Examination of Antinomianism, Treatise · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. Touching the Law of Moſes, Whether altogether aboliſhed, ſo that it is of no uſe to the Believer now in the time of the Goſpel: Alſo whether it do not binde Believers to the Duties of Holineſs as well now as it did in the time of the Old Teſtament.
THere is a Generation of men riſen up again in this laſt Age of the Church, who would gladly baniſh the Preaching of the Law, and all legal Duties out of the Church of Chriſt: The Law (ſay they) is aboliſhed; the Conſcience of the Chriſtian is not bound to the Law, they are falſe Teachers who call men to the practiſe of the Law, and the Duties therein contained. This Doctrine of theirs is a word that will eat as doth a Canker, till it hath fretted out all care of Holineſs and good Works, if not prevented. Let it not then be thought impertinent (this being the time of their infection) if by examining their Grounds, and diſcovering the weakneſs and unſoundneſs of them, I ſeek what lyeth in me to prevent the further ſpreading of this evil.
The Antixomian (this name is given him for that he oppoſeth the Preaching and preſſing of the Law) he I ſay buildeth upon theſe and the like Texts, Rom. 6. 14. & 7. 4. & 10. 4. Gal. 3. 10. & 5. 1. whence they argue to this effect; If Believers be not under the Law, nay if dead to the Law by the body of Chriſt, and ſo delivered from the Law, whereupon Chriſt is termed the end of the Law; Then to call them back again to the Law and the dominion thereof, is to draw them from Chriſt and from that Liberty which Chriſt hath purchaſed for them; whereas the Apoſtle doth charge the Galatians to ſtand faſt in the Liberty wherewith Chriſt hath made them free, and not to ſuffer themſelves to be again entangled in the yoke of Bondage: Thus they; as I finde by that Book of Ro: Town, Intituled, The Aſſertion of Grace, or A 'Defence of the Doctrine of free Juſtification.
For clearing of this, our Divines diſtinguiſh; The Law of Moſes delivered to the Church of Iſrael was partly Moral, partly Ceremonial: Moral, ſo called, becauſe it was the Rule of good maners toward God and toward man; And it is to be conſidered either in reſpect of the Subſtance or the Circumſtance: In reſpect of the Subſtance, it is the comprehenſion of thoſe Duties of Holineſs which God had either imprinted in the heart, or revealed to the ear of Adam and his Poſterity in that Age of the Church which lived before the writing of the Law. And ſo it is the Doctrine of Good and Evil; of Good, and ſo the Rule of an holy life; of Evil, and ſo the revealer of Sin and Tranſgreſſion: This was the ſubſtance of that which we call the Moral Law. The Circumſtance of it was, That it was made the condition of a Covenant for Life and Salvation, and ſo required of all them that were under the Covenant, and expected life and ſalvation by it; of them I ſay it required complete and perfect obedience, otherwiſe no hope to obtain their expectation: Nay more, it exacted this obedience under a Curſe; ſo that in caſe of diſobedience, not only ſhall they fail of Life, but come under the condemnation of Death; and this was that that proved the ruine of man. In the conſtitution of the Church of Iſrael, the Ceremonial Law was added: This ſet down that Form of Worſhip and Service of God, in the right obſervation whereof they might finde both Expiation of their Offences, and Acceptation of their Obedience. This conſiſted in many Rites and Ceremonies, Sacrifices and Ordinances, all limited to the obſervation of Times when, of Places where, and of Perſons by whom theſe were to be performed [ex. gr. No Sacrifice might be offered but upon one Altar; Nor by any perſon but by one of the Family of Aaron; No Circumciſion but upon the Eighth day; Nor Paſsover eaten but on the Fourteenth of the firſt or ſecond MonethMonth, and this no where but at Jeruſalem; Three times a year muſt every Male appear before the Lord, and every Woman at her Purification make a journey thither] ſo that this became a yoke of Bondage to the Church of Iſrael, eſpecially in the latter Age thereof, when they of that Nation were ſcattered among the Heathen, and lived in places far remote from the Temple of Jeruſalem: This then is the yoke of Moſes Law; No hope to eſcape the Curſe of the Moral Law, but by thoſe expiations preſcribed in the Ceremonial Law: No hope of acceptance in what they endeavored in the way of Obedience, except they attend upon, and ſeek it in thoſe ſervices appointed: No nor thoſe ſervices accepted, but in a moſt exact obſervation of all the circumſtances which the Law ſet down. From this yoke it is which Chriſt by his death hath freed the Chriſtian: And in this liberty it is that St. Paul would have have them ſtand faſt, that they be not entangled again in that former yoke of Bondage.
So then the Ceremonies of Moſes Law are quite taken away by Chriſt, the Sacrifice of whoſe Death is become the only expiation for all Tranſgreſſions, and the only way and mean of Acceptation in the performance of all duties whatſoever; Yea, the Moral part of Moſes Law is taken away, in reſpect of the circumſtance thereof, it is no more the condition of the Covenant for Life and Death: Not of life, and ſo Juſtification may be had without it: Not of death, and ſo no fear of Condemnation by it; provided alway, that by Faith men lay hold upon Chriſt, keep cloſe to him, and walk according to thoſe Rules of Holineſs that he hath preſcribed; for in ſo doing we obtain what the Law promiſed, Life and Salvation: By him we eſcape what the Law threatned, Death and Condemnation: So then, though the Law be taken away in reſpect of this Circumſtantial uſe thereof, as a condition; yet not in reſpect of that Subſtantial conſideration, viz. as the Doctrine and Direction of Good and Evil: Nay in this reſpect it is reaſſumed and re-eſtabliſhed by Chriſt. In the former conſideration of it, it is that the Apoſtle ſaith, Romans 10. 4. That Chriſt is the end of the Law, i. e. he hath done that for man which the Law would but could not: The Law would bring man to life and ſalvation; This is the primary end and intention of it, but the Law could not in reſpect of mans weakneſs, Rom. 8. 3. This Chriſt hath done, and ſo is become the end of the Law, for Righteouſneſs and Juſtification to every one that believeth. In the ſame circumſtantial conſideration of the Law it is that the Apoſtle ſaith, Rom. 6. 14. Ye are not under the Law; and Rom. 7. 4. We are dead to the Law, and ſo delivered from it, viz. as it was the condition of the Covenant: And that this is the meaning of it, is plain by this, That it is ſet down as a reaſon to prove that ſin ſhall not have dominion over us, viz. to binde us to condemnation in caſe of defectiveneſs and failings; Becauſe, ſaith he, ye are not under the Law but under Grace; not under that condition of full and perfect Obedience, in which if any defects were found, ſin did preſently dominier and threaten death: But under a condition, in which not only ſincerity of obedience is accepted, though it be imperfect, but alſo help and aſſiſtance in doing the Duties is afforded: So that with much cheerfulneſs may we ſtrive againſt the raign of Sin, and that over-maſterful ſway which heretofore it had in us and over us. Yet this doth not prove but that ſtill we are under the Doctrine and Direction of the Law for Duties of Holineſs; Yea, thoſe duties which by the grace of Chriſts Spirit we are enabled to perform (for this muſt be acknowledged, That though the Law requireth many Duties of Holineſs and Sanctification, yet is it only the Spirit of Chriſt which enableth us to perform them) theſe I ſay are juſtly termed the Works of the Law, becauſe done in relation to the Law, though not in the capacity of a condition, as in the Covenant of Works, yet in the capacity of a Rule and Square of Direction, and a Duty of Holineſs.
Object. They Reply, That St. Paul ſaith, Gal. 3. 10. They that are of the Works of the Law are under the Curſe; So that either the Law is abrogated even in reſpect of the Works thereof, or elſe neither is the Curſe abrogated; if Chriſtians be tyed to the Works, they are not freed from the Curſe. True, if they will be of the Works of the Law, they ſhall be under the Curſe: But what is it to be of the Works of the Law? Is it to take directions from the Law for our ways and walkings? Is it to yield obedience to the Law? No: It is to ſeek Juſtification and Salvation by the merit of Works done in obedience to the Law: This is plain to him that readeth the former Verſes, to be of Faith is to ſeek Salvation by the Goſpel, i. e. by believing in Chriſt; and ſo, To be of the Works of the Law is to ſeek ſalvation by them: Now then, ſuch who will ſeek ſalvation by the Works of the Law, are under the Curſe, ſaith St. Paul; Good reaſon, becauſe they cannot ſatisfie the perfection of the Law; And he that will challenge any thing in the way of Iuſtice, muſt be content to ſuffer the penalty if he come ſhort of the perfection which the Rule requireth.
Object. Nay, but ſay they, The Law is not made for a Righteous man: 1 Tim. 1. 9. conſequently belongs not to the Believer who is juſtified by Faith in Chriſt; And, the Believer indeed is juſtified, but not a righteous man, not in that ſenſe of the word in which St. Paul doth uſe it in that Text: The Righteous man is there oppoſed to the lawleſs and diſobedient, and ſo muſt be underſtood of one that ſeeketh to conform himſelf and all his actions to the Rule of the Law; for ſuch a man the Law is not made: The Law, what is that? The Rule of the Law? No, but the threatning of the Law, the Curſe and Condemnation: This is not made for the Righteous, and ſo ought not to be applied againſt him, but againſt the lawleſs and diſobedient, againſt them that will walk without Law, and boldly bear themſelves in the diſobedience of the Law; Againſt theſe is the Law made, and againſt them are the threatnings and curſes of the Law to be applyed: This is the right uſe of the Law, The which (ſaith St. Paul) is good if a man uſe it lawfully, i. e. if he do not abuſe it by miſ-application. Now then, though St. Paul ſaith, The Law is not made for a Righteous man; yet ſaith he not, It is not made for a juſtified perſon; Nor doth he ſay, The Law is of no uſe for a Righteous man: It is not a Iudge to curſe and condemn him; but is it not a Teacher to inſtruct him, a Counſellor to direct him? Is it not a Guide to conduct him, a Goad to quicken him and put him on if he ſlacken his pace in the path of Holineſs? Doubtleſs it is: Was it not uſeful, yea needful for Adam in Paradiſe though a righteous man? So then, I hold it a manifeſt truth, That though the Believer by his Juſtification and Adoption be freed from the Curſe of the Law, yet not from the Counſel and Command of that Law.
Object. It is Replyed, That to Juſtifie and Condemn are as proper to the Law as to Counſel or Command: If the Law may not command ſub paenâ, nor condemn proculpâ, then doth it ceaſe to be a Law, nor hath it any binding power at all. I anſwer, That to juſtifie and condemn are indeed as proper to the Law as to counſel and command, while the Law ſtandeth as a condition of life and ſalvation; but in that ſenſe we confeſs it abrogated, yet is not the binding power of it ceaſed; ſtill are we bound to walk in obedience to it, becauſe it is enjoyned as the Commandment of him who hath redeemed us from the Curſe thereof: Nay, I adde this further, That we are bound to walk by the direction of the Law, not only ex debito gratitudinis, in the way of thankfulneſs, but alſo ex obligatione peccati, to decline the guilt of ſin; Sinful it is in the juſtified perſon to neglect the counſel and command of the Law.
I would gladly ask theſe men, Whether the juſtified perſon be exempt from ſinning, yea or not? I finde it charged upon them, That no action of a Believer after his Iuſtification is ſin; and I perceive that they do ſhift and ſhuffle in the buſineſs: The Queſtion is not, Whether the ſin of the juſtified perſon ſhall be charged upon him to endanger his ſalvation, but Whether the act be ſin in him or not; Whether his Iuſtification do bring with it ſuch a charter of priviledge and prerogative as doth exempt him from committing ſin; I confeſs the Text of St. John ſaith, He that is born of God ſinneth not, 1 Joh. 3. 9. And yet they know that the ſame Apoſtle ſaith, If we ſay that we have no ſin we deceive our ſelves, 1 Joh. 1. 8. And St. James ſaith, In many things we offend all, Iam. 3. 2. If all, then the juſtified alſo; which is yet more plain by that of our Savior, who preſcribing a Form of Prayer for the Adopted Sons of God, ſuch who with confidence may call God Father, teacheth them to pray for the pardon of ſin, and preſervation from ſin: Doth he teach them to diſſemble? to pray for the pardon of a ſin, and yet there is no ſin committed; to pray for the preſervation of their ſouls from Satans tentation, and yet there is no danger of being drawn into ſin? May we not rather hereupon conclude in the words of St. John, If we ſay that we have not ſinned, we make him (Chriſt in that Form of Prayer) a lyar, and his word is not in us: So that upon neceſſity that other Text which ſeemeth to croſs the current of the Scripture, and ſaith of the Regenerate, That he ſinneth not, muſt be underſtood as ſome do underſtand that of Balaam, He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Numb. 23. 21. not of any at all, but of ſome particular ſin. The Text of Balaam (ſay ſome) hath particular relation to the ſin of Idolatry, from which Iſrael at that time was free, though not long after entangled by the counſel of Balaam; And the Text of St. John hath an eye to preſumptuous ſin, or rather to the ſin of total and final Apoſtacy, the ſin unto death, from which the Regenerate is preſerved by that ſeed of God which remaineth in him; from this ſin, I grant, he is preſerved, and in this reſpect he ſinneth not: Not ſo in reſpect of other ſins; witneſs not only the Adultery of David, which diſpleaſed the Lord, or the act of Peter denying his Lord and Maſter, in which his Faith was next door to failing, and called for the Prayer of Chriſt to preſerve him: Theſe you will ſay were before the Paſſion of Chriſt; but witneſs that faultering of Peter, and diſſimulation of Barnabas, for which St. Paul did openly reprehend them, Gal. 2. 11.
Well then, if it be granted, That the juſtified perſon may ſin, yea and doth ſin, there muſt then be a Law of Holineſs, which ſhall binde him to carefulneſs in ſuch and ſuch particulars, for where there is no Law there is no Tranſgreſſion; nor can any man be concluded a ſinner in caſe of negligence, where there is no bond of duty. Neither may we reſt in this which they will not ſtick to grant, The Law of the Spirit: The Law written in the heart. This is not enough, there muſt be alſo another Law written in Tables, and to be read by the eye, to be heard by the ear: Elſe how ſhall it be known to the reſt of the Congregation, whether this man doth not ſwerve from the Law written in the heart, yea or not: Nay, how ſhall the believer himſelf be ſure that he doth not ſwerve from the right way wherein he ought to walk? Even in Paradice God appointed an Eternal precept of obedience for tryal, beſide that Law and Light of Nature which was written in Adams heart. Much more needful is it now. The Spirit, I grant, is the Juſtified mans Guide and Teacher: That Ʋnction which they have received▪ doth teach them all things; But he teacheth them by the Word, by the Word, the written Word of Prophecy, by the Scripture of the Old Teſtament and New, by the Law and Teſtimony; And by it they know that they are not miſguided, becauſe if any of them that peep and matter, that pretend Viſions and Revelations, ſpeak not according to this Word, it is becauſe there is no Light in them. Theſe men, though they do not plainly ſpeak out their meaning, yet would have us to underſtand them, that the Spirit did by Enthuſiaſms and Revelations move them and guide them ſo infallibly, that they need not the Scripture, nor the inſtruction of the Miniſtry: which, what is it elſe but to revive and call up again that abomination of the Familiſts, long ſince condemned to Hell, the place of its juſt deſert: Juſt, I ſay, for take away the written Word of God, and then every fancy of a dreaming Elder and doting Siſter, ſhall be the Rule of mens godly converſations.
Object. A Law may be acknowledged, and a written Law; and yet not the Law of Moſes, not the Moral Law: What then? why the Law of Chriſt, not the old, but the new Commandment, the precepts taught by Chriſt and his Apoſtles. Well, but the queſtion is, Whether that the ſubject matter of this new Commandment and of the old, be not in both the ſame? viz. Teaching us to deny ungodlineſs and worldly luſts, to live righteouſly, godly and ſoberly in this preſent world: If ſo, Then why ſhould it not be indifferent to alleage the precepts of Moſes and the Prophets to prove and preſs a duty of holineſs, as the precept of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, ex. gr. If we be agreed that it is the duty of a juſtified perſon, to honor his Father and Mother, what need we jangle about words, and quarel about quotations, whether we preſs it out of Exod. 20. or from Eph. 6. ſince both Texts do preach and preſs the ſame duty? Is it not the ſame God who ſpake to the Fathers by the Prophets, and to their Children by Chriſt and his Apoſtles? Nay more, do we not ſee it, that thoſe Precepts of holineſs which by our bleſſed Saviour and his Apoſtles are taught in the New Teſtament, are taken out of Moſes and the Prophets, yea and preſſed upon the Conſcience by this reaſon, Becauſe it is the Law and the Prophets; What can be more plain then that Text of our Savior, Mat. 7. 12. Whatſoever ye would that men ſhould do unto you, do ye ſo unto them, for this is the Law and the Prophets; So Saint Peter, Be ye holy in all maner of converſation, for it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy, 1 Pet. 1. 16. mark that, Becauſe it is written: By it you ſee that the Apoſtle preſſeth a duty by a Text of Scripture fetcht from the Law: So Saint Paul, Eph. 6. 1, 2. preſſeth the duty of obedience upon Children, and proveth it to be right, by citing the 5. Commandment of the Moral Law. What will theſe men ſay to that Text of Saint James, Jam. 2. 8. If ye fulfil the Royal Law ye ſhall do well: But if ye have reſpect of perſons ye commit ſin, and are convinced of the Law as Tranſgreſſors: What, convinced as Tranſgreſſors, and yet not bound to obedience? Is there any Tranſgreſſion where no obligation to obedience? And is the Moral Law notwithſtanding all this aboliſhed? Hath it none Office in the time of the Goſpel? Are we falſe Teachers, who in imitation of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, do call men to the practiſe of theſe holy duties, which we finde contained in the Law? No, we teach the truth of God, and in the right way of God; Except it be that Chriſt and his Apoſtles were ignorant of the way, or except theſe men have received a new Goſpel and another diſpenſation of the grace of God hitherto unknown and unrevealed.