A Treatise of Conversion, Chapter 1 · Section 11
SECT. XI.
3. THe third part of the Work of Conversion on the Will, is this, The same Spirit in the Word which changeth a mans Ends, doth also change him as to the choise of means, and causes him to choose what before he refused, and to consent to that which before he did Reject. Heaven is not obtained in every way, but in Gods own way, and if a man should never so much Intend God as his End, and yet not seek him in the means of his appointment (though I think there is none that doth so, or that ever these Indeed are separated, yet I say if such a thing were) it would not save him. It is not enough to know where we must be happy, but we must also know how to come thither. There is but one right way to Salvation in the main; and he that will be saved, must be sure to hit it.
1. There are two sorts of means or ways to Salvation, not contrary, but one subordinate to the other, but one is the chief and Principal way, and that is Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost: the other is the subservient way, and that is the means that Christ hath appointed under himself. When man was lost, there was no remedy for him in heaven or earth, but the Everliving Son of God to come down from heaven, and take our Nature, and perfectly …bey the Law, and suffer for our Disobedience; this he did in Compassion to mankind: He was born of a Virgin, without man, and without sin, by the power of the Holy Ghost. He lived on Earth without sin also, and proved his God-head and Doctrine by his Works; he raised the dead, healed the lame, the blind, the sick, and at last offered himself on the Cross a Sacrifice for our sins, in suffering that which we must else have suffered; and being buried, he rose again the third day, and after forty days in the sight of his Disciples; ascended into heaven, where he is now in our Nature Interceding for us, and preparing us a place: and before he departed from earth, he ordained this Law, and sent his Disciples to Preach it to all the world; that all they that would Renounce their own works, and trust their souls upon his Redemption and ransom, and forsake the world, the flesh, and the devil, and take him for their only Lord and Saviour, and so return to God himself, shall Receive the pardon of all their sin, and be made the heirs of Everlasting Glory: and he hath promised also to send his Sanctifying Spirit to dwell and work in those that Believe: thus you see what is the principle means of Savlation: It is the Lord Jesus Christ, who having suffered for us, is offered to us in the Gospel, to be our head and husband, our Saviour and our Lord.
Two things are here of absolute necessity to our Salvation; the one is, to believe unfeignedly that Christ is the Messiah and Redeemer of the world: and the second is, to Accept him as he is offered to us in the Gospel: Now the heart of an unconverted sinner is against both these 1. It doth not soundly believe the truth of Christs Incarnation, Resurrection and Ascension, but only by a Common, customary, superficial Belief: But of this I spoke before. 2. He doth not welcome Christ to his soul, as he is offered to him: partly because men are unhumbled and feel not the need of Christ: For the whole needs not the Physitian, but they that are sick,—and partly, because that Christ would reclaim them from the way that they take pleasure in? and would bring them into a way that is against their hearts; and many other causes there are. So that, even where Christ seemeth to be much honored, and men will bow and do the greatest Reverence to his Name, and profess themselves his faithfull servants, and that they trust their Salvation on him alone; yet for all this they do not savingly or sincerely believe in him. They have learned to speak well of Christ, and they are willing to be forgiven by him; but they never laid hold on him, as a drowning man would do on that which might save him: Nor … ever feel at their hearts what a glorious Work of Mercy he hath wrought in their Redemption; and how much he hath done for them, and how much he hath engaged their souls unto himself. They never had any of the Saints Admiration at the height, and breadth, and length, and depth, Eph. 3. 18. Nor have they been taken this astonishing Project of Love, as men thus Redeemed at such a rate must be: Nor would they ever consent that Christ should rule over them, and mortifie their lusts, and bring them back from the flesh to God: and therefore they are Unbelievers, even while they profess the faith of Christ. But when Conventing Grace comes, as it raiseth the souls estimation of Christ, as I have said before, so doth it open the heart to his entertainment. Oh what glad news it is to desolate self-condemned souls to hear that the Son of God hath bought them with his blood! It is life to them to hear the glad tidings of their redemption. It is the very work of the Spirit in Conversion, to bring the soul into this Admiration of Redemption; and to shew it the riches of Grace in Christ, and the mystery of this blessed Work, when his eyes are opened to see how God designed here the magnifying of his Love; and how glorious God is in his Mercy in the Work of Redemption, even as glorious as in his power in the Work of Creation. And when his wounded soul hath well understood how Christ hath made him a plaister of his blood, this makes him have other thoughts of Christ and Redemption then before he had. Oh how much sweeter to him are the hearing and reading, and thinking of this Christ, then before they were! He that before did shut the door, and let Christ knock, and knock again, and could so often churlishly resist him: oh how the case is now altered with him! Now Christ is to him as cordiall waters to a man in a swoon; as a hand to a drowning man; as drink to a man in a burning feaver; as a pardon to a man condemned to dye: The Name of Christ doth even Revive him, when withall he can but have some hope that he is his. Oh could you now assure him that Christ is willing to pass over all his unkind Resistance, and to be friends with him, and wash his soul in his blood, how glad a man would he be! when sin stares him in the face, Oh then for a Christ to make his peace! when conscience is up in Arms against him, now how doth Christ befriend him, to step in and bear the stroak! He saith not as Pharoah, Who is the Lord that I should serve him? Nor as they in Iob 21. 14. Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes: Nor as the common Rebells of the World, Luke 19. 27. We will not have this man to raign over us: But as Laban to Abrahams Servants, Gen. 24. 31. Come in thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for the house and room is prepared for thee. Too long have I made my soul a sinke, a stie, a dungeon, when it might, and should have been thy dwelling, and the Temple of thy Holy Spirit. Come in Lord and let sin possess thy room no longer: Hath here been room for the World, and room for fleshly lusts and pleasures, and is there no room for thee? Let thy graces dwell where sin hath dwelt; here is room for them all; or if there be not room, Oh cast out sin and make thee room: Thou that madest all things ready for me, before thou calledst me by the voyce of the Gospel, make all within me ready for thy self; and cast out him that is stronger then I, and hath held my heart so long in a peaceable captivity. Only thy presence now will do me good: I die if thou Revive me not: I am devoured by the jaws of the devouring Lyon, if thou do not rescue me. I am Tormented by my own conscience, and nothing but thine applyed blood can mollisie it: I am accused and condemned by the Law which I have broken, and what shall I say or do, if thou come not in and plead not thy blood and answer for me? I have many thousand sins that will be brought in against me; and how shall I come off but by the vertue of thy Sacrifice? Hell is ready to devour me Everlastingly; if thou do not save me: Save me, save me Lord or I perish: I am a lost, undone, a damned man if thou do not save me: The Devils that have deceived me do but stay to Torment me if thou do not save me. A just and angry God will be to me Everlastingly a Consuming fire, if his Indignation be not quenched by thy blood and Intercession. There is no other Name under heaven by which I can be saved, Acts 4. 12. No, no, It must be Christ alone, it must be Christ or none, Christ or I am lost.] Now doth the poor soul look upon Christ as on the Fire or Aire, that he cannot live without; he sees an Absolute Necessity of him for the main, and an Absolute Necessity for every particular. Every sin that he remembreth telleth … that he hath need of Christ. Every Corruption that he feeleth stirring within him, telleth him of the absolute need of Christ Every Temptation that assaulteth him telleth him of the need of Christ. He never falleth into any known sin again (which alas is too often) but it maketh him see the need of Christ. He findeth …e could not lives day or an hour safely without him: he cannot wash away one spot, nor master one corruption without him: when he goes to God in prayer for his soul, he then findeth the need of Christ; he dare not draw neer if Christ take him not by the hand: he knows there is no admittance in any other name. He durst not look God in the face, nor name him, nor worship him, nor hope for any mercy from him, but through Christ. In a word, without Christ he dares neither live nor dye. You see then where another part of conversion lyeth in this true belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. You may know and say all this of Christ before conversion: but you never rightly apprehend it and feel it, till then.
And as the Merit, so the Spirit of Christ is here comprehended; for I joyn both together for brevity. It is by his Spirit that Christ taked down the strong contradiction of the flesh, and bringeth all in subjection to himself; as light prevaileth against darkness, and strength against weakness, and life against death, so doth the Spirit prevail for Christ in the souls of the Elect. Before conversion there is nothing but grieving and striving against and quenching the Spirit, and using it like an Enemy. But now how glad is the soul of his presence! how loth grieve him! how fearful of quenching it! And if by some unkindness the Spirit seem to be withdrawn, what moan doth he make! and how sadly doth he cry out as David did! Psal. 51. 12. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me by thy free spirit. And if he feel the spirit, as it were departing from him, he cals aloud with David, ver. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from me. As a living man is loth to dye, and knoweth that when his spirit is gone from his body he will be a carcass, and therefore will use all possible means to keep the soul and body from parting: even so the true Believer knows, that if the Spirit of God were gone from his soul, the soul were dead or worse then dead, and therefore tis his daily care to keep the spirit and his soul from parting. He apprehendeth it now to be a blessed Priviledge indeed to have the Spirit of Jesus still within him, to be his Temple, and by him to be preserved from temptation, excited to duties, and animated in them, and sanctified to the service of him that did Redeem him.
And now Sirs, I must needs say to those of you that are unconverted, that all these matters are strange to you, you hear me, but you have felt no such things as these within your selves. O what a difference is there between this living faith in Christ, & the name of faith, and the Image of Christianity which you boast of, and presume upon! What a difference is there between these warm heartreviving closures with Christ, and your cold belief and dull profession! It is one thing for Christ to dwell in the heart by faith, Eph. 3. 17. and another thing for him to have the custom of the countrey and the Law of the Land on his side, to make way for him. It is one thing for a man that is well, to honor a Physitian, and another thing for a sick man to seek out to him, and beg his help, and take him for his Physitian, and willingly take down any thing that he giveth him. I pray you mark what I say, because it is the most common delusion of unconverted men among us, that they verily think that they truly believe in Christ already: And there is a common belief that will never save them, and that they take up with, and look not after the saving faith: I cannot better open the difference to ordinary capacities, then by the aforesaid comparison. You know a man in health may truly believe that such a man is an able Physitian, and he may speak well of him and honor him: Now suppose a man were deadly sick of a Consumption, and did not know it; If this man honoureth the Physitian as much as any other healthful man, will this cure him, or save his life? No, but the Patient that prayeth him to come to him, and will trust his life in his hands, and will take the bitterest Medicine that he gives him, and will forbear any hurtful meat or drink, be it never so pleasant to him, this is he that is like to be healed by him. Christ is known among us to be the Physitian of souls; we all confess and praise his skill, and know that he can save us! We all hear of the freeness of his cure, that he takes nothing, but doth it as soon for the poorest beggar, as the greatest Prince; but knowing all this and speaking well of him will cure no man: No, but you must go to him believingly and beg his help, and take him for your Physitian, and trust your souls upon his blood and Spirit, and apply his means, and take the bitterest cup that he shall reach you, and forsake the morsels of fleshly pleasure that have been sweet to you heretofore. Do not say, this is to be justified by Works; for this is no other kind of works then what standeth in a necessary subserviency to Christ, even the work of Grace it self. This is but the work that Christ cals thee to, John 6. 29. This is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom the Father hath sent: This is but coming to Christ that ye may have life, Joh. 5. 40. and taking his yoke and burden on you, that you may finde rest to your souls, Mat. 11. 29. When the poor people followed him on earth from place to place, and hearkned to his words, and took up his Cross that they might be his Disciples, and be justified and saved by him, he did not tell them, this is sinful working for justification. To conclude, if ever you be converted, thus must you follow Christ, and thus must you yield to the Spirit which you now resist.
Thus I have shewed you how the converted soul doth accept of Christ and the Spirit, on the terms and to the ends that are mentioned in the Gospel. Christ Jesus is accepted as the Redeemer of their souls, that hath satisfied Justice by being a Ransom for their sins, and hath merited everlasting glory for them; and as the Lord that by the Title of his Redemption, must rule them: as their Head that must provide for them and supply all their wants; and as the Fountain and treasure of all that Grace that must save them; the Holy Ghost is entertained as he that must sanctifie and guide them in the way to life everlasting, having already sealed the truth of the Doctrine.