Part 2

2. _Ye are saved_ (to comprize all in one word) from sin. This is the salvation which is through faith. This is that great salvation foretold by the angel, before God brought his first begotten into the world, _Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins_. And neither here, nor in other parts of holy writ, is there any limitation or restriction. All his people, or, as it is elsewhere express’d, all that believe in him, he will save from all their sins; from original and actual, past and present sin, of the flesh and of the spirit. Through faith that is in him, they are saved both from the guilt and from the power of it.

3. First from the guilt of all past sin. For whereas _all the world is guilty before God_; insomuch that should he _be extreme to mark what is done amiss, there is none that could abide it_: and whereas _by the law is only the knowledge of sin_, but no deliverance from it; so that _by fulfilling the deeds of the law, no flesh can be justified: now the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, is manifested unto all that believe_. Now _they are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Him God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood; to declare his righteousness for_ (or by) _the remission of the sins that are past_. Now hath Christ _taken away the curse of the law, being made a curse for us_. He hath _blotted out the hand-writing that was against us, taking it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. There is therefore no condemnation now, to them who |believe| in Christ Jesus_.

4. And being saved from guilt, they are saved from fear. Not indeed from a filial fear of offending; but from all servile fear, from that _fear which hath torment_, from fear of punishment, from fear of the wrath of God; whom they no longer regard as a severe master, but as an indulgent father. _They have not received again the spirit of bondage; but the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father: the spirit itself also bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God._ They are also saved from the fear, tho’ not from the possibility, of falling away from the grace of God, and coming short of the great and precious promises: thus have they _peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. They rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, through the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them._ And hereby they are _persuaded_ (tho’ perhaps not at all times, nor with the same fulness of persuasion) that _neither death nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heighth nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate them from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord_.

5. Again, through this faith they are saved from the power of sin, as well as from the guilt of it. So the apostle declares, _Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not._ (chap. iii. 5, &c.) Again, _Little children, let no man deceive you.――He that committeth sin is of the devil.――Whosoever believeth is born of God. And whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God._ Once more, _We know that whatsoever is born of God sinneth not: but he that is begotten of God, keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not_, chap. v. 18.

6. He that is by faith born of God, sinneth not, 1. By any habitual sin: for all habitual sin, is sin reigning. But sin cannot reign in any that believeth. Nor, 2. By any wilful sin, for his will, while he abideth in the faith, is utterly set against all sin, and abhorreth it as deadly poison. Nor, 3. By any sinful desire; for he continually desireth the holy and perfect will of God; and any unholy desire, he by the grace of God stifleth in the birth. Nor, 4. Doth he sin by infirmities, whether in act, word or thought. For his infirmities have no concurrence of his will; and without this they are not properly sins. Thus, _He that is born of God doth not commit sin_. And tho’ he cannot say, _He hath not sinned_, yet now, _he sinneth not_.

7. This then is the salvation which is through faith, even in the present world: a salvation from sin, and the consequences of sin, both often expressed in the word _Justification_; which, taken in the largest sense, implies, a deliverance from guilt and punishment, by the atonement of Christ actually applied to the soul of the sinner now believing on him, and a deliverance from the power of sin through Christ _formed in his heart_. So that he who is thus justified or saved by faith, is indeed _born again_. He is _born again of the Spirit_ unto a new _life, which is hid with Christ in God_. And as a _new-born babe he gladly receives the sincere milk of the word, and grows thereby: going on in the might of the Lord his God, from faith to faith, from grace to grace, until at length he come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ_.

III. The first usual objection to this is,

♦1. That “to preach salvation or justification by faith only, is to preach against holiness and good works.” To which a short answer might be given: it would be so, if we spake, as some do, of a faith which was separate from these. But we speak of a faith which is not so, but productive of all good works and all holiness.

2. But it may be of use to consider it more at large: especially since it is no new objection, but as old as St. _Paul’s_ time; for even then it was asked, _Do we not make void the law through faith?_ We answer, first, all who preach not faith, do manifestly make void the law; either directly and grosly by limitations and comments, that eat out all the spirit of the text: or indirectly, by not pointing out the only means whereby it is possible to perform it. Whereas, secondly, _We establish the law_; both by shewing its full extent, and spiritual meaning: and by calling all to that living way, whereby _the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in them_. These, while they trust in the blood of Christ alone, use all the ordinances which he hath appointed, do all the _good works which he had before prepared that they should walk therein_, and enjoy and manifest all holy and heavenly tempers, even the same _mind that was in Christ Jesus_.

3. “But does not preaching this faith lead men into pride?” We answer, accidentally it may. Therefore ought every believer to be earnestly cautioned, (in the words of the great apostle) _Because of unbelief, the first branches were broken off; and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he spare not thee. Behold, therefore the goodness and severity of God! On them which fell, severity: but towards thee, goodness: if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off._ And while he continues therein, he will remember those words of St. _Paul_, foreseeing and answering this very objection, (_Rom._ iii. 27.) _Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay; but by the law of faith._ If a man were justified by his works, he would have whereof to glory. But there is no glorying for him, _that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly_, (Rom. iv.) To the same effect are the words both preceding and following the text, (_Eph._ ii. 4, &c.) _God who is rich in mercy,――even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved)――that he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace ye are saved through faith. And that not of yourselves._ Of yourselves cometh neither your faith nor your salvation. _It is the gift of God_; the free, undeserved gift, the faith thro’ which ye are saved, as well as the salvation, which he of his own good pleasure, his mere favour, annexes thereto. That ye believe, is one instance of his grace; that believing ye are saved, another. _Not of works, lest any man should boast._ For all our works, all our righteousness, which were before our believing, merited nothing of God but condemnation. So far were they from deserving faith; which therefore, whenever given, is not _of works_. Neither is salvation of the works we do when we believe. For _it is_ then _God that worketh in us_. And therefore, that he giveth us a reward for what he himself worketh, only commendeth the riches of his mercy, but leaveth us nothing whereof to glory.

4. “However, may not the speaking thus of the mercy of God, as saving or justifying freely by faith only, encourage men in sin?” Indeed it may and will; many _will continue in sin that grace may abound_. But their blood is upon their own head. The goodness of God ought to lead them to repentance; and so it will those who are sincere of heart. When they know there is yet forgiveness with him, they will cry aloud that he would blot out their sins also, thro’ faith which is in Jesus. And if they earnestly cry, and faint not, if they seek him in all the means he hath appointed, if they refuse to be comforted till he come, _he will come and will tarry not_. And he can do much work in a short time. Many are the examples in the Acts of the Apostles, of God’s working this faith in men’s hearts, as quick as lightning falling from heaven. So in the same hour that _Paul_ and _Silas_ began to preach, the jailor _repented, believed, and was baptized_: as were three thousand by St. _Peter_ on the day of Pentecost, who all repented and believed at his first preaching. And blessed be God, there are now many living proofs, that he is still thus _mighty to save_.

5. Yet to the same truth, placed in another view, a quite contrary objection is made: “If a man cannot be saved by all that he can do, this will drive men to despair.” True, to despair of being saved by their own works, their own merits or righteousness. And so it ought; for none can trust in the merits of Christ, till he has utterly renounced his own. He that _goeth about to establish his own righteousness_, cannot receive the righteousness of God. The righteousness which is of faith cannot be given him, while he trusteth in that which is of the law.

6. * But this, it is said, is an uncomfortable doctrine. The devil spoke like himself, that is, without either truth or shame, when he dared to suggest to men that it is such. ’Tis the only comfortable one, ’tis _very full of comfort_, to all self-destroyed, self-condemned sinners. That _whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed_: that _the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him_: here is comfort, high as heaven, stronger than death! What! Mercy for all? For _Zaccheus_, a public robber? For _Mary Magdalen_, a common harlot? Methinks I hear one say, then I, even I, may hope for mercy! And so thou mayest, thou afflicted one, whom none hath comforted! God will not cast out thy prayer. Nay, perhaps he may say the next hour, _Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee_; so forgiven that they shall reign over thee no more; yea, and that _the Holy Spirit shall bear witness with thy spirit that thou art a child of God_. O glad tidings! Tidings of great joy, which are sent unto all people. _Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters: come ye and buy, without money, and without price._ Whatsoever your sins be, _though red, like crimson_, though _more than the hairs of your head: return ye unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon you: and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon_.

7. When no more objections occur, then we are simply told, that “salvation by faith only, ought not to be preached as the first doctrine, or at least not to be preached to all.” But what saith the Holy Ghost? _Other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ._ So then, _That whosoever believeth on him shall be saved_, is and must be the foundation of all our preaching; that is, must be preached first. * “Well, but not to all.” To whom then are we not to preach it? Whom shall we except? The poor? Nay, they have a peculiar right to have the gospel preached unto them. The unlearned? No. God hath revealed these things unto unlearned and ignorant men from the beginning. The young? By no means. _Suffer these_ in any wise, _to come unto_ Christ, _and forbid them not_. The sinners? Least of all. _He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance._ Why then, if any, we are to except the rich, the learned, the reputable, the moral men. And ’tis true, they too often except themselves from hearing; yet we must speak the words of our Lord. For thus the tenor of our commission runs, _Go and preach the gospel to every creature_. If any man wrest it or any part of it to his destruction, he must bear his own burden. But still, _as the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord saith unto us, that we will speak_.

8. At this time more especially will we speak, That _by grace ye are saved through faith_: because never was the maintaining this doctrine more seasonable than it is at this day. Nothing but this can effectually prevent the increase of the _Romish_ delusion among us. ’Tis endless to attack one by one, all the errors of that church. But salvation by faith strikes at the root, and all fall at once where this is established. It was this doctrine (which our church justly calls _the strong rock and foundation of the Christian religion_) that first drove Popery out of these kingdoms, and ’tis this alone can keep it out. Nothing but this can give a check to that immorality, which hath _overspread the land as a flood_. Can you empty the great deep, drop by drop? Then you may reform us, by dissuasives from particular vices. But let the _righteousness which is of God by faith_ be brought in, and so shall its proud waves be stayed. Nothing but this can stop the mouths of those who _glory in their shame, and openly deny the Lord that bought them_. They can talk as sublimely of the law, as he that hath it written by God in his heart. To hear them speak on this head, might incline one to think, they were not far from the kingdom of God. But take them out of the law into the gospel; begin with the righteousness of faith, _with Christ, the end of the law to every one that believeth_: and those who but now appeared almost, if not altogether Christians, stand confess’d the sons of perdition; as far from life and salvation (God be merciful unto them!) as the depth of hell from the height of heaven.

9. For this reason the adversary so rages, whenever _Salvation by Faith_ is declared to the world. For this reason did he stir up earth and hell, to destroy those who first preached it. And for the same reason, knowing that faith alone could overturn the foundations of his kingdom, did he call forth all his forces, and employ all his arts of lies and calumny, to affright _Martin Luther_, from reviving it. Nor can we wonder thereat; for as that man of God observes, _How would it enrage a proud, strong man armed, to be stopt and set at nought by a little child, coming against him with a reed in his hand?_ Especially, when he knew that little child would surely overthrow him, and tread him under foot. _Even so, Lord Jesus!_ Thus hath thy strength been ever _made perfect in weakness_! Go forth then, thou little child, that believest in him, and _his right-hand shall teach thee terrible things_! Tho’ thou art helpless and weak as an infant of days, the strong man shall not be able to stand before thee. Thou shalt prevail over him, and subdue him, and overthrow him, and trample him under thy feet. Thou shalt march on under the great captain of thy salvation, _conquering and to conquer_, until all thine enemies are destroyed, and _death is swallowed up in victory_.

Now thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, for ever and ever. _Amen._

SERMON II.[2]

THE ALMOST CHRISTIAN.

ACTS xxvi. 28.

_Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian._

AND many there are who go _thus far_: ever since the Christian religion was in the world, there have been many in every age and nation, who were _almost persuaded to be Christians_. But seeing it avails nothing before God, to go _only thus far_, it highly imports us to consider,

_First_, What is implied in being _almost_,

_Secondly_, What, in being _altogether a Christian_.

I.) 1. Now, in the being _almost a Christian_ is implied, first Heathen honesty. No one, I suppose, will make any question of this; especially, since by Heathen honesty here, I mean, not that which is recommended in the writings of their philosophers only, but such as the common Heathens expected of one another, and many of them actually practised. By the rules of this they were taught, that they ought not to be unjust; not to take away their neighbour’s goods, either by robbery or theft: not to oppress the poor, neither to use extortion toward any: not to cheat or over-reach either the poor or rich, in whatsoever commerce they had with them: to defraud no man of his right, and, if it were possible, to owe no man any thing.

2. Again, the common Heathens allowed, that some regard was to be paid to truth as well as to justice. And accordingly, they not only held him in abomination, who was forsworn, who called God to witness to a lie; but him also, who was known to be a slanderer of his neighbour, who falsly accused any man. And indeed little better did they esteem wilful liars of any sort, accounting them the disgrace of human kind, and the pests of society.

3. Yet again, there was a sort of love and assistance, which they expected one from another. They expected whatever assistance any one could give another, without prejudice to himself. And this they extended, not only to those little offices of humanity, which are performed without any expence or labour: but likewise, to the feeding the hungry, if they had food to spare, the clothing the naked, with their own superfluous raiment; and in general, the giving to any that needed, such things as they needed not themselves. Thus far (in the lowest account of it) Heathen honesty went; the first thing implied in the being _almost a Christian_.

II.) 4. A second thing implied in the being _almost a Christian_, is the having a form of Godliness, of that Godliness which is prescribed in the gospel of Christ: the having the _outside of a real Christian_. Accordingly, the _almost Christian_ does nothing which the gospel forbids. He taketh not the name of God in vain: he blesseth and curseth not; he sweareth not at all, but his communication is yea, yea; nay, nay. He profanes not the day of the Lord, nor suffers it to be profaned, even by the stranger that is within his gates. He not only avoids all actual adultery, fornication, and uncleanness, but every word or look, that either directly or indirectly tends thereto: nay, and all idle words, abstaining both from detraction, backbiting, tale-bearing, evil-speaking, and from _all foolish talking and jesting_, εὐτραπελία, a kind of virtue in the Heathen moralist’s account. Briefly, from all conversation that is not _good to the use of edifying_, and that consequently _grieves the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption_.

5. He abstains from _wine wherein is excess_, from revellings and gluttony. He avoids, as much as in him lies, all strife and contention, continually endeavouring to live peaceably with all men. And if he suffer wrong, he avengeth not himself, neither returns evil for evil. He is no railer, no brawler, no scoffer, either at the faults or infirmities of his neighbour. He does not willingly wrong, hurt, or grieve any man; but in all things acts and speaks by that plain rule, _Whatsoever thou wouldst not he should do unto thee, that do not thou to another_.

6. And in doing good, he does not confine himself to cheap and easy offices of kindness, but labours and suffers for the profit of many, that by all means he may help some. In spite of toil or pain, _Whatsoever his hand findeth to do, he doeth it with his might_: whether it be for his friends, or for his enemies; for the evil, or for the good. For being _not slothful in this_, or in any _business, as he hath opportunity he doth good_, all manner of good _to all men_; and to their souls as well as their bodies. He reproves the wicked, instructs the ignorant, confirms the wavering, quickens the good, and comforts the afflicted. He labours to awaken those that sleep, to lead those whom God hath already awakened, to the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, that they may wash therein and be clean; and to stir up those who are saved through faith, to adorn the gospel of Christ in all things.

7. He that hath the form of godliness, uses also the means of grace, yea, all of them, and at all opportunities. He constantly frequents the house of God; and that not as the manner of some is, who come into the presence of the Most High, either loaded with gold and costly apparel, or in all the gaudy vanity of dress; and either by their unseasonable civilities to each other, or the impertinent gaiety of their behaviour, disclaim all pretensions to the form, as well as to the power of godliness. Would to God there were none even among ourselves who fall under the same condemnation; who come into his house, it may be, gazing about, or with all the signs of the most listless, careless indifference, tho’ sometimes they may _seem_ to use a prayer to God for his blessing on what they are entering upon; who, during that awful service, are either asleep or reclined in the most convenient posture for it; or, as tho’ they supposed God was asleep, talking with one another, or looking round, as utterly void of employment. Neither let these be accused of the form of godliness. No; he who has even this, behaves with seriousness and attention, in every part of that solemn service. More especially when he approaches the table of the Lord, it is not with a light or careless behaviour, but with an air, gesture and deportment, which speaks nothing else, but _God be merciful to me a sinner_.

8. To this if we add, the constant use of family-prayer, by those who are masters of families, and the setting times apart for private addresses to God, with a daily seriousness of behaviour: he who uniformly practises this outward religion, has the form of godliness. There needs but one thing more in order to his being _almost a Christian_, and that is, sincerity.

III.) 9. By sincerity I mean, a real, inward principle of religion, from whence these outward actions flow. And indeed, if we have not this, we have not Heathen honesty; no, not so much of it as will answer the demand of a _Heathen, Epicurean poet_. Even this poor wretch, in his sober intervals, is able to testify

_Oderunt peccare boni, virtutis amore; Oderunt peccare mali, formidine pœnæ._[3]

So that if a man only abstains from doing evil, in order to avoid punishment,

_Non pasces in cruce corvos_,[4]

saith the Pagan; there, _Thou hast thy reward_. But even he will not allow such a harmless man as this, to be so much as a _good Heathen_. If then any man, from the same motive, _viz._ to avoid punishment, to avoid the loss of his friends, or his gain, or his reputation, should not only abstain from doing evil, but also do ever so much good, yea, and use all the means of grace: yet we could not with any propriety say, this man is even _almost a Christian_. If he has no better principle in his heart, he is only a hypocrite altogether.