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of Heaven which Chrift did. He that heareth you faith Chrift, beareth me; and he that difpifeth you, defpifeth me, (who fent you,) and he that defpifeth me, defpifeth him that fent me.

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C. II. 28.

In the next place let us fee the manner or method, how Chrift did remit and retain Sins in the Execution of his Miffion, and we fhall find the Apoftles exactly follow the very fame Manner or Method, according to his Example and his Command. Chrift remitted Sins by giving his folemn Promife fo to do to every one that should Repent and Believe his Gofpel; and his Promises are the highest and the most infallible Securities that God's Veracity and Everlasting Truth can make to the Children of Men; They are, Tea, and Amen; the performance of the Condition first, and then the performance of the Promifes are infeparable. Repent, faith Chrift, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Mat. 4. 17. Come unto me all ye that Labour and are heavy Laden and I will give you c reft. He that believeth on (me) the Son, shall have everlasting Life, and Joh. 6. 40.47: I will raise him up at the last day; nay, he that believeth on me bath, even now, everlasting Life. I am the Refurrection and the Life, he that Joh. 11. 25, 26, believeth in me though he were Dead yet fhall be Live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall not die forever, He that heareth my Joh. 5. 24. word and believeth on him that fent me, hath everlasting Life and shall not come into Condemnation. Next Chrift after his threatning eternal Death to the Unbelievers and Difobedient, retained Sins, by leaving the Impenitent and refractory as he found them, or rather worse, that is, under a much greater Guilt. then what they had before they heard his Gofpel. Wo unto thee Chorazin, wo Mat.11. 21, 22.

33.

verf. 24

unto thee Bethfaida, for if the mighty Works which were done in you bad T. p. 245. been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have Repented long ago; Wherefore it shall be more tolerable for them at the day of Judgment then for you. So, Thou Capernaum which art exalted to Heaven fhall be thrust down Luk. 10. 15. to Hell. So to the proud unbelieving Pharafees, because ye fay, we fee, (yet Joh. 9. 41. flight my Doctrine) therefore your Sin remaineth. Ye shall feek me and c. 8. 21. fhall die in your Sins. If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your Sins. O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, how often would I have gathered thy Mat. 23. 37 Children together, as a Hen gathereth her Chickens and ye would not. 38. Behold your Houfe is left unto you defolate. If thou hadst known, at leaft Luk. 19. 42. in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy Peace! But now they are bid from thine Eyes. The Kingdom of God fhall be taken from you. Wo Mat. 21. 43. be unto you Scribes and Pharifees, fill you up the Measure of your Fathers; Mat. 23. 32, ye Serpents, ye generation of Vipers, how can you efcape the Damnation of Hell. He that hear my words and keep them not, my words fhall judge him Joh. 12. 47, at the last day. Sometimes in the fame place he forgave the Sins of the Pe-48. nitent Believers, and retains the Sins of the Obdurate and the Contumacious. He that believeth on him (Chrift) is not condemned, but he that believeth Joh. 3. 18. 36. not is condemn'd already; The first, hath everlasting Life, and the latter, fhall not fee Life, but the Wrath of God abideth on him. All that are in their Graves hall come forth; they that have done Good unto the Refurrection of Life, and they that have done Evil unto the Refurrection of Damnation. He that heareth my fayings, and doth them, is like a Houfe built upon a Rock, Immoveable; He that doth them not, is built upon Sand, and must expect nothing but ruin. And where Chrift remitted Sins to particular Perfons, it was all along upon these Conditions or Terms of the Gospel, Faith and Repentance. He knew their thoughts, he knew their Faith; So that his Key could not err, but the Judgment of any private Prieft, at least in these days, is at best but conjectural and uncertain, and therefore may be mistaken, especially if it be pofitive and not conditional. Thus Chrift faid to the Man fick of the Pally, Son be of good chear thy Sins be forgiven thee; He faw their Faith, and knew their Thoughts. To Mary Magdalen, or the finfull Woman, Her Sins Mat. 9. 2. 4. which are many are forgiven, for he loved much; Thy Sins are forgiven, thy Faith bath faved thee, go in Peace. Chrift feemed to make his curing Hh

of

Joh. 5.28, 29.

Luk. 7.47,48,

50.

verf. 5. 8.

T. p. 246.

T. p. 245 of Difeafes and his forgiveness of Sins, the Confequences or Fruits of Faith Mar. 2. 5. 9. and Repentance alike. To the Man Sick of the Pally, Son thy Sins be forgiven thee; Arife take up thy Bed and Walk; he faw and knew the Faith both of the Sick Man and of them that brought him, and in the fame moment he was actually loofed from his Sins and from his Infirmity. To the Joh. 5. 14. Man who lay by the pool of Bethefda, Behold thou art made whole, Sin no more; his former Sins and Infirmity were remitted together. So to the AJoh. 8. 11. dulterefs, neither do I condemn thee, Sin no more. To the Woman with the Mar 5. 34. Iffue of Blood, Daughter thy Faith hath made thee whole, go in Peace; he Mark. 5. 36. gave her Peace both of Body and Mind. To the Ruler of the Synagogue, be not afraid, only believe. This was not a bare belief that Chrift could do the Cure, but a belief of his Gospel, and therefore he took only thofe who were thus faithfull into the room with him where the Damfel lay, Peter, James, and John, and her Father and Mother. So to the Canaanitish Woman, O Woman great is thy Faith. That is very remarkable which we read of his Math 13.58. doing Miracles; He did not, (or could not do) any mighty work in his own Mark. 6. 5, 6. Country because of their unbelief; as if Cures and forgiveness of Sins depended upon their Faith and Repentance. Behold thou art made whole, Sin no more, least a worfe thing come unto thee; Relapfes in Sin, may well produce Relapses in the Body, both are dangerous.

verf. 40.

Mark. 16. 15, 16.

Thus far we have Chrift's own Example in remitting and retaining Sins, Joh. 20. 21. let us view his Command to his Apoftles, as my Father fent me fo fend I you. To do what? To proclaim Pardon and Forgivenefs of Sins to the Penitent Believers of the Gospel, and to denounce eternal Death to the Obftinate and Refractory despisers of it. For thus runs Chrift's laft commandment given to them upon Earth; Go ye into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every Creature; and immediately he gives them the fumm of that Golpel in thefe words, He that believeth and is baptized shall be faved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. He gave the very fame Commiffion and CounMat. 10. 5. 7, fel more particularly when he first fent forth the Twelve, go Preach, faying, the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand; whatsoever City or Town ye shall Acts 13. 48. enter, enquire who in it is worthy (who are, TETαynμμévo, eis (whv, difpofed to

12, 13.

Luk. 10. 5.

life by an honeft Heart, and do defire to be reform'd, quos Toy Oedy, they verf. 26. that feared God; as it is their explain'd, and there abide when you come into an House falute it, fay Peace be to this Houfe (which is a common SaluLuk. 10. 5, 6. tation in the Eaft to this very day,) and if the House be Worthy (if the Son of Peace be there), your Peace hall rest upon it. Let your Peace come upon it; (what was this but the Peace with God, the Peace of Confcience, by their admiffion into the Covenant of Grace? Thus they were in their Preaching, to remit Sins to the Hearers (upon their Faith and Repentance;) and whosoever shall not receive you, nor Hear your words, when ye depart out of that Houfe or City, Shake of the dust of your Feet (for a Teftimony against them) verily I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the Land of Sodom, and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment then for that City. Thus they were to retain the Sins of the difobedient; they were to leave them faster Bound in their Infidelity. The very fame Command and Inftruction Christ Luk. 10. 16. gave to the Seventy, adding this Seal to their Commiffion, he that heareth you, heareth me, and he that defpifeth you, defpifeth me, and he that defpifeth me, defpifeth him that fent me.

Mar. 6. 11.

Now we fhall fee that the Practice of the Apoftles (in doing that for which they were fent) in Preaching the Gofpel, and thereby in remitting and retaining Sins, which was exactly conformable to Chrift's Example, Direction, and Command. In the very firft Sermon that ever was made, we read, that, the Act. 2. 37, 38, hearers were pricked in their Hearts, and faid to the Apostles, Men and Brethren what shall we do? Peter gave them for Antwer, this weighty Summary both of the Gospel and of their Preaching; Repent and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jefus Chrift for the Remiffion of Sins.

41.

T. p. 247.

And

26.

And immediately, they that gladly received his word, (that inwardly and T. p. 247. faithfully renounced their former Sinfull ways) were Baptized, and the fame day were added about 3000 Souls. It is not likely that so many in one day could each of them come to a Peculiar, Private, Auricular, Confeffion; but every one of them examin'd himself, and found his own Heart pricked and struck with fincere Repentance, and accordingly they did Unanimoufly and Cheerfully teftify it, by receiving the outward fign of that inward Grace, which is Baptifm. So St. Peter Preaching in Solomon's Porch to the People concerning the cure of the lame Man which he and John had Healed, in perfuance of the very fame end for which he was fent, affures them that upon their firm Faith in Christ, and their fincere Repentance, their Sins are remitted; His name, through A&. 3. 16,19. Faith in his name, hath made this Man ftrong, whom you fee and know; yea, the Faith which is by him, hath given him this prefent foundness in the prefence of you all; Repent ye therefore and be Converted, that your Sins may be blotted out; God having raifed up his Son Jefus, fent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his Iniquities. In the fame manner Paul remitted Sins to the mixed Multitude at Antioch; Be it known A&.13.38,39; unto you, Men and Brethren, that through this Man (Chrift) is Preached 43. unto you the Forgiveness of Sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Mofes. And immediately, Many of the Jews and Religious Profelites follow'd Paul; verf. 48. verf. and as many of the Gentiles as were difpofed (that is, feared God,) believed. 26. Paul at Lyftra, fteadfastly beholding a lame Man, and perceiving that he had fct. 13.9, 10. Faith to be Healed, faid with a loud Voice, stand up right on thy Feet; and he remitted his Sins and his Infirmity together; for ftand upright, and thy Sins be forgiven thee, are of the fame import. Lydia's Heart was fo Mark. 2. 9. open'd, that he attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul, and fhe was baptized and her whole Houfbold; thus their Sins were remitted. So he and Silas laid to the keeper of the Prison, believe in Jefus Chrift and thou shalt be faved, and thy House; and straightway they were all Baptized. Thus the Apostles, by their Preaching, remitted Sins, ipío facto, to their faithfull bearers; The fumm of which was, Repent, Believe, and be Baptized, and all is done.

We have a notable Instance in E

A&t. 16.14.150 verf. 31, 33.

11. Joh.

41,45,46, 50,

Now let us fee how they retain'd Sins. lymas the Sorcerer, who withstood Paul and Barnabas, feeking to turn the A&t. 13, 8, 9, Deputy, Sergius Paulus, from the Faith. Paul fixing his Eyes upon him faidh. 8. 44. after Chrift's Example) O full of all fubtilty and all mischief, thou child of the Devil, thou Enemy of all Righteousness; wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Behold the Hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind; and immediately fo he was. Paul thus left T. p. 248. him bound under a Curfe he retained his Sin, which without Repentance fhould never be blotted out. So in the fame place, after, he had proclaimed verf. 39, 40, Juftification to all thofe that believed, he gives this peremptory Admonition 51. to unbelievers, be ware therefore leaft that come upon you, which is spoken of in the Prophets, behold you Defpifers, and Wonder, and Perish, for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wife believe, though a Man declare it unto you. That is, your Sins fhall be retain'd, and, as Chrift himself before declared, ye fhall die in your Sins. And fo the Jews Joh. S. 24. were in this place ferved, They were filled with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blafpheming; Then Paul and Barnabas boldly told them, it was necessary that the word of God fhould first have been spoken to you; but feeing ye put it from you and judge your felves unworthy of everlasting Life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. And when the Jews ftill perfifted in their Obftinacy, stirring up the devout and honourable Women, and the chief Men of the City, and raised Perfecution against them and expelled them out of their Coafts, they (as Chrift commanded,) hook off the Duft of their Feet against them; and left their Mat. 10. 14. Sins

Hh 2

T. p. 248.

Act. 18. 6.

Neh. 5. 13.

Mat. 23. 38.

Rev. 18. 4.

Act. 26.17,18.

Sins retained unto this day. So again when the Jews at Corinth, oppofed them felves and blafphemed, Paul hook his Raiment and faid unto them, your blood be upon your own Heads, I am clean; and fo once more he left their Sins retained. It is to this day, amongst many in the Eaft, a token of the greatest Abhorrence and Deteftation to shake the fore part of their Veft (inftead of the old way of rending it) and cry, Slufre Allóh, God forgive. And fo Nehemiah of old pronouncing a curfe against Ufurers and Ufury, hook his lap, and faid, fo God shake out every Man from his Houfe, that will not reftore to every one, what hath been exacted and wrefted from him, even thus be he fhaken out and emptied. And Paul meant, by fhaking his Raiment, the very fame defolation to the beardhearted Jews, which Chrift himself foretold; their Sins are retain'd, and they are for their Unbelief fhaken out of their House and Country, and become Vagabonds all over the face of the Earth. A Act. 19, 8, 9. gain, when Paul had Preached three Months at Ephefus, and divers were harden'd and believed not, but Spoke evil of that way, he departed from them, and feparated the Disciples likewife from them; that they should not be partakers of their Sins which were retained, as their own were remitted. Having thus far feen the Practice of the Apoftles as to this Matter, take now St. Paul's own account of his Miffion, and its end, in the very words of our Saviour to him in the Heavenly Vifion; I now fend thee (to Jew and Gentile) to open their Eyes, and to turn them from Darkness and the Power of Satan, and thereby to affure them of forgiveness of their Sins and Inheritance among them which are fanctified by Faith that is in me. Here is most plainT. p. 249. ly declared what Chrift meant when he gave the Apostles Authority and PowJoh. 20. 23. er to remit Sins; That is, to give Chrift's Words and Faithful Promife of it to all the World; and by Preaching this infallible Truth to turn Men from Darkness to Light, and from the Power of Satan to fer them free from Sin. Act. 28. 26, So what was meant by retaining Sin, the fame Paul declares to the difagreeing Jews at Rome, by Preaching to them who will not believe and repent, that they are quite deliver'd over to the power of Satan and the Slavery of Sin; He faid it in that one Word, well pake the Holy Ghoft by Efaias the Prophet unto our Fore-fathers, faying, go unto this People and Jay. Hearing ye fhall Hear and shall not understand, and Seeing ye fhall See and not perceive, for the Heart of this People is waxed fat, and their Ears are dull of Hearing, and their Eyes have they clofed, least they should fee with their Eyes, and be converted and I should heal them. What is all this but that their Sins are retain'd? And that most justly, according to the fame ARom. 1. 28. postle's Doctrine elsewhere, as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate Mind; their Sins is retained, and made part of its own Punishment, as it was of old with Ephraim, becaufe Ephraim hath made many Altars to Sin, Altars fhall be to him to Hof. 8. 11. Sin.

27.

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From all this, I humbly conceive, that a plain and folid Anfwer may now be given to that Question foregoing, Quorfum Claves, to what purpose was the Power of the Keys given, if Men are not brought to Auricular Confef fion. The Power of Binding and Loofing remain ftill as valid and fecure in the Church as ever it did. The Prelates and Governors of it can and ought to cenfure, and, if need be, to Excommunicate all publick, fcandalous Sinners; To give them fome publick mark of Disgrace and Reproof, or upon occafion to turn them quite out of the Chriftian Congregation, and upon their humble Submiffion and Solemn Renuntiation of their Extravagancies, or upon their publick Expreffions and Signs of their hearty and fincere Repentance, to restore them to their former State; Or to readmit them again into the Chriftian Com

munion.

This, for my part, I muft call, the firft Power of the Keys, of Binding and Loofing, lodged in the Governors of the Church, a private Prieft hath nothing to do with it. Next the Apostles as fent by Chrift, the primitive Bishops

as

22.

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Act. 14. 23.

as fent by them, and the fucceeding Bishops by them, and every Priest (in all T. p. 242 fucceeding Ages) duly ordain'd and fent by them, have had, and they that live ftill have, Authority to Preach the word of God, that is, Power to give (and as I may fo with Reverence fay) to pawn Chrift's Infallible Word to every Sinner, that if he truly repent and unfeignedly believes his Holy Gofpel, his Sins fhall moft furely be remitted; But if he will not Repent and Believe, that is, (if I may so have leave to speak) he will not take Chrift's Word or trust his Promife, but will still go on in his obftinate and wicked Courfe, he T. p. 250. fhall as furely die in his Sins, they fhall be retained. This I take to be the Joh. 20. 213 fecond Power of the Keys, the Remitting and Retaining of Sin. In Popish Authors we meet with a Common objection or two about this Point; It is faid that any ordinary Chriftian can tell his Brother thus much, if you Believe and Repent you shall be faved, if not you are damn'd; Right. But I must still think, that every Ordinary Chriftian (purely as fuch) hath no Authority or Warrant Pofitively as a Minifter to give Christ's Word for this, except he be first fent to Rom. 10. 15. declare and pronounce it, that is, before he hath received this Authority from Tim. 3. 10. thofe to whom Chrift hath left it, and entailed it; He that any other way en. Tit. 1. 5. treth into Chrift's Sheepfold, as a Shepherd, is an arrogant Thief and a Robber. Joh. 10. 1. Again it is faid, if this be all that is meant by remitting and retaining of Sins, it is the Sinner himself that remits his own Sins by his Repentance, or retains them by his disobedience; The Prieft does neither the one nor the other to him, but leaves him purely to only God and himself. Right again. It is fo in all Cures both of Body and Mind, the Power and Effect of it, is only God's; but if a Skilfull Phyfician coming into a Country, over-run with fome Epidemical Disease, fhould tell them, take this Medicine I will assure you that it shall infallibly cure you, but if you neglect it you will as furely die; Now if those who take it recover, and those who neglect it Perish, though God is the Principal Caufe by his Providence of both thefe Events, and the Patients concurred by willingly taking the Medicine, yet the Physician is rightly faid to have cured all which recovered, and to have been exactly right in his Prognofticks towards thofe that died. The cafe is perfectly the fame; the Preacher faith, believe and Repent, and your Sins are infallibly Remitted, I give you Chrift's Word, and this his Prescription, for your Spiritual Cure; but if you difpife and neglect it, your Sins are still Retain'd, and you can expect nothing but eternal Death. God is the Principal Caufe alike in both cafes, and the Patient and the Sinner concur in like manner in ufing or refufing the means; Is not the Preacher then as truly faid to Remit or Retain the Sins, as the Phyfician is to work the Cure or foretell the Patient's Death?

2

That this is the true and plain meaning of this fecond Power of the Keys, befides what hath been faid, appears from that of St. Paul, To us (the Apofties, Cor. 5. 18, faith he,) was given dianía Tns xaramoys, the Miniftry, or Administration, 19, 20. of Reconciliation; which there he thus explains, God was in Chrift Reconciling the World unto himself, that is, not imputing their Trefpaffes unto them; and hath committed to us, or put or placed in us, Jéμer En sμło TÓV Móyor Tus nataMoyns, the Word of Reconciliation, or the Tranfacting, Reafoning, or Preaching the Terms of Reconciliation, we are then Chrift's Ambassadors, or Plenepotentiaries, as if God himself did intreat or exhort by us, we beseech you in Chrift's ftead, be ye Reconciled to God. As God fent Christ, so he fent the Apostles, and they fent the Bishops with the fame Authority to fend others, as Ambassadors to offer conditions of Reconciliation, or Peace, between God and the World, and to declare an abfolute Amnesty or Pardon of what Offences were paft, if received and performed with the conditions propofed; or to pronounce them for ever Enemies, Rebels, if they re- T p. 251. fused them. So that all the Authority which Bishops themselves, and every Priest fent, or Lawfully ordain'd by them, hath by this fecond Power of the Keys is no more, but to Preach the Gospel of Chrift, that is, In his name and upon his Word, to propound and to warrant the Conditions of Reconcili- Joh. 20. 23.

ation,

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