The New Birth, Treatise · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Shewing the reaſons of the point.
THree teſtimonies are plentifully ſufficient to confirme any diuine truth. But (becauſe it will helpe much to conceiue of the point of regeneration, that wee doe well vnderſtand the grounds of the impoſſibility of being ſaued without it); wee will therefore lay them downe alſo for further proofe of the point. Theſe are Reaſons. 4 in whole, or in chiefe, foure:
Firſt, the monſtrous filthineſſe of man in his firſt birth.
Secondly, the infinite purity and perfection of Gods nature.
Thirdly, the tenour of the couenant of grace, wherin the ſaluation of loſt mankind is promiſed.
Fourthly, the fruit and end of Chriſts death and obedience, whereby our ſaluation is deſerued. For the firſt of theſe reaſons. Man in his firſt birth,1. From mans naturall filthineſſe. (euen eueryevery particular man, woman, and child, Chriſt Ieſus alone excepted, who was therefore conceiued by the holy Ghoſt, that hee might eſcape that pollution) is conceiued in ſinne, and borne in wickedneſſe,Pſalm. 51. as Dauid ſpeaketh of himſelfe. Firſt, by imputation of the ſinne of our firſt parents, which is ours; becauſe they did it in each of our ſteads, in whom, each of vsus was then originally comprehended; and then by transfuſion (becauſe wee are branches of that bitter root), we are each of vsus become ſonnes of diſobedience, ſubiects to the God of this world, ſlaues to ſinne, captiues vnderunder the dominion and power of luſt, hauing our vnderſtandings darkened, and harts hardened: ſo that, we can neither conceiue, nor receiue the things of God; but are led of Satan, at his pleaſure, to doe his will, according as hee doth effectually worke in vsus. In a word, wee are enemies to God, heires of death, children of the diuell, dead in ſinnes and treſpaſſes, doing the luſts of the fleſh and of the minde, and by nature ſonnes of wrath and deſtruction, one as well as another. A man in the ſtate of corrupt nature, is nothing elſe but a filthy dunghill of all abominable vices: hee is a ſtinking rotten carrion, become altogether vnprofitable and good for nothing: his heart is the diuels ſtore-houſe, an heape of odious luſts; his tongue is a fountaine of curſing and bitterneſſe, and rotten communication; his hand is a miſchieuous inſtrument of filthineſſe, deceit, and violence; his eyes great thorowfares of luſt, pride, and vanity; his feet are ſwift engins, mouing ſtrongly to reuenge, wantonneſſe and lucre; his life a long chaine of ſinfull actions, eueryevery later linke being more wicked then the former: yea it is but (as it were) one continued web of wickedneſſe, ſpun out, and made vp, by the hands of the diuell and the fleſh, an euill ſpinner, and a worſe weauer. He brings into the world with him, the kernell of all impiety and iniuſtice, euen an aptneſſe and diſpoſition to all the fouleſt acts, that lie within the poſſibility of his naturall ſtrength and meanes to performe, either againſt the Lord, or againſt his neighbour; and an vtter vnaptneſſe and inability to doe any thing (that in the true iudgement and eſtimation of God, who onelyonly can iudge aright in this caſe), is, or may bee termed good, as anſwerable to his law. In his ſoule and body there lies the ſpawne of all wickedneſſe: of Atheiſme, of pride, of vnbeleefe, of hypocriſie, of rebellion, of impatiencie, of hatred and contempt of God, and of his word, of indeuotion, of prophanneſſe, of ambition, of wrath, of filthineſſe, of worldlineſſe, of arrogancie, of ſelfe-conceitedneſſe, of murthers, of whoredomes, of thefts, of periuries, and whatſoeuer thing beſides, is hatefull to God, and contrary to his moſt holy law. He is wholly darkneſſe, wholly fleſh, wholly and totally oppoſite to the liuing God; to whoſe law, hee neither is ſubiect, nor will, nor can be, till he be caſt into an other, and a fairer mould, by the working of his ſpirit. Such a thing as this (my brethren), euen iuſt ſuch a thing and none other, is a man, euen eueryevery man; ſuch an one am I, are you, are all, and each of all, the ſonnes of Adam, that hauehave been, are, or ſhall be, and that vniuerſally, without any exception, as witneſſeth the Prophet, ſaying,Pſal. 14. They are all gone out of the way, they are all become vnprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one. All theſe words, and more then all theſe, or all that can be ſpoken by vsus, falls farre ſhort, of a full deſcription of mans naturall ſinfulnes. For if the tongue it ſelfe (one poore and little member) may well be intitled,Iam. 3.6. (as it is intitled by the pen of S. Iames) a world of wickedneſſe; then alas, how many, and how great worlds of wickedneſſe, are included in this one little world of man? Now how ſhould ſo foule, ſo vncleane, ſo polluted a creature, ſet his foote within the portall of heauen? How ſhould ſuch an heape of helliſh luſts, and diuelliſh vices, bee receiued into that happie palace, and holy manſion place, of Saints, and Angels? What was the reaſon that the diuell could not tarie in heauen, hauing once been there? was it not becauſe he had infected himſelfe with ſinne? with which, ſeeing all mankinde are whollie poyſoned, and couered ouer from head to foote, being of their father the diuell, nothing elſe but euen little diuels, differing from the great ones, not in ſubſtance and parts of corruption, but alone in the degrees thereof, (as a childe of foure or fiue yeeres, from a man of thirtie or fortie): how can hee poſſibly finde any place in the kingdome of heauen? Thus therefore we conclude our reaſon: Sinne can hauehave no place, no dwelling, none intertainment in the kingdome of God. Man vnregenerate is nothing elſe, but a very compound, or bundle, of dirt and ſinne. Wherefore man vnregenerate, cannot poſſibly finde a place in heauen. And this is the firſt reaſon, from the ſinfulneſſe of mans nature.
Reaſon. 2 From the purity of Gods nature.The ſecond followes, taken from the puritie of Gods nature. The Lord is a God of pure eyes, and can abide none iniquitie, yea the wicked and the workers of iniquitie his ſoule hateth. Hee is as contrary to ſinne, as heate to colde, as light to darkneſſe, as any two contrarie things in the world can be imagined to be contrarie, and a great deale more too. For other things are contrary each to other alone in regard of their qualities. But the very nature, ſubſtance, and being of God, is contrary to ſinne. For ſinne is a taxie, diſorder, confuſion, a not being; and God is order, perfection, holineſſe, an abſolute, and a ſimple being. For holineſſe in God is not an accident, but his very eſſence is holineſſe, and he is after an inconceiueable and incomprehenſible manner, infinitly, and eſſentially, good, holy, and pure. Wherefore there can be no reconciliation, nor vnion, betwixt him and the ſinner, till the ſinfulnes of the ſinner be remoued, and the image of God be formed and imprinted in him a freſh. Euen as the poiſon of an Adder is contrary to the nature of a man, and the venome of a Toade extreamly oppoſite to his life: and therefore no force can compell, no wages hire, no Rhetorique perſwade, no perſwaſion induce him, to lodge a Toade, or Serpent, in his boſome; ſo is it impoſſible that the moſt holy, pure, righteous, perfect eſſence of God, ſhould admit into a ſocietie of grace and glorie with him, the impure, filthie, loathſome, toadlike, ſerpentine nature of man. For though the infinit perfection & excellencie of Gods nature be ſuch, that he cannot receiue any hurt or indamagemēt from ſin; as a man is hurt by the poyſon of a poyſonfull creature: yet ſtill withal, ſuch is his excellencie, and the infinitnes of his power and goodneſſe, that he cannot but remoue farre and farre from himſelfe, al things whatſoeuer that are contrary vntounto himſelfe. What fellowſhip can there be betwixt light & darkneſſe? God and wickedneſſe? How can things abſolutely and eſſentially contrary, be ioyned together in one? Seeing God is perfectly holy, and man (if we may vſe that epithite in this matter) perfectly ſinfull; either God muſt become ſinfull like to man, or man holy like to God, or elſe there can be no gratious vnion and communion betwixt man and God. Now to imagine that God ſhould become ſinfull, is the moſt blaſphemous and vtterly impoſſible imagination in all the world. Wherefore vnleſſe a man be made holy, (that is to ſay, be regenerate, or borne againe) he cannot ſee the kingdome of God.
In the third place let vsus peruſe the couenant of grace, Reaſon. 3 in which the Lord hath manifeſted his purpoſes of goodneſſe to the ſonnes of men,From the tenour of the couenant of grace. and we ſhall finde that it runneth along in theſe promiſes:Ezek. 36.26. I will giuegive you a new heart, and a new ſpirit will I put within you: I will take away the ſtony heart out of your bodies, and giuegive you an heart of fleſh. Hence it is eaſie to reaſon thus, Whoſoeuer is a ſtranger to the couenant of promiſe, is likewiſe a ſtranger from all happineſſe, and from eternall life. Now vntill a man be regenerate he is a ſtranger to that couenant. For why, that promiſeth in the firſt place a new heart, and a new ſpirit: wherefore it muſt needes follow, that vntill a man be regenerate, hee cannot be ſaued.
Laſtly, let vsus conſider the end of our Sauiour Chriſts Reaſon. 4 death and ſufferings:From the end of Chriſts death. was it only to purge vsus from the guilt of ſinne, and to ſaue vsus from the pit of hell? was it not alſo to redeeme vsus from this preſent euill world? that we being ſanctified by his truth, might auoid the corruptions that are in the world through luſt, and become a peculiar people vntounto him, zealous of good workes. Doubtleſſe had Chriſt gone about to ranſome vsus vponupon other termes, he muſt hauehave loſt his labour altogether. If Chriſt ſhould come, and dye, for one man, ten thouſand times; all thoſe deaths ſhould profit that one man nothing at all for his ſaluation, vnleſſe he be made a new creature. For the death of Chriſt, though it be of force to reconcile merciemercy and iuſtice in God, yet is not of force enough to make God vniuſt, or to diminiſh any whit his infinite righteouſneſſe; which ſhould be diminiſhed (yea annihilated), if he ſhould open the gates of heauen, to vnholy, vnſanctified, vnregenerate perſons: for then ſhould he be a louer of the wicked, then ſhould fooles dwel with him, then ſhould hee hauehave fellowſhip with the vnrighteous, and communion with the darkeſt darkneſſe. Whereas the Scripture ſaith that he is light,1 Iohn 1.5. and in him is no darknes; and that if we walke in darknes, and ſay, wee hauehave communion with him, we lie, and deale not truly. For al that are in heauen are loued of God, and hauehave communion with him. Wherefore ſuch admittance of ſuch men into heauen, can no more ſtand with Gods iuſtice, thē it can ſtand with a mans life to be caſt into the bottome of the ſea. For this cauſe, it was neuer the meaning, or intentiō of our Sauiour, to open heauen to any, but to thoſe whō he would ſanctifie, and by ſanctification bring to ſaluation. And ſo we conclude the point in this manner: Whoſoeuer is without Chriſt, cannot poſſibly come to heauen. For he is the way, the truth, and the life. EueryEvery vnregenerate man is without Chriſt, for all that are in him are new creatures, hauing crucified the fleſh, with the affections & luſts. Therefore no vnregenerate man, ſo continuing, can ſee the kingdome of God.