The Way Of Instating Sinners Personally And Savingly In The Covenant Of Grace
THE WAY OF INSTATING SINNERS PERSONALLY AND SAVINGLY IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE
BY the marks and characters given, it appears, that they are but few who are personally and savingly instated in the covenant of grace, in comparison of those who are strangers to it: but we are allowed to offer it to strangers; to invite and call them who are without the covenant, to come into it, and so to compel them to come in, Luke 14:23. Here then are the glad tidings of the gospel: there is a covenant, which was entered into from eternity between God and Christ the second Adam; a covenant of grace, made in favour of sinners of Adam's race, ruined by the breach of the covenant of works. In it there is full provision for your salvation; to relieve you from all the ruining effects of the broken first covenant, and to render you completely happy. The condition of this covenant is indeed high; being screwed up to a pitch by the demands of the law and justice: yet there is nothing on that part to discourage you from the covenant; for your inability being foreseen from eternity, it was laid upon one that is mighty, to perform it; and now it is already performed and fulfilled to your hand by that mighty one, Christ Jesus. Only, the promises remain to be fulfilled. So the burden of the condition is over without you; and ye are called to the benefit of the promises. And that ye may have the more clear access thereto, the administration of the covenant is put into the hand of the same Christ Jesus; and he is intrusted with all the promises, to fulfil them sinners. He hath begun to fulfil them to all who have taken hold of the covenant; and is ready to fulfil them to all who yet shall take hold thereof. For that end he hath made his testament of these promises, and constituted sinners of mankind his legatees; that whosoever of them will, may come, claim, and take the water of life freely, Rev. 22:17. The whole of the covenant is in him. In him is God, the party-contractor on heaven's side, 2 Cor. 5:19. he himself is the party-contractor on man's side: and in him are all believers really, and all the elect legally and representatively. In him is the condition of the covenant, and that as fulfilled: he is the Lord our righteousness, Jer. 23:6. In him are all the promises yea, and amen, 2 Cor. 1:20, all meeting in him, as lines of a circle in their centre; and sure and stedfast, nowise liable to misgive, as did the promise of the covenant of works in the first Adam. And he as a king hath emitted his royal proclamations, bearing, that whosoever will come into him, and unite with him as head of the covenant, shall be taken into it, and have a right to all the privileges thereof in him, and through him.
Thus the covenant is brought to you, and set before you in the gospel; so that ye must needs be either receivers or refusers of it. Refuse it not: that is dangerous beyoud expression. Take hold of it; for it is your life. Sinners, ye are under the covenant of works, where there is no life, no salvation for you: but the door of the new covenant is opened unto you: come, enter into it without delay. Flee, and make your escape out of the dominion of the law, the covenant of works, ye were born under, and are living under: and that can in no wise be done, but by your accepting and embracing this covenant offered to you in the gospel; to the instating of you personally in it, to all the purposes of life and salvation.
To clear your way into the covenant, it is necessary to shew, by what means it is that a sinner embraceth and is instated in it, effectually unto salvation. And this, in one word, is by faith, or believing on Jesus Christ: Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The covenant of grace is held forth unto you: God saith to every one of you, "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David:" and to close the bargain with you, and state you personally in it, to all intents and purposes of salvation, all that is required of you is to hear, that is, to believe; "Hear, and your soul shall live," Isa. 55:3. He that believeth, is within the covenant of grace personally and savingly: he that believeth not, is still under the covenant of works, where the first Adam left him. Faith is the hand whereby one taketh hold of the covenant, signs it for himself, and closeth the bargain for his own salvation. It is the mouth whereby sinners consent to the covenant, that God becomes their God, and they his people. Although while ye are without the covenant, the working of perfect obedience under the pain of the curse is required of you; and more than that, suffering also, even to the satisfaction of justice; and both these, in virtue of the broken first covenant: and when ye are once brought within the covenant, obedience to all the ten commandments, and suffering of the discipline of the covenant in case of your failures, are required of you, in virtue of the new covenant ye are entered into: yet to enter you into the covenant, and instate you in it unto salvation, nothing is required of you, but that ye believe on Christ. Only believe, Mark 5:36, is the constant doctrine of the gospel in this point. Do what you will, and believe not, you remain in a state of damnation: whatever is done, or not done by you, believe, and you are in a state of salvation. If you should say it with your lips a thousand times over, that you accept of the covenant; if you should come under the most solemn and awful bond and engagement to be the Lord's, expressly taking the same upon you in prayer, or otherwise; if you should write your covenant, and subscribe it with your hand; and should take the sacrament of Christ's body and blood upon it, to confirm all: yet if you do not with the heart believe on Jesus Christ, you embrace not the covenant, you miss the saving hold of it, and remain without the saving bond of it. And if you should this moment with the heart believe on Christ, having no access to speak, pray, write, or communicate: yet the moment you believe, you are personally and savingly instated in the covenant, never to fall out of it through the ages of eternity; God is your God, and all the promises of the covenant are yours: though you had missed the gripe of the covenant ten thousand times before: in that case you have it firm and sure: Mark 16:16, "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: he that believeth not, shall be damned."
And that believing on Christ should be the appointed means of entering sinners into the covenant of grace, is very agreeable to the nature and end of that great transaction. The which appears by these two considerations following.
1. Hereby the grace of the covenant is preserved entire in the dispensation of the covenant; and by that means the promise is made sore to all the seed, Rom. 4:16. Faith is contradistinguished to works, as grace is to debt, chap. 4:4, 5. If any work or doing of ours were that upon which we were instated in the covenant, and got the right in the promises; then the covenant and benefit thereof would be of debt to us, contrary to the declared end and design of that method of salvation, which is to exalt the free grace of God, and to cut off all boasting from us, Eph. 2:8, 9. But the nature of faith's efficacy in the business is adapted to that end and design of the covenant; in as much as it is a grace, not giving, but purely receiving; taking all freely from Christ, without money, and without price, laying the stress of the soul's acceptance with God wholly on what Christ bath done and suffered; and entirely renouncing all doings and sufferings of our own in that point. And thus the promise is sure to us: for whereas the plea of any work of ours would be a very uncertain one; faith's plea is ever sure and stedfast, as grounded allenarly on what Christ hath wrought.
2. Hereby the sinner's entering into the covenant is by uniting with Christ the representative, with whom it was made as party-contractor; which is the Scipture-account of the matter, John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall he saved:" and so the unity of the covenant, and the representation in it, are preserved. If men entered into the covenant some other way, as by their accepting properly called terms to them proposed, and promising for themselves the performance of them: in that case the representation in the covenant is marred; and there would be in effect as many covenants of grace as there are persons embracing it at different times; at least, Christ's covenant would be one, and ours another distinct therefrom; the contrary of which is before evinced from the Scripture. But the covenant of grace being made with Christ as second Adam, in the name of all such as should be his; it plainly follows, that the only way of one's entering personally into it, must be by becoming his, standing related to the head of the covenant as our head: and it is by faith, and no work, nor consent of ours differing from faith, that we are united to him, and become members of his body, Eph. 3:17. How do we all enter personally into the covenant of works, so as to partake of the curse in it? Is it not through our becoming, by natural generation, branches of the first Adam, the representative in that covenant? Hereby every one of us is personally entered, and instated in that covenant, before we are capable to approve or disapprove of the same, to consent to it, or dissent from it. Even so we enter personally into the covenant of grace, so as to partake of the benefits in it, by our becoming branches of the second Adam the representative therein: and that is through faith, in subjects capable of actual believing. It is by being ingrafted into Christ we come to partake of the covenant and benefits thereof. And hence it is, that infants, not capable of actual believing, nor of knowing what the covenant is, yet having the Spirit of faith, are personally entered into it, and instated in it; forasmuch as that Spirit of faith is effectual in them, to a real uniting them with Christ. Hereunto agrees God's giving Christ for a covenant; that in him people may have the covenant, and all the benefits thereof. As God, in making the covenant, took Christ for all, for the condition, and for the parties to receive the promises; he being the second Adam: so sinners, in accepting and embracing of the covenant, are to take him for all; the whole of the covenant, the parties and parts of it too being in him, forasmuch as he is God as well as man, second Adam.
And thus it appears, that uniting with Christ the head of the covenant, is a sinner's formal entering into the covenant: the which uniting with him being by faith on him, it is evident that it is by believing on Christ a sinner embraceth, enters into, and is instated in the covenant unto salvation. Wherefore reach Christ by faith, and ye reach the covenant: if ye miss him, ye miss the covenant, in point of life and salvation. But here ariseth a weighty question, to wit,
QUEST. What is that believing, by which one unites with Jesus Christ, and so enters into the covenant of grace? ANSW. The clearing of this point being so necessary to direct sinners in their way into the covenant, for their eternal salvation; we shall, for what now remains, address ourselves to the consideration thereof only.
And to begin with the word, by which the Holy Ghost expresseth what we call believing, whether in the Old or New Testament; whosoever shall duly consider the import of it, in the scripture-use thereof, will find, that it is just trusting, trusting a word, person, or thing. And hence the scripture-phrases of believing to, and believing in that is, trusting to, and trusting in; the former, phrases, however unusual with us in conversation, yet ordinary, both in the Old and New Testament, according to the originals. It is the trusting a word, as to a report, Isa. 53:1. In his words, Psalm 106:12. It is the trusting a person; so, in the style of the Holy Ghost, the Israelites believed in the Lord, and in Moses his servant, Exod. 14:31. He believed not in his servants, Job 4:18, that is, as we read it, he put no trust in them. And it is the trusting a thing too: so, in the same style, Job 39:12, "Wilt thou believe in him," to wit, the unicorn, "that he will bring home thy seed?" i. e. Wilt thou trust in him, that he will do it? Deut. 28:66, "Thou shalt not believe in thy life;" that is, as we read it, Thou shalt have none assurance of thy life; no trust in it, because no certainty about it. The phraseology is the same in the New Testament, as being brought into it from the Old, only in a different language. And taking the meaning of the Holy Ghost in this matter, from the words which he teacheth, as we are directed, 1 Cor. 2:13, we conclude, That faith or believing, so expressed by him in the Scripture, is, in the general, trusting, the trusting of a word, and of a person, and thing, held forth in that word.
Now, there is a twofold word to be believed or trusted of all those who would enter into the covenant of grace in a saving manner; namely, the word of the law, and the word of the gospel. The believing of the former is a faith of the law; the believing of the latter, a faith of the gospel: of which in order.
The faith of the law is not indeed saving faith: for the law is the word and ministration of condemnation, and not of righteousness; as speaking nothing of a Saviour, an atonement, or an imputed righteousness, 2 Cor. 3:9. Nevertheless, it is a necessary antecedent thereof, according to the stated order of the dispensation of the covenant. The faith of the law is like the hearing of the strong wind, the feeling of the earthquake, and seeing of the fire; in which though the Lord was not, yet they served to prepare for hearkening to "the still small voice," in which he was, 1 Kings 19:11, 12. Accordingly, the faith of the law is the work of the Spirit of God, as well as the saving faith of the gospel; though wrought in a different manner. The former he works as a Spirit of bondage, convincing of sin and misery, by the law, Rom. 8:15, with John 16:8. The latter he works as a quickening Spirit, enlightening the soul in the knowledge of Christ, by the gospel, 2 Cor. 3:17, 18.
Whosoever then would enter into the covenant of grace, must in the first place have a faith of the law: for which cause, it is necessary, that the law, as well as the gospel be preached unto sinners. And that faith of the law consists in a belief of these three things.
1. By it a man believes that he is a sinner. The holy law pronounceth him guilty: and he believes the report of the law concerning himself in particular; his heavy and sorrowful heart, by this faith, echoing to the voice of the law, guilty, guilty! Rom. 3:19. The which faith rests not on the testimony of man, whether spoken or written; but is a divine faith, founded upon the testimony of God, in his holy law, demonstrated by the Spirit of bondage, to be the voice of the eternal God, and the voice of that God to him in particular. And thus he believes, (1.) That his life and conversation is sinful, displeasing and hateful in the sight of a holy God, according to the divine testimony, Rom. 3:12, "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one." He is convinced, that he is gone out of the way of God, and walking in the way of destruction; that the number of his errors of omission and commission he cannot understand; and that all his righteousness, as well as his unrighteousness, are as filthy rags before the Lord. (2.) That his heart is full of mischief and iniquity, according to the divine testimony, Jer. 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." The law shining into the heart, discovers divers lusts there, which he little noticed before; and pressing the unholy heart, irritates them: and thus such a mystery of iniquity within his breast opens to his view, as he could never before believe to have been there. Rom. 7:3, "I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." (3.) That his nature is quite corrupted, as one dead in trespasses and sins, according to the divine testimony, Eph. 2:1. To the verdict of the law, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" Job 14:4, his soul, by this faith, echoes back, unclean, unclean! "I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." He is convinced his disease is hereditary and natural: and that therefore his nature must be renewed: that otherwise, he not only does no good, but can do no good. In all these respects, he believes himself to be an object loathsome in the sight of God; loathsome in his nature, heart, and life.
2. By it a man believes, that he is a lost and undone sinner, under the curse of the law; liable to vengeance, according to the divine testimony, Gal. 3:10, "Cursed is every one that coutinueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." He can no more look upon the curse as some strange thing, belonging only to some monsters of wickedness, and not to him: for the Spirit of the Lord, as a Spirit of bondage, applies it closely to him; as if he said, thou art the man. And like one under sentence of death pronounced against him, he groans out his belief of it, under the pressure thereof, Luke 15:17, I perish.
3 Lastly, By it a man believes his utter inability to recover himself. He believes, that he cannot, by any doings or sufferings of his, remove the curse of the law from off him; according to the divine testimony of our being without strength in that point, Rom. 5:6; nor change his own nature, heart, and life, so as to render them acceptable to God; according to the infallible testimony, Jer 13:23, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." He is, in his own eyes, as in the sight of God, a spiritually dead man; legally dead, and morally dead, as the apostle testifies of himself in that case, Rom. 7:9.
This is the faith of the law. And the effect of it is a legal repentance, whereby a sinner is broken and bruised with fear and terror of the wrath of God; grieves and sorroweth for sin, as a ruining and destructive evil; and therefore really desires to be freed from it; despairs of salvation by himself; and seriously looks out for relief another way, Acts 2:17, and 16:29, 30. Thus the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ; and the faith of the law, makes way for the faith of the gospel. Not that either this legal faith, or legal repentance, is the condition of our welcome to Christ and the covenant of grace: our access to Christ and the covenant is proclaimed free, without any conditions or qualifications required in us, to warrant us sinners of mankind to believe on Jesus Christ, as was shown before. But they are necessary to move and excite us, to make use of our privilege of free access to Christ and the covenant, insomuch that none will come to Christ, nor embrace the covenant, without them in greater or lesser measure. Even as if a physician should cause proclaim, that he will freely cure all the sick of such a place, that will employ him: in which case, it is plain, none will employ him, but such as are sensible of some malady they labour under; yet that sense of a malady is not the condition of their welcome to that physician; nor is it requisite for his curing them, but for their employing him.
Now, in calling you to embrace the covenant, ye are called indirectly, and by consequence, to this faith of the law, namely, to believe that ye are sinners in life, heart, and nature; lost and undone, under the curse; and utterly unable to recover yourselves. Yet it is not saving faith, nor doth it instate one in the covenant of grace; that is peculiar to another kind of believing: of which in the next place.
Saving faith, which unites to Christ, is the faith of the gospel. For the gospel only is the ministration of righteousness 2 Cor. 3:9. It is in it that the righteousness, of faith is revealed unto faith, revealed to be believed on, Rom. 1:17. It is the alone word which gives sinners the notice of a Saviour, of the atoning blood, and the new covenant in that blood; and therefore is the only word by which saying faith is begotten in the heart of a lost sinner. In the word of the gospel, the Lord and Saviour Christ, with all his benefits and covenant, is; and that to be believed on, as appears from Rom 10:6, 7, 8, 9. So that, the word of the gospel, being received by believing, we have Christ, and his covenant, with all the benefits thereof: saving faith being indeed the echo of the quickened soul, to the word of grace that bringeth salvation; a trusting of the word of the gospel, and the person, to wit, the Saviour, and the thing, therein held forth to us, to be believed on for salvation. Mark. 1:16, "Believe the gospel." Is. 53:1, "Who hath believed our report?" Gal. 3:2, "The hearing of faith." This is that believing, by which we are united to Christ, entered into the covenant of grace, and instated therein unto salvation. The which believing may be explained in four particulars; (1.) The faith of Christ's sufficiency; (2.) The faith of the gospel-offer; (3.) The faith of our right to Christ; and, (4.) The faith of particular trust for salvation. So putting the
QUESTION, What is that believing, by which I, a lost sinner, under the curse of the law, may unite with Jesus Christ, and so enter into; and be instated in the covenant of grace, to my eternal salvation? We ANSWER thereto directly in these four particulars, by way of direction in this momentous point, whereon salvation depends.
In the first place, you are to believe, that there is a fulness of salvation in Christ for poor sinners. This is the constant report of the gospel concerning him, Eph. 3:8, "That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Heb. 7:25, "He is able to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him." In the word of the gospel Christ is held forth as an able Saviour; able to save men from their sins, and from the wrath of God. His merit is a sufficient sconce against the tempest of fiery wrath, which incensed justice is ready to cause to fly forth against transgressors: Isa. 32:2, "A man shall be a covert from the tempest." His Spirit is sufficient to sanctify the most unholy: 1 Cor. 6:11, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." The righteousness be fulfilled as the condition of the covenant, is so valuable in itself, and in the eyes of his Father, that it is sufficient to procure justification, sanctification, and all other saving benefits to sinners, who in themselves deserve death and damnation: so that they are happy who are in him; they shall never perish, but have everlasting life, being eternally secure under the covert of his righteousness, as a sufficient defence. Believest thou this?
This is the general faith of the gospel, which being without particular application, doth not unite the sinner to Christ, nor enter him into the covenant; and may be found in reprobates and fallen angels, being only an assent in general to the truth of the doctrine of the gospel, Matth. 13:20, 31, and 8:29. But by the nature of the thing, it is necessarily prerequisite to a faith of particular application: for I must first believe a saying to be true in itself, before I can trust to it for my part: I must first believe a thing to be good in itself, before I can believe that it is good for me.
But where the faith of the gospel is carried forward to uniting with Christ, the effect of this general faith is very valuable, as well as necessary. And that is, an high esteem of Christ and his covenant, an ardent desire of union and communion with him, a longing for his righteousness, as a hungry man longs for meat, or a thirsty man for drink. The man sees indeed, that he has no special interest in Christ and his righteousness; but he would fain have it: all is sapless to him without it; his soul within him cries, give me Christ, or else I die: and he is content to part with all for him, and to take him for all. This is taught us in the parables of the treasure hid in the field, and of the pearl of great price, the finding out of which moves to sell all, and to buy them, Matth. 13:44, 45, 46.
Howbeit this esteem and desire of Christ is different from that which follows upon the soul's union with Christ, when once faith hath taken possession of him and his benefits, and hath got a view of his intrinsic supereminent worth and value: the which is mentioned, 1 Pet. 2:7; Psalm 73:25. The true spring of all this esteem and desire, is the principle of self-preservation, and the view of Christ as suited to that end. The merchant man is seeking goodly pearls for his own enriching; and seeing that the one pearl will answer that design, he is restless till he have it. The poor sinner is hotly pursued with the law's curse, which is still ringing death and damnation in his ears. In the mean time, he gets a distant view of the city of refuge; and therefore he makes forward to it with all speed: but what makes him run, but life, life, precious life, that he may not perish? Verily, he cannot be expected to act from a generous principle, before he is united to Christ: John 15:5, "Without me ye can do nothing." But let him not fear: he is welcome to Christ, even coming to him from no higher principle. The truth is, the Lord Jesus, by his Spirit, sets the principle of self-preservation astir, being a thing in itself good; and useth it as a mean to hasten sinners unto him. This is evident from the complaint, John 5:40, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Can one imagine our Lord will reject a sinner coming to him for life, when he complains that sinners will not come to him for that end?
IN the next place, you must believe, that Jesus Christ, with his righteousness, and all his salvation, is by himself offered to sinners, and to you in particular. This is the plain voice of the gospel to all unto whom it comes, Isa. 55:1, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price." Rev. 22:17, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Prov. 8:4, "Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man." But alas! few believe it: yea, none will believe it to purpose till the Spirit of the Lord make it plain to them, and persuade them by an inward illumination. Many secure sinners hear the gospel, and are glad of the offer: but they discern not Christ's voice in it. They hear it not, as the word of the Lord Christ himself to them; but as the word of men: hence it hath no due authority upon their consciences; so they pass it over lightly. Thus were his offers of himself entertained, when made by his own mouth, but he not discerned as the eternal Son of God, and Saviour of the world. So, in the congregation of Nazareth, all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. But they said, is not this Joseph's son? Luke 4:22. And in a little they rose up, and thrust him out of the city, ver. 29. Again, when the voice of Christ is discerned in the offer by the convinced sinner; then the sinner is ready to conclude, that it is to others, but not to him. Unbelief saith, but our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts, Ezek. 37:11. They cannot believe, that so good news from heaven concerns them, or that such a word is directed unto them. And thus men not believing God in the record given of his Son, that he is, with all his salvation, offered to them, do make him a liar, 1 John 5:10.
But where saving faith is a-working, the word of the gospel-offer is, by the Holy Spirit, applied to the soul in particular with power, as the word of the Lord himself, and not of men; whereby the man is assured, that it is the voice of Christ, and to him in particular: whereupon he applies it to himself by believing: 1 Thess. 1:5, "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." Chap. 2:13, "The word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." This is altogether necessary; insomuch that without it there can be no receiving of Christ, forasmuch as otherwise the soul can see no solid ground and foundation of faith, for it is evident there can be no receiving aright, where the sinner doth not believe the offer to be to him in particular. And here begins the application of faith, an application tending to union with Christ.
Wherefore, if you would unite with Christ, and so enter into the covenant of grace, sist yourselves before the Lord as condemned sinners, under the curse of his law; and hear and believe the word of his gospel, as directed to you condemned and cursed sinners in particular. So will it come unto you, as the rising sun, to one sitting in darkness, and in the shadow of death; or as the offer of a pardon, to one under sentence of death. And let not your heart misgive you by unbelief; but firmly believe the offer to be made by Christ himself unto you, as it is in very deed, Isa. 55:3, "Hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you."
But here it is necessary to remove the following objections.
OBJECTION 1. But Christ is now in heaven, and I hear no voice from thence: how then can I believe that he himself is offering himself to me? ANSWER. Though Christ is in heaven, yet he is speaking from heaven to us; howbeit not by a voice sounding through the clouds, yet by a voice sounding in the gospel: Heb. 12:25, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh—that speaketh from heaven." And not only is his voice in the word of the gospel, but he himself by his Spirit is in it, as the apostle teacheth, Rom. 6, 7, 8. Thence it is, that it is a quickening word to dead souls: John 6:63, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." It is the lively seed, whereof the new creature is formed, 1 Pet. 1:23. Jesus Christ did once, by a voice sounding through the clouds, speak a word of conviction, Acts 9:4, 5. But even in that case, the word of the offer of himself was remitted to the preaching of the gospel by a messenger thereto appointed, ver. 6. And the voice of Christ sounding in his written word, is more sure than a voice sounding through the clouds, 2 Pet. 1:18, 19. This voice in the word is the stated ground of faith, with which faith must close for salvation: Rom. 1:16, "The gospel of Christ: it is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth." Ver. 17, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." And there is no true saving faith, where it is not received as the very voice of the Lord himself, 1 Thess. 2:13. Therefore you must receive the word of the gospel, as the word of Christ himself, as in very deed it is.
OBJECTION 2. But Christ in the word of the gospel doth not name me: how then can I believe that he offereth himself, his righteousness and salvation, to me in particular? ANSWER. Neither doth he name you in the word of the law, whether in the commands thereof, or in the curse thereof. How do you come to believe that you are a sinner? Is it not, that, the commands of the law being directed to all men, you conclude and believe, that, you being of the number of mankind, they are therefore directed to you in particular, as well as to others? And how come you to believe that you in particular are under the curse of the broken law? Is it not, that, since the law denounceth its curse against every one that, being under it, breaks it, Gal. 3:10; Rom. 3:19, you do conclude and believe, that it curseth you, forasmuch as you are one of these breakers thereof? Now, you have as sufficient ground to believe that the offer of the gospel is to you in particular; forasmuch as it is made to all, without exception, unto whom the gospel comes, Rev. 22:17; Isa. 55:1. It is ordered to be made to every creature under heaven, Mark 16:15: and how sinful soever you are, you are one of these creatures. Christ's voice is unto men, sons of men: and be what you will, you are one of mankind-sinners: and therefore the offer is to you in particular, Prov. 8:4. Accordingly, we are warranted to apply the general offer to every one in particular; and every one is warranted to apply it to himself: Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
OBJECTION 3. But alas! I fear I want the qualifications determinative of those to whom the gospel offer is particularly directed. I dread that I have not as yet got a due sense of sin: and our Lord says expressly, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," Matth. 9:12, 13. The gospel-offer runs in these terms, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come," Isa. 55:1, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden," Matth. 11:28, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," Rev. 22:17. But when I view my own condition, I very much fear I have not as yet reached that thirst after Christ, and that willingness to take him, which these texts speak of; and that I cannot be accounted one truly labouring and heavy laden: how then can I believe that Christ offers himself to me in particular? ANSWER. It is most certain truth, that, unless you have a due sense of sin, unless you thirst after Christ and his righteousness, unless you be heavy laden with the felt burden of sin, and willing to take Christ on any terms, you will never take him by a true faith. Nevertheless, whatever qualifications you have, or have not; yet if you are a sinner of Adam's race, (and I hope you doubt not that), Christ is offered to you, together with his righteousness, and all his salvation, Prov. 8:4; John 3:16; Mark 16:15. For howbeit there are indeed certain qualifications necessary to move you to take Christ; yet there are none at all to hamper the gospel-offer: but Christ is really offered to you, be in what case you will; so really, that if you do not believe it, and thereupon receive an offered Saviour, you will be damned for not believing, Mark 16:16.
It is undeniable, the less that sinners are sensible of their sins, they are the farther from righteousness; they do the more need Christ, and are the more to be called to repentance. This is evident from the whole tenor of the holy Scripture, and from the very nature of the thing. And therefore it is sinners in the general, and not sensible sinners only, who are meant, Matth. 9:12, 13. Even as it is sick people in general, comprehending even those of them who are so delirious, as to think nothing ails them, that need a physician; and not those sick only, who are sensible of their state and hazard. This is the plain literal sense of that passage, from which there is no necessity to depart: and the departing from it is attended with a manifest inconvenience.
Neither is the thirst mentioned, Isa. 55:1, to be restricted to a gracious thirst, a thirst after Christ and his righteousness. For some at least of the thirsting ones, to whom the offer is there made, are "spending money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not," vers. 1, 2. But it is evident, that sinners duly sensible, who are thirsting after Christ and his righteousness, are not spending their money and labour at that rate; but, on the contrary, for that which alone is bread, and satisfieth, namely, Jesus Christ the true bread which came down from heaven. Wherefore the thirst there meant, must needs comprehend, yea, and principally aim at, that thirst after happiness and satisfaction, which being natural, is common to all mankind. Men pained with this thirst do naturally run, for quenching thereof, to the empty creation, and their fulsome lusts: and so they "spend money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not;" finding nothing there that can satisfy that their appetite or thirst. Now, to men in this wretched case is the gospel-offer of the waters of life made: Christ is offered to them, as bread, fatness, what is good, and will satisfy that their painful thirst, which otherwise will never be quenched, ibid.
And as little is the solemn gospel-offer, Matth. 11:28, restricted to a certain set of men endowed with some laudable qualifications, going under the name of labouring, and being heavy laden; the which do indeed denote the restlessness natural to the sinful soul of man, spending its labour for that which satisfieth not, Isa. 55:2. Our father Adam left his whole family with a conscience full of guilt, and a heart full of unsatisfied desires. Thus we naturally having a restless conscience, and a restless heart, the soul as naturally falls a labouring for rest to them. And it labours in the barren region of the fiery law, for a rest to the conscience; and in the empty creation, for a rest to the heart. But after all, the conscience is still heavy laden with guilt, whether it has any lively feeling thereof, or not; and the heart is still under a load of unsatisfied desires. So neither the one, nor the other, can find rest indeed. This is the natural case of all men. And to souls thus labouring and laden, Jesus Christ calls, that they may come to him, and he will give them rest; namely, a rest for their consciences, under the covert of his blood; and a rest to their hearts, in the enjoyment of God through him. To this interpretation we are led by the style of the Scripture, the phraseology of the Holy Ghost, both in the Old and New Testament; the which may be viewed in the following texts compared, to wit, Eccl. 10:15; Hab. 2:13; Isa. 55:2, and 1:3, 4; 2 Tim. 3:6, 7.
Finally, as for the willingness which you are afraid you are defective in, surely, in all other cases, he that saith, Whosoever will, let him take such a thing, will, according to the common sense and understanding of such words amongst mankind, be reckoned to offer that thing unto all, and to exclude none from it; however it may bear an intimation, that it is not to be forced on any. Why then should this manuer of speech, Rev. 22:17, be thought to limit the gospel-offer to a certain set of men?
Wherefore we conclude, that Christ lays no bar in the way of any of you: do not ye put bars in your own way, and then complain ye cannot get over them. For, according to the holy Scripture, it is infallible truth, that Christ is offered to you, and every one of you, in particular: believe it, else ye make God a liar, 1 John 5:10.
Furthermore, you must believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, and your Saviour in particular, by his Father's appointment, and his own offer: and that, by the same appointment and offer, his righteousness, the condition of the covenant, and eternal life, the promise of the covenant are yours; yours, I mean not, in possession, but, in right thereto; so far as that you may lawfully and warrantably take possession of the same, and use them as your own to all intents and purposes of salvation, John 4:42, "We know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." 2 Sam. 22:3; and Luke 1:47, "my Saviour." Do not think this too much for you: it is no more than what is necessary to saying faith in Christ. If you believe only, in the general, that Christ is the Saviour of the world, but believe not that he is your Saviour in particular; what do you believe more than devils do? They believe him to be Jesus a Saviour, Mark 1:24. If you would go beyond them, you must believe he is your Saviour; and consequently, that his righteousness and salvation are yours, in the sense before opened: for where Christ is given, with him are freely given all things. And pray consider, how can ye take him or receive him as your Saviour, if he is not yours indeed? A man may fraudulently take possession of what he doth not believe to be his by right: but no man can fairly and honestly claim and take possession of what he doth not believe to be his own. Certainly, God must first give Christ us, before we can receive him: for "a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven," John 3:27. Giving on God's part, and receiving on ours, here, are corelates: and the former is the foundation of the latter. Now, God's gift is sufficient to make a thing ours. Therefore believe firmly, that Christ is your Saviour in particular; that his righteousness is yours, and eternal life yours.
QUESTION. But how can I, a poor sinner, by nature under the curse, believe that Christ is my Saviour, that his righteousness, and eternal life, are mine? ANSWER. You may firmly believe it, because you have the word and testimony of the eternal God upon it, in his holy Gospel. What is the gospel, which the apostles were sent, in the name of God, to testify? The apostle John declares it, 1 John 4:14, "We testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." Is not Jesus Christ then, by office, whatever he is in the event, Saviour of the world? and if he is so, and you are one of that world of mankind, is he not therefore your Saviour? Why then will ye not believe it? God set the sun in the heavens to be a light to the world: and do not you therefore judge, that you have a right to the light of that sun, as well as the rest of mankind; and accordingly use it freely, to work or read by it, as your own by God's free gift? Jesus Christ also is the light of the world, John 8:12; given for a light to the Gentiles, Is. 49:6: and faith appropriates him, saying, The Lord is my light, and my salvation, Psalm 27:1. Now, you are a member of these societies, to wit, the world, and the Gentiles: therefore he is your light, that is, given for a light to you. Will you take Christ's own word upon it? you have it John 6:32, "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven." If your neighbour give you bread, you will reckon his gift thereof sufficient to make it yours; and so eat of it freely as your own. If your prince shall give you a house or land, which he hath an unquestionable right to dispose of, you would reckon them truly yours by his gift; and would freely go and dwell in that house, and possess that land, as your own. How is it then, that when the Father gives you his Christ, yet you will not believe that he is yours, nor take possession of him as your own? Why, the truth of the matter lies here: you believe your neighbour, you believe your prince; but you believe not your God, in his holy gospel, but make him a liar, not believing the record that God gave of his Son, 1 John 5:10. But, whether you will believe it or not, it is a truth, that Christ is your Saviour: and if you will not believe it now, to your salvation, you will undoubtedly see your mistake hereafter; when perishing, you will be convinced that you perish, not because you had not a Saviour, but because you neglected to make use of him.
In like manner, the righteousness of Christ is yours, namely, that which he fulfilled as the condition of the covenant. It is yours by Heaven's gift, being given you with himself: and therefore it is called the gift of righteousness, Rom. 5:17. It is a testamentary gift, made over to you in Christ's testament, wherein sinners of mankind, without exception, are the legatees, as hath been already cleared. Eternal life is another such gift or legacy: so it is yours too. And you have the record, testimony or witness, of God himself upon it, that it is given you, 1 John 5:11, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life: and this life is in his Son." Is not God's own record a sufficient ground for believing? will you venture to disbelieve it on any pretence whatsoever? Here you have that record, namely, that God hath given to us eternal life. It may be you will imagine that it relates only to actual believers in Christ, or at most to the elect; and use that for a defence of your unbelief. But, I pray you, consider it is the ground and warrant for all to believe on Christ, and to lay hold on eternal life in him; being the witness of God, which he hath testified of his Son, to be received by all to whom the gospel comes, ver. 9: but that God hath given eternal life to a certain select set of men, can never, in reason, be deemed to be a warrant for all men to believe. Moreover, the great sin of unbelief lies in not believing this record: but it doth not lie in not believing that God hath given eternal life to actual believers, or to the elect; for the most desperate unbelievers believe that, insomuch that their belief of it adds to their torment; but it lies in their not believing, that to mankind sinners, and to themselves in particular, God hath given eternal life. This is what flies in the face of the gospel of God, which is the proclaimed deed of the gift and grant of Christ and all his benefits, to sinners of mankind, declaring the grant thereof to be made them, and calling them to take possession of the same as their own, Isa. 9:6, "Unto us a child is born," (the word signifies presented born, as to his relations having a particular interest in him; as Machir's children were presented to Joseph, and laid on his knees, Gen. 50:23, and Ruth's son to Naomi, Ruth. 4:17), "unto us a son is given." John 3:16, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." 1 Cor. 1:30. Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us (namely, by legal destination) wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
And thus you see you have an infallible ground for this act of faith, namely, the testimony of God that cannot lie. Wherefore, as ever you would be united to Christ, and so instated in the covenant, believe firmly that Christ is yours, and his righteousness yours, and eternal life in him yours.
This is a more close application of faith than the former, and ariseth from it; for thus one believeth the efficacy of the divine appointment, and of the gospel-offer. If God appoints Christ a Saviour to you, with his righteousness and eternal life, and Christ offers himself to you accordingly; surely the effect of that appointment and offer must be, that they are indeed yours, to be used by you, as your own, for your salvation. If you believe that appointment of the Father, and the Son's offer, you must needs believe this: for if they be real, and not ludicrous deeds, they certainly convey to you a right to Christ, his righteousness and salvation: so that, in virtue of them, these must be yours, to be warrantably claimed and used by you as your own, for the purposes of salvation. It is not doubted, but men's deeds of gift, and their offers, real and not ludicrous, do convey such a right to the parties in favour of whom they are made. If a friend of yours, having a sum of money lying in a neighbour's hand, should, especially by a deed in writing under his own hand, appoint and ordain that sum a gift to you, to relieve you out of a certain strait; you would make no question but you might go and claim it, and take it up: if, having the sum in his own hand, he should offer it to you, as a gift, you would make no question but you might take it to you; and, in both cases, use it as your own by your friend's appointment or offer. And shall not the Father's ordinances and appointment, and Christ's offer, be as efficacious? Why then will you not believe this its efficacy? why will ye not believe, that Christ with his righteousness and eternal life are yours?
Truly, the believing hereof is the very next step to the soul's uniting with Christ: and therefore it is proposed to the sinner, as the nearest means to bring him close unto God in Christ, Hos. 14:1, "Return unto the Lord thy God," he is thy God, thou hast a right to him, return, come even to him, take possession of him as thine own God: Accordingly, the sinner coming unto him by faith, comes on this very ground, Jer. 3:22, "Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God." Ver. 23, "Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel." As Hagar's eyes were seasonably opened to see she had a well by her, when she had given up her son for dead; so when the sinner lies in his death's wounds from the law, in a work of conviction, the spirit of faith opens his eyes, by means of the glorious gospel, in a work of saving illumination, so that he sees he hath a Saviour, a righteousness, and salvation. And then he presently apprehends or grips the same as his own. Thus the prodigal first believed that he had yet a father, and a father's house, where there is enough and to spare; and then ariseth and goeth to him, Luke 15:17, 18.
OBJECTION 1. If it be true, that Christ is my Saviour, that his righteousness, and eternal life in him, are mine; then I may be easy, I will certainly be saved without any more ado. ANSW. That is but a cavil, best suiting those who, being indifferent about Christ and salvation, think it not worth their pains seriously to consider such things. One truly impressed with the matter, and duly considering, being once brought to believe this, would rather say, "Then, since Christ is really my Saviour, his righteousness and eternal life mine; I will take him to me, I will receive and rest on him as my Saviour, I will rely on his righteousness, and look for eternal life in him: why should I be lost for ever, since I have a full Saviour? why should I go naked, since I have a complete righteousness made over to me by heaven's gift? why should I die, when I have eternal life in Christ?" Put the case, you did see a man at the point of starving for want of bread; and, out of kindness and pity to him, you should appoint and ordain meat for him, out of your own store, for preservation of his life; and withal should carry it to him, and set it before him, saying, Ha, there is meat I and my father have ordained for you, eat, and welcome. If that man should say, Oh! I may not take it, for it is not mine own; would you not tell him, that your gift, appointment, and offer of it to him, makes it his, so that, with a good conscience, he may freely eat it as his own bread? but should he then reply, and say, Why then, if it is mine, without any more ado I am secured from starring; I need not at all be at pains to take and eat it; would you not reckon him either mad, or but jesting with you, not sensible of his hazard of starring? The application is obvious. It is not meat being one's own, so that he may use it freely as such, that will keep him from starring: he must take and eat it, and so use it as his own, if he would have that benefit by it. Even so it is not Christ being yours, with his righteousness and salvation, that will save you: you must take possession of him, and make use of him as your own, for salvation, if you would be actually saved by him. There is a wide difference betwixt a thing being ours in simple right thereto, and its being ours in possession. It is in the former way only that Christ is yours before uniting with him: and if you do not improve that, by receiving him, and taking possession, you will perish eternally for all it: Heb. 4:1, "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Luke 16:12, "If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"
OBJECTION 2. But Christ a Saviour, his perfect righteousness, and eternal life, are things so exceeding great and precious, and I am so very sinful and unworthy, that it is mighty hard for me to believe they are mine. ANSW. Yea, here indeed lies a great difficulty of believing; when once a sinner's eyes are opened, to see the transcendent excellency of Christ, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and his own utter unworthiness: a difficulty not to be surmounted, but by the effectual operation of the Spirit of faith, causing one to believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Eph. 1:19. But for your help consider they are yours by mere free gift; which is so far from requiring any work in the creature, that it excludes all respect thereto. Christ himself is the Father's gift to you, John 4:10, and 6:32. His righteousness is a gift too, Rom. 5:17. And so is eternal life in him, 1 John 5:11. Now, what is freer than a gift? And then, howbeit they are indeed a gift far beyoud whatever you could have expected, yet they are not too great for an infinite God to give. In making this gift, he acted not according to the dignity of the party in whose favour it was made; but according to himself, his own greatness and majesty. Meanwhile, though the gift is quite above your dignity, yet it is no more than what your need required. If less could have answered your necessity, there is no ground to think, a crucified Christ, the Son of God, would have been prepared for you. If you do but suppose it, you mar that expression of matchless love, John 3:16, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." Wherefore, argue with yourself in this manner: "The gift is indeed unspeakable, but no less can serve my need; if Christ be not mine, I must perish: since therefore God hath said it, that he hath given me Christ; and the gift is not above him to give, and no less can serve my turn; I must and will believe that he is mine, with his righteousness and salvation."
Finally, You must wholly trust on him as your Saviour, and in his righteousness as made over to you; and that for his whole salvation to you in particular, upon the ground of God's faithfulness in his word. And this is that saying faith, or believing on Christ Jesus, by which a sinner is united to him, and personally entered within the covenant of grace unto salvation: Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Psalm 2:12, "Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish:—blessed are all they that put their trust in him." And Psalm 37:40, "He shall save them, because they trust in him." Rom. 15:12, "In him shall the Gentiles trust." Compare Isa. 11:10; Rom. 1:17, "Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith;" or, "Therein is the righteousness of God by faith, revealed unto faith," to wit, to be believed or trusted on. See Philip. 3:9: Gal. 2:16, "We have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified." Acts 15:11, "We believe, that, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved." 1 Thess. 2:13, "Ye received it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of God." 1 Cor. 2:5, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." This, according to the scripture, is a sinner's receiving and resting upon Christ for salvation, as saving faith is defined in our Catechism: and this is indeed believing, and nothing but believing, according to the scriptural use of that word.
1. I say, this is the scriptural receiving and resting on Christ. It is the receiving of him in sense of the holy Scripture: John 1:12, "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name;" where the receiving of Christ is explained by believing on his name. God hath appointed Christ Saviour of the world, and your Saviour. you hear the same published in the gospel; and you accordingly believe that he is your Saviour by his Father's appointment, and his own offer; hereupon you trust on him, and on him alone, for salvation, and all that you need for your salvation. Is not this a receiving of him for your part in the character of a Saviour, wherein his Father sent him forth to you? Is it not a taking of him to yourself, as offered to you? Our Lord complains of the Jews, John 5:43, that whereas he came in his Father's name, they received him not, to wit, in the character wherein he was sent, namely, as the Messias, the Saviour of the world, and their Saviour, trusting in him that be would save them. This plainly appears to be the meaning, if one compares herewith the words there immediately following: "If another shall come in his own name, him will ye receive:" q. d. Ye will believe him to be the Messias, and your Saviour, and trust on him accordingly, that he will save you; the which has been often verified in that unbelieving people. Moreover, this is resting on Christ in the scripture-sense of that manner of expression: Isa. 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." And indeed one cannot devise what way a person can rest on a word, or a soul or spirit can rest upon a person, but by trusting them, or trusting in or on them. It is said, 2 Chron 32:8, "The people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah." What way can one imagine they did so, but by trusting them? Chap. 14:11, "Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee." How could they do so, but by trusting on him for their help?
2. This is believing, in the scriptural use of that word, which, in our entry on the question under consideration, we established from the scripture itself. For it is a trusting of, or trusting in a person, namely, Jesus Christ, and God in him, the personal object of saving faith, Acts 16:31; a trusting in a thing, namely, the righteousness of Christ, the ultimate real object of faith, Rom. 1:17; and a trusting in a word, namely, the record and testimony of God, the word of the promise of the gospel, the proximate or nearest real object of faith, ibid.; and all this for the great purpose of salvation. And then it is nothing but such believing: for thus faith is not explained away into, but is a thing quite distinct from the nature of a work, as the scripture contradistinguisheth works to faith.
Wherefore we conclude, that this trust is that believing on Christ, by which the soul is united to him, and savingly instated in the covenant. And for opening of it, we shall take notice of these five things plainly imported in it.
1. This trust imports, not only a willingness, but a sincere and honest desire to be delivered from sin and wrath; a desire to be sanctified, as well as to be justified; to be delivered from the reigning power, pollution, practice, and inbeing of sin, as well as from the guilt of it; according to that of the apostle, Rom. 7:24, 25, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death; I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." For it is a trusting on Christ, not for the half of his salvation, to wit, salvation from wrath only, which is all the trust of many, being by no means desirous to part with sin; but for the whole of it, namely, salvation from wrath, and salvation from sin too, which is the principal part thereof, Matth. 1:21. Now, a man may indeed fear that from one, which he doth not desire: but no body trusts in one for what he desires not. Faith is a believing with the heart, Rom. 10:10. The whole salvation of Christ is the believer's choice; it is the end he desires to compass: and the trust of faith is exerted as the means to compass that end.
2. A renouncing of all confidence in all that is not Christ, or in Christ, as to the matter of salvation particularly. In this trust is overturned self-confidence, law-confidence, creature-confidence; and the soul builds on a quite new ground: Phil. 3:3, "We rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Jer. 16:19, "The Gentiles shall come unto thee, and shall say, surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit." For it is a trusting wholly on Christ and his righteousness, a trusting, or a believing with all the heart, Prov. 3:5; Acts 8:37. At this rate the believer is carried off from the works of the law, to the blood of Jesus, for his justification; and carried out of himself too, unto the Spirit of holiness in Christ, for his sanctification: being persuaded, that no doing nor suffering of his own, can procure him the pardon of, or atone for the least of his guilt; and that he is not able truly to mortify one lust, more so as to purge away the guilt of one sin, Matth. 5:3; Isa. 45:24.
3. A hearty approbation of the plan or device of salvation according to the covenant, manifested in the gospel, as suited to the divine perfections, and to the case of sinners, and their own in particular: 1 Cor. 1:23, "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;" ver. 24, "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." Without this, no man knowing what God is, what sin is, and what is the worth of his own soul, will ever venture his salvation upon it; but one's trusting his salvation and his righteousness, speaks him to be well pleased therewith, as what one may safely trust to, even in the sight of a holy God. And this is that rejoicing in Christ Jesus, which makes an illustrious mark in the believer's character, Phil. 3:3.
Withal it bears three things. (1.) An eying of Christ in this matter, as a crucified Saviour, who hath fulfilled all righteousness, according to the stated condition of the covenant, 1 Cor. 2:2. It is not Christ in the eternal glory he had with his Father before the world was, that faith fixeth its view on, while the soul in this case stands trembling before a holy God; but Christ the Son of God made man, come in the flesh, being born holy, leading a life perfectly righteous, and at last dying on the cross, to satisfy the demands which the law had on poor sinners. It looks unto him lifted up on the cross, as those who were bitten by the serpents in the wilderness looked unto the brazen serpent lifted up on the pole, Isa. 45:22; Numb. 21:8; John 3:14, 15. Therefore it is called faith in his blood, Rom. 3:25, his righteousness, whereof the shedding of his blood was the completing part, being the spring of the believer's hope. (2.) A real persuasion of the sufficiency of Christ's righteousness to save sinners, and us in particular, from sin and wrath; to answer for us before a holy just God, in the eye of his holy law; and to procure for us eternal holiness and happiness. There is no saving faith without this: Christ's ability to save must be believed, and that with application to your own case in particular, Matth. 9:28, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" And in order hereunto, faith eyes Christ's righteousness as the righteousness of God, and therefore of infinite value and efficacy, Phil. 3:9; 1 John 1:7. The reason why the gospel, and no other doctrine whatsoever, is the power of God unto salvation of sinners, is, because therein is revealed the righteousness of God unto faith, Rom. 1:16, 17, and that is the only righteousness, suited at once to the divine perfections and our case. (3.) An acquiescing in that way of salvation, for ourselves in particular. The believer hath a cordial liking of it, for the way of his salvation, as perfectly safe, being the power of God, and the wisdom of God, 1 Cor. 1:24. His soul pronounceth them safe and happy, that are in it, he desires for his own part to be found in it; and is persuaded he would be saved if he were in it. Thus faith acted in the woman diseased with an issue of blood, Matth. 9:21, "She said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole." And thus it acteth in all believers, determining them to that way, and to that way alone, for their case in particular. And here unbelievers are always unsettled.
4. A betaking one's self unto Christ and his righteousness alone for salvation from sin and wrath. This is done by this trusting. For the sinner believing that Christ is his Saviour, and that his righteousness is made over to him by free gift; and withal, that this his Saviour, with his righteousness, is sufficient to save him from sill and wrath; doth accordingly trust on Christ and his righteousness for his own salvation, and so betake himself thereto: even as a beggar once having, and withal believing himself to have riches and wealth made over to him by a friend, leaves off to beg, and for his maintenance trusts to that wealth allenarly; and thereupon betakes himself to it. It is true, that wealth being a corporal thing, to which there is a bodily motion, the betaking one's self thereto is not the same thing with the trusting to it; howbeit the former is a native consequent of the latter: but Christ and his righteousness, as revealed unto faith, being things purely spiritual, to which there is no bodily motion requisite, that we may betake ourselves to them; the trusting and betaking one's self thereto, are one and the same. So by this trust, the soul takes possession of Christ and his righteousness; and useth the same as its own, to the purpose of salvation. By it the sinner betakes himself as a condemned man, unto Jesus Christ as the propitiatory mercy-seat through his blood, affording safety to the guilty before a holy God: and by it the sinner betakes himself as a sick man, unto the same Jesus as the physician of souls having the fulness of the Spirit of sanctification in him, to be communicated. Accordingly faith is called a coming to Christ, John 6:35; a fleeing for refuge, as one in hazard of his life by a pursuer, Heb. 6:18; and is often expressed, as Psalm 2:12, by a word which properly signifies, to retire as into a shadow, Judg. 9:15, or as the chickens do under the wings of the hen, Ruth 2:12, "The Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust;" properly to retire. Compare Matth. 23:37, "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings!"
5. Lastly, This trust of faith imports an affiance, confidence, or trust on Christ and his righteousness, that he will save us from sin and wrath, according to his promise set before us in the gospel; "Whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Isa. 25:9, "We have waited for him, and he will save us." Heb. 3:6, "Whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence." Isa. 50:10, "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." And that this trust of faith is thus particular, is evident also from the nature of the thing. For whosoever trusts in a person for any thing, hath a persuasion of the same degree of firmness with the trust, that that person will do that thing for him. And for a sure token of this, where the party trusted fails, the party trusting is ashamed and confounded; as being disappointed in that which he trusted he would do for him. Wherefore, since the trust of faith is never disappointed, the scripture doth therefore assure us, that he that believeth on him shall not be confounded, 1 Pet. 2:6. nor ashamed, Rom. 10:11. The which doth sufficiently intimate, that he that believeth on Jesus Christ for salvation, doth trust that he will save him: otherwise there could be no place for his being confounded or ashamed whatever should be the event of his trust. Accordingly the trust of faith doth, in proportion to the firmness thereof, establish and fix the heart, Psalm 112:7, "His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord:" and hereof we have a plain instance in Paul's case, 2 Tim. 1:12, "I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed," marg or trusted. Agreeable hereunto, faith is called in effect a building on Christ, as upon a foundation that will bear our weight, Isa. 28:16, with 1 Pet. 2:6. It is called a leaning upon him, Cant. 8:5; a staying on him, Isa. 26:3; a resting or relying on him, 2 Chron. 14:11, and 16:8. as upon one that will bear us up; a looking unto him, Isa. 45:22, having our eyes upon him, 2 Chron. 20:12, as one from whom we look for life and salvation; and finally, believing on him, 1 Pet. 2:6, as one by whom we shall be saved, Acts 15:11.
The sinner being shaken out of all confidence for life and salvation in other things, stays himself by faith on Jesus Christ and his righteousness; trusting on him, that he shall have life and salvation through his righteousness. It is true, indeed, this particular trust and confidence may be assaulted with many doubts and fears: but these are things that faith hath to conflict with, as its opposites; and the stronger that faith is, the less they prevail; the weaker it is, they prevail the more: Matt. 14:31, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" It is indeed of very different degrees in different persons, and in one and the same person at different times: but if you remove all trust and confidence in Christ for one's own salvation, from faith, the very nature and essence of it is destroyed. For at that rate, the sinner, whose confidence in the flesh for his salvation is razed, having no confidence for it in Christ neither, is left quite unsettled and wavering, like a wave of the sea, or a reed in the water: and where then is faith's building, leaning, staying, relying and resting the soul on Christ? James 1:6, "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed." Ver. 7, "For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." But the believing sinner, finding his confidence in the flesh razed, doth, by believing, cast the anchor of his trust and confidence on Christ Jesus and his righteousness, confiding and trusting that he will save him. And however he may indeed waver in that matter; being tossed with doubts and fears about his salvation, weakening the actings of that his confidence; and sometimes prevailing so far, as to cause an intermitting of the exercise thereof: yet, even in that case, under all that tossing, he doth not waver like a wave of the sea, that hath nothing to fix it; but only like a ship at anchor. His confidence is never quite rooted out, as to the habit thereof; but will again exert itself: and in that respect every believer, as a real "partaker of Christ, holds the beginning of his confidence stedfast unto the end," Heb. 3:14. And this trust and confidence is what our reformers called assurance, and described faith by.
OBJECTION 1. Since it is not true of all who hear the gospel, that they shall be saved; there cannot be, in the case of every one of them, a ground on which this particular trust may be warrantably founded. ANSWER. All and every one of them, notwithstanding that, have a solid ground for it, even for trusting on Christ and his righteousness for their own salvation in particular. And that is the record and testimony of God in his gospel, that "whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life," John 3:16. The true sense of which, as appears from what is said, is, that whosoever shall have this trust and confidence in Christ, shall not be disappointed, but shall certainly be saved. Here then is the faithfulness of God in his word, for the foundation of this faith of particular trust: and true faith is always built on that foundation. It is certain indeed, that, in the event, many to whom the gospel comes will not be saved: but then, it is as certain, that those who will not be saved, will not believe neither; that is, they will not come up to this particular trust and confidence, we have described from the word, Isa. 53:1, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" Howbeit, at this rate they have a firm ground of particular confidence. If they will not believe for all this, their ruin is of themselves, they will perish without excuse: and their unbelief will be the great ground of their condemnation. Jesus Christ, with his righteousness and salvation, is so far made theirs, by the Father's appointment, and his own offer, that they may lawfully and warrantably trust on him as their Saviour, each one for his own salvation. If they will not believe it, or not trust on him accordingly; they do, by their unbelief and distrust, dishonour the Father and his Son, and most justly perish.
OBJECTION 2. Many trust in Christ as their Saviour, with a particular confidence that he will save them; and yet are grossly ignorant, profane, or formal hypocrites; and therefore not true believers, nor united to Christ. ANSWER. The apostle speaking of faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. 1:5, doth suppose that there is a feigned faith. And indeed such trusters in Christ have it: but as for this trust which we have described from the word, it is as certain they hare it not, as it is certain that true faith purifies the heart, Acts 15:9, and truly sanctifies, chap. 26:18. As such trusters say, that they receive Christ, and rest on him alone for salvation, embrace, accept, and consent to him in the gospel-offer: even so they say, that they trust on him. But this trust on him they really have not. For, first, They trust not on him for his whole salvation; nay, as for the chief part thereof, to wit, salvation from sin, they are by no means reconciled thereto: wherefore it may well be an object of their fears and aversion; but it cannot be an object of their trust Secondly, They trust not on him alone for the salvation they really desire: they do not trust on him with all their heart; but partly to him, and partly to their own doings and sufferings, betwixt which and the Saviour their heart is divided. This is clear from Matth. 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Lastly, Their trust is not grounded on the faithfulness of God in the free promise of the gospel; but reared up on some one or other sandy foundation: Isa. 53:1, "Who hath believed our report?" Matth. 7:26, "Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doth them not, shall be likened onto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand."
And thus have we shown, what is that faith or believing by which a sinner unites with Jesus Christ, and so enters savingly into the covenant of grace. Why God hath appointed it to be the means of union with Christ, may be learned from Rom. 4:16, "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace;" of which before. Here I shall only observe, that this trusting wholly on Christ and his righteousness for his whole salvation, is an apt means or instrument of union, betwixt Christ the party trusted, and the soul trusting on him; forasmuch as the soul is therein so carried forth unto him, that from that moment it is thereby, as it were, wholly to stand or fall with him; as the superstructure with the foundation; the leaner with the leaning-stock; the thing relying, resting, staying upon another thing, with the stay or base on which it is laid. Wherefore, the object of faith being infallible, they that thus trust in the Lord, shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever, Psalm 125:1. Thereby they are united to Christ, and being united to him, are personally instated u the covenant to their eternal salvation.
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