The Foundation of God Standeth Sure, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. An Answer to W. Ps cavils against the Doctrine of Christs Satisfaction.
THe Apostle Peter telleth us, 2 Pet. 3. 16. Of some unlearned & unstable persons who wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction. W. P. hath plainly discovered himself to be such a one whom the Apostle doth speak of, as will appear in the review of the Scriptures he alledgeth against Christs satisfaction, wherein I shall shew how they are wrested by him.
Exod. 34. 6, 7. The Lord passed by, &c. proclaimed The Lord, the Lord God gracious and merciful, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin. If W. P. had read and considered, and believed the following words in the same 7. verse. And will by no means clear the guilty; the beames of Gods justice and holiness might have shined with such a lustre in his face, as that he should not have dared to offer such an affront and indignity thereunto, and incur the guilt which God there threatneth, he will not clear men of (without the supposition of a satisfaction to his offended justice) to set up his mercy and love as inconsistent herewith; and what blasphemy as well as absurdity is this to say, that God could not be gracious, should he exact the utmost farthing, when he is so much the more gracious unto men in exacting nothing from them, but taking his whole satisfaction at the hands of Christ, whom of free grace he sent into the World to dye, and hereby to satisfie his justice in their stead. God indeed proclaims himself to be gracious and merciful, whereby he declares what he is in his Son, whom he had before promised to give, and in whom alone all Nations of the Earth that ever should obtain his favour were to be blessed. 2 Chron. 32 9. If you turn again to the Lord, the Lord is gracious and merciful, &c. I deny the consequence from this Scripture, that Gods remission is grounded on Mens repentance, but his grace and mercy through Christ is the reason of his invitation of sinners to repent and turn unto him, as is evident from that Scripture, Eph. 1. 6. that we are made accepted only in the beloved, without whole satisfaction and intercession, the repentance and reformation of sinners would not in the least avail for remission and acceptation.
Neh. 9. 17. Thou art a God ready to pardon, &c. Isa. 55. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, &c. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, &c. Jer. 31. 34. I will forgive their iniquity. Mic. 7. 18. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, &c. These and the like places prove God to be gracious and merciful, ready to forgive, and that he hath engaged himself to do it: And who is there that denyeth all this? But where is the inconsistence between this and Christs satisfaction? Yea, where would have been the exercise of any grace and mercy towards us, if it had not been for Christs satisfaction? He hath promised to pardon sin in the new Covenant, but was not that Covenant ratifyed with the blood of Christ? and doth not the Apostle tell us plainly, Heb. 9. 22. That without shedding of blood there is no remission? So that our opinion, or rather belief is not strange, but his consequence is so; and his denyal of satisfaction doth destroy the design of the Covenant of grace (which cannot be of force without it) and not our asserting of it; And though God be exalted upon the Throne of his mercy to forgive sinners, that by faith are interested in the merits and satisfaction of his Son; yet W. P. and all Quakers and Socinians which deny Christs satisfaction, and thereby ipso facto, exclude themselves from all share in it, will finde at the length, that God is exalted upon the Throne of his judgment, to take vengeance upon them all, that will not be beholding to his Son to appease his wrath. Math. 6. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. From whence W. P. argueth, that which is forgiven is not payed. I answer, that which is forgiven is not payed by us, but it is payed by Christ, and it is free to us, though it cost Christ dear. He further argueth, that we are to forgive without satisfaction, and therefore God doth; I answer, that God doth forgive without satisfaction from us; and as those that do injure us, we ought to forgive them freely without satisfaction, because vengeance doth not belong to us, but unto the Lord, who in our room, as it were, will have satisfaction one way or other from them, and hath threatned to recompence every injury upon their heads; so the Lord doth freely forgive us, and yet so, as that still he doth preserve the honour of his justice in taking satisfaction from Christ.
Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, &c. This Scripture is nothing to W. Ps purpose, but strongly against his errour, because if we be saved only by faith in Christ, than it must need be in Christ, as a sacrifice for sin, as fulfilling the Law and bearing Gods wrath, and by consequence, as making satisfaction: I grant that Gods love of benevolence, or electing love is not the effect of Christs satisfaction, from whence it was that he sent his Son into the World for our salvation, but his love of complacency is the effect of Christs satisfaction, Math. 3. 17. He is well pleased with us only in Christ.
Rom. 8. 31, 32. Carrieth the same argument, and therefore may have the same answer, neither is it any absurdity to say that God should be at the charges of his own satisfaction. Job 33. 24. I have found a ransome.
Act. 10. 34. Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. This place is grosly wrested and perverted by W. P. since remission is through faith in Christ, called faith in his blood, Rom. 3. 25. And how in his blood, but as his blood is the price of our redemption? but W. P. calleth faith only a believing of his testimony; yea, he addeth obeying his precepts, as a concurring cause of remission, which is rank Popery, importing justification by works.
2 Cor. 5. 18. That God himself reconcileth sinners to himself by Christ is most true, and most strongly argueth against his errour, and for our cause; for how doth God reconcile us to himself by Christ, but by the blood of his Cross? Col. 1. 20. And what doth this import, but satisfaction by this blood, without which there is no reconciliation?
Eph. 1. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. This place is an invincible argument for Christs satisfaction, redemption through Christs blood on our part, clearly importing satisfaction through Christs blood on Gods part, and therefore this with other places, which W. P. mentioneth against the truth, do prove to be for the truth, and cut the throat of his own tenents, who most childishly (God infatuating of him) bringeth arguments to the destruction of his own cause. His arguing that grace is not justice, because forgiveness is according to the riches of Gods grace is very weak, for though grace be not formally justice, yet grace and justice are very well consistent, as Rom. 3. 24. Being justified freely by his grace, &c. vers. 25. To declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, vers. 26. That he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth. As God is just (in respect of Christ) he pardoneth them that believe, because of his satisfaction, though all be free grace in regard of us.
1 Pet. 5. 10. But the God of all grace that hath called us, &c. This hath the same consequence, as the other, and therefore needs no other answer.
1 Iob. 4. 9. In this was manisested the love of God, &c. I have granted it is out of love that God sent his Son, but it doth no way follow, that therefore his Son did not make satisfaction to his justice; and therefore though W. P. in enumerating some of the ends of Christs mission into the World, doth reach no higher than his setting him forth as a perfect example, which is the Socinian doctrine, yet the Scripture teacheth us otherwise, that the great end of Gods giving his Son, and Christs coming and laying down his life, was to purchase remission and salvation for us. Therefore though W. P. telleth us the Scripture is silent in reference to the doctrine of satisfaction, it is a sign his Eares are dull, and his Eyes closed, if he have not a conviction of this doctrine, undeniably proved from the Scripture; and it is not our asserting, but his denial of Satisfaction that doth reflect Indignity upon God, and is repugnant to the Nature, Conditions, and Tendency of the second Covenant.
The Absurdities and grosse consequences, as W. P. termeth them which follow from this Doctrine, do shew the absurdity and grossness of this mans Conceptions; to the first I have shewn the consistency of Grace and Satisfaction. To the second I have given an undeniable reason why man must in some cases forgive without Satisfaction, and God will not; but how absurd and Blasphemous is it (this supposed) to say man is more capable of extending mercy than God, when Gods mercy to us (which this satisfaction of Christ doth make way for the exercise of) is so great that all our mercies are Cruelties in comparison, and the Lord takes no more Satisfaction from those he extendeth his especial mercy unto, then we do which freely forgive private injuries. The third Absurdity (as he calleth it) in words we own it to be sound Doctrine, which appeareth to be gross to none but such whose reason is depraved, and therefore I am sure W. P. can have no right reason to refute this doctrine. He argueth, If Christ satisfied Gods justice, he did it either as God, or as Man; or as both God and Man. But he did it not as God, nor as Man, nor as both God and Man.
Therefore he hath not satisfied Gods justice at all. I shall not here argue against his conclusion, but deny his minor asserting, that Christ did satisfie Gods justice as God-man; and it doth not follow, if his proofe should be good that he could not do it alone as God, or alone as Man, that therefore he could not do it as God-Man; neither is it true, as be obscurely phraseth it, that where two middle positions are inconsistent with the nature of the end for which they are brought, their Conjunction doth rather augment than lessen the difficulty of their accomplishment. For as the Soul cannot see without the Body for want of an Organ, nor the Body cannot see without the Soul for want of a visive faculty, yet the man can see, and so both Soul and Body can do that in Conjunction which neither can do in Separation. Therefore though God separately cannot satisfie, (from a better reason than any he bringeth) because he cannot suffer, and man separately cannot satisfie, because the satisfaction would not be of Infinite value, yet as God-man he satisfied, the Manhood suffering, and the God-head putting a value upon it.
The consequences, which he further deduceth from this Doctrine of Satisfaction, he very fitly stileth irreligious and irrational; but I deny they are deducable from this Doctrine.
To the First, Who do ascribe more Grace and Mercy to God, then we who do apprehend it in his Son? How then do we say it is unlawful and impossible he should be gracious?
To the Second, What compaltion or force doth this Doctrine inser to be laid upon God in the exercise of his justice? when he doth exercise his justice freely, as he doth love his Image, in his people freely, yet both are necessary, because natural, and neither forced and compeld by any external Agent.
To the Third, What a wretched audacious sinner is this! to fasten unworthiness upon God, if he punished an innocent person, and required satisfaction where nothing was due; when the Son did voluntarily undertake to be our surety, and was punished as bearing our sins, and satisfied for us, and not himself; what unworthiness in God to change the persons, and put his Son to death to save us alive? Is it not unworthiness and abominable baseness in any of the Children of men, to open their mouths against God for this? And if it were unworthy to punish an Innocent person, and it is certain Christ was punished, if he were not punished for us to satisfie Gods justice, it will follow from W. P's words, that Christ should be a sinner (which is Blasphemy) and that he was punished for his on sins.
W. P's fourth Consequence is abominably false, and the contrary true, this Doctrine doth the best answer the real intent of Christ's Life and Death.
The fifth Consequence is as impious as unreasonable, when the Love and Compassion of the Father and the Son is alike; the one in sending, the other in coming to redeem lost Sinners.
The sixth Consequence is ridiculous, that Christs satisfaction should rob God of the gift of his Son for our Redemption; who seeth not (but some blind Moles) that our Doctrine doth ascribe God the greatest glory for this gift?
The seventh consequence is childish, and a shame that a man that pretendeth to any brains should mention it, That though Christ hath satisfied for us, the debt remaineth still to Christ, as if when one man dischargeth for another, the debt should still abide.
The eighth Consequence is so abominable, that it might make the Reader tremble and wonder, that a Worm, whom the Lord could easily crush, should open his mouth thus against the glorious Iehovah, as to say, that it Gods justice be satisfied by Christ, then Man is no ways beholding, or the least Obliged to God; as if we were not beholding to God for giving his Son, for accepting this Satisfaction, for giving us a share therein; are not we beholding to God for all, though Christ hath purchased all?
The ninth Consequence, that God should hereby lose all power of enjoyning Godliness, and punishing Disobedience, doth not in the least follow; for Godliness is enjoyned upon all, though not in order to the meriting Eternal Life, and God threatneth to punish the Disobedient, whom if they continue to the end in their Impenitency and Unbelief, he will punish eternally in Hell, notwithstanding this Satisfaction of Christ in which they have no share; but Believers that are interested herein, God, as he hath brought them out, so he hath engaged to keep them out of a course of Disobedience; and if they do transgres in some particulars, he hath threatned to chastise them, which is not inconsistent with Christ's satisfying his justice for their sins, since Chastisment is not an act of Vindicative Justice, but Fatherly Love.
W. P. concludes with a Caution, wherein he laboureth to perswade People, not to entertain this Principle concerning Christ's Satisfaction, which is in effect, to perswade them to cast off the Christian Religion, and turn Turks and Mahomitans; for what is there in the Christian Religion, if there be not Satisfaction by Christ, the Foundation of all other priviledges? Take away Christ's Satisfaction, and you take away Gods Favour, Remission of sin, Peace of Conscience, Immunity from the Curse and Condemnation of the Law; Take away Satisfaction, then the Word and Spirit and we are false Witnesses thereof; then is our preaching vain, and your Faith also is vain, then you are all yet in your sins, then you must all of you of necessity be damned and punished eternally. Take away Satisfaction, and you take away Christ; and you take away all. And therefore let not W. P. think to easily to perswade people to let go this Principle, which whosoever doth it, hath made Shipwrack of his Faith, and of necessity must fall into the Ocean of Gods Wrath, which none can escape without this Satisfaction.
And therefore I would here caution W. P. with more reason then he doth the people, and speak to him according to the Words of the Apostle Peter, to Simon Magus, Acts 8. 21. 22, 23. I perceive thou hast no part in this matter (namely Christ's Satisfaction which thou deniest) neither is thy heart right in the sight of God; but hereby evidently dost declare thy self to be in the Gall of Bitterness, and the bond of Iniquity; yet repent of thy wicked Blasphemies, and Abominable heretical Assertions, if perhaps the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee.