eminent Saints of his to err in some things that men may learn not to think of men above that which is meet but to give that great prerogative of infallibility to the God of truth alone who hath revealed his Truth in the holy Scriptures and therefore Christians should try all spirits and doctrines by this Rule bring them all to the Law and to the Testimony concluding that if they speak not according to this Rule it is because there is no light in them no light in their doctrine so far as it will not endure the trial of Scripture light yea the Apostle speaks very high in this case Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached let him be accursed If it were possible for a blessed Angel to preach false doctrine we must reject and cleave to the Scripture against all contradiction For answer to the Second Question In as much as Satan and the corrupt nature of man are the cause of Errours and Heresies What is the reason that many carnal persons both such as are of civil conversation and fair moral principles and also such as are loose and licentious yea openly profane are free from errours in such places and ages where when false doctrines abound whereas they are such in whom the corruption of nature raigneth and such as are held captive by Satan according to his will For answer to this I conceive First that some such persons being naturally quick of apprehension and judicious may be so clearly convinced of some truths that though many deny them and oppose them yet they will stand to them especially when there is liberty for all sides to hold and profess what they list and a man may stick to the Truth without loss and danger in such cases natural Conscience is a strong tye upon mens spirits to cause them not willfully to deny a known Truth Secondly Some may affect the reputation of constancy being loth to be noted for light vain and fickle persons and therefore in as much as it was their lot to be trained up from their childhood in the truth they will cleave to it howsoever others cast it off so long as they see they may do it with safety They account it a childish thing to hearken to every novelty and vain fancy as indeed it is and therefore not becoming their gravity It may be they would have been as obstinate in error had they happened to have been taught it in their youth as now they seem to be constant in the Truth Is not this apparent in divers at this day who stand firm in doctrinal truths and remain perversely stiffe in old Ceremonyes and superstitious observances which have no footing in the holy Scriptures because they have been trained up in both On the one side they were trained up under sound doctrine concerning the main points of faith On the other side they received some superstitious observances by tradition and therefore they will part with neither Thirdly I suppose Satan having possession of carnal persons another way doth not much tempâ— some of them to renounce the Truth and entertain errours because they are not such as are likely to do him any special service in promoting false doctrines Fourthly many carnal persons may be engaged to stand for the Truth against errors because some whom they respect or upon whom they depend or of whom they look for some advantage go that way Fifthly many carnal persons seem to be indifferent in matter of Religion They are serious and hearty about things that bring in profit in following their business or in pursuing their pleasures in satisfying their lusts they think it no great matter what men hold or profess in matter of doctrine When the Iews accused the Apostle Paul for teaching false doctrine saith Gallio the Roman deputy If it be a question of words and names and of your law look ye to it for I will be no judge of such matters See how slightly he speaks of matters of Religion as if they were but empty words whereas the Question between Paul and the Iews was one of the weigtiest that ever was in controversie scil Whether the Lord Jesus were the Christ And so Festus another Roman Governour relating Pauls Case to King Agrippa accused by the Iews said When the Accusers stood up they brought none accusation of such things as I supsed but had certain questions against him of their own superstition and of one Iesus which was dead whom Paul affirmed to be alive It seemeth he thought these things to be frivolous queries not worthy of the cognizance of so great a Magistrate as himself whereas the Râ—surrection of Christ from the dead which was in question between Paul and his adversaries was such a fundamental point as that mans salvation depended upon it Thus it seemeth many are kept from embracing errours because they hold it a matter of no great weight what men profess in point of Religion But let all that mind their salvation receive the love of the Truth and walk in it hating and shunning every false opinion and every false way out of sincere love to the Lord Jesus Christ and true zeal for his Glory So much of the Question or Objection CHAP. II. THe Answer is first by way of abhorrence or detestation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let it not be or far be it from â—s which our translaturs render God Forbid I suppose because this English phrase is used in cases of like nature howsoever the Apostle by these words signified that he abhorred and detested such a consequence as to make void the Law by the doctrine of free justification through the righteousness of Christ applied by Faith Hence may be noted this point That gracious hearts do exceedingly abhor those opinions which corrupt or oppose the truth of God Heresies and false doctrines are odious to the godly 1. This may appear in many examples and first in the old Testament Moses did exceedingly abhorre the wicked counsel of Balaam whereby he taught the Midianites to deceivâ— the people of Israel so as to draw many of them from the worship of God to Idolatry and therefore saith he to the people arm some of your selves to the war and let them go against the Midianites and avenge the Lord of Midian which they did and slew the Males and five Kings of Midian and Balaam himself who gave this wicked counsel But Moses was not satisfied with this execution but was wroth with the officers of the Host and said unto them have ye saved all the women alive Behold these caused the Children of Israel through the counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord and then he commanded them to kill all except the women children which were Virgins And it seemeth that
oâ— Christs gloriouâ— appearing especially considering that the day of death was to them as the last day not that he did peremtorily determine any thing concerning the time which was unknown now compare this with what he writeth to the same Church in the next Epistle Now we beseech you Brethren by the coming of our Lord Iesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that ye be not shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit or word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of Perdition c. It seemeth some went about to deceive them under pretence of Revelation implied in the word Spirit some by word of Mouth as if the day of the Lord should come in that age and these might abuse those words of the Apostle in his former Epistle therefore he saith by Letter or Epistle as from us Now Satan might have this pollicy and set a certain day and that within a short time that when they saw it did not come to pass at the time foretold they might doubt of the thing it self whether ever it would come to pass but the Apostle shews them that there must be a great change before that day a general Apostacy or falling away and the revealing that man of sin the Son of perdition Secondly by drawing false inferences and conclusions from some places of Scripture So in the present Text from that â—ound doctrine of the Apostle concerning free justification of sinners through the righteousness of Christ without any respect at all to the works of the Law it seemeth some drew this inference or conclusion that the Law was made void and do not the Antinomians the very same â—t this day yea do not many among us harbour the same conceits in their minds as if it were enough only to pray to God to pardon their sins for Christ his sake as if they â—eed not labour after conformity to the Law â—n righteousness and holiness On the other â—â—de whereas Christ saith Except ye repent ye shall likewise perish Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Follow Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. From these and the like Scriptures some it seemeth draw false conclusions as if by repentance by holiness by prayers and other duties they might in part satisfie for their former sins and as if Repentance Regeneration Holiness were not only things accompanying justification and salvation but proper causes But ye must consider First that Christ his satisfaction and righteousness is the full perfect and only cause of â—ustification and pardon of sin and that no holiness no duties of the persons justified do help any thing at all towards their justification it is the Righteousness of Christ imputed to them which maketh up the whole matter of their Righteousness in the sight of God and covereth all their sins Secondly on the other side Regeneration Repentance Holiness are concomitants things accompanying justification and salvation and evidences of it So that although none can procure pardon of sin nor justification in the least degree by any graces or duties of their own yet none can have any â—ound hope that their sins are forgiven or their persons accepted of God as righteous without Repentance Regeneration and Holiness because none have their sins pardoned and their persons justified but such as receive Christ into their hearts by Faith Now Christ alwaies cometh by water and blood by his holy graces to wash and sanctifie the Soul as by his blood and merit to justifie and procure forgiveness of sin As the light of the fire giveth no heat and the heat of the fire giveth no light yet the heat and light are joyned together in the fire so righteousness imputed to the soul for justification and forgiveness of sin do not sanctifie and on the other side Repentance Regeneration holiness in Believers do not justifie yet they are joyned together and where one is there is the other and the latter is an evidence of the former I conceive it is a common case with many to mistake in this kind because they want judgement rightly to draw inferences from Scripture groâ—nds so the Anabaptists because they read of persons baptized when they made profession of faith and repentance hereupon they draw conclusions against Infant-baptisme whereas the case is not alike for those examples are of converted Jews or Heathens not of such as are born of Christian-parents whereas they should rather argue that because Infants born of Church-members under the old Testament were circumcised as Church-members by the Lord command therefore Infants born of Church-members under the new Testament are to be baptized as Church-members now Thirdly prejudicate opinions false conceits sutable to corrupt Nature and carnal reason forestalling the mind and being entertained aforehand make people very apt to deprave or deny the Truth when it is presented to them I conceive this was the cause why the Jews were so obstinate in rejecting Christ and his doctrine not receiving and obeying him as Christ because their carnal minds were forestalled with conceits of a Messias that should come in state as an earthly Prince and erect a glorious worldly Kingdom amongst them and this prejudice moved them to corrupt the Prophecies of the old Testament and to distaste the doctrines of the New they liked not to hear of a crucified Redeemer the doctrine of the Cross was to them a stumbling-block they did not close with a spiritual Kingdom of Christ attended with persecution yea Christ his Disciples were not free from this disease and therefore when Christ foretold his own sufferings Peter presumed to rebuke him and there was a contention among them for the chiefe place as if they expected great worldly honours and dignities by following Christ On the other side the Grecians were prepossessed with the rational principles of worldly wisdom and Philosophy and so despised the Gospel as foolishness though indeed there were such heights and depths of divine wisdom in the mysteries of the Gospel as never came into the head of the wisest men amongst them The carnal Israelites were forestalled with an opinion of their own righteousness and so rejected the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ For they being ignorant of Gods righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God Ignorance and prejudice the fruit of ignorance caused them to disrelish the Truth of the Gospel Secondly the love of sin is a cause why men pervertor reject the Truths of the Gospel The Gospel and word of grac teacheth to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts c. This is distastful to a soul wherein sin raigneth The Gospel requireth Christians to
manifested and made visible and so framed this humane nature thus united to his God-head after the image of God in perfect Righteousness and holiness and inabled it to perform full and compleat obedience to the Law And thus the work of Satan was destroyed one of the Sons of Adam one of the seed of the woman after the fall of mankind being inabled to fulfill the Righteousness of the Law Fourthly Ye may note by the way that I do not speak of this as the full sense of this Text as it this were all that Christ did in destroying the works of the Devil and in restoring what he had ruined but I speak of it as a part of the Apostles meaning and a part of that work of Christ concerning the point in hand Fifthly Observe that by this work Christ established the Law For first As the Law was given to man so the Son of God took upon him the nature of man and subjected it to the Law as it is said he was made under the Law 2. He wrote this Law of perfect holiness and Righteousness upon this humane Soul thus united to his God-head 3. In this nature of man He perfectly fulfilled the Law by all which he acknowledged the Law to be a perfect Rule of Righteousness which as man he was bound to obey and so did really confirm and ratifie the Authority of it whereas on the contrary they that taught mâ—n to seek justification and to approve themselves as Righteous in the sight of God by their own personal works of obedience to the Law though they pretended to magnifie the Law they did make void the Law because their Righteousness was far short of what the Law required and therefore to profess that they looked to be justified or found Righteous in the sight of God by their own imperfect works done in obedience to the Law was to accuse the Law of imperfection and so to make void the Law Saith David The Law of the Lord is perfect and therefore none can be justified by the Law unless their Righteousness be perfect Now for sinful men whose natures are contrary to the Law whose sinful omissions and commissions are numberless whose best works are exceedingly imperfect and defective to profess themselves justified by the Law is to deny the perfection of the Law and so to abolish or make void the Law So much for the first particular point comprehended in the general doctrine The second is this That the Lord Iesus Christ established the Law by making full satisfaction to the Law where note two particulars 1. That Christ did make full satisfaction to the Law 2. That hereby he did establish it 1. For the former When Christ was gloriously transfigured upon a certain mountain in the sight of three of his Disciples Behold there talked with him two men which were Moses and Elias who appeared in glory and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Ierusalem These two holy men of God who many ages before had been taken out of this world by an extraordinary dispensation of God were sent to meet the Lord Christ upon this Mount and why these two Moses was the Lawgiver I mean the ministerial Law-giver the Minister Servant or Instrument of the Lord by whom God who is the only authentical the supream Law-giver delivered and as it were handed over his Law to the people of Israel Elias was one of the most eminent among all the Prophets and exceeding zealous of the Law and by an extraordinary warrant from God slew divers hundreds of false Prophets for Idolatary and for teaching the people to transgress the Law and when he complained against Israel for their heinous sins against the Law the Lord directed him to annoint Hazael to be King over Syria Iehu to be King over Israel and Elisha to be Prophet in his stead as so many executioners of Gods justice upon backsliding Israel for their horrible sins against the Law It seemeth then that these two were sent to shew that the Lord Jesus Christ was he of whom the Law and the Prophets spake whom the Ceremonial Law shadowed out by Types and Figures who was to perform full obedience to the Moral Law and make full satisfaction for the transgressions of men against the Law and to accomplish what was foretold by the Prophets and it is said expresly that they spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Hierusalem They spake of his death and sufferings whereby he should make full satisfaction for the sins and transgressions of men against the Law and fulfill the sayings of the Prophets It is not barely said he should dye or suffer death but that he should 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accomplish his decease He should fully and compleatly suffer such a death as should make full satisfaction to the Law He should undergo the full penalty of the Law and make full payment of all the debts which the Law could charge upon his people To make this appear more clearly consider these particulars 1. That the Lord Iesus Christ was very God in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made The Son of God is called the word God the Father manifesting himself by the Son as a man maketh known his mind by his words or speech There is the coessential word of God and there is the declarative word of God the Son of God is the coessential word of God of the same essence with God the Father The declarative word of God is that which we have in the holy Scriptures So Christ prayed to his Father for his people Sanctifie them through thy Truth thy word is truth For this cause saith the Apostle thank we God without ceasing because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God which worketh effectually in you that believe These and the like places shew the folly of those who seem to hold that there is no other word of God but Christ whereas it is plain that the holy Ghost calleth the word written in the Scriptures and the word preached and taught according to the Scriptures the Word of God scil his declarative word but Christ is the coessential or co substantial word of God and here it iâ— said He was in the beginning declaring his eternity when the world and the creatures in it were made He was not made but he was from eternity before all things and accordingly he saith to his Father O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was that is from all eternity And the word was with God that sheweth the personal distinction betwixt the Father and the
the Curse of the Law but that was done without the least prejudice to the force and authority of the Law because himself did bear the Curse in his own person and so he did both save his people from the Curse of the Law and yet fully satisfie the Law but herein did Christ put an high degree of honour upon the Law that though he had made full satisfaction to the Law in behalf of his people yet he will have the Law to remain as a Directory and Rule of holiness and righteousness for those that are appointed heiâ—s of salvation He hath made the Law a Rule for the ordering of his Royal family of his spiritual Kingdom The Lord Christ hath exalted the Law to a great height of dignity in that himself being the Law-giver and having united Believers to himself by his spirit and ruling in their hearts by his grace yet requireth them to attend to the Law as the Rule by which they should regulate and order their hearts and wayes The use of this may be first to shew the errour of those who seem to deny the use of the Law for Believers in any kind as if they were to bring them in Bondage under a Covenant of works How usual is it with men to mistake the meaning of the holy Scripture and in special to take those things as absolutely meant which are to be understood only in some respect So in this case because the Scripture sheweth that Christians are not under the Law therefore they seem to say they have nothing to do with the Law and that the Law hath not any thing to do with them but though they are free from the Curse of the Law yet the Law is still of great use to them to guide them in such a course of holy obedience wherein they are to glorifie God and to walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing The Apostle I conceive speaketh of such licentious libertines and Antinomian teachers who when they speak great swelling words of vanity they allure through the lusts of the flesh through much wantonness those that were clean escaped from them that live in errour while they promise them liberty they themselves are yet servants of corruption for of whom a man is overcome of the same he is brought in bondage Is it not common with many to complain of bondage under the Law who on the other side remain in a miserable bondage under their lusts Secondly This may open the eyes of those self-deceivers who pretend faith in Christ as if their sins were pardoned through his satisfaction and their persons justified by his righteousness without the works of the Law and thereupon sin securely not caring to order their hearts and wayeâ— according to the Law nor to make it the rule of their lives The Apostle notably sheweth the folly of such for having proved that Believers are freely pardoned and justified by the righteousness of Christ without any consideration of their own works done in obedience to the Law insomuch that he saith Where sin abounded grace did much more abound whereas sin abounded in men the grace and free love of God did much more abound and gloriously manifest it self through Christ towards Believers in pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous thereupon he proposeth a question or Objection What shall I say then Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound as if some licentious person turning the grace of God into laciviousness should say if our best works be of no force or weight at all towards our justification on the one side and the grace of God on the other side be gloriously illustrated by occasion of our sins why should we fear to sin against the Law or be careful to walk according to that Rule The Apostle answereth by way of detestation God forbid or let it not be Let not so vile a thought enter into the heart of any Christian Secondly By way of confutation How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein know we not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were Baptized into his death therefore we are buried with him by Baptisme into his death that like as Christ was raised up from the deâ—d by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life as if he had said they that are justified by the righteousness of Christ applied by faith are by the same faith united unto Christ and therefore dead to sin as Christ died for sin and raised to newness of life as Christ rose from the dead the spirit of Christ thus manifesting the vertue of Christ his death and the power of his Resurrection in them and so leading them in the way of holy obedience according to the rule of the Law They therefore that fancy to themselves pardon of sin justification and salvation through faith in Christ and give up themselves to walk according to their own lusts and not according to the Law of God do highly dishonour Christ and delude their own souls for the Apostle Peter speaking of him And him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins The Lord Jesus Christ is exalted to be both a Prince and a Saviour to rule and to save as a Prince to give repentance whereby men and women are subjected to his government and to his holy Law and as a Saviour to procure for them forgiveness of sin and justification They then who would have their sins pardoned through Christ but not their souls subjected to the will and Law of Christ they would have but an half Christ they would have Christ the Saviour but not Christ the Prince and this is the way to have no Christ at all no portion nor interest in Christ. I beseech you therefore as you love your souls take heed of this soul deceiving fancy and as you desire Christ for your Saviour so obey Him as your Prince according to his holy Law which He hath established as a Rule of life for his People FINIS Texts of Scripture Explained occasionally 2 Thes. 2. 1 2 3. page 10. Rom. 7. 18. p. 16. Revel 8. 13. p. 50. 1 King 18. 40. p. 59. Mat. 13. 22 30. p. 61. Acts 7. 37. p. 83. Joh. 4. 19 20 21. p. 83. Gen. 22. 18. p. 91. Lev. 1. 4. p. 105. 2 King 3. 20. p. 108. Dan. 9. 21. p. 108. Heb. 10. 5 6 7. p. 115. 1 Cor. 9. 13 14. p. 119. 1 Cor. 10. 18. p. 126. 2 Cor. 2. 4. p. 147. 1 Cor. 6. 18 19. p. 148. Num. 23. 5. p. 158. Rom. 1. 19. p. 179. Rom. 5. 13 14. p. 188. Amos 2. 4 5. p. 191 192 193. Gal. 5. 4. p. 209. James 2. 24. p. 210. 1 John 3. 8. p. 227 c. Luke 9. 30 31. p. 233 234. John 1. 1 2 3. p. 234 235. Mat. 22. 35 to 40.