[3.] The conditions of the gospel are fulfilled.
(1.) I take it for granted that the gospel maketh sufficient provision against the condemnation of believers : John v. 24, ' Verily, verily, I
VeR. 34.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. 363
say unto you, He that heareth my word, and belie veth in him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but hath passed from death to life.' This being the great result of the gospel, Christ prefixeth his Amen, Amen ; implying that it is a truth worthy to be respected and credited. And this is the truth, that the penitent believer, when God cometh to judge of men, shall not fare ill in the judgment.
(2.) That this is done upon condition that we take God's remedy ; so it is propounded : Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.' The gospel hath a sanction as well as the law, both promise and threaten- ing, and all upon the condition which God hath imposed.
(3.) That the promise doth consist of something the party is willing of ; and the condition of what the promiser will have, but the receiver is not so ready to perform. The accepting the benefit promised is not so great a matter in ordinary contracts ; but in God's covenant, being not a matter of sense, it is somewhat to be willing to accept : Isa. Iv. 1, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy wine ami millc without money and without price : Kev. xxii. 17, ' And the Spirit and the bride say. Come ; and let him that heareth say. Come ; and let him that is athirst come ; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.' But God, besides the benefit of the creature, respects his own glory, and the recovery of the creature to himself from the devil, world, and flesh, which the creature is most backward unto. Every man would be freed from condemnation, and saved from hell. Now God hath promised that which we would have, that we may yield to that which naturally we would not have ; we would have pardon, but God will have subjection ; therefore it is said, Heb. v. 9, ' And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto them that obey him.' We would have the second death to have no power over us ; but God will have us holy, and that we .should consent to our duty. We would not be condemned, but God will have us walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and so hath granted non-condemnation to such, Kom. viii. 1 ; those that are true christians, and consent to the duty of the new covenant. The honour of God is concerned in our subjection to him, and the honour of Christ, who redeemed us to God, Rev. V. 8, as our comfort is concerned in being exempted from the fears of condemnation.
(4 ) Tlie more explicitly the condition is fulfilled, the more is our comfort and assurance, and the more may we make the bold challenge of faith ; that is, the more clearly we obey the sanctifying motions of the Spirit, and mortify the desires of the flesh : 1 John iii. 21, 'If our hearts condemn us not, we have confidence towards God ; ' Gal. v. 18, ' If we be led by the Spirit, we are not under the law,' i.e., the con- demning sentence thereof Where worldly lusts bear a sway, a man is under the law, not under grace. He that liveth in a state of sin carrieth his sting and wound about him, and hath the matter of debts i and fears in his own bosom, and cannot attain to the true courage and boldness of the saints. As the flesh and spirit are at war in our
i Qm. ' doubts ' ?— El).
364 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. [SeR. XLIV.
hearts, so are law and grace ; as the spirit prevaileth against the flesh, so doth grace prevail against our law-fears. The same was intimated, Eom. viii. 14, 15. Well then, if we would depend on the everlasting merits of Christ, we must accept the blessed covenant, wherein Grod hath promised to discharge the sincere and upright from condemna- tion, and look to the sureness of our claim, that we do not allow ourselves in any voluntary disobedience to Christ. Use, is information.
1. It showeth us the bad condition of wicked men, who have within themselves an accusing conscience, and above themselves a condemning judge ; and thence it is they dare not look inward or upward. They dare not look inward ; all their pleasures are but stolen waters, and bread eaten in secret, Prov. ix. 17, delights gotten by stealth, when they can get conscience asleep ; as servants feast themselves in a coi'ner when they can get out of their master's sight. Nor upward ; they dare not entertain themselves with serious thoughts of God : their hearts condemn them, and they look upon him as one that doth ratify, and is ready to execute the sentence ; and therefore every remarkable dispensation of God puts them in a fright : Job xv. 2, ' And fill his belly with the east wind ; ' ver. 21, ' A dreadful sound is in his ears.' Now this is a miserable condition, when we have no sound peace and quiet within ourselves. If they do not always feel the" stings of con- science, they are always subject to them ; for the present, a stupid conscience is their disease, tlie benumbing lethargy of the soul ; if they make a shift to shake off the.se tlioughts, death will revive their fears, and that may sui-prise tliem in an instant : 1 Cor. xv. 56, ' The sting of death is sin.' Oh, how much better is it with the sound and serious believer, who preserveth most tenderness of conscience, and yet hath most peace, hath a higher sense of his duty than others have, and yet can, with greater satisfaction than others do, depend on the merit of Christ, and look for acceptance with God !