3. It informeth us that, if men be not saved, the fault is their own, for Christ doth what belongeth to him ; he came to seek and to save what is lost ; but we do not what belongeth to us, we are not willing to be saved. The scripture chargeth it upon our will, we will not submit to his saving and healing methods : Mat. xxiii. 37, * I would have gathered thee as an hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not.' Christ would, but we will not. So John v. 40, 'Ye will not come to me, that you might have life.' You complain of want of power, when ye are not willing to leave your sins. You say, I cannot save myself, when thou art not willing that Christ should save thee ; thou wilt not receive the grace and help offered to thee. Possibly thou wouldst be freed from the flames of hell, but thou wouldst not leave thy sins. There is no man perisheth in his sins, but because he would not be saved. Is not Christ able to help thee ? Yes ; the doubt lieth
SERMONS UPON LUKE XIX. 10. 165
not there. Is he not willing to help thee ? Say it if thou canst. Why (lid he die for thee ? Why did he send means to offer his help ? Wliy did he bear with thee so long, and warn thee so often of thy danger, when thou thoughtest not of it? If he were not willing to help thee out of thy misery, why doth he so often tender thee his saving grace ? Surely the defect is in thy will, not in Christ's ; thou art in love with the sensual pleasures of sin, loath to exchange them for the salvation Christ offereth. Christ inviteth thee, and thy excuse is, I cannot ; when the truth is thou wilt not come to him. The business is not whether thou canst save thyself, but whether thou art willing Christ should save thee ? Christ is not unwilling to do that which he seeketh after with so much diligence and care. Say not then in thy heart, I know Christ can save me if he will. Why, he is as willing as able to save thee ; but he will not save thee by force, against thy will, or with- out or besides thy consent. Certainly none perish in their sins but because they would not be saved ; they refuse the help which God offereth, and will not improve the power which he hath given. They refuse his help : ' I would have purged thee, but thou wouldst not be purged,' Ezek. xxiv. 13. They do not use the power they have, for there is no wicked man but might do more than he doth. They are slothful servants that hide their talents in a napkin, Mat. xxv. 26. They put off the word, quench their convictions, will not bestir themselves, nor hearken to Christ's offers. If others had these helps, they would have repented long ago: Mat. xi. 21, 22, 'Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works which are done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.'
Use 2. To press you to accept of this grace, and deal with Christ as a saviour. This title is not a title of terror and dread, but of life and comfort. Oh ! submit then to his healing methods, and suffer Christ to save you in his own way.
Arguments to press you to accept of this grace.
1, Consider the misery of a lost condition. We were all lost in Adam, and can only be recovered by Christ ; we fell from God by his first transgression, and so were estranged from the womb, and went astray as soon as we were born : Ps. Iviii. 3, ' The wicked are estranged from the womb ; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.' And every sin that we commit is a farther loss of ourselves, for every wicked man doth more undo himself, and plunge himself into farther perdition ; for our sins make a greater distance between God and us : Isa. lix. 2, 'Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.' And what will be the issue but the wrath of God, and miseries in this life, together with the everlasting torments of the damned in hell ? These are the due effects and punishment of sin : Rom. ii. 9, ' Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentiles/ Now this must be thought on seriously by every one that will believe in Christ ; he came to recover us out of these losses. Many have been recovered, and many shall be so ; but then you must submit to him, otherwise the wrath of God abideth on you :
166 SEltMONS UPON LUKE XIX. 10.