« for eternal Salvation, which no raan can indeed do, withour doing whar in him lierh, ro fultil rhe Condition upon which Chritt # hs -omiſed Life and Salvation ; that is, Keeping the Command- gre God, is exempted from Candemnation by the Law of ES Bur he thar believes nor the Doctrine of Carit, and does not upon the terms of the Goſpel receive him for his Saviour, is al- ready Cendemned or his obitinite Infidelity, which is the certain cauſe of Damnation 5 as WE ſay of one mortally wounded, that he i. 2 dead Man, tho he breathes for a while ; and we ſpeak in the {me manner of a Malefactor, convicted and atainted of a Cipital Crime, tho' the Sentence be not Executed, becauſe their Death is in- «vitable. The not believing in the only Son of God, who 1s able ro ſave ro the urmolt all rhar regularly cruſtin him, is ſuch a con- tempt of the merciful. all ſufficient and ſole means of Salvation, that is abſolurely neceſſary, and moſt juſt, that all choſe who refuſe to he ſaved by IM, ſhould periſh by themſelves. From this Scripture riſe rwo Queſtions. The firſt concerning che Heathens, who ne- ver heard of Chriſt. The ſecond concerning Infants, who die before hey come tO years of Knowledge, As to the former, the Apoſtle yath determined, Rom. 2. 12. As Many ds have ſinned without the Law, ſpall alſo perifh without Law. Thereis the ſame reaſon for thoſe who fin without the Goſpel ; they ſhall nor periſh for not be- lieving 012 h1m whom they have not heard, Rom. 10. 14. but for not obeying ſuch Revelation of rhe Divine Will as they had, The caſe of Infants is excluded from this Text, { ſpeaking only of adult Perſons } It 1s certain, that ſo many of them as belong ro the Fiction of Grace, ſhall be faved, and thar by virtue of the Blood of Chriſt; but which way God bring them to Heaven, is a ſecret to 1s, Some from this Text have concluded, Thar unbeliet is the only damning Sin , which is no farther true, than, thar no Sin will damn that Soul which ſhall truly believe in the Lord Jeſus Chrilt. AR : | : i! 19 And chis1is the condemnation, * that light is
| > > come into the workl rand men loved darkne( rather than light / 3 becauſe their deeds were evil c,
- This is the reafun, the Evidence, and gieat Cauſe of Condem- nation, That /ight x5 come anto the IWir'd, Clift is the Light, Drero!d by the Prophet, I/a. 9. 2. and 42.6, and 49. 6, He is ſhiled in the beginning of this Goſpe), the rrae Lighr, Chap. 1. 4. that is, Exch in Perfection allthe excellent qualities of Light ; the Power to enlighren the minds of men in the knowledge of faving .Truth, to warm the &ffections with rhe love of ir, tO revive the diſconſolate, and tro make the heavenly Szed of rhe Word to flouriſh and fructi- fe in their- L ves. This light 1s come into the World, that figni- Fes not only his Incarnation, bur his revealing rhe merciful Coun- {of God for our Salvation, which the clearelt Spirits could never have diſcovered ; he has open'd the way thart leads ro eternal Life ; but men loved Carkneſs rather than lizhte. {They preferr'd, choſe. and adher'd to their Ignorance and Errors, before the Light of Life, the ſaving Knowledge of the Goſpel, Their Ignoranceis affected and voluntary, and no colour of excuſe can be alledged forir; nay 'is very culpable and guilty, by neglecting to receive Inſtruction from the Son of God. # The Vices and Luſts of men are the works of Darkneſs, the truits of their Ignorance and Errors ; and they are ſopleaſant ro the carnal corrupr Nature, that to enjoy them ſecurely, they obſtinately reject the Light of the Goſpel ; this aggravares their Sin and Sentence,
'* 20 For ® every one that dozth evil s, hateth the
"light w; neicher cometh to the light x, leſt his deeds
{ -hhould be {| reproved y.
: 1 He that makes a Trade of Sin, and doth Evil preſumprouſly, loving and deF'ghting in it, & doth nor love the Light, x nor if he can avoid it, will come near it; for the Light is that which makes thngs Vicble, and diſcovereth them. - As1r 1s the nature of natu- ral Light, ro ſlew things to others as they are ; and therefore Thieves, and Adulterers, and Drunkards, care not for the Light, but chuſe the Darkneſs far the'r deeds of Darkneſs, and cone as Ittle abroad in the Light as they can, when they do them: So it isof the Nature of Chriſt and his Goſpel, ro diſcover mens Errors, both 3510 the obtaining of Juſtificaricn and eternal Salvation and the Errors alſo of mens Lives; and therefore men and women poſ- ſefſed of Errors in their Judgments, or delighting in a filthy Conver- {ation, hate Chriſt and his Goſpel ; becauſe that a diſcovering the right waysof God, diſcovereth the craokedneſs of their ways, op- polite to the traths and ways of God.
21 But he that doth truth z, cometh to the light 4, that his deeds may be made manifeſt, that they are Wrought in God 6b,
{ Truth here is put for true things» He who propoſeth, defign- eth, and aCteth nothing bur whar 18 juſt, and holy, and good, and what is conſonant to the Will of God. a He is not afraid ro bring his Notions and Actions to the Tett of the Divine Rule, publiſhed v7 lim, who is the true Lighr. 6 For he thar deſires what he doth may be made manifeſt, both to himſelf and others, rhar they are wrought, in, with, or according to, by, or throuzh God. ( for the Farticle 2p here uſed, is uſed in all theſe Senſes. 1 Cor. 7+ 39. Rev. 14 13. ) Thoſe works are ſaid to be wrought in with, by or through ood, which tend ro the Honour and Glory of God, as their end, and 'ow from him as their cauſe, which are done with his Strength and &liltance, and for his Honour and Glory.
, 22 T Atcer thele things c; came Jeſus and his diſcples ,"to theland of Judea J, and there hetarried with them, and baptized e,
E Soon after our Saviour had had the foremenrioned conference þ th Nicodems, which it is believed he had ar Hieruſalem, (not as wg _ in Galz/ze; 1g then Nicodemus wauld hardly have come vg Yy Night 3 4 he came 1nto the Landof Fudea;z he had be-} - _ n te Provnice of Fudea, and in the Metropo/zs, or great My ot Fedea, which was Hreruſalem ; bat now he goeth into the
{oz ? ' , ' uy 1 | ountry of Fuaea, Tudah and Hieruſaiem are often mentioned di- |
alon
CEO
S. FO HN,