Book III
Evangelical motives to obedience, drawn from the obligation which God hath
laid upon us, by his appointing us unto good words, in his election of us, and by the greatness of his love manifested in the several instances of it. Other motives urged from the consideration, that Christ having by his death
conquered the devil, and destroyed his kingdom, ice are by our Christian
profession engaged to hate him, and fight against him as a public enemy to
Christ and us, and by all our actions to endeavour the ruin of his dark
Idngdom of sin. Other motives deduced from the divine presence and
majesty apparent in our holy services and performances ; and also from God s design in the revelation of his word, that we should not only read and know it, but practise it too.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. TITUS III. 8.
CHAPTEK I.
A motive to love and obedience, drawn from the consideration, that this obedi
ence is a business, an holy employment committed to us, which we should be
careful to discharge. That the doctrine offree grace enforceth the perform
ance, and suits our spirits to it.
MY design is to consider the motives which the New Testament affords to
invite men regenerate, to holiness, obedience, and fruitfulness in all good works ; and to this purpose I have chosen this text as the most eminent, which hath in its coherence and connection a comprehension of many the
chiefest things that might move us thereto included in it. The introduction
* This is a faithful saying, refers to what forewent, of which he gives that encomium, and should rather close the former verse than begin this, as Luther and others observe. But because the apostle s
in those words,
scope is to bring upon those he would exhort to good works, the weight of
all said in the foregoing verses, therefore it is fitly joined to this in this
coherence, and is as if the apostle had said, That which I have now spoken
is of all sayings or doctrines the most faithful, and tends the most of all
others to provoke them that believe it to be careful to maintain good works ;
therefore, says he to Titus, affirm these things constantly. Ere I insist on
those motives, which this so faithful a saying affords to good works, I am
to speak to four things which serve to open the text.
1. That the exhortation to good works and obedience follows their having believed : that they which have believed in God, &c.
(1.) Faith, then, is clearly founded upon no work in us or upon us, which
234 OF GOSPEL HOLINESS [BOOK III.
is the apostle s scope to prove, as appears by the 5th verse, where, treating of that which is the ground of faith for salvation, he says, Not by works of righteousness, but according to his mercy, hath he saved us. What God doth to save us, that is the only foundation for our faith ; and a man there
fore clearly and nakedly believes on God without consideration of works,
* that they who have believed in God, &c.
(2.) It is in vain to exhort any to good works till they have first believed.
Papists slander our doctrine, that by crying up free grace and faith, we
deny good works ; and upbraid us, that our doctrine affords not any motives
thereto sufficient ; and because (forsooth) we do not urge them to that end
for which they would have them, namely, to merit heaven, therefore they reproach us that we proceed not upon sufficient grounds. But we do indeed proceed in the right order : first, we teach men to believe on free
grace as if there were no works ; and then to fall adoing as if there was no faith to be justified by
: that they who believe in God may be careful
to maintain good works. Yea, we add further, we urge good works upon a higher ground, for a better and more noble end than they can pretend to who assert that we are justified by them. You will say, What is that ?
It is to glorify God. All the world must needs grant that to glorify God
is a higher end than to justify man : John xv. 8, Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit. That is the motive which Christ
urgeth. Again, they say, we proceed not on good ground, because we do not good works to merit by them. Ay, but we go on a better ground, which is love and thankfulness ; whereas theirs is a motive suited only to
self-love. The devil endeavoured to blemish Job : Job i. 9, Doth Job
serve God for nought ? And indeed religion founded wholly on self-love and interest would be mercenary and base ; but to serve God from a
: John xv. 14, Ye are my friends, if ye do whatever I command you. But of the others
principle of love and gratitude, is a noble act of friendship
it might be said, You are my hirelings only ; you only seek to merit by your services, and do all to merit heaven. When Paul, Rom. vi. 22, exhorts to sanctification, he gives this as a motive, that the end is ever
lasting life ; but yet this life is a free gift of God, not what we merit, but what he freely bestows. That is a poor religion in which, when men have done all, they are workers of iniquity ; but now if men work only for self,
they are workers of iniquity, for setting up a man s self is original sin ; and therefore, if we live according to that principle, we rise no higher than
corrupt nature.
2. It is to be considered what is the import of that phrase, maintain
good works. The words are, ir^eraadai xaXuv egyuv. Beza renders it, that they excel, or go before others (namely, heathens) in good works. The same word is used ver. 14 ; and that sense of comparison is favoured
by that expression, Tit. iii. 14, Let ours also, &c., speaking of Christians
as in distinction from heathens ; and so then they that have believed (in the text) are set in opposition to unbelievers. It were the greatest dis honour to Christian religion (which the apostle boasts of to be so glorious and faithful a doctrine) if it should produce less, or not eminently more, of good works than moral principles in heathens have done : What
* for these things do the heathens and publicans, Mat. v. 47. T/ crsg/tftroy, what over and above other men,
singular thing do you ? says Christ ;
yea, what that is abundant in comparison of them, and which they think
superfluous ? Christ had used the verb of the same noun, ver. 20, con
cerning the Pharisees, who were so full of works that they looked to be
CHAP. I.] IN THE HEART AND LIFE. 235
justified by them. But, says Christ, except your righteousness doth Ktoia-
azvsiv, overflow, exceed their righteousness, you cannot be saved.
Another meaning is, that they should take care of good works, as their
business, function, office, which they are set over, so the word more
naturally signifies; as in 1 Thes. v. 12, Know them that are over you
(speaking of officers). It is the same word, and doth govern a genitive
case, as here also ; so likewise the apostle, 1 Tim. iii. 5, when he speaks
of ruling one s family well, useth the same word to express a man s being
over it as chief orderer, governor, and disposer of it, as a president, which
is applied to being over things as well as persons. Take any office of
charge or trust, especially such wherein one hath others under him, and
it hath such a name in the Greek and Latin tongues as to express the
matter committed to his charge ; and so we in English express the office
in the title of the officer when we call him the treasurer, master of the
ordnance or ammunition. These names import an office, and a man s
having a great charge committed to his trust to manage, and this not as a
petty under-officer, but as in chief. And so the word le^araeQai in the text
is an elegant metaphor, and is as if he had said, Exhort them that believe
in God to consider what office and function by so doing they have taken
on them, and are hereby engaged in, even to be in chief over good works. And thus it imports three things
(1.) That they have all sorts of good works committed to them, as their
business and employment.
(2.) That they have them committed to them as the ware, the goods, the
treasure they deal in, to see to it that no kind of good work be wanting (as one when anything is committed to his charge is careful of it), and which
they are to improve and manage, as the most precious treasure committed
to them as a trust by God. They are to husband it, and to have the care
of it ; and therein they are in chief too, in comparison of all other men, and are therefore to excel all others by far in faithfulness, care, and dili
gence therein. Moral civil heathens and formal Christians may pretend
to this, but you are in chief; you are bonorum openim prff/ecti, the fore
men, the presidents of the good work office ; and God will require that at
your hands which he will not at theirs (as states and princes do of their
chief officers the account of such things), and therefore as your place is,
BO let your care be to abound and excel therein. And this interpretation,
as it is more natural to the Greek phrase, so it is more genuine to the
former words, that they be careful. That which such places and offices
of trust do properly require is care ; and therefore the apostle using this
metaphor, that he might answer the force of it, useth also the word
careful ; and both together do urge with a doubled strength this that is
required of them. And with this falls in (though expressed here with a
more emphatical addition) that which is used as a more ordinary ground
: 1 Thes. iv. 7, He
of exhortation to holiness so frequently in Scripture
hath not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness ; you are to make holi
ness your vocation, your calling, trade, and business ; and so_ in 1 Peter
ii. 21, whereunto you are called ; and every one is to walk in his voca
tion. Thus good works are the very calling of a Christian.
(3.) The third thing to be considered is the motives, the incentives here
used, which the former part of the words does direct us to, when he saith,
This is a faithful saying, these things I will that thou affirm constantly,
that, &c. It directs us to the words or sum of doctrine afore delivered.
Now, that doctrine delivered afore is the doctrine of free grace, as it is set
236 OF GOSPEL HOLINESS [BOOK III.
out to us in the work of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, which he had insisted on to this very end in the verse immediately before, and in the
foregoing chapter, ver. 11-13, all of which came in under the comprehen sion of these things in the text, and all which he himself here brings in
(as, if you read what is afore and after, appears) to this end, to urge all sorts of good works upon all sorts of believers. Now, the doctrine of free
grace is that to which in an eminent manner the apostle useth to give the
style of a faithful saying. Thus, 1 Tim. i. 15, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, whereof I am chief. Which doctrine he would have ministers most frequent in, to affirm constantly, and to affirm with a
special certainty and assurance ; for so the word to affirm imports, to speak of them as things that hath the greatest reality in them, and which, when so delivered and so uttered, do mightily work upon men. And so
t l come to the main doctrine intended, which shall be made good out of this context and epistle, viz., that the doctrine of the free grace in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, doth afford sufficient motives and induce ments to men, already saved by faith through that grace without works, to cause them to be careful to abound (above all others) in obedience and good works.
1. The doctrine of free grace is that faithful saying here intended, as that which he sets his probatum est upon to be effectual to this end.
* These
things, saith he, namely, to teach, are good and profitable unto men. 2. You have here the free grace both of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in their several works ; you have them all here.
(1.) You have the free grace of God the Father. Ver. 4, After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared. He intends the Father of our Saviour Jesus Christ, viz., God, so in the Greek, whom he calls Saviour in distinction from Christ ; ver. 6, For he, says he, namely, this God our Saviour, ver. 4, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, &c. Therefore these are two distinct persons, and both our Saviours : the one the Father, the other the Son ; and he speaks of this his grace as an hidden mystery, which we knew not of, being of old concealed in his breast towards us, and therefore used the word appeared, JcrepaMj, broke out suddenly, unexpectedly, as Joseph s love to his brethren did.
(2.) There is the grace and love of Jesus Christ and his work, whom he therefore calls our Saviour ; and he says no more there, because he had told us (but seven verses afore, chap. ii. 4), that our Saviour Jesus Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
(3.) There is the grace of God seen in the Holy Ghost, and his work.
[1.] The gift of him and his person unto us to dwell in us. Ver. 5, 6, The Holy Ghost, whom he shed on us richly, as the word is ; and it is indeed the richest gift that ever was given.
[2.] In his work upon us, that he regenerated and renewed us ; ver. 5, f By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
[3.] In the concomitants of the gift of him unto us, expressed first in
* saved us, estating us into the whole of
general and comprehensive terms,
salvation, absolutely and indefeasibly, fully and completely, in respect of the
right to it ; and this not of works, but according to his mercy, mere mercy. And then, secondly, it is particularly expressed in the parts of it : 1, justi fication from all sin, and a fulness of righteousness, ver. 7, 8 ; and, 2, a perfect title to eternal life, He then make us heirs of eternal life ; not
CHAP. I.] IN THE HEAET AND LIFE. 237
* but heirs of eternal life according to hope, for so the words are to be divided from the other. Heirs of
children only, which is Peter s motive,
eternal life being relatives one to the other, these intermediate words, and
according to hope, being intended to distinguish our being made heirs here
in this life from that hereafter. Here it is in hope, we are heirs according to hope, but not according to possession ; for as the apostle says, Rom.
viii. 24, What a man sees (or possesseth) why doth he yet hope for it ? Yet so as it is as sure as if we had it, for it is an inheritance, and we are saved, ver. 5, fully, completely already ; and so the last clause of this doctrine is made
good out of the words, that to men already saved through faith, or of grace without works, the doctrine of this grace affords motives to all good works.
Now before I come to demonstrate this in each particular, I shall premise this general proof concerning the whole of the grace of God in all three
persons. 1 Peter i. 13, when he would exhort them to behave themselves
as obedient children, and to be holy in all manner of conversation, ver. 14,
15, to move them to this, he had said before, ver. 13, Trust perfectly in the grace that is brought unto you in the revelation of Jesus Christ. So do I rather read the words, than as our translators have rendered them.
Trust, rsXsius, is perfectly, not by halves (so in the margin), for this grace affords a perfect ground and stay for faith to rest upon ; and then it is plain that (psgoftsvriv, which they translate, in the grace
* which is to be brought, as in the future and for time to come, may more naturally be understood,
* is brought, it noting what at the present is brought, and so is to be read.
It was the word hope, and the Syriac translation together, that diverted
this reading ; whereas hope is often put for faith and trust, both in the Old and New Testament. In the Old, Job xiii. 15, that known place, Though he kill me, yet will I trust in him ; I will hope in him. And in the New, Eph. i. 12, That we should be to the praise of the glory of his grace, who
first trusted in Christ. In the margin it is hoped, and so in the Greek. Thus then the words, 1 Pet. i. 13, may run,
* Trust perfectly on the grace which is brought to you, or, as the vulgar, is offered to you. And the other phrase, rendered at the revelation, as if it were at the day of judg ment, is manifestly, sv &4roxaX6*4/si, in the revelation of Jesus Christ, in whom this grace is made known, and is termed a revelation in respect of the former hiddenness and secrecy of it compared to the manifestation of
it now, God having kept it secret in the times of the Old Testament. Thus, in Rom. xvi. 25, the preaching of Christ is called the revelation of the
mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. And at this Peter hath as evident an aim in using this word here, having, in the words before, ver. 12, 13, said that it was kept hid from those of the Old Testament,
yea, the angels, who desired to pry into it ; but it is brought to you, even home to your doors, in the revelation of Christ, namely, through the gospel. Now having thus restored this Scripture in 1 Pet. i. 13 to its right meaning, that which I produce it for and apply it unto is, that the trusting perfectly in this grace should make us obedient, yea, and the more perfectly we
trust, the more we shall be obedient ; and yon can never trust enough or too much upon it, and upon it alone, whilst (as it follows) you are obedient
children, or as the children of obedience, made up of nothing else, you carry yourselves towards this grace. For why should the apostle upon this connection and coherence mention their relation of children, when he would have the grace of God to move them, but because it is the sweetest connection and comprehension of these two in the heart ? For no man
rationally is moved to anything which he hath not a principle within him
238 OF GOSPEL HOLINESS [BOOK III.
suited to, and which answers that motive, and which is to be the life and
soul of it. If a man be a slave, one of a mere servile spirit, this grace
speaks not reason to him ; for that is practical reason to every one that
suits his spirit. Now one under the law, as the apostle opposeth it to
grace, Rom. vi., can find no reason, no strength, no efficacy in such cords
of love and free grace, no more than a beast doth in principles of common
* under
reason ; but if one be a child, and have the spirit of a child, and is
grace, as the apostle speaks, then this grace, that is his sovereign, teacheth him this obedience, and he obeys it naturally, for he is a meet scholar and
disciple to be taught this lesson. And this another parallel place in this
epistle to Titus confirmeth : chap. ii. 11, 12, The grace of God, that brings
salvation, hath appeared. Which is all one with what Peter had said,
1 Pet. i. 18, Which is brought to you in the revelation of Christ. And
because that this grace, that is in God himself, is the subject of the gospel,
therefore that doctrine of it is called grace ; as likewise because withal it is
< teaching us, vaibsMVGa,, teaching and instructing us, as children are taught by their instructors and tutors. Now therefore as in the Old Testament they are under the law as their
the object of our faith, it is called faith,
schoolmaster, as their tutor and governor (I put two or three of the
phrases together used by the apostle, Rom. vi., Gal. iii.), so being under
grace, their spirits are taught and disciplined by it, formed and framed to
the principles thereof and the lessons it reads, which do all teach denying
of ungodliness, and subjection to* all dispositions and duties to God, as he is
holy and gracious, which may make him perfect to all and every good work
of all sorts, which he owes to himself in temperance, to live soberly to
his neighbour in justice, to live righteously and to God in living godly. That is, it teacheth perfect holiness to all we owe any kind of duty unto ;
for all we do, or can be supposed to owe, are either what is due to God,
our neighbour, or ourselves ; and it teacheth, as for the motive or incentive
thereto, all these in one lesson, the grace of God appearing to the heart,
and being manifest to a man s soul.