The more liberty that a man hath to do lawlessly what he will, contrary to justice and equity, the more he sins. The more he sins the more he is enthralled to sin. The more he is enthralled to sin the more he is in bondage to the devil, and becomes the enemy of God. Therefore if a man would pick out the wretchedest man in the world, I would pick out the greatest man in the world if he be naught, f that hath most under him ; he hath most liberty, and seeks most liberty, and accounts it his happiness that he may have his liberty. This is the greatest thraldom, and it will prove, when he dies and comes to answer for it, the greatest thraldom of all. Therefore the point needs not much proof, that if we be not in Christ we are slaves, as Augustine saith in his book De Civitate Dei, ' He is a slave though he domineer and rule.'
A man till he be in Christ is a slave ; not of one man or of one lord over him, but he hath so many lords as he hath so many lusts. There are but two kingdoms that the Scripture speaks of, that is, the kingdom of Satan and darkness, and the kingdom of Christ ; all therefore that are not in the kingdom of Christ, in that blessed liberty, they must needs be shoaled | under the other kingdom of Satan. This is a ground. Therefore I speak shortly of it, as an incentive and provocation to stir us^ up, to get into Christ, to get the Spirit of Christ, that we may have this spiritual liberty, or else we are all slaves, notwithstanding all our civil hberties, whatsoever they be. Now, ' where the Spirit of Christ is there is liberty,' there is freedom from that bondage that we are in by nature, and which is strengthened by a wicked course of life. For though we be all slaves by nature, born slaves, yet notwithstanding by a wicked course of life, we put ourselves into bonds and tangle ourselves ; so many sins and so many repetitions of sin, so many cords ; the longer a man lives the greater slave he is. Now when the Spirit of Christ comes, it frees us from all ; both from the natural and from the customary § slavery.
Now this liberty is wrought by Christ and applied by the Spirit. What Christ works he makes it ours by his Spirit, which takes all from Christ. As Christ doth all by the Spirit, so the Spirit takes all from Christ. All the comfort it hath is from reasons taken from Christ, from grounds from Christ, and doctrines from Christ, but yet both have their efficacy — Christ as the meritorious cause, and the Spirit as the applying cause. The Spirit discovers the state of bondage we are in by nature, and it discovers withal a more excellent condition ; and as it discovers, so likewise the Spirit of God brings us to this state, by working faith in that that Christ hath done for us. Christ hath freed us by his death from the curse of the law, from the wrath of God, from death and damnation, and the like. Now whatso- ever Christ hath done the Spirit works faith, to make this our own by uniting us to Christ. When Christ and we are one, his sufferings are ours, and his victory is ours, all is ours. Then the Spirit persuading us of the love of God, and Christ redeeming us from that cursed slavery we were in, * That is, ' chooses.'— G. J That is, = massed.— G.
t That is, ' naughty' = ' wicked.'— G. § That is, = through custom, hahit.— G.
218 EXCELLENCY OF THE GOSPEL
that Spirit, it works love in us, and other graces whereby the dominion of Bin is broken more and more, and we are set at liberty by the Spirit.
Now the Spirit doth not work liberty properly originally, but Christ is the grand redeemer. But Christ redeemeth two ways.
First, lie redeems us h>j innj'uuj the price, and so he only* redeemeth, for he paid the price to divine justice. We are in bondage to the wrath of God under his justice ; and so there must be satisfaction to justice before we can be free.
Then, secondhj, We are in bondar/e to Satan, as God's executioner and jailor. Now from him we are freed by strong hand. So Christ freeth U3 by his Holy Spirit, working such graces in us as makes us see the loath- someness of that bondage ; working likewise grace in us to be in love with a better condition, that the Spirit discovers to us. So that the Spirit brings us out by discovery and by power. All that Christ freeth by virtue of redemption, paying the price for, all those he frees likewise by his Spirit, discovering to them their bondage, and the blessed condition whereunto they are to be brought to a state of freedom, which freedom he perfects by little and little, till he bring them to a glorious freedom in heaven.
And the reason of this, — that where Christ doth free by way of redemp- tion, to die and satisfy God's justice for any, to those he gives his Spirit, by which Spirit they are set at liberty — the reasons are manifold. To name one or two.