Proposition I: Unconverted Sinners Are Commanded, Exhorted, and Invited to Believe in Christ for Salvation
It is here taken for granted, that whatever God commands, exhorts, or invites us to comply with, is the duty of those to whom such language is addressed. If, therefore, saving faith be not the duty of the unconverted, we may expect never to find any addresses of this nature directed to them in the Holy Scriptures. We may expect that God will as soon require them to become angels as Christians, if the one be no more their duty than the other.
There is a phraseology suited to different periods of time. Previously to the coming of
Christ, and the preaching of the Gospel, we read but little of believing; but other terms, fully expressive of the thing, are found in abundance. I shall select a few examples, and accompany them with such remarks as may show them to be applicable to the subject.
Psalm ii. 11, 12. — Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling: kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little: blessed are all they that put their trust in him. The psalm is evidently a prophecy of the resurrection and exaltation of the Messiah. Whatever reference may be had to Solomon, there are several things which are not true, of either him or his government; and the whole is applicable to Christ, and is plentifully applied to him in the New Testament.
The kings and judges of the earth, who are here admonished to serve the Lord Messiah with fear, and to kiss the Son, lest he be angry, are the same persons mentioned in verse 2, which words we find, in the New Testament, applied to Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, Acts iv. 27: that is, they were the enemies of Christ, unregenerate sinners; and such, for any thing that appears, they lived and died.
The command of God addressed to these rulers, is of a spiritual nature, including unfeigned faith in the Messiah, and sincere obedience to his authority. To kiss the Son, is to be reconciled to him, to embrace his word and ordinances, and bow to his sceptre. To serve him with fear, and wre
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rejoice with trembling, denote, that they should not think meanly of him, on the one hand; nor hypoeritically cringe to him, from a mere apprehension of his wrath, on the other; but sincerely embrace his government, and even regoice that they had it to embrace. That which is here required of unbelievers, is the very spirit which distinguishes believers; a holy fear of Christ’s majesty, and a humble confidence in his mercy; taking his yoke upon them, and wearing it as their highest delight. That the object of the command was spiritual, is also manifest from the threatening and the promise annexed to it, lest ve perish from the way — blessed are all they that put their trust in him. It is here plainly supposed, that, if they did embrace the Son, they should not perish from the way, and, if they did put their trust in him, they should be blessed. The result is — Unconverted sinners are commanded to believe in Christ for salvation: therefore, believing in Christ for salvation is their duty. Isaiah lv. 1 — 7. Ho, every one that, thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread; and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander a
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to the el Behold, thou shalt call a nation ‘that thou knewest not; and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath
wit glor ified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his ‘thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have.mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. This is the language of invitation: but divine invitation implies an obligation to accept it; otherwise, the conduct of those who made light of the Gospel supper, and preferred their farms and merchandise before it, had been guiltless.
The concluding verses of this passage express those things literally, which the foregoing ones described metaphorically: the persons invited, and the invitation, are the same in both. The thirst which they are supposed to possess, does not mean a holy desire after spiritual blessings, but the natural desire of happiness which God has implanted in every bosom; and which, in wicked men, is directed, not to the sure mercies of David, but to that which is not bread, or which has no solid satisfaction in it. The duty, to a compliance with which they are so pathetically urged, is, a relinquishment of every false way, and a returning to God in his name who was given for a@ witness, a leader, and a commander to the people; which is the same thing as repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. The encouragements held up to induce a compliance with this duty, are, i ie ae a 3 OF ALL ACCEPTATION, — Ry,
the freeness, the substantialness, the OS the certainty, and the rich abundance of those blessings, which as many as repent and periere the Gospel shall receive. The whole passage exceedingly explicit, as to the duty. of the converted; neither is it possible. to evade force of it by any just or fair method of fine pretation.
Jeremiah vi. 16. Thus saith the «fi Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein. The persons here addressed are, beyond all doubt, ungodly men. God himself bears witness of them, that their ears were uncircumcised, and they could not hearken, for the word of the Lord was to them a reproach, and they had no delight in it, ver. 10. Yea, so hardened were they, that they were not ashamed when they had committed abomination, and so impudent, that they could not blush, ver. 15. And such, for any thing that appears, they continued; for — when they were exhorted to walk in the good way, their answer was, We will not waik therein. Hence the awful. threatening which follows: Hear, O earth, behold I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it, ver. 19.
The good way, in which they were directed to walk, must have been the same as that in which the patriarchs and prophets had walked in former ages; who, we all know, lived and died in the faith of the promised Messiah. Hence, our
at 3 any 3, Lord, with great propriety, applied the passage to himself, Matt. xi. 28. Jeremiah directed to the
old paths, and the good way, as the only medium
of finding rest to the soul: Jesus said, Come unto ME, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
We see in this passage also, as in many others, in what manner God requires sinners to use the means of grace; not by a mere attendance upon them, (which, while the end is disregarded, and the means rested in instead of it, is not using, but perverting them,) but with a sincere desire to find out the good way, and to walk in it. God requires no natural impossibilities. No man is required to believe in Christ, before he has opportunity of examining the evidence attending his Gospel: but he ought to search into it, like the noble Bereans, immediately, and with a pure intention of finding and following the good way; which, if he do, like them he will soon be found walking init. If we teach sinners, that a mere attendance on the means of grace is that use of them which God requires at their hands, and in which consists the whole of their duty, as to repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be found false witnesses for God, and deceivers of the souls of men.
The New Testament is still more explicit than the Old. Faith in Jesus Christ, even that which is accompanied with salvation, is there constantly held up as the duty of all to whom the Gospel is preached.
ie act John xii. 36. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. The persons to whom this passage was addressed, kL were unbelievers; such who, though Jesus had done so many miracles. among them, yet believed not on him, ver. 37: and it appears that they continued unbelievers, for they are represented as given over to judicial blindness and hardness of heart, ver. 40. The light which they were exhorted to believe in, appears to be himself, as revealed in the Gospel; for thus he speaks in the context, I.am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in darkness. And that the believing which Christ required of them was such, as, had it been complied with, would have issued in their salvation, is manifest, from its bemg added, that ye may be the children of light; an appellation never bestowed on any but true believers.
John vi. 29. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. These words contain an answer to a question. The persons who asked it were men who followed Christ for loaves, who believed not, and who, after this, walked no more with him, ver. 26. 36. 66. Christ had been rebuking them for their mercenary principles in thus following him about, and charging them, saying, Labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everiasting life, ver. 27. ‘They replied by asking, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? which was saying, in effect, ‘ We have been very zealous for thee in following thee hither and thither; yet thou dost not allow that
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Fe & we please God: thou directest us to labor for that which endureth unto everlasting life. What wouldest thou have us do? what can we do? what must we do, in order to please God?’ To this question our Lord answers, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent; which, if it be a proper answer, is the same as saying, This is the first and greatest of all
duties; and, without it, no other duty can be
acceptable.
It has been said, in answer to the argument from this passage, ‘‘’ The words contain a declaration, that believing in Christ for salvation is necessary to the enjoyment of eternal life, and that faith in him is an act acceptable and pleasing to God; but afford no proof, that it is required of men in a state of unregeneracy. To declare to unregenerate persons the necessity of faith, in order to salvation, which is what our blessed Lord here does, falls very far short of asserting it to be their present duty.”
We see, by this answer, that Mr. Brine, who will be allowed to have been one of the most judicious writers on that side the question, was fully convinced of three things. First: That the persons here addressed were unregenerate sinners. Second: That the faith recommended is saving. ‘Nhird: That, when faith is called the work of God, it does not mean the work which God performs, but an act of theirs, which would be acceptable and pleasing to him. Yet we are told, that our Lord merely expresses the necessity of it, without asserting it to be their present duty.
Was it not the object of their inquiry, then,
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What was their present duty? or, What they ought to do, in order to please God?» What else can be made of it? Further: how can our Lord be supposed, in answer to their question, to tell them of an act which was necessary, acceptable, and pleasing to God, but which was
not their present duty? Is such an answer wor-. thy of him? Nay, how could their believing — be an act acceptable and pleasing to God, if it
were not their present duty? God is pleased with that only in us which he requires at our hands.
John v. 22,23. The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. ‘That men are obliged to honor the Father by a holy, hearty love to him, and adoration of him, under every character by which he has manifested himself, will be allowed by all, except the grossest Antinomians; and, if it be the will of the Father that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father, nothing less can be required of them than a holy, hearty love to him, and adoration of him, under every character by which he has manifested himself. But such a regard to Christ necessarily supposes faith in him; for it is impossible to honor him, while we reject him in all or any of his offices, and neglect his great salvation. ‘To honor an infallible teacher, is to place an implicit and unbounded confidence in all he says.: to honor an advocate,
is to commit our cause to him: to honor a phyae
Sap sician, is to trust our lives in his hands: and to honor a king, is to bow to his sceptre, and cheerfully obey his laws. These are characters under which Christ has manifested himself. To treat him in this manner, is to honor him; and to treat him otherwise, is to dishonor him.
The Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, abound with exhortations to hear the word of God, to hearken to his counsel, to wait on him, to seek his favor, &c., all which imply saving faith, HirarKxen unto me, O ye children! for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that unARETH me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me, love death — How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you — TI will make known my words unto youu — Huar, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Hearxen diligently unto me. INCLINE your ear, and come unto me: HEAR, and your soul shall live- — Srxx ye the Lord while he may be found: CALL yE UPON Hm™ while he ws near. This is my beloved Son: unar him. — And it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not Hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from ameng the people. Lasor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life. Prov. vili. 382 — 36: i.
22, 23. Isa. xlii. 18: lv. 2, 3, 6. Mark ix. 7. Acts 11. 23. John vi. 27. It is a grievous misapplication of such language,
to consider it as expressive of a mere attendance.
upon the means of grace, without any spiritual desire after God; and to allow that unregenerate sinners comply with it. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The Scriptures abound in promises of spiritual and eternal blessings to those who thus hearken, hear, and seek after God Such exercises, therefore, must, of necessity, be spiritual, and require to be understood as including faith in Christ. The Scriptures exhort to no such exercises as may be complied with by a mind at enmity with God. The duties which they inculcate are all spiritual; and no sinner, while unregenerate, is supposed to comply with them. So far from allowing that ungodly men seek after God, or do any good thing, they expressly declare the contrary. ‘God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back. They are altogether become filthy: there is none that docth good — no, not one.” Psa. liii. 2,3. To reduce the exhortations of Scripture to the level of a carnal mind, is to betray the authority of God over the human heart; and to allow that unconverted sinners comply with them, is to be aiding and abetting in their self-deception. The unconverted who attend the means of grace, generally persuade themselves, and wish to persuade others, that they would gladly be converted, and be real Christians, if it were o4 THE GOSPEL WORTHY
but in their power. They imagine themselves to be waiting at the pool for the moving of the water, and therefore feel no guilt on account of their present state of mind. Doubtless they are willmg and desirous to escape the wrath to come, and, under certain convictions, would submit to relinquish many things, and to comply with other things, as the condition of it; but they have no direct desire after spiritual blessings. If they had, they would seek them in the name of Jesus, and, thus seeking, would find them. That preaching, therefore, which exhorts them to mere outward duties, and tells them that their only concern is in this manner to wait at the pool, helps forward their delusion, and, should they perish, will prove accessory to their destruction.
Simon the sorcerer was admonished to repent, and pray to the Lord, if perhaps the thought of his heart might be forgiven him.. From this express example, many, who are averse from the doctrine here defended, have been so far convinced as to acknowledge that it is the duty of the unconverted to pray, at least for temporal blessings; but Simon was not admonished to pray for temporal blessings, but for the forgiveness of sin. Neither was he to pray in a carnal and heartless manner; but to repent, and pray. And, being directed to repent, and pray for the forgiveness of sin, he was, in effect, directed to believe in Jesus; for in what other name could forgiveness. be expected? Peter, after having declared to the Jewish rulers that there was none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, cannot be supposed to have directed Simon to hope for forgiveness in any other way. tI
To admonish any person to pray, or to seek the divine favor, in any other way than by faith in Jesus Christ, is the same thing as to admonish him to follow the example of Cain, and of the self-righteous Jews. Cain was not averse from worship. He brought his offering; but having no sense of the evil of sin, and of the need of a Savior, he had taken no notice of what had been revealed concerning the promised Seed, and paid no regard to the presenting of an expiatory sacrifice. He thanked God for temporal blessings, and might pray for their continuance; but this was not doing well. It was practically saying to his Maker, ‘I have done nothing to deserve being made a sacrifice to thy displeasure, and I see no necessity for any sacrifice being offered up, either now or at the end of the world.’ In short, it was claiming to approach God merely as a creature, and as though nothing had taken place which required an atonement. The self-righteous Jews did not live without religion; they followed after the law of righteousness; yet they did not attain it; and wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law; for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone. And shall we direct our hearers to follow this example, by exhorting them to pray, and seek the divine favor, in any other way than by faith in Jesus Christ? If so, how can we deserve the name of Christian ministers?
The Scriptures exhort sinners to put their trust in the Lord, and censure them for placing it in an arm of flesh. Whether trusting in Christ for the salvation of our souls be distinguishable from believing in him or not, it certainly includes it. T’o trust in Christ is to believe in him. If, therefore, the one be required, the other must be. Those who loved vanity, and sought after lying, are admonished to offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and to put their trust in the Lord, Psa. iv. 5; and a trust connected with the sacrifices of righteousness must be spiritual. To rely on any other object is to ¢rust in vanity, against which sinners are repeatedly warned. Trust not in oppression; become not vain in robbery. — He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool — Cursed be the man that trusteth-in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Psa. Ixu. 10. Prov. xxvill. 26. Jer. xvii. 5.
It is allowed, that, if God had never sent his Son into the world to save sinners, or if the invitations of the Gospel were not addressed to sinners indefinitely, there would be no warrant for trust in the divine mercy; and as it is, there is no warrant for trust beyond what God has promised in his word. He has not promised to save sinners indiscriminately; and therefore it would be presumption in sinners indiscriminately to trust that they shall be saved. But he has promised, and that in great variety of language, that whosoever, relinquishing every false ground of hope, shall come to Jesus as a perishing sinner, and rely on him alone for salvation, shall not be disappointed. For such a reliance, therefore,
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there is a complete warrant. These promises are true, and will be fulfilled, whether we trust in them or not; and whoso still continues to trust in his own righteousness, or in the general mercy of his Creator, without respect to the atonement, refusing to build upon the foundation which God has laid in Zion, is guilty of the greatest of all sins; and if God give him not repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth, the stone which he has refused will fall upon him, and grind him to powder.
But “until a man, through the law, is dead to the law,” says Mr. Brine, “he hath no warrant to receive Christ as a Savior, or to hope for salvation through him.” * If, by receiving Christ, were meant the claiming an interest in the blessings of his salvation, this objection would be well founded. No man, while adhering to his own righteousness as the ground of acceptance with God, has any warraift to conclude himself interested in the righteousness of Jesus. The Scriptures every where assure him of the contrary. But the question is, Does he need any warrant to be dead to the law? or, which is the same thing, to relinquish his vain hopes of acceptance by the works of it, and to choose that Rock for his foundation which is chosen of God and precious? To “receive” Christ, in the sense of Scripture, stands opposed to reecting him, or to such a non-reception of him as was practised by the body of the Jewish nation. John 1. 11,12. An interest in spiritual blessings, and,
* Motives to Love and Unity, pp. 38, 39.
of course, a persuasion of it, is represented as following the reception of Christ, and, consequently, is to be distinguished from it: Jo as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. The idea that is generally attached to the term, in various cases to which the reception of Christ bears an allusion, corresponds with the above statement. To receive a gift, is not to believe it to be my own, though, after I have received it, it is so, but to have my pride so far abased as not to be above it, and my heart so much attracted as to be willing to relinquish every thing that stands in competition with it. To receive a guest, is not to believe him to be my particular friend, though such he may be, but to open my doors to him, and make him heartily welcome. To receive an instructor, is not to believe him to be my instructor any more than another’s, but to embrace his instruction, and follow his counsel. For a town or city, after a long siege, to receive a king, is not to believe him to be their special friend, though such he may be, and, in the end, they may see it, but to lay down their arms, throw open their gates, and come under his government. These remarks are easily applied; and it is no less easy to perceive that every sinner has not only a warrant thus to receive Christ, but that it is his great sin if he receive him not.