foreknowledge and owning to be made like his Son whom in order of nature he had fore-ordained as their pattern to dye rise and be glorified in all which he ordained his foreknown ones even them that believe in him should be conformed to him and unto which he called them and in that conformity in sufferings justifies and maintains them and as he hath done so yet he doth bring them to glory with him Yea in his calling men we deny not his liberty of pulling in more powerfully preserving from general Apostacies actuall chusing and ordaining in his Son glorified to their hearts whom he pleases and as he pleases but that either any company of men as in themselves as of the world uncaled are ever called or signified by the word Elect much lese that any were chosen to be the object of Christs death and the others left out Election being ever coupled with or respecting mens calling to Christ and right to his priviledges not Christs dying I can no where finde in Scripture Besides that which is more secret and mysterious in his decree or dealings we neither confound with what he hath done in the death of Christ for us and declares in the Gospel to us as the object of our faith or motive to believe and that in which he so calls puls in and saveth according to his good pleasure Nor dare we make them to run cross to the Scriptures that more plainly declare his good will and love to men acknowledging rather our want of capacity to comprehend those more abstruse things then daring to call in question the extent of the truth of his other expressions that are more fitted to our understanding and speak to the more intelligible principles of Christian Religion Nor finde we warrant for making our narrow conceptions of those more abstruse things of God which are ever delivered in Scripture without any opposition to or limitation of the things we treat of to be the measure of and to give limits to them they that so do both contradicting the Scripture expressions in the things we speak to and swarving also from them and their method in propounding and speaking of those things of Election and Reprobation by which they measure them 2. For the Heathens that have not had the Gospel opened to them they put us needlesly upon that to stumble men about the truth of our doctrine for we could content our selves with the Scripture expressions of all and every one and the whole world unlimitedly without running into any nice speculations but when men propound that to us I know not upon what ground we should say Christ died not for them except the Scripture did in some place exclude them from being of that all for which he dyed if any man can finde an exception as to them I shall listen to it but for my part I have not yet met with it And to make exceptions without warrant in the word of God about the matters of the Gospels doctrine I judg very dangerous I know there are many cavils of reason which have some specious colour for it but they all amount to no more then those admirations of its ignorance and enmity in other cases 2 Cor. 10.4 How can this thing be they are but high imaginations and thoughts exalting themselves against obedience to the faith of Jesus Math. 16.24 which are to be captivated to faith not faith to them Reason being a part of that self of ours which he that will be Christs Disciple must deny in what it would stop us from receiving the doctrines he propounds to us So that this is but a trick of Satan to stir up men to cast such stumbling considerations in their own and others way that they might not believe and have the benefit of the truth declared to them to whom its best to say Get thee behinde me Satan to leave disputing and inquiring into things more secret and say either produce me some Scripture that saith he dyed not for them or else be silent It s good in such cases to take what Christ said to Peter curiously inquisitive after John for a satisfactory answer How God deals with them further then the Scripture says what is that to thee they shall be found excuseless when Christ shall Judg them and therefore follow thou Christ in the receit of his word and let not any seeming absurdities to thy reason prevaile to impede thee And so we might say to Mr. Owens Cui bono quaeso about them that perish what good doth the death of Christ to them which reasonings are but of the spawn of the Serpents wisdom pretending to teach our reason the knowledg of good and evil from the beginning Such a question might have been as well made by many Israelites in the wilderness might not reason thus have led them to argue either God absolutely willed to possess us all of Canaan or only some few of us if the first how come so many of us to perish short of it if the latter then I pray Cui bono to what end or what good was in the deliverance of the rest from Egypt seeing they had as good have dyed there as have been consumed in the Wilderness Nay if our corrupt and blinde reason shall be umpire then what Satan and unbelief suggests is righter then what God himself saith for did not the Israelites perish in the Wilderness many of them as their reason and unbelief suggested and did they attain to Canaan though that was the promise set before them but as we said before Let God be true and every man in his best wisdom but a blinde fool and liar We durst not believe our carnal reasonings against Gods word nor exclude inlarge or limit his word by our own hearts dictates but as we see God in other places instruct us to it Not but that we can give reasonable answers to their reasons against Christs dying for the Heathen they being all faln in Adam and the sentence being executable upon them and all men in him in the day that he sinned so that what life and mercies of life with goodness leading to seek after God and to repent they do injoy may well and necessarily be conceived to spring from Christs interposing himself as mediator and ransome But yet if any can shew that Christ died but for all in these latter times or that the Gospel is preached to and shew it by Scripture proofs we will be willing so to interpret those general expressions till when we cannot admit of that interpretation O Object but we must not believe Scriptures as they lye in their litteral expressions for that is dangerous and will introduce transubstantiation and to believe Christ to be a door a vine c. there are in the Scriptures many figurative expressions To which I answer Answ that this is another stumbling block cast in our way much what like to what the Papists used to object against the Scriptures
All and dispenses of his goodness to All quite contrary to the Demerit of All in that sin And further he hath done for All so sufficiently in his Death that He is a meet object for All to believe on and hope in and especially where the Gospel-proclamation comes its great unrighteousness and iniquity in men not to depend on him live to and serve him even as great or greater then it was for the Israelites brought wonderously out of Egypt not to believe Gods word for bringing them to Canaan He hath done so much for All and every man that he is worthy they should look up to him and able in so doing to save them without renewing his sufferings or making a new bargain about them for them His inferences from that first premise I shall view also they are 1. That he conceives Infer 1. That the Assertors of Vniversall Redemption do much undervalue the infinite value and worth of the Death of Christ which I deny and challenge him to make it good against us which he assays By telling us that we Affirm that a door of grace was opened by it for sinners but deny that any were effectually carryed in at the door by it Which 1. Is a false imposition for we affirm that the sight and discovery of this hath such vertue in it that it effectually pulls in many at the door reconciles washes begets to hope c. Yea this is the proper or ordinary way of Gods bringing in men effectually to glorify his Son in these his sufferings and sacrifice to them 2. Suppose we should say he obliged not God by his Death to bring in any at All yet it will not thence follow that we extenuate the value and worth of the sacrifice of Christ If Mr. Owens principle be true it salves that for he says It s being a price for this or that man sure then by consequence too for this or that thing ariseth not from its inward worth but is meerly externall to that arising solely from the Intention of the offerer and accepter that is from the mutual part or Covenant agreed upon between them Therefore if it was not agreed upon by Christ and God that God should bring in this or that man or any at all to believe in him it would be no diminishing the vertue of it that being not hereby to be measured No should we say any of or All those things that he imputeth to the Arminians viz. That God might if he would and upon what condition he would save those for whom Christ dyed and Christ procured not a right of salvation for any so that God might have dealt with man according to a legall condition again or that all and every man might have been damned and yet the Death of Christ have had its full effect c. That Christ purchased no more for any then that they might go to hell with yet supposing that such had been the Covenant between God and Christ as doubtless they do suppose so that so express themselves by Mr. Owens own principle before laid down we should be acquitted of dishonoring or undervaluing the Death of Christ therein that not being the Measure of its worth what he purchased by it but what the dignity of his person and greatness of his sufferings The things purchased being only according to the agreement between God and Christ not the sufficiency of his Death to have purchased by it Such expressions may not rightly declare the agreement between God and Christ about the end of his sufferings but no way deny the inward worth of them by his principles from which this is wondrously inconsequently inferred 2. His second is Infer 2. That the innate vertue and sufficiency it hath is a foundation to the generall preaching of the Gospel to All Nations and of the right that it hath to be preached to every creature because the way to salvation it declares is wide enough for all to walke in How that should be a foundation for that I see not more then the paying for ten prisoners in a thousand ten times as much to ransome them as might have sufficed to have ransomed them all but yet excluding in the bargain All but ten is a good foundation to go tell all those thousand that there is very good news for them All ther 's as much paid for ten of them as would have ransomed them All ten times over but 990. of them were excluded the bargain yet good ground to bid every one of them look for freedom by it Sure it s not the wideness of the way that is ground enough to tell All that there is good news for them but the liberty that they may have to walk in it The Truth is that Doctrine not only makes the Gospel needless to be preached to All but needless also to be preached at All seeing none for whom Christ dyed can possibly miss of life by their doctrine All their sins past present and to come being satisfied for and of due to be discharged should they hear nothing at all But he infers further 3. That Infer 3. That inward sufficiency in it self made insufficient to the most by that exclusive intention is a good ground to call all men every where to Repent and to believe I wonder what ground that can be for that Sure as much as the telling a thousand prisoners That one had paid as much for the ransome of ten of them as would have sufficed for the ransoming ten times so many as they all are is a good ground to call upon them All to have good thoughts of him that gave the ransome for them some to be sorry for their faults against him and to be broken at the hearsay of his love to them and expect every one of them to be set at liberty by vertue of that Ransome I pray what greater ground should a thousand men have All to look for deliverance because of the payment of so much for so few more then if they should hear that he had paid only so much as would suffice to ransome them few How can we exhort All to admire and be affected with Gods love to them mourn for their follies against such a lover of them love him for his love and hope that he by vertue of Christs Death will fully save them if we cannot say by the word of God which is only meet to beget divine faith that Christ hath dyed for half nay for any of them for such may be the case for ought any of them know of their whole Congregation Is our humane conjectures and peradventures that such and such a one may be of that Number ground enough to bid men affect and love and hope in God as one that hath loved them Or do we speak of Faith and Repentance neither springing from Love believed nor accompanied with love to God in our hearts Sure such Faith and Repentance are not those the Scriptures call for
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
which is the thing the Apostle brings it to prove but that he hated either of them from Eternity and before they had done either good or evil or that he so hated the greater part of mankinde that God loved only his elect and chosen that he is only their Saviour that Christ died only for them and gave himself a ransom only for his sheep and Church and did not die for the greatest part of men nor hath any fitness or sufficiency as a mediator for them to save them that God did make the greatest part of men with intention to destroy them and never bare any good will to them that they perish for ever for the sin of Adam and that their condemnation is aggravated by their after sins for their neglecting that that was never for them and for not repenting and believing on him though there was neither object meet for them to believe on nor any power vouchsafed to them from God by which in attending to God in the meanes propounded they might have been brought to repent and believe that all that Christ died for shall be saved eternally and none of them shall perish these and the like positions maintained by them we finde no Scripture asserting and so have no divine ground of believing but to maintain them they rely on their reasons adding to and detracting from the Scripture-expressions as they please yea plainly contradicting them making particular affirmative propositions in Scripture equipollent to universal affirmatives as We or the Church are sanctified by his Death ergo All that he died for and particular Affirmatives to be repugnant and contradictory to universal Affirmatives as He gave himself for us ergo Not for all gave his life as a shepherd for his sheep ergo he gave not himself a ransome for all men and many such inept and unscholarlike inferences their wisdomes make to maintain and strengthen their devised Assertions drawing conclusions by them openly contradictory to the Scripture-expressions as ergo He died not for all and every one God would not that all men should be saved c. I would Master Owen and the rest of his minde would be content that God should be true and reason be judged absurd and vain where it opposes him that he may have but that glory of his mercy goodness truth and Justice that he in the Scriptures asserts to himself we should willingly hold us to that bargain with them But alas how injurious they are to the truth of God too and how unbelieving of and contradictory to the Scriptures thou mayst see by this litle tast here given and more fully I hope by the treatise itself here presented to thee as an answer to him but yet I have not set before thee all the good and usefulness of the truth here defended nor all the evil of theirs opposed For 3. This truth is profitable too for men both in respect of themselves and others in both which regards too their counter-positions are injurious First In respect of mens selves to whom its propounded who are to believe and receive it its profitable for them to hear and receive it because it presents to them an object for their faith a motive to repent believe serve and love God and matter of comfort to them that lye in sadness and distress for want of seeing ground to hope in him for this presents God as loving and gracious to them and what can be a greater motive to a man to listen to God then that his Doctrine comes in love and good will and brings good to him or what so powerful as love to break a man off from evils against him a loving carriage in David toward Saul melts him into tears and brings him from seeking to harm him to confess his evil and give good language to him how much more shall the love of God preached to men and believed by them work upon them Rom. 2.4 5. Psal 36.7 8. or else they shall be left the more excuseless and God shall be the more glorified in their destruction It is not commands to repent but love and goodness in him that is offended that indeed leads and brings in the heart to true repentance So what will so effectually draw a soul to trust in God as when it hears and believes the goodness of God Mansheart is so conscious of its own evil that neither commands or promises especially being so uncertain whether they appertain to us or no will draw us in to betrust our selves with God 1 John 4.19 except we perceive some real Testimonies of his love first towards us And what so strong a cord to love and service of him as to see his love preventing us Love seen and believed in him Tit. 3.4 5. begets love and service in us to him We love him because he loved us first Such our contrariety to God in our selves and such our apprehensions of his contrariety to us that till our hearts be purged from both by the demonstrations of his love and goodness we will not love and serve him not serve him in love without which our service is not acceptable and delightful to him so that from this love of God preached and believed springs true obedience and the hearty keeping of Gods Comandmments Yea herein it is that men see their sins most exactly odious and are abased in the sight of them True the Law saies what is good and evil righteous and sinful but the Gospel shews most lively the hainousness of that sin while it presents it not otherwise to be expiated then by the bloud of Gods own Son and shews otherway no remission yea this love and goodness at once both humbles for sin against God and leads to hope in and expect good from God yea and while it speaks not of an absolute certainty of life and happiness for all for whom Christ died but these things to be certainly obtained in submission to him believing on him and yielding up to his Spirit it leads the soul to serve the Lord with an holy fear and to rejoyce in him with trembling through which holy fear the heart is preserved from departing from him So that this doctrine from the very word and Oracle of God discovers to thee or any man while yet not sinning that great sin to death an object meet to look upon and admire God meet to be turned to sought after hoped in and served yea is a motive to and a ground foundation and spring of true comfort and godliness of all which the contrary position deprives a man No man by that beeing able as from the word of God to see good and right ground of loving hoping in and serving God till he see that he do love hope in and serve him there being nothing that bears witness of God to any particular soul in their doctrine that he loves and hath good will towards it untill it see the discriminating and distinguishing electing love of God towards
it which is not to be seen by climbing up into heaven to search into Gods secrets but by finding in themselves faith and sanctification they say and those too such as are so and so qualified as may evidence them to be fruits of election and so men must have the effects before and without their proper cause which is love discovered to men Tit. 3.4 5 6. they must have all these Repentance Faith Love to God and men Justification Sanctification yea and perhaps too eternal Glory before they shall see any solid ground or motive to repent believe in him serve and love him or that Christ hath done any thing for them by vertue of which he can justifie and sanctifie them and bring them to glory with him And so they are not lead to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godlily by Gods grace appearing in the Gospel to them but deny ungodliness and live godlily or rather pretend and seem to do so that so grace might appear to them and that they might see the gospel declaration to belong to them The Gospel doctrine is to them but like the law that is a doctrine that consists of duties commanded with promises and threatnings annexed without Gospel motives of Gods love propounded the viewing of which things the Spirit of Love breaths in to lead and to produce the things required and so their endeavours after those works and duties are looked upon as the fruits of grace and goodness yea as the arguments of their Election past and future happiness when they may be as far from both as the Pharisee that denied Gods free Grace to Publicans and sinners and yet judged himself a partaker of Gods Grace by his works of righteousness magnifying grace against free will and thanking God as giving such grace in those things which were but the products of his will neglecting and abiding ignorant of that grace in Christ which would have truly corrected both his Judgment and will such the effect of this limiting restraining doctrine as theirs also was Men are led hereby to bottom the Gospel it self with all arguments of love and goodness therein leading to faith and repentance upon their faith and repentance which they pretend they may have before they know whether they have any solid ground for them or no as if they could winde in themselves into the perception of Gods love by their frames and endeavors and not first be wrought up to them by the love and goodness of God perceived by them and as if men should look to themselves and their endeavors as the glass through which they shall see Gods love as for them and not rather upon God and Christ as declared in the Gospel to love them as the glass in which they may see their obligation to God in Christ and be moved to and strengthened in their seeking after him hoping in him In that their way thou mayst see that God commands thee to repent or change thy minde to Judg him good and to love him and that he threatens thee if thou dost not and promises great things to thee if thou dost but whether thou beest one of them that he intends any good in his promises to or that art in a possibility of attaining them or only hast them propounded to thy hearing without good will towards thee but that thou mightest thereby have the greater destruction that by it thou knowest not for it presents no act of love from him that according to it thou canst say respects thee or takes thee in as the object of it only do all those things first repent believe love serve him and then it shall be true for thee to believe that he hath good will to thee a most preposterous way that doth to men as Pharaoh to the Israelites takes away their straw and bids them get it themselves and yet exacts their number of brick takes away that declaration of Gods love and good will to men that should properly move them to repent believe c. and sets men upon seeking arguments and demonstrations of these to themselves and yet not fail to perform those duties required of them A doctrine it is that presents less love to this or that man then the Law it self did whereas the Apostle magnifies the true Gospel as more excellent and more un vailed for it set some certain demonstrations of Gods goodness to the Israelites before them as his bringing them out of Egypt chusing them in their Fathers to be a peculiar people to him and many typical sacrifices representing Christs death for them upon which they were commanded to love and serve him but for ought this tells thee thou wert hated by him from all eternity yea this suggests to thee that all he doth to thee may be but to bring thee to misery Nay I might safely say Gods dealings with the Gentiles represented more goodness as to their particulars without suggestions of eternal hatred of them then this kind of Gospell-preaching ascertains any one man of as yet unregenerate as truly goodness and out of good will to him in particular And O how injurious is that doctrine to men that withholds the most absolute perfect motive to their duties and way to meet with consolation Whence it comes to pass that first many are led by it into presumption to lean upon themselves and their own works as evidences of that distinguishing love of God that makes them sure of salvation as the Pharisee Luke 18.9 10. and so of their being pure and righteous when as yet they have never believed and through faith received that love of God into their hearts thats preached in the Gospel to wash and purify them yea to bring them out of themselves into Christ that they might be reckoned after him conformed to him to salvation These are of those that justifie themselves and labour to establish a righteousness of their own and are ignorant of and fight against the righteousness of God despising others and hindring them of that Gospel of grace that should be opened to them stumbling as much that the Death of Jesus Christ should be preached to all to ungodly and sinners not so qualified as they as ever did the presumptuous proud Pharisees that Christ should eat and drink with Publicans and sinners and that his Apostles should preach the Gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles 2. Others again are held in bondage all their dayes and are ever ready to fall into desperation while not having the Love of God and his goodness and grace propounded to them as for them that should beget faith hope fruitfulness c. or being hindered from believing it as so propounded by occasion of this limiting doctrine and yet being pressed on to believe repent be humble and broken that so they may know that God hath good will to them and hath given his Son for them they labor and strive and finde nothing which they can attain to
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
bring into Canaan all that he brought out of Aegypt and then prove it by shewing that he so intended to all that believed and followed him Or else 2. Those places show not that those things so mentioned were the absolute intentions of God and Christ taken upon themselves to be effected by them without suspending them upon condition in us and if the Minor take not the word intended in that sense it suits not with the Major but contains a quartus terminus and the major not so taken is untrue If it be said the words are I came to save that that 's lost he gave himself that he might purge Vs and suffered for the unjust to bring us to God c. and where things are so spoken of as the ends and aimes of God in acting there though we have not the expressions He intended this and that yet we are to understand that God absolutely intended to accomplish and bring about those things and so that all those that are the object of those acts which were acted to such an end obtained or shall obtain that end Then I deny it and will prove it that in such speeches where two acts are mentioned as end and means and God the agent in the act directed to such an end it is not safe to say that alwayes that act propounded as the end in his acting was absolutely intended to be and answerably is brought about by him in all those upon whom or for whom he acted that act that 's mentioned as the means as to instance Act. 17 26 27. He made of one bloud all the kinde of men to inhabit all the face of the earth and hath determined the times appointed and the bounds of their habitation that they might seek the Lord c. Here is end and means propounded the making all of one bloud bounding their times habitations the means directed to this end that they might seek the Lord. Will any man hence say that God absolutely intended that he would cause all that he made and whose times and habitations he bounded to seek him and who ever seek him not and so call those in Rom. 3.11 were not made by him So John 1.6 7. John was sent to bear witness to the light that all through him might believe Doth it follow that because that was the end propounded therefore God absolutely purposed to make all believe to whom he bare witness and so its true that he bare witness to none else is not that contrary to Mat. 11.16 17 18. and 21.32 So John 5.34 Christ tels the cavilling Jews that he spake those things to them that they might be saved will it follow that it was his absolute intent that they should all be saved hear him or not or to make all hear him and be saved even those that would not come to him that they might live vers 40. Christ came to save that which was lost Doth it follow that he absolutely determined to bring all them to eternal life to whom he came even those also to whom he came and they received him not John 1.11 So Psal 105.33 34. He brought his chosen into Canaan that they might observe his Statutes and keep his Laws Therefore he intended to make them all do so and all that he brought into that land did so contrary to Psal 106.34 35 36. And to say no more God came down to bring Israel out of Aegypt to bring them into Canaan Exod. 3.7 and he brought them out thence that he might bring them into and give them that land Deut. 6.23 Ergo he absolutely purposed it concerning all that came out of Egypt and no more were brought out thence then were brought into Canaan Such his Argument Like to which he hath another taken from the effects of Christs Death Lib. 2. cap. 3. pag. 66. the Minor of which Affrmes that his Death sanctifies and and purges all them for whom he dyed redeems them from Law Curse Death c. none of all which he proves none of all those Scriptures alledged for proof This argument he hath again in lib. 3. cap. 4 where we shall speak further to it having such a clause in it as All for whomsoever he dyed or any thing sounding that way they being but applicative speeches not universal assertions It s such an argument as this The Lord brought us out of Egypt and brought us into this place viz. Canaan Deut. 26.8 9. And the Lord made you to go up out of Egypt and hath brought you into this Land Judg. 2.1 Therefore all that God brought out of Egypt he brought into Canaan Besides he hath for the bottom of this Argument this proposition in p. 4 line 71. and again in page 66. that the things before recounted are the immediate fruits and products of Christs Death namely Reconciliation Justification Sanctification Adoption Glorification which is as true as that the dispossessing the Canaanites and the giving their Land to the Israelites was the immediate fruit and product of their bringing out of Egypt over the red Sea as may be seen by what we sayed to them p. 10. No one of those things as accomplished in men is the immediate fruit and product of his Death Not Reconciliation though that be by the Death of Christ yet not immediately there is requisite to it beside Christs death the word of Reconciliation to declare it and that heard and submitted to as is plain 2 Cor. 5.19 20. We beseech you be ye reconciled to God yea and all these things come between the death of Christ and Reconciliation and are mediums of it Justification is not the immediate fruit and product of his death but mediante fide We are justified by faith Rom. 5.1 thence we have believed that we might be Justified Gal. 2.16 and that presupposes the word and spirit opening the death of Christ and shedding abroad the love of God and sprinkling the bloud of Christ upon the soul as in Tit. 3.5 6 7. He shed on us the Spirit abundantly that being justified by his Grace we might be made heires c so 1 Cor. 6.11 ye are Justified by the Name of the Lord and by the Spirit of our God Sanctification is not the immediate fruit and product of Christs Death but mediante fide too Sanctified by faith that is in Christ Jesus Acts. 26.18 and so there intervenes the being called out of the world and Church't Ephes 5.26 27. Adoption is not the immediate fruit and product of Christs death but hath Faith and Justification intervening John 1.12 To them that received him he gave this priviledge to be the sonnes of God to them that believed on his Name Gal. 3.26 27. Ye are all the Sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ Tit. 3.7 That being Justified by his grace ye might be made heirs c. And I am sure glory and immortality follows all these except we will have the inheritance go before the heirship and right to it
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
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
the freedom for all or any to look after that benefit and through Faith to obtain it Now in this Mr. Owen differs from us That he notes the world to signifie lost men of all sorts both Jews Gentiles peculiarly loved and that love to be an unchangeable act or purpose of Will concerning their salvation intending absolutely the salvation of all this world to whom he gave him that whosoever believeth not to be a distributive of that general the world but the very self-same with the word World Before he confirm his own he labors to evert the other and 1. Against that pity or propensity to be affirmed to be in God to the good of the creature he says thus If there be no natural affection in God whereby he is necessarily carried to any thing without himself then no such pity or affection to their good as is here intended I deny the Consequence for though there be no such thing as necessarily is so carried yet there is that 's voluntarily and freely carried so Gods Will that is in him to do this or that is not necessarily carried to do this or that but freely but being freely carried to this or that it s necessarily carried in a way suteable to his holy good Nature Now that there is that in God that carries him to desire or approve freely the good of man appears in that he is said to be Love 1 Joh. 4.8 Now Love freely seeks the good of things So again he swears that he delights not in the death of the wicked but rather that they should turn live Yea and saith of him that dieth That he hath no pleasure in his death Eze. 33.11 18. ult And bewails those that had miscarried through their folly and deprived themselves of his mercy Psal 81.11.14 Isai 48.17 18. And so our Saviour the express Image of God wept over and pitied the folly and misery of Jerusalem Luke 19.41 But then he says This intimates imperfection in God But he is not imperfect I answer no the imperfection is in our conception this in him is highest perfection As Moses saith He is perfect though he says He took the Isaelites out of Egypt to bring them into Canaan and many came not in that might seem an imperfection in God and that he failed of his expressed purpose but the imperfection is in our apprehension So he said of Elies house He would establish it but afterwards said otherwise But we are to believe what he says though it seem to us who want ability to comprehend him to argue imperfection The rest of his Reasonings are meer carnal he brings no patch of Scripture to prove that God hath not such good will to man but vainly pries and inquires Why doth not God ingage his power to accomplish it and how comes it hindered Which are brutish reasonings against Gods Assertions When he says Hadst thou done thus I would have done so and so And O that thou hadst done so And I delight rather he should live Then to say why doth not God effect it then Nay rather Who is vain brutish man dust and ashes to dispute against God and reject his Words upon his shallow Reason Will man propound to God what shall be Wisdom to him Doth not he indeed say That his Wisdom is foolishness to men And doth not Mr. Owen here make it good and say It s brutish wisdom amongst men But know O vain Earth-worm That the Wisdom of God is indeed foolishness to men and they cannot comprehend it and the wisdom of men is foolishness to God 1 Cor. 1.19.22.23 24. It s wisdom O vain man to give credit to the Word and Oath of God and say Amen to it That he delights not in the death of the wicked but rather that they shall turn and live how ever foolish it seems to man and whatever absurdities his wisdom findes in it For the foolishness of God is wiser then the wisdom of man and that weakness and imperfection that appears in Gods wayes is stronger then the strength of men His ways are unsearchable his judgments past finding out Not to be measured by the shallow models our Reason but his Words are all Words of Truth and he that will understand his Wayes must believe them and be willing to deny the wisdom of the flesh which is enmity to God and which God will destroy and become a fool that he may be wise The Scriptures we see in Psal 81.14 Isai 48.17 18. Ezek. 33.11 and 18.32 1 Tim. 2.4 hold forth what I speak of The Nature of God which is Love acting forth it self in expressions of good Will to men yea men in general and such as miscarry His other exception with its confirmations being onely against his acting necessarily are all vain and invalid For conformation of his own Exposition That by Love is meant an unchangeable purpose or act of his Will to save them He gives this Reason Because its the most eminent and transcendent love that ever God bare or shewed towards any miserable creature Well Let us first reade it according to his Exposition and see what it will help him It will run thus God so Loved that is unchangeably purposed the salvation of the world That he gave his onely begotten Son that whosever believeth in him should not perish c. Which is in effect that he so unchangeably purposed the salvation of lost mankinde as that he provided the most eminent transcendent medium for it to be saved by upon condition of believing And so it will be an unchangeable conditional purpose to the world and an unchangeable absolute purpose to believers that have that condition And may it not consist or rather spring from his pity and compassion to faln man so to will and purpose Yea and may not the word Love rather signifie that pity in which he so purposed then that purpose that sprung therefrom seeing its the more prime moving cause of his sending Christ that is here spoken of Or will this Exposition content him No though this is as much as the words will bear with the following expressions in the Text yet this is not it he aims at but this That his Love signifies an absolute unchangeable purpose of saving every one for whom he gave Christ and so of giving and causing them all effectually to receive whatsoever is needful to their salvation But the Text speaks not up to this conception for then it should rather have been thus God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son and will make it believe in him so that it shall never perish c. But neither such not to that purpose is our Saviours expression Such an expression indeed would have represented God as propounding the salvation of the world as an end undertaken by himself to accomplish and bring about with all the mediums conducing thereunto without condition on our part whereas our Saviour speaks of it as an
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
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
of old and yet is too common a fashion Philosophical Speculations and the Elders Traditions are used as pillars in Gods building and many lean more upon them then on the pillars of Gods own erecting setting up their posts and pillars by his and slighting his for them which we approve not Lastly Whereas he sayes The common faith is the faith of Gods Elect. I easily grant it and say That the Apostle in Tit. 1.1 4. in both places means The faith delivered to the Saints the Doctrine of Faith as it s no unusual thing for him to do which is the faith of Gods Elect because its that which they believe and hold forth to others even to the world and it s the common faith because as it s believed by them All so its common to the world in point of right to be preached to them and imbraced by them It s that that contains good news for and matter to be believed by All. But I have done with these his prevarications with which he Answers T. Moors twentieth Chapter I have passed over many of them the whole being a heap of mistakes and disdainful jerks anwhat seems to be of any weight is already fully answered CHAP. VII A view of and Reply to Mr. Owens Answers to some other pretended Sophisms as he calls them against his Doctrine IN his last Chapter he pretends to Answer some usual Sophisms and captious Arguments of the Arminians which he stiles empty Flourishes yet remaining As first this Argument That which every one is bound to believe is true Argum. But every one is bound to believe that Christ died for him Therefore that Christ died for every one is true An Argument which for my part I own not in this form as to All and every man in the world it being not preached to every one that Christ died and is risen And I conceive that God requires not an explicit faith of propositions that they have no Revelations of giving them ground to believe But thus I own it against their restrictive doctrine of tying Christs Death to the Elect onely viz. That which of every one to whom the Gospel is preached is required as necessarily to be believed that he might come to believe on Christ for salvation that is for every such man true in it self But that Christ died for him in particular is required to be believed of every one to whom the Gospel is preached as necessary for his believing in Christ for salvation Therefore for every one to whom the Gospel is preached That is true The Major leans upon this truth That he that is required to do or believe any thing is therein required to do or believe all those things that are necessary thereto so as that without his doing or believing of them he cannot do or believe those other things required of him The Minor we shall speak to by and when I have examined some things that he saith to the Minor of the Argument as mentioned by him As 1. He saith The believing that Christ dyed for a man is the saving application of Christ to the soul as held out in the promise In which he mistakes for its onely a believing Christ to have so satissied for his sin by his death and to have such fulness of Redemption in him for him that he may hopefully go to him for remission and salvation there is good ground for him so to do and it s his sin if he having opened such a way for him to God and to salvation he should neglect it But for the promises they belong only to those that through this belief of the grace of God Gal. 3.22 are drawn actually to trust in Christ and love him whence they are called the things prepared for them that love God and that trust in him before the sons of men and for the confirmation of these men in the expectation of those promises the belief of Christs death for them is further usefull The Death of Christ was for sinners enemies the ungodly All men but the promises of God in Christ and so the Kingdome are not the portion of any such but men are made heires of them through believing Ioh. 1.12 Gal. 3 26.29 Tit. 3.6 7. so that here is a very foundamentall mistake as to the question in hand in this very saying 2. He says To believe that Christ dyed for any must be with reference to the purpose of God the Father and intention of Jesus Christ himself and that that is it which with regard to any Vniversality is opposed by him Which words I well apprehend not his meaning in If he mean by Reference to Gods purpose and Christs intention according as God purposed and Christ intended for them or that God purposed and Christ intended that he should dye for them so we indeed mean by that phrase But if by it he means that God and Christ purposed in so doing eternally to save him we so mean not that every man is bound to believe of Christs death for him But that such was Gods purpose and intention in Christs dying for him that if he believe in him and in God through him he shall undoubtedly be saved Ioh. 3.16 And yet we put no If unto Gods purpose which as secret concerns not our Faith for as Luther well says De Deo abscondito nulla est fides cognitio c. But we put that If into the way of mens participation of that salvation as God hath revealed it Besides to tell us how he opposes the Universality of Christs death when he hath almost done opposing it was not done no though he had exprest himself more clearly in it very learnedly He says The term Every one must relate to All men in the like condition which we grant it may And that like condition in my stating it here is not only as sinners unregenerate c. but also as the Gospell coming to them and reporting good news to them in Christ requires obedience of Faith of them that they may be puld out of that sinfull estate Something he sayes to the Major too viz. That that every one is bound to beleive is neither in it self true nor false but good which to me is a Paradox good being not the Object of Faith but of appetite desire and love Truth is the Object of Faith chiefly of that that is divine and required by God for men may believe and in some cases ought to believe that that in it self holds forth evill to them as men are bound to believe that they are sinners though its good that they should believe so yet it s not a good thing that they are bound to believe therein their being sinners is not a good thing But now to the Minor not only as in the first place mentioned by himself but also in a manner as owned by me He denies that every one that 's called to by the Gospel Preached is bound to believe in particular that Christ dyed
their souls in particular whereby they become weary heavy laden and burdened 4. A serious full recumbency and resting the soul upon Christ in the promise of the Gospel as an Alsufficient Saviour able to deliver and save to the utmost them that come to God by him Ready able and willing through the preciousness of his blood and sufficiency of his ransom to save every soul that shall freely give up themselves to him for that end amongst whom he is resolved to be one Now says he in doing all this there is none called on by the Gospel once to inquire after the purpose and intention of God concerning the particular object of the death of Christ every one being fully assured that his Death shall be profitable to them that believe in him and obey him but after all this and not before it lies upon a believer to assure his soul of the good will and eternal love of God to him to send his Son to dye for him in particular I might here return him his own words with admiration Oh what a preposterous course is this and how differing from the right way of the Gospel 1. I would know what is that Gospel that men in the first place are to believe to be true Is it onely that Jesus Christ is the power and wisdom of God to salvation and the connexion of faith and salvation That we have shewed before to be untrue The Word of God it self tells us that the Gospel used to tell men of Christs being sent of God to turn them in particular from their sins and to lay down that as the ground of Repentance and believing on him 1 Tim. 2 4.6 And the Apostlesays expresly that that wâs the Testimony or Gospel that God ordained and sent him to preach ver 7. Acts 3.26 And that God would have all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth for there is one God and one Mediator between God and man the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for All and can a man believe that to be true and not believe that he gave himself a ranson for him Is he no body So that what he says in this first step overthrows him But 2. See the preposterousness of these men that that the Apostle writ about the High-Priesthood of Christ to the believers as peculiarly useful for them to lead them up to perfection in their faith and confidence viz. That Christ hath the office of an unchangeable Priesthood is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him because he ever liveth to make intercession for them that is here produced as the ground to draw in unbelievers though the intercession there mentioned is not affirmed there for any as while yet unbelievers and on the other hand that which the Apostle tells us was the Testimony whereof God had made him a Minister an Apostle to preach to the Gentiles that were ignorant of God as that before repeated that is not to be preached as true for any ones particular and as so to be believed by him till they are made believers Who would think that wise men should go so preposterous a way but that its the judgement of God for their leaning to their own wisdom and no more then is fore-prophesied that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise c. 3. He impertinently mixes the object of faith with the operations of that object attended to and believed as conviction by the Spirit of their need of a Redeemer and recumbency in him with the truths of God that lead to that convincement and reliance on him The Argument is about the object of faith needful to be believed by all that hear the Gospel that they may believe to justification And he tells us of an order in the operations of God upon mens spirits before they believe as they should do And yet he minds not that the convincement of the great sin of unbelief is not kindly effected till men see they have ground of believing and yet believe not till when the heart rather thinks it is sin and presumption to believe But when it sees that Christ hath done so much for it then it must needs be convinced that it sins greatly in not betrusting it self wholly to him 4. He confounds the object of faith about the Mediation of Christ and the object of his Death with the secret Purpose and Counsel of God about our particular right to and injoyment of eternal salvation 5. He talks of rolling the soul upon Christ in a Promise whenas he cannot prove that any can have him in a Promise to be rolled on further then he is supposed first to have dyed for him the Promises being sealed in his blood and the way of closing with them is believing in his blood which how should men do whâ—le its wholly doubtful to them whether they have any thing to do with his blood or nor Indeed 6. He supposes that a soul is brought to believe in God and to trust in his mercie through Christ before it know of any love in God toward it whereas he uses to draw with the cords of love and testimonies of his goodness It s goodness seen in him leads us to repentance It s not only a letting sinners see a need of a Saviour that there is one able to save them that go to God by him that will suffice to draw in a man that yet cannot see him as a way for him to go to God by as he is not for any otherwise then he hath died for them Heb. 10.19 20. to rowl himself upon God for salvation Never yet could any sinner that indeed was convinced to be so and to be under wrath and that saw Gods Justice and Anger against him hope in and expect help from God by Christ not being first perswaded that Christ had done so much for him that he might have salvation through him Many men may delude themselves and take their own self-actings for acts of Grace as the Pharisee did Luke 18.10 11. and from their endeavors and self reformations seem to commit themselves to God and conclude themselves to be believers that yet never knew what it is rightly to believe The true Gospel-believers believe through Grace 2 Cor. 6.1 as they Acts 18.27 That is by the grace and goodwill of God declared to them in the Gospel The grace of God appearing to them teaches them to live godlily and saves them from their former disobedient condition Tit. 2.11 12. and 3.4 5. They do no per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Pharisee argue Gods grace towards them by their frames towards him that God loved them first because they as they conceive love him but on the contrary they therefore love him because he first loved them and sent his Son for them Believing Gods Testimony of what Christ hath done for them they are helped through the power of God to believe
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
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
reasoning Christ dyed for Believers I am such a one therefore for me though the Major is true yet the Minor cannot well be affirmed of those that know not otherwise before that Christ dyed for them and if they do this medium is needlesse to them for what Faith hath a man before he believe that Christ dyed for him by which he may know and believe that Christ dyed for him not a faith that worketh by love because that springs from an apprehension of Gods love for we cannot love him but as we behold him loving us first Not a Faith by grace because while men doubt or know not that Christ dyed for them they know not the grace that the Gospel holds forth to move them to believing seeing according to the Gospel-Declaration all grace runs by and through Christs mediation And if not such a Faith then the Major and Minor agree not for they will not say that Christ dyed for All that have a dead Faith or conceits of faith wrought by self-endeavor seeing men may have those yet perish So that this argument hath in it a great deal of deceit and puts men upon many inconveniencies to prove the Minor upon which all the grounds of their comfort stand For upon that act of their faith Christ himself with all his death and mediation is laid that being the foundation they lay him upon whereas those things as asserted in the word for them credited by them should lay faith upon him so themselves also upon him by faith Whereas he says that a better syllogisme then this He dyed for All men I am a man ergo for me I deny it For 1. This is a more immediate Divine Faith as springing from and being bottomed upon the Word of God as hath been seen 2. The Minor is more conspicuous and evident 3. The grace of God is more admired to see that he dyed for me while yet I am as other men a sinner then when by my industry I think I am framed to believe for then I look upon his love through something found in me in which I differ from others which lifts me up above others looking upon them as not so framed but the other abases and leads to love and pity others even sinners that are as I. But oh the pride and vanity of mans heart that prefers such consolations as take in something of the creatures frames with them before those that have nothing but God to a naked creature to spring up all his frames from pure love without him How many are the endeavours and strifts of men again and again to make out this proposition I am a Believer while in the mean time they reject and believe not that love of God to them as men and sinners that should indeed in the receit of it and the Spirits setting it home make them believers and spring up all those frames which they as it were by works of the Law endeavour after and cannot that way attain that they might evidence themselves to be believers and when they think they have by much strift attained to believe then those their strifts their faith as they suppose with all the signs that they have annexed to it are taken in together as the ground of their comfort and hope in God yea of their belief that Christ was sent and dyed for them which yet they are at a losse in questioning Gods love to them and their ground and cause of hoping in him as they see cause to question their own love to and so by consequence their own faith in him A miserable way it is God knows that this Doctrine leads multitudes into while they either curiously pry into Gods secrets almost to destraction or else look into themselves for fruits of faith that may evidence them to have faith and so their Election and so right to Christ and his Gospel and all this before they can see that there is any thing in the Gospel that is good news to them or any love in God towards them that works that Faith and those Fruits in its appearance by which their Election should be discerned by them 4. The fourth thing he leaves onely desiring the Reader to peruse that place of Rom. 8.32 33 34. which I also commend to the Reader that upon good grounds knowes himself a Believer one in Christ walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh for to such it is written and to their consolation ver 1.28 29 30 c. and I say to such its a rich Mine of firm lasting comfort consolation joy assurance rest peace refreshment and satisfaction no place fuller or sweeter that I know of and all springing from the consideration of God as their friend and Father justifying them Christ that dyed for them and rose again now interceding at Gods right hand for them that they may be one with Christ in priviledges and glory and have the New Covenant fully performed to them But if the Reader that believes desires to perswade others to faith or if he be one that knows not whether God hath any good-will to him or no and so is not yet by faith in Christ that place will afford little to him But I desire him to read 1 Tim. 2.4 5 6. that God wils All to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth That there is one God and one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransome for All c. And if he believe that record of God that testimony born to him and his Son he may therein see Gods good-will to him and good ground for him to seek him through Christ that gave himself a ransome for him good cause to Repent of all his evils against him that is so well affected toward him good cause to leave his evill wayes of grieving him and live to him and love him that is so loving to him good cause to hope in his mercy and in that hope to call upon him and seek to enjoy more knowledge of him and experience of his salvation and good matter to hold forth to others for their conversion and bringing in to Christ None of all which their restrictive Doctrine which is Anti-Christian as it hinders the course of the Gospel of Christ and keeps men in ignorance of the grounds they have to repent seek after love and hope in God and not at all held forth in Rom. 8.32 can lead them to for by it none who yet believeth not and so knoweth not himself to be Elected can see any ground to believe in live to love please or serve God inasmuch as for ought he knowes he is from eternity an enemy to him and hates him but it will lead him to go on resolutely in his way and do what seems good to him seeing by that its undeniably true that if Christ dyed for him he cannot miscarry if otherwise he must doe what he can as hath been noted But let
sufficient to demonstrate their election and so that there is any thing in Christs mediation for their wearied souls to rest on but on the contrary the more they look into themselves the worse they finde themselves and the less ground to think God loves them and so by consequence to hope in believe on love and serve him The former throw by the corner stone the sure foundation Gods good will in Christ held forth to them in the Gospel making that but a superstructure built upon their frames endeavours and conceptions The latter are Wholly without any foundation but slote up and down without any setling yea and 3. Others go between both these halting sometimes the one way and sometimes the other as they finde good frames as they conceive so they grow confident of their righteousness and like the Pharisee dare go to God and thank him and as they finde flaws again in their works and performances so they sink down again and are ready to conclude that God never loved them in the mean time how Hagarish selfish pharisaicall and slavish are all their services to him So that God is deprived of that service and affection that he should have from them and themselves of that good incouragement and comfort that they might have from him And yet this is not all the evil that this doctrine doth to men for it also in the very bowels of it holds forth an undenyable liberty to men as yet unregenerate to reason after this maner Either they are such as Christ died for or not if the first then they are well enough for all their sins are satisfied for that they either have done or shall do they may sin freely it cannot hurt them for Christ hath drunk up every drop of wrath due to them and shall not shed one drop of bloud more or suffer any pain more then he hath for any thing they shall do against him nor yet can God in Justice damn them his Son having dyed for them and therefore they will take no care but follow their own wayes If it be said ah but this will dishonour God and hurt others What care unregenerate persons for God or others if they know not that God cares for them its themselves they most look at and they can easily answer his grace will be commended by forgiving them and when they know he loves them and gives them the grace then they shall glorify him And for others if Christ died for them it cannot hurt them all is paid for that they shall commit by occasion of their walking and they cannot miss of eternal Salvation otherwise no matter what becomes of them God cares not for them and why should they If the latter that Christ died not for them then they cannot avoid suffering to the utmost what Gods hatred of them will lead him to inflict upon them he hates them and what cause have they then to love and serve Him Why should they deprive themselves of certain present satisfactions to their mindes to avoid what they no way can or get that which no way is possible or which they must have notwithstanding if Christ hath died for them So that be I one of these or those may such a one say its best for me to take my pleasure here at least till God make me do otherwise for if Christ died for me I shall have the pleasure of such sins here and happiness hereafter too if not then I had better have my pleasure here then not at all This kinde of reasoning I say that directly tends to looseness and neglect of the means of Salvation springs from the bowels of this Doctrine whereas from the truth that I have endeavoured to defend no such bad consequence follows but it sets before men sure ground of hoping in and loving God and yet cause of watchfulness and diligence to seek him least by neglecting him they deprive their Souls of that good he set before them It s true many in that way perhaps may not yeild up to such reasoning as I have said but yet the Doctrine gives them ground for it nor can the defenders of it be able to disprove it It s true again some that believe the truth may abuse it but it gives no fair ground for it as may easily be seen we are not to judge of doctrines by mens practices that hold them because their consciences and practick principles may contradict their erronious speculations or their wills and affections cause them to warp from their true principles of judgment A Pharisaical Saul may walk more strictly then a Christian Corinth but by their natural undeniable influences into mens practices we may judg that to be erronious that leaves men to and upholds them in a loose practise not that that is turned from into a loose practice which it doth discountenance I know it is sometime objected against what I plead for that by it a man may be led to take liberty to sin and do what he pleases for he may repent when he pleases it s in his own power But to that I say it s a slander cast falsly upon our doctrine For we deny that it s in a mans power to repent and believe as and when he will but only as and when God gives it him when God works upon him and affords ability to him and that he gives also in such means as he hath pitcht on and when he pleases so that its needful that men neglect no opportunities that he presents to them nor presume upon their power or Gods patience for though we affirm that God gives them his help in his seasons and succors them in the day of salvation yet if that be neglected or received in vain God may justly cut it short with them and therefore it stands men in hand to take his times and seasons and lay hold on his strength when he reaches it forth to them for as one sayes well qui promisit poenitenti veniam non promisit procrastinanti poenitentiam But to pass from this particular Of their doctrine its further observable That 1. It s injurious also in respect of mens doing good to others while it takes away those motives of doing good that the truth propounds unto them For first as it obscures the apprehensions of Gods goodness in mens selves which are most effectual motives to do good to others If he so loved us we ought also to love one another So also Secondly It takes away Gods example of being good to all and rather presents him as an example of pretending one thing and intending another as if we might hate and seek to harm some men in our hearts so we do but speak them kindely and that 's to love and be merciful as God is Yea and it puts us upon a straight whom really to love and pitty because we cannot be certain whom God loves and pitties and so that we do not love whom God hateth And thirdly It takes away
neither is that true that after follows in him That if he should intercede for All All should undoubtedly be saved meaning eternally for he may intercede for some for other things not for eternal salvation as in Luke 13.7 8. Lord let it alone this year till I dig about it dung it and if it bring forth fruit well if not then afterward thou maist cut it down sure he was the prime Vine-dresser and that 's likely to be his intercession for the barren Nation of the Jews or if it was of subordinate Officers yet sure their intercessions prevail not for patience and continuance of the means of Grace as that Parable compared with what went before v. 1.5 intimate they do where he intercedes not and carries not up their prayers for that particular so that how he should be there excluded I know not and so he may pray as Luke 23.34 Father forgive them they know not what they do and yet they not be saved for that 's not Father justifie them and bring them to life eternal there is forgiveness mentioned in the Scripture short of what is attended with that as Lord lay not this sin to their charge Acts 7.61 and such as are mentioned in Numb 14.19 Psal 73.37 38. Amos 7.2.3 5 6. Math. 13.27 34 35. So that neither of these is proved Either that he intercedes for All he dyed for or that if he do they are all saved eternally It s true indeed as he after saith He is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him because he ever liveth to to make intercession for them but neither proves that he makes intercession for all that he dyed for nor that whosoever he makes Intercession for he makes it for them for ever and they shal be saved to the utmost The Fig-tree notwithstanding that intercession made for patience and means of grace yet not coming to God by him might be cut down It says not all that he goeth to God for any thing for shall be saved to the utmost but he is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him because he ever lives to make intercession for them He is able to save them to the utmost by vertue of that powerful office but if men come not to God by him or withdraw from him he says not that he lives for ever to execute his office for them and to save them to the utmost Indeed from this his office and intercession founded on his oblation believers men that come to God by him have notable confidence as is expressed Rom. 8.33 34 another place quoted by him even as Caleb and Joshuah whose spirits were right with God had notable confidence from the great things God had done for them and his presence amongst them to possess the Land of Canaan and subdue their enemies Numb 14.9 and yet it was not therefore a truth that all that God had done those mighty things for and was walking amongst either had that confidence or their success which being considered keeps alive the General Ransom from that break neck with which Mr. Owen threatneth it for though its true that those for whom he dyed hearing and believing his love to them have no cause but to trust in him and seek and hope for great things from him as all the Israelites that came over the red Sea and see Gods mighty works for for them had no cause but to have believed in God as well as the rest Numb 14.11 yet as there all that shared in those great things did not so believe as some nor had the like issue but many through their unbelief sell short of Canaan so here many not believing the goodness of God to them for which in part many may thank their Ministers that leave them to seek whether they have a mediator appointed of God for them or not do not believe in Christ and so for not believing and by not believing perish for the Apostle saith not that All that Christ dyed and rose for he intercedes for nor that all that he intercedes for shall be saved and have no condemnation no more then Caleb said All that God brought out of Egypt and that he at that present was with should enter into Canaan but as he so the Apostle believingly feeding upon the goodness of God joyes in it and is raised up to exceeding confidence by it and shews that they who are in Christ and walk after the spirit as they did have no condemnation but are kept from it by the Death Resurrection and Intercession of Christ believed on by them but he affirmes not that of all that he dyed rose and intercedes for Whereas a little after he saith That God only promised to Christ that he should be Captain of all Salvation to all that believe and effectually bring many sons to glory he saith not truely for he promised him also Psa 2.8 9. That he should rule the Nations with an Iron rod and break them in pieces as a potters vessel as he tels us he hath also received Rev. 2.26 27. And therefore that Christ looked only and alone as Mr. Owen also saith for the accomplishment of those things that he there mentioned is false also He looked for and doth and shall see the other made good to him too But so much to his deviations in this Chapter The fifth only shewing that the Holy Ghost hath his concurrence and had his operation in the birth death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and no Argument being thence drawn to his purpose I shall pass it over and proceed to the following Chapters CHAP. IIII. A further view of what he affirmes of the equal latitude and extent of the Oblation and Intercession of Christ in his sixth Chapter and seventh HIs sixth Chapter goes over the same things again spoken of in the fourth only here they are considered as means conducing to an end namely the Incarnation Oblation and Intercession of Christ the last of which Intercession he says contains every act of his exaltation even his Resurrection for which he brings no proof at all nor any reason wherewith to back it only quotes Rom. 4.25 which saith no such thing but that he rose again for our justification no nor appears it as he saith that by his Resurrection all his following dispensation and perpetual intercession is there intended It s but his conception without proof it may rather he conceived that in saying For our justification he means that he might do all those acts conducing to our justification and so include his Intercession there then that in the word Resurrection those acts are intended Nor saith Acts 3.26 any such thing and her falsifies it doubly in his quotation of it For first he renders it thus that God raised up his Son Jesus to bless us Whereas the Text is having raised him up he hath sent him to bless I conceive he means it of his sending him in the Gospel
and that 's the Apostles phrase Heb. 6.18 we might have strong consolation that have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us So that here 's never a whit the less censolation for them that do believe then in their way and there is more ground and incouragement for any man to believe then in their way this doctrine shewing more evidently testimonies of Gods love to any man then the other doth That can assure none of Christs Intercession but upon believing this doctrine assures such as believe of it too So that that Affirmation that the Doctrine of the General Ransom cuts in pieces all the nerves and sinews of that strong consolation that God is so abundantly willing we should receive is a very gross mistake as I hope by this is evident and may afterward more appear Mean while I would have Mr. Owen minde that his doctrine leaves men at an uncertain whether there be any mediator for them or no till they can finde fruits of Election in them which how any should do till he first know love in God towards him the mediation of Christ for him so as that by the knowledg thereof he be brought to trust in God by him I would faine have any man to prove Yea that doctrine layes open men horribly to desperate courses while the very proper result of it is that All men are under one of these two decrees either Elect or Reprobate either he hath a mediator or not so that any man may say Either Christ dyed for me or not If he did I am sure enough what ever sin I commit Christ will follow me into every Court I shall be safe enough in the issue yea I am already safe enough by his Death and Intercession though I know it not therefore why should I take care for any thing If God will have me know it he will reveal it to me bring me to the means or the means to me and I cannot perish the proper fountain of that Ergo agite juvenes mentioned by Mr. Owen in his preface If not I shall perish let me do what I can and I had as good save the labor of afflicting my self in hearing and praying c. as to tire my self out about needless businesses to get that which if I be excluded the Death of Christ can never be obtained and which shall be thrust upon me and I cannot miss what course soever I take if I be not See sir if these do not inevitably flow from your principles As for our doctrine it lies not open to these loose consequences for if I know and believe that Christ dyed for me I know and believe also that he is ready and able to save me and looking to him and going to God by him he will assuredly save being found in him and yeelding up to his spirit this doctrine tels me that not any sin acted through infirmity and temptation shall appear against me to condemne me His Death Resurrection and Intercession shall have their fruit in me to eternal life but if I neglect so great salvation or deny him that bought me turn away from him that speaks from heaven and hath the blood of sprinkling to sprinkle upon me c. then how shall I escape then how shall not his love rise up into jealousie and the greater condemnation fall upon me and are not these agreeable to the Apostles reasonings in his Doctrine Rom. 8.1.13.33 34. Heb. 2.1 2 3 10.25 26 29. 12.24 25. 2 Pet. 2.1 But I have done with that Chapter also CHAP. V. A reply to his Answers of Objections made against his former doctrine in Answer to his eight chapter IN his next Chapter he assays to remove Objections as a man removeth dung till it be all gone I shall follow him in that too and see if he remove not pearls in stead of dung and cast not dung upon that that is pretious truth I fear he plucks up Wheat in stead of Tares He tels us some have undertaken to Answer an Argument like this proposed in these words Object The Ransome and Mediation of Christ is no larger then his offices of Priest Prophet and King But these offices pertain to his Church and chosen Therefore his Ransom pertaines to them only I confess they that propounded the Objection so as I believe the Answerer had it so delivered to him in writing propounded it foollishly the conclusion containing a quartus terminus and having more in it then follows from the premises Indeed I have heard it thus propounded The Offices of Christ are of equal extent But his Kingly and prophetical Offices pertain but to his Church Ergo his Priestly pertains to them onely The Minor of which I deny and would invert it thus His Offices are of equal extent in regard of their Object But his Kingly and Prophetical Offices extend to All Therefore also his Priestly The Minor I prove thus He is King of all the earth Psal 47.7 which speaks of God ascended who is the same that first descended as the Apostle speaks upon a like Scripture So he is King upon the holy hill of Sion and all Nations given him and the utmost parts of the earth Psal 2.7 8. King of Kings and Lord of Lords and therefore sure of all under them Kings and Lords too And so he is a Prophet for them that hear him and them that refuse to hear him too Acts 3.22 23. and indeed if he was not a Prophet sent of God to any but the Elect then none but they should be in danger for not hearing him for God useth not to punish men for not attending to Ordinances that were not for them or not hearing a Prophet that prophecieth nothing to them so that there he is clearly held forth to be a Prophet to more then his Church and chosen Yea as it pertains to his Prophetical Office to reveal the Truth of God so as the Wisdom of God he cries in the streets to the sons of men and to those that are without Pro. 1.20 and is the light that lightneth every man that cometh into the world Joh. 1.9 and therefore so far also his mediation must extend for its the life in him is the light of men even that life that he hath for men ver 4 5 6. But let us see what he saith to the Answerer of the Objection First He in stead of removing dung casts dung upon him as if he was guilty of making a distinction or division between the death of Christ and the ransom as if he might die for All and not be the ransom of All. Whereas indeed the Answer intimated that to be the Objectors conception It s clear that he is every where in his Book contrary to it making the death of Christ as for All to be the ransom And whereas he thinks there is no man in his right wit will propose it I know not what wit they are in but I believe men
are not sanctified and purified by it because they believe not and that 's the reason why his death hath not such effects in them not that Christ died not for them therefore he undertakes to prove That Faith it self is a proper immediate fruit and procurement of the death of Christ for all those for whom he died Quod si perficiat fiet mihi magnus Apollo But I fear it for we see great undertakings hitherto but little performances Parturientes montes erepentes verò mures Before he come to perform his promise He premises some things which we must grant him and shall as far as truth appears in them He premises 1. That what ever is freely bestowed upon us in and through Christ that is wholy the procurement and merit of the death of Christ But how proves he this why he saith but his sayings are no proofs that nothing is bestowed through him on those that are his which he hath not purchased the price whereby he made his purchase being his blood If this saying were as firm as Scripture and somewhat firmer yet it would not reach his Assertion for he limits it to those that are his now by those that are his is sometime meant his peculiarly owned by him as his so Rom. 8.9 And so I conceive Mr. Owen means it and then he denies not here but that something granted to others not yet so his that yet have not his Spirit in them though through him may not be his purchase But because his words are no proof and as to the main matter it s but Idem per idem a repetition of his first saying Let us carry it to his Scripture proofs which are 1. 1 Cor. 6. I suppose he means ver 19 20. Your bodies are the Temple of the holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own for you are bought with a price Here is mention made of buying them with a price but no mention made of his buying the holy Ghost and their glorifying of God and yet the holy Ghost was a gift freely given them through Christ much less of all things given them freely in him so that that proof reaches not But then he adds out of Isai 53. That the Covenant made between his Father and him of making out all spiritual blessings to them that were given him was expresly founded on this condition that He should make his soul an offering for Sin But in viewing the place I finde no such expressions It appears but a tradition that that is a Covenant made between the Father and Christ For it s not the Fathers speech to Christ or Christs to Him but the Prophets of Christ to the Father or of both Father or Son When thou shalt make his soul or when his soul shall make an offering for sin he shall see a seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand He says not My pleasure as speaking in the person of the Father Nor doth he say because his soul shall put a guilt-offering or make an offering for sin therefore he shall see a seed c. But if his soul shall be so or when it is so then that shall follow Much less saith he that there was before that a people given him that should for that have all spiritual blessings made out to them Indeed in the twelfth verse there is a promise and that grounded upon his intercession and sufferings but then the contents of it are not all good things to be given to men but a glorious portion to be given to Christ So that he is deficient here too in his proofs And yet I will tell him how I will grant him this though he prove it not viz. that we had had none of those things had not Christ suffered I speak according to what is revealed for secret things appertain not to us He opened the way and passage for all good things to come unto us by removing the sin that did obstruct and hinder us of them The earth and we all in it were dissolved he bare up the pillars of it and in him all things now stand together I know not whether M. Owen will except or will also include Election and Predestination to Sonship for they are said also to be in and by Christ Ephes 1.4 5. I shall leave that to his consideration but if by procuring and meriting he means that he ingaged God and procured his good will that such things should be bestowed on us especially if by us he mean as he must all that he died for so as that what ever God bestows on any by Christ he bestows it out of debt to Christ and should be unjust to him should he bestow less on or deal any otherwise with any particular in point of favour then he doth that I cannot but question till I see it better proved 2. He propounds That faith in men of understanding is of such absolute indispensible necessity to salvation that what ever God or Christ hath done in his oblation and intercession for all or some without this in us is in regard of the event to us of no value worth or profit but serveth onely to increase and aggravate condemnation it being certainly true That he that believes not shall be damned all which I conceive true and what may be granted him with those limitations specified of men of understanding in regard of the event to us especially where the Gospel is plainly preached that being evidently the meaning of our Saviour in that last clause viz that the Gospel being preached by them He that believeth not the Gospel so preached and thereby in himself shall be damned and yet I deny not but both in former times and other cases he that by the light afforded was or is not prevailed with to believe on God and seek after him and glorifie him as power was or is vouchsafed thereto shall be condemned also But what infers he hence It follows So that if there be in our selves a power of believing and the act of it proceed from that power then certainly it is in our power to make the Love of God and death of Christ effectual towards us or not To that I say that no man doth at any time believe but he hath power to believe first in himself and in that power he acteth for the act of believing being an intrinsecal act of the soul the power in which the souls acts in it must needs be inward too but I suppose he means so in our selves as to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of our selves too but so I say not that we have power in our selves as meerly natural without Grace preventing and inabling us And yet were it so it would not follow that then it s in our power to make Christs Death effectual to our selves but as its the preventing assisting Grace of God that impowers the soul to believe So the soul
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
say much to these places quoted by him to hold forth the thing meant by the word Merit viz. Isai 53.5 Heb. 9.12 Acts 20.28 save that they prove not any obligation put upon God to do those things there mentioned to all that he died for but onely that God was pleased to do such things upon such considerations or by such mediums Onely the latter place of Acts 20.28 seems least to the business for it speaks not of Christs meriting of God but Gods procuring acquiring or obtaining as the 〈◊〉 most usually signifies a people to be a Church by that way of his blood the sufferings of Christ But to pass those things Let this be observed which himself grants lib 4. cap. 1. That however pretious and valuable the sufferings of Christ be yet they oblige and binde God to nothing but according to his own appointment and free ingagement Having noted that we come to his Argument which is this That Christ did merit and purchase by his death for all those for whom he died all those things which in the Scriptures are assigned to be the fruits and effects of his death But all have not all those effects and fruits Ergo he died not for All. Ans If by his Major he means He procured them into himself as into Gods Treasury to be free for them all to look after and come to him for and to be dispensed to all that do look after him and come to him Then it nothing hurts us But then his Minor assumes not rightly as it doth not however for it should be thus That Christ hath not purchased all those things for All and not as it is That all have them not But if in his Major he means as he seems to do that he obliged the Father to bestow upon All for whom he died and bring them to enjoy all those things which his Death either as presented to God or as believed by us is said to effect as his after-enumeration of its effects argue him to mean then I deny it and desire his proof of it which because he brings not his Argument falls to the ground and needs no further answering Onely I shall minde the Reader that the effects enumerated by him are such for the most part as it produceth in us by believing on it such as the Delivering us from the hand power of all our enemies which we are not till called nay till raised from the dead from wrath to come which we are not till justified by faith as is evident by his own confession against the Socinians The works of the Devil which are overcome and destroyed by him in being believed on Ephes 6.13.16 the curse of the Law which he says we are subject to till believers Cap. 8. Sect. 6. from our vain conversation the present evil world the earth and from men all which he doth by his blood and sufferings as being accepted of God they are made known to us and withall the Covenant ratified by it held forth to us By letting us see such love in God towards us and such good-will in Christ with such perfection to save us and so great promises ratified to believers he moves and perswades us to let go our vain conversations renounce the world its fellowships vanities and wickedness to cease cleaving to the earth and earthy men and having our confidence in them and reliance on them for teaching worship satisfaction delight c. Thus God is said to have bought Israel to himself Deut. 32.6 in that he by so great things done for them purchased or gained them in to own and follow him And so in Hos 3.2 Gods buying Israel to be a people for himself is compared to Hoseahs buying an harlot off from other lovers to be his wise for a certain consideration or Sum given her So Christ buys men unto God from other things by setting before us his great sufferings for us and profering to us the great glory he will thereby bring vs to if we will renounce all for him But this note is over and above what was needful for shewing the invalidity of the Argument All his other quotations too are impertinent and none of them prove either that God is obliged by the Death of Christ and ought to grant to and possess all for whom he died of those good things that he mentions or that he was or is bound thereby otherwise then as he freely ingaged himself to do them to any They say That by his Death we are reconciled as we may say By Joabs Mediation Absolom was recalled from banishment and brought into Davids favor Which speech proves not that the inward worth of his Mediation bound David to that So He is our Propitiatory through Faith in his blood and God hath set him forth to be so that proves not that he obliged God to forgive the sins of All he died for The like I might say for Peace-making and salvation Believing on him we are at peace with God and shall be saved by him but no place sayes All that he died for shall be saved or that God ought to make them all believe and so save them as was before shewed For his next Instance from the Phrases 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Inst 6. For All and for Many and Interrogatory Whether Christ died in the stead of All It s answered in those Chapters that speak about Satisfaction with all the Queries he propounds upon it Onely I shall spake to one of them viz. Whether Christ hung upon the Cross for Reprobates I say I conceive as they were men faln in Adam he did but not as besides that Reprobated also It s like that The Gospel was preached to the dead 1 Pet. 4.6 and the Spirits in prison Was the Gospel preached to dead men and men in hell Yes To them that are now dead and in hell But not when and as dead and in hell Men were not Reprobates as they were the Objects of Christs Death but as they are considered and actually found guilty of sinning wilfully and pertinaciously against the truth discovered and benefits afforded to them through his Death If we will speak of things according to the Scripture If otherwise Eâdem facilitate rejicitur quâ asseritur The Scriptures say men that corrupt themselves and notwithstanding the means of purging used to them which sure are all consequent in order of Nature to the death of Christ for men there being nothing affordable to men towards purging according to the demerit of Adams sin but All were forthwith to have perished stand out and remain in their corruptions are the reprobate silver men rejected of God Jer. 6.30 And for such obstinacy against God in lower or higher means the Scripture often tells us that God reprobates or rejects men as is to be seen in Rom. 1.19 20 21 28. Gen. 6.3 Psa 81.9 10 11 12. Pro. 1.22 23 24 25. Matth. 13.15 16. Acts 28.27 2 Thess 2.10 11 12. And no
proclaime openly upon the house tops And then Gods chusing weak simple men to be the first Teachers and so by consequence the first understanders of the divine truth doth neither prove that others that were wise and prudent were left destitute of the means of salvation or operation of the Spirit in them or much less that Christ dyed not for them or for All men but only That these wise and prudent would they be saved must stoop to God in embracing the knowledge of his mind by weak and sorry men and that indeed is the Genuine meaning as I conceive of that Scripture Whenas God had he pleased might have opened his mysteries to the Learned Rabbies Scribes and Pharisees to have been divulged by them he pleased to hide them from them putting them beside their way and to reveal them to others poor simple men by whom they were to be preached to them and to All Nations and that meerly out of his good will that no flesh might glory in his presence c. His next alledged place is John 10.15 Scrip. 4. in cap. 3. lib 2. 16 27 28. which we have before considered and shewed the vanity of his inferences from it there is no new thing here to be spoken to that is not there answered except that he tels us of Christ dying as a Shepheard spoken of in that place and Therefore he dyed only for his sheep which indeed is a new fallacious argument Logicians call it fallacia à dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter as if I should argue thus In 1 Pet. 2.21 22. Christ is spoken of as dying as a pattern of patience to believers suffering unjustly from men Ergo he dyed for none but actuall believers so suffering Our question is whether Christ dyed for All or no not whether he dyed for All as a Shepheard though he laid not down his life for All as a Shepheard for sheep to preserve them in a life fore-given them yet he might and did lay down his life for All as a ransome to deliver them out of a Death come upon them for the sin they fell into in Adam and to be a propitiation for their sins c. To Matth. 20.28 a Ransome for Many we have spoken in Chap. 1. Lib. 1. for John 11.52 He dyed for that Nation and not for that Nation only but to gather together the children of God scattered abroad That tels us he dyed for the Nation which were not all Elect people to eternall life there being in it those Scribes and Pharisees whom he cals generation of vipers 2. He saith not For the Children of God much less for the Children of God only but shews that that was one end of his Death reaching further then the Nation namely to gather the scattered Jews or to bring all that should believe into an unity of faith and priviledges by slaying the enmity the Law of ordinances between them this puts no limitation to the Death of Christ nor saith that any were excluded it His next is Rom. Scrip. 5. 8.32 33 34. which indeed is brought as a consolation to believers in affliction assuring them they have God to justify them and he greater then any against them to condemn them and then they have Christ to intercede for them who had also dyed and risen and he would not faile them it being his business to present believers and walkers in the Spirit perfect before him as we noted before he that had given his Son for them would surely supply them with all strength them that were the called of God and believers in him Now whereas Mr. Owen observes that this act of giving Christ to dy for them was the greatest expression of Gods love toward believers I answer That the Apostle couples two acts together there 1. His giving Christ for them that expresly 2. His giving him to them that 's intimated in that repetition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with him for God gave not all things to be crucified with Christ nor did he give Christ to believers or to any in his beating him but delivered him up to Death and judgement and Christ gave up himself to bear the wrath of God but as one dead and risen God gives him with his excellencies to men Yea this is said to be done to the murmuring unbelieving Jews who not receiving him deprived themselves of that life and all those glorious things in and with him But to go on with Mr. Owens observation He infers from that thus If God gave his Son to dy for All then he had as great an act of love and made as great a manifestation of it to them that perish as to them that are saved But this follows not for though in it self it was exceeding great yea compared singly with other acts as to the outward expression the greatest act of love to give Christ to dy for men yet in regard of the heart of God in it and the conjoying that act with others he manifested not nor acted so great love to them that perish as to them that are saved 1. I say in regard of the heart of God for in chap. 8. Mr. Owen tels us Gods love is his velle bonum creaturis his purpose and will of grace which if so then that 's to be accounted the greatest to them to whom he purposed the greatest good by that act which was but the medium of good to men Now in as much as he purposed more grace to some through that gift then to others to the saved then to those that perish though in the medium they all shared yet it cannot be said that he manifested or acted as much love to one as to another To illustrate it take this comparison David put his life in hazzard from the Israelites when he fought with the Philistin in that he laid his life down at the stake as it were 1 Sam. 19.5 and it was the greatest act of love he could have shewed to his friend to lay down his life for him yet in this act he might love his Father with a more intense love then many others of them yet he hazzarded his life for them all and shewed forth that act of love to them all that in expression is highest 2. In respect of other acts Though that act was greater then any other act of love I say suppose that yet not so great as that and other acts also joyned with it He loved believers with that and diverse others as in compelling them in c. 3. Yea suppose all loved alike in that yet if some of them all so alike loved requiting that his same like-like-love worse then others As Hosea 9.15 are left and he takes their slighing his so great love so ill that he will love them no more And others not so requiting him but accepting it continue in his love as the phrase is Joh. 15.10 and he saves them shall we say he loves not these more then
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
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
ever that were broken off might and did miss of by observing lying vanities forsaking their own mercies Jonas 2.8 either by unbelief or negligence in a vain cursory receit of the Ordinances and grace of Reconciliation therein tendered So that neither doth that conclude the thing intended namely that by the word world is there meant only Gods Elect and Chosen His proof from Colos 1.6 Lib. 3. ca. 6. We have before spoken to in Chap. 1. That of 2 Cor. 5.19 We have also spoken to largely before in the Chapter about Reconciliation Onely I shall add here that the word world cannot there mean the Elect onely for then no need of fearing that any toward whom that grace was vouchsafed should receive it in vain as is intimately feared by the Apostle Chap. 6.1.2 As for the Argument used from the Non-imputation there spoken of we have shewed it to be weak also God reckoned not the sins of the world to it in that he winked at them and did not demand satisfaction at their hands for them but preached forgiveness to them which indeed was a very great blessing but it comes to life and happiness onely upon them that receive it and believe as the Apostle says Rom. 4.6 7 9. His reasons why the Elect should be called the world as they are especially the three first very slender ones so they do all fall to the ground except it can be first proved that it is so called 4. His fourth Reason is like Nicodemus's How can these things be Why doth not God give the Gospel to all then who do any perish c. He might as well say If God brought Israel out of Egypt that they might go to Canaan why did he not make them all trust in him and carry them all thither This is not to believe the VVord of God that says Christ is the Propitiation for the sins of the whole world c. But to set our Reason against it though we could say God hath told us more about his revealing Christ then he doth believe viz. That He is the true Light that inlightneth every man that comesin to the world But hewil there say too as the manner of our darkness and unbelief is at every truth of God that it cannotcomprehend Durus est hic sermo How can this be for he will scarce conceive that the Word can sparkle through the Humanity united to it into the hearts of every man except the Manhood too be plainly declared or that that divine being that the Gentiles are led to see in the VVorks of God is no other then the VVord that was incarnate and is the true God this may seem as strange to him as that to the Jews Before Abraham was I Am and may meet with as many stones about it For Truth is full of Paradoxes to the wisdom of the Flesh though plain to him that findes understanding Besides God hath sent his Gospel to All Nations and Peoples though many have put the light from them and chosen darkness rather even whole Countries and Peoples and therefore shall be justly condemned not for that they had it not but because when God sent it they received it not but have from age to age slighted and rejected it 5. He heaps up another nest of absurdities upon us As 1. That we cannot understand this to be All and Every man except we grant some to be loved hated from eternity But how our granting that should depend upon that large extent of the Word it will pose Reason it self to conceive and Scripture too Sure he meant Except we deny it as we do if by hatred he mean a purpose not to send his Son for them without their disobedience to his Son and the light extended through him to condemn and destroy them 2. He says We must make the Love of God toward innumerable to be fruitless and vain We deny that too For there-through they injoy their lives liberties patience bounty goodness hints of truth to their mindes some more some less as he sees fit in his wisdom and God shall receive much glory Though its true and no absurdity to say that some do reject much grace or receive it in vain in regard of many further fruits it would effect yea and turn that that was for their welfare into a snare Turning that grace and goodness into wantonness that should lead them to repentance 3. That then the Son of God is given to them that never hear word of him nor have any power to believe Answer It s not said He gave him to the world but gave him simply out of love to the world and give him he might for them to whom so properly he may not be said to give him I suppose you think he was given for if not also to some children that die in infancy and yet they never hear of him and so many former Jews might never hear of him distinctly as that he should be crucified and yet they had good by that they heard not of Death came in upon All through Adam though many never heard of him and so may and doth much mercy by Christ to such as never hear distinctly of him And did men in that mercy grope after God as the Apostles say they might haply finde him What power God gives to men to yield up to the light that comes from him I cannot say for others I am not in their bosoms but for my self I am sure more then I have acted forth and followed him in And that God gives no power to believe or at least soberly to attend to God that they might be helpt to believe but onely where men indeed do believe is as inevident as that God gave not power to Adam to forbear eating the forbidden fruit because he did not forbear I cannot see into those secrets how far God acts or acts not upon others but the not seeing such secrets shall be no reason to me to wave what is revealed if not plainly in this yet in other Scriptures of larger expression If Mr. Owen see into mens spirits and can tell us what God doth to all and how far he deals with them or finds the Scripture expressing it let him demonstrate to us that God doth give no power to any to attend to him in the ways wherein he useth to beget faith according to the means vouchsafed but onely to them that are actually brought to faith and I shall listen to him 4. He says Then God is mutable in his Love Answer That follows not for so far as he says he loved it he acted and never altered it he did give his Son and never reversed it that whosoever believes should not perish c. And yet we being mutable and corrupting our selves God may say to us as well as to Ephraim Hos 9.15 I will love them no more and yet the alteration in us onely not in him The effects of the same act may be different to an object without
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
I finde no other price mentioned in the New Testament but the blood of Christ either as shed or as also testified if Mr. Owen doth let him shew it for us to devise prices is to add of our own heads to the Scriptures Now if Christ be the price it s not material whether we say that the Lord that bought them be God or Christ the act of buying or purchasing being attributed to both Acts 20.28 1 Cor. 6.20 Rev. 5.9 Christ buys men unto God and God buys men by Christ God gave Christ as a price to purchase men and Christ gave himself for and gives himself to men And there are these two things in this buying or price by which people are bought 1. Christ given by God and Himself to the Death for men that they might be preserved and delivered and from the destruction due to them in Adam 2. Christ given of God and by Himself to them in point of tender and free offer as in Joh. 6.32 and at least good things given unto them by and through him And as I understand none are said in Scripture to be bought or redeemed from their vain conversations or unto God from men till this price made known to them buy them off from their love to those other things and ingage them for God to be his Thence men reason inconsequently from those Scriptures which say By the blood of Christ men out of all Nations Peoples or Families are bought or redeemed to God As that in Rev. 5.9 and 14.4 and 1 Pet. 1.18 19. which speak of the efficacy of his blood declared and believed ingaging their hearts and spirits to and for God as Hosea bought him a wife by a price given her Hos 3.2 to deny the extent of Christs given himself a ransom and dying for men These two things then I understand in this place of Peter 1. That God had given Christ to the death and he gave himself a ransom for these false Teachers amongst all the rest of men and thereby they with all other were delivered from perishing in that sentence of death which should in Adam have else destroyed them and had with others their liberty to the Church and Kingdom of Christ 2. That God in the Gospel presenting this his love unto them and this his Son that dyed for them or the Son presenting himself so and so as the onely Lord and Saviour able and ready to save them with promises of salvation upon their submission to him bought them or disingaged their hearts from their former idols worships vain and evil ways called ver 20. the pollutions of the world and had ingaged and purchased their affections to his Gospel People Salvation and Glory set before them and so to the service of him and they now after all this denying him as the Israelites after their bodily redemption did Deut. 32.6 They brought upon themselves swift destruction If Mr. Owen would fasten any other sense upon this place he must shew us that any people are said to be bought or redeemed from their vain conversations as these were ver 20. for such are the pollutions of the world by any other price then the bloud of Jesus 1 Pet. 1.18 or 2. That some are bought with that for whom it was never shed That God glorifies it to and purchases those by it for whom it hath done nothing nor shall do any thing for we have proved and do believe him to have dyed for All. If he perform either of those two things we shall listen further to his exposition Whereas he sayes The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 answers to the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he deals not ingeniously with his Reader For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all those places he brings for proof of it viz. Deut. 7.8 15.15 and Jer. 15.21 and in all other places generally so far as I find yet is in the Greek translated by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so those places of 1 Pet. 1.18 and Luke 1.78 may better be applyed to that observation that Mr. Owen thence makes then this The Hebrew word that Answers to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He objects further the Apostles not mentioning the Word Price Isa 55.1 But that 's frivilous for if we speak of buying things especially of Gods buying a price is necessarily intimated as the correlate to buying though we may buy the grace of God without price yet he buyes not us at that rate we are well paid for what ever God hath of us Whereas he would have this buying to be onely a deliverance by Gods goodnesse from the defilements of the world a seperation of them from them by the knowledge of the truth Besides that that note is grounded on his former mistake that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 answers to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to deliver I would faine have him shew me that God extends any reall goodnesse to men without Christs buying them from their obligation to the misery contracted to them by Adam or else that rather confirmes that Christ dyed for them and the knowledge of him as so dying for them and able and ready thereby to save them bought them yea what else is it to know him Lord and Saviour How Lord but by dying for them especially how else a Saviour Againe did God give them any thing in that truth made known to them worthy their forsaking the world for him had they any share right interest in that truth namely in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was there any good for them to get there for to be sure the worlds good they were not like to get by that knowledge in those dayes If yes then whence proceeded that if he never dyed for them if it declared no salvation as attainable by them would men leave all and expose themselves to persecutions for meer uncertainties when they could not be told that Christ had done any thing for them or God by Christ or that Christ was a Mediator for them to attaine to happinesse by If they had no right to the truth nor that had any thing of goodnesse in it for them what had they to doe with that truth that so little concerned them If he say it had matter of advantage in it for them for ought they knew they might think it had though it had not Then I answer they had made but a blind bargain and they knew not the Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus It was rather a mistake about him that gave them that escape from the worlds pollutions then any knowledge of him had they known him rightly they should have known that they had no such reason to let all go for him that had excluded them his mediation and could not save them not having dyed for them And then having made some tryall and
pray for men but that they may be saved by Christ Which to give the mildest language are more mistakes of him for as he affirmed neither of them in his proof to which M.O. Answers as any that read it may see so it suffices that we pray for all in generall that God would reveal the knowledge of his truth unto them and spread abroad his Gospel amongst them and afford them such testimonies of his goodness as may lead them to Repentance and for what other things may concern their welfare here the lesse is no whit excluded by praying for the greater Though indeed I know no warrant we have in all the Scripture to pray God to save eternally that is to give the priviledges proper to believers to them that have not yet believed How Act. 8.22 24. proves it false that an assurance of Christ dying for men in particular is not our ground of praying for them as M.O. says I am yet to learn except he can prove that Peter was not assured that Christ dyed for Simon Magus which he that extracts out of that place must be somewhat more skilfull in Chymestry then I am Whereas pag. 290. he says we turn the most intense and incomparable love of God towards his Elect into a common desire wishing and affection of his Nature opposite to his Nature and fayling of its end It s a great mistake as to us at least and to the party he there opposeth We grant Gods love as intense and incomparable to his Elect as he by any Scripture proof can make it and far more incomparable then here he imputes to us Whereas he says that in Tit. 2.11 12. is not a common love he begs that Assertion for the words are the grace of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saving to All men hath appeared And if saving to All men be not common I know not what expression can argue it common And yet that then it must save All men in eternall life as he implies this grace doth All them to whom it is extended is in my view as as great an inconsequence as that If the Lords mighty power was a saving power to all the Isralites out of Egypt then it must certainsave them all all the way into Canaan That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 too spoken of â—it 3.5 was such as that the believers therein and therethrough received the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost is granted but that therefore All that were comprehended in it do and shall receive them is another inconsequence not yet proved no more then Caleb and Joshuahs being by the power of God and his presence with them in the Cloud the Manna c. prevailed with to believe and so were preserved and brought into Canaan would enforce that all that he put forth his power toward and vouchsafed his presence among and gave his Manna to and the Pillar of a Cloud to lead them c. they were so prevailed with to beleive and brought into Canaan also Hujus modi inconsequentiis illius scatet liber P. 292. He faults T. M. for rendring they love darkness rather then light to be a choosing darkness rather then light which is a meer trifle for he that loves one thing rather then another prefers that thing and choses it before the other And whereas he adds that there is no comparison instituted between their loving light and loving darknesse as if they had loved both but one more then the other that nothing overthrows his saying For where one thing is loved and not another there is choice also as well as when two things are loved one above another And yet his denyall of their loving both is not true in all men that love darknesse Many a man loves the truth in many things and approves it that yet loves his lusts more and so prefers them before it as those that Joh. 12.42 Loved the praise of men more then the praise of God There is no question but they honored desired the praise of God but yet so as that to have it they would not loose the praise of men So Herod reverenced Iohn and bare good will to him but yet preferred his Herodias before him But whereas from that phrase Ioh. 3.19 T. M. inferred surely there was light for them M.O. trifles again about that and says He durst not say that it was the counsel of God that they should receive it To which I say Sure it was his councell to them to receive it and they rejected the counsel of God against themselves Luk. 7.30 Pro. 1.23 25 29 30. Indeed what he councels or purposes to do himself or cause to be done that shall stand and so much that in Isa 46.10 saith But what he councels us to do is not always done by us though onely in his counsels obeyed there is standing safety for us But by for them there was light it s evident T.M. meant it was presented to them as that that they had right to look upon and receive yea ought of duty to have received And not onely it was a common stock as light in the Sun for blind men as M.O. speaketh for these men see the light and something in it that crossed them in their purposes and designs else would they not have hated it Blind men take not delight in one colour more then in another seeing they discern no difference whereas there and in p. 293. he says that these places of Ioh. 2.8 Mat. 16.26 Rom. 2.5 Hos 13.9 make nothing against his position nor for the extent of Christs Death he is much mistaken or will not acknowledge what is presented to him He says Jonas 2.8 tels us that they that forsake God forfeit their mercies temporall and spiritual which they had before received But can any man be said to receive a reall mercy from God who have nothing from him but in hatred with a tendency to aggravate their misery as is necessarily implyed by M.O. opinion which tels us that God hated many from eternity whom Christ dyed not for and yet will judge them the more severely for the abuse of every thing they have though given in that hatred Count you that a mercy to choak men with Gold or to hang wedges of it about their necks and throw them into the Sea to drown them have they any Spirituall mercies from God for whom Christ dyed not and did he so in his opinion for Idolators and Back-sliders from God Besides he speaks not out all the truth for men not onely through observing lying vanities forsake what they have but much that they might have had as is plain Psal 81.14 15. Luk. 19.41 there are things pertaining to their peace that they miss off and how could they had any such things if Christ never dyed for them or was not Mediator for them If it be said that our Saviour speaks thus of outward peace and mercies besides that that 's too scanty an exposition
that doth thus and thus shall live For ought that they can tell them God hath from Eternity hated them and there is no way to salvation made for them Surely that 's not so much as what he further points to That there is no name under heaven whereby they may be saved but that of Jesus for that intimates that by that Name they may But to this I have spoken sufficiently before To what he says about the not believing Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ and their need of him that its a soul-condemning infidelity of such obstinate refusers to come in upon the Call of the Gospel and not a refusing to believe that Christ died for every one of them in particular I have answered also before and say here further That each of them are condemning The last because there is not a believing of the Testimony of God that he bears of his Son and so not a receiving the love of the Truth the love that the Truth witnesseth and so not a leaning upon his Mediation nor an approaching to God thereby For how should he come to God by his Mediation that refuseth to believe that he died for him in particular and so that his Mediation for him The Jews sayes he were charged with infidelity for not believing Christ to be their Messiah And truly by Mr. Owens Doctrine he was not so For how was he for them if he was a Mediator for none but the Elect seeing they persisted in unbelief and rebellion Sure mens not believing their need of a Mediator or that Jesus is He proves not that they are not chargeable with not believing Christ to have died for them no more then others not believing themselves to be sinners proves that they are not chargeable with not believing in Christ The object of Faith I trow is not to be measured by mens acts of Faith but their acts ought to come up to that that 's in the object But beyond all these he hath somewhat more to the Minor viz. That they to whom the Gospel is preached are bound to believe with that faith which is required to justification onely I will not stand upon that word onely I am content that he grants They are bound to believe with that Faith but then he assumes That that is not a full perswasion that Christ died for any one in particular Here I except against the word full perswasion as being a Quartus terminus which is not fit for a Disputant to put into a Syllogism Nor is it to the purpose that it is not justifying Faith it s enough to this business if it be necessary to a justifying faith according to the Revelation of the Gospel since his Ascension to believe and be perswaded that Christ died for him in particular though his perswasion be not full Rom. 3.25 and that I say is necessary For to believe to justification is to believe on God through Christ or in the bloud of Christ and that is from that that Christ as Mediator hath done and is further authorized to doe to be perswaded to rest on God for salvation by him Which I deny that any man can rightly come to except he believe that that which God hath done in Christ and that which Christ hath done as Mediator between God and man was done also for him I can Divinely gather no boldness from the bloud or sufferings of Christ to approach the Holies and look to God to save me further then by a Divine Faith that leans upon Gods testimony I am perswaded that those sufferings of Christ concerned me and were for me But let us see how M.O. goes on in this business and that is thus He says there is an order naturall in it self and established by Gods appointment in the things that are to be believed so that till some of them are believed the rest are not required As a man is not commanded nor can be reasonably to get to the top of the Ladder by skipping all the lower rounds But what makes this to prove the business in hand 1. This shews that a mau cannot come to believe with a justifying Faith the thing ex confesso required of them to whom the Gospel is preached except he orderly believe those things that lead unto it of which I contend That this is one to believe that God hath provided him Christ to be his Mediator and that he hath died for him and so that he hath good ground to believe in him and rely on God through him and so it makes for what I say but it proves not that every step in that order are not required of every one to whom the Gospel is preached that so he may come to that that is principally required viz. To justifying Faith His comparison is not worth a Rush to that purpose For though I would not rationally bid a man climb up into a chamber by a ladder and skip all the rounds save the highest yet I may rationally bid him climb up to it and go by all the rounds and so by the highest and I trow his not going up one step will not excuse him for not going all even up the highest too He that commands me to believe with a justifying faith surely commands me therein to go by every step that tends to it and to believe all that 's absolutely requisite for believing with that faith 2. He here speaks against his main Concession viz. That men that hear the Gospel are bound to believe with a justifying faith For here he says in substance That that 's not required till they have first believed the truths that lead to it and so Gods Commands shall be bounded by mans obedience If any man to whom the Gospel is preached shall deny to believe that there is such a one as Christ that man is not required of God to believe in Christ for its irrational to require him to believe in him till he hath first obeyed him in believing the other I suppose any man that understands reason will rather think that Mr. Owen had not the exercise of reason about him when he here talked of irrationality the first proof of his Argument contradicting his Argument For the Argument saith That they to whom the Gospel is preached are bound to believe with a justifying faith and the proof says it is irrational that they should be required to that till they believe that there is an object of faith To say nothing that the believing Christ to have died for a man is not the highest step to that faith as he supposeth But after this he sets down his order viz. 1. That men are to repent and believe the Gospel to be the Word of God to contain his Will and that Jesus Christ therein revealed is the power and wisdom of God to salvation 2. That there is an inseparable connexion between faith and salvation 3. That there be a conviction by the spirit of a necessity of a Redeemer to
not ever true that he that believes that God delivered him from one danger is confident he will from another much less That that belief in all that so believe yea or in any is the confidence that he will deliver from another 2. Whereas he askes if it include not a sense of the spirituall love of Christ I answer That where the Death and Resurrection of Christ are opened to the heart by the Holy Ghost there the love of God is shed abroad into the heart also but not wherever this proposition is believed viz. Christ dyed for me many a man believes that and yet seeth not into the glory of it nor the depth of goodness held forth in it and so hath not the love of God therethrough shed into his heart yet the minding God in this is the way to meet with the holy Ghosts displaying that love Many Israelites believed that God brought them out of Egypt 2 Pet. 1.9 that had not such a view of his power and love therein or at least like them that forget that they were purged from their old sins forgat what they had seen as to be lead to confidence in God for the future by it 3. Whereas he says By this a man must believe before he believe What strange thing is that with reference to diverse acts of believing did not he himself say that we must have a faith of reliance and recumbence in Christ and before that too believe many truths of the Gospell before we can believe that Christ dyed for us so that there is believing before believing and believing before believing again and yet he counts that absurd in us when we say only we must believe the word of God to be true before we can by it be led to believe in God we must believe Gods goodwill to us-ward and a medium provided for us by whom to go to God before we can be perswaded to go to him by faith whom otherwise we look upon as angry and dreadfull ready to consume us We cannot put our confidence in his blood and there through rise up to assurance of eternall life except we first be perswaded that he shed his blood for us So long as we doubt whether he be a Mediator for us or no and whether he hath given himself to ransome us from death we shall doubt whether God will accept us or no or whether he hare us from eternity or not and whether we have any thing to do to take incouragement from the blood of Christ to approach him because we know not we have any right unto it Nor can Master Owen nor all the world beside to help him make it appear to be otherwise but that the soul will question whether it may expect salvation from God or betrust it self with God so long as it knows not but he hates it and Christ hath never done any thing with him for it 3. He denies That a perswasion that it was Gods will that Christ should dy for him in particular neither is nor can be necessary that a sinner be drawn to believe because other grounds will do it without The consequence of this is that many things were spoken unnecessarily by the Apostles Act. 3.26 as when Peter says Christ was sent to turn every one of them from their iniquities And Paul that the grace of God reconciling the world 2 Cor. 5.19 20. 6.1 was to them Corinthians to perswade them to be reconciled That he preached to the Corinths in the first place that Christ dyed for our sins 1 Cor. 15.2 3. And so all those generall phrases that include mens particulars But let us see what other grounds he gives viz. That it is the duty of sinners as such to believe Math. 11.28 Isa 55.1 To believe in what in the blood of Christ as Rom. 3.25 Then it supposes it shed for them all and so it s a truth according to the Gospell-declaration but denying the extent of his Death how can he make it out that sinners as such * A quatenus ad omne valet consequentia which reaches to All sinners ought to believe in Christ What have sinners if not Elect to do with Christ besides he had said before they must be sinners so and so convinced and qualified before they are to be called upon to believe in Christ And I fear he will upon second thoughts say that those Scriptures hold forth that sinners not as such but as so qualified with thirsting after Christ and being weary c. are there required to believe but many a soul is hereby put upon doubting whether it be Elected or so convinced and thirsty c. as is required and so whether God be not an enemy to it from eternity and so whether it hath cause of trusting in him 2. The command of God John 3.23 That shews it to be its duty if it could be proved to extend to it for that says That we believe in his name and a soul may more justly doubt whether that We reach to it seeing they that deny the extent of Christs Death and teach it to doubt of it use such applicatives as We to oppose an Universality and to signify but the Elect and Church c. This therefore yet leaves the soul to doubt whether it may hope in him for salvation especially being told that these things God sends to men indefinitely that the Elect onely might be brought to him he hath no goodwill to any other and that its Elect it knows not commands to believe while men are taught to doubt whether the object to be believed in as such pertains to them can give no more security from doubting then the building with one hand and pulling down with another secures the building from falling 3. The threats against unbelief That indeed doth as much as the threat for not keeping the Law fils the soul with terror on every side while it hears that God commands more to believe then have cause so to do and threatens them for not believing and yet gives them nothing to induce them to it no evidence of his goodwill to them to draw them to believe this may fill them with hard thoughts of God representing him to them like one that bids another eat or else he will kill him but yet gives him no meat to feed on no evidence of his goodness that may induce him to hope and trust in him 4. The alsufficiency of the blood of Christ to save all believers This may make the soul say O how happy are they that do believe and that have his blood to drink for its able to save them but as for me I know not whether it belong to me or not or whether one drop of it was shed for me and so how I can lean upon it I hear it s not sufficient to save any that it was not shed for not for want of inward worth in it but because it s not for them and I may