When, Matt. xii. he was told, that his mother and brethren sought to speak with him, ver. 49, " Stretch- " ing out his hands to his disciples, he said, Behold my " mother and my brethren; for whosoever shall do the " will of my Father, who is in heaven, he is my bro- " ther, and 'sister, and mother." They could not be children of the adoption, and fellow heirs with him of eternal life, who did not do the will of his heavenly Father.
Matt. xv. and Mark vi. the pharisees finding fault, that his disciples eat with unclean hands, he makes this declaration to his apostles: " Do not ye perceive, that " whatsoever from without entereth into a man cannot " defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but " his belly? That which cometh out of the man, that " defileth the man; for from within, out of the heart of " men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, " murders, thefts, false witnesses, covetousness, wick- " edness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, " pride, foolishness. All these ill things come from " within, and defile a man."
He commands self-denial, and the exposing ourselves to suffering and danger, rather than to deny or disown as delivered in the Scriptures. 117 him: and this upon pain of losing our souls; which are of more worth than all the world. This we may read, Matt. xvi. 24 — 27, arid the parallel places, Mark viii. and Luke ix.
The apostles disputing among them, who should be greatest in the kingdom of the Messiah, Matt, xviii. 1, he thus determines the controversy, Mark ix. 35, " If " any one will be first, let him be last of all, and servant " of all:" and setting a child before them adds, Matt, xyiii. 3, " Verily I say unto you, Unless ye turn, and " become as children, ye shall not enter into the king- " dom of heaven."
Matth. xviii. 15, " If thy brother shall trespass " against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee " and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained " thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take " with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two " or three witnesses every word may be established. " And if he shall neglect to Jiear them, tell it to the " church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him " be unto thee, as an heathen and publican." Ver. 21, " Peter said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against " me and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus said " unto him, I say not unto thee, till seven times; but " until seventy times seven." And then ends the pa-* rable of the servant, who being himself forgiven, was rigorous to his fellow-servant, with these words, ver. 34, " and his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the (( tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him. " So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, '* if you from your hearts forgive not every one his bro- " ther their trespasses."
Luke x. 25, to the lawyer, asking him, " What shall " I do to inherit eternal life? He said, What is written " in the law? How readest thou?" He answered, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, " and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and " with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." Jesus said, " This do, and thou shalt live." And when the lawyer, upon our Saviour's parable of the good Sa maritan, was forced to confess, that he that showed 118 The Reasonableness of Christianity, mercy was his neighbour; Jesus dismissed him with this charge, ver. 37, " Go, and do thou likewise."
Luke xi. 41, " Give alms, of such things as ye have; " behold all things are clean unto you."
Luke xii. 15, " Take heed, and beware of covetous- " ness." Ver. 22, " Be not solicitous what ye shall ** eat, or what ye shall drink, nor what ye shall put " on;" be not fearful, or apprehensive of want; " for " it is your Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom. " Sell that you have, and give alms: and provide your- '* selves bags that wax not old, a treasure in the heavens, " that faileth not: for where your treasure is, there will " your heart be also. Let your loins be girded, and " your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men " that wait for the Lord when he will return. Blessed " are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, " shall find watching. Blessed is that servant, whom " the Lord having made ruler of his househould, to give " them their portion of meat in due season, the Lord, " when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I " say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all " that he hath. But if that servant say in his heart, ** my Lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to " beat the men servants, and maidens, and to eat and " drink, and to be drunken; the Lord of that servant " will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and " at an hour when he is not aware; and will cut him " in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with un- tf believers. And that servant who knew his lord's " will, and prepared not himself, neither did according " to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But " he that knew not and did commit things worthy of " stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto " whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be " required: and to whom men have committed much, " of him they will ask the more."
Luke xiv. 11, " Whosoever exalteth himself shall be " abased: and he that humbleth himself shall be ex- " alted."
Ver. 12, " When thou makest a dinner, or supper, call " not thy friends, or thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, as delivered in the Scriptures. 119 " nor thy neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and " a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest " a feast, call the poor, and maimed, the lame and the " blind; and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot re- " compense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the " resurrection of the just."
Ver. 33, " So likewise, whosoever he be of you, that " is not ready to forego all that he hath, he cannot be " my disciple." *vi Luke xiv. 9, " I say unto you, make to yourselves " friends of the mammon of unrighteousness: that when " ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habi- " tations. If ye have not been faithful in the unrighte- u ous mammon, who will commit to your trust the " true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that " which is another man's, who shall give you that " which is your own?"
Luke xvii. 3, "If thy brother trespass against thee, " rebuke him; and if he repent forgive him. And " if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and " seven times in a day turn again unto thee, saying, I " repent, thou shalt forgive him."
Lukexviii. 1, " He spoke a parable to them to this end, " that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."
Ver. 18, " One comes to him and asks him, saying, " Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus " said unto him, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the " commandments. He says, Which? Jesus said, Thou " knowest the commandments. Thou shalt not kill; " thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; " thou shalt not bear false witness; defraud not; ho- " nour thy father and thy mother; and thou shalt love " thy neighbour as thyself. He said, all these have I " observed from my youth. Jesus hearing this, loved " him, and said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: " sell all that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and " thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow " me." To understand this right, we must take no tice, that this young man asks our Saviour, what he must do to be admitted effectually into the kingdom of the Messiah? The jews believed, that when the Mes- 120 The Reasonableness of Christianity, siah came, those of their nation that received him, should not die; but that they, with those who, being dead, should then be raised again by him, should enjoy eter nal life with him. Our Saviour, in answer to this de mand, tells the young man, that to obtain the eternal life of the kingdom of the Messiah, he must keep the commandments. And then enumerating several of the precepts of the law, the young man says, he had ob served these from his childhood. For which the text tells us, Jesus loved him. But our Saviour, to try whe ther in earnest he believed him to be the Messiah, and resolved to take him to be his king, and to obey him as such, bids him give all that he has to the poor, and come, and follow him; and he should have treasure in heaven. This I look on to be the meaning of the place; this, of selling all he had, and giving it to the poor, not being a standing law of his kingdom; but a probationary command to this young man; to try whether he truly believed him to be the Messiah, and was ready to obey his commands, and relinquish all to follow him, when he, his prince, required it.
And therefore we see, Luke xix. 14, where our Sa viour takes notice of the jews not receiving him as the Messiah, he expresses it thus: " We will not have this " man to reign over us." It is not enough to believe him to be the Messiah, unless we also obey his laws, and take him to be our king to reign over us.
Matt. xxii. 11 — 13, he that had not on the wedding- garment, though he accepted of the invitation, and carne to the wedding, was cast into utter darkness. By the wedding-garment, it is evident good works are meant here; that wedding-garment of fine linen, clean, and white, which we are told, Rev. xix, 8, is the ^XOIW^«T«, " righteous acts of the saints;" or, as St. Paul calls it, Ephes. iv. 1, " The walking worthy of the vocation " wherewith we are called." This appears from the parable itself: " The kingdom of heaven," says our Saviour, ver. 2, " is like unto a king, who made a mar- " riage for his son." And here he distinguishes those who were invited, into three sorts: 1. Those who were invited, and came not; i. e. those who had the gospel, as delivered in the Scriptures.
the good news of the kingdom of God proposed to them, but believed not. 2. Those who came, but had not on a wedding-garment; i. e. believed Jesus to be the Messiah, but were not new clad (as I may so say) with a true repentance, and amendment of life: nor adorned with those virtues, which the apostle, Col. iii. requires to be put on. 3. Those who were invited, did come, and had on the wedding-garment; i. e. heard the gospel, believed Jesus to be the Messiah, and sincerely obeyed his Jaws. These three sorts are plainly designed here; whereof the last only were the blessed, who were to enjoy the kingdom prepared for them.
Matt, xxiii. " Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is " your master, even the Messiah, and ye are all brethren. " And call no man your father upon the earth: for " one is your Father which is in heaven. Neither be " ye called masters: for one is your master, even the " Messiah. But he that is greatest amongst you, shall " be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself, " shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself, « shall be exalted."
Luke xxi. 34, " Take heed to yourselves, lest your " hearts be at any time overcharged with surfeiting and " drunkenness, and cares of this life."
Luke xxii. 25, " He said unto them, the kings of " the gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they " that exercise authority upon them, are called bene- " factors. But ye shall not be so. But he that is " greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and " he that is chief, as he that doth serve."
John xiii. 34, " A.new commandment I give unto " you, That ye love one another: as I have loved you, '* that ye also love one another. By this shall all men " know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one an- " other." This command, of loving one another, is 1 repeated again, chap. xv. 12, and 17.
John xiv. 15, " If ye love me, keep my comrnand- " ments." Ver. 21, " He that hath my command- " ments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: " and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, " and I will love him, and manifest myself to him."
122 The Reasonableness of Christianity, Ver. 23, " If a man loveth me he will keep my words/' Ver. 24, " He that loveth me not, keepeth not my " sayings."
John xv. 8, " In this is my Father glorified, that ye " bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." Ver. 14, " Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I com- " mand you."
Thus we see our Saviour not only confirmed the moral law; and clearing it from the corrupt glosses of the scribes and pharisees, showed the strictness as well as obligation of its injunctions; but moreover, upon occasion, requires the obedience of his disciples to seve ral of the commands he afresh lays upon them; with the inforcement of unspeakable rewards and punishments in another world, according to their obedience or disobe dience. There is not, I think, any of the duties of mo rality, which he has not, somewhere or other, by him self and his apostles, inculcated over and over again to his followers in express terms. And is it for nothing that he is so instant with them to bring forth fruit? Does he, their King, command, and is it an indifferent thing? Or will their happiness or misery not at all de pend upon it, whether they obey or no? They were re quired to believe him to be the Messiah; which faith is of grace promised to be reckoned to them, for the com pleting of their righteousness, wherein it was defective: but righteousness, or obedience to the law of God, was their great business, which, if they could have attained by their own performances, there would have been no need of this gracious allowance, in reward of their faith: but eternal life, after the resurrection, had been their due by a former covenant, even that of works; the rule whereof was never abolished, though the rigour was abated. The duties enjoined in it were duties still. Their obligations had never ceased; nor a wilful neg lect of them was ever dispensed with. But their past transgressions were pardoned, to those who received Je sus, the promised Messiah, for their king; and their fu ture slips covered, if renouncing their former iniquities, they entered into his kingdom, and continued his sub jects with a steady resolution and endeavour to obey his as delivered in the Scriptures* 123 laws. This righteousness therefore, a complete obedi ence, and freedom from sin, are still sincerely to be endeavoured after. And it is no-where promised, that those who persist in a wilful disobedience to his laws, shall be received into the eternal bliss of his kingdom, how much soever they believe in him.
A sincere obedience, how can any one doubt to be, or scruple to call, a condition of the new covenant, as well as faith; whoever reads our Saviour's sermon in the mount, to omit all the rest? Can any thing be more express than these words of our Lord? Matt. vi. 1 4, " If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Fa- " ther will also forgive you: but if you forgive not men " their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your " trespasses." And John xiii. 17, " If ye know these " things, happy are ye if you do them." This is so in- indispensable a condition of the new covenant, that be lieving without it, will not do, nor be accepted; if our Saviour knew the terms on which he would admit men into life. " Why call ye me, Lord, Lord," says he, Luke vi. 46, " and do not the things which I say?" It is not enough to believe him to be the Messiah, the Lord, without obeying him. For that these he speaks to here, were believers, is evident from the parallel place, Matt, vii. 21 — 23, where it is thus recorded: " Not every one " who says, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom " of heaven; but he that doth the will of my father, 66 which is in heaven." No rebels, or refractory dis obedient, shall be admitted there, though they have so far believed in Jesus, as to be able to do miracles in his name: as is plain out of the following words: " Many " will say to me in that day, Have we not prophesied in " thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in " thy name have done many wonderful works? And " then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; d£- " part from me, ye workers of iniquity."
This part of the new covenant, the apostles also, in their preaching the gospel of the Messiah, ordinarily joined with the doctrine of faith.
St. Peter, in his first sermon, Acts ii. when they were pricked in heart, and asked, "What shall we do?"
The Reasonableness of Christianity, says, ver. 38, " Repent, and be baptized, every one of " you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of " sins." The same he says to them again in his next speech, Acts iv. 26, " Unto you first, God having raised " up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you." How was this done? " IN TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE FROM " YOUR INIQUITIES."
The same doctrine they preach to the high priest and rulers, Acts v. 30, " The God of our fathers raised up " Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged on a tree. Him " hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince " and a Saviour, for to give REPENTANCE to Israel, and " forgiveness of sins; and we are witnesses of these " things, and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God " hath given to them that obey him."
Acts xvii. 30, St. Paul tells the Athenians, That now under the gospel, " God commandeth all men every - " where to REPENT."
Acts xx. 21, St. Paul, in his last conference with the elders of Ephesus, professes to have taught them the whole doctrine necessary to salvation: " I have," says he, " kept back nothing that was profitable unto you; " but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, " and from house to house; testifying both to the jews " and to the Greeks:" and then gives an account what his preaching had been, viz. " REPENTANCE towards " God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus the Messiah." This was the sum and substance of the gospel which St. Paul preached, and was all that he knew necessary to salvation; viz. " Repentance, and believing Jesus to *' be the Messiah:" and so takes his last farewell of them, whom he shall never see again, ver. 32, in these words, " And now, brethren, I commend you to God, " and to the word of his grace, which is able to build •" you up, and to give you an inheritance among all " them that are sanctified." There is an inheritance conveyed by the word and covenant of grace; but it is only to those who are sanctified.
Acts xxiv. 24, " When Felix sent for Paul," that he and his wife Drusilla might hear him, " concerning the " faith in Christ;" Paul reasoned of righteousness, or as delivered in the Scripures. 125 justice; and temperance; the duties we owe to others, and to ourselves; and of the judgment to come; until he made Felix to tremble. Whereby it appears, that " temperance and justice" were fundamental parts of the religion that Paul professed, and were contained in the faith which he preached. And if we find the duties of the moral law not pressed by him every- where, we must remember, that most of his sermons left upon re cord, were preached in their synagogues to the jews, who acknowledged their obedience due to all the pre cepts of the law; and would have taken it amiss to have been suspected not to have been more zealous for the law than he. And therefore it was with reason that his discourses were directed chiefly to what they yet wanted, and were averse to, the knowledge and embracing of Jesus, their promised Messiah. But what his preaching generally was, if we will believe him himself, we may see, Acts xxvi. where giving an account to king Agrip- pa, of his life and doctrine, he tells him, ver. 20, " I " showed unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, " and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to " the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to " God, and do works meet for repentance."
Thus we see, by the preaching of our Saviour and his apostles, that he required of those who believed him to be the Messiah, and received him for their Lord and Deliverer, that they should live by his laws: and that (though in consideration of their becoming his subjects, by faith in him, whereby they believed and took him to be the Messiah, their former sins should be forgiven, . yet) he would own none to be his, nor receive them as true denizens of the new Jerusalem, into the inheritance of eternal life; but leave them to the condemnation of the unrighteous; who renounced not their former mis carriages, and lived in a sincere obedience to his com mands. What he expects from his followers, he has sufficiently declared as a legislator: and that they may not be deceived, by mistaking the doctrine of faith, grace, free-grace, and the pardon and forgiveness of sins, and salvation by him, (which was the great end of 126 The Reasonableness of Christianity, his coming,) he more than once declares to them, for what omissions and miscarriages he shall judge and con demn to death, even those who have owned him, and done miracles in his name: when he comes at last to render to every one according to what he had DONE in the flesh, sitting upon his great and glorious tribunal, at the end of the world.
The first place where we find our Saviour to have mentioned the day of judgment, is John v. 28, 293 in these words: " the hour is coming, in which all that " are in their grave shall hear his [i. e. the Son of " God's] voice, and shall come forth; they that have " DONE GOOD, unto the resurrection of life; and they " that have DONE EVIL, unto the resurrection of dam- " nation." That which puts the distinction, if we will believe our Saviour, is the having done good or evil. And he gives a reason of the necessity of his judging or condemning those " who have done evil," in the fol lowing words, ver. 30, ^l can of myself do nothing. " As I hear I judge; and my judgment is just; be- " cause I seek not my own will, but the will of my Fa- " ther who hath sent me." He could not judge of himself; he had but a delegated power of judging from the Father, whose will he obeyed in it; and who was of purer eyes than to admit any unjust person into the kingdom of heaven^} Matt. vii. 22, 23, speaking again of that day, he tells what his sentence will be, " Depart from me, ye WOIIK- " ERS of iniquity." Faith in the penitent and sincerely obedient, supplies the defect of their performances; and so by grace they are made just. But we may observe, none are sentenced or punished for unbelief, but only for their misdeeds. " They are workers of iniquity" on whom the sentence is pronounced.
Matt. xiii. 41, " At the end of the world, the Son of " man shall send forth his angels; and they shall ga- " ther out of his kingdom all scandals, and them which " DO INIQUITY; and cast them into a furnace of fire; " there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." And again, ver. 49> " The angels shall sever the WICKED as delivered in the Scriptures. 127 " from among the JUST; and shall cast them into the " furnace of fire."
Matt. xvi. 24, " For the Son of man shall come in " the glory of his Father, with his angels: and then he " shall reward every man according to his WORKS."
Luke xiii. 26, " Then shall ye begin to say, We have " eaten and drank in thy presence, and thou hast taught " in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know " you not; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity."
Matt. xxv. 31 — 46, " When the Son of man shall " come in his glory; and before him shall be gathered " all nations; he shall set the sheep on his right hand, " and the goats on his left. Then shall the king say " to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my! "v " Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from " the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, " and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me " drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, " and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I " was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the " righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we " thee an hungered, and fed thee? &c. And the King " shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto " you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the " least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. " Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart " from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for " the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and " ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me " no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; " naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, (f. and ye visited me not. Insomuch that ye did it not " to one of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall " go into everlasting punishment; but the righteous " into life eternal."
These, I think, are all the places where our Saviour mentions the last judgment, or describes his way of pro ceeding in that great day; wherein, as we have ob- — " served, it is remarkable, that every- where the sentence '-{• follows doing or not doing, without any mention of be lieving or not believing. Not that any, to whom the 128 The Reasonableness of Christianity 9 gospel hath been preached, shall he saved, without be lieving Jesus to be the Messiah: for all being sinners, and transgressors of the law, and so unjust; are all liable to condemnation; unless they believe, and so through grace are justified by God, for this faith, which shall be accounted to them for righteousness. But the rest wanting this cover, this allowance for their transgres sions, must answer for all their actions; and being found transgressors of the law, shall, by the letter and sanction of that law, be condemned for not having paid a full obedience to that law; and not for want of faith. That is not the guilt on which the punishment is laid; though it be the want of faith, which lays open their guilt un covered; and exposes them to the sentence of the law, against all that are unrighteous.
The common objection here, is, If all sinners shall be condemned, but such as have a gracious allowance made them; and so are justified by God, for believing Jesus to be the Messiah, and so taking him for their King, whom they are resolved to obey to the utmost of their power; " What shall become of all mankind, who " lived before our Saviour's time, who never heard of " his name, and consequently could not believe in " him?" To this the answer is so obvious and natural, that one would wonder how any reasonable man should think it worth the urging. No-body was, or can be required to believe, what was never proposed to him to believe. Before the fulness of time, which God from the counsel of his own wisdom had appointed to send his Son in, he had, at several times, and in different manners, promised to the people of Israel, an extraor dinary person to come; who, raised from amongst them selves, should be their Ruler and Deliverer. The time, and other circumstances of his birth, life, arid person, he had in sundry prophecies so particularly described, and so plainly foretold, that he was well known, and expected by the jews, under the name of the Messiah, or Anointed, given him in some of these prophecies. All then that was required, before his appearing in the