of a clean heart, or renew in him a right spirit. It will justify him from past sins, but cannot sanctify him, or make him holy, and therefore cannot make him happy; that cleanseth only from the guilt, not from the habits and dominion, of sin: And hence sanctification is only to be ascribed to the blood of Christ by way of motive and engagement, but to the Spirit of Christ as the efficient cause; and all those christian virtues which are comprised in it are styled, 'the fruits of the good Spirit.' Christ therefore, by his death alone, cannot be said to have procured that faith which purifies the heart,' or that repentance which renews the mind, the will, and the affections, but only to remove that guilt which doth obstruct God's favour to us in giving of his Holy Spirit to sanctify us, and give us strong encouragements and powerful motives to faith and repentance. What Christ doth further for us is not performed purely by his death for us on the cross, but by his intercession in the heavens for true penitent believers.

:

Lastly. This notion seems repugnant to the nature of faith, which is an assent to a divine testimony, and of repentance, which is a conversion of the will from sin to God. Now if Christ hath absolutely procured this faith and repentance for the elect, they cannot be conditions to be performed on their part, but to be given on God's part; for what Christ hath absolutely purchased for them by his death, God is obliged in equity to confer on them absolutely and so again, the new covenant, in respect of them, is not conditional but absolute. Moreover, either God gives this supposed purchase of faith and repentance to the elect by a peculiar, divine, and irresistible assistance, or only by such aid and grace as is common to them with others who are not elected. If by the latter only, then is there nothing purchased more for them than for others with them, because nothing more is given to them than what is common to them with others. If by an assistance which is peculiar to them and cannot be resisted by them, then are not any others to be charged with guilt for not repenting and believing, because it is impossible that they should do so without that special and irresistible assistance which God will not vouchsafe unto them: and so they do not believe and repent, not because they will not do what they could do, but because they cannot do it were they never so willing. Since then, upon this supposition, it is impossible they should believe and repent for

whom Christ never purchased faith and repentance, it cannot be their crime that they did not what it was impossible for them to do. In a word, faith being an assent to a divine testimony upon sufficient evidence, without which evidence we cannot assent to it; and when we have it, we cannot but assent; to say "this faith requires on God's part a special, divine, and irresistible assistance proper to the elect," is to excuse all others from believing, as having no sufficient evidence to do so, although the gospel is as well revealed to them as it is to the elect.

CHAP. I.

I. NOW this assertion, thus explained, hath this great advantage above the contrary doctrine which restrains the intended benefit of our Saviour's passion to the elect, that whereas there is not one word in the scripture declaring that our Lord died only for a few, or intimating that he died for the elect only, the scriptures are very many, clear, and express, which teach, that God would have all men to be saved; and that he is the Saviour of all men; being long-suffering towards them;" because he is not willing any should perish, but that all should come unto repentance, and by repentance to salvation; that the saving grace of God hath appeared to all men; teaching them, denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live righteously, soberly, and godly in this present world; expecting the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us; that as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life; that if he died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they who lived might not live to themselves, but to him that died for them;' that he gave himself a ransom for all," and by the grace of God tasted death for every man;'" in all which words this doctrine is contained in express terms. Now it is the doctrine of all Protestants, that the

k

scriptures are clear and easy to be understood in all things necessary to be believed: And yet if all these places do not confirm this doctrine, there is no reason so to say or think; there being not many articles of christian faith that are more clearly or expressly taught in scripture.

Moreover, according to that limitation which some men put upon these words, viz. "God will have all men to be saved; Christ died for all, because Christ died for some of all ranks and nations; and God is willing some of all kindred and people should be saved;" it may more truly and properly be said, (1.) that “God would have all men to be damned;" because, according to their doctrine, he hath already passed an act of preterition on the greatest part of men, which rendereth their damnation unavoidable. And, (2.) that "Christ died for none," since they for whom he died, according to their doctrine, are none, comparatively to that greater number for whom they say he died not. At least it might be reasonably expected that it should have been somewhere said by way of caution, or once affirmed to prevent mistakes in matters of this moment, that "Christ died not for all; whereas the Holy Ghost neither in terms nor substance hath ever used any expression of this import in the holy scripture; and therefore we may rationally presume, that he approved not the doctrine which makes them proper and almost necessary to be used.

OBJECTION FIRST. "It is said indeed that Christ 'gave his life a ransom for many; that he shed his blood for many, for the remission of sin; that as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous; and that Christ was once offered to take away the sins of many."

ANSWER FIRST. But that there is no inconsistence betwixt dying for many and for all, is evident from this consideration, that, even in the same chapter, the apostle saith, that by one sin of Adam many died, (Rom. v. 15.) and all died, (verse 12.) many were made sinners, (verse 19.) and all sinned, (verse 12.) and that, by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous, dixantai, shall be justified,' (verse 19.) and that by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life.' (verse 18.) That in the same epistle in which it is said, 'Christ bore the sins

a Matt. xx. 28. xxvi. 28.

b Rom. v. 19.

c Heb. ix. 28.

of many;' it is expressly said, he tasted death for every man.' That the same scripture which saith, Christ gave his life a ransom for many says also, that 'He gave himself a ransom for all.'s And lastly, that he who said, 'This is my blood shed for many, for the remission of sins,' said also, for that very reason, 1 Drink ye all of it;* for it was shed for you for the remission of sins." Since therefore all men certainly are many, though many are not recessarily all, since what is in some few places said of many, is not only in more but in the same places said of all; it is certain that Christ cannot be said to die for many exclusively of all, which only is to say he died for many in opposition to our assertion, but only that he died for many in a sense consistent with his dying for all men, and therefore in a sense agreeable to our assertion. And as the words of the prophet Daniel, that MANY shall arise from the dead, do not contradict the truth of those manifold assertions of the New Testament, that all men shall arise; and the words of the apostle, that in Adam MANY died, and MANY were made sinners,' do not thwart the words of the same apostle, saying, in the same place, that' in Adam ALL men died and were made sinners;' so neither can those words, 'Christ died for MANY,' contradict the truth of those more numerous expressions, that he died for ALL.'

I ANSWER (2.) that, as when the kindness designed, by Christ's death, to all, upon the conditions of the gospel, is expressed, it is said, 'Christ died for ALL;' so when the effect and benefit of it is expressed, the word MANY is most proper: For his blood shed procures remission of sins only to penitent believers, and in this sense Christ gave his life a ransom only for MANY,' even for as many as would believe and obey his gospel.

OBJECTION SECOND. "Christ is said to lay down his life 'for his sheep, (John x. 15.)for his friends, who do his commandments, (John xv. 13. 14.) for his church. (Eph. v. 25. 26.) But all are not his sheep, all are not of his church, all do not shew themselves his friends by their obedience; therefore he died not for all." ANSWER FIRST. In none of these places is it said that "Christ died ONLY for his sheep, for his friends, or for his church;" and

d Heb. ix. 28. ii. 2. e Matt. xx. 28. h Mark xiv. 23, 24.

f 1 Tim. ii. 6. g Matt. xxvi. 27. 28. Luke xxii. 20. 1 Cor. xi. 25.

therefore none of them say any thing in contradiction to our assertion. I therefore thus retort the argument,-He that died for his friends and for his enemies, died for all; but Christ died for his friends, and for his enemies, for when we were enemies, Christ died for us:" Ergo, he died for all. Again, he that died for the church of God, and for the unrighteous that he might bring them to the church of God, died for all; but Christ died for the church of God, and for the unrighteous that he might bring them to the church; 'for the just died for the unjust that he might bring us to God: Ergo, he died for all. Lastly, He that died for his sheep that heard his voice, and for the lost sheep that did not hearken to his voice, died for all; but Christ died for his sheep that heard his voice, and for his lost sheep; for he came to seek and to save that which was lost," even the sheep straying from him: Ergo, he died for all.

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ANSWER SECOND. Though it be certain that Christ died intentionally for all, that is, designing the benefits of his salutary passion for them, upon their performance of the conditions of the new covenant, established in his blood; yet is it also true that he eventually is the Saviour of his body, and died only for his sheep and friends, because they only do perform the conditions of the new covenant; and therefore to them only can this righteous Judge at last assign the blessings promised in that covenant.

II. But to omit the farther prosecution of this general consideration, by viewing all these texts apart it will be easy to discern in them many circumstances which plainly shew, that they cannot truly be interpreted in that restrained sense which others put upon them. For,

FIRST. When St. Paul declares, that as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, so by the righteousness of one, the free-gift came upon all men to justification,'' it seems apparent that the apostle is comparing the condemnation which was procured by the sin of Adam, with the free-gift of justification procured by the second Adam, as to the extent of persons concerned in both. For as 'by the one saith he, MANY died, and MANY were made sinners; so, by the other, MANY

/ Rom. v. 8.

m 1 Pet. iii. 18.

n Matt. xviii. 11, 12.

o Rom. v. 18.