The Sinners Sanctuary, Sermon 13
SERMON XIII.
Rom. 8.3.
—And for sin condemned sin in the flesh.
THE great and wonderful actions of great and excellent persons, must needs have …ome great ends answerable to them, wisdome will teach them not to do strange things, but for some rare purposes; for it were a folly and madness to do great things, to compass some small and petty end, as unsuitable as that a Mountain should travel to bring forth a Mouse. Truly we must conceive, that it must needs be some honourable and high business, that brought down so high and honourable a person from Heaven, as the Son of God; it must be something proportioned to his Majesty and his wisdom, and indeed so it is. There is a great Capital enemy against God in the world, that is, sin; this arch rebel, hath drawn man from his subordination to God, and sowen a perpetual discord and enmity between them, this hath conquered all mankind, and among the rest, even the elect and chosen of God, these whom God had in his eternal Council predes…inated to life and salvation; sin brings all in bondage, and exerciseth the most perfect tyranny over them, that can be imagined, makes men to serve all its imperious lusts, and then all the wages, is death, it binds them over to Judgment. Now this sedition and rebellion being arisen in the world, and one of the most noble creatures carried away in this revolt, from allegiance to the Divine Majesty; the most holy and wise Council of Heaven concludes to send the Kings Son, to compesce this rebellion, to reduce men again unto obedience, and to destroy that arch traitor, sin, which his nature most abho…s. And for this end the Son of the great King, Jesus Christ, came down into the world, to deliver captive man, and to condemn conquering sin. There is no object that God hath so pure and perfect displeasure at, as sin; therefore he sent to condemn that which he hates most, and perfectly he hates it, to condemn sin; and this is expressed as the errand of his coming, 1 Ioh. 3.5, 8. to destroy the works of the devil, all his wicked and hellish plots and contrivances against man, all that poyson of enmity and sin, that out of envy and malice he spued out upon man, and instilled into his nature, all these works of that Prince of Darkness, in enticing man from obedience to rebellion, and tyrannizing over him since, by the imperious laws of his own lusts; in a word, all that work that was contrived in hell, to bring poor man down to that same misery, with devils; all that, Christ the only begotten Son of the great King, came (for this noble businesse) to destroy it: That Tower which Satan was building up against Heaven, and had laid the foundation of it as low as hell, this was Christs business, down among men, to destroy that Babylon, that Tower of darkness and confusion, and to build up a Tower of light and life, to which Tower, sinners might come, and be safe, and by which, they might really ascend into Heaven. Some do▪ by these words, for sin, understand the occasion and reason of Christs coming, that it was, because sin had conquered the world, and subjected man to condemnation, therefore Jesus Christ came into the world, to conquer sin, and condemn it, that we might be free from condemnation by sin. And this was the special cause of his taking on flesh, if sin had not entered in the world, Christ had not come into it; and if sin had not erected a Throne in mans flesh, Christ had not taken on flesh, he had not come in the likenesse of sinful flesh: So that this may administer unto us abundant consolation. If this was the very cause of his coming, that which drew him down from that delightful and blessed bosome of the Father, then he will certainly do that which he came for; he cannot fail of his purpose, he cannot misse his end: he must condemn sin, and save sinners. And truly this is wonderful love, that he took sin only for his party, and came only for sin, or against sin, and not against poor sinners: He had no commission of the Father, but this, as himself declares, Ioh. 3.17. For, God sent not his Son into the world, to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. As one observes well, Christ would never have hinted at such a jealousie, or suggested such a thought to mens minds, had it not been in them before; but this we are naturally inclined unto, to think hard of God, and can hardly be perswaded of his love, when once we are perswaded of our enmity. Indeed the most part of the world fancy a perswasion of Gods love, and have not many jealousies of it, because they know not their own enmity against God, but let a man see himself indeed Gods enemy, and it is very hard to make him believe any other thing of God▪ but that he carries a hostile mind against him; and therefore Christ to take off this, perswades and assures us, that neither the Father nor he had any design upon poor sinners, nor any ambushm…nt ag…inst them, but mainly, if not, only, this was his purpose in sending, and Christs in coming, not against man, but against sin, not to condemn sinners, but to condemn sin, and save sinners. O blessed and unparallel'd love! that made such a real distinction between sin and sinners, who were so really one. Shall not we be content to have that wofull and accursed union with sin dissolved? Shall not we be willing to let sin be condemned in us, and to have our own souls saved? I beseech you, beloved in the Lord, do not think to maintain alwayes Christs enemy, that great traitor, against which he came from Heaven: Wonder that he doth not prosecute both, as enemies; but i… he will destroy the one, and save the other, O, let it be destroyed, not you; and so much the more, for that it will destroy you: Look to him, so iniquity shall not be your ruine, but he shall be the ruine of iniquity; but if you will not admit of such a division between you and your sins, take heed that you be not ete…nally undivided, that you have not one common lot for ever, that is, condemnation. Many would be saved, but they would be saved with sin too; Alace! that will condemn thee; as for sin, he hath proclaimed irreconciliable enmity against it, he hath no quarter to give it, he will never come in terms of composition with it, and all because it is his mortal enemy; therefore let sin be condemned, that thou may be saved. It cannot be saved with thee, but thou may be condemned with it.
The word, for sin, may be taken in another sense as fitly, a sacrifice for sin, so that the meaning is, Jesus Christ came to condemn and overthrow sin, in its plea against us, by a sacrifice for sin, that i…, by offering up his own body, or flesh. And thu…, you have the way and means how Christ conquered sin, and accomplished the business he was sent for. It was by offering a sac…fice for sin, to expiat wrath and to sati…fie justice: The sting and strength of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law, as the Apostle speaks it, 1 Cor. 15.55. we had two great enemies against us, two great tyrants over us, sin and death. Death had past upon all mankind, not only the miseries of this life, and temporal death had subjected …ll men, but the fear of an eternal death, of an everlasting separation from the blessed face of God, might have seized upon all, and subjected them to bondage, Heb. 2.15. But the strength and sting of that is sin, it is sin that arms death and hell against us; take away sin, and you take away the sting, the strength of death, it hath no force, or power to hurt man; but death being the wages due for sin, Rom. 6.23. all the certainty and efficacy in the wages, flowes from this work of darkness, sin. But, Now the strength of sin is the Law, this puts a poysonable and destructive vertue in the sting of sin, for it is the sentence of Gods Law, and the justice and righteousness of God that hath made so inseparable a connexion between sin and death; this gives sin a destroying and killing vertue. Justice arms it with power, and authority, to condemn man, so that there can be no freedom, no releasment from that condemnation, no eschewing that fatal sting of death, unless the sentence of Gods Law, which hath pronounced, thou shalt die, be repealed, and the justice of God be satisfied by a ransome. And this being done, the strength of sin is quite gone, and so the sting of death removed.
Now this had been impossible for man to do, these parties were too strong, for any created power; the strength of sin to condemn, may be called someway infinit, because it flows from the unchangeable law of the infinit justice of God; now what power could encounter that strength, except that which hath infinite sterngth too? Therefore, it behoved the Son of God, to come for this business, to condemn sin, and save the sinner. And being come, he yokes first with the very strength of sin, for he knew where its strangth did ly, and so did encounter, first of all, with that, even the justice of his Father, the hand writing of ordinances that was against us; for if once he can set them aside, as either vanquished, or satisfied, he hath little else to do. Now, he doth not take a violent way in this either, he doth it not with the strong hand, but deals wisely, and (to speak so with reverence) cunningly in it, he came under the Law, that he might redeem them who were under the Law, Gal. 4.4. force will not do it, the Law cannot be violented, justice cannot be compelled to forgo its right; therefore, our Lord Jesus chooseth, as it were, to compound with the Law, to submit unto it, he was made under the Law, he who was above the Law, being Law-giver in mount Sinai, Acts 7.38. Gal. 3.19. he cometh under the bond and tye of it, to fulfil it. I came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it, Mat. 5.17. he would not offer violence to the Law, to deliver sinners, contrary to the commination of it, or without satisfaction given unto it, for, that would reflect upon the wisdom and righteousness of the Father who gave the Law: But he doth it better, in an amicable way, by submission and obedience to all its demands, whatsoever it craved of the sinner, he fulfils that debt, he satisfies the bond, in his own person, by suffering; and fulfils all the Commandments by obedience: And thus, by subjection to the Law, he gets power over the Law, because his subjection takes away all its claim, and right over us; therefore, it is said, that he blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances, which was against us, by nailing it to his cross, and so took it out of the way, Col. 2.14. having fulfilled the bond, he cancell'd it, and so it stands in no force▪ either against him or us; thus, the strength of sin which is the Law, is removed, and by this means, sin is condemned in the flesh, by the suffering of his flesh, it is fallen from all it's plea against sinners; for, that upon which it did hang, viz. the sentence of the Law, is taken out of the way, so that it hath no apparent ground to fasten any accusation upon a poor sinner, that flees in to Jesus Christ, and no ground at all to condemn him, it is wholly disabled in that point; for, as the Philistines found where Sampsons strength lay, and cutted his hair, so Christ hath in his wisdom, found where the strength of sins plea, against man lay, and hath cutted off the hair of it, that is, the handwriting of ordinances which was against us.
This is that which hath been shadowed out, from the beginning of the world, by the types of Sacrifices and Ceremonies: All these offerings of Beasts, of Fowls, and such like, under the Law, held …orth this one sacrifice, that was offered in the fulness of time, to be a propitiation for the sins of the world; and something of this was used among the Gentils, before Christs coming, certainly by tradition from the Fathers, who have looked afar off to this day, when this sweet smelling sacrifice should be offered up to appease Heaven. And it is not without a sp…cial Providence, and worthy the remarking, that since the plenary and substantial One, was offered, the custom of sacrificing, hath ceased throughout the world; God, as it were, proclaiming to all men by this cessation of Sacrifices, as well as silence of Oracles, th…t the true atonement and propitiation is come already, and the true Prophet is come from Heaven, to reveal Gods mind unto the world. There were many ceremonies in sacrificing, observed, to hold out unto us the perfection of our atonement and propitiation: They laid their hands on the beast, who brought it, to signifie the imputation of our sins to Christ, that he who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And truly it is worth the observation, that even those sacrifices for sin, were called sin, and so the word is used promiscuously in Leviticus, to point out unto us, that Jesus Christ should make his soul sin, Isa. 53.10. that is, a sacrifice for sin, and he made sin for us, that is, a sacrifice for sin. When the blood was poured out (because without shedding of blood, no reconciliation, Heb. 10.) the Priest sprinkled it seven times before the Lord, to shadow out the perfection of that expiation for our sins, in the vertue and perpetuity thereof, Heb. 9.26. that he should appear to put away sin, by the sacrifice of himself; to put it away, as if it had never been, by taking it on him, and bearing it: And then the High Priest was to bring in of the blood into the holy place, and within the vail, and sprinkle the Mercy Seat, …o shew unto us, that the merit and efficacy of Christs blood, should enter into the highest Heavens, to appease the wrath of God. Our High Priest by his own blood hath entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, Heb. 9.12. And truly this is that sacrifice, which being offered without spot to God, pacifies all, ver. 14. Sin hath a cry, cryeth aloud for vengeance; this blood silenceth it, and composeth all to savour and mercy. It hath so sweet and fragrant a smell in Gods account, that it fills Heaven with the perfume of it. He is that true scape-goat, who notwithstanding that he did bear all the sins of his people, yet he did escape alive, albeit he behoved to make his soul a sacrifice for sin, and so die for it, yet by this means he hath condemned sin, by being condemned for sin, by this means he hath overcome death and the grave, by coming under the power of death, and so is now alive for ever, to improve his victory for our salvation; and by taking on our sin…, he hath fully abolished the power and plea of them, as the goat that was sent to the wilderness out of all mens sight, was not to be seen again. Truly this is the way how our sins are buried in the grave …f oblivion, and removed as a cloud, and cast into the depths of the Sea, and sent away as far as the East is from the West, that they may never come in judgment against us, to condemn us, because Christ by appeasing wrath, and satisfying Justice by the sacrifice of himself, hath overthrown them in judgment, and buried them in the grave with his own body.
You see then, my beloved, a solid ground of consolation against all our fears and sorrows, an answer to all the accusations of our sins, here is one for all, one above all. You would have particular answers to satisfie your particular doubts, you are alwayes seeking some satisfaction to your consciences besides this; but believe it, all that can be said besides this atonement and propitiation, is of no more vertue to purge your consciences, or satisfie your perplexed souls, then these repeated sacrifices of old were. Whatsoever you can pitch upon besides this, it is insufficient, and therefore you find a necessity of seeking some other grace or qualification to appease your consciences, even as they had need to multiply sacrifices; but now since this perfect and full propitiation is offered up for our sins, should not all these vain expiations of your own works, cease? Truly there is nothing can pacifie Heaven but this, and nothing can appease thy Conscience on earth, but this too. If you find any accusation against you, consider, Christ hath by a sacrifice for sin, condemned sin in his own flesh; the marks of the spear, of the nails, of the buffettings of his flesh, these are the tokens and pledges, that he encountered with the wrath due to your sins, and so hath cut off all the right that sin hath over you. If thou can unseignedly in the Lords sight, say, that it is thy souls desire to be delivered from sin, as well as wrath, thou would gladly flee from condemnation, th…n come to him who hath condemned sin, by suffering the condemnation of sin, that he might save these who desire to flee from it to him.