The Sinners Last Sentence, Chapter 35
CHAP. XXXV. Arguments againſt Omiſſions. Chriſt purchaſed poſitive as well as negative Holineſs, and our Priviledges oblige to both.
3. COnſider Chriſt died to purchaſe poſitive as well as negative godlineſs for men; and wilt thou diſappoint him of the Fruits of his Death? Indeed, if it had been poſſible for him to have bought mans deliverance from ſin, without the re-impreſſion of Gods Image on the Soul, he had been but half a Saviour, and made us at the moſt but half happy: But according to the Apoſtles phraſe, he ſaves perfectly, or to the utmoſt, upon all accounts, and in all reſpects, Heb. 7.25. and in order thereunto, bought man off from ſin, and unto the Service of God. He redeems us from ſin: We are redeemed, ſaith the Apoſtle, from our vain Converſation received by tradition from our Fathers. Not with corruptible things, as Silver and Gold, but with the precious blood of Chriſt, as of a Lamb without ſpot and blemiſh, 1 Pet. 1.17, 18, 19. He redeems alſo unto his own Service, Chap. 3. verſ. 18. of the ſame Epiſtle, He ſuffered, the Juſt for the Ʋnjuſt, to bring us to God. He died, that we might die to ſin; and he died, that we might live to God. He ſuffered, to bring us off from our curſed loathſome Luſts; and he ſuffered, to bring us to the Fear, and Love, and Service of the bleſſed and glorious Lord. We have both theſe ends of our Saviours Sufferings mention'd in Tit. 2.14. Who gave himſelf (his Death is called a giving himſelf, becauſe it was voluntary, and a freewill Offering) for us, (here is his Paſſion; but what ends had he in his eye? truly both theſe,) that he might redeem us from all Iniquity, (make us negatively religious, in freeing us from the bondage of ſin) and purifie unto himſelf a peculiar people zealous of good works; i. e. make them poſitively holy. None are purified without poſitive qualifications, and gracious habits in the Soul. To be purified unto himſelf, is to be thus qualified for the honour and ſervice of Chriſt. And to make it more plain, the Apoſtle tells us, To purifie unto himſelf a peculiar people, (a people that ſhall diſown all other Lords, and all other Work, and ſhall be his Servants, and do his Work only,) zealous of good works. He did not die only to make men good, and to enable men to do good; but alſo to cauſe them to do good with heat, and heart, and fervency of Spirit. Nay, it is evident, that to make men poſitively pious, was the main and principal end of his Paſſion; and that his delivering us from ſin, was only in order to this, to his adorning us with Sanctity. As a man cannot put on new Robes till he hath firſt put off his old Rags, ſo a man cannot put on the new man, the beautiful Image of the heavenly, till he hath put off the old man, the abominable Image of the earthly Adam, Luke 1.74, 75. We are delivered out of the hands of our Enemies, that we ſhould ſerve him in holineſs and righteouſneſs all the days of our lives. He plougheth up the fallow ground of the Heart, and kills the weeds of ſin, in order to the caſting in the ſeed of Grace into the Soul.
Now, Reader, conſider, if Chriſt died to purchaſe poſitive Holineſs for thee; what hope canſt thou have of an intereſt in his Death without it? Canſt thou think he bought one for thee without the other, or that thou mayſt be a partial ſharer in his Death? And what wilt thou do without an intereſt in his Sufferings? Except he waſh thee in his blood, thou haſt no part in him; and if thou haſt no part in him, thy part muſt be among Devils and damned Spirits. Again, wilt thou by thy Omiſſions deny and deprive Chriſt of that Service, which he hath bought ſo dearly? Alas, how little is it that thou art able to do for him, when thou doſt all thou canſt! And how much did that coſt him? what pangs and throws did he bear? what rage from men? what wrath from God? how did he wraſtle with the Frowns and Fury, with the Power and Policy of the World and Hell? And after all this, doſt thou grudge him that poor Service, for which he was hungry, and thirſty, and weary, and tempted, and betrayed, and crucified? Whether we live, ſaith the Apoſtle, we live to the Lord; whether we die, we die to the Lord: whether we live or die, we are the Lords. To this end Jeſus died and roſe again, that he might be Lord both of the Dead and Living, Rom. 14.7, 8. Thou wouldſt take it ill thy ſelf to be denied the Service of that, for which thou haſt ſo dearly paid. O think of it, when thou art guilty of Omiſſions in the matter or manner of Duties, I now rob Jeſus Chriſt of that which he bought with his moſt precious blood, and let him ſee the travail of his Soul upon thee, and be ſatisfied.
4. Conſider the Priviledges thou enjoyeſt call aloud upon thee to mind poſitive Holineſs, and to do good as well as to forbear evil. I am ſure thy Priviledges are poſitive, and ſo ſhould thy Piety be. What is the Goſpel but a Cabinet of precious Jewels, a River of living water, a Caſe of the richeſt and coſtlieſt Cordials, a Counterpart of Heavens eternal Court-Rolls, concerning the Philanthropy, or kindneſs of God to Mankind, wherein are all ſorts of bleſſings for Body and Soul in every condition treaſur'd up. The enjoyment of it is a ſpecial ſingular Priviledge, the Miniſtration of the Spirit, 2 Cor. 3.8, 9. The Miniſtration of Righteouſneſs far above the Legal Miniſtration. The Pſalmiſt tells us, The Laws God gave to the Iſraelites were a ſpecial diſtinguiſhing Mercy; He ſheweth his Word unto Jacob, his Statutes and his Judgments unto Iſrael: He hath not dealt ſo with every Nation; as for his Judgments they have not known them, Pſal. 147.19, 20. But his Goſpel-Diſpenſation is an higher and greater Favour. But what doth this Goſpel-Priviledge call for? ſurely poſitive as well as negative godlineſs. The Grace of God (the Goſpel is ſo called, becauſe it declares it to us, 2 Tim. 1.10. and intereſts us in it as an Inſtrument thereof, Rom. 1.16.) which bringeth Salvation, (which proclaimeth Life upon holy Conditions) teacheth us, that denying all ungodlineſs, and worldly luſts, (Commiſſions againſt the firſt and ſecond Table, but that is not all,) we ſhould live righteouſly, ſoberly, and godly (righteouſly towards men, ſoberly in relation to our ſelves, godly in the Duties that concern God,) in this preſent evil world. The Goſpel allows of Omiſſions no more than the Law, and is ſo far from indulging men in ſin, becauſe it hath mercy for the penitent Sinner, that it addeth ſtronger Obligations to Obedience, and threatneth more ſevere condemnation to the Diſobedient, 2 Cor. 5.15, 16. Heb. 10. Again, the Promiſes which have in their bowels all the good of Heaven and Earth, all the bleſſings of this Life and a better, which are as much worth as both worlds, 1 Tim. 4.8. which are exceeding great (in their quantity) and precious, (in their quality) 2 Pet. 1.4. and the peculiar portion of Gods own Children, Heb. 6.17. who are the only Heirs of them, and all others ſtrangers to them; and therefore miſerable, and in an hopeleſs and deſperate Condition. Theſe Promiſes are ſo far from excuſing or exempting from theſe poſitive Duties, that they engage us the more firmly to them, 2 Cor. 7.1. Having therefore, dearly beloved, theſe Promiſes, (that God will be our Father, and we ſhall be his Children, &c. Chap. 6. verſ. 18.) let us cleanſe our ſelves from all pollutions of Fleſh and Spirit, (but this is not all) and perfect holineſs in the fear of God. The Promiſes do not only bind to Purity, but alſo to Proficiency therein, till we come to perfection; And perfect holineſs in the fear of God. The Covenant of Grace, which is a Mine of unſearchable Riches, a Book wherein every leaf, nay every line ſpeaks Love and Life; which contains more mercy in it (even the boundleſs God) than Heaven and Earth are able to contain; this requires poſitive as well as negative holineſs, Deut. 26.17. nay it engageth for both, Ezek. 36.25. From all your Idols and from all your filthineſs will I cleanſe you: But more than this, 26, 27, verſes, I will take away your heart of ſtone, and give you a heart of fleſh. I will put my Spirit into you, and ye ſhall keep my Commandments, and do them. So that all theſe Priviledges are to no purpoſe, if we be not provoked by them to do good, and perform the Duties which are the Conditions of them. Reader, think of it, why ſhould God give thee Precepts, to direct thee about the matter and manner of performing thy Duties and Promiſes, to encourage thee to diligence and faithfulneſs therein, if thou mayſt live in the Omiſſion of them? Surely ſuch infinite coſt calls for ſome great care and conſcienciouſneſs in thy Converſation. Might not God by virtue of his Dominion over thee, as grand Proprietor of the Univerſe, have required this at thine hands? but when he is ſo gracious as to ſue to thee, and to allure thee, and ſeek to draw thee by ſuch Cords of love, wilt thou ſtand out and deny him? O bluſh for ſhame, that thou haſt neglected ſo long the wooings, and beſeechings, and intreaties of ſuch a glorious Goſpel, and ſuch precious Promiſes, and ſuch an ineſtimable Covenant! The greater the Charge God is at with thee, the greater ſhould be the Service thou doſt him. Where the ground is well dunged, and dreſſed, and watered, and manured, a greater Crop is expected by the Huſbandman. I muſt tell thee, Friend, that thou wilt one day find, That to whom much is given, of him much will be required, (Luke 12.48.) and that God expects Returns anſwerable to thy Receipts. Do not imagine, as ſome vainly have done, that the bare enjoyment of theſe Priviledges will ſave thee; I muſt tell thee, and that from Gods own mouth, they will be ſo far from it, that they will make Hell fire the hotter for thee, and much deepen thine eternal condemnation, Matth. 11.21, 22, 23. Jer. 7.3, 4. Amend your ways and yours doings, and truſt not in lying words, ſaying the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are theſe. Such Priviledges without poſitive holineſs do but uſher men to an hotter Hell.