Thirdly, This being the state of our conscience, this being the _ respect of dead works and their defilement to it and us, we may consider the relief that is necessary in this case, and what that is which is here proposed :—
Unto a complete relief in this condition, two things are neces- sary :— .
1. A discharge of conscience from a sense of the guilt of sin, or the condemning power of it, whereby it deprives us of peace with God, and of boldness in access unto him.
2. The cleansing of the conscience, and consequently our whole persons, from the inherent defilement of sin.
The first of these was typified by the blood of bulls and goats of- fered on the altar to make atonement. The latter was represented by the sprinkling of the unclean with the ashes of the heifer unto their purification.
Both these the apostle here expressly ascribes unto “the blood of Christ;” and we may briefly inquire into three things concerning it: 1. On what grownd it doth produce this blessed effect. 2. The way of its operation and efficacy unto this end, 3. The reason whence the apostle affirms that it shall much more do this than the legal ordinances could, sanctifying unto the purifying of the flesh:—
1. The grounds of its efficacy unto this purpose are three:—
314 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. IX.
(1.) That it was blood offered unto God. God had ordained that blood should be offered on the altar to make atonement for sin, or to “purge conscience from dead works.” ‘That this could not be really effected by the blood of bulls and goats is evident in the nature of the things themselves, and demonstrated in the event. Howbeit this must be done by blood, or all the institutions of legal sacrifices were nothing but means to deceive the minds of men, and ruin their souls. To say that at one time or other real atonement is not to be made for sin by blood, and conscience thereby to be purged and purified, is to make God a liar in all the institutions of the law. But this must be done by the blood of Christ, or not at all.
(2.) It was the blood of Christ, of “ Christ, the Son, of the living God,” Matt. xvi. 16, whereby “God purchased his church with his own blood,’ Acts xx. 28. The dignity of his person gaye efficacy unto his office and offering. No other person, in the discharge of the same offices that were committed unto him, could have saved the church; and therefore all those by whom his divine person is denied do also evacuate his offices). By what they ascribe unto them, it is impossible the church should be either sanctified or saved. They resolve all into a mere act of sovereign power in God; which makes the cross of Christ of none effect.
(3.) He offered this blood, or himself, by the eternal Spirit. Though Christ in his divine person was the eternal Son of God, yet was it the human nature only that was offered in sacrifice. How- beit it was offered by and with the concurrent actings of the divine nature, or eternal Spirit, as we have declared.
These things make the blood of Christ, as offered, meet and fit for the accomplishment of this great effect.
2. The second inquiry is concerning the way whereby the blood of Christ doth thus purge our conscience from dead works. Two things, as we have seen, are contained therein :—
(1.) The expiation, or taking away the guilt of sin, that con- science should not be deterred thereby from an access unto God,
(2.) The cleansing of our souls from vicious, defiling habits, in- clinations, and acts, or all inherent uncleanness.
Wherefore, under two considerations doth the blood of Christ produce this double effect :—
(1.) As it was offered; so it made atonement for sin, at giving satisfaction unto the justice and law of God. This all the expiatory sacrifices of the law did prefigure, this the prophets foretold, and this the gospel witnesseth unto. To deny it, is to deny any real efficacy in the blood of Christ unto this end, and so expressly to contradict the apostle. Sin is not purged from the conscience unless the guilt of it be so removed as that we may have peace with God
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VER. 13, 14.], EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 8315
and boldness in access unto him. This is given us by the blood of
Christ as offered.
(2.) As it is sprinkled, it worketh the second part of this effect. And this sprinkling of the blood of Christ is the communication of its sanctifying virtue unto our souls. See Eph. v. 26, 27; Tit. ii 14. So doth “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanse us from all sin,” 1 John i. 7; Zech. xiii. 1.
8. The reason why the apostle affirms that this is much more to be expected from the blood of Christ than the purification of the flesh was from legal ordinances hath been before spoken unto.
The Socinians plead on this place, that this effect of the death of Christ doth as unto us depend on our own duty. If they in- tended no more but that there is duty required on our part unto an actual participation of it, namely, faith, whereby we receive the atonement, we should have no difference with them. But they are otherwise minded, This purging of the conscience from dead works, they would have to consist in two things: 1. Our own relinquish- ment of sin. 2. The freeing us from the punishment due to sin, by an act of power in Christ in heaven.