One-Hundred Forty-Five Sermons Upon John 17, Sermon 39
SERMON XXXIX. Further ſheweth, How acceptable unto God it is to beleeve in Christ the Mediatour; And ſetteth forth the dangerous Nature of Truſting in our own Righteouſneſſe.
JOH. 17.8.
And they have known aſsuredly I came from thee, and have beleeved thou haſt ſent me.
WE are proſecuting this Evangelical Point, That Faith in Chriſt as a Mediatour is acceptable unto God as well as obedience to a command; That as love is the fullfilling of the Law, ſo Faith of the Goſpel: Several Reaſons have already been laid down, we now proceed to give you more.
1. Therefore Faith in Chriſt as a Mediatour is acceptable becauſe of the difficulty of and oppoſition to it; When we are ſeriouſly ſenſible of ſinne, yet to rely on the love of God in Chriſt is like Eſthers venturing into Ahaſhuerus his preſence, If I periſh, I periſh, or like the Lepers into their enemies the Syrians Camp; Thus ſaith the afflicted ſoul, If I lye deſpairing under the burthen of my ſin I am ſure to be undone, I cannot finde any hope within my ſelf, It's therefore venturing on Chriſt; It's good to go to him, I am like that woman of the bloudy Iſſue, that had ſpent all ſhe had on Phyſicians, but yet could not be cured; I have run to every refuge, tried every concluſion, but ſtill my ſoul cannot have any ſafe bottome to ſtand upon: Let me therefore by Faith fly to him as a Mediatour; In the midſt of theſe depths and agonies of heart to truſt in Chriſt is an high heroical diſpoſition, like that of Job, Though he kill me, I will truſt in him, Job 13.15. Like that of the Canaanitiſh woman, whoſe faith Chriſt ſo commended, Though ſhe were put off and called dog, and told the bread did not belong to her, Mat. 15.27. the promiſes of grace and pardon were not her due, yet for all that ſhe will hold upon Chriſt and not let him go; Oh then conſider that if thou like Peter wilt venture to go though upon the waters to him, here is a ſpecial diſcovery of the nobleneſſe of thy Faith; That thou regardeſt Gods command and his promiſe more then all Satans temptations, and the ſence or ſuggeſtions of thy own ſoul; As it is with love to God when God doth afflict and chaſtiſe us, yet to keep up a tender fervent love to God argueth the greatneſſe and purity of thy love, ſo in the midſt of broken bones and trouble for ſinne to depend upon the grace of God in Chriſt argueth the excellency of Faith; Our Saviour when he ſaid, Bleſſed are they that beleeve and ſee not, ſheweth, that he who beleeveth, Joh. 20 9. when he hath the leaſt prop of ſence and encouragement from outward things doth put forth the purer and nobler acts of Faith; Now for Abraham to beleeve though Sarahs womb was a dead womb, argued ſtronger Faith then if ſhe had been a fruitful woman; Thus the difficulty and oppoſition in ſuch temptations makes faith the more acceptable.
2, Faith in Chriſt muſt be as acceptable as Obedience, becauſe there is great Obedience in Faith; For although Faith in Chriſt doth not juſtifie us as it's an Obediential act, for then we ſhould be juſtified by a work, but as it's an Inſtrument receiving the Righteouſneſſe of Chriſt, an hand to take that inriching Treaſure, yet there is very great Obedience in every act of beleeving, go over the ſeveral acts of it, knowledge, aſſent, and fiduciall application, all theſe are therefore put forth by a beleever, becauſe God ſaith it; Hence it's called the Obedience of faith, Rom. 10.26. And we are ſaid to captivate our underſtandings herein, 2 Cor. 10.5. For a man in beleeving walketh not by ſence or humane reaſon, or principles of the world but the meer revealed will of God ſo that whether we regard the doctrine to be beleeved, or the promiſes to be embraced, we muſt conclude that faith is a ſpiritual Martyrdom; It's not reaſon but Gods Word moveth thee, as we told you in the Jews, They went about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſſe, and would not ſubmit themſelves to the Righteouſneſſe by Chriſt, Rom. 10.3. You ſee by that expreſſien how a man muſt be much humbled and captivated ere he can yield up himſelf to Chriſts Righteouſneſſe; Oh then think not that Faith is not an high degree of Obedience; It's a renouncing of all humane thoughts, apprehenſions, and whatſoever ſeeming worth or righteouſneſſe may be in us: Oh how deeply was Paul humbled ere Phil. 3. he would come to account all things dung and droſſe, and to be found not having his own righteouſneſſe, but that which is by Faith in Chriſt; So that although Faith as it is a work doth not juſtifie, yet it's a great work and that of pure and meer obedience; For whereas in all other moral duties, Love and Patience, there is ſome ingrafted notions within that convince of that; In beleeving there is nothing but the command of God and his promiſe, that inviteth to this duty.
3. Faith muſt needs be acceptable to God becauſe that only of all graces hath a relative fitneſſe to receive Chriſt and his benefits, Rom. 3.23. and in many other places, Remiſſion of ſinne, and ſo the Spirit of promiſe, and alſo Juſtification is ſtill ſaid to be by Faith, not by Love or Zeal, or any other grace, becauſe they are of an active nature, and go out to God, This of a paſſive nature, and receiveth Chriſt, ſo that the Scripture uſeth a peculiar phraſe to expreſſe the nature of Faith, making it a ſupernatural Inſtrument or organon to receive Chriſt, as the hand of all parts of the body taketh a Treaſure when given, and thereby a man is enriched: It's true it's not for the dignity or merit of Faith that we are juſtified, Therefore the Learned obſerve well, that it's never ſaid foreign but foreign, not for Faith as a cauſe, but by Faith as an Inſtrument, ſo that it's not properly Faith in Chriſt that juſtifieth, but Chriſt apprehended by Faith, as it is not the hand but the treaſure taken by the hand that enricheth, or as the Scripture excellently deſcribeth it; It was not the bare ſeeing of the brazen Serpent, or any excellency in the eye, but the brazen Serpent that did heal: Seeing that Faith hath that aptitude of all other graces to apply Chriſt, and God makes uſe of it, and appoints it for this end, no wonder if that be ſo well-pleaſing to him.
4. Faith in Chriſt as a Mediatour is well-pleaſing, becauſe by this we alſo are enabled to all obedience, to all duties of mortification and holineſſe, ſo that this Faith which receiveth Chriſt as a Mediatour▪ receiveth him in his fulneſſe of grace as an head, and thereby we have ſtrength and ability to every thing that is holy, Act. 15. purifying their hearts by Faith; That implieth both our Juſtification and our Sanctification; Hence we are ſaid to be in the Olive Tree, viz. Chriſt. and to receive of the fatneſſe thereof by Faith, Rom. 11. Thus all Beleevers they are branches in Chriſt the Vine, Joh. 15. So that you ſee there is great reaſon why Faith in Chriſt as a Mediatour ſhould be preſerved, becauſe that enableth to all lively and active Obedience, Heb. 11. You ſee it was Faith that put all thoſe Worthies upon ſuch notable Obedience; And when Chriſt praied for Peter, he praied that his Faith might not fail him, Luk. 22.32. why not his courage and boldneſſe, but becauſe Faith is the root of all; So that in Chriſtianity we by Faith in Chriſt come to be holy and then beleeve in Chriſt, Per fidem venitur ad opera, non per opera, ad fidem; Inſomuch that it's a groſſe miſtake in the people of God when they think to attain to ſuch a degree of Repentance and mortification, and then they would beleeve in Chriſt, whereas by Faith in Chriſt and coming to him they would have ſtrength to ſuch duties; Thou doſt as if the branch ſeparated from the Vine ſhould think thereby to grow and flouriſh.
5. Faith in Chriſt is ſo well pleaſing to Chriſt, becauſe that only will put us upon ſuch a life and converſation as is acceptable to him, which is joy and thankefulneſſe; It's very pleaſing to God that thoſe who are his would walk chearfully and thankfully, that all the world may ſee it's better to ſerve the Lord then ſinne; Hence you ſee the Pſalmiſt ſo often calling upon the Righteous, to rejoyce and be glad; yea, to ſhout for joy, and in the New Teſtament▪ Rejoyce, and again I ſay rejoyce; Hence it's called Joy unſpeakable and full of glory; And for thankfulneſſe we ſhould have our hearts and mouths filled with praiſes; Praiſe is comely for the upright, Pſa. 33.1. It is very fit, that he who is full of Gods love and his mercies ſhould alſo be full of Thankſ-giving, In all things give thanks, 1 Theſ. 5.18. So that you ſee joy and thankfulneſſe ſhould be the conſtant life of a Chriſtian, he cannot honour Chriſt or the Goſpel more, but how can theſe be unleſſe there be faith in Chriſt, Being juſtified by Faith we have peace with God, Rom. 5.1. where there is no peace, there is no joy, no thankfulneſſe, and indeed all thoſe bitrer briars and thorns which the godly have, ariſe from that bitter root of unbelief; Why is it that they go bowed down, and none ſeem farther from comfort and thankfulneſſe then they do, but becauſe they exerciſe not this faith in Chriſt; It's more pleaſing to God to be filled with heavenly joy, then tormenting doubts, and this joy is the daughter of faith; If then all theſe things be duely conſidered by the godly Convert he may be awakened, and wonder how he indulged himſelf in ſuch doubting, fearing, and unbeleeving thoughts, he may cry out, what glory have I rob'd Chriſt and the Goſpel of? What heretiques and Papiſts with their corrupt doctrines have done againſt Chriſt the ſame did my perplexing, inflaming fears do; I lived not as if I had received the Spirit of Adoption, but of bondage and fear: Thou wilt then finde the dark Cloud with Lightning and Thunder to paſſe away, and the clear Sunſhine to appear; Thou that waſt like the Diſciples afraid of Chriſt, as if he had been ſome formidable Spirit, wilt then know what Chriſt is, and how ready and willing to receive afflicted ſinners; Thou wilt then ſtand and wonder, how could I be ſo injurious by my low and narrow thoughts of Chriſt? Was it for a light matter that Chriſt ſhould leave all his heavenly glory and come to endure all that reproach and miſery for our ſakes.
But we proceed to ſome Uſes, And
Ʋſe 1 Firſt, Is Faith in Chriſt as a Mediatour ſo acceptable to God even above all Obedience, ſo that as he ſaid in ſome ſence he would have Obedience rather then Sacrifice, ſo may we ſay in ſome reſpects, He will have Faith rather then Obedience. Then let it inſtruct us in the hainous and dangerous nature of that cloſe, ſecret and unperceivable ſinne of truſting in our own Righteouſneſſe; Let there be no ſecret depending upon thy good heart, thy good life, thy good duties, for if contraries are known by contraries, then as faith renouncing all we are and have to be found in Chriſt is of ſo great acceptance; Then to rely upon any thing we do, to have inward reſtings upon our own actions is a ſinne highly offending God; We can hardly commit a ſinne worſe: The Publican in ſome reſpects is better then the Phariſee, as thoſe Diſeaſes which are quickly diſcerned are more curable then thoſe that are not diſcovered, Ille morbus vix eſt ſanabilis qui ſanitatem imitatur; Our Saviour found this untoward diſpoſition in the Phariſees, as that which was plainly their mortal diſeaſe, had not this beſotted and benummed them, they had ſooner ſet open the gates of their ſoul for the Prince of Glory to come; The Apoſtle makes this deſire and endeavour to ſet up their own Righteouſneſſe to be that which wholly undid them, and our Saviour himſelf looks upon this as the root of all bitterneſſe, and therefore laid the Axe to it, when he told them, They were ſuch as juſtified themſelves, but what was highly eſteemed amongst men was abomination before God, Luk 18. So that not only prophane and groſſe ſins, but the civil Phariſaical man who ſtands on his own bottome, and feeleth not the abſolute neceſſity of faith in Chriſt, is in a periſhing condition; And becauſe this undoeth thouſands as well as groſſe wickedneſſe, Let us ſee whether we can pierce the Scales of this Leviathan, whether we may remove this Mountain and throw it into the Sea of Repentance and humiliation; The greatneſſe therefore of this ſinne is ſeen in the unperceivableneſſe of it; A man may with … whole might truſt in himſelf, and yet think the clean contrary; Paul ſaid … alive once, he was at hearts eaſe, Rom 7. judged himſelf in a ſecure ſafe condition becauſe of his ſpiritual eſtate, but when his eyes were opened, and he awakened by grace, thoſe things that were once a gain and a priviledge he accounted dung and droſſe; But Paul while in that Phariſaical Righteouſneſſe was as ſenceleſs of any ſuch ſpiritual confidence in himſelf as any dead man of the greateſt burden upon him; Oh then what hopes have we to make ſuch men ſee the black dungeon they are in, and the curſed oppoſition they ſtand in to Chriſt; For the principium is loeſum, Chriſt came not to call the Righteous but ſinners to Repentance, Mat. 9.13. The Righteous are ſuch as the Phariſees who truſted in themſelves, thought all well with them, Now ſuch can never hunger and thirſt after Chriſt; They are full of themſelves, as they ſay in Philoſophy, the ſenſible Object put upon the ſence hinders all ſenſation, as in the eye or ear; Thus it is alſo in Divinity, our own Righteouſneſſe, our own good thoughts they cleave ſo cloſe to us, and ſo we are not able to put forth any ſpirituall ſence; But as even the Ethiopians think the flatteſt noſe and the blackeſt colour to be the beſt beauty, and the Perſians the contrary, and all becauſe that they are ſo; It's a National property, So it is here, becauſe our heart is ours, our works ours, our duties ours, therefore we think them good, and ſo put ſecret hopes therein, and though in this high bloudy ſinne, yet our Conſciences do not, cannot ſmite us, therefore fear Security more then all deſpair and trouble of Conſcience, for this is felt and diſcovered, and thereby the better prevented, but the other is a ſecret Impoſtume never manifeſting it ſelf but when immediatly killing.
2. As it is a ſecret ſinne hardly perceived, ſo it's a deep radicated one; It's our very nature and eſſence almoſt: You ſee by theſe many diſputes that Paul had againſt thoſe who would joyn the works of the Law with the Lord Chriſt, that it is not only imbred in us to put confidence in them, but even to pleade for it and to juſtifie this doctrine, and this was not only amongſt the unbelieving Jews, but even ſuch as did acknowledge Chriſt alſo; The danger therefore is, that when we can caſt away other ſinnes, yet this will cleave the faſter to us; The more we abſtain from iniquities, the more truſt we are apt to put in our ſelves; This our Saviour urged when he ſaid, unleſſe a man become like a little childe he cannot enter into the Kingdome of heaven, Mat. 18.4. And when he ſpake a Parable to this purpoſe, that when we had done all, we ſhould ſay, we were unprofitable Servants; Oh then take heed of this ſweet poiſon within thee; Do not ſay within thy heart Such and ſuch ſinnes I have left, I am none of the prophane ones of the world, I have a conſtant care about all holy duties, for if thy heart be hereby confident in theſe things, it is Idolatry; Though it be more ſubtle, yet he that fals down before a ſtock or ſtone and worſhipeth Idols is no greater an Idolater then thou art, for thou makeſt thy ſelf a Saviour, and ſaiſt of thy duties as they did of the golden Calf; Theſe are the Gods that brought thee out of Egypt.
3, This truſting in our own Righteouſneſſe and not in Chriſt ſolely is a Spirituall ſin; It's a ſickneſſe not of the body but of the ſoul, and ſo the greater ſinne; All ſinnes that are immediatly ſubjected in the ſoul, have the greater guilt and defilement, ceteris paribus, more then any bodily ſinnes; As the Schoolmens Rule is, The ſinnes of the Spirit are maioris reatus, but bodily ſinnes maioris infamiae, We ſee it in the Devils, Their ſinnes are wholly ſinnes of the Spirit, and are therefore called vnclean ſpirits, yet they are more ſinfull then men; Therefore they are called ſpirituall wickedneſſes in high places, Eph. 6. Though then theſe ſinnes of ſpirituall pride and ſecret confidence in our ſelves do not make a noiſe in the world, and bring reproach as bodily ſinnes doe, yet in other reſpects they may be of a crimſon colour … …loudy aggravation; They are a corruption of the beſt and choiceſt part …hin thee, and therefore look not only to outward but inward heart-ſins.
Laſtly, The grievouſneſſe of this ſinne doth appear in the immediate contrariety and oppoſition it hath to Chriſt and the Goſpel of grace; There is no ſinne doth ſo formally and immediatly reject Chriſt as a Mediatour, as this ſelffulneſſe and ſelf-righteouſneſſe, as we may ſee by our Saviour and the Phariſees; That which kept them from Chriſt was their ſelf-juſtification; They thought they had a Righteouſneſſe of their own which made our Saviour call them Bleſſed that did hunger and thirst after Righteouſneſſe, That were heavy laden and burthened; And indeed Reaſon will tell us that a falſe Righteouſneſſe ſet up againſt the true, is more dangerous then open and plain ſinnes, and Chriſt muſt needs be more jealous of ſuch a perſon; Seeing therefore that God requireth a Righteouſneſſe there muſt be a Righteouſneſſe procured, and this of Chriſts can onelyonly be ſatisfactory, it is an high ſinne to ſet up thy Abſalom King inſtead of this David; Thou doſt in effect ſay, All that Chriſt did it was needleſſe, it was in vain, for thou haſt a Righteouſneſſe of thy own works thou wilt truſt to, and never think to waſh thy ſelf from this ſinne, becauſe by thy words thou ſpeakeſt the clean contrary: There is none that profeſſeth Chriſt will groſly and palpably own his works for Juſtification, but there is an inward ſecret tickling of heart and confidence becauſe of them, ſo that God onelyonly can charge this ſinne upon men, for he knoweth and trieth the hearts and reins of men: But thus you will ſay, If this Self-righteouſneſſe and truſting in what we doe be in ſome ſence worſe then all the groſſe ſinnes that are committed, how ſhould we become convinced of it, and ſo forſake it? Oh that we could tell how to get this Ivy from cleaving thus to us, leſt it conſume all that is within us: Now the ready and onelyonly way for a man to be driven out of this ſelf-righteouſneſſe is,
Firſt, Seriouſly convince and inform thy Judgement of that Originall pollution which cleaveth to thee as ſoon as ever thou haſt a Being: Remember thoſe place In iniquity did my Mother conceive me, Pſal. 51. The Imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are onelyonly evil, and that continuly, Gen. 6. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? We are by nature the Children of wrath, Epheſ. 2.3. Oh the true apprehenſion of this loathſome contagion will quickly make us cry out of our ſelves and any thing that is ours.
Secondly, Remember the purity and perfection of the Law, what it is that requireth even the perfect actings of all grace, ſo that if there be wanting but one duty, yea, one degree of grace; The Law rejects all, and curſeth all: There is no way but Hell and eternal damnation; N… the knowledge of this muſt needs make a man cry out of himſelf becauſe he fails in all things.
Thirdly, Conſider the examples of thoſe that have been moſt holy and godly, how ſtill they would go out of themſelves; They would not have their own life to be the Rule to be juſtified by: David that is ſo highly commended, and who breaths out ſuch divine affections to God, … ſaith, If thou enter into Judgement with thy Servant who can be Juſtified: Pſal. 133. Oh it's not for us to ſtand upon our works and duties, when God cals to account, and Job, Though he pleade… his Integrity, yet he humbled himſelf under his imperfections comparatively to God: Paul likewiſe would not be found in his own Righteouſneſſe; It would be ſhame to … …d guilt to him to be found ſo.
Fourthly, The reliques and remainders of corruption ſtill cleave to us; Though we be waſhed yet ſtill we need our feet ſhould be waſhed; Thus Paul Rom. 7. and Gal. 6. Seeing therefore in every duty there is ſuch a combat and conſtict between grace and ſinne; There is droſſe as well as Gold; It behoveth us to renounce all, and to ſay, Only Chriſt, Only Chriſt.