THE DIFFICULTY OF SALVATION.
SEEMON III.
If the riqliteous scarcely he saved, ichere shall the wicked and ungodly ajJj^ear ?
—1 Pet. IV. 18.
What is meant here by righteousness, to wit, a man endued ivith evangelical righteousness. By * righteous' here, is meant that evangelical righteous- ness which we have in the state of the gospel, namely, the righteousness of Christ imputed to us ; for Christ himself being ours, his obedience and all that he hath becomes ours also ; and whosoever partaketh of this righteous- ness which is by faith, hath also a righteousness of sanctification accom- panying the same, wrought in his soul by the Spirit of God, whereby his sinful nature is changed and made holy ; for ' if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature,' 2 Cor. v. 17. The same Spirit that assm-es us of our interest in Christ, purifies and cleanseth our hearts, and worketh a new life in us, opposite to our life in the fii'st Adam ; fi'om whence flows new works of holiness and obedience throughout om- whole conversation. There must be an inward inherent righteousness, before there can be any works of right- eousness. An instrument must be set in tune before it will make music ; so the Spirit of God must first work a holy frame and disposition of heart in us, before we can bring forth any fruits of holiness in our lives. For we commend not the works of grace as we do the works of art, but refer them to the worker. All that flows from the Spirit of righteousness are works of righteousness. When the soul submits itself to the spirit, and the body to the soul, then things come ofi' kindly. Take a man that is righteous by the Spirit of God : he is righteous in all relations ; he gives every one his due ; he gives God his due ; spiritual worship is set up in his heart above all ; he gives Christ his due by affiance in him ; he gives the holy angels their due, by considering he is always ui then- presence, that their eye is upon him in every action he doth, and eveiy duty he perfonns ; the poor have their due from him ; those that are in authority have their due. If he be under any, he gives them reverence and obedience, &c. ; ' he will owe nothing to any man but love,' Rom. xiii. 8 ; he is righteous in all his con- versation ; he is a vessel prepared for every good work. I deny not but he may err in some particular ; that is nothing to the purpose. I speak of a man as he is in the disposition and bent of his heart to God and good-
896 THE DIFFICULTY OF SALVATION.
ness, and so there is a thread of a righteous course, that runs along through his whole conversation. The constant tenure of his life is righteous. He hungers and thirsts after righteousness, and labours to be more and more righteous still, every way, both in justification, that he may have a clearer evidence of that, as also in sanctificatiou, that he may have more of the ' new creature' fonned in him, that so he may serve God better and better all his days. Now, if this man shall scarcely he saved, where shall the sinner and ungodly appear ? Where you have two branches.
1. The righteous shall scarcehj be saved.
2. The terrible end of sinners and ungodly, where shall they appear ? &c. Now in that the righteous man thus described by me shall scarcely be saved,
consider two things.
1. That the righteous shall be saved.
2. That they shall scarcely be saved.
The righteous are saved. What do I say ? the righteous shall be saved ? He is saved already. ' This day is salvation come to thine house,' saith Christ to Zaccheus, Luke xix. 9. ' We are saved by faith, and are now set in heavenly places together with him,' Eph. ii. 6. We have a title and interest to happi- ness already. There remains only a passage to the crown by good works. We do not, as the papists do, work to merit that we have not, but we do that we do in thankfulness for what we have. Because we know we are in the state of salvation ; therefore we wdll shew our thankfulness to God in the course of our lives.
How can we miss of salvation when we are saved already ? Christ our head being in heaven, will draw his body after him. What should hinder us ? The world ? Alas ! * we have that faith in us, ' which overcometh the world,' 1 John V. 4. As for the flesh, you know what the apostle saith, ' We are not under the law, but under grace,' Rom. vi. 14. The spirit in us always lusteth against the flesh, and subdues it by little and little ; neither can Satan nor the gates of hell prevail against us; for the grace we have is stronger than all enemies against us.
God the Father is our Father in Christ, and his love and gifts are without repentance, Rom. xi. 29. When once we are in the state of salvation, ' he will preserve us by faith to salvation,' 1 Pet. i. 5 ; and we are knit to God the Son, who will lose none of his members. The marriage with Christ is an everlasting union ; whom he loves, ' he loves to the end,' John xiii. 1. As for God the Holy Ghost, saith Christ, ' I will send the Comforter, and he shall be with you to the end,' John vi. 14, IG. The blessed Spirit of God never departs where he once takes up his lodging. There is no question, there- fore, of the salvation of the righteous ; they are, as it were, saved already.