that it s not material for first as to the business in hand it s enough that they have power and liberty from God to do more then they do 2. It s granted that no act that God gives any man power to do can save him by its self It s not of him that willeth or of him that runneth Rom. 9.6 but of God that sheweth mercy but is not he that bids them listen to him and gives them light to see and discern such truths and motion to own and follow them able to save them or doth he any where give any intimation that upon their acting forth in these his workings in and with them according to the power and liberty he gives he will refuse to do any thing more for them by which they should be brought nearer to him so as they might be saved If they have then indeed they may well be slothful and say I had as good stay where I am and stifle what I see for yeelding up to it will not save me nor will God do any thing to that purpose further for me and so their slothfulness and rebellion may finde some excuse If not then it appertaines to them to hear his voice and as Caleb said in another case only not to rebel nor be slothful and let God alone with what pertains further to their eternal welfare which if they refuse to do they have no excuse in as much as for ought they know and that God hath said to the contrary nay rather by what he says he would have done for others had they harkened to his voice they might hopefully conceive that he would have revealed greater things to them Psal â—1 14 15. Isa 48.17 18. and put forth greater acts of power about them and so have saved them So that they cannot excuse themselves with pleading as the evil slothful servant and as many teach men to plead that God is a hard Master gathering where he strawed not and reaping where he sowed not they cannot say he refused to give them faith and further grace or knowledg of himself requisite to save them seeing they were unfaithful in that talent he gave them which had they improved as he willed and inabled them they might have had more for ought they or any know given them That such are Gods dealings with men as are above declared many Scriptures intimate as that he manifests his truth in them and they say to him Depart from us c. His goodness leads men to repentance they shut their eyes and close their ears least they should see hear understand and be converted and so God should heal them for which things God also many times in just judgment blindes deafs and hardens them too and seals them up to their destruction but he first strives with men and reproves them bids them turn at his reproofs and he will pour out his spirit upon them and tells them when he gives them up it was because they would none of him would not hear him would not chuse his fear liked not to have the knowledg of him and sayes had they hearkened to him their peace had been as the Rivers and their righteousness as the waves of the sea and he would have done thus and thus for them with many such like expressions but that any Scripture says that as men are naturally dead in sins and trespasses so he manifests no truth to them or gives no power with that truth manifested by which they might grope after him would not did they walk out in what he gives them give any more knowledg of Himself or Son unto them and would not bring them to believe c. We are yet to learn or that ever any did so and were there left by him notwithstanding and were condemned by him These things I say we neither finde plainly expressed in Scripture nor darklier intimated And that this derogates at all from Gods glory or liberty to shew more mercy as and where he pleases I would fain have any man to demonstrate to me Yea I appeale to any equal Judg whether this clears not the equity of Gods way far more and suits not better with the Scripture expressions then to say he gives them no such power or liberty and yet condemns them for not doing what they no waies might have done and doing what was no waies to be avoided by them requiring of men to act out all that strength that in Adam was given and punishing them as they fail in that Surely by the rule Jew and Gentile should both alike be punished they both equally by nature being destitute of that righteousnes and strength and not one more then another according to more or less now vouchsafed to them So that this Objection about free will is a meer rub cast in thy way too no such conclusion being provable by Scripture as that God gives to many men no power or liberty to do any thing that he requiers of them or that did they constantly act forth according to what he gives them yet he would do nothing more to them that would lead them to salvation or that Christ dyed only for such as he gives liberty to so as to bring them in actually and effectually to believe on him and
hirelings that leave the flock he tacitely instructs us what he would have other good shepheards do and so tacitely propounds himself as an example to us To which may be added this That the sheep of another fold whether people seeking after God in other Nations not yet gathered into unity with these believing Jews or others yet to be called its disputable seem to be spoken of as a distinct people from those for whom he sayes he laid down his life as not pertaining to his ministration as on the earth and so not so concerned in his Death as a shepheard for confirmation and strengthning of them by the view of his constancy in the faith believed as these sheep were The phrase is remarkable That so soon as he had said I laid down my life for the sheep he adds And other sheep also I have that are not of this Fold Others from what but those he had been speaking of that the Father had immediatly put under his charge in point of his vocal and personal Ministration For whose incouragement also in the first place he laid down his life witnessing a good confession before Pontius Pilate But I leave that to judicious considerations Again If by sheep not of this fold be meant such Gentiles as God had drawn to seek after him by those meanes of his goodness spread abroad amongst them though not yet led so far as to know and acknowledge or walk with Christ and his Disciples of the Jews such as Cornelius and some of his family were and others such might be as I see nothing to disprove it Then Mr. Owens Allegation of that afterward to prove That the word sheep contains others then those that are in some degree believers or fearers of God falls to the ground But however take it one way or other it nothing disproves the main controverted point viz. That Christ died not for his sheep onely I pass other following contentions not directly pertinent onely note That where in pag. 85. He saies he knows not where it s said For All men but is sure that Christ is said to give his life a ransom and that onely mentioned when it is not said for All as Matt. 20.28 and 10.45 I suppose it should be and Mark 10.45 his words are ambiguous for either he means that its only mentioned as a ransom where the word All is not joyned with it or where it s not extended to All and if so then speaks he evidently false for in 1 Tim. 2.6 it s in express tearms He gave himself a ransom for All or else that Christ is said to give himself a ransom and nothing mentioned but that in some places where it s not said for All. But then he trifles too For if it be said but in one place for All it s enough for our faith to close in with there being no one place that denies it of any and many being neither a limitation of nor contradiction to All as is evident To say nothing that there his Mediation and Ministration are joyned together To Minister and give his life a ransom for many Whereas in the conclusion of that Chapter he charges M. Moore with framing an objection like a man of clouts to which none of his Adversaries did ever contribute a penful of Ink. I shall say no more but this That to my remembrance I saw a writing sent him containing four Objections the same in matter and form as are there laid down in his book in the beginnings of his 14 15 16 and 17. Chapters And as I remember they were sent him by one Edmund Scottin of Emmith neer to Wisbitch So that therein Mr. Owen doth falsely asperse him being guilty himself of as weak Arguments as any one of them As may appear by this of dying for his sheep to which I have been lastly speaking CHAP. III. Concerning Impetration and Application with a view of and answer to what Mr. Owen saies to them in his fourth Chapter HIs next Chapter is about Impetration and Application About which I shall first propound my understanding and then consider what is said by him Thus then I conceive the Scripture to hold forth 1. That Jesus Christ by his Death and Sacrifice impetrated procured and obtained a release of all men from being dealt with according to that sentence of condemnation that passed upon them for the transgression of Adam so as that they should not be cut off and destroyed properly for that As Moses by his mediation for Israel procured a repeal or reversion of that sentence pronounced against them in Numb 14.11 12. of smiting them by Pestilence and disinheriting them ver 19 20. This I gather from Rom. 5.18 1 Tim. 2.6 2. That Jesus Christ by his death and Sacrifice impetrated procured or obtained power and Lordship to himself in the man over them all and all things concerning them Angels Devils and all creatures made for them that he should have power over them to rule or order them and make them useful and serviceable to all or any man or for chastisement and correction to them as he pleases This I ground upon Rom. 14.9 Acts 10.36 1 Pet. 3.21 3. That he procured and obtained thereby to have in himself in the Humane Nature all fulness of gifts and grace life and salvation so as that it might be dispensed unto all or any man in that way God and he should propound for participation thereof which in regard of the eternal life and salvation is only by receit of himself so as that it should not pass from him dividedly from himself but men must come in to him and receive him to receive and injoy that fulness in him And this I ground upon those Scriptures Psal 68.18 Ascending up on high and leading captivity captive he received gifts in the Man 1 John 5.11 God hath given us eternal life and this life is in his Son whence also as thus filled he is the Bread and Tree of life He that hath him hath this life and he that hath not him hath not life vers 12. He may impart and give other gifts to men that are apart from him and not in him but the main gift the life in him he gives injoyment of only to men in him so that if men would have it they must go to him for it though the servants are sent abroad and he comes forth with them to call men to the feast yet men must go into him by Faith and receive him into their hearts else they have not the efficacy of the feast prepared for them in him but he hath impetrated to have life in himself and fulness fit for All or any to look to him for and communicable by him to all or any in looking to him 4. He hath also impetrated and obtained that the ingagement of God to him should be fulfilled he having performed his Fathers will he hath obliged God as we may so say upon his promise to give him
the other If David venture his life for All the Israelites alike and after that he coming to have Power and Government one is by that knit to him and loves him again as Jonathan did and he enters into Covenant with him to be his choise friend and another regards him not for this but churlishly requites him as Nabal did and for that he destroyes him shall we say now That David loved Nabal as much as Jonathan because he acted the same highest act of love for them both formerly would not that be a notorious falshood And is not this then a notorious fallacy in Mr. Owen 2. He infers That for whomsoever he hath given his Son to them also he will assuredly freely give all things But I deny that the Apostle sayes any such thing But thus That having given his Son for us all he will surely give us all things with him Vs that is such as believe on him Vs that are in Christ that are called according to purpose c. Jonathan or Abigal making this Inference If David spared not himself but put his life in his hand for us all when we were strangers to him will not he that had so much love to us then give us Vs his federates and dear friends with himself having also given himself to us by Covenant whatever is in his power to the half of his Kingdom Will it follow from such a speech that Therefore whomsoever David loved so well as to venture his life for them against the Philistin to them he will give any good thing that 's desirable of him yea though many of them are his arch-enemies and do rebel against him Who sees not this to be a false Inference and yet such is this of Mr. Owens The believer doth or may expect all good things from Christ that died for them even upon that consideration that he died for them and shall have them therefore whosoever he died for shall have all good things too Thence also that Faith is not in the number of that All things spoken of appears because the parties thus speaking and of whom this is spoken are actuall believers before the making of this Inference That conception is like this He that was at such cost as to make a great Feast for us who are brought in to it already and are at it with thankful acceptance how shall he not give Vs to eat any dainty that is provided therefore it s from this speech inferable That he that was at such cost to make such a feast will make all that he invited to come and eat every dainty of it Whereas he saith His description of those persons there spoken of to be Elect not All but those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world confirms the restraint of the Death of Christ to them alone 1. He proves not nor I am perswaded can he That any man yet uncalled hath that denomination of Elect in Scripture 2. We may see the vanity of his Argument by this insuing Similitude David venturing his life and conquering the Philistin and obtaining the Kingdom Shall he not stand by his friends familiars and kindred He that did that for them when mean will he suffer any enemy to vex and spoil them being invested with the power of the Kingdom Ergo David hazarded his life onely for his friends familiars and kindred and not for any that were his enemies or that afterward dealt injuriously and rebelliously against him Is this a good inference The Elect of God be they what they will shall be preserved by the Death Resurrection and Intercession of Christ from perdition which is all the Apostle there says he sayes not they are the adequate object of Christs Death Therefore Christ died for no more then they nor desired any good thing to be granted to any other but to them Who that understands Reason would not hiss out such arguments So from these words of the Apostle concerning the Elect Who is he that condemns its Christ that died doth this Inference fairly follow That whosoever he died for shall not be condemned more then from this If David's brother or good Subjects had said Who is he that accuses us It s David the King that ventured his life for our good and now raings to defend us from harm it would follow Ergo None that he ventured his life for against Goliah shall be put to death for any after-carriage toward him It doth but undeniably appear to me from all this that Mr. Owen understands not the drift of the Apostle nor sees the maner of his reasoning but no whit evident That Christ died onely for the Elect as he sayes He next Allegation is Eph. 1 7. We have redemption in him Scrip. 6. That is still we that are brought to him made accepted in him translated into his Kingdom as Col. 1.14 and as himself grants in his Chapter against the Socinians where he denies any of the Elect to be freed from wrath till regenerate we have that is injoy or possess Redemption that is remission of our sins clearing freeing us from all our bonds c. Therefore all that he died for or Therefore he died onely for us Is this right reasoning put it into form and then judg of it it s thus If the believer hath redemption in Christ Then all that he died for But the believer hath c. I deny the Consequence of his Major Proposition and leave him to prove it And it in what sense All have release and in what not we have said before There is redemption in Christ for All to seek after and so remission with him preached or predicable to all that they might look after it but All for whom he died I say have it not that is have not received it and so injoy it not How also they may be comparatively to what their case should have been blessed and how not blessed in that sense spoken of Rom. 4.6 7. we have shewed in Chap. 7. His next is Scrip. 7. 2 Cor. 5.21 He made him to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him that is in believing on him Thence he infers All that He was made sin for are made the righteousness of God in him It s like that He brought them into Canaan that they might keep his Statutes Ergo All that were brought into Canaan kept his Statutes as we noted at the beginning So by his stripes we we believers are healed Ergo All that he died for shall though they never submit to have the playster applied David by hazzarding his life brought us his friends to honor Ergo He ventured his life for no more but them that come to honor As weak is that from Joh. 15 13. Greater love than this hath no man If he acted the greatest Why not all the rest In which there is nothing but Reason exalting it self against the Word of God David put his life in
Or can we expect that the telling men of its infinite sufficiency will beget hope in them more then if it were onely sufficient for them for whom it was intended whenas they are told they are never the more included in its intendment by vertue of its infinite sufficiency then if it was far less sufficient VVe may its true assure men of salvation if they be believers or do believe but can we upon that ground assure any one of good ground for their believing or that Christ is an object meet for them to believe on that he is appointed as a Mediator for them or is able to save them For can we say he is able to save any more then those that were included in his intention If he should save any more he must make a new bargain for them and pay a new price for their salvation VVhat is this better then Law-preaching to say If thou believest thou shalt be saved The Law promises life to those that keep it but affords not motive and spirit to effect what it requireth So doth their Doctrine promise life upon Faith but gives no straw affords no certain object that such or such have cause to believe on him demonstrates no love to the soul to draw it in to believe for that 's uncertain such Preachers give but an uncertain sound that cannot affirm that the VVord of God saith That there is any thing done by Christ for any one man in their Congregations that may evidence it a just and right thing for him to hope in God for salvation But he tells us That when God calls upon men to believe he doth not in the first place call upon them to believe that Christ died for them but that there is no name under heaven whereby they may be saved but only of Jesus Christ Well and is there not an intimation in that that Christ died for them Sure he that excepts the Name of Jesus Christ intimates he hath a Name by which they may And what is that Name Either signifies Power and Authority or the report and fame that goes on him Now he that leaves it uncertain whether Christ died sufficiently for them as he confessedly doth that leaves it uncertain whether Christ hath died for them leaves it also uncertain whether Christ hath power by his death to save them Nor can they fame him to be one able and ready to save them and so they cannot preach that there is a Name of Jesus by which they may be saved So that the proof he brings overthrows the Assertion which it is brought to prove Can men be called on to believe in God and not through a Mediator And can they look through a Mediator on him when they know not of any they have He then that calls upon me to believe through Christs Mediation as whoever calls upon men rightly to believe must do doth intimate that there is something in his Mediation for me to be incouraged to believe in God by and so by consequence that he died for me else be the merit of it never so great its no ground of Faith to me And surely however Mr. Owen determins God hath no where so determined nor the Apostles so Preached One tells us That the Record of God which he that believes not makes God a lyer is this That God hath given us eternal life and this life is in his Son He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life 1 Joh. 5.10 11 12. And surely this is the onely full ground of drawing men to the Son when they are told by the VVord of God that God hath given them life in his Son and the way to have it is to have him but rejecting him and not coming to him for life they reject life and deprive themselves of what God hath given them He that believes not this in every part of it when declared makes God a lyer and will not nor can come in to him to believe on Christ If he believe not that God hath given him life then will he either despaire or seek it by Works and not by Faith if not that this life is in Christ then will he not look to Christ for it or believe on him If he think he may have it and not have Christ and have Christ or not have it then will he neglect believing on Christ as a thing unnecessary or unprofitable for him So Peter tells the people Acts 3.23 God sent Christ to turn every one of you from your iniquities And Paul Acts 13.37 tells them that Remission of sins was Preached to them in Christs name both equivalent to Christs Mediating and dying for them and coming for their sakes And so in 2 Cor. 5.19 and Matt. 224.9 The Declaration of Gods good will to them is laid down as the ground of exhorting them to come in to God And to say no more See what the testimony is of which God made the Apostle Paul an Apostle and Teacher of the Gentiles in Faith and Verity Is it not that in 1 Tim. 2.4 5 6 7. God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledg of the Truth for there is one God and one Mediator between God and men the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransom for All And the appearance of the love of God to man was it that brought Paul himself in Tit. 3.4 5. Was it ever found that a man was called by God to trust in that that he never set up for him to trust in to stay upon Christs blood and Christ shed none for him So that I hope by this the vanity of Mr. Owens Inferences from his first premise appears and that his understanding of the Distinction of Sufficiency and Efficiency together with the Consideration of the dignity of the Sacrifice of Christ in regard as of his person so of the greatness of his pains holds forth onely this to us That God to make his Sons sufferings more valuable then needed to be for the bargain intended put him to more pains then he needed to have endured which is a piece of blasphemy But I pass from that Consideration 2. His second premise is about the Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace Consid 2. and inlarging of the Kingdom of Christ after his appearance in the flesh opposed to the former Dispensation restrained to one People and Family And this he says gave occasion to many general expressions in the Scriptures which are far enough from including an universality of all Individuals All which I grant him and will Instance a few such expressions for him as that of Peter Acts 10.34 Rom. 1.16 and 10.13 In every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him And that The Gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Gentile And that The Lord over all is rich in mercy
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Draw me not with the wicked c. So that as this place is beg'd for his purpose so it s impertinently indeavored to be confirmed That Rev. 5.9 Is the interpretation of that Text Joh. 12.32 the Scripture tells him not that 's beg'd and untrue also For if they were the All who are called the four Beasts and twenty four Elders who and what then were those 144000 mentioned to sing before those Beasts and Elders and said also to be redeemed Rev. 14.2 3 4. which number of 144000. agrees with the number of the sealed Chap. 7. Besides whom were yet an innumerable number out of all Nations Kindreds c. If the first were the All spoken of by Christ who were the other two numbers exceeding that All The following proof of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I conceive impertinent too for Did they take for Tithe the tenth species onely and not rather the tenth individual in Geometrical or Arithmetical proportion of every species And so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if Christ cured not every particular disease of the people where he was and that were brought unto him for of them onely he there speaketh So his instance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 2.8 That it cannot mean every individual place I Answer It means any individual place where ever men come none that I know excepted And that in opposition to an elected place onely as formerly in Jerusalem And if Mr. Owen will but grant us the same liberty of interpreting the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in verse 4. and 6. We desire no more I know not that the Apostle excepts either heaven or hell when the believers come into them but they may pray in them Paul conversed in heaven and I believe he prayed there too in his there conversing Phil. 3.20 and for Hell Jonas prayed out of the belly of it Jonas 2. And why others may not too that can pray I know not if ever God try them so far as to cast them into it His other Exceptions I pass over the whole Postulatum if granted being not material against us as we shall see I hope in due place He gives us some conclusions about the signification of the word All as 1. That it signifies All believers so as to be restrained to them So he says it is in Rom. 5.18 To all men to justification of life But there he is manifestly out For the Apostle himself subjoyns the Substantive to the word All All men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the word Man is equipollent to the word Believer is another question which I leave for Mr. Owen to prove For for my part I think not that all men are onely believers and none but they men The 1. Cor. 15.22 In Christ all shall be made alive He says is not All men but All believers onely In which he intimately asserts one of these two Propositions either that all men shall not rise or be quickned to life again or that it shall not be in or by Christ for so this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often signifies quoting Epes 4.10 He tell us That he might fill all things signifies That he might onely fill all believers And so that in Psal 33.5 may not be applied to Christ That the earth is full of his goodness Which as I am not bound to believe it because I have but Mr. Owens word for it so neither do I no more then that there is or may be no act of justification in any sense no not in the publike person none to life without faith because that 's the ordinary way to life eternal 2. He says All is used sometimes for some of All sorts it s the same he said before only he backs it with another impertinent proof for Jer. 31.34 says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all of them that is of the house of the Judah and Israel in the latter dayes not of All sorts of men and sure it is all the Israel of God the confessors of his goodness in faith that are taken into the Covenant and shall know God not only some of all sorts of them and whereas the Apostle Paul translates it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All in Heb. 8.11 he supplies the want of the Pronoun Affix in the next phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and I hope All from the least of them to the greatest of them is as plain as All of them he quotes also the 1 Tim. 2.1 2. and tells us he thinks the Apostle by All means All sorts and so he doth but that he means but some of All sorts is void of proof for he saith not some Kings and some peasants but Kings and all in Authority he names but one Genus of men men in authority and he says all of that sort And why not all of all the other sorts as well as that I expect some reason more then I shall meet with before I believe it Why all Merchants all beggars c. may not as well as all in authority be the object of my prayers I know no reason I think I have as good ground to think All of the one shall be saved as All of the other So that these are but impertinent observations to the purpose But then 3. He would have us compare the Generall expressions of the old and New Testament together the Lord affirming in the New to be done what was foretold in the old should be done so that they are answerable to and expository one of another Well I accept the motion but then this comparison must be adidem but so Mr. Owen compares not for he compares prophecies of the conversion of Nations families to the Death of Christ for all and his mediation for them but this is not equal The dying of Christ for a man was not the fulfilling of the prophecy of the conversion of that man and of his coming to Christ Act. 15.9 13 48. Col. 1.6 Those prophecies agree with these speeches God put no difference between them and us after that by faith he had purifyed their hearts and this The Gentiles glorified the Word of the Lord believed so many as were ordained to eternall life and this The Gospel is come to you as in all the world and brings forth fruit as it doth also in you and many the like But that he gave himself a ransome for All and is the propitiation of the sins of the whole world expound these praedictions of the conversion of All Nations I deny for these say not All believe or come to his holy mountain c. that invitation in Isa 45.22 Look to me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth is a call not a propheticall assertion That all the ends of the earth shall look to him and be saved So that this also is but a fruitless inept comparison Whereas he says when God saith he will wipe off
end propounded to and attainable by the world on condition of believing as healing was to the wounded Israelites by looking upon the brazen Serpent unto which Christ is resembled ver 14 15. Christ so sets Gods good will before the world there as may let it see and move it to believing as its duty But as M. Owen would have it understood we may say VVhat He would fasten upon us Solvite mortales curas c. Let every man take his own course and swim down the stream of a fatal necessity If there be any salvation to be had for him he must have it God will bring him to it though he look not after it and if it be otherwise it s in vain to think of it it s not so much his fault as Gods Wil that he believs not as a late Resolver hath too badly insinuated While he determins that there is no other cause why some believe not the Gospel preached to them but only the Wil of God himself As for his Reason viz. because this is the most eminent and transcendent love of God c. That would be considered how far its true and whether it will insorce his conception quite beside the tenor of our Saviours expressions Love may be considered either according to the things it acts forth as tending to the good of the party loved or according to the inward strength of affection as affording us means of good or possessing us of that good In regard of the first this wasa most glorious eminent and transcendent act of Love God afforded many means of good to the world but none of them in themselves so worthy and so glorious as his Son nor is there any thing in which either so much of Gods heart or good will to the world is to be seen that he delights not in their death but rather in their conversion and living or so much good to be met with as in him In nothing hath God condescended more to man or provided so much good for him As to its act then and provision of means to our good this is the most eminent act of his Love to us But yet this act of giving Christ is but the provision of good for us and of the best mean and way to it It s not the possessing us of the good in him with reference to that some that were loved so as to have Christ given as a way to life for them may not be the objects of so intense affection as others for whom he also gave Christ nor come to experiment that love of Delight or Fellowship in which his Love in giving Christ perfects it self in them that believe on him This act then I say of love to the world in which God gave forth Christ though it be the most eminent and transcendent in regard of his provision of a mean to its good and though it be that through which the most choise delightful acts of his Love are met with by those that believe on him yet as its comprehensive of the world is not an absolute purpose of all their salvation The same most eminent expression of Love may be acted toward many and out of exceeding great good will to them All too and yet may not be with the like intensness and eminency of affection and purpose for endevouring to make it beneficial to All as we noted above in the instance of David lib. 3. cap. 9. In a word Gods greatest love to the world was not an unchangeable absolute purpose of saving every one of them and therefore the giving Christ out of love to the world was not a giving him out of such a purpose to save every one of them The phrase So God loved will not evince it For though that word So intimates so exeeedingly so really and heartily to such a remarkable astonishable heighth yet it proves not either that he loved it equally to his Son or so as to purpose absolutely the eternal salvation of all of them For our Saviour expressing that So tells us that it was so as to give his Son That every one that believes in him should not perish c. but not so as to give all things to it as he says of his Son v. 35. which yet is the same love in which he loves his chosen his called and believing ones Joh. 17.24 Nor says he so as to cause them to believe in him and have eternal life So that that word So will not prove that his conception It s true as he also minds us That the Scripture says God commended his Love to us in this That Christ died for us though that 's not all the commendation of it but that he did that for us while we were sinners and ungodly And I think its a marvellous commendation of his Love that he died for All while sinners and they are the more to blame that withhold this so great commendation from multitudes by which they should be induced to believe in him love and serve him But will that prove that that Love was not his compassion and pity towards men that is therein commended or that it was an unchangeable purpose of making all those he so loved to answer his love with love again and so to attain to eternal salvation Cannot Love be commendable exceeding commendable except it be so received by all it acts towards as to make them grateful and so to attain the effects that it produces to the grateful Was not Gods Love to Israel in bringing them out of Egypt by a mighty hand and outstretched arm and taking them out of the midst of another Nation by signs and wonders to be a people for himself and speaking to them out of the midst of the fire from heaven an exceeding commendable love a love flowing from and most eminently of any other acts tending to the accomplishment of his Covenant made with Abraham Deut. 4.31 32 33 c. and yet all they to and upon whom all those most glorious acts of his love were acted were not therefore possessed of that end The land promised to Abraham to which they tended nor was his love therein then a purpose absolutely to possess them of that end except as Mr. Owen here argues he failed of his end The greater commendation it is of Gods Love that he gave Christ the greater ingagement it is to the world to believe on him love and serve him and the greater its sin that it not so answer such a love to them and the greater will his terror be in judging them that Christ died for All and yet many that had their lives through his Death lived not to him 2 Cor. 5.10 11.15 for God is a jealous God and may be provoked to jealousie by men and what is jealousie but love inraged or the fury that springs up from love abused as when he that loves hath his love slighted and others prefer'd before him Sure the Apostle uses this very love and its greatness
difference in the act as the same shine of the Sun may refresh a sound eye and yet hurt the same eye when sore 5. Then he says He gives not all things to All to whom he gave his Son This with the Scripture alledged for it is once and again answered before 6. Then he knows not certainly who shall believe and be saved Which no more follows from it then this God loved Israel to bring them out of Egypt that he might bring them that followed him into Canaan But he brought not all the Israelites into Canaan Ergo If he brought all the Israelits out of Egypt he knew not who would believe in him and follow him into Canaan What a piece of Non-sense is such an Inference But against the inlarging of the object he further thus reasons from the next particular That who so believes thus If the object be restrained there to believers then that depends upon the will of God or upon themselves If upon themselves That contradicts 1. Cor. 1.7 and men make themselves to differ If upon God then we make the place say thus God so loved All that but some should partake of the fruits of his Love and to what end then did he love All Is not this Out with the Sword and run the Dragon through with the Spear To which I answer That the second act the giving the injoyment of eternal life is here asserted but for them that believe and both the appointing life to the believer and the effecting of that faith depend upon Gods Will. As we can make no Law upon what terms to have that life So neither can we work in our selves that condition upon which God giveth that life Faith is the gift of God Acts 28.26 27. with Joh. 12.40 Yet this latter is so of God as that it is not without some actings of man to which he exhorts men and for want of which he justly faults them yea brings them not to faith It s by mans hearing though not of mans power Whence though one man listen to the means and is brought to believe and another that had as much power to have listened stop his ear and believes not yet it follows not that the first made himself to differ because not his listening but God by it gave the faith no more then one Israelite looking to the brasen Serpent being healed might be said to have made himself to differ from another that looked not up in point of healing in which they had both yet remained alike had not God given healing to the one and not to the other The impertinency of the Allegation of 1 Cor. 4.7 I shewed before Nor yet follows that other Inference That it s but thus God loved All that but some might partake of the fruits of his love For 1. There are other fruits then eternal life of which all partake 2. There is no exclusion of any from that condition by which we may partake of that When he says That every one that believes It s to incourage all to believe not to hinder any The whole Argument is but like this God brought Israel out of Egypt that he might bring them that obeyed and followed him into Canaan Either that restriction was determined by Gods Will or their own If their own then they made themselves differ one from another contrary to the Apostle If by Gods then the sense is He brought all out of Egypt that he might bring but some into Canaan To what end then I pray did he bring All out of Egypt Is not this Out with the Sword and run the Dragon through with the Spear Is not this folly and soppery thus to reason or from such a reason to deny the Truth of Gods Word and say God surely did not bring any out of Egypt but whom he brought into Canaan Or will he ascribe Caleb and Joshuah's faith more to will then the believing that which is attested by the VVord of God or by the powerful working of miracles or the like is the Truth of God Ay But if believers onely be the object that shall have salvation Then the general ransom is an empty sound Answer It is so to Unbelief as God himself is in respect of that infinite satisfaction that is in him and so was Gods bringing Israel out of Egypt to them that believed not Such is the pernicious nature of Unbelief that it turns wholsom food into poyson but to such as have learned to become fools that God might make them wise to those that learn to subject their reason to Gods Truth it s not so for they finde it a motive to draw them in to believe in God and to admire his Love to men and the depth of his judgments towards them yea in a word to teach them to deny ungodliness and live godlily as Tit. 2.11 12. And they finde it a very wholsom useful Truth to hold forth to others to let them see cause for believing in God and hoping in him and to charge them with folly and madness that having such ground to believe yet refuse it The most pretious Truth that is is an empty found in respect of spiritual good to the Unbeliever Shal we conclude Ergo it s a falshood Gods goodness it self that lead men to Repentance is an empty thing to those that harden themselves against it and brings them to no spiritual good or happiness shall we therefore teach men to say God is good to none but them that rightly use his goodness and receive the fruit of it in life eternal Is not this to teach men to despise the riches of Gods goodness O the blindeness of our reason in the things of God the folly of preferring it as Umpire in matters of our faith waving the Word of God that should rightly guide us But yet this let me say Unbelievers shall see and finde one day that this general ransom was no empty thing in it self it was meerly their folly and wickedness that made it so to them and then it shall be full of dread and terror to them that they have denied him that bought them His premises being such humane mistakes high thoughts lifted up and strengthned against the Scripture-Declaration his Conclusion that Christ died not or God gave not his Son for them that believe not c. falls with them They being notable justifications of all Unbelievers and Patronizers of slothfulness from which these things follow That to Unbelievers God was not an object meet to be believed on by them nor had any reall reason to love him they being ever hated by him and he never doing them any good in his Son That the want of faith was no fault of theirs for they could no way have avoided what they did in not believing God neither gave them cause nor grace to believe c. But I shall rake no further in so unclean a dunghill that savors so much of Satan and justifies the case of
in him and cast themselves upon God for further saving So the Apostles were led Rom. 5.10 and not from believing on him to argue that Christ died for them So that this notwithstanding that Mr. Owen hath said I yet stand to my former Argument and shall not need to put it into the following frame in his Book into which he puts it By this that is already said Concl. 1. his following Conclusions appear clearly to be some of them untrue some impertinent viz. 1. That all called by the Word in what state or condition soever they continue are not bound to believe that Christ died for them by name but such as are so and so qualified Answ To which I oppose and have shewed That All called by the Word in that state in which they are when called and as it s required of them to believe the Gospel and to believe in Christ for salvation are therein also necessarily required to believe that God appointed Christ to be a Mediator for them and that he hath died for them and so is a fit medium for them to come unto God and to believe in him by 2. That the Precept of believing with fiduciary confidence that Christ dyed for him Concl. 2. is not proposed nor is not obligatory to all that is called nor the not performance of it any otherwise a sin but as it is in the root and habit of unbelief and not turning unto God for mercy To that I answer Answ That the Precept of believing with fiduciary confidence is proposed to all that are called by the word according to the Gospel yea this M.O. granted before inasmuch as it is justifying Faith and so its obligatory to them all And to that end as it thereto necessarily conduceth to believe that Christ dyed for them the not believing which is a giving God the lye it being contained in the record given of his Son which contrary to his fift and sixt Conclusions is too that there is one Mediator between God and men who gave himself a ransom for all men and not onely that he that hath him hath life but also first that God hath given us eternall life and that life is in his Son See that expresly affirmed to be part of the Record of God which the unbeliever makes God a lyer in not believing 1 Joh. 5.10 11 12. And whether Mr. Owen hath dealt faithfully or fraudulently with the Word of God in leaving out the first part of that Record as once before he left out God hath given us eternal life running into that fault which more groundlesly he called the trick of the old Serpent in T. M. and put the name of an Impostor upon him for I leave it to the Reader to judge As for his 3. That no Reprobate for whom Christ died not Concl. 3 shall be condemned for not believing that Christ died for him It shall be granted him when he hath proved what he here begs viz. That there is any such Reprobate for whom as faln in Adam Christ never died His 4. That the command of believing in Christ given to All Concl. 4 is not in that particular obligatory unto any but upon the fulfilling the condition thereto required is sufficiently spoken to It with all conditions or necessary conducements thereto are required of all those to whom the Word is preached Amongst which necessaries the believing Christs Death to be for them we have shewed to be one Therefore I shall say no more here to it but view what he says to a second Argument viz. That Doctrine that fils the mind of men with fears and scruples whether they ought to believe or no Argu. 2 when God cals them to it cannot be agreeable to the Gospell But such is the Doctrine of the Particularity of Redemption c. To which he tels us 1. That doubts and scruples may either rise from a doctrine it self in its own nature giving cause thereto to those who perform their duty rightly or from corruption and unbelief setting up it self against the truth of Christ I answer It 's corruption and unbelief setting up it self against the truth of Christ in the Gospell that makes men hold forth the Particularity of Christs Death as being undergone only for the Elect and the Doctrine it self gives occasions and causes of scruple to men in this that men seeing their sinfulness and looking upon God but according to what this doctrine presents of him to them they are wholly uncertain whether the Mediator was sent for them or not and so whether God be an object of faith fit for them 2. He tels us that obiection supposeth That a man is bound to believe that Jesus Christ dyed by the appointment of God for him in particular before he believe in Christ Jesus and that men that are of that perswasion of the restraint of the Death of Christ to the Elect may scruple whether they ought to believe or not which he says is to involve our selves into a plain contradiction for according to Scripture for a man to be perswaded that Christ dyed for him in particular is the highest improvement of faith including a sense of the spirituall love of God shed abroad into our hearts the top of the Apostles consolation Rom. 8.34 and the bottome of his joyfull assurance Gal. 2.20 so that we require that a man do believe before he do believe and suppose that he cannot believe and shall exceedingly fear whether he ought to do so except he believe before he believe To this I answer That for a man to be perswaded that Christ dyed for him is no where made the highest improvement of faith but only that faith by the belief of this hath been improved and so may be to highest pitches the soul that perceives see and mindes the love of God therethrough commended so as to be drawn to God thereby abiding therein may grow up to great assurance therein and find matter of exceeding great nourishment unto eternall life But it follows not that because from that believers have sprung up to such assurance of eternall life as in the greatest tryals and temptations to trust in him for it and make their boast of God which is the highest improvement of faith That the bare believing that Christ dyed for them is the faith of full assurance Some of the Israelites from beholding the great power and goodness of God to them in delivering them out of Egypt and bringing them over the red Sea c. were led to follow God with a full heart and to be silled with a full perswasion that they should be brought into Canaan and possess it but it followed not thence that the belief or knowledge that God so delivered them was the faith of full assurance of entering into Canaan by all that knew that they were thence delivered So Paul was lead with confidence to trust in God for future deliverance by this that he had delivered him and yet it s
upon them that believe not though they say God never gave any power to them setting men upon an indeavouring by their own power and approving their such indeavors as the products of Gods Grace as the Pharisee did Luke 18.10 11. though they have not declared that to them as pertaining to them We attribute no more to Will then the Scripture affords It s meerly with our expressions suitable to the Scriptures that they quarrel at As when we say God would have done this or that but they would not they will not come to Christ for life they did not chuse the fear of the Lord. These kinde of expressions many when they hear from us as if they were so wholly taught the Fear of God by the Precepts of mâ—â— or were so destitute of the fear of the Lord as not to minde whose expressions those have been by and by they cry out What have men free-will then You set up Freewill now as if the expressions of our Lord and Saviour were judged dangerous and hereticall by them and not fit for his servants scarce to mention but these are of those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of whom Paul speakes from whom we have need to pray God to deliver us We know no power or freedom of will that men have to good that God hath not given them And we think it less derogation to his grace and more agreeable to the Scriptures to say that God in his workings with men gives them liberty and power to make use of and listen to the means of light and life afforded them and that when he in those means works and convinces moves at and strives with their hearts he gives them in those strivings and convincements power and liberty to see and minde and acknowledge what they could not do before and in such acknowledgement yet to attend the means and grope further after him if perhaps he may when he hath unraveled them of themselves inable them to believe and that they wink with the eye refuse and reject the means put within their reach and suited to their infirmity or if they do attend them yet that when they meet with reproof and convincement they refuse to see or take notice of what God shews them and to hear the inward voices of spirit that speak to them rebell against the light and pull away the shoulder quenching smothering and imprisoning the operations of Gods Spirit and truth and that for these things he justly rejects them then to say that God doth nothing for men gives no power to them requires all that they had in Adam for which the Scripture affords them not one title of proof cals upon them to do things to which he gives no power or means and yet condemns them for ever not for doing them and yet such are M. Owens expressions as when he says We make God to propound life upon such a condition as he knows they cannot perform without him and yet in it he will do nothing for them he will not give them it Which is a great mistake for want of believing the truth of God recorded for when he bids men listen to him and their souls shall life if some refuse to listen and others when convincements come tending to the saving them out of their sinfull condition willingly turn from them and will not abide them nor fall down under them and so not listen to his inward convictions of them but run away from him that would not be wanting in their further listening to him to quicken them up to believe and so to gather them shall we slander God and say now because these never come to that believing that he would not bestow upon them that condition he knows that they cannot believe of themselves and he will give them no faith Because they cannot believe of themselves followes it therefore that they receive no power from him by which they might attend upon the means in which he uses to beget faith and give it to men shall he be said to deny them faith when they refuse to listen to him that would gather them to the faith says not he himself that he would have gathered Jerusalems children and they would not was not this gathering them a bringing them by faith into himself as the Chickens under the Hens wings for safety was not their refusall in not soberly attending to him but shutting their ears against his sayings shall we say he refused to give that that he chides them for refusing to receive Come forth the best of you all and prove that God hath not given you in his workings upon you power to have sought him and attended to him better then ye have done and then I will say your reasoning for the wicked is good that he set salvation before them upon a condition that they could not have without his gift and yet he refused to give it them otherwise his after-comparison in which he says We make God like a man tendring a blind man a thousand pounds if he will open his eyes which he cannot is but an inept one for God complains of men for shutting their eyes and otherwhere bids them but look with their blind eye-holes that they might see his word that he sends giving light to them that attend upon it being never so blind But enough to these Rhetoricall Flourishes and Rabshekah like language against the glorious grace of God and Scripture-truth for which I am perswaded one way or other serius aut citius God will rebuke him What he says about the Gentiles is before answered Where he gives less he lookes for less again obedience to his truth being acceptable to him and rebellion against him detestable whether in more or less nor will it be an excuse to them that they had no more when they have volunrarily put away and rejected that more that God sent them I mean the Gospell or imprisoned and abused that less they had And yet I am perswaded many of them shall rise up in judgement with their lesse against many amongst us that have more he lets them know and perceive more then they acknowledg and gives them more of his goodness and kindness then they answer so that when he pleads with them they shall have no excuse Romans 1.18 19 20 21. That our Doctrine everts the whole Covenant of distinguishing grace is another untruth we hold and prove that the Death of Christ seals and ratifies it and we think the free grace of God freely made it and powerfully puls men into it as he pleases holding it forth to men largely and ready to enter into it any that will hear him Isa 55.2 3 4 Whereas he askes Did that ever do good to any as to salvation which is common to all he speaks as one despising the riches of the bounty of God that leads men to repentance because of their wickedness that are not lead by it teaching others also wickedly to blaspheme it The Gospell that
ΘΥΡΑ ΑÎΕΩΓΜΕÎΗ THE OPEN DOOR For MANS Appoach to GOD. OR A VINDICATION of the Record of GOD Concerning the Extent of the Death of CHRIST in its Object In Answer to a Treatise of Master Iohn Owen of Cogshall in Essex about that Subject By John Horn a Servant of God in the Gospel of his Son and Preacher thereof at Lyn in Norffolk The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation to All Men hath appeared teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world c. Tit. 2.11 12 13. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life John 3.16 And he is the propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the whole world's 1 John 2.2 Mysticus sol ille justitiae omnibus ortus est omnibus venit omnibus passus est omnibus resurrexit ideo autem passus est ut tolleret peccatum mundi Si quis autem non credit in Christum generali beneficio ipse se fraudat Ambros Ut si quis clausis fenestris radios solis excludat non ideo sol non ortus est omnibus quia colore ejus se ipse fraudavit nam quod solis est praerogativam suam servat quod autem imprudent is communis a se gratiam lucis excludit Ambros in Psal 118. secund vulg Lat. Octon Octavo Omnia probate quod bonum est tenete London Printed by Robert White and are to be sold by Giles Calvert at his Shop at the Sign of the Black-Spred Eagle at the West End of Pauls 1650. REader My necessitated absence from the Press hath occasioned some mistakes both of words and pointings in the printing which least envy take occasion by them to traduce me with the simple and ingenuity it self be at a loss I have here shewed thee how thou shouldst correct Viz. In the Epistle to the Reader PAge 14 Line 6 read 2 for 1. p. 18 l. 18 r. them p. 26 l. 15 r. that rule p. 28 l. 29 r. lately In the Answer Pa. 12 Lin 22 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 15 l. 18r call p 23 l. 10 r. too p. 24 marg r. ver 18. p. 27 l. 11 r. as are then not so p. 28 l. 1 2 r. Psal 78 Mat. 18. p. 45 l. 36 t John 5. p 48 l. 6 r. dawne p 49. l. 25 r. they would not p. 54 l 2 put the stop after second p. 56 l. 15 r. oppose p. 67 l. 20 r. but as an example p. 75 l. 38 r. rather without marks p. 80 l. 35 r. third p 84 l. 29 r. liked not to have p. 85 l. 8 r. talents alike open p. 87 l. 30 r. not that some p. 95 l. 1 r. then p. 118 l. 17 r. Job 5. p. 125 l. 26 r. conferrer p. 131 l. 21 r. having given p. 132 l. 29 r. distinguished p. 141 l. 6 11 r. if we p. 142 l. 38 r. had p. 143 l. 38 r. nor p. 148 l. 38 r. quia post omnia p. 156 l. 6 r. yet p. 161 l. 20 r. pact p 173 l. 3 r. Grecians p. 176 l. 29 r. City l 30 r. 2 Chron. 28. p. 177 l. 39 r. that p. 178 l. 24 r. that that declares l. 35 r. Saviour having p. 182 l. 3 r. them p. 184 l. 7 r. denies l. 9 r. 1 will p. 185 l. 3 r. is as l. 25 r. these words p. 191 l. 8 r. that it doth not l. 33 r. contain p. 195 l. 2 r. stung p. 200 l. 14 r. them or without p. 203 l. 36 r. nor had they any p. 204 l. 29 r. â—lts p 207 l. 11 r. of l. 20 r. warn l. ibid. r. any p. 223 l. 2 r Luc. 19. p. 229 l. 4 r. mistate p. 235 l. 32 r. it s p 236 l. 35. r. reference p. 238 l. 22 r. to all which we p. 255 l. 13 l. delivered from p. 259 l. 16 blot out we p. 262 l. 17 r. would p 263 l. 8 r. to whom they p. 265 l. 14 put the comma after here p. 268 l. 18 r. also p. 271 l. 38 r. as frothy p. 279 l. 17 r. that p. 297 l. 17 r. because l. 28 r. righteousness of the Law p. 299 l. 21 26 put a parenthests before As and after So p. 300 l. 22 take away the stop at name and read name for p. 305 l. 25 r. mea p. 306 l. 26 r. something p. 319 l. 4 r. Repro 〈…〉 To the Honorable Colonel Valentine Walton One of the Members of the Supream Authority of this Commonwealth and of the Council of State and Governor of the Garrisons of Lyn Yarmouth Crowland and the I le of Ely c. AND ALSO To the Right Worshipful Mr. Thomas Toll Burgess for the Town of Lyn Regis and Mr. Miles Corbet Burgess for the Town of Yarmouth in Norfolk Esquires both Members of the said Supream Authority c. Grace and Mercy and Peace in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our LORD Honorable and Right Worshipfull IT was the saying of Socrates as * Zenoph de dictis factis Socratis Xenophon relates a By 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That ungrateful persons are to be numbred amongst the unjust and that b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by how much the more and greater favours any have received so much the unjuster he is if he be unthankeful Yea and so hateful was the crime of Ingratitude to the Persians as the same Xenophon tells us that they used to teach their children to abhor and condemn it and c Zenoph de Cyri paediâ lib. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. severely to punish those that were guilty of it as conceiving that not amiss That Ingratitude is that cursed Principle and a compendium of Vices that leads those in whom it s planted and by whom it s nourished to be injurious to and neglective of both God and man and to be attended with a shameless impudency which is the very Ringleader unto all filthiness and abomination And verily Sir as they guessed not amiss for the d Ingratum si dixeris omnia dixeris holy Scriptures couples e 2 Tim. 3.2 3. unthankefulness with unholiness yea puts it before it as the inlet to profaneness and follows it with want of natural affections Deut. 32.14 15. truce breaking false accusing c. and elsewhere speaks of it as the beginning of Apostacy so are their sayings especially considerable with reference unto God the supream fountain and soveraign Author of all good towards whom unthankefulness is so much the greater injustice as he exceeds and excels all others in favors towards us If we should go about to number up his kindnesses Psal 40.7 they would arise to such a reckoning as is far beyond us Great and many are his kindnesses to us in this life as his giving us life breath
herein then the body of Truth it self then the word of God made flesh and manifested in the flesh met with in the dayes of his flesh Came not He from the bosome of the Father to open his name unto men and to shew to them the way of their salvation was not he truly Jesus the salvation of God and Saviour of the world one that came to teach men the knowledg of God and lead them unto life But O what course usage did He finde Did not the world abominate him as if he had been a Devil incarnate filled with Satan the great deceiver of mankinde leading them to Destruction how often did they cry out against him and offer to lay violent hands upon him as if he was unworthy to live amongst them What evil laws enacted they against him casting out of their Synagogues meetings and fellowships those that would own him Did they not call a councel about him and condemnâ— him therein and crave yea almost force it upon the Secular power to deliver him up to be crucified by them till they got their wills in that matter on him how did they after his condemnation all-to revile mock and taunt him yea dispitefully intreat and kill him And as if they would leave no stone unremoved for effecting their designes upon him they seal him up in his Sepulcher and set a guard to keep him therein And who I pray were the persons that thus used him Were they not the generality of the people but principally the Priests and Rulers the zealous and devout the seeming godly party that were so strict for tithing mint and rue for keeping Sabbaths keeping out errors and blasphemies as that a man that judged by the outside would have sworn they were the holiest people and best beloved of God that the world contained The wise the prudent the powerful the Scribes Pharises and Rulers of the people But I pray was Christ less the Son of God or the great Truth of truths because he found so bad entertainment by these prudent zealots because they condemned him and put him to Death was he therefore really guilty of that deceit and blasphemy with which they charged him was it not indeed as himself told them because he spake the truth to them and they could not endure to hear it from him Because he testified of them that their deeds were evil and their doctrine vitious which they set so high a price upon many good deeds have I done saith He for which of them do ye stone me And truly friend so have men dealt with this truth in hand It s cryed out upon as a Doctrine of Satan as error and blasphemy as the most pernicious Doctrine that can be taught almost they sit upon it in councel and condemn it they have reviled it railed on it mocked taunted it yea have they not crucified it and almost killed it and all this too hath been acted by the Learned Prudent Rabbies Scribes and Rulers but what evil hath it done Why disturb the Churches peace so they said Christ and the Gospel did their Synagogues Deprives believers of their comfort nay t is but them that believe it not as Christ did them that believed not in him not any right believers as we shall shew they can prove it guilty of no evil and therefore let not their charges of it move thee Veritas magna est praevalebit let them bury it and set a guard upon it banish it their cities countries kingdomes strike hands with Satan himself and combine with the gates and powers of hell to under it out it will and shall and shall be received As Moses lift up the Serpent in the wilderness so shall the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him may not perish but have eternal life For truth is truth though hated and reproached its cause is just their accusations groundless their opposite positions Antichristian but it self divine no nicety or fancy but of great concernment it being a truth that glorifies God and brings good news or tidings to men which with thy patience I shall a little demonstrate with the differences of their Anti-position of Christs dying only for an elect number in these following particulars 1. It s a doctrine that gives glory to God and magnifies his mercy or goodness and justice toward the sons of men in his dealings with them whereas the opinion it opposeth detracts from his glory in those particulars First I say it commends and magnifies the goodness of God in the exercise of his mercy while it speaks of him as love it self one that is good and therefore doth good good to All a lover and Saviour of mankinde and of the world in general one that delights not in the death of the wicked nor would that any should perish and run themselves into destruction but rather come to repentance and live to which end it shewes that he hath provided a means for banished mankinde to be brought back by to him again from that estate of misery unto which they were banished yea that to that end he enlightens manifests his truth calls to look to him lades with benefits waytes with patience upon sinners chastens them in mercy to keep their souls from the pit and to inlighten them with the light of the living and all this not bounded up to a few the far fewer part of men but in some degree or other inlarged generally to all And is not this a commendation of him as good and loving is it not the nature of love to diffuse it self abroad to extend it self to all as well as to burn intensively to any And 2. Doth not that that speakes of God as so mercifull illustrate also his justice the more brightly when it shewes his wrath and vengeance to come upon men for abusing love undervaluing goodness and for not accepting his grace can any thing be thought more just then to punish him that transgresses a command of an Authority in it self not onely lawful but also good and Fatherly that not only by its soveraignty might exact but also by its clemency and goodness did deserve obedience to its injunctions from all under it such as this doctrine declares Gods dealings with men by way of justice to be not only in respect of Adam our first parent and all in him but also in respect of us in our particulars and yet we ascribe his Soveraignty to him in all things too while we say all these his dispensations are not necessitated to him but free and voluntary so as that his giving Christ the streams of goodness that come to us through Christ were all of his good will not of our works yea his extending these or those means longer or shorter time with less or greater power are all free dispensations according to his will the Law he gives to men and the rewards he propounds all according to his own will only we say he acts forth this his
the truth of what it defendeth rest not in the bare belief of it as if that was enough for thee but follow on to inquire and seek after God that hath such good will toward thee and walk out in what he discovers of himself to thee that so he may be pleased to discover himself more to thee and draw thee by his Spirit into union with and conformity to his Son that thou mayest have the utmost healing that the death of Christ brings to the believer even salvation with eternal glory The right use of truth is in being lead from the world and thy own self to God by it and so attaining the end propounded to thee in it If thou not liking what is writ wi lt reply upon me I desire thee to do it soberly and as a seeker of truth rather then of victory bate pride and passion which will but darken thine understanding and nothing advantage thee in thy answering and take heed lest for fear of losing thine honour or for desire to get any thou robbest God of the honour of his truth and shuttest thine eyes against those flashes of his light that he darts into thee Better lose thine honour then ingage against Gods truth for it If thou likest the truth pleaded for but findest defect or wriness in any of my expressions in asserting it I shall be willing to be helpt to see better by thy spectacles if thou pleasest to lend them me In a word I say to thee with the Poet Si quid novisti rectius istis Candidus imperti Si non his utere mecum And so committing thee with my self and this ensuing Treatise to Gods protection I remain Thy friend and servant in the Gospel of Christ Jesus John Horn. ΘΥΡΑ ΑÎΕΩΓΜΕÎΗ OR A VINDICATION OF THE RECORD of GOD Concerning The extent of the Death of Christ in Answer to Mr. Iohn Owen of Cogshall in Essex The Preface WHereas God who is love it self beholding mankinde faln and through the subtlety of the Serpent plunged into death and misery was pleased out of pitty towards him to finde out a way for his recovery even to send forth his own proper Son his Word and Wisdom to take upon him the nature of man so faln with the infirmities weaknesses death and misery attending it yea the whole punishment that the sin of man had in that fall contracted to it that so he dying for man man might be delivered out of that death and life and immortality might be again brought to light yea whereas the Son of God having accordingly given himself a ransom for all it hath pleased the Father out of the same love he bare to man in sending him further to provide for his good in exalting this his Son that suffered and making him Lord and Christ a Prince and Saviour one that should have and answerably hath power and authority over all things and Salvation in him authority and fitness to save and deliver out of evil and to bring to life and glory whoever of the persons of men listen and look to him for Salvation whoever obey his Word submit to his Spirit and give up themselves to be ordered by him and to that end hath in these last dayes given forth a commission to certain Elected and chosen persons appointed for that purpose by him to be his Witnesses and Embassadors to the whole world in general to proclaim publish and declare this that God hath done in and by Christ Jesus for them and to let them know his good will toward them that he would not that any of them should perish but all come to Repentance and to the knowledg or acknowledgment of his truth that they might be saved to which end he hath also given and constituted his Son to be a witness and a Leader to conduct them to Salvation and upon these grounds hath willed them to exhort command intreat and urge all and every man as they have opportunity to it to accept this grace believe the Gospel repent and turn to God from their dead works and from their follies and to Jesus as the only one constituted by him to be his Salvation even to the ends of the earth So it is that since these holy men of God to whom the tenor of the Gospel and doctrine of truth was first committed have faln asleep the vigilant and wicked enemy of mankinde hath not only through his subtlety prevailed with multitudes of those men to whom this proclamation hath been made to reject persecute and put away this Embassage both from themselves and peoples under them and posterities succeeding them and with many others to be slothful and not to take care to propagate this Doctrine of their Lord and Master but also by occasion of this wickedness and slothfulness of men many that pretend themselves to be understanding men and servants of God unto their brethren have come with a counter-doctrine pretending to have better insight into the minde of God then the letter of the Apostolical preaching doth hold forth even as at first Satan pretended to the woman to have a more sublime knowledg of the minde of God and to teach her better understanding of it then in the simple belief of Gods words to them they had attained telling men that God sent not his Son for all of them but only for here and there one they nor any man else not knowing who they be and that Christ gave himself only for them and for no others and this they pretend to have from a more Seraphical understanding of a more secret will of God by which means they both contradict the tenor of the holy Commission delivered out to his Saints and left by them upon record for us by the instinct of his spirit and take away those certain and more excellent grounds motives and inducements to believe repent seek after and love God which that Commission affordeth making the Gospel to give such an uncertain sound that none can by it be induced to prepare himself to battel as is more largely shewed in the Epistle to the Reader In which doing they greatly deny at least disserve the Lord that bought them in that in stead of making him lovely to all and an object meet for all to commit themselves to and forsake all for the worshipping and confessing of they render it doubtful what one hath cause so to do and not rather to hate him as a fore yea eternal hater of them that had such desire to their misery as therefore to create them yea therefore to do all that he doth about them that they might at last for ever be more heavily tormented by him So that they do herein as a company of slaves or persidious Traitors should do to a King who having made open proclamation of satisfaction received by the hand of some Prince for the mischief done him by a company of rebells and of his good will toward them all that he would have them to lay
see no one place that proves that His answer then is still as unsatisfactory as if to this who shall rise again I should answer they are many that sleep in the dust of the earth Dan. 12.3 and then quote that in 1 Cor. 15.27 first Christ then they that are Christs at his coming and that Rom. 8.11 if the spirit of Christ dwell in you he that raised up Jesus will also quicken our mortal bodies and 1 Cor. 6.14 He hath raised up the Lord and will also raise Vs up by his power and then say that these are a description of those many that shall rise again should I be thought substantially to prove that Many limited only to them And yet if such an answer would not be fair then neither is his If it be Objected That other Scriptures say that some shall rise to condemnation I answer that other scriptures suppose a possibility of his perishing for whom Christ died 1 Cor. 8.11 and say that the false Teachers were bought by the Lord and yet pull upon themselves swift destruction for denying him that bought them 2 Pet. 2.1 so that the arguments are alike as is evident to any judicious impartial reader We have nothing but Master Owens word that those forecited epithites and sentences are the full description of that Many for whom Christ gave himself a ransome and that 's too weak a ground to build our faith upon That they are included in that Many we grant that they are all that Many that he died for we deny and he hath not proved Now not to recriminate and fling back upon himself that froth of wit which in his coming to answer what is objected to his argument from the word Many he casts upon a godly though less learned writer I shall view his confirmations of his argument or evasions from objections made against it The Objection mainly insisted on is that the word Many is used for All and aequivalently to All as in Dan. 12.3 compared with John 5.29 and Rom. 5.19 To which he sayes 1. That if the proof was taken from the word Many meerly and not from the description of those Many annexed with a presupposed distinction of all men into several sorts by the purpose of God that exception would bear some colour So that he leans more upon his description then upon the word Many but now that description being a partial description and no where in Scripture averred to be the adaequate description of those Many for whom Christ dyed this argument will ex confesso fall to nothing with a following simile which runs not parallel with the argument for that distinction of men into several sorts that he mentions here we shall view it hereafter 2. To Dan. 12.3 he sayes that there a distribution of the word to the several parts of it must be allowed as thus the dead shall rise Many to life and Many to shame which is a meer evasion crossing the text for the word Many is the Totum congregatum and there are distributive particles of that whole following in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these to life and those to shame or some to life and some to shame besides which he adds a gross mistake of the Apostle as if it might be said Many shall rise because the Apostle sayes All shall not dye Whereas the Apostle no where hath such a saying It s not all shall not dye but all shall not sleep which signifies a resting in death not a dying simply in that sudden change opposed to sleeping there is a death and resurrection though not a sleeping in death and resurrection from the grave Besides though that were granted that All dye not yet I hope the Many that sleep in the grave that shall thence rise Iohn 5.29 are the same with All that are in their graves shall come forth All that are in their graves have dyed and all them are called Dan. 12.2 Many that sleep in the dust 3 To that in Rom. 5.19 he sayes Many seems there to be all but not spoken with an intent to denote all with an amplification because no comparison there instituted between the numbers c. But neither is there any strength in that for 1. though here he mince the matter with seems to be All yet p. 77. he confesseth the word Many to be placed absolutely for All and instances this place and that 's enough to my purpose 2. It s plain that a comparison is there instituted between Number and Number thus far that both numbers are Many yea and verse 18. the Apostle is as strict in the words of number as in any thing else As by one offence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so by one obedience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All men to all men and so in verse 19. Many to many the comparison is in this that both have their effects upon many as well as in the effects themselves Yea and the word Many is clearly a word of amplification of both parts The All made sinners are truly Many exceeding Many and that Many All for producing other places in which the word Many is All though it be a trivial business in which only the Author that he bends himself against is challenged yet because he is confident that there is no other I shall with the Authors leave and his propound one or two to consideration as that in Numb 6.36 Return O Lord to the many thousands in Israel is to All the thousands of Israel and not to many of those thousands only so Mic. 4.4 He shall Judg among many Nations is among all Nations for other Scriptures say The Lord shall be one and his name one in All the earth and he shall judge the World in Righteousnes and All Nation shall glorify him But to return to the first Chapter in which those expressions of the end of Christs coming that is to save sinners c. are good and approved by us as the word of God But how he understands this word Saved or how this phrase of Coming to save he doth not fully express to supply which defect I shall consider them a little And 1. For the word Save it s of a large signification in Scripture when it s attributed to God and Christ as 1. It signifies to preserve or keep life yea when it is forfeited by our sin and God might justly deprive us of it to keep out of perishing as in Luke 9.56 The Son of Man came not to destroy mens lives 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but to save them Truly I conceive that in the day that Adam sinned he forfeited his soul or life and in his own ours also who were vertually in him and had God strictly taken the forfeiture of him He and we all in him had in that very day forthwith perished but Christ who was fore ordained to this business stept in between God and man and by way of ingagement became the dead Man the Lamb slain for us
Whether the salvation of Abraham and Isaac c. was not in the Covenant made between God and Christ if not then some more are saved then were included in that Covenant If yes then I demand what passage in that Prayer requests that they might believe and be sanctified if none then he asked less in that Prayer then God had ingaged himself to him for To the second I desire him to shew in what passage he prayes for the faith of the Elect in all that Prayer not from the sixth to the twentieth for he tells his Father they had it already and I suppose he will not be able to prove that he prayed to his Father there to give them that which they had before that prayer at least in that degree in which they had it nor in ver 20. for them he supposeth as future believers as he makes them the suppositum of his prayer his prayer is not that they might believe but that believing which he supposeth they should they might be one viz in body priviledg and injoyment of the grace of God in Christ except he will say Faith is prayed for in ver 21. and 23. when he saith that the world might believe but first that 's for the world not for the Elect secondly that he himself denies to be the faith of the Elect and so the fruit of that love here said to appertain to the Elect but only a conviction not for any good of the world but onely for the vindication of his people cha 7. pag. 47. therefore I desire him to shew me in what place of that prayer that Faith he here speaks of as a fruit of Gods electing love is prayed for In pag. 19. He tels us That it seems strange to him that Christ should undergo the pains of hell in their stead who lay in the pains of hell before he underwent those pains and shall continue in them to eternity To which I need not say with many of the Antients that he emptied hell by his death Bishop Vsher in his Answer to the Irish Jesuit upon Limbus Patrum c. and descent into those pains as Bishop Vsher relates nor will I put him to prove that any were as then or yet are undergoing those pains before the judgment of the great Day when they shall be sentenced thither which will be somewhat hard for him to do except he take that in Luke 16. to be a Narration or History of things really done and think that the rich man see Lazarus in Abrahams bosome and could call from hell to heaven to him but I say it will not follow from our saying That Christ gave himself a ransom for All that he must undergo those torments for All which were properly inflicted upon men for their abuse of that liberty which he virtually gave them to injoy by his after-death His enduring the sentence of the death he found them under as in Adam was enough to pay for that dispensation of life liberty grace mercy to them which they in their several times injoyed upon the ingagement of his future dying See more to this in cha 3. li. 3. without induring those torments for them to which they stood by the word adjudged for their not receiving him who was the Author of such liberty and mercy to them in those hints of truth and reproofs and counsels in his Spirits strivings despised by them Hence we may fall into an Answer of a Dilemma there propounded to us and again repeated chap. 3. lib. 3. viz. That God imposed his wrath due unto and Christ underwent the pains of hell for either all the sins of all men or all the sins of some men or some sins of all men If the last then all have some sins to answer for and so no man shall be saved if the second then that is it he affirms if the first then all should be saved or why not This may seem at the first view such a three-headed Monster as that there is no conquering it but through Gods assistance we shall grapple with it About his suffering the pains of hell I shall not question with him it s an ambiguous word and variously used And as no Scripture uses his expressions perhaps in his intention so as the Scripture uses the word hell I have no ground from Scripture to deny the expression therefore to the thing it self I may say that in severall respects all those three branches of the Dilemma are true and yet his consequences will not follow As 1. He underwent the wrath of God for some fins of all men 1 Tim. 2.6 Rom. 5.18 else he could not give himself a ransom for them all nor his righteousness come to All men to justification of life nor any favor of God be extended to them except he interposed between God and that sin that in its desert and by Gods sentence of death stopt the passage of all good flowing upon them unless hindred by mediation But then he says All have some sins to answer for Nego consequentiam that follows not for he that bears some sins of all may yet bear also all of some those two are not inconsistent had he said But some sins of any that had excluded All of any but some of All doth not those that may be but some of one mans sins may be All of another as suppose he bare all sins in genere but the sin against the Holy Ghost he then bare all some mens sins Heb. 10.26 for some men are not guilty of that but are kept from it but yet in respect of their sins that run into that he bare but some of their sins not all as so considered 2. He underwent the wrath of God for all the sins of some that is gave such satisfaction to his justice that no sin they have shall be their condemnation namely of those that believe and walk in the light with him as it is 1 John 1.7 Rom. 8.1 otherwise the phrase as he expresses it the Scripture hath not But then that 's it he faith No sure for he says he bare only All the sins of some men and dyed for none else but those some but so neither the Scriptures nor we say He might bear the punishment of all the sins of some men and yet not them only 3. He underwent the wrath of God for all the sins of All men in some sense considered That is as they were sinners in his first stepping in to undertake for men as sin was upon them through the fall of Adam and bound them to curse and death and so they needed a mediator or else they must presently be cut off and perish and so in a consideration and view of them as previous to his steping in to mediate And his bearing all of them was enough to ransome them all from that first condemning sentence and yet neither follows it so that all must then be eternally saved because there are other
God might deal in a way of mercy with them And he eyed further the Testament of promises made to his called ones that God would bring in to believe in him layd down his life for confirmation of their faith in those promises and also for confirmation and ratification of the truth of his doctrine to those to whom he preached it Now in the first consideration he says he took in All men though not all but his called ones and such as he should have for his seed In the second against which Mr. Owen saith nothing worth the Answer but faults the things that he seems not well to understand and quarrels with want of smoothness in the expressions and unaptness of quotations not rightly taking them to the Authors meaning as I conceive For I suppose Heb. 9.9 26. He only quoted to shew that as a Priest he offered sacrifice Joh. 1.29 1 Joh. 2.2 to shew that he was as a propitiation and that extended to All Heb. 9.14 15. Matt. 26.26 he quotes to prove his Death to be for Ratification of his Testament and so the Apostle made use of it in Rom. 5.10 8.32 none of them expressing his utmost end that being known sufficiently and granted on every hand Now whereas Mr. Owen saith that his proofes for the sealing the Testament hold out but the first end of the death of Christ he speaks not rightly for neither of those places viz. Mat. 26.26 Heb. 9.15 speaks only of procuring of remission of sins or power and prerogative of forgiving but of sealing the Testament also which bequeaths not to all he dyed for but to all that heartily believe in him and such the Apostles were the receit and injoyment of forgiveness and of the inheritance it self which remission the believers indeed confess that they experimentally receive from him in his blood believed on by them Rom. 3.25 as in Eph. 1.7 Col. 1.14 which Scriptures speak not of procuring Redemption though that must needs be supposed as a thing fore-done but of the receit and injoyment of it that they being brought out of darkness into Christs Government met with and partook of as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 declares too Whereas he cals his distinction of these ends mentioned his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that 's only his want of discerning and so till he see better may be forgiven him as all the rest of that following froth he hath not worth repeating or answering for whereas he saith that he may this way answer any thing by saying its otherwise in his opinion it seemes strange to me that he cannot see the places above recited cleerly proving what was affirmed by him Doth not his being a Lamb to take away the sin of the world and the propitiation for the sins of the whole world shew that the work of his Priest-hood had something in it extending beyond the bounds and limits of the Church and chosen except he can first shew that the world the whole world is the Church of God and all of them the chosen of God and so confound the distinction so cleerly held forth in Scripture between the Church and the world John 14.17 22. 15.18 19. 16.20 17.9 1 Cor. 6.2 11.32 c. And doth not Heb. 9.15 with Mat. 26.26 plainly say that Christ also intended to confirm the faith of his called ones in expectation of the eternal inheritance and to make that sure to them Is there not a plain difference between these two the breaking in peices the bond of Death man was faln into and so delivering him out of that and the making a Covenant of promises with some of them so ransomed Is it all one for a Prince to ransom a thousand men out of prison in which they were to perish and save them from hanging when the rope was about their necks And his entring into a bond and Covenant to prefer so many of them being ransomed as will submit to and serve him Did not Christ undertake for both in his death both to ransom man faln and to confirm his Church in faith But who can give eyes or who shall perswade wise men to be willing to be fools in themselves that God may give them eyes I shall leave the Reader to God intreating sobriety from him and that he will not wink with his eye willfully when light is propounded to him And so having through Gods assistance finished my answer to his first book In expectation and confidence of the same assistance I shall follow him to the second The Second Book CHAP. I. A further view of his consideration of the ends of the death of Christ as further handled in his first and second Chapters of his second book COnsidering further the end of the Death of Christ He tels us it was either 1. Ultimate and supream viz. the glory of God the Father Or 2. Subservient to that viz. The bringing men to God and in that both 1. That men might have means of coming to God And 2. The end it self coming to God or Salvation Which I suppose not as so indefinitely propounded though I think the ends of it may be more fully and cleerly assigned thus viz. 1. Gods Glory Phil. 2.11 2. Nextly the glory of the Son of God that he might have the preheminence and God be glorified in him John 17.1 4. Phil. 2.9 10. Rom. 14.9 To this end he both dyed and rose and revived that he might be Lord of quick and dead So John 5.22 The Father hath given to the Son to have life in himself which I understand of the life communicable to men for that is said to be in him 1 John 5.11 and so life in him through his death for men that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father for that 's the life indeed for which he is so worthy to be honored of all men in their looking to him and believing on him as on the Father and that 's the honoring him as the Father to give him all the honor of believing and staying on him resting and glorying in him acknowledging his Lordship c as to the Father 3. To these purposes that all might be set free and ransomed from the sentence of death under which they were fallen that so God and Christ might be glorified in them all and an object of hope and faith be provided for them to look to and believe in for salvation and for God to glorifie the riches of his mercy in drawing men to according to his good pleasure Matth. 20.28 1 Tim. 2.6 2 Cor. 5.14 15. 4. That those that believe in him might have eternal life So in Iohn 3.16 be brought to God 1 Pet. 3.18 and to glory Heb. 2.10 having Christ for a witness and Covenant ratifying and sealing an everlasting Covenant with them and being an example and pattern yea a Captain and leader to them Isa 49.6 55.4 Heb. 9.15 Matth.
a seed and to that end so to glorifie him with himself and to men and so to exercise his power and goodness amongst them that Nations and people should run in to him and so come to injoy the life that 's in him and glory with him leaving that so far as I finde to his Fathers goodwill whom and how many so to cause to run unto him not doubting but he will make good his word to his satisfaction Thus for his Impetration Now accordingly by way of Application if we may so call it He and God in him 1. Deals with all men in a way of mercy bounty and goodness and not according to the Tenor of the first obligation or the curse deserved by their sin in Adam 2. Hath invested him with supream Authority over All Creatures giving all things into his hands and he rules the Nations with a rod of Iron c. and dispenses to them as seems good to him And 3. Hath life in himself free for and communicable to All or any which he makes over to his people brought into him forgiving their sins sanctifying their souls putting into them his spirit laws fear c. changing them into his likeness till he bring them into the full possession of all his glory And 4. The Father glorifies him amongst men and so works in his word and providences by his Spirit that he hath a Church and Spouse a seed given him to whom he doth impart that fulness that is in him and executes his Lordly office amongst the rest according to his and the Fathers will so as that he brings about the main end of his sufferings the glory of God in all his dispensations even toward them also And these are my thoughts about this distinction Some make use of a Distinction of a Reconcilation wrought in Christ for men and in men by Christ the first for all men the second in all cordial and through-believers Which I make out and approve thus 1. The nature of man was fully and perfectly reconciled to God in the person of Christ by his death for All men or in the behalf of and for the benefit of all men The nature of man though the Word descended into it and was made Flesh yet as it was given in the behalf of other mens persons yea he in it as the publike sinner to ransom all so between it in Christ and God there was a controversy and that so great that God fell upon it wounded bruised afflicted yea cursed it as I may say or made it accursed and his Son as in it pouring upon it the punishment of the sin of man before he took it up into his glory but having done so to the utmost of his will not sparing him he then raised it Acts 13.33 took it up into Sonship with the Word and filled it with all his fulness being at perfect unity with it and it with him never more to be at odds again here is a full compleat and perfect reconciliation of the nature of man in Christs person and this for All as the punishment was suffered in stead of the whole nature in its several individuals and so as that God now le ts go all other from executing the fierceness of his wrath upon them for that sin in which they formerly stood condemned and calls for satisfaction to his justice in that point from none of them Rom. 2.4 5. but extends such means and goodness to them as leadeth to Repentance Yet in their persons they are not reconciled they all except the man Christ remain in enmity against him and the nature of man in all our persons is such that with no one of mankinde can so holy a God have fellowship till something be done to them that is De adultis loquor till there be wrought in them a renouncing of themselves and sins and a willingness to walk with God through his love and goodness which none have in them meerly by Christs dying for them and ascending to God till something be wrought in them from heaven by his Spirit 2 Sam. 14.24 28. Till when men are like Absolom when David at Joabs mediation took of the sentence of his banishment but yet would not let him see his face All yet in that regard children of wrath worthy of wrath though God deal not with them according to desert nor goes about to execute the fierceness of wrath upon them but on the contrary affords them means of seeking him c. to some more to some less as he pleases But 2. When the goodness of God Psa 36.7 8. Eph. 1.13 and the operations of his Word and Spirit the insinuations of divine light and love into the hearts of any is so received and yielded to that they are brought to Repentence and faith in God and Christ and submission to his Spirit then they come in their own persons to be reconciled to receive the reconciliation and atonement then God begins to own and walk with them Rom. 5.11 and take them up into unity and fellowship with his Son and this is the reconciliation wrought in men by Christ to which the Apostle exhorts in 2 Cor. 5.20 How much my sense of these distinctions differ from the Arminians Camero's Testardus and others who as M. Owen tels us all speak of an Impetration of Reconciliation Remission Redemption conditionally if they believe I leave to their Judgments that compare us M. Owens arguments against that first distinction as used by them make nothing against me I affirming an application or donation from the Father to be made to Christ and through Christ to men according to the purpose of his Impetration only some passages in his arguments would be spoken to as whereas in his second Argument p. 89. he affirms that whatsoever is obtained for any is theirs by right for whom it is obtained I think that is not every way true I may purchase a picee of land intentionally for my childe and yet keep the right and title in my own hand so that he may not have right in it or title to it till I actually instate him in it Whatever the thoughts of Christ were to any in dying for them yet we are not made heirs till brought into him till then we have no right either to claim or to receive the promises Ye are all the sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ and if Christs then Abrahams seed and heirs according to promise Gal. 3.29 So Tit. 3.6 being justified by grace we are made heirs according to the hope of eternal life Whether the condition of faith be purchased or no we shall view elsewhere Again in his third Argument he tels us that these two Impetration and Application are alwayes joyned together in the Scriptures in which he saith not truly for I demand where is the Application in 1 Tim. 2.6 He gave himself a ransom for All or in Heb. 2.9 by the grace of God he might
give to this or that muchless to all he dyed for effectually to believe in him and to be saved not a word to that purpose So that that piece of doctrine viz. That for whom Christ dyed them he procured faith for is none of those Scripture-truths that will scatter the supposed clouds and mists Nor yet follows it that the whole impetration of Redemption is made unprofitable For 1. God hath ingaged himself so to glorifie his Son that some shall be brought in though he no were say All he dyed for nor that I know of any particular persons so as that this or that individuall must or else he should be unjust 2. He shall have much glory from his good bounteous and merciful dispensations to men through the Death of Christ that yet he compels not to believe on Christ Matt. 22.2 3 4 5. with Rom. 11.36 yea in the just and righteous condemnation of those that sin'd against that mercy and refused to submit to him For that condition upon which he supposes we will say Christ is to bestow salvation viz. so they do not refuse or resist the means of grace It s a mistake we know no such imposition put upon him for men may receive the means and yet rebel against the grace it self that comes in them have a form and deny the power of godliness and for that perish Though that all Pagans and infidels are left destitute of all means leading them to seek after God or that any that have no outward means from Christ nor ever resist Gods workings in them shall be condemned as Mr. Owen would perswade us I leave for him to prove Christ says to the Jews that if he had not come and spoken to them they had not had sin and for ought I know If Christ neither come in Word Joh. 15.22 nor in any spiritual way as he preached to the old world by his Spirit if any such he can finde they may not have sin charged on them to condemnation and destruction Yet if Mr. Owen can shew me otherwise I will believe it For making Christ but a half Mediator its frivolous yet we shall speak to it lib. 3. c. 3. where it occurs again That Christ did not dye for any on condition of their believing I believe nor that he dyed only for the Elect of God that they should believe nor finde I any Scripture calling any man while yet in and of the world an Elect person He dyed for All that being Lord of them and presenting his light to them according to the good pleasure of the Father whosoever believes might not perish but have eternal life And here ends this Second Book and my Answers to it The Third Book His third Book contains Arguments grounded for the most part upon his former premises against the universality of the Death of Christ we shall Favente Deo orderly view them CHAP. I. An answer to his two first Arguments contained in his first Chapter of this Book The first Chapter contains two Arguments Argu. 1 As FRom the nature of the Covenant of Grace established ratified and confirmed in and by the Death of Christ His Argument runs thus The effects of the death of Christ cannot be extended beyond the compass of the new Covenant or Christ died only for those that are within the New Covenant But this Covenant was not made universally with all but particularly onely with some Therefore those alone were intended in the benefits of the death of Christ A very vitious Argument whereof the Conclusion contains a quartus terminus for in stead of any effects the tearm propounded in the Major He says the benefits therein as is clear by what follows in him comprehending the choice benefits of the death of Christ applied The Major also is ambiguous and uncertain For either it is universal as No effect of the death of Christ c. or else particular as Some do not c. If the latter its impertinent and concludes not against the death of Christ for All but onely its having some effects in All which is besides the thing in question if the former as I suppose he intends it then I deny it I deny I say that Christ died for none or that none have any effect of his death extended to them but onely such as with whom the New Testament is made He brings no other proof for it which he perhaps therefore lisped in because he saw himself weak in the proof of it but onely from that title given to his blood that it s called The blood of the New Testament So that his Argument to prove that runs thus It s called the blood of the New Testament Therefore shed onely for them that are heirs of the New Testament Which is like this The Spirit is called the Spirit of Comfort and the Comforter Therefore whoever it works upon it comforts them and so when it convinces the world of sin it s their comforter too and when it kindles the fire of Tophet Isai 30.33 it comforts them that are tormented with it A wilde Argument and yet such is his The truth is As its an office of the Spirit to comfort and he is a Comforter to all that obey him so is it an office of the blood of Christ or rather one end of its shedding to ratifie the new Covenant which it also doth to all that believe in it But as that is not all the work or business of the Spirit to comfort so neither was that all the work or end of the blood of Christ to establish the new Covenant but first of all to ransom from the death that was passed upon men and then to confirm a Covenant to the house of Israel and Judah This blood where ever it s tendered the Covenant is tendred with it Hear and your souls shall live and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you the sure mercies of David and he that obeys this is entred into Covenant by it but not All for whom it was shed are in Covenant by its shedding no more then all for whom the water of Purification was made were therefore purified because it was made for them and called the water of Purification Numb 19 9.20 Mr. Owen also mistakes the parties with whom the Covenant is made For he understands them to be a certain number of persons yet lying in the world and that its one clause of the Covenant to give them faith or make them to believe whereas indeed especially as pertaining to the Gentiles the proper object with whom the Covenant is made is the called of God believers in Christ Jesus into those mens hearts God will put his fear not to bring them to him but to keep them from departing from him which argues their being brought to him before these shall have the Law written in their hearts an allusion to the old Testament written in Tables of Stone not before they were brought out of Egypt but after they
acting in that power it still remains in Gods Power onely to give it the promised efficacy the soul in believing onely puts it self into such a posture as in which it becomes the object of Gods Promise to make the death of Christ effectual to it As suppose I promise an alms to a poor man if he will come to my house for it though it be in his power to â—ome yet it s not in his power to make my promise effectual that appertains to me and is onely in my power still From this that 's said his following conclusion viz. That this being the absolute necessity of faith the cause of that must needs be the prime and principal cause of salvation as being the cause of that without which the whole would not be and by which the whole is and is effectual nothing harms us we making God the prime Cause our faith and the Will be its freedom what it will but instumental and no instrumental subordinate cause as the Will of man however considered must needs be the whole man and his Will being the Workmanship of God though a causa sine quâ non per quam totum can be said to be the prime cause As to instance that in Acts 27.31 Except the Shipmen abide in the ship the passengers could not have been preserved Their abiding in the ship was a cause of their preservation such a one as without which they could not have been preserved and upon which they were preserved and yet I hope no man will be so graceless as to conclude that they or the souldiers that caused them to stay were the prime and principal cause of their preservation So a poor mans asking an alms may be a cause of his receiving an alms and yet when anothers bounty propounding an alms to him upon that condition incourageth him to ask and gives him when he asks though his Will be never so free in asking yet it cannot be looked upon as the prime cause of his receiving So that this premise too as it tends to conclude the act of the Will from the former premises to be the principal cause of our salvation though specious is but fallacious and erronius 3. After both these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as one that forgot what he undertook to prove instead of performing his task He puts it to our option to chuse whether we will answer directly and Categorically whether Christ by his Death and Intercession merited and procured faith for us or no. To this I say as before that except Christ had died for us there had neither been a fit object for us sinners to believe on nor an instrument fit to beget it by nor a power to work with that instrument to inable us thereunto So that in that sense he did by his death procure it for us that is removed that which hindred us from having any of those yet there too that he obliged God to give Vs individually faith that is to make us act faith in that object according to the power given us in the medium or instrument so as that if God had not given Vs that in our individual persons he must have dealt injuriously with Christ that I leave for him to prove In the Interim That he obliged him to give it to All he dyed for that is to cause them All to believe unto life eternall I Categorically deny and expect his proof of it before which he seems to me to contradict his first premise while he denies That the granting a way of salvation by bringing life and immortality to light by the Gospel in Christ which passage he ascribes to T. More p. 35. was procured for us by Christ To say nothing that I finde no such passage in the place pointed to why may we not say this way was procured for us by Christ Did not he procure the bringing life and immortality to light by the Gospel Sure then not all benefits bestowed upon us for that is one and none of the least which the Apostle also ascribes to him in 2 Tim. 2.10 and then neither did he procure faith for us for he that procures a thing must procure all requisites to the working of that thing or else he doth not procure that thing Now if he procure not the bringing life and immortality to light then he procured not that we should have that by which faith is effected for that 's it that begets faith the appearing of light and immortality in the Gospel faith I say according to the present plainness of the Gospel and so he hath overthrown the thing he fights for Ah but it s a strange Contradictory Assertion that he should procure a way to life in himself But why so because he is the chiefest part of this way and sure procured not himself by his own Death c. But by that reason he procured few things freely bestowed on us in and by Christ for then neither did he procure us Wisdom Righteousness Holiness nor Redemption for all these he is called himself as much as he is called the Way See 1 Cor. 1.30 then he procured not our peace for he is our peace Ephes 2.14 He procured not our life for he is our life Col 3.4 But is it such a strange thing to say such a man got or procured himself to be made protector to such a people or to have the favor of admitting to or keeping out any from the Kings ear by such and such services and carriages Surely no And why then is it so to say that Christ procured himself to be the Way to life for sinners by suffering for them Was he the way to life to us without his sufferings and death I suppose not and if not then he obtained that power and title by his sufferings Heb. 5.9 through that way he became our way to life by sufferings he was perfected and so became the Author of salvation eternall to all that obey him And is this such a strange Assertion Sure I cannot but think it a just hand of God upon men as is prophesied Zech. 11.13 Isa 29.9 10 13 14. Jer. 8.8 9. that because they slight Gods Word the plain testimonies of Scripture God smites their eye that they cannot see reason But to return to our purpose I deny I say that Christ procured that is ingaged or obliged God that all should be brought to believe on him for whom he dyed though we deny not that he opened a passage for the grace of God to display and glorifie it self so that He presents himself to men as good and powerful an object meet to be looked to and stayed on as in John 5.8 9 10 11. especially in the Gospel as now published since the Appearance of Christ in the Flesh which presentation of himself to men as good grations powerful c. is the medium and instrument for begetting faith according to the degree and measure of the Revelation as Rahab believed to
justification by a lesser revelation of God then Paul had Josh 2.10 11 12. with Heb. 11.31 and so Cornelius before Peters coming to him believed in a lower act by less light then Peter brought to him and the Ninivites by far lesser then the Jews rebelled against now that power accompanies these mediums too in their lesser or greater dispensations is evident in that the Spirit is said to have preached to striven with men even those that yet obeyed it not Gen. 6 3. 1 Pet. 3 19. the hand of the Lord was stretched out with his reproofs and councels Prov 1.24 and in the effects it produceth as that they attain to some knowledg of God convincements illuminations c. against which they often willfully rebel and close their eyes and I say further that God doth in many by these means effect faith and bring them actually to believe and I conceive many more might have faith did they not wilfully turn away from God for I conceive a fore going act propounded or injoyned to men you may call it a condition if you please upon which they might be brought to believe Whereas Mr. Owen askes what that is I answer it is to listen to the voice of God not hardning the heart So Isa 55.3 hearken diligently and your souls shall live by diligent attendance to the voice of God the soul is quickned up to a life of faith and hope in God so Isa 49.1 Listen O Isles unto me and hearken ye people from far and in Psal 95. To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts Lift not up your reasons and understandings against the authority of God be swift to hear hear him out and make not haste to speak and cavil against him As also to minde those demonstrations of his Divine Power and Goodness that he affords not winking with the eye and wilfully turning from the light when he makes it appear or from the means of light which beheld would give us to see what he holds forth to us according to that Call Hear ye deaf and look ye blinde that ye may see Isai 42.18 So Behold my servant whom I have chosen ver 1. And look to me and be ye saved Isai 45.22 And consider the works of God Job 37.14 That that is to be known of God is in them manifested c. Rom. 1.19.20 But then Is not this same hearing and listening believing I answer No It s but a mean to it We are to attend that we may believe by this hearing Faith and the spirit of it are given unto us But it will be objected Its obeying and obeying is believing So M. Owen But there is a fallacy in that for neither is every Act of hearing obeying nor every Act of obeying the believing spoken of As obeying in some acts follows believing so in some it may be but a tendency to the meeting with that which will cause us to believe so believingly to obey Take this Simile Two men are at controversie suppose a Master and a Servant the Master would have him do such things as the servant doth not nor will The Master begins to expostulate with him and to shew him reasons for his demands the servant hears what he says this is not yet an act of obedience to his Master for perhaps he may yet prove refractory and more obstinate then before and perhaps in hearing he may be perswaded and become obedient to him being convinced and changed in minde by what he hears till which change his act of hearing will not denominate him obedient or pass for an act of obedience Mr. Owen saith If we can propound a condition for Faith that is not Faith he will hear it And yet I suppose he will not think his hearing us propound it an act of obedience to us at all But then he says This is procured by by Christ or not In the sense before explained we grant it procured otherwise not and that to the power of exercising it is absolute but as to the act of exercising of it its voluntary and to the most uncompelled or unnecessitated Many have absolute power and ability given them of hearing and seeing the hints of Light and Truth that come from God that yet have it in their choise whether they will act so or so and therefore are faulted for not acting as they might for not chusing the fear of the Lord Prov. 1.29.30 For shutting their eyes against his Light and stopping their ears Matth. 13.15 Acts 28.27 And yet the cause of Faith is not resolved into our selves but into him that gives the power to hear and that speaks such words when we do listen as overcomes our reason and our hearts Our faith is justly still ascribed to him For if he spake not we could not hear yea if he gave us not power to hear yea if when we hear he spake not suitable words and exercised not power with his words we should not yet believe in him So that Inference is as absurd as these That because the blind man went and washed in the Pool of Siloam Therefore he was the cause of his own healing or Not Christ so much as he and The ten Lepers were the cause of their own cleansing because they went on their own legs to shew themselves to the Priests at his Commandment VVe avoid also all his following Consequences If by procuring Faith he means his meriting and obliging God to cause all to believe in him for whom He died For denying that it follows not either 1. That Faith is an act of our own wills and so our own as not to be wrought by Grace and that its wholly sited in our own power to perform that spiritual act No such thing follows upon that Proposition denied 1. That Faith is an act of the VVill no man can deny for in it the Will closes with an Object propounded as good to be relied on but that it s not wrought by Grace is clearly false from what is said above It s our act to hear and yet not that without the VVord of God buts t is Gods Act even the act of his Grace to perswade us by what he speaks to lean upon him and believe in him Besides 2. God might freely work it in some without being obliged to it by the Death of Christ the same love that led him to give Christ may sin being removed and the enmity being slain by Christ work as much as it pleases without being obliged and tied to work it Besides 3. Christ might oblige him to work it in some and yet not in all He died for So that every way this is inconsequent And we neither 1. Contradict any Scripture Nor 2. Speak contrary to the nature of the new Covenant of Grace which indeed is sealed by Christs Death to believers but says not that Christs Death obliged God to make this and that man much less all he died for to believe Nor is it 3. Destructive
place urged by him speak of Faith they being believers that were spoken of in that Speech as the Suppositum in it And how it should be meant when he says My Dinner is prepared and all things are ready come ye to the Wedding That the peoples coming was one of the dishes prepared I know not or that God hath put faith into Christ for us Yet suppose it mean that through him God hath blessed us with faith which I grant he hath such as do believe yet how either he obliged God to bless such particulars so or much more all that he died for I am sure no man can shew me from that proof So that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith the beginning and the end of what we believe for or as the word is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the prime Captain and Perfecter of our faith or * The word Faith there signifies rather the profession or matter of Faith believed then the act of Faith in us the way of our faith and so greater then any of the cloud of witnesses I believe and so I desire to eye and look to him also yea as him without whose sufferings I could neither have had object of faith for me nor VVord or Spirit to inable me to it and as he that is the prime leader in it and finisher of it bringing about to me the whole end of it the salvation of my soul But yet that therefore he so obliged God to make men look to him as that had God passed me by and fastened upon some other he should have been unjust to him or that he hath procured that All he died for shall be brought to believe to eternal life that place shews not And now to review his whole Argument it runs thus If the fruit and effect procured by the death of Christ absolutely not depending on any condition in man to be fulfilled be not common to All then did not Christ die for All. But the supposal is true as is seen in the Grace of Faith which was procured by the death of Christ to be absolutely bestowed on them for whom he died is but yet not common to All Therefore Christ died not for All. The whole Syllogism is in clouds for either Proposition being indefinite may admit of truth or falshood as they may be interpreted If the Major be universal thus That if no fruit or effect procured or wrought absolutely by the death of Christ for All for whom he died be common to All then he died not for All Then it s granted but then the Minor is too scanty for it should be universal too taking in the whole Medius terminus or else the Argument concludes not negatively If the Major be not so universal then we deny the Consequence For we suppose Christ might procure some things not for All as the grace of Apostleship for Paul and that 's not common to all the Church yet it follows not from that that he died not for all the Church Again The terms for whom he died are equivocal for its either to be interpreted All for whom he died had the grace of Faith procured for them to be absolutely bestowed on them or not If not then it comes not up to the intent of the Major nor takes in the whole middle Term of it as it ought to run If so we have seen no proof for it and therefore to say no more that the whole Minor remains unproved the main thing opposed by him yet stands firm viz. That Christ died for All. Having done with this long labyrinthed Argument Argu. 9 he comes to a new one Thus. Those onely are spiritually redeemed by Christ who were typed out by the people of Israel in their carnal typical Redemption But by the people of the Jews in their deliverance out of Egypt bringing into Canaan with all their Ordinances and Institutions onely the Church of God the Elect were typed out which he sayes was proved before but I never yet saw it proved from the beginning of the Book hitherto and I am confident never shall Ergo c. Truly this is a very sorry Argument and I had thought such a man as Mr. Owen would not have mentioned such a one but sure he so much over-reasoned himself in the former that he forgat himself here For first to the Major He hath no proof for it at all and this reason may be given to deny it that he can no where prove that that was a type of Christs dying for us meerly But out of courtesie we will grant it him and fall upon his Minor in which he both adds a Quartus terminus in mentioning the bringing them into Canaan and all their Ordinances c. not mentioned in the Major and in saying Onely the Elect and Church of God was typed out by them saith falsely and so it s denied by me upon these grounds 1 The beasts were all brought out to a hoof of which some were clean and some were unclean for Sacrifice were all these types of the Elect and Church onely 2. The Murmurers and Rebels that fell in the Wilderness were brought out of Egypt were they also types of the Elect Sure then if Canaan be a type of heaven and heavenly Rest and Egypt a type of the Kingdom of Death and Darkness then it will follow That few of the Elect scarce two of six hundred thousand shall enter into Rest and that many that Christ died for and ransomed from death and misery through unbelief shal never come into heavenly glory Was not Corah and his company some of that people that was redeemed out of Egypt Sure they were See Numb 16. and yet the Apostle tells us they were types of them that perish for rebellion against Christ Jude 11. Were they think you the Elect of God And so the Apostle propounds those Murmurers and Fornicators and Idolators amongst them as types of them that now murmure against Christ and commit Fornication and Idolatry against him 1 Cor. 10.5 11. So that this Argument is notoriously erroneous Let us turn it thus rather All that were typed out in the Redemption from Egypt are ransomed spiritually by Jesus Christ But all men good and bad were typed out by them Ergo All so ransomed To make good the Minor for the Major is Mr. Owens own The clean beasts typified those of the Gentiles that are fit for sacrifices to God being sanctified by the holy Ghost Rom. 15.16 The unclean those that remain in unbelief and so are not fit to be so offered up Tit. 1.16 Likewise the good and faithful people and such as were chosen into Office types of the Elect and faithful in Christ Jesus 1 Pet. 2.5 And the Murmurers Complainers and Unbelievers types of the disobedient to and backsliders from Christ Therefore all such people though they come not all to heaven yet Christ gave himself a ransom for them But enough to this most incongruous Argument
CHAP. V. An Answer to his fifth Chapter In which is considered How Christ gave himself a ransom for All. HAving done with those Arguments we follow him now to Arguments taken from words used in this matter which he saith Disagree in their genuine signification from the Opinion that extends to all the matter spoken of in them Arg. 10 And first He lays down his Argument generally thus That Doctrine that will not by any means suit which and be conformable to the thing signified by it but contradicts the expressions literal and deductive whereby in Scripture it s held out to us cannot possibly be sound and sincere But such is the perswasion of Vniversal Redemption or General Ransom Ergo It s unsound And this strange Argument that grants the Doctrine held forth in Scripture expressions Instance 1. and yet contradicts those Scriptures he labors to prove by Induction and first from the word A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dransom or price of Redemption He argues thus That the thing signified in it agrees not to all therefore the word is not to be so applied Which is in substance Paul spake unadvisedly when he made so general an expression this is not to believe the Scripture but to judge and deny it to be right VVell let us see what the word signifies It signifies a price for Redemption Now saith Mr. Owen If Christ pay a price for Redemption his aim is their deliverance for whom it s paid to that end he satisfies the Judge and conquers the Jaylor but this agrees not to All All are not ransomed Shall we believe Mr. Owen or the Apostle here who also tells us in Rom. 5.18 That by one mans Righteousness to all men to Justification of life And again in 1 Cor. 15 22. As in Adam All die so in Christ all shall be made alive But Mr. Owen says Why are not all saved then I might say Nay but O man who art thou that repliest against God But I have answered before From the first death they are from the second they are not because many are disobedient against their Saviour As all Israel were saved out of Egypt Jude 5. Its the Apostle Judes expression But why then not all preserved into Canaan He tells us He afterwards destroyed them that believed not So here he afterward in a second death destroyes all those that know like or approve not God and all that disobey the Gospel of Christ 2 Thes 1.7 8. All were in thrall to the sentence of death and so to the execution of vengeance from God upon them all in Adam in an utter ruine and again for slighting and sinning against Light and Goodness afforded deserve destruction to come suddenly upon them in plagues famines c. The bond that held them in the former was their sin in Adam and to the latter many sins against Gods goodness now exposes them VVhat price pays Christ Himself to bear that blow for them and be the propitiation for their sin Now in that the sentence passed not or rather lyes not upon men Men are not debarred reaccess to God for that folly the sentence of banishment is reversed and the banished called home again here is a Redemption made from that thraldom And whereas many times they are liable to destruction again in their persons Christ Mediating and Interposing himself as the Propitiation preserves them And on this ground we are to pray for All and make Intercession with thanksgiving for All as in 2 Tim. 1.2 6. But I suppose he thinks All not ransomed because many remain thralled in their corruption To which I might say but as Prosper Ad capit Gallor Sanguis Christi est totius mundi pretium pro omnium redemptione verè persolutum and that 's as much as 1 Tim. 2.6 says sed illi homines ab eo pretio extranei sunt qui aut captivitate delectati redimi noluerunt aut post redemptionem ad eandem servitutem sunt reversi and again Omnes rectè dicantur redempti sed non ownes a captivitate eruti But to clear it I shall propound these following considerations 1. That men in sinning fell under a double bondage 1. To death to be inflicted from God according to his sentence In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death and death came on all in that all sinned 2. To corruption or sinfulness of Nature in themselves and the delusions of Satan Ephe. 2.1 Dead in sins and trespasses conceived in sin and born in iniquity 2. The latter of these thraldoms was not the curse or death inflicted as the punishment of the fall but the proper consequence of it That it was not its punishment nor any essential part of it appears in this that every essential part of the punishment of it Christ was to bear by way of satisfaction and so he bare anguish in body and soul death of body and separation from Gods presence but he bare not the inherency of sin for us nor inability for serving his Father nor was he subject to the deceits of Satan as if it had been an essential part of that punishment he must have done for it appertains to and spreads over the whole nature But the first was the punishment to which we were subjected and which had we abid never so pure in our natures must have been executed for the fault committed because the word was not If thou becomest so polluted but In the day thou eatest thou shalt die and therefore Christ also suffered that becoming a ransom for us though innocent 3. In the latter the Justice of God did not detain us but as man being debarred from any new grace without that could not do what he should but we ought that notwithstanding to do our best to serve him we had his permission to it if such a thing might be supposed that we might have lived under that sentence unsuffered for us He neither put sin into us nor kept it in us But the former came directly from God upon us and his Justice detained us in our Mediator in it till his sentence was satisfied 4. That first was the death of which Satan had power and the fear of which though but now a carkass detains men in their spirits in bondage Heb. 2.14 Men fear not but love the other their corruptions now Christ conquered Satan when he brake his snare and got victory over that death that should else have swallowed us up for ever So that Satan could not as else he would have done play the Executioner upon us 5. God neither putting men into corruption nor corruption into them nor his Justice standing against our doing better he would that they should come out of it if they could the price was not given to God properly as the price of Redemption from that but onely as the ransoming them from the death inflicted makes a passage for means also to be afforded to them for their recovery and setting free from
clear as the noon-light but that was the occasionall way of inriching and reconciling the World not only the Elect and Godly but the rest though many by rejecting the riches of Christ preached amongst and the word of reconciliation preached to them with the grace therein tendred were not actually inriched with the riches proper to the Saints and reconciled in their hearts As wholsom Laws and good Government are the hapiness of a Nation that is the way and means of making a Nation in general happy though many by their evil-bearing them and rebelling against them should actually pull down mischief upon their own heads So the goodness of God extended to men in the Gospel and Ordinances of God is a Table to them though they by their unbelief turn it into a snare Psal 69.22 and is a mercy to men in general though many by observing lying vanities put away their own mercy from them Joh. 2.8 That place in Col. 1.6 Evidently signifies Mundum continentem place not persons Thence the change of the phrase It s come to you as also in all the world He saith Not to you and to All the world In the World signifies Place To the World had signified Persons The Gospel is Preached in the world to men That in 1 Joh. 2.2 We deny to signify the godly onely we shall view his proofs for it when we come at them I might shew also some beg'd presumed and proofless Applications of divers Scriptures quoted by him to shew that the word World signifies men rejected and accursed as Joh. 15.19 and 17.25 with some others which in their expressions might have been applied to Saul and many persecuters of Christ that were after converted but I pass them with divers other things less pertinent VVhat he promises upon this Observation we shall speak to when we meet it Whereas he further notes 1. That there is often in Scripture an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an ingemination of the same Word in a several sense We grant it but his Application of it to John 3.17 as concerning the different significations of the word World in those two phrases Not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved we say is begged and desire any one clear proof that any believer or number of believers living in the world are called the world The present world He notes 2. That no Argument can be taken from a phrase of speech in the Scripture in any particular place if in other places thereof where it is used the signification pressed from that place is evidently denied unless the scope of the place or subject matter of it do inforce it This we consess as to Argument though to Faith a place may be sufficient where the Argument will not inforce it by this rule As to Instance All that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth some to the resurrection of life and some to the resurrection of condemnation By his Rule we cannot conclude That All and Every man shall arise out of their graves because the word All is taken in many places but for the generality of men not for every individual As All men seek their own c. Therefore from the word All we cannot inforce that signification Again The scope of the place will not inforce it for its independent to the preceding Verses except in this that therein Christ asserts his glorious Power and Authority fore-spoken of That he had life in himself power to quicken and raise up whom he would which might be demonstrated as well in quickning the generality of good and bad in their graves as in every individual Again That distribution Some to life and some to condemnation inforces onely that good and bad shall rise not every individual of either Nor is the matter Res necessaria Its in the power of God and in his Will to raise All or some every individual or but the most and generality And yet though reason cannot be pressed to conclude it in so large an extent yet Faith may be perswaded so to believe it It being ground enough for Faith to believe it so largely That the words may bear it and there is nothing of evidence from God against the largest it will bear It being sauciness in man to put in his limitations in matters of Faith where Gods Spirit elsewhere or the matter spoken of doth not necessarily inforce a limitation He nextly instances the word All Denying that it s ever said That Christ died for All men Which we have answered before We grant it sometimes is applied Distributively to sorts and sometime collectively but deny that the word holds forth such a Distributive acceptation onely in the places controverted His instance of Joh. 12.32 I will draw All men to me is but beg'd That it signifies all sorts we grant That it signifies not All individuals we desire him to prove He thinks to prove it thus That all that come to him by the Fathers drawing he will in no wise cast out But herein he prevaricates For it s not said in any Scripture That all that God draws come to Christ Without his drawing none can come to him but that every one that he draws come we finde not He drew Ephraim with the cords of love and the bands of a man but no where says that they came to him upon it but seems rather to complain against him of drawing back from him Hos 11.3 4.2 Nor doth Christ say My Father shall draw all to me but he speakes of his own drawing 3. Nor is it manifest what drawing he speakes of whether of Grace onely to believe or of power also to be judged The latter it may be or both For of judging he was speaking immediately before And that not upon the gratious inquiring after him as most refer it to that vers 20.21 But upon the Fathers voyce coming to him that he would glorifie him vers 28 29. Immediately upon which he says Now is the judgment of this world He says not the conversion of the world but the judgment and that began in the Prince of it Now shall the Prince of the world be cast out and then afterward he will draw All to him being lifted up First on the Cross secondly in the Gospel thirdly By the right hand of God to the Throne of Glory a part of which glory is to judg All. Being thus lifted up he will draw all to him either by Grace to own him or by his Power to be judged by him And this he spake signifying what death he should dye as on the Cross so a publike death and such as in and by which he should receive authority over all flesh c. VVhy any should exclude this drawing to judgment I see not he speaking of judging the world and why to deny it without reason for it I see as little Such a drawing I finde in Psal 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
kinde of Faith not so infallibly attended with eternal salvation as that compared to the stony ground Matth. 13.19 20. And in those that made shipwrack of faith and a good conscience But he says That that 's the substance of the Gospel promulgation whoever believe shall be saved that 's the onely thing held out to innumerable That Faith shal be attended certainly with eternal life Truly I believe that that 's All the Gospel held out to innumerable indeed For they that know of no other Gospel predicable to them at least believe it not how should they preach it And truly though that 's a truth yet not a truth meet to beget Faith but that declares God in Christ an object fit for souls in general and particular to believe on That that 's all the divine Truth that God bids us preach as Gospel to innumerable of men I deny He quotes for it Matth. 16.16 1 John 5.11 but fails in them of his purpose He shews his mistake of the first in that he thinks that that in Mark 16.16 is a declaration of the Gospel that they should preach As if our Saviour had said This is the Gospel you shall preach He that believes shall be saved and he that believes not shall be damned Now that this cannot be the Gospel is plain for then the latter sentence He that believes not shall be damned should be part of the Gospel too and so good news which I suppose will be hardly judged so The truth is Our having Saviour bid them preach the Gospel informs them what should be the consequences of their preaching it He that believes that is that believes the Gospel that you preach shall be saved but he that believes not but rejects it shall be damned The Gospel that they were to preach was his Mission into the world as the Saviour of it his Death for our sins his Resurrection Ascention c. with the promises of Life to them that believing the Gospel believe on him and so the Apostle preached also as we have before shewed We declare to you good tidings that God hath performed his Promises to us in raising up Christ from the dead And be it known that in this mans name is preached to you remission of sins And to instance no more his other proof is plain that they preached more fully then as he tells us For in that 1 John 5.11 He says not onely this is the Record that life is in Christ and he that hath him hath it but also which he leaps over God hath given us that life eternal that is in Christ so as that it behoves us to receive it in receiving him or else we are ingreateful and guilty of our own destruction Whereas he chargeth us with a Conditional will in God for saving men I speak not of any thing conditional in him but I say God propounds to men salvation on condition and will make good his VVord where-ever that condition is performed by men That which follows in this Consideration is spoken to generally before and therefore I shall pass it and come to the next Consideration 9. He mindes us of the mixt distribution of Elect and Reprobates Consid 9. Believers and Vnbelievers throughout the world in the several places thereof in all or most of the single Congregations and that 's another ground of tendring the blood of Christ to them for whom it was never shed Here are a heap of beg'd questions all without proof As 1. That some are Elect and others Reprobates before the Gospel come to them and fasten upon some to pull them to Christ and his Justice pass upon others in hardning them for their rejection of Christ 2. That there are believers and unbelievers in the Congregations throughout the world antecedently to the Gospels publishing to them and therefore the Gospel must be tendred to All and the blood of Christ offered to them for whom it was never shed 3. That there are some men for whom Christ never shed his blood and that God hath ordered it to be offered to them But 4. Chiefly This is to be admired that the holy Ghost that knows the secrets of God and revealed them to the Apostles should out of these grounds affirm that Christ died and gave himself a ransom for All when he wrote to one of the Churches All which are no matters of our Faith till they have better proof VVhat he says of the Promises there is impertinent for it s not of those we speak but of the affirmations of the extent of Christs Death Propitiation and Ransom which are not promises upon any condition propounded but Declarations and Assertions of things done for us in Christ that are grounds to us for Faith Even such grounds as upon which the Apostles exhorts to Faith Matth. 22.4 2 Cor. 5.19 20. c. and from them though not from the promises which are the believers portion Faith meets with something to perswade us of his Death for All. VVhereas he says the offer is not absolutely universal If he speak of it as profferd in act by men its true but if as proferable and according to the terms of its Proposition in the Scripture its untrue for there it s expresly said To all the ends of the earth and to the whole Creation For Gods refusing to bestow Faith I would have him shew me that God any where expresses himself as unwilling and unready to bestow Faith upon men where they have not first wilfully rejected him as if it was a vain thing to preach to most and for most to hear because God will not afford them power of believing 10. His last Consideration is of the several degrees of Faith Consid 10. tending to clear this That men have an object fit to believe on though they believe not that Christ died for them Which I deny for this believing on God the onely ultimate object of Faith being a reliance or depending on him presupposes an apprehension of God as one able and willing to help him and that apprehension springing from his VVord reporting him to be such which cannot be apprehended with this in question Whether God hath given Christ for him or not for if that be doubted or uncertain its uncertain too whether God be willing to help him seeing he hath appointed help no ways but by him and through his dying for men But let us see what are his Positions He tels us there is 1. This That sinners cannot have salvation in themselves in as much as all have sinned and come short of the glory of God Nor can be justified by the works of the Law This is indeed a truth to be believed but not properly Gospel or good news much less doth it shew the object to be believed on 2. That life is to be had in the promised seed But this is a lame Proposition for it expresses not whether life is there for them to whom it s preached or onely for some
they know not who If the latter this not yet meet to beget faith in God in them it being yet uncertain wheher he bean object for faith to them That many believe not this that are outwardly called is not material nor proves that there is no more Gospel-Truth that appertains to them proposable to them And indeed one thing that makes many not believe it is that they regard not the report of it and they regard it not perhaps because it propounds nothing for certain that may be beneficial to them 3. That Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified at Jerusalem was this Saviour This also is a truth to be believed but yet affords no certain ground or motive for any mans expecting good from God to himself nor propounds him as a fit object for this or that man to believe on But then 4. He says The Gospel requires resting in this Christ as an All-sufficient Saviour with whom is plenteous redemption able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him But can a soul rest on him that it knows not to have done any thing for it to rest in To rest in is to sit down and be at quiet in the belief of something in which the soul sees it need stir no where else for satisfaction but it may certainly have it there But how can a man preach to any one or he believe that Christ is an All-sufficient Saviour as to him and so meet for him to rest on for safety and yet cannot say by the Word of God That Christ died for him or was appointed by God to be a Mediator for him to rest on Is Christ sufficiently furnished for saving a man without an offering made to God for him Or can he remit his sins without shedding blood for him To come to God by Christ is through the viewing and considering his Person Sufferings and Mediation to be incouraged to hope in God and in that hope to ask and waite for his salvation Now what am I more helped for trusting in God by believing that all that finde such incouragement in him as Mediator as that they are raised up to hope and to have confidence in God thereby have Him Al-sufficient to save them if in the mean time not knowing whether he be sufficient to save me that is whether he hath done any thing as Mediator for me I cannot see incouragement from thence to hope and rest on God for his saving me It s true few within the Pale of the Church may finde strength to perform that act of resting on God and that is because they see not nor are shewed what ground they have to do so They are held in suspense about their right to rest on him or to think he is appointed for them They see not the way of entrance to God how then should they approach by it but deceive themselves oftentimes in thinking they approach to him when they do not The Truth of God which being believed should work in them effectually to draw them to God is kept back from him viz. That there is a Mediator between God and them who hath died for them That Word of God is suspended upon acts in themselves which indeed properly slow forth from that Truth first believed by them It s love in God discovered to us that makes us hope in and stay upon him but that in this way is held back from men till they do hope in him and so the Cart is set before the Horse the thing that should draw us is set after our drawing in O poor preposterous way that souls are led in 5. Now after all this He tells us We are called on every one in particular to believe the efficacy of the Redemption that is in the blood of Christ towards our souls This also is obscurely or preposterously laid down For why I pray says he The efficacy of that Redemption is then to be believed and not rather our interest in that act of the Redeemer in giving himself a ransom for us Doth he think that came in before why then did he in no place mention it and shew where it comes in that we are to believe that Christ died for us The efficacies of his Redemption in and upon us we indeed look for and expect in and upon our coming to him and we therefore come to him that we might receive them even grace and mercy to help us in times of need and in believing and resting on him we shall experiment them After believing we are assured of remission of sins and eternal life but where come we to know that Christ died for us and so that the Mediation of Christ hath that in it for us that we may be imboldned by to hope in God Men talk of Gods working faith by an Almighty power in them as if he wrought it through the Air and not by opening his love and goodness in the Mediation of Christ and so by his VVotd that declares him I cannot but question a great many of these mens faith whether they yet know what it truly is they talk so strangely of the working of it It s by an Almighty power its true ay but that 's put forth in the Record of the Gospel concerning Gods goodness in Christ to us Doth he mean by efficacy of Redemption but this that Christ died for us Beside that that 's an notable confusion of an act done without us for us and the operations of it by faith in us it crosses the way of the Apostles who laid down the Gospel thus There is one God and one Mediator between God and man they staid not there Nor yet at this the Man Christ Jesus Which is all the Gospel that Mr. Owen hints at that is to be preached before mens coming to rest on God but the Apostle goes a step further Who gave himself a ransom for All. All this the Apostle the Teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity lays down as the Testimony of God the object of our Faith concerning God and Christ the foundation of our approaching to God for salvation and the demonstration that God would have us saved Now what 's the matter that men can dare to venture upon all the other parts or steps of the Gospel Truth to be preached to men as that there is a difference between God and Man a Mediator and Saviour appointed for men and that this is the Man Jesus Christ and then in stead of the last He gave himself a ransom for All boggling at that and avoiding it as a dangerous rock put in this That you must rest upon 〈…〉 in him before you have ground to believe 〈…〉 ransom for you and then you shall know 〈…〉 for All that believe and so for you 〈…〉 that men have departed from the 〈…〉 down by the Teacher of the Gentiles in Faith and that that he calls Verity is accounted a dangerous Very-lye and yet they say they can set before men an object
of Faith as rightly as the Apostles No no Our charge yet stands faster against them then that the strongest hand of them All can move it They cannot preach or represent God Doctrinally in that their way as an object that the people they speak to hath good ground to rest in for safety and satisfaction for they know not confessedly whether he hath appointed Christ as a medium of access for them and as a Sacrifice and Ransom for their souls They can tell men he is able to save them that believe provided they be the Elect otherwise not but cannot assure that he is a meet object for them to believe through because they cannot assure them he hath done any thing for them And thus we have viewed his previous Considerations Come we now to view his following Answers to our Arguments CHAP. II. An Answer to his evasions from those Scriptures that declare Christ sent for the world and the whole world BEfore he comes to the Arguments that he would Answer he dips his Pen in Gall and slings durt upon the faces of them that will not forsake the sure Word of God to take heed to his contradictory Conclusions made against it Pretending his Opinion to be undeniably confirmed by the Word of God by many Demonstrations and innumerable Testimonies of Scripture though not one place hath been brought to the purpose for it Yea I will make Mr. Owen this offer That if he can produce any one Testimony of Scripture that denied Christ to have died for any one man of the world or that limits his Ransom and Propitiation to fewer then All I say That limits it and I will yield him the Cause and say that I have been egregiously deceived But to let that pass Our first general Argument he frames weakly and then makes us by reasoning as weakly to defend it that so he might have the more advantage against it I would make this and the second from general expressions of Scripture into one thus That Matter or Article of Faith Argum. that is frequently delivered in the largest and most general expressions of Scripture without other Scripture in any place excluding any or limiting as but to some is to be received according to the latitude of those large expressions But such is this business of the Death of Christ as the Ransom it s delivered in the largest and most general expressions and no other Scripture any where limits it but to some or excludes any particular Therefore according to the latitude of those expressions its to be received The Major of this is founded upon this Rule Every Word of God is pure nothing to be added to it nothing to be taken from it But to limit where it no where limits or to exclude where it excludes not is to take from it of our own heads and therefore is not to be attempted Besides it may be seen by induction No other Truth that is so frequently laid down in such general terms is taken limitedly to fewer if no other Scripture limit or restrain it or the very Circumstances of the places where it is as might be instanced in Creation Sinfulness Preservation Resurrection Judgment The Minor hath been cleared throughout this Discourse that though there be places that speak not of all its object as also there are many about Creation Sin Resurrection Judgment yet there is no limitation of it in any of those places as a Ransom or Propitiation to a less object then the general places will reach to And that the largest expressions are used about it is clear as All men Rom. 5.18 1 Tim. 2 6. Every one Heb 2.9 The whole world 1 Joh. 2.2 That those phrases are in themselves extendible to All and Every man in the world is plain and confest by Mr. Owen That sometimes in the Scriptures they are so used and that very usually too and most properly as is easie to shew And therefore may so signifie there His Argumentations from the word World I disclaim nor doth he finde any so to use them as he propounds them We argue not the extent simply from the word World but from the words All and Every and whole World and we understand the word World extendible as far as them not from the word World simply but from these other places reaching it to the whole World and All men As when it s said God created man upon the earth the force of the word Man proves it not that he created every Man in the world but yet we believe it extendible so far because other Scriptures say it of All Nations of men and that he made them of one blood The Argument from the word World we use against their conceit of For the Elect onely In that we never finde any Scripture calling the world Elect or the Elect the World but distinguishing them from the world they being in election separated from the world They that would have us restrain general words but to some particulars must shew us some ground for it that the Scripture somewhere in the same business so restraineth them for the restraining of a word usually and Properly of a large extent in other things is no sufficient ground for our straitning it in this or another thing where the Scripture doth not plainly declare that it ought to be so straitned And this is our defence against them in straitning this Word to the Elect. But Mr. Owen endeavors to shew that the general words in such places ought to be straitned from the consideration of the places themselves Beginning with that in Joh 3 16. In which the great Saviour of the world assisting us we will follow him He thereupon first gives us our construction of the place and that with as much weakness as he can I shall give my Paraphrase my self thus God beholding man faln even the men of the world pitied him in that condition and out of pity to him sent him for a Saviour his own onely Son to this end and with this intention that he dying for him and rising again and being perfected for saving man all those of mankinde whosoever that upon declaration of him do believe on him should not perish but have eternal life In which observe 1. That the motive of Gods sending his Son was that love or good will that he bore to lost man and readiness to shew forth his mercy to them in providing a fit medium and way to salvation 2. The object of this love was Mankinde faln as here expressed indefinitely but as other Scriptures explain this indefinite All men the whole world 3. His act of giving was both to death for men and in the Gospel preaching Him to men as an object to be believed on 4. The end That whosoever believes should not perish In which we have 1. The Way to the participation of the choise benefits of him viz. believing on him 2. The Extent of that choise benefit whosoever believes In which is also
as an argument of terror to them that ill requite it reject it or receive it in vain 2 Cor. 5.11 with 6.1 Heb. 2.3 and 10.26.29 and 12.22.24.25 2 Thes 2.10 11. which were vain arguings if because this love was so commendable therefore it was an absolute unchangeable purpose of bringing all that Christ was given for to eternal salvation But he says further Argum. 3. That Gods love is a Velle bonum alicui a willing good to them He loves and therefore sure they are the object of his Love to whom he intends the good which is the issue and effect of his love viz. not perishing but having eternal life But that happens onely to the Elect Believers c. In which Mr. Owen slipt out of the matter in hand the nature of the love to the object of it and builds his Argument but upon an Axiom of the Schoolmen that were not so far Gods privy Councellors as that we may build our saith upon all their Maxims And he faulters too in his Argument For whereas his Major speaks of Gods intending that end and issue that men perish not His Minor tells us of what happens which makes his Argument to continue a Quartus terminus Surely God tells us he so far intends not perishing eternal life to others that he hath no delight in the death of the wicked but rather that they turn and live and that he willeth not that any perish but that all come to Repentance Ezek. 33.11 2 Pet. 3.9 I know because men think themselves wise in this world and prefer their Philosophical Rules before the Apostles counsel To become fools that they may be wise that they will not bear the truth of those sayings but muster up objections against them and say with Nicodemus How can these things be if God willed not that they perish but that all should come to Repentance then these things must happen to all and none are loved of God but they to whom those things happen And so they will teach men to blaspheme that goodness of God that leads men to repentance and to say It was not goodness because they are not prevailed with but according to their own hard hearts treasure up wrath to themselves by sinning against it yea and will make this so wonderfull a transcendent testimony of Love no love except it had been God so loved the world that he not only gave his son that every one that believes might not perish but also will make men so to believe and receive him that they shall never perish VVell then might the Israelites for the far greatest part of them say It s in vain for us to serve God and wherein hath he loved us seeing whatever great things he did for them they found not that he so absolutely purposed their eternall salvation that he would by his omnipotent power compell them to it for but a remnant of them shall be saved But for that willing none to perish but rather to turn and live and so a willing salvation to men God may be said so to will two wayes First In willing it to be and so providing it in Christ and propounding it to men c. and willing or requiring them to look to him for it with promise of conferring it on them in so doing 2. To purpose or determine that this or that man absolutely shall be saved In the first way he hath willed salvation to the world in generall having put it in Christ and willed the Gospell to be preached throughout the VVorld and they all to listen to it and obey it but not in the second way Now some may not receive or receive in vain Gods grace willing their salvation in the first way and turn it into wantonness and so it hath not in them its effect it hath in others that receive it throughly shall we therefore conclude There was no grace extended to them the other only and not they were the object of his love in providing salvation for and propounding it to the world But he adds 4 This that was the cause of giving Christ is the cause of giving all good things with him Rom. 8.32 therefore it must be towards them only that have all those good things I deny the consequence The same love that led God to appoint the brazen Serpent for healing led him to heal them that looked up Ergo he set it up only for them that looked up This argument slides also from the nature of the love to the Object of it The same love that led God to give his Son to the World leads him to give eternall life to them of the World that believe and so to give us that believe All things but it follows not therefore that the object of Gods love in its first act was not distinct from or at least not larger then Believers 5 His last argument is from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies saith he to rest in his love and so it must be a peculiar love This is but vain for this word is used of Christs love to the young man that had great possessions and went away from him Vers 21. Mark 10.22 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so to the Israelites of old that were many of them loved no more and so to Judas Psal 109.3 4. 2. He tells us There is a difference in our acceptions of the word World which I conceive to be sinfull mankinde in generall He to be the Elect scattered abroad in the World with a Tacit opposition to the Nation of the Jews My Reason for mine is 1. Because the word World speaking de mundo contento primarily so signifies as He shall judge the World in Righteousness Psal 9.8 How then shall God judge the World and All the World is become guilty before God Rom. 3.6 9. 2. Because Christ is expresly said to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole World the Ransom for All men 3. Because it here sustains the nature of a whole out of which believers are taken as parts He loved the world that every one that believes that is that every one of it or of the world that believes c. that 's evidently the sense of the place Now its non-sense to say That every one of the Elect that believe for that intimates that some of them might not believe It s as if he should have said of the Israelites He brought Israel out of Egypt that they that follow him obediently in the wilderness might enter into Canaan like that in Iohn 12.48 where the same phrase is used I am come a light unto the world that whosoever believes in me should not abide in darkness c. He is a light to every man John 1.9 a light to them that hate his light Joh 3.19 but they for hating of it shall be deprived of it and abide in darkness John 12.35 26. but all of this world to whom he vouchsafes his light that believe
in him shall not abide in darkness But Mr. Owen says By the World are meant the Elect scattered abroad in the World opposed to the Nation of the Jews that this last clause is untrue appears by this that he was speaking this to a Jew to draw him to believe and therefore the Word World must not be opposed to them as excluding them but let us see how he refutes ours and confirms his own opinion Against our latter observation from the reading of the Words He so loved the Elect that all of them that believe should not perish viz. that it would seem by that as if some of them might not believe he replies why Because he sent his Son that they might not perish To that I answer No but because the phrase is Distributive not that it believing as supposing that all that VVorld that Christ was given for shall believe but that whosoever or every one that believes as supposing that though there is ground for all the VVorld to believe yet all would not So that the place holds not forth that Christ must and will keep from perishing All for whom he was given as Mr. Owen suggests but all whosoever and whatsoever that believe in him But he answers again That God designs the salvation of all them in express words for whom he sent his Son To that I reply that by designing c. meaning his purposing to bring them All to eternal salvation its openly untrue for he says no such thing there that he loved the world and gave his Son that every one of it should be made to believe and be saved as I appeal to the Text it self but if he mean as he doth not that salvation might be propounded to it and it have a way by which it might in believing come to be saved then I deny it not but so it s said of unbelievers John 5.34 40. VVhereas we say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is divisive and partitive as to that Totum the word world going before to this he says that If it be so then it restrains Gods love to some and not to others I answer No but it it shews by whom and by what way the utmost end of this love or most choise blessing of it is to be injoyed Gods love in providing a Medium through which men might look for and meet with salvation respects the world in generall nor doth that saying that whosoever believes put a bar against any of the world as if they might not in looking up to Christ be saved but it implies that the world as simply such or as in that state of sin and blindness in which God out of pity sent his Son for it is not the object of Gods absolute intention to give eternall life but those of it that believe and the word Whosoever is both an incouragement for all or any to believe and carries in it a supposition that the whole VVorld likely might not believe As the setting up the brazen Serpent to whom Christ is compared ver 14. was an act of love to all the strange Israelites though the benefit of healing was to be obtained in their looking up to it and by none of them that refused to look up so was the gift of Christ to the world though the unbeliever not receiving him is not saved But then 2. He denies that that phrase is restrictive but only declarative of his end how it s not restrictive I have even now said but that its Distinctive not taking in the whole world as the certain Object or subject of eternall life is shewed also and is very evident I conceive to all that have but common judgment and so that it s not only Declarative of his end but declarative of it in such a way or expression as implies that the Object that injoyes that end may at least be fewer then the object of giving him to such an end It s not that all the world shall not perish but that whosoever believeth perish not c. Besides no other Scripture says that the whole world for whom Christ was given did or shall believe on him but expresly to the contrary that some to whom God gave Him as the true bread saw and believed not Iohn 6.32 36. and that many to whom he came received him not He came to his own things amongst which his own Nation was and his own Nation or people received him not So that for his exposition we have nothing but his bare saying and that offering violence to the Text too as if it had been said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that it should believe and be saved c. indeed he after adds some reasons we shall weigh them also 1. His first is From what he said before about that love wherewith he loved it which was such a love as cannot be extended to All which being refuted before needs no further Answer See before Li. 3. Ca. 9. The world of mankinde share in this great act of Gods love the sending forth of Christ and yet not all attaine the utmost intention of it 2. His second is from vers 17. Giving a reason of this that he says it was an act of his love to the world whereof he gives a double proofe one Negative he sent him not to condemne the world the other affirmative but that the world through him might be saved he says the word World there must needs signifie believers and Elect because it s said that the World through him might be saved which if it be understood of any but believers God must needs fail of his end This is answered before in the first Chapter of the first Book where he have shewed 1. That the word saved is sometimes used in a lower sense then the having eternal life as the deliverance out of that condemnation fore-come upon us and so the world may be said to be saved and the grace of God saving to All men Tit. 2.11 Rom. 5.18 1 Tim. 2.6 2. That such speeches do not always declare the intention of God which he will bring about but an end propounded to men which they in attending to the means set before them ought to press after and might attain to and that its his good will they should look after it and in looking after it attain to it See the Instances thereof Acts 17.26 27. Joh. 1.7 Psal 105.44 45. Like to which is this He sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved that is That he being filled with authority power and sufficiency to save them they might have him as a Saviour or way to salvation to look and listen to and in walking in his Light and Truth might attain salvation Which end set before them they many of them miss by despising him who is the way to it Therefore our Saviour distributing the world in two parts in the next verse tells us not who might have been saved
by him but who they are that attain the end propounded to them viz. He that believeth on his Name he shall be saved He will do his Office to all that come to him for it according to Gods appointment But he that believeth not he that when Christ speaks to them that they might be saved as in Joh. 5.34 turn a deaf ear to his words Heb. 2 3. and 12.25 harden their hearts neglect so great salvation and refuses him that speaks for heaven he is now judged Now in the day of the Gospel However God might wink at mens ignorances in former times yet Now God will not bear it that men should despise him that speaks to them more fully for their good His Son preaching salvation to them but judges him The word judges him and the Spirit condems him and makes this word of salvation a Savour of death unto death to him because he hath not believed on the Name of the onely begotten Son because he did not trust to him for healing when the Gospel declared such readiness and ability in him to heal them Which why or how it should be if Christ was not sent for them and was neither sufficient nor willing to save them as was said Chap. â— I cannot discern So thâ—â— this Argument serves not his purpose 3. The third is That it s not unusual to call Gods chosen people the World This I deny and he indeavors to prove from John 4.42 The Saviour of the world Which saith Mr. Owen he onely is of them that are saved a Saviour of men not saved is strange But how that may be true we have hinted in the former Argument Besides According to 1 Tim. 4.10 Is this so strange to denominate a person by his Authority and Office rather then from his actings onely in that Authority May not a man be called Lord chief Justice of all England though he do not execute Justice to all persons in England or cannot so do by reason that many decline his Justice-executing So may not a man be called and indeed be a Physition for a whole Town by the appointment of Authority though many in it refuse to take Physick of him when they are sick And is not many a man constituted Minister of and preacher to all such a Congregation when yet perhaps half of them despise his Ministery and refuse to hear him Shall not he be called the Minister of that Parish wholly because many refuse to have his Ministry acted towards them So Christ is the Saviour of the World both in that 1. He is He in and through whom God is the Saviour of All men God not saving any man in any sense immediately but his Son doing all from him Joh. 5.22 And 2. In regard that he is set up and held forth in the Gospel as filled and furnished for saving All or any man upon looking to him and all commanded to look to him to be saved by him And in the same sense He is said to give life to the World both in that it s through his Mediation that the World hath a being under goodness and patience contrary to the desert of their sin which had God dealt with man according to the demerit of Adams sin and the strict sense of his own VVord pronounced upon him none in the world had had but if they had not been all forthwith cut off in Adam their beings would have been as far from Gods goodness and mercy as the being of the Devils which is not worthy the name of life nor is so called in any Scripture as mans is And this is as I conceive that life out of which he prayes that his malicious enemies might be blotted for in the book of the righteous which is of eternal life they are not written Psa 96.28 for which life He gave his Flesh to bear that sentence that otherways in the day in which Adam sinned should have faln upon him and the whole world in him As he is called the Light that inlightneth every man that comes into the world meaning it of lower hints of light then what the believer peculiarly receives from him So that his other Quotations of John 6.33.51 are as meerly beg'd as any other and as little pertinent they being thus to be interpreted As also that he gives exposes and holds forth lise in the Gospel to the world as in ver 32. The Father is said to have given him to them and yet the world neither receives him nor the life tendered and freely given in and by him Joh 1.10 11. and 5.4 and 6.36 But he tells us that Christ in John 10.27 28. Says He gives life to his sheep onely which is neither right nor pertinent for he neither puts in the word onely nor speaks of the life of the world but of eternal life Which if we take given for a free holding forth to men Compare Mark 15.23 with Luke 23.36 so as that they may have it for nothing if they will accept of it as the word given is many times used As where it s said the Jews gave Christ Vinegar to drink and he refused it and they gave him gall c. then he gives it to the world even to others then do accept and receive it as is said above to Joh 6.33 But if we take give for such an imparting it as is accompanied with receiving it so neither we nor Joh. 6.33 says that he gives eternal life to the world much less as it is in Joh. 10.27 28. he gives it them and they shall never perish Could he but have shewed us one word to that purpose that the world shall never perish it had been to purpose For Rom. 4.13 and 11 12 15. we have answered them before in the precedent Chapter The falling of the Jews is called the Riches and Reconciling of the world as the decay of Trade in another Country and diverting it hither may be said to be the inriching of this Kingdom In which the word Kingdom may truly fignifie the whole body of the people though many through idleness and riotousness in it may deprive themselves of that inriching which it brought them or gave them fair advantages of Besides the world the Nations in general not the Elect in them onely were reconciled or taken into savor as to the Gospel-preaching to them and opening of the Kingdom for them which before they had no such liberty to but were looked upon as unclean in respect of having the Kingdoms outward Ordinances and Priviledges allowed them but now were cleansed by God and accounted clean as to them and that also was their riches though not the riches of the glory of the Saints they indeed have yet further riches even Christ in them the hope of glory which many of the world reconciled as to the former of which the Apostle evidently there speaks the Jews being cast off from that and not from inward Union with God which they had not
〈◊〉 Be merciful to me whence the Lord is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 merciful and of which comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying The mercy Seate Though we translate it Propitiation Rom. 3.25 But indeed is the Propitiatory In Hebrew is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that signifies to cover Whence he argues That to be a Propitiation is to cover sin appease wrath and reconcile God so as to make the sinner be pardoned and received to mercy for his sake so that the Law shall never be produced or brought forth to his condemnation Whence he askes Are the sins of every one expiated Is God reconciled to every one Is every sinner pardoned Shall none have the transgression of the Law charged on him Why then is not every one saved For Answ to this 1. I say That he prevaricates in what he notes upon the word Propitiation in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he confounds with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that signifying the Propitiatory or Mercy Seate this the Propitiation or Sacrifice offered to make atonement Concerning which 2. He doth not nor can prove that the offering of it up to God for a person or persons did in it self cover that persons sins and exempt him from the punishment of them according to Law or reconcile them actually to God except where the persons whom it concerned closed with it or came by faith unto God through it the atonement made for all the Congregation on the day of expiation did not exempt such a one as whose soul was not afflicted within him that day from cutting off Levit. 16.29 30 31. with Chap. 23.28 29.30 So in 2 Chron. 29.24 It s said An atonement was made for All Israel and yet ten Tribes of them were in Captivity and many of the rest laughed Hezekiah and his zeal to scorn That by that offering they were so much as typically and legally all reconciled to God and their sins against the Law expiated so as the punishments appointed in the Law for despising it were not to be inflicted upon them I fear Mr. Owen will not be able to demonstrate Nay the Apostle intimates in Heb. 10.26.29 That they that had the sacrifice of Christ offered up for them and the blood of it in some sense sanctifying them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wilfully after the knowledg of the Truth sinning against it and despising it have no more benefit of it there remains not further a sacrifice for them It seems there was one even that of Christ for them before The Propitiatory Sacrifice did indeed expiate sin and reconciled legally the person to God when it was accompanied with Faith in him that brought it or for whom it was offered or with a submission unto God according to Law and so the comers to this Sacrifice of Christ have all those effects by him enumerated to perfection but not all for whom it was offered or for whom he is a Propitiation 3. A Propitiation he is for them all in this That by his offering of himself he is that Thing or Person unto which God having respect is propitious or favorable to them deals not with the world according to their deserts but is patient and bountiful to them delights not that any perish but that all should rather come to Repentance unto which his goodness and patience also leadeth As also in this that Christ is He that hath done so much in his Death and Mediation for the world that he is set before it in the Gospel as a mean of reconciliation and acceptance into the favor of God he is free for the whole world to come to God by and any person of it may finde favor with God through him Yea 4. The sin of the world even of Adam and all in him is so covered or expiated by his Death and Sacrifice that God took not the forfeiture of our lives according to the desert thereof out of respect to him but in that sense at least justification of life is to all both a being under mercy here and away to life for us in Christ for hereafter That Law I finde not I mean the Law inflicting death upon Adam and all his Posterity for eating the forbidden fruit shall be produced against any as the cause of perpetual ruine Yea that the whole world through this Sacrifice of Christ are brought neer to God the Kingdom exposed to them and no man to be called common or unclean as formerly So as upon that ground its unlawful for him to enter it we have shewed before Acts 10.28 so that this word cannot straiten the following words signification Which in the next place comes to be spoken to viz. The whole world in which the greatest weight lies and of which he saith That it being seven or eight times in the New Testament it cannot except in one and that in Re necessariâ be made appear that it compriseth all and every man To which we say That we affirm not that it so signifies here because it s evidently a distinct party from believers but we say it signifies All besides them and they and the whole world beside are all and every man And I desire him to prove that the words whole world when distinguished from believers doth not signifie all the rest and with them make All and every man He instances 1 Rev. 3.10 where the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so not so pertinent and yet his note there is not right for he saith There it cannot signifie All and every man because whereas its said an hour of temptation should come upon All the world it s said some shall be preserved from it But the words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of not from and a man may be preserved out of that that comes upon him as the preserving the Israelites out from Egypt doth not argue but that they were in it first The hour of temptation comes upon all that dwell upon the earth but all are not preserved in that and out from that hour of temptation from being swallowed up of it However The word whole earth there may signifie all but them that should be preserved and with them All and every one and that 's enough to our purpose 2. Col. 1.6 Is impertinent as I shewed before and his observation that it signifies onely believers is very vain The Apostle says not It brings forth fruit in all to whom it comes that 's evidently false if he meane it of fruits to life but in all parts of the world it did The same impertinency is in that of Rom. 1.8 It speaking of place not of persons too In all the world not by all the world The like or worse is in that of Luke 2.1 where neither the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used nor the speech the Word of God but of a proud Emperor that was the tenor of his Decree not
of it as from Gods bounty to all to press believers in case of want of wisdom to ask of God Jam. 1 5 6. and so from the doctrine of the general Judgment asserted to infer the account-giving of believers and to draw useful deductions to them in special Rom. 14.11 12 13. So his arguing here also is unsatisfactory 6. The last place spoken to in this Argument is that in Rom. 5.18 as by the offence of one or one offence to all men to condemnation so by one righteousness to all men to justification of life To which not having read it right for he translates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon all men when indeedt signifies but unto all men neither the condemnation nor justification in their full signification coming upon all Christ holding the first off and the wilful folly of men in rejecting Christ holding the other off from coming upon many He thus replies That by the words All men can none be understood but those upon whom the free gift actually comes to the justification of life meaning to eternal life Which I deny for that by the like reason Adams sin should bring the sentence of condemnation to or towards none but them that actually are condemned and perish But how proves he it Why after the old fashion by taking those expressions which he pleases in the former verses and making them expositions of this and so he tells us They are they that are said to receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness to raign in life by Christ to be made righteous by his obedience c. Just as if I should expound that in Rom. 14.11 Every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God by taking the former expressions viz. None of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself c. Whether we live or die we are the Lords Why dost thou judg thy brother c. and so gather thence this Conclusion That by every knee and every tongue is only meant of all that live to Christ and are Christs that are brethren c. These are his kind of reasonings which how palpably gross they are and unbeseeming a man of learning I leave to all to judg He tells us further That the resemblance between Christ and Adam stands but in this that the one brought the guilt of condemnation upon all those in whose room he stood a publike person which indeed were all men and the others obedience and righteousness brought justification and salvation upon all them that he stood in the room of as a publick person that 's the sum of his discourse upon it which though if by justification and salvation he means but an acquitting them from that charge or judgement that should have forthwith destroyed All in Adam upon his sin and so a giving them an escape from that or a justifying and putting salvation into Christ as the publick person for all it may be granted yet it both changes the Apostles phrase as before was noted reading upon for to and leaves it undetermined whose room he stood in and if he speak of justification from all sins past and present with acceptation into favour and communication of eternall life is to be denyed and I desire his proof for it In the meane time whereas he speaks of Christs All and Adams All there are no such words in the Text but in both branches expresly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he would have it But against T. M. he sayes that it seems a monstrous doctrine that Christ should stand in the room of reprobate persons hated of him from eternity such as he knew not hid the mysteries of salvation from and refused to pray for who were damned already in Hell and irrecoverably past the limits of redemption To all we have before spoken and shewed how he mistakes in all these particulars he stood not in their roomes as reprobates or as damned in hell nor say's the Scripture he hated any from eternity or refused to pray for any except in a speciall Prayer made for speciall Priviledges for actuall believers only and men as so considered in the future But men were reprobated and damned for rejecting the beams of light and truth that came from him who first virtually and after actually bare that blow that should at the first otherwise have destroyed them and All men He might as well have said that its a horrible thing to conceive as the Apostle intimates that its possible any should be destroyed for whom Christ died and bring upon themselves swift destruction whom he bought c. as is intimated Rom. 14.15 1 Cor. 8.11 2 Pet. 2.1 And indeed many truths seems monstrons and absurd to reason if it be made umpire in our believing As for Christs being Advocate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to them T. M. never affirmed that he being Priest Prophet and King over and for them may destroy those that refuse to be sprinkled by his bloud count the bloud of his sacrifice a common thing refuse to hear his voice as a Prophet and to have him rule over them as a King is no strange thing to them that believe Scripture expression as Numb 19.20 21. Heb. 2.3 10.25.26 29. Act. 2.22 23. Luk. 19.14 27. Whereas he says T.M. brings 7 Arguments to confirme that Christ stood in the room of all he exceedingly wrongs him in making him to bring for arguments some things that are without all colour of being intended as Arguments by him as that Adam lost not Election which he onely put in by way of Parenthesis not as a proof of that Assertion and those that he notes as his 5th and 6th Arguments being onely branches of the declaration of his judgement To say nothing that he abuses his Reader in other passages as whereas T. M. saith that God glorified his Son in making him a publick Person by death to restore all men lost by the first Adam Heb. 2.9 and that he wrought redemption and righteousness with God for men in the behalf of all men being indeed the publick Person in this his publick place not betrusted with fewer then the first Adam in which passages he declares his judgment grounding it upon certain Scriptures as Heb. 29.1 Cor. 15.45 47. 1 Tim. 2.5 Rom. 5. M.O. reports him as if he said these are the expressions of the Scripture But the fuller sight of his wrong dealing with him I leave to the rational comparison of their Books by them that are not blinded with prejudice with either of them or of the matters undertaken by them And as for his answers to those devised Arguments I shall not spend time and paper about them Onely whereas he saith that Christ is no where compared to Adam in respect of the extent of the Object of his Death but only of the essicacie of his obedience That that is false the Scriptures
the Kingdom of God extends to them only to whom he speaketh Ver. 25. So because it s said Hear now O house of Israel therefore the extent of the Proposition ver 11. is but this He delights not in the death of the house of Israel as Mr. Owen makes it as if the wicked and the house of Israel were convertible tearms and equipollent and of equal latitude Is not this fallacious arguing The medium brought to prove a Conclusion is not of greater extent then the Conclusion or the Minor Proposition must be the measure of the Majors quantity as if because going to prove a lye to be avoided the Minor is but this A lye is a sin therefore the Major viz. that sin is to be avoided extends no further then to the sin of lying Who knows not that its usuall with the Prophets and Apostles from indefinite and universal propositions of truth to infer particular instructions and reprehensions c. As from this God gives liberally to All to infer If any of you want wisdom ask it of God Jam. 1.5 The man is blessed that trusts in God therefore taste ye and see how good he is Psal 34.8 And such is the Prophets way here The people despair because of Gods judgments threatned or repine at his chastisements God indefinitely by his Prophet lays open his good-will towards men and thence exhorts them to take heart to seek and turn to him Thus God delights not in the death of the wicked but that they rather turn and live therefore not in your death therefore turn and live that that is Gods way in general may make for your instruction and incouragement in particular Now 2. Whereas he asks what will that is that God wills not the death of the wicked in I answer as before his Will of welpleasedness as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies It s not desirable or approveable that wicked men go on in sinful ways and dye but rather turn and live And this may be true even of those that have not such express commands and Revelations of his minde as others God would not have them smother what truth they have but glorifie him according to what they know of him and be thankful seek him as Rom. 1.18 19.21 Act. 17.26 27. 3. He tells us We miserably mistake the meaning of the Prophet because he speaks but about temporal judgements upon their land c. I answer That he speaks about them is true but that he speaks but about them and that the word death holds forth there no more but temporal death and the word live but a natural earthy life and prosperity as if he might have pleasure in their eternal death though not in their temporal and as if he delighted not to give them eternal life upon their repentance or as if the Proposition is but true of the outward because applied to comfort them in that also these things I say are untrue and I deny them Did the putting away their evils and turning to God and making them new hearts respect only their avoiding temporal judgements and living in outward happiness when the Scripture often tels us That it pleases God many times to confer outward happiness upon and keep off temporal judgments from those that never think of turning but live in all wickedness See Psal 73.1 3 4 5 6. Jer. 12.1 Job 20.7 8.9 13. Surely from Gods not delighting in the death of sinners any way may be argued that he desires not their destruction from this life as from Gods wrath coming upon the children of disobedience that then the believers disobeying should be sorely chastened and yet sore chastisements here not be all that 's contained in the word wrath as affirmed to come on the children of disobedience these are frothy arguments and not beseeming Mr. Owen It s more frothy to limit an indefinite Proposition to some few particulars where nothing inforces it as to draw from thence a Conclusion general Nay indefinite propositions are most usually of general signification as might easily be shewed in the Scriptures but I leave that to the observation of the Readers Only minding them that this is by the Apostles Paul Peter affirmed in the general as in 1 Tim. 2.4 2 Pet. 3 9. So that Mr. Owen here hath said nothing to purpose He says p. 283. That the ends of the earth Isa 45.22 are they that look up to God A strange Collection he might as well say from Isai 55.7 8. Let the wicked forsake his ways That the wicked are they that forsake their ways and turn to God If the persons exhorted are always the performers of what they are exhorted to that would be wonderfull And yet he says that his glosse is beyond denyall and again That onely Elect and Believers are there and in Isai 49.6 clearly intimated I marvell by what Argument he can demonstrate it that we may not deny it Sure his ipse Dico is not enough for it and yet that 's all he brings to prove it He tels us p. 287. That its most certain that the Lord Jesus sends not his servants with a lye to offer that to all that belongs but to some and asks what is thence concluded I answer That M. O. is in an error then in saying The Death of Christ is onely for the Elect For if the Lord Christ sent not his Servants to offer that to All that belongs only to a few and yet he sent the Gospel with the Contents thereof to be offered to All then it follows that that that is therein offered pertains not onely to some few For otherwise he grants they that so offer it are sent with a lye That its offered to All he grants partly here and partly in Chap. 1. where he said The Gospel is to be preached to All Nations and hath a right to be preached to every creature Therefore unlesse they that are to Preach it should preach a lye the Contents of it pertain not onely to some but to All. Quod erat probandum Whereas he says We are to prove that Christ dyed for All aswell them that never heard the Gospel as for them that do I Answer That pertains not to us but to believe what Christ by his servants hath delivered to us that he dyed for All and every one and is the Propitiation for the sins of the whole world which is proof and ground enough for our believing that he dyed for them also the phrases being sufficiently comprehensive If any will bring in that limitation to the Apostles expression they must shew us just warrant for so doing It s enough to us to believe the generality and Universality of it that the Scripture never excludeth any from it but in generall Universall phrases affirmeth it In pag. 288. he speaks as if T. M. affirmed that we are bound to pray for every singular man that he may be saved and supposed that there is nothing else that we are to
be one of them for ought I know 4.5 The promise of life upon believing and the assured salvation of all believers without exception These two are of the same nature with the former only the soul hath this to except It s not every believer for many fall away in time of temptation having no root in them as my faith cannot have if I know not that Christ dyed for me and so grow not upon Gods love therein evidenced to me The soul cannot so believe as to love God and so but with a dead faith unless it believe his love first It may see all its endeavors to believe and to rest on God to be but fleshly strivings out of self principles and at the best it argues Gods love but from its own believing which it may justly question the heart being deceitfull and he a fool that trusts for it for evidencing his condition This is but a promise and an assurance of thriving to all that eat duely of a meat which it knows not whether it may or can duely eat or not for to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ and so to believe on them is when the soul beholding the love of God and Christ in his Death and sacrifice commended to it doth gather boldness and incouragement to love and cast it self upon God and so grows up into the full assurance of peculiar love to him even to eternall life without the knowledge of love to the soul first it can but at highest come to this It may be I am one that God loves and perhaps not well I will leave thinking about it and tyring my self with thoughts if I can and let it alone I must submit when all is done to be disposed to Heaven or Hell by him which indeed is a condition most sit and needfull for the Gospell to be preached to but is far from faith in God which works by Love and is justifying These things The call to believe the command threatning promise c. are good evidences that the ransome is given and accepted for All and there is good provision in Christ for them God never using to call men to any ordinance that he appointed not for them and coming with this they may incourage thee to believe on and love him that gave his Son for thee to believe on And this implyed by them is that declaration that good tidings to sinners that indeed draws them into believe through the spirits working in them or else if they turn their backs upon it renders them throughly guilty when they shall say in their hearts O what did God for me and what cause had I to believe and to have stayed upon him but I refused it As the Israelites in Egypt were indeed sinners for not believing when God had done so much for them to ingage them to it His conclusion then under this head is false viz. That those are enough to remove all doubts and fears much less which I would rather urge against it are they sufficient to incourage and imbolden the heart and frame it to believe but more especially is that false that follows in him viz. That those are All that the Scripture holds out to that purpose It holds out others as we have noted from Acts 3.26 13 37. 1 Tim. 2.4 5 6. but of this he can take no notice they are nothing for his purpose I could give him back here some of his own expressions as that in pag. 283. That if pride and error had not taken too much possession of mens minds they could not so far deny what they reade in plain texts of Scripture as if they had never seen them to maintain their corrupt and false opinions But he answers further 4. That that perswasion which asserts the certainty of the Death of Christ to All believers and 2. That affirms the command of God and call of Christ to be infallibly declarative of that duty which is required of the person commanded and called which if it be performed will be assuredly acceptable to God 3. That holds out purchased free grace to all distressed burthened consciences whatsoever and 4. Discovers a fountain of blood alsufficient to purge all the sin of every man in the World that will use the appointed means for coming unto it that doctrine cannot possibly be the canse of any doubt or scruple in the hearts of convinced burthened sinners whether they ought to believe or no. I answer that this is in a manner the same with the former and there answered I will adde this touching the second particular that its ambiguous whether by the person called he mean by man in the preaching of the Gospell or by God effectually for many are of that mind that God cals not nor holds forth Gospell to all that the Ministers declare it to but only to the Elect if he be of that mind too it s not so undoubtedly true to the hearer as he would make it that God requires what the Minister doth because they may be divided the command and call may be intended only to some that the hearer knows not whether he be one of or not though the Preacher out of ignorance direct it to all and this may beget much doubting in the hearer whether its Gods voice to or him no. Again he supposeth more in this Doctrine he pleads for in two last particulars then is in it as that it holds forth purchased free grace to all distressed burthened consciences there are many among the Heathen have their consciences accusing them yea sometimes like furies burthening them there are many that profess Christ conscious of heinous sins and are ready to despaire and make away themselves for them there are many burthened that they can no more walk up to the righteousness and labor to stablish righteousness to themselves and cannot be setled Will Master Owen say that their doctrine holds forth purchased free grace to all these that I deny for it says he purchased free grace only for the Elect and that all such are Elected I suppose he will be put to it to prove seeing many such go on in their sins notwithstanding their burthens and many seek to put them off and sometimes do stifle them by worldly imployments and vanities and many actually despair and make away themselves If he say he means not such the matter is where it was the distressed conscience may yet doubt and is apt so to do whether it may not be one of those in the issue As for that in the fourth that there is an alsufficiency in the blood of Christ for all that will use the appointed means c. I will not stand to tell him though I might that his speech here is like one of them that in us he uses to tax with-holding Free-will which seeing he declaims against I hope he will be so charitable as to allow us the like liberty of speaking without fastening upon us that Odium But I say
to pass that I fear he will be put to it again to prove this also by his doctrine seeing many are willing to run to Ordinances and do any thing to have ease and comfort and yet afterward forget that they were purged from their old sins and having escaped the pollutions of the world and walked in the means appointed for a while afterward imbrace the present world and fall off again which their doctrine intimates they must do and will if not elected or else never meet with any thing of God to purpose though they should continue attending the means to the last gasp I fear he will not say Christ had any Free grace for these and yet all weary heavy laden sinners one and other Christ calls to him yea and the fools and scorners too the wicked unrighteous and who not to listen to his Doctrine for salvation So that these are but fair flourishes that being looked into wind up onely in this Though ye be never so much troubled and weary and never so diligent now in the use of means yet forasmuch as your Election is unknown to us we cannot say that there is any thing purchased by Christ for you or that the blood of Christ is sufficient to purge you because we yet know not whether it was shed for you whatever inward worth it hath in it yet it being shed onely for the Elect he may not be able to save you by it nor unless ye be elected will all your use of means profit you if you should continue in them And so all depends yet even its future use of means too upon that hidden purpose and till that be known whether there be any cause for it to rely on Christ and love him and God in him he knoweth not so that all these answers avail him nothing therefore he doth well to leave his answering and fall to querying viz. What that is that according to our perswasion men are bound to believe when they first know that Christ died for them I answer They are to believe that Christ is their lawful Lord and able to save them and that they ought to live to him also that God is good and loving to them which is not a thing known before-hand as he says but in and through the knowing Christ to have died for them as the Cause though it be before the Effect yet in ordins cognoscendi it may be through and in order of nature after the knowledg of the effect which also the Spirit will there through be now glorifying and presenting to the soul they attending the doctrine of Christ and following him therein till it raise them up to full assurance as it did the Apostles Yea upon the knowing of the death of Christ for them it s to believe that God delights not in their death but is ready in and through Christ to save them and will do it they as they herein see good ground and as also they are by the Gospel that declares it obliged to do waiting on him and trusting in him Now whereas he says That they cannot there being no fruits of his Death but what are common to All which may be Damnation as well as Salvation That 's very untrue 1. Damnation is not the fruit of his Death but of mens abusing the mercies they have by his Death and their refusing to listen to him and look to him for salvation 2. The fruits of his Death in them and to them that come to him are washing purging sanctifying giving in remission peace joy spirit and life everlasting So that that is either an ignorant mistake or a wilful slander and yet as its true that some men may so abuse the Doctrine of Christs Death for them or so disserve him that his Death for them may be an aggravation of their punishment and misery so in that sense As the fruit of Gods Presence with the Israelites that led them out of Egypt into the Wilderness was to them that believed as they all had reason to have done protection and guidance into Canaan and possessing them thereof but to others that causlesly rebelled through their own folly destruction So is Christ and the Gospel of Christ a Savour of life to life in them that receive but of death to death in them that reject him So that as he answered impertinently and inconcludently for himself before so he answers untruly and irrationally here for us But I leave that also From this he comes to tell us That there are two things that both perswasions pretend to the exaltation of Gods free Grace and the Merit of Christ To the first of these he plays the Rhetorician more then either Logician or Divine He asks what that free grace is And I answer This That God hath given his Son to die for All and through him tenders salvation freely in the Gospel to All Whoever will let him come he is ready to receive him rejecting or reprobating none from it to destruction but for their rejecting his Truth and goodness made known to them His Queries Whether it stand in Election effectual Vocation Justification Sanctification Redemption in the blood of Christ If by Redemption in Christs blood he means the actuall setting their spirits at liberty from sin and corruption and from the power of Satans delusions to worship and live to God effected by the sprinkling of his blood upon them Heb. 9.13 14 as is there intended Rev. 5.9 miss the cushion Though Free Grace standeth in all these things which we maintain as well as they yet the extent of it we say not standeth in them but in giving his Elect one in whom his Election and purposes all are to the death for All and setting him up as a medium to whom coming any of them may and in coming shall finde Justification Sanctification Redemption and what ever follows which the Gospel holds forth freely to All as ready in him for them and to be dispensed by him to them upon believing which so held forth is the medium also of his effectual calling Whereas he asks If it be not universally a figment of our own brains or a new name for the old Idol Freewill I answer That it is not the first the authority of Gods Word acquits us which we dare not for all the Sophisms he hath brought against it renounce to cleave to that onely Elect which he and the Elders traditions have created and to which they bow the knew of their faith more then to Gods Word And if no device of our own then no new name For that Idol of Freewill which we no more adore if so much as they who substracting the declaration of Gods good Will to men as pertaining to them the medium appointed by him for his power to work in to uninthral men and impower them to believe do yet call upon men to believe and get Christ as if they had power of themselves to get him and to believe on him thundring damnation
him that yet doubts of Gods love to him reject that devised Doctrine that contradicts the Scriptures and letting alone the secrets of God which pertain not to him yet to know nor shall hurt him if he attend and yield up to that that is revealed yea shall be also profitably revealed to him if he submit to what is revealed Psal 25.14 let him I say mind the record of God that he hath given of his Son that he hath given himself a Ransom for All yea and that God hath given us eternal life even us whom he commands to believe in the name of his Son 1 Ioh. 3.23 and this life is in his Son he that hath the Son hath life he that hath not the Son hath not life thence shall he see both ground to believe that God hath given him eternall life and put it into Christ and also both necessity and incouragement to believe on Christ that in believing he may have that life even that eternall injoyment of God in Christ that will for ever satisfie him and make him happy FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Symphony of some Ancient Doctors of the Church with the truth here defended added to shew that it is no novelty of yesterdays standing as some are pleased to charge it Chrysostome in Joh. 1.29 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Idem in Heb. 2.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Clemens Alexandrinus Orat. ad Gentes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Athanasius De incarnatione verbi Dei 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Et Paulo Post 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Those sentences forealledged are in English thus Chrysostome upon Joh. 1.29 That Lamb speaking of the Paschall Lamb or the Lambes offered up in the Jewish sacrifices never took away any one mans sins But this that is Christ the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the whole world for it being in great danger to be destroyed he quickly freed it from the wrath of God The same Author upon Heb. 2.9 saith thus That by the grace of God he might tast death for every one not for the believers only but also for the whole world for he dyed for All but what if all believe not yet he hath performed that which concerned him to do Clemens Alexand. Hear ye that are afar off and hear ye that are nigh hand The Word is not hid from any the Light is common and shineth unto All men Athanasius in his tractate about the Incarnation of the Word of God Now forasmuch as the debt of All ought to be paid for All ought to dy therefore for that cause especially he came and sojourned here and after the manifestations of his Divinity by his works it remained that he offer up a sacrifice for All delivering up his Temple the Temple of his body unto Death for All that he might discharge and free All from the old transgression And a little after in the same Tractate There was need of Death and it behoved that Death should be indured for All that the Debt due from all might be satisfied wherefore the Word for that it could not dy for it was immortall took to itself a body capable of dying that he might offer that as his own for All and that he suffering for All by reason of his conjunction with that he might destroy him that hath the power of Death to wit the Devill Cyrillus Hierosolymitanus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylact in Johan 6.51 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 August in Joh. 3.14 15. Serpens aneus in ligno positus venena vivorium serpentum superavit Christus in cruce suspensus mortuus antiqua diaboli venena restinxit omnes qui ab eo percussi fuerant liberavit Idem in Psal 69. Judas abjecit pretium quo ipse vendidit Christium non agnovit pretium quo ipse a Christo redemptus erat Prosper in Respons ad object Gallorum Christus dedit pro mundo sanguinem suum mundus redimi noluit Item sent quartâ super capita Gallorum Qui dicit quod non pro totius mundi redemptione salvator sit crucifixus non ad Sacramenti virtutem sed ad infidelium respicit partem quum sanguis Jesus Christi pretium totius mundi sit A quo pretio extranei sunt qui aut delectati captivitate redimi noluerunt aut post redemptionem ad candem servitutem sunt reversi Vide Ambrosium in pag. titul Cyrillus Alexandrinus in Joh. Evang. lib. 11.25 Quemadmodum praevaricatione primi hominis ut in primitiis generis nostri morti addicti sumus eodem modo per obedientiam justitiam Christi in quantum seipsum legi subjecit quamvis legis author esset benedictio atque vivificatio quae per spiritum est ad totam nostram penetravit naturam Leo Epist 72. ad Juvenalem Vt autem repararet omnium vitam recepit omnium causam vim veteris Chirographi pro omnibus solvendo vacuavit ut sicut per unius reatum omnes facti suerant Peccatores ita per unius obedientiam omnes fierent innocentes inde in homines manante justitiá ubi est humana suscepta natura Cyrill of Hierusalem in his Instruction or Catechise 13. The Crown of the Cross is that it inlightned those that were blind in ignorance and loosed All that were held in bondage under sin and redeemed the whole World of mankind Nor marvell thou that the whole world was redeemed by it for he was not a bare Man but the only begotten Son of God that dyed upon it Theophylact in John 6.51 By the life of the World perhaps he meaneth the Resurrection for the Death of the Lord procured the Generall Resurrection of all the whole kind or race of man perhaps also he named the life of holiness and happiness the life of the World for though All have not received that sanctification and that life that is in the spirit yet Christ gave himself for the World and as to what appertained to him the world is saved and the whole nature sanctified inasmuch as he hath received power to conquer sin and sin fled away by that one Man Our Lord Jesus Christ even as by that one man Adam it that is the world or the nature of man fell into sin Austine in Joh. 3.14 15. The brazen Serpent put upon a pole of Wood overcame all the venome of the living Serpents And Christ being hung upon the cross and dying quenched the force of the old poisons of the Devil and freed All that were smitten by him The same upon Psal 69. Judas cast away the price for which he sold Christ and acknowledged or owned not the price by which he was redeemed by Christ Prosper in Answer to some objections of the Gaules Christ gave his blood for the World and the World refused to be redeemed that is actually set at liberty by him So again He that saith the Saviour was not crucified for the Redemption of the Whole world hath not his eye upon the pretiousness or vertue of that mystery but upon the part of them that believe not whereas the blood of Jesus Christ is the price of the whole World from which price they are strangers who either being delighted with their captivity refuse to be set free or after they are set free return again unto their former bondage Cyrill of Alexandria upon Johns Gospell lib. 11. cap. 25. As by the transgression of the first man we were as in the first fruits of our kind bound over unto Death after the same manner by the obedience and righteousness of Christ forasmuch as he subjected himself unto the Law who was the Author of the Law the blessing and quickning which is by the Spirit or Divine nature hath pierced to our whole nature Leo in his 7◠Epistle to Juvenal That Christ might repaire the life of All he took the Cause of All and loosed the force of the old handwriting by satisfying for All. That so as by the Guilt of one All were made sinners so also by the obedience of one All might be made innocent righteousness thence flowing down unto men where is taken the nature of man I Might have added more Testimonies both Ancient and moderne as amongst the ancient Ignatius Jrenaeus Theodoret c. and amongst the moderne Luther Hemingius and in a word the generality of the Lutheran Divines as also Musculus Vrsinus Suffragium Britanicum Bishop Davenant yea the Articles and Catechise of the Church of England but these already alledged may be sufficient