hear and lest they should not understand who he meant he tells them in the verse before my Text That it was that same Jesus which they had crucified that God had made Lord and Christ Now when they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles Men and Brethren what shall we do The benefit of preaching the Gospel Whence observe from the text That preaching and hearing the Gospel preached is a special means to convert Souls as appears when Peter preached and cleerly held forth that he whom they had crucified and slain was now to be Lord and Judge and exalted to that Dignity by God the Father When they heard this they were pricked in their Hearts What is the beginning of true Conversion In the second place We may observe from hence that true conversion begins with a prick in the heart Thirdly They when wrought upon and pricked in their hearts said to Peter and to the rest of the Apostles Men and Brethren what shall we do How they that begin to receive the saving light are affected both towards it them that hold it forth Whence in the third place observe That it is the disposition of such that have the beginning of saving light to desire more and that from them whom God hath spoken to their Souls by Obedience accompanieth true conversion Fourthly That which they do earnestly enquire after is what shall we do which respects obedience they believing Christ to be a Lord as well as a Saviour know that he must be submitted to therefore said they What shall we do Whence we observe That a true converted soul is an obedient Soul In verse 38. the answer of Peter to them is in these words Repent and be baptized every one of you from whence we do observe further All called to Repentance by the Gospel that where the Gospel is preached all men are called to repent Lastly Whosoever believes and repents ought to be baptized That it is the duty of every man that believes and repents to be baptized Now this last observation of the text is that which I shall at present speak to for the satisfaction of such Souls that may at present be doubtfull of this truth and for the confirming such souls as do already believe it Now for the better and more clear speaking to this point in hand I shall explain what this Ordinance of Baptism is And that in four things The Ordinance of Baptism explained which will more cleerly appear if we examine the Commission that Christ gives his Disciples in Mat. 28.19 20. where we find v. 16. that the eleven Disciples were sent by Christ who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him v. 18. v. 19. Christ saith Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you From whence you may observe four things contained in this Commission essential to this Ordinance of Baptism Here is first the Ministery The four Essentials of Baptism secondly the Form thirdly the Name into which and fourthly the Subjects First The Ministers that must dispense this Ordinance and that is preaching Disciples and so in the 16. verse are the eleven denominated then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee and Jesus in verse 18. came and spake unto them saying All power is given unto me in Heaven and Earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them Who a lawful Minister of Baptism Whence you may observe that the persons bid to go are Disciples enabled to teach the doctrine of the Gospel for the conversion of souls to faith and repentance for it is clear That they that are bid to teach are bid to baptize also so that from this Commission I gather that a disciple enabled to bring down God to a soul and to bring a soul again up to God is a lawful Minister of Baptism for that is the tenour of the New Covenant Heb. 8.10 I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people and I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine Canticles c. 3. so that as God in Christ is to be opened and that in all the fundamental Doctrines of faith for mans salvation so is the souls conformity to God to be preached as the souls duty to God again so that where God hath furnished a Minister with abilities from himself to declare the Doctrine of Faith and Repentance to conversion and having converted that soul is furnished with the knowledge of God to teach to this soul all the fundamental Ordinances according to the Commission which saith Teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you It is without doubt that this is a justifiable Minister sent from the Lord according to the Commission But though a man should be able to preach the doctrine of Faith and that ably for the conversion of souls unto that faith yet being destitute of the true knowledge of the doctrine of Baptism and how it ought to be dispensed to be sure this man is not a justifiable Minister according to the Commission because he is ignorant of his Commission that when he hath converted souls to the faith neither knows how to discover to these men the fundamental Ordinances of God neither can discover to them the evil of those superstitious practices which they have been nursed up in by the Traditions of their Fathers Yet notwithstanding I dare not say but so far as they have a gift they are warranted to administer the same from the first of Peter 4 10. who saith Let every one as he hath received the gift Minister and so it was lawful for any Christian man in that sense to administer such gifts which God hath bestowed on them But sure it is That these that are utterly unacquainted how to dispense the Ordinance of Baptism were never sent of God to dispense it That instead of dipping do sprinkle and instead of the true subject A Beleever dispense it upon a carnal ignorant child and instead of doing it into the Name of Father Son and Holy-Ghost do sprinkle them at the naming of so many words only The true form of Baptism In the second place the true form of Baptism is commanded of the Lord Jesus by way of dipping and as it were by drowning overwhelming or burying in Water and not by sprinkling with water as appears many waies First In that although there be frequent mention made of that appointment of Christ in his last Will and Testament yet it is never expressed in the word that may be rendred Rantism or Sprinkling but by the word that is rendred Baptism or Dipping Secondly In that the word by which it is so frequently expressed doth in proper English signify to Dip to plunge under water and as it were to drown them so
over into the River or water to hold forth That now he must resolve to take up the Cross of Christ and suffer and not only so but this being raised and delivered out of the water again by the hands of the Minister doth hold forth that so shall such believing souls be saved and delivered from all their afflictions as in Psal 34.17 Many are the Afflictions of the righteous but God shall deliver them out of all And that this doth sign or signify our salvation appears in 1 Pet. 3.21 the like figure wherunto Baptism doth now save us and Mark 16.16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved So that Baptism is to sign and confirm signally our Sufferings and Afflictions with Christ so Salvation or Deliverance from them all the one in dipping and plunging him in Water the other in Raising him out again Into whose name Baptism is administred The third thing that is essential in this Ordinance of Baptism which I shall speak to will be what is meant by name of Father Son and Holy Ghost The Command is That the Mininister must dip them into the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost the which the Lord Jesus commanding must be therefore essential to this Ordinance I shall therefore endeavour to shew you what is meant by name here That by which Father Son and Spirit are made known as a man is by his Name that is hereto be understood by the name Father Son and Holy Ghost we know the Gospel doth hold forth one God yet distinquished into Father Son and Holy Ghost the name here is to be understood that Gospel that doth so set forth God and describe him as the Subject Matter of our Faith Acts 9.15 But the Lord said unto Ananias Go thy way for he is a chosen Vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings and Children of Israel for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my names sake Now Name in this place and in the Commission is to be understood that heavenly mystery of the Gospel in which God is discovered and made known as a man by his name One part of the Gospel mystery consists of a Discovery of the name of the Father by which he is distinquishably made known from the Son and Spirit and that in these particulars First In ordaining the Son 1 Pet. 1.18 in choosing and electing the Son Isaiah 28.16 with 1 Pet. 2.5 in sending the Son Gal. 4.4 John 3.16 17 in sealing the Son John 6.27 in promising the Son Isaiah 9.6 in bruising the Son and putting him to grief Isaiah 53. and laying all our iniquities upon the Son and to justify and freely accept such as believe in the Son This I understand is the Name of the Father And by the Sons Name is to be understood that by which he makes known himself to the Sons and Daughters of men as to take Flesh Heb. 2.14 Rom. 9.5 1.3 He kept the Law in order to dy As that just one or as a Lamb without spot and his making his Soul an offering for sin as a perfect offering for the sins and transgressions of his people Heb. 10.12 14. Isa 53. and that he did not only dy for our Sins but rose again for our Justification Rom. 4.25 and ascended into Heaven and makes intercession for us Heb. 2.25 And pours down the Spirit and gives gifts unto men Zach. 12.10 Ephes 4.10 11 12. all this the Son makes himself known by as by a name distinguishably from the Father and the Spirit And in the last place the Spirit is made known in the Gospel as that which in the first place convinceth the world of sin John 16.8 and pricks men in their hearts with a sense of sin and the wrath of God due for sin Acts 2.37 29. And the work of the Spirit by which that is made known Is the revealing of the Father and the Son and those great Mysteries unto the soul of a poor convicted Sinner for as Christ saith the Spirit of God shall lead you into all truth it shall take of mine and shew it to you John 16. and so no man doth understand the things of a man but the Spirit of a man that is within him So none shall or can understand the things of God but by the Spirit of God for the Spirit of God searcheth out all things even the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2.9 10. The Spirit doth not only discover mans misery and his lost estate by reason of sin but discovers a remedy which lies in the great love of God in Christ as before mentioned and worketh in the heart true faith and repentance disposing the heart to obedience This is the proper work or office of the Spirit by which he is distinguishably known from the Father and the Son And now when the Soul shall come to the Preacher and make known to him that the Spirit hath experimentally made known unto him his lost and damnable estate by sin and that he same Spirit hath discovered unto him the great love of God the Father in the gift of Christ to be a propitiation for sin as one dying for the chief of Sinners and that the Spirit of God hath made known all this to him and hath wrought faith in his heart to believe it and hath changed his heart from a Course of sin to renewed obedience for no soul can declare to a Minister the true work of Conversion but he must in so doing discover his knowledge of the work of the Father Son and Spirit and into this doth the Minister baptize him as in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost And thus much for these three particulars In the fourth place The subâ—ect of Baptism we shall now come to the Subject that must be baptized and that as you have heard is one that is taught Teach all Nations baptizing them and as my Text saith Repent and be baptized every one of you which doth hold forth the person baptized to be a taught and repentant person But seeing the main thing in question hath alwaies seemed to be the Subject of Baptism who it is that is to be baptized this I shall therefore most insist upon wherein I shall endeavour to make plain to you first as I say that he is to be a believer a penitent person as appears Mark 16.16 Go preach the Gospel to every Creature he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved where observe That believing the Gospel is to go before baptizing and Matthew 28.19 Teach all Nations Faith and Repentance go before baptism baptizing or dipping them What them them that are taught or made Disciples by teaching and in my Text you find that Peter after Christ had poured down the Spirit upon them doth by that authority received from heaven when he had converted those Jews command every one of them to be baptized or dipped Repent and be baptized
undertaken to perform and to work in the Creature as further appears in Ezekiel 16. latter end For thus saith the Lord God I will even deal with thee as thou hast done which hast dispised the oath in breaking the Covenant Notwithstanding I will remember my covenant with thee in the day of thy youth and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant and as he saith afterward not by thy covenant but by my covenant so that which he calls thy covenant was that which they broke and therein dispised the Oath as he saith plainly holding forth that it was a covenant of works answerable to that in Nehemiah 10.29 They clave to their Brethren the Nobles and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in Gods Law which was given by Moses the servant of God In which case you may discern here was two covenants the one that God calls his covenant and another that was their covenant a covenant of works which they broke And likewise you have further the covenant of eternal life opened in Ezekiel 36.25 26 27. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthiness and from your Idols will I cleanse you A new heart also will I give you and a new Spirit will I put within you and I will take away the Stony heart out of your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and you shall keep my Judgements and do them Where you have as I said before this New covenant wholly lying on Gods part that he would first cleanse them from all their Idols and iniquities that he undertakes to give a new heart to take away the heart of Stone and to give them hearts of flesh And that he will give the soul his own Spirit and thereby came these to walk in his ways whom he calls to the obedience of his truth If they sin he binds himself to pardon their sins and to remember their sins and transgressions no more so that it is impossible that this covenant should be broke or that a soul shall ever miscarry that is once in this covenant as in respect of his everlasting estate And to this purpose David very eminently speaks in 2 Sam. 23. and 5. verse Although my house he not so with God yet he hath made with me an Everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow Where you have David setting out the Covenant of Grace and the mercies in it to be in all points perfect and sure And to this purpose the Prophet in the 55. of Isaiah and the third verse inviting souls and perswading them to come to Christ saith Incline your ear and come unto me Hear and and your souls shall live and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure mercies of David that is he will give a Soul those New Covenant mercies which are most sure no way depending upon any condition to be performed in the Creature but wholly upon the Lord as appears in Psalm 89.28 to the 37. ver My mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my Covenant shall stand fast with him his seed also will I make to endure for ever and his throne as the days of Heaven If his children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgements If they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments then will I visit their transgressions with the Rod and their iniquities with Stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing which is gone out of my lips Once have I sworn by my Holiness that I will not ly unto David His seed shall endure for ever His Throne as the â—un before me It shall be established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful Witness in Heaven Selah Now in these words you have the Covenant of eternal life made with Christ and his spiritual seed which David and his seed were types of which Covenant is a sure Covenant to all those to whom it is once made and to this doth the Author to the Hebrews allude when he saith in chap. 6.17 18. Wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his Counsel confirmed by an oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to ly we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Now in this Covenant before spoken to you have both the promise and oath here spoken of and here in this Covenant must needs be discovered the immutability of his Counsel because this is as David saith a covenant that is in all points perfect and sure and James in his Epistle alluding to these New covenant blessings or gifts saith Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning and that he doth here speak of the New covenant gifts doth appear in the next words he saith Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his Creatures Now consider well that in this covenant there is nothing that he requires but he ingageth himself to enable us to accomplish If he command to pray he promiseth to give his Spirit to help our infirmities If he command to walk in all his waies as you have heard he promiseth that he will put his Spirit in them to cause them to walk in his waies But some may object and say That we find the Gospel is held out upon Condition of Faith and Repentance Answer It is true Why though the Covenant of Grace be absolute yet the promises are held forth under a condition the promise of salvation and remission of Sin is held out with a condition to the world because it is Gods free mercy to work that condition in the hearts of his Elect by means of preaching and tendering of the Gospel and in them only But we are not to think that this grace of Faith and Repentance are any Qualifications that persons are to attain by their own abilities unto which the Gospel is tendred But in the new covenant the Lord undertakes to work the condition and to give the salvation tendred upon that condition also for saith he I will be unto you a God and you shall be unto me a people and in particular he saith He will put his Law in their hearts and in their minds will he write them and he will teach them to know him Now doubtless the Law of Faith and Repentance are here included according to those Scriptures Ephes 2.8 For by grace are you saved through Faith and
infatuated and had no ears to hear his plain word They of this opinion do defend the contrary to what purpose should any man seek the conversion of any of Believers children whether formerly of the nation of the Jews or now the nations of the believing Gentiles seeing they are born heirs of a covenant of eternal life and so are in as good a state without conversion and believing and being born again as any other soul by believing and by new birth can be brought into This doctrine tends to justify the Rebellious Jews against John Baptist and against Christ the Sadduces and Pharisees came to Johns Baptism Matthew 3. Saith John O ye Generation of Vipers who hath forwarned you to fly from the wrath to come bring for 〈◊〉 fruits meet for repentance and think not to say within your selves we have Abraham to our Father John you see would have this people to be converted to intitle them to this covenant of Grace and so to baptism which is an Ordinance of the same covenant and not so much as think so erroneously as if being children to Abraham according to the flesh should intitle them to the same therefore saith he think not within your selves we have Abraham to our Father and we are his children according to the flesh and therefore we need not a work of conversion or true Repentance to intitle us to the privileges of the covenant such as was baptism And also in John 8.31 and forwards saith Christ unto some Jews unto whom he spake If you abide in my words then are you my Disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free and then you shall be free indeed They answered him We be Abrahams children and never were in bondage to any How sayest thou then We shall be made free Where you may observe these wicked obstinate Jews were of the same opinion that they were in a state of happiness good enough by generation by being Abrahams seed according to the flesh Jesus answereth Who so committeth sin is the servant of sin and the Servant abideth not in the house for ever We find Christ afterwards tells these Sons of Abraham that they were so far from being the adopted sons of God in a covenant of life that they were of their Father the Devil and these same persons Christ speaks to in verse the 24. telling them Except they believed Christ was he they should dy in their sins Christ was far from this opinion as to think that covenant of Circumcision to be a covenant of life but he doth throughly reprehend them for this groundless confidence which error was the main obstacle that hindered the Jews from faith and repentance because they thought it intituled them to happiness enough to be of the stock of Abraham and to be born heirs of the covenant of Circumcision This very rotten opinion was to them one of the Devils sleights to lull them asleep in a carnal and unconverted condition they thought that needed not which thought of theirs had been true enough provided all the children of Abraham had by generation interest in the covenant of life which other men could have no interest in without regeneration But Christ you see presseth a necessity of conversion to these children of Abraham that at the present were as fully interessed in the covenant of Circumcision as Abraham himself even to Nicodemus which was a Ruler of the Jews Christ presseth a necessity thereof to him and also labours by a parable in Luke 16. to convince those sottish Jews that one might be the seed of Abraham according to the flesh and yet be irrecoverably damned and therefore he brings in the rich man in Hell speaking thus Father Abraham I pray thee send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue And Abraham is brought in owning him to be his Son speaking thus My Son remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things Where you may observe That the man in Hell irrecoverably damned owns Abraham to be his Father and Abraham also doth acknowledge him to be his Son My Son saith Abraham where you clearly see man may be a Son of Abraham and yet damned thou hadst thy good things in this life but Lazarus his evil things Ezekiel 18.9 10. where a just man is presupposed to beget a son that is a Robber and a Shedder of blood and that goes out in all manner of wickedness and that in Israel Wherein observe Abraham owns no other privilege belonged to the rich man by virtue of being the Son of Abraham but what was in this life or in this world Hell was his best portion in the world to come which if he had been born heir to the covenant of life how then could Abrahams affirmation have been true Beloved Let all ingenuous Spirits that are not willing to walk blind-fold consider how contrary to the whole tenor of the Gospel this opinion is and how destructive to this fundamental principle of the Gospel the necessity of Christ of Regeneration and destroys all sense of the necessity of conversion and helps to harden men to destruction as it did the blind Jews who as it appears were fully blinded in the receipt of that opinion that being Abrahams seed according to the flesh interessed them in happiness and eternal life Fourthly This opinion destroys the doctrine of the new covenant and the nature of it and the manner of Gods making of it with the soul for to make a new covenant with the soul is to write the Law of God in a mans heart and in his mind and to infuse saving knowledge and faith by which God unites the soul to himself and so pardons all his sins and without any condition considered in the creature binds over himself to be their God freely in Christ and binds over himself to own them to be his people And only thus and no otherwise is God said to make his new covenant with a poor soul Whereas this dream would seem to bear you in hand that a whole nation may be in a new covenant and have it made with them and yet have none of all this work wrought in their hearts Fifthly This opinion destroys the doctrine of Justification by faith in Christ only seeing that it doth hold out another way than by faith to come to Justification which is by carnal birth of beleeving parents for if a soul be admitted into a Covenant of life I hope you are not ignorant that Justification is a great privilege in the new covenant and really the portion of all that are in that covenant Sixthly This opinion destroys the Doctrine and foundation of all Gospel Churches where it is held which will appear by two things First It destroys the matter of the Church you know that this is a fundamental truth that the matter of the Church ought now under the Gospel to be Saints by calling 1 Cor. 1.2 Spiritual
you have delivered and many such things do you Now beloved this is the very sin of such as defend this tradition they thereby make void and frustrate the Commandment of God where Christ saith Repent and be baptized every one of you that is every one that repents and saith Annanias to Paul Arise now why tarriest thou and be baptized for the washing away of thy sins and Peter to Cornelius his family he there commands them to be baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Acts 10.48 Those and many more standing commands of the New Testament that belong to believers and penitent persons are frustrate and made void by christening children Thus poor souls are nursed up in a habit of disrespect and disobedience to these commandments because this invention takes the place and room of the same Do but consider how dangerous a sin this practice is it is setting up a superstitious invention in the room of Gods command in his worship Now God and his Commandments must not be separated for a soul that rightly sets up Gods Commandments sets up and exalts God and to set up any worship in the room of what is commanded of God is in effect to set up a false God Do but see what sad Witnesses God hath given from heaven against this sin in Leviticus chap. 10.1 2. where Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire to God as the text saith which he commanded not for which God burned them with fire from heaven the Lord doth not say which he had forbidden but which he commanded not Many souls ask where God hath forbid this practice of childrens baptism therefore I would prove by these Scriptures that things or persons in the worship of God in room of what God commands are abominable to God Hear how God doth threaten a people for this sin in Jerem. 9.13 14 15. And the Lord said Because they had forsaken my Law which I had set before them and have not obeyed my voice nor walked therein but have walked after the imagination of their own hearts therefore he saith in verse 15. He will give them to feed on Worm-wood and give them Water of Gall to drink and will consume them Now this is the very case of such as set up this tradition they forsake the Law of believers baptism set before them and have never obeyed his voice nor walked therein but have walked in childrens sprinkling which the imagination of their own hearts have devised This Text is very much applicable to such souls the like evil wicked Saul is said to do 1 Sam. 13.12 13. verses for which God rends the Kingdom from him and in Jeremy 8.9 The wisemen are dismayed and ashamed lo they have rejected the word of the Lord and what wisdom is in them therefore will I give their wives to others and their fields to them that shall inherit them And so in Jeremy 7.31 They have built the High places of Tophet which is in the valley of the Son of Hinnom to burn their Sons and Daughters in the fire which I commanded them not neither came it in my heart upon which he threatens destruction upon them And you see how God made a breach upon Vzzah for touching the Ark God not commanding him or giving him rule for such practice God having given a command to the Priests only to do that work but not to him So God hath given a command and example to baptize believers only and not children therefore it is the sin of Vzzah and likewise the sin of King Vzziah 2 Chron. 26.14 15. where you see the sad judgement of God upon Vzziah for doing that in the worship of God which God had not commanded in the room or stead of what he had commanded God struct him with Leprosie and that in his forehead and the hand of God prosecuted him as an admonition to persons that now dare adventure upon the like sinful practices to offer any thing to God as religious worship which he hath not commanded instead of what he hath commanded the Lord in this case sets out himself to be a jealous God that will visit the sins of the father upon the children to the third and fourth generation of such as make to themselves any graven Image that is any form by which we will worship God be sure it is of Gods own making for we must not make it to our selves the Lord doth call in Scripture such like worship which men do in the room of Gods commanded worship The Worship of Devils I shall give you one instance for this in Scripture as in Psalm 106.35 36. and they served their idols which were a snare unto them yea they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto Devils and the next verse expounding himself it is said they offered them unto the Idols of Canaan And in like maner do not men bring their Sons and their Daughters in this case and offer them to this invention of sprinkling You have for baptizing of believers the commandment of Christ and testimony of the infalible Pen-men and all men in the world owning the Scriptures to be the word of God to be of the Lords own institution but this practice of childrens sprinkling God hath raised up in all ages some that have professed Religion to witness against it and a great part of those that have the power of godlyness do renounce it as a sinful practice and that upon substantial grounds And me thinks when you consider that your Childrens sprinkling hath no command or example in the Gospel to confirm it and only such a consequence that flows from an error I hope such as fear God will take heed how they harden their hearts in the practice of so heinous a sin and in the neglect of so solemn a duty as the Ordinance of Dipping Believers in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost for is there any man able to declare from Scripture that ever any solemn Ordinance of standing use in the Church of the New Testament had for its institution any less than a command of God and a promise of blessing to the faithfull performance of the same But there is for childrens baptism neither command to institute nor any promise to bless but rather indeed the performers of that worship may expect a curse and not a blessing in the performance of the same as you have it in Psalm 99.8 Thou answerest them O Lord our God thou art a God that forgavest them though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions with Psal 106.29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions and the plague broke in upon them as it did in the 2 Chron 26.19 20 21. Then Uzziah was wroth and had a Censor in his hand to burn Incense and while he was wroth with the Priests the Leprosy rose up in his forehead before the Priests in the house of the Lord from besides the incense Altar and Azariah the chief Priest and all the rest of
When Paul had received the holy Ghost Annanias saith And now Paul why tarriest thou Arise and be baptized for the washing away of thy sins calling upon the name of the Lord. Observe that Annanias had an immediate extraordinary commission from Christ by vision to come with the message to Paul and Christ in a vision bids Paul go to Annanias and he should tell him what he should do and Annanias according to that Commission of Christ upon his being filled with the holy Ghost commands him to be baptized And this agrees with the Covenant of grace in Ezekiel 36.27 where the Lord saith I will put my Spirit in them and cause them to walk in my way and Ezek. 11.19 I will give them one heart and will put my Spirit within them and will take the stony heart out of their flesh and will give them an heart of flesh that they may walk in my Statutes and keep mine Ordinances to do them and they shall be my people and I will be their God Where you may see that God is so far from giving his Spirit to the end that souls should plead thereby freedom from the practice of those commanded Ordinances of Christ that on the contrary it is the end why God gives his Spirit to enable and to cause them to walk in his way and in his Ordinances and in particular baptism And observe the Apostles have not left us a bare example only that they did baptize after that Christ powred out the Holy Ghost and that by the authority received from heaven but doth command it as you have heard to all that repent and believe and to all that receive the holy Ghost to submit to it But again the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire that John foretold of it is clear was extraordinarily given upon an especial ground and reason fulfilled in Act. 2. The Holy Ghost falling down in fiery Cloven tongues in the sight and view of the bodily eyes which was that outward sign and that clear light and fervent zeal and love they had in uttering the wonderful things of God in variety of strange tongues was the inward thing signified So that herein the baptism of the Holy Ghost was an outward sign and an inward thing signified but there is now no man in the world hath this baptism only it is true that the Spirit in the saving gifts of faith repentance and the like is held to be essential to the Ordinance of Baptism of water and must be joined together with it without which it cannot be said to be an Ordinance of God there must be the inward grace as well as the outward sign This Baptism that the Apostle according to Christs Commission hath left a standing Command for cannot be Johns baptism his holding forth Christ to come baptizing them in that doctrine But in this we baptize persons in Christ already come and fully exhibited And though it may be objected that the Apostles practiced some things that were abolished as the circumcising of Timothy and the like We also say that as they practised it among the Jews so the Apostle Paul to the Gentiles saith if they be circumcised Christ should profit them nothing but they were faln from grace and we never find that circumcision was practised among the Gentiles that were void of all Religion before they taught them It is evident in the new Tastament that Circumcision is abolished as part of the Mosaical Covenant and yoke of bondage Gal. 5.1 2 3. but the case in baptism is clean otherwise Whereas you hear the Apostle did press Cornelius his family to be baptized who was a Gentile never acquainted with Johns baptism nor wedded to such a doctrine as that whereby we should think that Peter did baptize them to condiscend to that error or weakness in their minds Again he doth not only simply baptize them as a Liberty that might be done or not done but commands them to be baptized and so doth as you heard before he did in Acts 2. and it cannot be said that the Apostles commanded any duty to be done with a promise of blessing to the right performance of the same after the Holy Ghost came down upon them but it must needs be a solemn standing Ordinance of God that every soul upon pain of the guilt and rebellion against Christ his head and King ought to be subject unto But this of Baptism hath as aforesaid many standing Laws left in holy Record speaking to all that believe and repent promising remission of sins and salvation to the right performance of the same which proves it to be a standing Ordinance of the new Testament And truly with the same reason Souls may affirm that Christ ceaseth to be a Mediator as to hold the Law of dipping believers ceaseth so much and no less is affirmed by the Soul that saith the Ordinance of baptism is an expired Ordinance he may as well say Christ is expired and abolished as a a fleshly form as some have had the confidence to say For as in the time of Moses Ministration till there was a change of the Priesthood there could not be a change of the Law no more now except there be another Christ and Saviour come or another Priesthood instead of this Priest and Minister of the New Testament assure your selves there can be no change of this Law as in Heb. 7.12 18. Therefore such as pretend to profess Christ to be their Saviour that came of the seed of David and the same persons deny and slight this fundamental Ordinance of Baptism they do therein testify that they reject Christ in their heart as abolished and have got some pretended fancy-Christ instead of him It is utterly inconsistent with the Faith of the Gospel and with true Religion to hold baptism and the Supper two solemn Ordinances and Symboles of the new Covenant to be abolished for in Ephes 4. the Apostle pressing there a visible Church-union layes down the main things wherein that union consists called saith he by one hope of their calling one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism this one Baptism cannot be meant the Spirit because the Spirit is mentioned distinct but baptism here must needs be meant that standing solemn Ordinance of God commanded to every one that believes Now the Apostle pressing here a Church Union doth mention these particulars that are essential to a visi lâ— Church-union without which they could not walk together if not in these things agreed and where a people in all these particulars are one no other thing coming should make a breach of their union Object But some other souls will object and say That Believers baptism is an Ordinance of God and he thinks they do well that are drawn out to practise it by a power from God But saith the soul I want a divine power upon my heart drawing me out to the practice of the same and that is the let and hinderance in me Answ This objection
is grounded upon an error and a mistake taking for granted that a man may be a believer and in a state of grace and yet void of spiritual power to perform obedience to the Commands of God and that a man that is a Christian may know such a thing to be a Command of God and yet left without ability to perform obedience to the same I judge this is a dangerous error and contrary to Scripture For God doth at the very first conversion put his Law in the heart of his child as in Heb. 8.10 and as in Ezek. 36.26 27. God is said to put his Spirit in them to that end to cause them to walk in his waies therefore in some measure doubtless God doth give his people power to obey him as in Ezekiel 11.19 20. I will give them one heart and I will put a new Spirit within them and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and I will give them an heart of flesh that they may walk in my Statutes and keep my Ordinances and do them and they shall be my people and I will be their God Whence you may observe That Gods main drift in making his Covenant and giving his Spirit into the hearts of his people is that they may keep his Ordinances and be able to walk in his waies Therefore at the first Conversion of Paul God puts in him a disposition to obedience for saith he Lord what wouldst thou have me to do in Acts 9. and so in Acts 2.37 when they through the belief of Peters Sermon were pricked at the heart they cryed out Men and Brethren what shall we do So you see there was a disposition of heart in their first Conversion to be doing what God should command and teach them to be his will So we find God gives them power to submit as soon as his will was revealed for if not so we should lay an aspersion upon God that he should enter into a covenant with a Soul by way of engagement and yet neglect to make good his promise which is to put his Spirit in him and to cause him to walk in his waies And again further God gives to every believer the power of believing by virtue of which he is enabled to fetch virtue from Christ his head to strengthen him to duty and to resist sin therefore the Apostle thus reasons in the 2 Cor. 7.1 â— Dearly Beloved seeing you have these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God Whence observe the Apostle takes for granted the soul having great and precious promises and faith to draw virtue from them should thereby oppose sin and perfect holiness in the fear of God For though it is true God works to will and to do of his good pleasure yet it is constantly and unfailingly his good pleasure thus to work more or less in a soul that is in him thus by faith And a believer by faith ought to look at himself in a capacity to draw Water out of those Wells of salvation for else what difference between a child of God and a wicked man the form of godliness and the power if a child of God must be forced to live in a course of disobedience to the solemn worship of God for want of power to obey And by the same rule we must take for granted that a child of God may be in a state of Grace and want power to resist sin and upon this ground plead excuse for drunkenness and covetousness and theft or uncleanness and say though he is a believer yet he wants power to resist and conquer these sins Beloved thus for any to plead would be very absurd and contrary to the truth and the nature of a Christian in a state of grace And further observe the deceit lying in this objection Hath not God given thy soul power to hear the word of God and to read and to meditate and to pray and that some times earnestly and fervently to God and is it likely that there wants power to perform obedience to this Ordinance of baptism any more than thou doest perform prayer or other duties which require the same spiritual power upon due examination what enabling power is required in the one more than in the other Again consider thou dost in this walk by sense and not by faith contrary to the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. who saith We walk by faith not by sight it is a very childish thing in a Christian to walk by sense only when he feels strength and power sensibly then he thinks himself able to perform duty and resist sin but when he feels not ability and power then to neglect it Whereas contrary to this Christ saith to Paul in the 2 Cor. 12. My power shall be made perfect in your weakness my grace shall be sufficient for you and as after Paul expresseth himself When I am weak then am I strong When Paul was made most sensible of his own weakness in himself then was the time for Paul to be made most strong by Faith in the strength of another Therefore in Isaiah 45.24 In thee Lord have I righteousness and strength In him shall they boast And the Psalmist saith in Psalm 73 â—4 Though my heart fail and flesh fail yet God will never fail he is the strength of my life and my portion for ever So that when in a mans own sense his heart fails his flesh fails then is the only time for God strength to appear in his weakness this is the way of living by faith and the way which Gods believing children have been carryed therefore we find Jonah when in his own sense he was cast out of Gods sight then he resolved to look towards Gods holy Temple and cryed to God out of the belly of Hell as in Jonah 2. therefore surely this objection hath no weight in it Object But some other soul may say I grant the practice of baptism to be an Ordinance of God and the way of such Churches that walk under the baptism of believers to be that only justifiable practice in the Gospel and could willingly walk with them and be baptized were it not for their rigidness in that they will have no Communion with any though godly that are not baptized Answ To this I answer by way of distinction between Church-union and Communion and personal Union and Communion Now if we find a soul not baptized nor joined to any Church and happily ignorant of baptism yet if I have ground in my own heart to judge that soul to be godly and not an enemy to the truth and Gospel of Christ but a soul willing to hear and learn what truth God shall further reveal unto him and so having ground to judge such a soul to have union and personal communion with the Lord in such a case I ought to immitate the Lord in owning a Communion with such a Christian in
like manner as for Example Cornelius and his family having a personal union with the Lord and communion with him before Peter preached to him and he not being an obstinate professed enemy against any Law of Christ but contrarywise saying to Peter We are here to hear what soever is commanded thee of God Therefore the Spirit of God falling down upon them they spake with new tongues and glorified God and Peter and the six baptized Brethren being with them no question did join in Spirit and heart in that present Spiritual service which Cornelius and his family did perform to God they none of them at that interim of time being baptized nor convinced that baptism was an Ordinance of God For till Peter had consulted with the Brethren he did not press baptism upon them And therefore we find that he did instruct them after a consultation which he had with the Brethren saying How should we forbid water that these should not be baptized that have received the Holy Ghost as well as we And Paul in like manner between the time that Christ had converted him and his comming to Annanias prayed and we find God owns a personal Communion with him in that prayer for Christ speaking to Annanias saith That Paul was a chosen Vessel for behold he now prayeth manifesting that he owned Paul in that service Now he being in a teachable godly frame though ignorant of baptism in prayer God had Communion with him In like manner I judge from these Scripture examples it is lawful for a baptized person to have fellowship in prayer or speaking with any such soul which he is perswaded of to be godly and that is not a professed enemy to any command of God But God hath not as we find ever had any Church-union or Communion with any Soul that was unbaptized and it is clear that the Ordinance of the Supper is committed to a Church yea to a Ministerial Assembly gathered according to Christs Commission Mat. 28.19 20. where I understand the order there binding is this First the Ministers should teach the Nations or make them disciples by teaching and then the command is Baptizing them what them such that are made disciples by teaching Thirdly the Command is to teach them to observe whatsoever Christ hath commanded what them is here meant but such as are made disciples and baptized teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you and I will be with you to the end of the world that is he will be with a people first converted secondly baptized thirdly walking in the practical observation of all other administrations of Gods house as these eleven did and those they converted I say this his promise is to be with his people to the end of the World And this order is binding that as a Minister is commanded to baptize one made a Disciple and not any other so he is commanded to put them upon the practical observation of all his Laws and they only and till they are baptized they are not nor cannot be admitted into a visible Church to partake of the Supper of the Lord. And that this is the true meaning of Christ in the Commission appears by his Apostles Ministry and practice who by the infallible gifts of the holy Ghost were guided unfailingly thus to preach and practice as in Acts 2.37 38. with 41 and 42. verses First he teacheth them the Doctrine of Jesus Christ they hearing that were pricked at the heart and inquiring of Peter and the rest of the Apostles what they should do he saith Repent and be baptized every one of you See how he presseth the same order here as Christ doth in the Commission and afterwards in the 41. verse it is said So many as gladly received the word of God were baptized and the same day there was added to the Church about three thousand souls by Faith and Baptism and they continued in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship in breaking of Bread and prayer Therefore the way that Christ hath ordained is That souls should be joined or added to the Church by Faith and Baptism according to that word in 1 Cor. 12.13 We are all baptized by one Spirit into one body Now though the Spirit as the inward thing signified be here spoken of yet the outward sign is also included as might be by other Scriptures cleared Thus Cornelius his Family were converted then baptized before they were constituted a Church So the Gaolers and Lydia's and the Church of Samaria in Acts 8. were all gathered by faith and dipping And for a Minister to gather a Church any other way is to go not only in an untroden path but cross and point-blank contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Apostles therby slighting the Rules of Christ in the Commission by which the Apostles Doctrine and practice was guided and which all the Ministers of the Gospel ought to be guided by Why the Ordinance of Baptism is administred but once the Ordinance of the Lords Supper often But yet further the Ordinance of baptism is to confirm our Regeneration New birth and Union with Christ in his death burial and resurrection Rom. 6.3 4 5. with Col. 2.12 Tit. 3.5 and therfore is to be received but once as a man is to be regenerated but once and born but once and changed from death to life but once but that ordinance of God viz. the Supper is for Christians growth and increase of grace and of constant use to shew forth Christs death till he come and therefore to be received often Now it must needs be a profâ—nation of this ordinance of God to divert and cross the order and so the special intendment of God in them and that is to admit persons to that Ordinance which is principally for Christian growth before you have admitted them to that Ordinance which is for planting them into Christ signifying the confirmation or washing of Regeneration and the new birth and Union with Christ the true stock and root from whence all spiritual growth is to be expected Therefore Baptism must be the first Ordinance dispensed or administred after conversion before the Supper So that it would be a profanation of the Ordinances of God to divert their proper order end and use to which our holy and jealous God hath appointed them and it is a tender point for those that profess themselves friends to Christ the Bridegroom to be venturing to take his peculiar privilege or prerogative out of his hands as to order and dispose of his own order in his solemn worship contrary to his Commission I do judge such a man that hath not a tender conscience in such cases is in that much unlike Christ and shewes much carnality because as you have heard God will have the honor to direct his people both for the matter and manner of their worship and order of his house But again as you have heard before in Ephes 4.3 What things are essential
we ought to submit that those only who were Baptized were admitted into the fellowship of the Saints and to breaking of bread and therefore we upon these grounds may not admit any member in communion into the church of Christ but by baptism But some may object and say There are many godly souls that do think they are baptized already in their infancy And till they be convinced of that error cannot you have Church Communion with them To this I answer I dare not say but precious souls to God in these times as well as formerly may be in that point in darkness I do not censure the case of such But sure I am that if they judge their own baptism or sprinkling in their Infancy to be an Ordinance of God they cannot but judge it a duty still to practice the same upon their own Infants being faithful to their principle and then how can a church and true Ministry that judges dipping of believers a duty and the other to be a grievous and provoking sin admit such a person into Communion that resolves to live not only in the neglect of a Solemn duty but in a great and heinous sin in the judgement of that Church and Ministery that is to admit him which the justifying of his Baptism must needs be Wherfore hath Christ set up in his Gospel church his Ordinance of Excommunication or casting forth out of the Church if that persons may be admitted that are resolved to live in both a sin of omission and commission and such as have not repented of that sin of sprinkling children So then that person that lives impenitently in any one known sin known I mean to the Church if that Church have communion with that person in that sin the sin becomes the churches sin Obj. But he liveth in this sin through ignorance Answ That we presuppose or else the Scripture would â—end us little hopes of charity as to his good estate For to knnow a sin to be a sin and to live in it doubtless it cannot stand with grace therefore it is generally concluded that the contempt of any Ordinance of God is damnable but not the simple neglect of it being upon scruples or doubts of conscience unanswered but the church knows it to be a sin and therefore they are not to have communion with it Object But may some say I am afraid some persons do rest in Ordinances and place that in them which is due to Christ only which is some offence to me and hath kept me off from that practice Answ There is no sound ground for this objection from either our profession or practice for we do profess salvation justification and the spiritual welfare to be meerly of the grace of God in Christ and that by faith only and that our obedience to Christ ought to be performed from a principle of Regeneration and union with Christ by faith and answerable is our practice in that we dare not put any soul on obedience but from that root For before we baptize any soul we prove whether a true work of conversion be wrought in his heart or no and whether he have union with Christ and dare not admit children because that we judge that they have not a principle of Christ in them from whence they should submit to baptism And further let me say thaâ— it is easie for a soul to forbear resting in duties that doth not perform them But that which is worthy in a Christian is to walk as strictly in obedience to all the commands of God as though he would be saved by his obedience and to rest as fully upon Christ and his blood and the love of God therein revealed as if he had done nothing at all accounting himself an unprofitable servant And whereas you say you fear they rest in duties that fear and jealousie in you I fear is your sin and possibly may flow from that inbred enmity and prejudice that is apt to be in every mans heart against the pure waies of God Or else it proceeds from the malice of the Devil suggesting such thoughts into thy heart For thou entrest into the hearts of such people and judgest their very intents in this thy fear and jealousy and therefore beware of this snare But further suppose some souls should be so far left of God that walk in the practice of Ordinances as to rest in them is that a ground for thee to excuse thee to live in a sinful neglect of them In a word there can be no objection come into thy heart tending to hinder thee from this duty and to keep thee from thy obedience to thy Lord and King but it must needs be from the flesh or from the Devil and therefore beware of them Suppose thy judgement inclined to such a Latitude as that thou couldst have communion with unbaptized persons consider with a tender conscience what hath been said and I hope it may much satisfy thee in that objection But suppose thou shouldst not be satisfied with what hath been said but still judge that thy liberty thou canst not but say its clear in the new Testament and out of doubt that such believing and being baptized ought to have Church fellowship together with the practice of Ordinances and is that a justifiable argument to keep thee off from communion with such as out of doubt thou maiest according to rule have communion with and further that thou canst not but say is thy duty to have communion with The Commands of Christ must not be disputed Therefore I would in all tenderness admonish and warn all that fear God to be more conformable and observe the rules of Christ and not to harbour such a gross error in thy mind as to think thou mayst at thy pleasure dispute the commands and Ordinances of Christ The Apostle Paul in Gal. 1.16 saith He conferred not with flesh and blood but he presently obeyed the heavenly voice And Christ when God by his Spirit directed him to go to the Doctors in the Temple to hear them and ask them questions he without so much as acquainting his Father or Mother obeyed the Lord though to their great grief and trouble in going And then in Phil. 2.14 our obedience should be without murmuring repining or any more ado and Luke 5.5 Peter had been fishing all night and caught nothing therefore had little hopes to catch any fish yet saith he At thy word I will cast down my net he did not dispute the commands of Christ though his own experience and skill did utterly testify against what Christ had commanded as to sense that there could be no good effect produced yet at thy word saith he I will cast in my net As David in Psalm 119. I made hast to keep thy righteouss precepts for delaying of obedience doth harden the heart and give place to the tempter and therefore I would advice all godly souls to drink in this as a Maxim that if you find an express Law of Christ given to a believer that it is utterly unlawful to dispute or to question the practice of it upon any pretence whatsoever or to admit any objection against it For amongst men both in Civil and Military Authority they will not have their Laws disputed who may err greatly in making those Laws But our righteous God whose Laws be sure are just will not have his disputed and therefore as before when Christ bid Peter cast down his Net into the Sea saith he I have been all night and catched nothing yet notwithstanding at thy word I will cast down my net Where observe though what Christ commanded him his skill experience and reason might have strongly objected against yet he learned this that there could not be any justifyable ground to bear him out in disputing Christs Laws And thus you have an example in Abraham in sacrificing Isaac who was the promised seed And when God called him he followed God not knowing whether he went And Noah when he built an Ark for the saving of his house And Jacob upon the command of God carrying away his family three daies journey before Laban and the family knew of it There might have been much dispute against these things but these holy men of God had learned not to give place to the pride and rebellion of their unmortified reason and understanding which many souls for want of more grace and soundness of judgement give way to in our days but they did obey the word of Gods coÌ„mand without any more a do as the Apostles rule is Phil. â— 12 13 14 15. Wherefore my Beloved as you have alwaies obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure Do all thinks without murmurings and disputings that you may be blameless and harmless the Sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation amongst whom you shine as Lights in the world FINIS
unbelieving Jews the true fleshly seed of Abraham that the Apostle Paul affirms the contrary Acts 19.9 But when divers were hardened and believed not but spake evil of that way before the multitude he departed from them and Acts 13.45 46. But when the Jews saw the multitude they were filled with envy and spake against those things that were spoken by Paul contradicting and blaspheming then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you but seeing ye put it from you and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life Lo we turn to the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded us and v 50. the Iews stirred up the devout and honorable women and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas but they shook off the dust of their feet against them and therefore Paul is plain in Rom. 11. saying That God had a certain number that were of the eternal election among the Iews those obtained right to the remission of sins and the rest were blinded and hardened but it should seem to be the general understanding of those that urge this Text for a covenant in the flesh That if they were the seed of the Jews though they were not called nor did not believe but were hardned in their continuance in unbelief yet this promise of remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost belongs to them and this interpretation that this Text must have to defend a covenant in the flesh which I leave to any intelligent man to consider how greatly erroneous it is to affirm that the promise of the remission of sins belongs to the unbelieving and hardened children of the Iews that God hath nor nor doth call So that you may clearly see that the truth lyes in this text that the promise is to no more of Fathers nor children nor those afar off but such as God by his especial grace doth call to be the Sons of of God by faith An answer to that text 1 Cor. 7.14 Another Scripture made use of or rather abused and wrested to defend this error is 1 Cor. 7.14 The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctifyed by the believing husband else were your children unclean but now are they holy whence is gathered by those of that opinion that this holiness is as they call it a federal holiness of a covenant holiness that is to say God having taken the believing parent with the child into covenant with himself the child is in this sense holy that is covenant-holy Now for the better understanding this Text I pray consider how and in what sense God takes persons into Covenant with himself and that as you have heard is two waies either he takes souls to himself in a typical covenant so he took Israel to himself in that covenant and in that sense they may be said to be separated from the rest of the World which separation of them from the rest of the World to himself is a holiness that the carnal Iew was only partaker of such a typical and legal holiness that people being separated from all other nations in the world to God in this covenant now the word holy signifies so much as separating or setting apart and in this sense the Vessels of the Temple were holy as also the Priests being by Law set apart from the rest of Israel to offer the bread of their God Now in the 2d. place there is also a new covenant or a covenant of life that God takes a people to himself which is to write his Law in their hearts in their minds to sanctify thē to justify them Now this internal holiness which God as an effect of that Covenant infuseth into the heart is only this new Covenant-holiness for there is no other holiness that relates to the new Covenant when the heart and the inward man shall be purified through faith And when the whole heart and affections are by the powerful work of Gods grace separated from sin and those vanities below to heaven and heavenly things this is the only holiness that the covenant of eternal life conveys to souls The Hypocrite may have this in appearance but the elect and chosen have this only in truth he puts no difference between us and them purifying their hearts by faith and he hath by one offering for ever perfected them that are sanctified Heb. 10. this sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth goes alwaies together 2 Thes 2.13 Therefore it is impossible that this should be the meaning of the Text that all believers carnal seed are in a covenant of eternal life and so have their hearts purified and sanctified through the work of the Spirit and faith before they are born and in this sense are born holy I know no other sanctification the Scripture speaks of belonging to a covenant of grace and eternal life and for that external or typical holyness in an outward covenant it cannot be because that was abolished through Christs death as appears in Heb. 8.9 chapters therefore far be it from the Apostle to intend here the countenancing of any such erronious opinion as that every believers Child was by virtue of his first birth internally holy with that holiness of truth as the Apostle calls it Ephes 4.24 If you please therefore hearken to the true meaning of this text which is to this effect The Corinthians having sent several doubts and questions to the Apostle to resolve and answer as appears in the first verse of this chapter he answereth them particularly and it seems among the rest they had a Jewish question started grounded as we suppose upon Ezra 9. Deut. 7.2 where you find it was unlawful for a Jew to marry with a stranger therefore Ezra caused all those men that had taken them strange wives to put them away as not lawfully married because contrary and against the Law given to them therefore they were to put them away and the children born of them as illegitimate and unclean in an unlawful fellowship These Corinthians it seems did propound in writing to the Apostle this question whether such of them as had unbelieving husbands and wives yet reimaining in idolatry might lawfully abide with them in that fellowship in the marriage-bed and whether that fellowship were not unclean and unlawfull as in Ezra's time Unto this question the Apostle answers verse 12. To the rest speak I not the Lord. If any Brother hath a Wife that believeth not and she be pleased to dwell with thim let him not put her away and the woman which hath a husband which believeth not and if he be pleased to dwell with her let her not leave him But also might they say why is not our marriage fellowship unclean Therefore in ver 14. saith he The unbelieving wife is sanctifyed as the Geneva Translation hath it to the believing Husband or else were your children
and Hagar the covenant of Works both these women continued in Abrahams house together for a time the first child he begat by the strength of nature without faith in a promise of a bond-woman The other he begat by faith in a promise without strength of nature of a free-woman and the free-woman continued in Abrahams house with the bond-woman and her son without any Scruple till Isaac was born and also weaned And when the son of the bond-woman persecuted Isaac the free-woman testifyes against the bond-woman and her son and will have them no longer to abide in the house with her son Abraham likewise had first the free-woman and the last the bond-woman The free-woman was sometime barren in Abrahams house but the bond-woman was fruitfull Now the mystery that the Apostle hints to be held forth in this History is clear from which he speaks in this 4. of the Gallatians which must be this That God in like manner first made a covenant of Grace even as Abraham first had a free-woman which covenant in a great measure was barren bringing forth no seed or else totally barren as Sarah was in respect of that substantial seed Christ Jesus which Isaac typed forth as soon as God had made this covenant he in the same house or Church hath also a Hagar that is a Covenant of works in which God hath abundance of seed becoming his by strength of nature without faith in a promise and the Covenant of grace as Sarah in a sense becomes barren All which time the covenant of grace and covenant of works both agree very well to be in Gods house together but at the last as the free-woman brought forth Isaac so the covenant of Grace brings forth Christ Jesus without strength of nature by faith in a promise as in Matth. 1.21 Luke 1.35 and when this substantial seed is come then the covenant of grace and works remain in Gods Church together but afterwards when Christ the true Isaac was as it were weaned that is come to maturity so as to appear that he was now in the office of the Ministery the Scribes and Pharisees with the high Priests all the sons of Hagar the old covenant persecuted Christ and those in him Whereupon the free-woman or rather the free Covenant of grace doth testify that a covenant of Works with her seed shall no longger remain with her in the Church of God But now the free covenant and her sons that is the Covenant of grace only and her children born by faith in a promise onely must for a time forward remain in the house of God So that now rejoice thou barren that barest not the Covenant of grace becomes fruitfull having seed in all nations therefore the Apostle saith the Jerusalem which is above which is free is the Mother of us all and those us or we that were members of the primitive Church were born from above by faith in a promise Therefore it is plain from hence that there were no carnal babes in that Church But when Christ the true seed of the Covenant was persecuted by the Jews which were the children of the covenant of Works the Gospel doth plentifully testifie the abolishing the Covenant of Works and the casting forth of those bond-children out of Gods Church Acts 13.45 46. But when the Jews saw the multitude they were filled with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul contradicting and blaspheming Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you but seeing ye put it far from you and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life lo we turn to the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded us And as appears in the 11. chap. of the Romans and as that 4. chap. of Gall. in express words saith in the 25. verse this Hagar is meant Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Jerusalem that now is and is in bondage with her children this being so clear that the bond-woman and her son that is to say the covenant af works and all those related to Abraham only in a covenant of works are cast out of the house of God How opposite then is their opinion to the truth that still would have a fleshly generation to be in the house of God with their children But seeing the natural branches that truly were descended of the Line of faithfull Abraham might not have that honor How much less the unbelieving seed of the Gentiles that are wild by nature Thus you see in brief this objection answered and that there is no ground for childrens baptism but an imagination through thick darkness upon the minds of people they setting up this idol in their hearts God hath answered them accordingly as the Prophet speaks in Ezekiel 14.2 3 4 5. verses And the word of the Lord came unto me saying Son of man these men have set up their idols in their heart and put their stumbling block of their iniquity before their face should I be inquired of at all by them therefore speak unto them thus saith the Lord Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his Idols in his heart and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and commeth to the Prophet I the Lord will answer him that commeth according to the Multitude of his Idols that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart because they are all estranged from me through their Idols Where you see that when souls set up an idol in their heart God doth answer them according to their idol as he hath in this case suffering blind blindnes and uncertainty of judgment to befall them For such as defend childrens baptism and the ablest I have met with do grant they have no command or example in the New Testament for their practice but ground the same on a consequence which you have heard evidently proved is drawn from an error For to affirm or maintain that the covenant of eternal life is made with believers carnal seed is a dangerous error and therefore the consequence must needs be as false and rotten as that error from whence it is drawn then judge you what a pitiful consequence that must be Take the whole result thus Childrens baptism hath no ground from the word of God either Command or Example for it but a consequence as before so that it is meerly a tradition of men setting up in the place and room of the Commands of God to wit baptizing of Believers This groundless tradition which makes void the commandment of God even as the wicked Jews did in Mark 7.7 Howbeit in vain saith the Lord they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men and in verse 9. He said unto them Full well you reject or frustrate the commandments of God that you may keep your own Traditions and in verse 13. Make the word of God of none effect through your traditions which
to a Particular visible Church 4. there is by the Apostle mentioned these things that are essential to a particular visible Church-union which are these First to be all called into one hope of our calling which the poor children which some admit into their society by sprinkling are not called to the same hope that believers are called into Againe One Body one Spirit one Faith one Lord and one Baptism one God and Father of us all Now it is impossible that a people should walk together acceptably that have not one hope of one and the same glorious Inheritance and that have not one and the same Spirit and assistance and guideance in his holy worship and that have not one and the same faith but in the doctrine of faith do mainly differ one from another and it is an essential difference inconsistent with Communion that the members of one Church should own two Baptisms the sprinkling of Infants and dipping of Believers and this Ordinance of baptism is one of the essentials of a true visible Church And lastly they are to own one God and Father of all Here you have from this Text a ground why such as are not inlightned in the Lords baptism cannot be admitted into Church-fellowship because in one and the same Fellowship there is to be owned as one Hope one Spirit one Lord one Faith so one and the same Baptism Again the main end of Church fellowship is That they there do practice whatsoever Christ hath commanded as you have heard before in Mat. 28.20 and as Cornelius saith in Acts 10. We are here saith he to hear whatsoever it commanded thee of God and saith Christ Ye are my freinds if you do whatsoever I have commanded you And this is without doubt that the true and lawfull Ministry in Christs Church is to see that all the members practice the observation of whatsoever he hath commanded and so to see all the Laws of Christ put in execution For that cause hath Christ given into his Church not only the key of doctrine but also the key of Discipline that if any soul in a Church shall be known wittingly or willingly to neglect any duty that the Lord hath commanded by his holy word especially a fundamental Ordinance of the New Testament as is Baptism and the Supper of the Lord it is without all question that such a soul standing out in that disobedience ought to be cast out of the Church speedily for the same without which the Church allowing or conniving at or tolerating a â—oul in one course of known disobedieÌ„ce do therby make the sin their own the whole people becomming really guilty of his sin and impiety And as the Apostle saith Thus will the whole Lump be leavened and that Church unchurched Amongst men he that concealeth murther and is privy and consenting to it and will agree to tolerate it is reckoned a murtherer in like manner in the case of theft Now the main end of Church fellowship and Ministerial power is to destroy sin and to execute the power of Christ against it and not to be fosterers and Countenancers of sin which you are if you agree to admit any person into your fellowship that refuseth to submit to Baptism that plain solemn Ordinance of the New Testament let his pretence be what it will be that person that is not brought over to yield obedience to whatsoever Christ hath commanded is not while so disobedient fit matter for a visible Gospel Church especially in those his fundamental Ordinances as Prayer Hearing Baptism and the Supper of the Lord Thanksgiving Contribution to the necessity of the Saints and maintenance of an official Ministery according to the ability that God gives them and by the same rule and upon the same ground that you will tolerate some members in the Church to live in the neglect of baptism you must tolerate such as neglect to hear the word and others that will not according to abilitie contribute to pious charitable uses and others that will not pray in half a year or at twelve moneth together under the pretence they are not moved to that duty and others that will in a gross manner neglect the duty of particular callings or relations which the Apostle in Thessal 2. doth give rule to be withdrawn from which is as the rest but the neglect of duty nay this practice lays a foundation for all disobedience and for gathering an Assembly of Rebels let me alone in my sin and I will let thee alone in thine But may some say is a godly mans omitting to be baptized or dipped a sin Yes certainly it is for 1 Joh. 3.6 the Apostle saith sin is a transgression of the Law Now you have heard several Laws of the New Testament do command that such as believe and repent should be baptized therefore to neglect is a transgression of those Laws and sincere obedience is universal obedience by this saith David I know I shall not be ashamed when I have respect to all thy Commandments But further consider if you receive a person into Communion Unbaptized persons not to be admitted into Church fellowship that doth not submit to the Lords baptism that soul justifies still a corrupt baptism that he had in his infancy and consequently is not ashamed of all he hath done amiss which Ezekiel speaks of but still stands in fellowship and Communion with a Church and Ministry which by the Bishops power dispensed the same and you receiving such a soul into Communion receive that Church and Ministery from which he had his supposed baptism and must certainly own all those Churches which that Ministery stood in fellowship with that so baptized him therefore it is a sad and serious matter who it is that is admitted into fellowship in the true Church of Christ and I would admonish souls to be careful that they do what they do in good order for God it is said made a breach upon Vzzah because he did not do what he did in due order Object But some may say Faith in Christ brings a soul into Son-ship and so to a right in all the privileges in Gods house Answ It s true Faith and Repentance doth intitle a soul but repentance according to the Gospel is a change of the heart a resolution to obey God in all his Commandments such a Repentance only the Church of Christ ought to own in those Members they receive And therefore though they ought to receive the weak in faith yet they have no rule to receive them but by faith and baptism So that though faith gives an interest to baptism yet faith and baptism are to prepare and fit a soul for Communion So many as gladly received the word were baptized and the same day there were added to the Church about three thousand souls and they continued in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship in breaking of bread and prayer So here you see the word of Christ our Lord unto whom
that generation must needs be born heirs to if they were born heirs of a covenant of grace which if this should be asserted as it is by those who defend childrens baptism Then this fundamental point of Religion must needs be denyed that all mankind are by nature the children of wrath Ephes 2.2 and that all both Jews and Gentiles are charged under sin Rom. 3.9 And there is none righteous no not one But be it known to you this is a fundamental doctrine of truth generally acknowledged by all the godly That we are dead in sins and trespasses wherein in times past we walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh and of the mind and were children of wrath by nature as well as others Now the Apostle Paul affirmeth this to be equally the state of himself who was born in the Church of Israel as well as the Gentiles and David doth affirm this of all in general Psalm 14.2 3. which the Apostle Paul urgeth in Rom. 3.9 forwards speaking of himself and the rest of the National Churches of the Jews What are we saith he better than they meaning than the Gentiles No in no wise for we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin as it written there is none righteous no not one there is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God they are all gone out of the way they are together become abominable there is none that doth good no not one And in Psalm 51. David saith I was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity who was a child of the Church of God as it is usually termed But beloved this doctrine is clear in Scripture and clearly experienced by every Godly Christian which truth must needs be overthrown if the whole body of Israel were born adopted Sons and heirs of a covenant of eternal life born heirs of Justification then they were never heirs of wrath nor in a state of damnation nor never proved nor charged under sin nor never all unrighteous because born heirs of a covenant of Grace aad of righteousness nor never born dead in sins and trespasses for that is inconsistent with being in a covenant of grace and life This opinion of holding the covenant of grace to be intailed in the flesh opposing it self so directly against this forementioned foundation of Religion must needs be a gross error so considered The second fundamental point of Religion that this error opposeth it self against is stability in a covenant of eternal life it cannot be imagined that I should much insist upon proving this Doctrine of stability in grace to be a fundamental truth I shall take that for granted from the nature of the new covenant in several Scriptures before recited as in Psalm 125. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion which cannot be removed but as the Mountains are round about Jerusalem so shall the Lord be about them from this time forth and for ever And in Psal 89.33 If thy children sin I will afflict them with the rods of men but my loving kindness will I not utterly take from them nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth But taking this for granted to be a truth that all born in the Church of the Jews were born heirs of his stable Covenant and so were really and in truth in the covenant of grace then most of the Church of Israel that were in a covenant of grace were damned and not saved as Isaiah 10.22 23. Though Israel were as the sand of the Sea yet a Remnant of them were saved only And so Isaiah with Rom. 9.27 28 31. But Israel which followed after the Law of righteousness hath not obtained to the Law of righteousness Paul saith Rom. 11.5 There was a Remnant according to the election of grace and in verse 7. how they obtained it but the rest were hardened all but the remnant were blinded and hardened Therefore if such multitudes as the sand of the Sea were all really in a covenant of grace most of them must be understood to fall out of the covenant and so to fall out of the covenant of life This is another fundamental truth that this opinion is fully against defending that souls may be truly in a covenant of eternal life and yet perish and be damned The third foundation that this error overthrows is The necessity of Conversion or Regeneration which doctrine is eminently confirmed by Christ in the Gospel as a fundamental truth John 3.4 5. where Christ speaking to Nichodemus tells him th except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God And likewise in John 8.24 Except ye believe that I am he ye shall dy in your sins And John 3. two last verses He that believeth not the wrath of God abideth on him and he shall not see life The before mentioned errors that holds a covenant of life running in the flesh upon the carnal seed opposeth it self against this for might the carnal seed of Israel say to Christ why do you preach such a doctrine to us That except you be born again you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven We affirm the contrary seeing by the first birth we have an interest in the covenant of grace and eternal life already without believing and being born again and so are entered into the Kingdom of God and the privileges thereof Whereas you say That except you believe that I am he you shall dy in your sins why doth Christ pronounce death without believing seeing we are acquainted with another way to enter into life than the way of believing which is to be begotten of one of the church or a believer We find the Holy Ghost in the 1 John 5. saith He that hath Christ hath life he that hath not Christ hath not life No saith this error there were thousands that were interessed in life without having Christ that is to say by carnal generation Saith the Apostle There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved but by the name of Jesus Yea saith this error There is another name by which we may come into a covenant of eternal life and so to be saved so that here lies the case where Christ in the Gospel powerfully affirms no other way to life but by believing regeneration and coming to Jesus Christ This opinion destroys all these testimonies opening another door of entrance into the covenant of life besides this and that by fleshly generation though Christ saith to Nicodemus Joh. 3. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit as if souls were