OBJECTIONS AND TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE CONSIDERED. 875
The weight, on the whole, must depend on Rom. xiv. 9, 11, 12; which being the only place that gives any colour to this kind of arguing, shall a little be considered. It is the lordship and dominion of Christ over all which the apostle, in that place, at large insists on and evidenceth to believers, that they might thereby be provoked to walk blameless, and without offence one towards another, knowing the terror of the Lord, and how that all men, even themselves and others, must come to appear before his judgment-seat, when it will be but a sad thing to have an account to make of scandals and offences. Farther to ingraft and fasten this upon them, he declares unto them the way whereby the Lord Christ attained and came to this dominion and power of judging, all things being put under his feet, together with what design he had, as to this particular, in undertaking the office of mediation, there expressed by "dying, rising, and reviving," — to wit, that he might have the execution of judging over all committed to him, that being part of the " glory set before him," which caused him to " endure the cross and despise the shame," Heb. xii. 2.
So that all which' here is intimated concerning the death of Christ is about the end, effects, and issue that it had towards himself, not any thing of what was his intention towards them for whom he died. To die for others does at least denote to die for their good, and in the Scripture always to die in their stead. Now, that any such thing can be hence deducted as that Christ died for all, because by his death himself made way for the enjoyment of that power whereby he is Lord over all, and will judge them all, casting the greatest part of men into hell by the sentence of his righteous judgment, I profess sincerely that I am no way able to perceive. If men will contend and have it so, that Christ must be said to die for all, because by his death and resurrection he attained the power of judging all, then I shall only leave with them these three things: — First, That innu- merable souls shall be judged by him for not walking according to the light of nature left unto them, directing them to seek after the eternal power and Godhead of their Creator, without the least rumour of the gospel to direct them to a Redeemer once arriving at their ears, Rom. ii. 12; and what good will it be for such that Christ so died for them ? Secondly, That he also died for the devils, because he hath, by his death and resurrection, attained a power of judging them also. Thirdly, That the whole assertion is nothing to the business in hand; our inquiry being about them whom our Saviour intended to redeem and save by his blood ; this return, about those he will one day judge: "qusestio est de alliis, responsio de cepis."
IV. " That which the Scripture so sets forth in general for the world of mankind, as a truth for them all, that whosoever of the par- ticulars so beheve as to come to Christ and receive the same shall
376 THE DEATH OF DEATH. [BOOK IV.
not perish, but have everlasting life, is certainly a truth to be believed. Acts V 20 ;
"But that God sent forth his Son to be the Saviour of the world is in Scripture so set forth in general for all men, that whosoever of the par- ticulars so believe as they come to Christ and receive the same, they shall not perish, but have everlasting life, John iii. 1 6-18, 36, i. 4, 1 1 , 1 2 :
" Therefore, that God sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world is a certain truth, 1 John iv. 14,"
I hope no ingenuous man, that knows any thing of the controversy in hand, and to what head it is driven between us and our adversary, or is in any measure acquainted with the way of arguing, will expect that we should spend many words about such poor flourishes, vain repetitions, confused expressions, and illogical deductions and argu- mentations, as this pretended new argument (indeed the same with the first two, and with almost all that follow), will expect that I should cast away much time or pains about them. For my own part, I were no way able to undergo the tediousness of the review of such things as these, but that " eundum est quo trahunt fata ec- clesige," Not, then, any more to trouble the reader with a declara- tion of that in particulars which he cannot but be sufficiently con- vinced of by a bare overlooking of these reasons, — namely, that this author is utterly ignorant of the way of reasoning, and knows not how tolerably to express his own conceptions, nor to infer one thing from another in any regular way, I answer, — First, That what- soever the Scripture holds forth as a truth to be believed is certainly so, and to be embraced. Secondly, That the Scripture sets forth the death of Christ, to all whom the gospel is preached [imto], as an all- sufficient means for the bringing of sinners unto God, so as that whosoever believe it and come in unto him shall certainly be saved. Thirdly, What can be concluded hence, but that the death of Christ is of such infinite value as that it is able to save to the utmost every one to whom it is made known, if by true faith they obtain au interest therein and a right thereunto, we cannot perceive. This truth we have formerly confirmed by many testimonies of Scripture, and do conceive that this innate sufficiency of the death of Christ is the foundation of its promiscuous proposal to elect and reprobata Fourthly, That the conclusion, if he would have the reason to have any colour or show of an argument, should at least include and ex- press the whole and entire assertion contained in the proposition, — namely, " That Christ is so set forth to be the Saviour of the world, that whosoever of the particulars believe," etc. And then it is by us fully gi'anted, as making nothing at all for the imiversality of redemp- tion, but only for the fulness and sufficiency of his satisfaction. Of the word world enough hath been said before.