1. Sin was the meritorious cause why the beast was slain. The beasts obeyed the law of their creation, but man had sinned against God : Lev. v. 6. ' He shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, for his sin which he hath sinned, and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.' Here was no other reason the beast an inno- cent creature should die ; so Christ died for our offences : Eom. iv. 25 ; not his own, he had no sins of his own to expiate ; therefore, while the sacrifice was yet alive, the man was to lay his hand on the head of the sacrifice, confessing his sins. Lev. xvi. 21, and putting them on the sacrifice.
2. The sacrifices were substituted into the place of the offender, and the beasts died for him ; so did Christ die, not only in honum nostrum — for our good ; but loco et vice omnium nosti^i — in our stead and room : Isa. liii. 4, ' Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; he was wounded for our transgressions.'
3. The offerings offered to God in our stead were consumed and destroyed ; if things of life, they were killed or slain ; other things were either burnt, as frankincense ; or spilled and poured out, as wine. There was a destruction of the thing offered to God for sin in man's stead. So Christ was to die, or to shed his blood, to put away sin, by the sacrifice of himself : Heb. ix. 26, ' He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.' All the offerings typified Christ, but more strictly the sacrifices which were of living beasts ; some whereof were killed, flayed, burnt, some roasted and fried on coals ; some seethed in pots, all which were shadows of what Christ endured, who is the only true propitiatory sacrifice, wlierein provoked justice rests satisfied.
4. The effects of the sacrifices all either respect God, or sin, or the sinner. God was pacified or propitiated, the sin expiated, the sinner reconciled, that is to say justified, sanctified.
[1.] God was pacified, propitiated, or satisfied, the law being obeyed which he had instituted for the doing away of sin ; not satisfied or propitiated as to the eternal punishment, by the mere sacrifice ; but so far as to prevent many temporal judgments, which otherwise would fall upon them, for the neglect of God's ordinances ; but the true propitia- tion is Christ : 1 John ii. 2, ' Who gave himself to be a propitiation
428 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. [SeR. IV.
for our sins.' Propitiation implieth God's being satisfied, pacified, appeased to us, so as to become merciful to us.
[2.] The sin for which the sacrifice was offered was purged, expiated, as to the legal guilt ; there was no more fault to be charged on them as to the remedy which that law prescribed ; but the true purgation of the conscience from dead works belongeth only to the Son of God : Heb. ix. 14.
[3 ] The effect on the sinner himself was, the sinner, coming with his sin offering, according to God's institution, was pardoned, or justi- fied, so far as to quit him from temporal punishment, both before God and man. The magistrate could not cut him off, he having done what the law required for his sin or trespass ; nor would God, he having submitted to his ordinance ; yea, he was sanctified, so far as to be capable of legal worship: Heb. ix. 13, ' For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh,' etc. ; but now as to Christ, the sinner is justi- fied by the free and full remission of all his sins : Mat. xxvi. 28, ' For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins,' and sanctified with an eternal and real holiness : Heb. X. 10, * We are sanctified by the offering of Jesus Christ, once for all ; ' perfectly justified, and perfectly sanctified. Heb. x. 14, ' By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,' that is, with a perfection opposite to the legal institution, not with a perfection opposite to the heavenly estate, that cometh afterwards. The ordi- nances of the legal covenant did what belonged to them ; but as to the removing of the internal guilt, and eternal punishment, they were not perfect without looking to Christ.
Thirdly, I come to the end and benefit. When God sent his own Son, surely he designed some great thing thereby ; what was his end and design ? ' He condemned sin in the flesh.' Two things must be explained — First, What is meant by condemning of sin ; secondly, What is meant by these words, in the flesh.
1. What is meant by condemning of sin. To condemn it is to destroy it, because execution ordinarily foUoweth the sentence. Therefore the sentence is put for the execution ; and the word condemn is used for weighty reasons. The gospel is speaking of justification, or our not being condemned. Christ condemned that which would "have con- demned us, by bearing the punishment of it in his own person. Sin had conquered the world, or subjected man to condemnation ; therefore Christ came to condemn sin, that is, to destroy it. The question then is, whether the apostle doth hereby expound the mystery of sanctifica- tion or justification. -I answer, both are intended, as they are often in these words which express the great undertaking of the mediator, which is to take away sin. There is a damning power, and a reigning power in sin ; now if condemning sin be destroying of sin, or taking away its power by his expiatory sacrifice, then not only the pardon of sin, but the mortification of the flesh is intended.