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thing, but only shewing the connexion between apostacy and condemnation, thereby to stir up all the saints to take heed lest there should be in any of them an evil heart of unbelief to depart from the living God) is apparent from ver. 26. where he makes an entrance upon this argument, and motive to perseverance; for if we sin wilfully:' that believers may do so, he speaks not one word; but if they should do so, he shews what would be the event. As that the soldiers in the ship should perish, Paul told them not, but yet shewed what must needs come to pass if the means of prevention were not used. Now if this be the intention of the apostle, as it is most likely by his speaking in the first person, if we sin wilfully,' then not any thing in the world can be hence concluded, either for the universality of redemption, or the apostacy of saints, to both which ends this place is usually urged; for 'suppositio nil ponit in esse.'

Thirdly, It is most certain that these of whom he speaks, did make profession of all these things whereof here is mention; viz. that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, that they were sanctified by the blood of the covenant, and enlightened by the Spirit of grace; yea, as it is apparent from the parallel place, Heb. vi. 4, 5. had many gifts of illumination, besides their initiation by baptism, wherein, open profession and demonstration was made of these things; so that a renunciation of all these, with open detestation of them, as was the manner of apostates, accursing the name of Christ, was a sin of so deep an abomination, attended with so many aggravations, as might well have annexed to it this remarkable commination, though the apostates never had themselves any true effectual interest in the blood of Jesus.

Fourthly, That it was the manner of the saints and the apostles themselves to esteem of all baptized initiated persons, ingrafted into the church, as sanctified persons; so that speaking of backsliders, he could not make mention of them any otherwise than as they were commonly esteemed to be, and at that time in the judgment of charity were to be considered; whether they were true believers or no, but only temporary, to whom this argument against apostacy is proposed, according to the usual manner of speech used by the Holy Ghost, they could not be otherwise described.

Fifthly, If the text be interpreted positively, and accord

ing to the truth of the thing itself, in both parts thereof, viz. 1. That these of whom the apostle speaketh were truly sanctified. 2. That such may totally perish; then these two things will inevitably follow: First, That faith and sanctification is not the fruit of election. Secondly, That believers may fall finally from Christ. Neither of which I as yet find to be owned by our new universalists, though both contended for by our old Arminians.

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Sixthly, There is nothing in the text of force to persuade that the persons here spoken of, must needs be truly justified and regenerated believers, much less that Christ died for them, which comes in only by strained consequences. One expression only seems to give any colour hereunto; that they were said to be sanctified by the blood of the covenant. Now concerning this, if we do but consider, first, the manner and custom of the apostles writing to the churches, calling them all saints, that were called; ascribing that to every one that belonged only to some. Secondly, That these persons were baptized; which ordinance among the ancients, was sometimes called pwrLoμòs, illumination;' sometimes ayıαoμòç, 'sanctification;' wherein, by a solemn aspersion of the symbol of the blood of Christ, they were externally sanctified, separated, and set apart, and were by all esteemed as saints and believers. Thirdly, The various signification of the word ȧyiάw (here used) in the Scripture, whereof one most frequent is to consecrate and set apart to any holy use; as 2 Chron. xxix. 23. Lev. xvi. 4. Fourthly, That Paul useth in this epistle many words and phrases in a temple sense, alluding, in the things and ways of the Christian church, unto the old legal observances. Fifthly, That supposed and professed sanctity, is often called so, and esteemed to be so indeed. If I say we shall consider these things, it will be most apparent, that here is indeed no true, real, internal, effectual sanctification, proper to God's elect at all intimated: but only a common external setting apart (with repute and esteem of real holiness), from the ways of the world, and customs of the old synagogue, to an enjoyment of the ordinance of Christ, representing the blood of the covenant; so that this commination being made to all, so externally and apparently sanctified, to them that were truly so, it declared the certain connexion between apostacy

and condemnation, thereby warning them to avoid it, as Joseph [was] warned to fly into Egypt, lest Herod should slay the child; which yet in respect of God's purpose could not be effected, in respect of them that were only apparently so, -it held out the odiousness of the sin, with their own certain inevitable destruction, if they fell into it, which it was possible they might do.

And thus, by the Lord's assistance, have I given you, as I hope, a clear solution to all the arguments which heretofore the Arminians pretended to draw from the Scripture in the defence of their cause: some other sophisms shall hereafter be removed. But because of late we have had a multiplication of arguments on this subject, some whereof, at least in form, appear to be new, and may cause some trouble to the unskilful; I shall, in the next place, remove all those objections which T. M. in his book of the Universality of Free Grace,' hath gathered together against our main thesis, of Christ's dying only for the elect, which himself puts together in one bundle, chap. xxvi. and calleth them reasons.

CHAP. VI.

An answer to the twentieth chapter of the book entitled, The Universality of God's Free Grace, &c. being a collection of all the arguments used by the author, throughout the whole book, to prove the universality of redemption. THE title pretends satisfaction to them who desire to have reason satisfied, which that it is a great undertaking, I easily grant; but for the performance of it, hic labor, hoc opus.? That ever Christian reason rightly informed by the word of God, should be satisfied with any doctrine, so discrepant from the word, so full of contradiction in itself, and to its own principles, as the doctrine of universal redemption is, I should much marvel. Therefore I am persuaded that the author of the arguments following (which least you should mistake them for other, he calleth reasons), will fail of his intention with all that have so much reason, as to know how to make use of reason, and so much grace, as not to love darkness more than light. The only reason, as far as I can conceive, why he calls this collection of all the arguments and texts of

Scripture which he had before cited and produced at large, so many reasons, being a supposal that he hath given them a logical argumentative form in this place. I shall briefly consider them, and by the way take notice of his skill, in a regular framing of arguments, to which here he evidently pretends. His first reason then is as followeth :

'That which the Scripture oft and plainly affirmeth in plain words, is certainly true and to be believed; Prov. xxii. 20, 21. Isa. viii. 20. 2 Pet. i. 19, 20. but that Jesus Christ gave himself a ransom, and by the grace of God tasted death for every man, is oft and plainly affirmed in Scripture, as is before shewn; chap. vii. to xiii.

'Therefore the same is certainly a truth to be believed; John xx. 31. Acts xxvi. 27.'

The proposition of this argument, is clear, evident, and acknowledged by all professing the name of Christ; but yet universally with this caution and proviso; that by the Scripture affirming any thing in plain words that is to be believed, you understand the plain sense of those words, which is clear by rules of interpretation so to be. It is the thing signified, that is to be believed, and not the words only, which are the sign thereof; and, therefore, the plain sense and meaning is, that which we must inquire after, and is intended, when we speak of believing plain words of the Scripture. But now, if by plain words you understand the literal importance of the words, which may perhaps be figurative, or at least of various signification, and capable of extent or restriction in the interpretation; then there is nothing more false than this assertion; for how can you then avoid the blasphemous folly of the anthropomorphites, assigning a body and human shape unto God; the plain words of the Scripture, often mentioning his eyes, hands, ears, &c. it being apparent to every child, that the true importance of those expressions answer not at all their gross carnal conception? Will not also transubstantiation, or its younger brother consubstantiation, be an article of our creed? With this limitation then we pass the proposition, with the places of Scripture brought to confirm it; only with this observation, that there is not one of them to the purpose in hand, which, because they do not relate to the argument in consideration, we only leave to men's silent judgments.

Secondly, The assumption, or minor proposition, we absolutely deny as to some part of it; as that Christ should be said to give himself a ransom for every man. It being neither often, nor once, nor plainly, nor obscurely, affirmed in the Scripture, nor at all proved in the place referred unto: so that this is but an empty flourishing. For the other expression, of tasting death for every man, we grant that the words are found Heb. ii. 9. but we deny that every man, doth always necessarily signify all and every man in the world: vov≈εTOUvτες πάντα ἄνθρωπον, καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον, Col. i. 28. Warning every man, and teaching every man.' Every man is not there every man in the world; neither are we to believe that Paul warned and taught every particular man, for it is false and impossible. So that (every man) in the Scripture, is not universally collective of all of all sorts; but either distributive, for some of all sorts; or collective, with a restriction to all of some sort, as in that of Paul 'every man,' was only of those to whom he had granted the gospel. Secondly, In the original there is only ÜTEρ Távтoç, 'for every,' without the substantive man, which might be supplied by other words as well as man, as elect, or believer.

Thirdly, That every one, is there clearly restrained to all the members of Christ, and the children by him brought to glory, we have before declared: so that this place is no way useful for the confirmation of the assumption, which we deny in the sense intended, and are sure we shall never see a clear, or so much as a probable, testimony for the confirming of it.

To the conclusion of the syllogism, the author to manifest his skill in disputing such an argumentative way as he undertaketh, addeth some farther proofs. Conscious it seems he was to himself, that it had little strength from the propositions, from which it is enforced; and therefore thought to give some new supportments to it, although with very ill success, as will easily appear to any one that shall but consult the places quoted, and consider the business in hand. In the mean time this new logic of filling proofs to the conclusion which are suitable to neither proposition, and striving to give strength to that, by new testimony which it hath not from the premises, deserves our notice in this age of learned writers; 'heu quantum est sapere;' such logic is

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