3. That they do not aright improve the death of Christ that seek comfort by it and not holiness. He died not only for our justification, but sanctification also. There are two main reasons why the death of Christ hath so little effect upon us — either he is a forgotten Christ or a mistaken Christ.
[1.] Men do not consider the ends for which he came •• 1 John iii. 5, * He was manifested to take away our sins.' He came to give his Spirit to miserable sinful man to sanctify and cleanse him, and fit him for the service and enjoyment of God. Now things that we mind not do not work upon us. The work of redemption Christ hath performed with- out our minding or asking. He took our nature, fulfilled the law, satisfied the Lawgiver, and merited grace for us, without our asking or thinking. But in applying this grace, he requireth our serious considera- tion : Heb. iii. 1, ' Consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Jesus Christ.' And our faith: John xi. 26, 'Believest thou that I am able to do this for thee ? ' Our asking : John iv. 10, ' If thou knewest the gift of God, thou wouldst have asked, and he would have given thee living water.' Acceptance of him to these ends : John i. 12, ' To as many as received him,' &c.
[2.] But the other is a greater evil, a mistaken Christ ; when we make use of him only to increase our carnal security and boldness in sinning, as if God were more reconcilable to sin than he was before, because of Christ's dying for sinners. Now this is a great fault ; for —
VeR. 26.] SEKMONS UPON EPHESIANS V. 485
(1.) Thereby yon make Christ a minister, an encourager of sin ; which is a blasphemy to be abhorred by all christians : Gal. ii. 17, ' But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.'
(2.) You set up Christ against Christ, an imaginary Christ, or an idol of your own making, against the true Christ, who came by water and blood. Not by blood only : 1 John v. 6, ' This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ ; not by water only, but by water and blood ; ' and ' He bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness ; by whose stripes ye are healed,' 1 Peter ii. 24. You set his death against the ends of his death, and run from and rebel against God, because he came to redeem you, and recover you to God.
(3.) You separate between his benefits, and only cull out that part which suiteth most with your self-love. You have natures to be healed, as well as your peace to be made : Isa. liii. 5, ' But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastise- ment of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.' They that seek holiness from the Eedeemer have a more spiritual affec- tion to him. The guilt of sin is against our interest, but its power against that subjection and duty we owe to God. Christ's work is not only to ease our conscience, but free our hearts from slavery, that we may serve God with more liberty and delight.
(4.) If you do not mind holiness, you defeat your Redeemer of his end, and seek to put him to shame : 1 John iii. 8, ' For this purpose the Sou of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' To cherish what he came to destroy is vile ingratitude.
(5.) If you slight holiness, it argueth lessening thoughts of Christ's merit. Christ thought it of such value as to offer himself a mediatorial sacrifice to procure it. Our respect to Christ's blood is judged by the respect we have to the benefits })urchased thereby. The two great benefits are the favour of God and the image of God. He that pre- ferreth corruptible things before the favour of God hath no esteem of Christ's merit ; and he that doth not esteem the image of God, which standeth in righteousness and true holiness, doth not esteem the blood of Christ: 1 Peter i. 18, 19, 'Forasmuch as ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of the Son of God.'
4. We need not despair of holiness, Christ having paid so great a price for it, but may with the more confidence use the means of grace because they are sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Christ hath pur- cliased such a treasure of grace as cannot be exhausted, and it is dis- pensed to us by the word and sacraments. The apostle doth not say barely, ' He gave himself to sanctify and cleanse,' resting there ; but he addeth, ' by the washing of water through the word.' So John xvii. 19, 'And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanc- tified through the truth.' Christ hath established the merit, but the actual influence is by the Spirit, which we receive in the ordinances as the ordinary way.