Animadversions on William Dells Book, Section 20
SECT. XX.
ANd this for Ʋſe.
Object. Now if any ſay, If Christs Love and Redemption belong but to a few, why is the Goſpel commanded to be preached to all Nations in the World?
Anſw. I anſwer, That in all the world, among all Nations, it may find out the Elect of God, and bring them to the true knowledge, and enjoyment of what God of his free grace hath done for them in Jeſus Chriſt: and when that word cometh, they hear the Joyful Sound, and believe; and according to their Faith, ſo is it to them.
And ſo I proceed to the third point, which is, Faiths particular application of this ſpecial love and redemption of Chriſt to believers, who loved me, and gave himſelf for me.
(A) It is the nature of true Faith, to apply Chriſt and all his Works to the believer, and to make them his own; for faith puts on Chriſt, and cloaths us with Chriſt; yea, it eats and drinks him who is the Son of the living God, and ſo makes Chriſt its own indeed.
Through faith Chriſt is formed in us, and we again are formed in him; and Christ and we are ſo made one another through faith, that Chriſt Appropriates us to himſelf, and we again appropriate Chriſt to us.
Other men content themſelves with a General conceit that Chriſt loved them; but a Chriſtian hath a Particular faith. Other men believe that he loved Paul, and Peter, and John, & ſuch eminent Saints; but true faith ſaith in our hearts, he loved Me, even Me together with them, and that with the ſelf ſame love; and gave himſelf for Me, as he did for them.
Queſt. But ſome will ſay, Had not Paul a ſpecial Revelation of this love of Chriſt beſides faith?
Anſw. I Anſwer, Paul had a ſpecial Revelation of this love, but yet no other then all believers have who have received the Spirit, as the ſame Apoſtle ſhews, 1 Cor. 2.12. where he ſaith, We have not received the ſpirit of the world, but the ſpirit that is of God, that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God: So that the Spirit of God within us, ſhews us the things that God hath freely given us; among which Chriſts Love and Redemption are the chief. And the ſame Apostle prayes for the Epheſians, that God would give them the ſpirit of wiſdom and Revelation to know Christ. Now this ſpirit of Revelation doth not only ſhew us that there is a Chriſt, and what he is, but alſo that this Chriſt is Ours, whatſoever he is; and that he hath loved Ʋs, and given himſelf for Ʋs. And this Revelation all the Faithful have together with Paul.
Ʋſe 1. (B) And thus having anſwered this Objection, we ſhall proceed to make ſome Uſe of this Point alſo.
And firſt we may obſerve what an excellent apprehenſion, and viſion of Chriſt true faith hath; namely, it looks on Chriſt, not as a Severe Judge, or Lawgiver, but as one who hath truly loved us, and given himſelf for us. And ſuch a Diſcovery and Viſion of Chriſt as this, will uphold our ſouls mightily in all our ſaddeſt, and darkeſt hours; and will preſerve us, that we be not ſwallowed up of Deſpair. Yea when we ſee Chriſt thus, nothing is ſo ſweet, lovely, and deſirable to us, as He is.
Now Satan and our evil Conſciences, will ever be repreſenting Chriſt otherwiſe to us, to make him Dreadful and Terrible to our Souls: as Luther reports of a certain Doctor in his time, who apprehended that Chriſt ſtood at the right hand of his Father accuſing him for his ſins; and with the very horror, and agony of this apprehenſion, he pined away and died.
Wherfore let us not ſee Chriſt as Satan and our evil Conſciences repreſent him in the hour of Temptation, but as the Goſpel holds him forth, and then we ſhall ſee him to be ſuch an one who hath loved us, and given himſelf for us: And ſuch a knowledge of Chriſt will ſupport, and eſtabliſh us again in the worſt aſſaults that ſin, and death, and hell can make againſt us.
Ʋſe 2. 2. We may learn, That faith carries nothing to Chriſt of its own, but it goes empty, and naked to him, and expects to receive all things from him: Faith ſaith, Chriſt loved me, and gave himſelf for me, when I did not love him, nor give my ſelf for him; yea when I was an Eenemy to him, and Crucified him. Faith ſaith, I have no righteouſneſſe, nor wiſdom, nor goodneſſe, nor any worth at all to carry to Chriſt; but I expect all from him, being in my ſelf poor and miſerable, and blind, and naked.
Ʋnbelief is altogether looking at what we have done for Chriſt; but faith is altogether beholding what Chriſt hath done for us.
Ʋnbelief would fain bring ſomething to Chriſt, for which Chriſt might accept it; but faith brings us unto Chriſt, destitute of all good, and full of all evil, and even then caſts us with confidence and aſſurance, on his free love and mercy.
Ʋnbelief when it finds no good in it ſelf, dares not go to Chriſt, nor truſt in him: but faith can truſt in Chriſt in the midſt of all ſin and evil, as well as in the midſt of all graces and vertues; for elſe no fleſh could be ſaved. And thus unbelief makes void the Goſpel, but faith eſtabliſhes it.
For when a man would firſt find in himſelf a love to Chriſt, and readineſs to give himſelf for him e…re he can conceive any hope that Chriſt did love him, and gave himſelf for him, this man aboliſhes the Goſpel, and makes Chriſt void, who came to ſave ſinners, and to juſtifie the ungodly. But now he that feels nothing but ſin and death and hell in himſelf, and all manner of evil and enmity againſt God: and yet notwithſtanding all this, can go to Chriſt by faith, and can believe that Christ hath loved him even in this condition, and given himſelf for him, this is the man that magnifies the Goſpel, and hath the right underſtanding and knowledge of Christ: Yes this is the man that gives God the greateſt glory that any creature on earth can give him, yea greater then all the Angels in Heaven can give him; for they being full of the righteouſneſs of their firſt Creation, believe the Love of God to them; but for men that have loſt all that righteouſneſſe, and are beſides filled with all manner of ſin, even then to believe the love of God in Chriſt, this is the precious faith of the Goſpel, and the greateſt glorification of God that can be. Wherefore Paul ſaith here, he loved me, and gave himſelf for me; as if he had ſaid, he found in me no Free-will; or Natural abilities; no good deſires, affections or ends; but he ſaw me wholly eſtrayed from God, wicked, abominable, and the captive of the Devil; and yet ſuch was his goodneſs, that notwithſtanding all this, he loved me, and gave himſelf for me. And this was the victory and triumph of Pauls faith.
Now by this that hath been laſt ſaid, we may perceive that every man naturally would find ſomething in himſelf to bring to Chriſt, to make him acceptable unto him; and that very few can believe That he loves Ʋs whilſt we are ſinners, and that whilst we are yet ſinners, Christ died for the ungodly.
Ʋſe 3. 3. In that Chriſt loved us, and gave himſelf for us, we may hereby come to underſtand how ſtrong, mighty, and unconquerable our ſin was, even ſo mighty that the whole world and all the creatures were unable, and unſufficient to take it away: but the Son of God muſt give himſelf for it, and muſt become a Sacrifice for it, or it had remained upon us for ever.
Wherefore let us know that our Free-will, and Natural abilitise, and works, and duties were of no force at all to take away our ſin, but Chriſt muſt do that by giving himſelf for them: And inſomuch as Chriſt the Son of the living God, hath given himſelf for them, we reſt aſſured that they are done away for ever, and that none can lay any thing to our charge if do we believe in him.
Ʋſe 4. 4. Let us labour for this particular faith, and aſſurance in our hearts, that Chriſt hath loved us, and given himſelf for us.
There is nothing that the Devil does more labour to hinder us from, then this particular application: For he well knows, that if we once truly believe that Chriſt hath loved us, and given himſelf for us, then we cannot chuſe but forthwith love him again, and give our ſelves for him; and alſo be moſt ready and reſolved to do, or to ſuffer any thing for Chriſt; the Spiritual ſenſe of this ſpecial love is ſo conſtraining. Wherefore as it is the great policy of the Devil to labour to hinder us from the ſenſe of Chriſts ſpecial Love, ſo it muſt be our eſpecial care to endeavour to attain unto it. For the true and Spiritual attainment hereof will be of great concernment to ut in all things.
For firſt, the Spiritual taſte of this Special Love, will make us forward to do any thing for Chriſt: (as I ſaid) it will make us fruitful, and abundant in his work; and we can never be Idle, when we ſhall comprehend with all Saints, what is the height, and breadth, and length, and depth, and ſhall know this Love of Chriſt which paſſeth knowledge.
2. It will make us ready and forward to ſuffer any thing for Christ: any reproches, ſlanders, oppoſitions, perſecutions, priſons, torments; nothing being bitter or grievous to that ſoul where the Love of Chriſt is taſted.
3 The Spiritual taſte of this Special Love, wil ſweeten all the mercies of God which he gives us to enjoy in this world, which would not be truly ſweet, if we did not taſte his ſpecial love in them: yea the taſte of this love will make every ordinary mercy extraordinary, and every ſmall bleſſing a great one; for nothing is ordinary or ſmall, where the ſpecial love of God is taſted.
4. And laſtly this ſpiritual taſte of the ſpecial love of God, will cauſe us conſtantly to put our truſt in him, ſeeing God who hath given us Chriſt, and Chriſt who hath given us himſelf, can afterwards deny us nothing, nor ſuffer any thing to do us any prejudice.
Wherefore let theſe conſiderations move us to labour for this particular faith, that we may believe that Chriſt hath loved us, and given himſelf for us.
Yea, let us known that ſuch is Chriſts love to his Elect, that he would not have refuſed to have given himſelf for any one ſingle perſon of them, and to have ſuffered the ſame things for any one of them, as he hath done for all of them; that each of us may know that we are as much engaged to be thankful to Chriſt, as if he had given himſelf for us onelyonly, ſeeing each Chriſtian by true faith, may ſay with Paul, he loved me, and gave himſelf for me. And this is all the hope and comfort we have in this World, and we deſire to live and dye with this faith rooted in our hearts.
ANIMADVERSION XX.
(A) THis is a very good diſcovery of the nature of right ſaving faith, which how it can conſiſt with Mr Dels former deſcription of the nature of faith, Sect. 17. (A) I ſee not.
(B) The doctrine delivered by Mr Del in the following uſes which he maketh of the point before him, is old, ſound and good, and needs not any new notions to ſupport or inforce it. If that paſſage following, faith can truſt in Christ in the mideſt of all ſin and evil, as wel as in the midſt of all graces and vertues, be underſtood with ſome grains of Goſpel ſalt, which it much needeth, as intending that when a man ſeeth nothing in himſelf but ſin and evil, he may yet, and ſhould then, being burdened, come to Chriſt for reſt, and truſt on Chriſt for life, as much as if he ſaw himſelf in the middeſt of all graces and vertues, ſaying with the Apoſtle, This is a faithful ſaying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chriſt Jeſus came into the world to ſave ſinners, of which I am chief: It may then (as I conceive) be admitted for a truth, which yet had need be delivered with much caution, and many Goſpel proviſoes, leſt otherwiſe it might occaſion in men a boldneſſe to continue in ſin, that grace may abound; which is a dreadful abuſe of the Goſpel noted and renounced by the Apoſtle, Rom. 6.1. I think that much of that reproach of Antinomianiſm, which many have drawn upon themſelves in our dayes, hath proceeded from an Antinomian liberty of language, which they have affected and taken to themſelves, holding to no ordinary rule or law of words in their expreſſions, but loving to deliver old and ſound doctrines in new and dangerous terms and forms of words, which have (no doubt) miſguided multitudes into wicked, and wretched errours, which I am apt to conceive, their leaders did not (as their diſciples do) apprehend to be Scripture truths: It would be very happy if (at the length) that Apoſtolical rule might obtain amongſt us, both in words and deeds: Let us not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a ſtumbling block, or an occaſion to fall in his brothers way: Rom. 14.13.
foreign
Quicunque iſta lecturi ſunt, non me imitentur errantem, ſed in melius proficientem.
Auguſt. Retract.
FINIS.
End of the text · Humphrey Chambers, Animadversions on William Dells Book (1653)