Thirdly, So necessary is the new creation to all that expect sal- vation by Christ, that without this, heaven would be no heaven, and the glory thereof no glory to us, by reason of the unsuitable- ness and aversion of our carnal minds thereunto; " The carnal " mind is enmity against God," Rom. viii. 7. and enmity is ex- clusive of all complacency and delight. There is a necessity of a suitable and agreeable frame of heart to God, in order to that complacential rest of our souls in him : And this agreeable tem- per is wrought by our new creation. 2 Cor. v. 5. " He that hath
SEBM. XXV. THE METHOD OF GRACE, 357
" wrought us for the self-same thing, is God." Renovation, you see, is the working or moulding of a man's spirit into an agreeable temper, or as it is in Col. i. 12. the making of us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.
From all which, it follows, that seeing there can be no compla- cence, or delight in God, without suitableness and conformity to him, as it is plain, from 1 John iii. 2. as well as from the reason and nature of the thing itself; either God must become like us, suitable to our sinful, corrupt and vain hearts, which were but a rude blasphemy once to imagine; or else we must be made agree- able and suitable to God, which is the very thing I am now prov- ing the necessity of.
Fourthly, There is an absolute necessity of the new creature to all that expect interest in Christ, and the glory to come, since all the characters, marks, and signs of such an interest, are constantly taken from the new creature wrought in us. Look over all the marks and signs of interest in Christ, or salvation by him, which are dispersed through the scriptures, and you shall still find purity of heart, Mat. v. 8. Holiness both in principle and practice, Heb. xii. 14. Mortification of sin, Rom. viii. 13. Longing for Christ's appearance, 2 Tim. iv. 8. with multitudes more of the same nature, to be constantly made the marks and signs of our salvation by Christ. So that either we must have a new bible, or a new heart ; for if these scriptures be the true and faithful words of God, no unrenewed creature can see his face ; which was the fourth thing to be opened.
Fifthly, The last thing to be opened is, how the new creation is an infallible proof and evidence of the soul's interest in Christ ; and this will appear divers ways.
First, Where all the saving graces of the Spirit are, there interest in Christ must needs be certain ; and where the new creature is, there all the saving graces of the Spirit are : For what is the new- creature but the frame or system of all special saving graces ? It is not this or that particular grace, as faith, or hope, or love to God, which constitutes the new creature ; for these are but as so many particular limbs or branches of it ; but the new creature is compre- hensive of all the graces of the Spirit, Gal. v. 22, 23. " The fruit " of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, good- " ness, faith, meekness, temperance," Sec. Any one of the saving, special graces of the Spirit gives proof of our interest in Christ : how much more, then, the new creature, which is the complex frame or system of all the graces together ?
Secondly, To conclude ; Where all the causes of an interest in Christ are found, and all the effects and fruits of an interest in Christ do appear ; there, undoubtedly, a real interest in Christ is
358 THE METHOD OE GRACE. SERM. XXVI,
found : but wherever you find a new creature, you find all the causes and all the effects of an interest in Christ : For there you shall find,
First, The impulsive cause, viz. The electing love of God, from which the new creature is inseparable, 1 Pet. i. %. with the new creature also, the meritorious, efficient, and final causes of interest in Christ, and union with him, are ever found, Eph. ii. 10. chap. i. 4, 5, 6.
Secondly, All the effects and fruits of interest in Christ are found in the new creature ; there are all the fruits of obedience, for we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, Eph. ii. 10. Rom. vii. 4. there is true spiritual opposition to sin. 1 John v. 18. " He that is begotten of God, keepeth himself, and that wicked " one toucheth him not." There is love to the people of God ; 1 John iv. 7. " Every one that loveth is born of God." There is a conscientious respect to the duties of both tables ; for the new creature is created after God in righteousness and true holiness, Eph. iv. 25. There is perseverance in the ways of God to the very end, and victory over all temptations ; for whosoever is born of God, overcometh the world, 1 John v. 4. It were easy to run over all other particular fruits of our union with Christ, and shew you every one of them in the new creature. And thus much of the doctrinal part of this point.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become new.
./IlFTER the explication of the sense of this scripture, we ob- served,
Doct. That God's creating of' a new supernatural work of grace in the soid of any man, is that man's sure and infallible evi- dence of a saving interest in Jesus Christ.
You have heard why the regenerating work of the Spirit is called a new creation ; in what respect every soul in Christ is renewed ; what the eximious properties of this new creature are ; the indis- pensibleness and necessity thereof have been also proved ; and how it evidences our interest in Christ, was cleared in the doctrinal part :
SEIIM. XXVI. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 359
Which we now come to improve, in the several uses serving for qur
First use, for information.
Is the new creature the sure and infallible evidence of our saving interest in Christ ? From hence then we are informed,