SECTION L 67 the present age, I chiefly intend The Socinian writers, and those nominal christians, who are leaning towards deism, ,who would impoverish and curtail the gospel of Christ, and make it to con- sist in little more than mere natural religion. Some of these persons just make a shift to persuade themselves to believe the bible, or at least they profess to believeit, because it is the religion of` their country, but they explain it in so poor, so narrow, so dry, and insipid a manner, as raises it very little above the light of nature, viz. " That if we follow the dictates of our inward . reason and our conscience, in worshipping God, and in loving our neighbours, according to the rules which scripture hath given us to explain and confirm the light of nature, and herein imitate the holy example of our Lord Jesus Christ, then our sins shall be forgiven us, by the mere mercy of God, through the supplication and intercession of so good a man as Jesus Christ, andwe shall be accepted to eternal life;" and this without any dependance on thedeath of Christ, -as a proper atonement or satisfaction for sin, or any regard to him as a true and real sacrifice. And as for the Spirit of God, and his almighty operation on the souls of men, to enlighten and satisfy them, at least in our age, this is almost banished out of their gospel, and finds but little room in their religion. I think it necessary, therefore, to prove, that the gospel of Christ is such a doctrine as I have described ; and that I shall do by these five reasons : Sect. II. I. This doctrine, which I have now mentioned, of the restoration of believers. in Jesus Christ to the favour of God, by the atoning sacrifice and obedience of Christ, and the renewing of sinful men to God's image by the work of the Holy Spirit, and thereby bringing them to eternal life, is the very gospel of Christ, because " it is the very labour and business, the chief scope, aim and design of the great apostle of the Gentiles, in those of his epistles where he sets himself, professedly, to explain the gospel ; and this is what he takes frequent occasion also to bring into all his writings." It is his perpetual labour to instruct the Jews and Gentiles in these glo- rious and unknown truths : He uses various forms of speech to explain them to their understandings ; for " I desire, saith he, and determine to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ, and himcrucified, that is, nothing like it ; nothing in comparison with it. 1 Cor. ii. 2. It is the cross of Christ that is and must be the great subject of my. ministry ; this is what I am sent to preach, for it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God ; I Cor. i. 24. for the salvation of men ; Rom. i. 16. You find his letters to the churchesfull of such expressions as these, Christ died for our sins; I Cor. xv. 3. He gave him- selffor us, to redeenz us from all iniquity: Tit. ii. 13.. We have redemption through his blood; Eph. i. 7. God was in Christ E 2
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=