Part 1. CHAPTER IV.
James Dodson
The Elect non-converted are not under Law-wrath. 2. Faith is no cause of satisfaction. 3. Christ cannot have satisfied for the sins of the Reprobate.
Whether the Elect unconverted be under wrath is a doubt to many. It is true, they are servants of sin, Rom. 6:17. Blind, and under the power of Satan as Reprobates are, Acts 26:18. By nature children of wrath, even as others, Eph. 2:3.
The elect non-converted how they are not under Law-wrath.
Ans. Their sins committed before their Conversion, are according to the Covenant of Works, such as deserve everlasting condemnation, and they are jure [by right] and in relation to that Covenant, heirs of wrath, as well as others.
2. But we must distinguish between a state of election and everlasting, though unseen love, that they are under, as touching their persons: and a state of a sinful way that they are born in, and walk in as others do, until they be converted. As to the former state, it is true which is said, Jer. 31:3. I have loved thee with an everlasting love. See also, Rom. 9:12, 13; Eph. 1:4. so that God never hates their persons.
3. The punishment of their sins and the wrath they are under is two ways considered.
(1.) Materially in the bulk, and so they are under Law-strokes and Law-wrath, that is Law-punishment, as others are, Eph. 2:3. and so the other places are to be taken.
The Elect non-converted bear no part of the Law-curse, but CHRIST bare all.
(2.) The wrath is to be considered formally, and so it is denied that the punishment of the non-converted elect, because of their sinful way is any part of the Law-vengeance or curse which Christ did bear for their other sins committed by them after conversion.
[1.] Because when Christ saith, John 5:4. The believer hath passed from death, as it is a curse, and shall never come to judgement and condemnation, he cannot mean that they have half passed from the curse, and half not.
[2.] Believers are delivered, in Christ, from the victory, sting, power of sin, curse of the Law, and every curse, that is in affliction, and from condemnation not in part only, but in whole: Else their triumph were but in part, contrary to, 1 Cor. 15:54, 55, 56. Hos. 13:14; Isa. 25:8. Nor should they be washen from all their sins and the spots thereof in his blood, if they might wash themselves from any spot, by bearing a part of the Law-curse in themselves, contrary to Can. 4:7; Jer. 50:20; Joh. 1:28; 1 Joh. 1:8; Rom. 8:1; 3. Whatever Christ was made for the redeemed ones, that he was made fully for them, in part, and in whole, for he is their perfect Saviour. But Gal. 3:13. He is made a curse for us, and able to save to the outmost all that come to him. Heb. 7:27. Therefore the half or a part of satisfactory vengeance, cannot be upon us, and the other half on Christ, for this is to make men and Martyrs joint satisfiers of justice with Christ, by their own blood and sufferings, to prevent the scaddings [scaldings] of purgatory; For though we teach against Antinomians, that the Godly are punished for sins according to Justice, yet that is Evangelic, not law-justice, for they bear not one dram weight of satisfactory wrath and curse jointly with Christ, Antinomians say that sin, root and branch is taken away in Justification, so that there is no sin nor punishment for sin in the justified man.
Remission of sins and life eternal under the Old Testament.
4. The believers are blessed through Jesus Christ, Gal, 3:10, 13; Psal. 32:1, 2; Rom. 4:6: Psal. 2:12; Psal. 119:1. Their afflictions and death blessed, precious in the eyes of the Lord, not qualified with any Law-curse, Job 5:17; Psal. 94:12; Mat. 5:6; Luk. 6:22; 1 Pet. 1:6; 1 Pet. 4:13; Psal. 21:3, 4, 5, 6; Psal. 34:17, 18, 19; Rev. 14:13; Psal. 116:15; Psal. 72:14; Psal. 37:37. and they are asleep in Christ, die in the Lord, 1 Thes. 4:14, 16. Nor can Antinomians and Socinians say this is under the New-Testament, for dying Jacob saith, Gen. 49:18. Lord I have waited for thy salvation, Isa. 57:1, 2. When the righteous man is taken away, he shall enter into peace, the Lord is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when their bodies are rotten. Exod. 3:6; Mat. 22:32.
Faith is made a cause of satisfaction for sin by all who hold that CHRIST gave a satisfactory ransom for all and everyone, Elect and Reprobate.
5. This comes too near the opinion of these, who make faith a cause of satisfaction for sin, as they must teach who hold that Christ paid a ransom, on the cross, for the sins of all and every one. For that which added, maketh satisfaction to be counted and formally reckoned as satisfaction, in order to the expiation of the man’s sins, so that by no justice he can suffer for them, and which being removed, maketh the paid satisfaction and ransom, though never taken back again by the payer, no more a satisfaction for that man, nor for Devils: Is too near to the nature and to being a part of the satisfaction. If one pay a sum that fully exhausts the debt of such a broken man, upon condition the broken man say Amen to the paying thereof, otherwise it shall be as not paid, he must take up the sum again, if the broken man refuse to say Amen to it, for if he take it not up again, but it be paid and fully satisfy for, and exhaust the debt, the man’s debt is paid, and the Creditor in justice cannot exact one farthing from the broken man. Now nothing given to the Justice of God by way of satisfaction for the sins of unbelievers, was ever repeated or taken back again by Christ.
Conditional payment made for the sins of Judas, is no payment at all.
Nay but, say they, the ransom was not paid at all for Judas, but only, upon condition that he believe: but he never believed, and therefore it was never paid for Judas.
Accepting or not accepting, assenting or not assenting to the payment, are not causes of the sufficiency of the payment made to justice.
Answ. This is that we say, that Christ gave no real ransom at all, for the sins of Judas by way of satisfaction. But they say that there is as well a ransom paid for all the sins of Judas (final unbelief excepted) to free him, in justice from eternal strokes, as for all the sins of Peter to free him, only it is not accepted of by the Creditor, because Judas, by faith, assented not unto the bargain: But assenting or not assenting, accepting, or not accepting, that are posterior to the payment, are nothing up or down to the completeness and perfection of the satisfaction made for the exhausting of Justice, for Justice receives not two satisfactions or ransoms for Judas, one upon the Cross from Christ, another in Hell, from Judas, yea and it must follow, that real payment was made to Justice for all the sins of Judas, upon the Crosse, and that he suffers for none of them, in Hell, but for only final unbelief, which is no sin against the Covenant of Works and the Justice thereof, but only and formally against the Covenant of Grace, so that as yet satisfying of Divine Justice for sins, must be halved and parted between Christ, and Judas, which the Scripture teaches not. Also the Father either accepts the ransom of Christ, because it is intrinsically, and of itself sufficiently satisfactory: or because Judas does believe it is so; The latter cannot be said, for believing adds nothing to the intrinsical sufficiency of the satisfaction, as not believing diminishes nothing from the sufficiency thereof;
The formal reason why God accepts of CHRIST’S satisfaction is the intrinsical sufficiency of it, and why he accepts it for Peter, not for another is the free election of grace.
Yea and so the Father’s formal reason of accepting of the satisfaction of Christ, must be terminated upon our poor act of believing, whereas the formal ground of the acceptation thereof is the intrinsical excellency and worth of the Sacrifice, being an offering of a sweet smelling favour to God, Eph. 5:2. And because he offered the ransom of the blood of God-man, of the Prince of life, Act. 20:28; 1 Cor. 2:8. and offered himself to God, Eph. 5:25, 26; Heb. 9:14; Mat. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6; Rev. 1:5. nor is there any sufficiency in his death from the worth of believing. And the reason why he accepts it for Peter, not for another, is the election of grace.
How the satisfaction of Christ is refusable, how not.
It is true the blood is a price refusable, but it is this way refusable, because the Lord might have followed a Law-way with Adam, and all his sons, and have denied to give his Son a Ransom for us, but it is not refusable, because of any insufficiency in the Ransom.
Faith a condition of applying the satisfaction only.
Now faith is to satisfaction as the approximation of, and the laying on of dry fuel to the fire, which is only a condition of burning, but the fire is the formal cause of burning. Yea if we speak properly faith is not so much as a condition without the which offended Justice is not satisfied, nor is it a condition, by any Scripture of the world, without the which God laid not our iniquities on Christ, for whether we believe or not, God laid our iniquities upon him, and made him sin for us, Isa. 53:6; 2 Cor. 5:21. Therefore, by necessity of Justice, he must accept that Ransom intrinsically so sufficient, which did restore more glory to God, then the sins of all, for whom Christ died, took from him. Nor is it imaginable to say that any act of obedience or believing, can perfect the satisfaction of Christ, and make it sufficient, yea, or causatively make it ours.
God may accept the satisfaction of Christ without any condition required on our part.
For God, by no necessity of Justice, but of his own free pleasure, requireth faith as a condition of our actual reconciliation; for beside, that he might have required any other act of obedience, as love, he might have accepted the Ransom without inquiring any act of obedience, on our part, as the Lord bestowed a calm Sea and deliverance from shipwreck, upon the Idolatrous Sea-men, upon the very act of casting Jonah in the Sea, without the intervention of any saving faith on their part; As a gracious Prince may send a pardon to free a condemned Malefactor from death, and may command that it be valid in Law for him, without the man’s knowledge, and far more without his acceptance thereof, upon his knees, especially since by a special paction between the Father and the Son, he restored abundantly more Glory to God by suffering for all, for whom he died, then they took from God by their sins, and that restitution was made to Justice without the intervening of any act of the creature’s obedience. But the truth is, it is much to be doubted whether they, who hold such a satisfaction to be given of God, for the sins of all, Elect and Reprobate, but so as it shall not be valid in Law, nor effectual to quiet Justice, but they must all suffer eternal vengeance, and perform personal satisfaction, in Hell, to Justice, except there intervene an act of obedience of the creature, to make it effectual, do really and sincerely acknowledge, against Socinians, a real satisfaction and compensation made to offended Justice by Christ: For how is it real, and not rather scenical [theatrical] and formal, which may and should be null and in vain, if the creature make it not real, by believing. And especially, if God out of his grace which is absolutely free, work in us the condition of believing. Can God give his Son as a Ransom for us, upon condition that we believe, if he himself absolutely work the condition in us? They will not admit this.