Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

walking in him; where we may inquire into the order of this connection and the reafon of it.

V. Draw fome Inferences for the Application of

the whole.

I. The first general Head is to speak of the believer's character; he is one that receiveth Chrift Jefus the Lord. Receiving Chrift and believing in him are equivalent terms; John i. 12. "To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe in his name." And as they have power, or privilege, to become the fons of God, by believing in him, or receiving him; fo they have power to receive him by virtue of their receiving the fpirit of faith, by the means of the doctrine of faith, or the gospeldoctrine, Gal. iii. 2. "Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"-But that I may speak more closely to this point, the receiving of Chrift Jefus the Lord; the text leads me to inquire into three things. 1. The act of faith, as it is a receiving. 2. The object of it, Chrift. 3. The capacity, or refpect, under which this object is received, namely, as he is Christ, Jefus, the Lord. Thefe points being very great and momentuous, I would touch at them feverally.

Firft, The ACT of faith, it is called a receiving of Christ. Now, to explain this act of receiving Christ, as diftinctly as, through grace, I can, you may notice that it hath fomething fuppofed that it relates to, and fomething imported that it confifts in..

Ift, It hath fomething fuppofed that it relates to. This receiving then does refer or relate unto fome offer or tender that is made of Chrift to him that does receive him. For Chrift is unknown to nature, he is unknown to reafon, and unknown to the wisdom of the wifeft men upon the earth, until he be revealed and offered, there being no footsteps of the gofpel in the heart or nature of man; whatsoever there may be of the law, there is none of the gofpel. Now, therefore, receiving relates to offering; a receiving-hand hath relation to an offering-hand, holding forth Chrift to be received, and that is the hand of God's free grace in the difpenfation of

the

the gospel. And this offer of Chrift unto finners in the gofpel, in order to their being believers, is fometimes in fcripture called a giving of Chrift, John iii. 27. "A man can receive nothing, unless it be given to him from heaven." And therefore we maintain, that as it is the duty of all that hear this gospel to receive Chrift, and believe in him; fo it is the privilege of all that hear the gofpel, that Chrift is given to them in the offer thereof. It is true, the giving in poffeffion follows faith; My Father giveth you the true bread. The taking-hand of faith, pre-fuppofes the giving-hand of God. God's promise in the gofpel is the offering-hand, that offers Chrift; a faving faith of God's operation, is the receiving-hand which goes forth to the hand that offers; and when these two hands meet together, then the work is done, there is a receiving. But that you may the better understand this point of receiving Chrift, by confidering this offer that receiving relates to, there are three things. that may be obferved. I. To what kind of perfons the gofpel offers Chrift. 2. Upon what grounds. 3. For what ends. Mark thefe three then in the offer of Chrift.

1. To what kind of perfons the offer is made. To whom doth the hand of the promife hold them out? The perfon to whom he is held out, is no other than a loft finner, a loft foul; Chrift came to feek and fave them that were loft: I mean not only thefe that are fenfible of their loft ftate, but these that are in a loft ftate, whether they be fenfible of it or not: if the gofpel comes to them, the offer of Christ comes to them: "To you, Ο O men, do I call; and my voice is to the fons of men." We are warranted to preach the gofpel to every rational creature, Mark xvi. 15. The offer of Chrift comes to you. Why, may not fin exclude us from the offer? By no means; for Christ came to fave finners, 1 Tim. i. 15. If finners were excepted, all mankind would be excepted; for all have finned. But is it to grofs finners? Yea, Ifa. i. 18. "Come let us reafon together, though your iniquities were like scarlet, I will make them white as fnow; tho' they be red, like crimson, I will make them as wool." To murderers of the Lord of glory was the offer made,

Acts

Acts ii. 41. But are mockers and fcorners under the offer? Yea, they are, as you fee, Prov. i. 22, 23. But what if a perfon cares not for the offer, and thinks himfelf happy enough without Chrift, and believes himfelf well enough as he is without him; is the offer of Chrift to fuch? Certainly it is; "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread; and your labour for that which fatisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good; and let your foul delight itself in fatnefs," Ifa. lv. 1, 2.. But if a man be neither convinced of fin or mifery, nor fee any need of Chrift, is Chrift offered to him? Yea, undoubtedly he is; Rev. iii. 18. "I counfel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayeft be rich; and white raiment that thou. mayeft be cloathed." Let them venture to shut the door of the gofpel-offer who will, we muft open it in God's name to all who hear this gofpel, and tell them that Christ is offered to them, that he may be received by them; and if there were no offer, it would not be their duty to receive, and fo unbelief would not be their fin. Again, let them fhift the offer of the gofpel who will, and think Chrift is not offered to them, this offer will rife up in judgment against them, if they do not anfwer it; for, He that believeth not, fhall be damned. And one of two fhall take place upon this univerfal offer, either ye fhall" receive him as offered, or ye fhall all be made inexcufable that receive him not: I am pretty sure, tho' we reach not the first, yet the fecond fhall take place, tho' I fhould fay no more than I have faid. The gofpel-offer does not tell who will come; for many get the offer who will never receive the gift offered to them: but it tells who fhould come, and that is all: But tho' all fhould come, whether they be fenfible of their loft ftate or not yet these that see themselves loft, are in the fairest way to receive the offer of a Saviour; and none will come, till God make them fee themselves loft and undone without Chrift, as all of you are loft indeed, though few are fenfible of their loft ftate. However, I fay to loft fouls, Chrift is offered to these that are fpoiled by the fentence of the law, arraigned, convicted, condemned, and accurfed; the hand of the gofpel-promise holds out Chrift

to

to you; for, where Mofes leaves you, there Joshua finds you; where the law ends, there the gofpel begins: the law ends in the fhipwreck of the finner, in fplitting him upon the rock of its terrors and curfes, drowning him in the ocean of divine wrath, and finking him into the depths of defpair; and juft there the gofpel begins; it comes to the bottom of the pit of fin and mifery, and offers a Chrift, a Saviour. Thus, where Mofes leaves you, there Jofhua finds you. When the law ends, Chrift begins; and when the foul is fo fhipwrecked by the law, that he is, as it were, all to pieces, to fuch an one is the gofpel-offer moft welcome; for the hand of grace holds forth Chrift, like a plank after fhipwreck, a plank to fwim afhore upon. Such a foul is encouraged to fee no other qualification required of him to come to Chrift, and receive him, but juft that he is loft, which he finds himself to be; and there is no other condition or qualification required, but that you be a loft man, a finful miferable perfon. Some will offer Chrift upon fuch and fuch terms, faying, you must be fo and fo humbled, fo and fo penitent, before Chrift can be offered to you; fo that a man that finds himself a loft, finful, unhumbled, impenitent, wretched creature, can never come to their hand, or meddle with what they offer: juft like a man holding out a cup of excellent wine to his friend, and offering him a drink, but in the mean time he hath made the wine fcalding hot upon the fire, fo as the man, to whom it is offered, dare not touch it with his lips: even fo, many offer Chrift, and hold forth the cup of falvation to the people, but they heat their gofpel-liquor, as it were, red hot upon the fire of the law; I mean, with fo many legal terms, conditions, and qualifications, that the poor foul, that finds himfelf a loft finner, every way finful, deftitute of all good qualifications, dare not come near, and thinks he may not, he ought not to come near with his lip to tafte it. We need be at no pains to hinder finners from coming to Chrift, to receive the offer, for they are unwilling enough of themfelves. Befides that, they will never have a good qualification till they come to him and receive him, and all good in him; all grace and glory, all holinefs and happiness.--Thus VOL. III.

[ocr errors]

you

you fee to what kind of perfons the offer of Chrift is made, which the receiving of Chrift doth relate to.

2. Upon what ground is the offer made? Or, what is the ground upon which Chrift is offered? To this. I anfwer, only in general, It is just upon the ground of free grace; fovereign grace in Chrift crucified. And hence the gospel is called by the name of GRACE, Tit. ii. 11. "The grace of God that bringeth falvation hath appeared to all men;" or, as in the margin, " The grace of God that bringeth falvation to all men:" it brings the offer of Chrift, and fo of falvation to all men to whom the gofpel comes; and it is grace that does it, without the confideration of any condition, or qualification in us. Sovereign grace is a thing that can neither be promoted by our goodness, or hindered by our badnefs. Free grace, that makes the offer, looks neither to the worthinefs, nor unworthinefs of the receiver; neither to his merit, nor demerit; neither to the merit of his virtue, nor the demerit of his vice. It is the hand of the promife that offers Chrift to the loft finner, upon the ground of free grace alone and here. is the most inviting encouragement to a loft finner that can be, that as he hath no worthiness to plead for him, [which if he had, grace would be no grace;] fo his unworthinefs is no bar against him; for, if it were, then grace would be no grace alfo in this refpect: for if your worthinefs did work it, then it would not be the work of grace; or, if your unworthinefs did hinder it, then it would not be the. doing of grace: yea, grace would never do any thing at all; for all are unworthy. Here there is encouragement to all finners to receive an offered Chrift. But what is the obstruction? Why, when a man should take hold of Chrift, then his heart goes about to mar the freedom of grace, before he dare venture his foul upon it; and how is that? Even by feeking fome qualifications in himfelf that Chrift fhould be offered unto him: why, I fhould be fo and fo holy, before I meddle with Chrift; fo and fo humble and penitent, before I reckon the gofpel offer belongs to me. Thus a man naturally would be looking after fomething in himself, and he would gladly find it, that he may thus build the gospel upon the

law;

« VorigeDoorgaan »