Fourthly. To say that "men shall die in their sins, shall be condemned to abide under the wrath of God, and be excluded from eternal life, because they believe not to salvation," that is, because they do not apply Christ's merits to them, or believe He died for them, is either to assert "Christ died for every unbelieving Christian," or to assert "they shall hereafter be excluded from eternal life, and condemned to everlasting punishments, for not believing what is false."

Fifthly. Were any christian under such condemnatory decree as that he could not believe, he would not be condemned because he believed not, but he would not believe because he was condemned; and whensoever punishment is duly threatened for the omission or non-performance of an act, it must be supposed both that the act might not have been omitted, and that the punishment would not have followed, had it been performed. To conclude, it is never said in scripture, that "the devils shall be condemned for not believing in Christ," of which no reason can be given but this,→ because he died not for them.

II. It therefore cannot be sufficiently admired, that the grave Synod of Dort should urge such texts as these against this doctrine, viz. that "through his name, whosoever shall believe in him shall receive remission of sins. God hath set forth him to be a propitiation through faith in his blood; and Christ is the end of the law for justification to every one that believeth;"" it being demonstrable that either all men are not obliged to believe for the remission of their sins, or for justification, or to have faith in Christ's blood, although the gospel be revealed and preached to them, and then they cannot be condemned for not believing in Christ;—or that being thus obliged to believe, it must be true, that all to whom the gospel is revealed are enabled to believe that Christ died and shed his blood for them for the remission of their sins, and for their justification upon that condition which God requires them to perform under the highest penalty imaginable. "Whilst you have light," "saith Christ, "believe in the light, that ye may be the children of the light, lest darkness come upon you." Where observe, (1.) That 'to believe in the light,' is to believe in Christ; for I, saith he, 'am the light of the world?

Acts x. 43. m Rom. iii. 25. x. 4.

(2.) Observe,

n John xü. 35. 36. • John ix. 5. ♫ Ibid. viii. 12.

that he exhorts them to believe in him, that by this faith they might become 'children of the light, that is, might be justified and reconciled to God by the blood of his Son, as are all the children of God or of the light: For " if we walk in the light we have communion with God, and the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin, we being all made the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (3.) Observe that Christ speaks this to those Jews which then believed not in him, and the generality of that nation, and so to those who, when he spake, continued unbelievers, and remained under that darkness which after came upon them for their unbelief: Therefore our Lord exhorted them to believe in him, (that they might be justified and saved with the children of light,) who perished in their infidelity; which justification they could not obtain, or rationally be exhorted to believe that they might attain, unless Christ died for them. Moreover a brief inspection into all these places will be sufficient to discover, that they are so far from saying any thing that is not well consistent with this extent of our Lord's salutary passion, that they do manifestly establish it. Thus when St. Peter saith, "To Christ give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins:" Is not this a testimony of a promise of remission of sins unto every one to whom the gospel is preached on the condition of faith in Christ? Is then this a promise made upon a condition possible to all to whom the gospel is revealed or not? If it be made on a condition possible to them all, then all to whom the gospel is revealed may receive remission of sins through faith in Christ; and so Christ must have died for them all. If only upon an impossible condition, then is it, in the mouth of all God's prophets, a pretence of the kindness to the most he never intended they should have; for then he would not have suspended it on an impossible condition. Yea then, is it a promise only in name and show, but in reality none at all: For the Civilians tell us, with the highest reason, that "an impossible condition is as none at all." And here observe, that it is the same thing as to the future state of all men, whether the condition be naturally impossible, or through lapsed nature; whether it be simply impossible, or to corrupted nature: For, seeing God,

by whose benediction we all come into the world, hath given us no other nature; seeing our parents, from whom our nature is derived, have imparted to us no other nature, it is naturally impossible we should come into the world with any other nature than what is lapsed and corrupted: And so it is evidently the same, as to the future state of all men thus corrupted, to promise any good thing to them upon a condition simply impossible, and to promise it on a condition impossible to lapsed and corrupted nature. Moreover, we learn from St. Paul, that this "word of salvation was sent to the whole nation of the Jews, to all them who were children of those fathers to whom the promise of the Messiah was first made;"* that to all them this remission of sins, by him was proffered, and therefore he must die for their sins of that whole nation, of which those that obtained Justification by him were only a small remnant, the rest continuing in their unbelief, and perishing, saith the apostle, for their unbelief, verse 41. Now could they perish for not believing that remission of sins which was preached by the apostles to them through him, if he never died to procure it for them? Surely upon this supposition it must rather follow, that the apostles in this declaration were false witnesses concerning him, and that they who perish for not believing this, must perish for not believing an untruth.

In the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle saith, we have before proved, Ιεδαίες τε καὶ Ελλήνας πάντας, that ALL THE JEWS AND GENTILES were under (the guilt of) sin.'* Now here I suppose it will not be denied that every single person of them were sinners; when therefore he proceeds to say that, Sinaloon de, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS, or justification, which is of GOD, through faith in Jesus, is upon all, and to all that believe, &vap isi diasoan, for there is no distinction,' must he not intend that this justification of God through faith in Jesus Christ, was offered to and intended for all that were sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles? Why else doth he add, that "all were sinners, and had fallen short of the glory of God, and so were (to be) justified freely by his grace through the redemption that was in Jesus?" " In the tenth chapter, having told us that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes," he adds this proof

• Acts xiii. 26. 32. 38. t Rom. iii. 9. w Verses 23, 24, 25.

w Verse 1.

of that assertion, "For the scripture saith, every one that believ eth in him shall not be ashamed, for there is no distinction of Jew nor Gentile; for the same Lord of all is rich unto all that call upon him: for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." * Now is not this God the Lord of all men in particular? When therefore it is said, that he is rich to all that call upon him,' doth not this suppose that all who have the knowledge of him may thus call upon him; and that upon their doing so, they may be saved through Christ? And then must he not have died for their salvation? Moreover the apostle saith not, there is no distinction in this matter betwixt THE ELECT of Jews or Gentiles, but betwixt JEW AND GENTILE in general. Now limit this to A SMALL REMNANT both of Jews and Gentiles, who only are in a capacity of being justified by faith in Christ, and calling upon him so as to be saved, whilst all the residue of Jews and Gentiles, to whom the same remission of sins is preached, are left incapable of this justification and salvation by that Jesus who never died for them;-is there not a deplorable distinction made betwixt them, as to their eternal interests, even by him who is the same Lord of all, as can be well imagined? I conclude therefore with Ecumenius, that "the apostle here, to a my s Xápitos avannρÚTTE, 'declares this is grace common to all'."

CHAP. V.

Contains an answer to the pretended arguments from scripture, against the doctrine of universal redemption.

THE arguments against this doctrine of universal redemption rightly stated, founded upon pretence of scripture, are scarce any, not one place being offered, (against those many which in express terms assert it,) saying either expressly, or by plain and immediate consequence, that" Christ DIED NOT for all." Those texts which have the fairest show of an argument have been both fully answered

z Verses 11, 12, 13.

and retorted; and for the rest even a short answer is more than they deserve, they being rather a begging of the question than proving it from scripture.

OBJECTION FIRST. "They for whom Christ died may say, "Who shall condemn us? (Rom. viii. 34.) But all men cannot say this; Ergo, Christ died not for all." Now,

ANSWER FIRST. Is it not evident that this argument supposeth that Christ died for none who shall hereafter be condemned? And must it not hence follow, that none of the unbelieving Jews, among whom Christ preached, shall be condemned for not believing in him, since they can never be obliged to do so for whom he never died, and so will never be the better for believing in him? Now (1.) is not this contrary to the whole tenor of the Gospel, especi ally to the gospel of St. John, wherein Christ tells them, that "God having sent his Son into the world that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life?" He adds, ‘he that believeth not the Son, is condemned already, because he believeth not in the only-begotten Son of God.'* (2.) Will it not hence follow, that none of the unbelieving world, to whom the apostles preached, shall be condemned for not believing in him? For seeing they preached remission of sins to be obtained through his name, how can they justly be condemned for not believing in him to this end for whom he never died? And why then did our Lord say to his disciples, when he sent them through the world to preach the gospel to every creature, ' He that believeth not, shall be damned;' or that his Spirit should convince the world of sin, because: they believed not in him?'

ANSWER SECOND. There is no such proposition in the scripture as this, that "all for whom Christ died may say, Who shall condemn them?" But only that "the persons there spoken of might say this:" Now they were the sons of God,' (verse 14.) who had received the spirit of adoption, (verses 15, 16.) were heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, (verse 17.) who had received 'the first-fruits of the Spirit,' (verse 23.) who actually loved God, (verse 28.) and were justified by him. (verse 33.) These elect of God, saith the apostle, may say, Who shall condemn us?" (to lie

≈ John iйi, 18.