5. The doctrine of Chrift's bearing our fins, and making fatisfaction for them to the justice of God, is another pure and holy doctrine: For though Chrift has bore all the fins of his people, all the guilt and filth of them, and all the punishment due unto them; has taken all away, for his blood cleanfeth from all fin; it removes all that is in fin, and belongs to it; yet this gives no encouragement to fin; for one end of Christ's bearing our fins in his own body on the tree, was, that we being dead to fin, fhould live unto righteousness".

Though Chrift as a prieft has fatisfied juftice, by fulfilling the law, yielding perfect obedience to its precepts, and bearing the whole penalty of it; yet this does not free thofe for whom he has made fatisfaction from obligation to regard the law, as held forth by him as King of faints; whom they own, and look upon themselves obliged to own, as their judge and lawgiver; and indeed confider themselves under ftill greater obligation to obey his laws and commands, fince he has finished tranfgreffion for them, made an end of fin, made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness. Though they through the law are dead to the law, yet it is, that they might live unto God; the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself a pure and spotless facrifice for fin, purges their confciences from dead works, that they may ferve the living God": it is only fuch who walk in the light, and have fellowship with Chrift, whom his blood cleanses from all fin, for if we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth". Chrift's fuffering, the just for the unjust, the punishment due to fin, was to bring us to God; not only to reconcile us to him, and to enjoy his favour, but to walk with him, to walk in his ways, and to walk humbly before him; whereas if it gave a loose to fin, and encouraged in it, it would fet us at a greater diftance from him: Chrift's fatisfaction for fin does not at all weaken our obligation to duty, but increases it.

6. The doctrine of juftification by the imputed righteoufnefs of Chrift, is a doctrine according to godlinefs, however it may be traduced as a licentious one: It neither makes void the law; nor difcourages the performance of good works; nor encourages in fin; it does not annul, or make the law useless: Do we, says the apostle, make void the law through faith, that is, by the doctrine of juftification through the righteousness of Chrift, received by faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law; fince we affert that men are juftified by a perfect righteousness, which is every way agreeable to the demands of the law, and by which that is magnified and made honourable. Nor does it at all discountenance the discharge of duty, but is the greatest motive and inducement to it. Thus, the apostle, having obferved that we are not faved by works of righteousness done by us, that we are justified by the grace of Chrift, and are made heirs = 1 John i. 6, 7.

C 2

☐ 1 Peter ii. 24.

x Gal. ii, 19.

y Heb. ix. 14.

heirs according to the hope of eternal life, adds, This is a faithful faying; and these things, that is, thefe doctrines, I will that thou affirm conftantly; that thou affert them without any doubt or hesitation about them; and that thou dwell upon them in thy ministry, and frequently inculcate them; that, wa, to this end and purpose, they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works. Nothing like thefe doctrines will induce them thereunto. Nor does this doctrine give any countenance to finful practices; for though God juftifies the ungodly, yet he does not indulge them in ungodliness. Chrift's righteoufnefs juftifies from all fin, but does not justify perfons in a continuance in fin. Befides, faith, which receives this bleffing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of Salvation, which is the reason why men are said to be justified by it, works by love; is an operative grace, is attended with the fruits of righteousness, is evidenced by good works, made perfect by them, and is without them dead. Yet fome will fay, the doctrine of juftification by faith is no licentious doctrine, but the doctrines of eternal juftification and eternal union are. This comes from another quarter, from a fet of men who fhould know better. What diabolical charm? what fatanic influence can there poffibly be in a date? If justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ alone, without the works of the creature, has no bad influence upon the life and converfation; the moving of the date of it higher than where it has been commonly put, can never be attended with any bad confequence that way; nor can any confequences arife from it, but what must also unavoidably follow upon eternal election: And as for eternal union with Chrift, it is the foundation of all the good things Chrift has done for his people, of all the good things the Spirit works in them, and of all the good works which are done by them; and therefore can never give birth and countenance to evil practices.

7. The doctrine of free and full remiffion of fins, according to the grace and mercy of God, and by the blood of Chrift, and for his fake, and not on account of our repentance and good works, as procuring it, has no influence to make the conversation of a truly fenfible finner bad, but the reverse; sin never appears fo odious, and in its true colours, or as exceeding finful, than it does in the glass of pardoning love; a foul is never more ashamed of fin, and confounded on the account of it, or blushes at it, than when he is most fenfible and most satisfied that God is pacified towards him for all that he has done; and that all is forgiven through the blood of Chrift: nor does he ever more truly and heartily, and in an evangelical manner, mourn over fin, or is humbled before the Lord for it, than when he looks to Chrift, and views all his iniquities bore by him, and washed away in his blood; nor can any thing more powerfully

engage

Titus iii. 8.
Zach. xii. 10.

d Pfal. xxiv. 5.

• Gal. v. 6.

Ezek. xvi. 63.

engage men to forfake their evil ways, and courfe of living, and turn to the Lord, than this confideration, that he does abundantly pardon"; and indeed the end which the Lord has in fetting forth Chrift in his purposes to be the propitiation for fin, and procure the remiffion of it, and in providing this blessing in the covenant of his grace, and in fending Chrift to obtain it, through the shedding of his blood, and in publifhing and proclaiming it in his gospel, and in applying it by his fpirit, is that he might be heartily and fincerely feared and worshipped; there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared'. He would have been feared with a flavish fear, or dreaded, as he is by devils, if there had been none; but he would never have been feared by finful men, with a filial and godly fear, or have been worshipped in fincerity and truth, had it not been for pardoning grace and mercy through the blood of Chrift; and fuch must be very difingenuous indeed, that can abufe fuch a doctrine as this, that becaufe God has pardoned them, therefore they will fin the more against him; if there are any fuch that go on in fin upon fuch a prefumption, that their fins are pardoned, they manifeftly fhew, that they never had any true sense of fin, or application of pardon to them.

8. The doctrine of God's feeing no fin his people, is fpoken against as an immoral one, and giving liberty to fin; but is pure, holy and innocent: For this doctrine does not fuppofe fin not to be fin; or that that is not fin which is done amifs by them; or that God does not in any fenfe take notice of their tranfgreffions. Though they are, as confidered in Chrift, holy and unblameable, and unreproveable in his fight; yet, as confidered in themselves, they have and do many things which are faulty and blameworthy. Though God fees no fin in them, with refpect to the article of juftification, yet he fees all their fins, with respect to the article of his omniscience; or though he fees them not with his avenging eye of justice, yet he fees them all with his eye of omnifcience. Again Though he fees no fin in them, to condemn them, yet he takes notice of their iniquities and tranfgreffions, fo as to rebuke and chastise them in a fatherly way on the account of them. There is indeed no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; but then these are defcribed as fuch who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit'. God has nothing against his people, as they are justified by the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and washed in his blood; but he has many things against them, which he takes notice of in a providential way, for their good, and his glory: Nevertheless, fays Chrift to the church at Ephefus; I bave somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repentTM.

This is the true ftate of this doctrine: Let any one judge, whether, in this view of it, it can be thought to be a licentious one.

9. The doctrine of efficacious grace in converfion, or of effectual vocation by the powerful and infuperable grace of God, can furely never be reckoned to have any tendency to lead perfons into a vicious courfe of living; fince they that are called by it, are called with an holy calling, and unto holiness: They have new principles of grace and holiness implanted in them; they are formed anew for God, are made new creatures, new men; and have put on the new man, which after God is created in, or unto, righteousness and true holiness": They are created in Chrift Jefus unto good works; and are put into the best capacity of performing them, from the best principles, with the beft views, and to the best ends.

10. The doctrine of the faints final perfeverance can never be chargeable with encouraging immorality; unless continuance in faith and holiness is an immorality; or that it can be thought, that the way to persevere in holiness, is to abound in fin. Nor does this doctrine make the use of means, or exhortations to diligence, care and watchfulness, unneceffary. The apoftle Peter, though he afferts that those who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, and are begotten again according to his abundant mercy, are kept by the power of God through faith unto falvation; yet exhorts these fame persons to gird up the loins of their mind, to be fober, and hope to the end, to be holy in all manner of conversation, and to pass the time of their fojourning here in fear; and makes ufe of their fure and certain redemption by the precious blood of Christ, from a vain conversation, to move and engage them to a regard to these things. And indeed, though there is no danger of true believers falling, fo as to be loft, and perifh; yet inasmuch as through the weakness of the flesh, the temptations of Satan, and the fnares of this world, they may fo fall, as to dishonour the name of God, wound their own fouls, and ftumble others, there is good reason why be that thinks he fands, fhould take heed left he fall. It is, indeed, in the way and ufe of means, that the Spirit of God leads on the faints in faith and holiness to the end.

Thus we have feen that the feveral peculiar doctrines of grace are pure and innocent, having no manner of tendency to licentioufnels; but the genuine nature and design of them are, to promote holiness of life and conversation. We might easily recriminate, by fhewing that the charge of licentioufness may be brought with much more truth and juftice against the oppofite doctrines: As for instance; if Chrift has redeemed all mankind, every individual of human nature, then may a prophane 9 1 Cor. x. 12.

Eph. iv. 24.

• 1 Peter i. 5.

P.Ver. 13, 15, 17.

a prophane finner fay, "I am redeemed by the blood of Chrift, and shall undoubtedly be faved, let me live as I will; for Chrift could not die, or his blood "be shed in vain." Should it be faid, that though it is afferted that Chrift died for all men, yet none can receive any benefit by his death, but fuch as believe, and repent of their fins: Be it fo; fince it is affirmed that man has a power to believe and repent when he pleases; the profane finner may go on to fay, "Seeing this is my cafe, I am endued with a free-will, I can believe and repent at pleasure, I will take my fill of fin, and at a convenient time, I will reform, 66 repent and believe, and doubt not but all will be well with me." So the doctrine of the faints apoftacy may be improved by wicked men, to encourage them to continue in finful courses, and to procraftinate all concerns as yet about a future state: For may the finner fay, "if this is the cafe, that a man may be truly "converted, be a true believer, and penitent, and a real child of God, and yet "fo fall and apostatize, as to be in the fame ftate he was before; may amend, "and fall away again, and in this way go on to the end, fo that it is very uncer"tain and precarious in what ftate he will die; then I may, for the present at least, indulge myself in finful pleasures; for certainly it will be acting the "wifer and more rational part, for me to amend, repent, and put myself into "a good state, fince these are in my power, toward the close of my days, when "it may be more rationally concluded I fhall continue therein, and fo die in a happy fituation." Thus, I fay, we might eafily recriminate; but I choose not to load principles with confequences which are denied; nor fhould our opponents charge ours as they do, when we declare our abhorrence of every thing of this nature.

To conclude: Let us, notwithstanding these imputations, value and efteem the doctrine of grace, and not entertain the lefs opinion of it on this account. Let us stand fast in it, abide by it, and earnestly contend for it. Let us endeavour, by the affiftance of the grace of God, to have our converfations as become the gofpel; to adorn the doctrine of Chrift in all things; to hold the mystery of the faith in a pure confcience; and fo to live, as to put to filence the ignorance of foolish men, and fuch to the blufh, who falfly accufe the doctrine of grace, and our converfation in Chrift.

SERMON