135ß' ETERNAL ELECTION A CAUSE OF, ence and holiness, springing from the atonement made for their guilty souls in the blood of Christ. (3.) We do, we ought to declare, the rich and free love, grace, mercy, and bounty of God unto sinners in and by Jesus Christ; and wo unto us, if we should not be found in that work all our days; and there y encourage all sorts of sinners to come unto him for the freepardon of their sins, without money or price, with- out merit or desert on their part; for this is the gospel. But notwithstanding all this grace and condescension, we declare, that he doth not dethrone himself, not de- ny himself, nor change his nature, nor becomeunholy, that we may be saved. He is God still, naturally, and essentially holy; holy as he is in Christ, reconciling the sinful world unto himself; and therefore indispensably requires, that those whom he pardons, receives, accepts into his love, and communionwith himself, shouldbe holy also. And these things are not only consistent, but inseparable. Without the consideration of this grace in God, we can have no encouragement to be holy; and without the necessity of holiness in us, that grace can neither be glorified nor useful. ETERNAL ELECTION A CAUSE OF, AND MOTIVE UNTO, HOLINESS, CHAP. H. Other arguments for the necessity of holiness, from God's eternal election. The arganten from thence WEexplained, improved, and vindicated. F'rE have seen, upon the whole matter, what con- " everlasting enjoyment of himself, shall antecedently elusions (as unto our own duty) we ought to draw from that revelation of the nature of God in Christ, which is made unto us, and our relation unto him: if we are not therebyprevailed on, always, in all instances of o- bedience, to endeavour to be holy, universally, in all manner of holy conversation, we neither can enjoy his favour here, nor be brought unto the enjoyment of him in glory hereafter. Sect. 2.That consideration which usually we take of God, next after his nature, and the properties 'of it, is of the eternal free acts of his will, or his decrees and purposes. And we shall now inquire, what respect they have unto holiness in us, what arguments and mo- tives may be taken from them, to evince the necessity of it unto us, and to press us thereunto; especially from the decree of election, which, in an especial manner, is by some traduced, as no friend to this design. I say then, that, Sect. 3. " It is the eternal and immutable purpose ,< of God, that all who are his in a peculiar manner, all whom he designs to bring unto blessedness in the thereunto be made holy." This purpose of his, God bath declared unto us, that we may takeno wrong mea- sures of our estate and condition, nor build hopes or expectationsof future glory, on sandy foundations that will fail us. Whatever we are else, in parts, abilities, profession, moral honesty, usefulness unto others, re- putation in the church, if we are not personally, spi- ritually, evangelically holy, we have no interest in that purpose or decree of God, whereby any persons are de- signed unto salvation and glory. And this we shall briefly confirm. Eph. i. 4. " He that bath chosen us in Christ, be- " fore the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and unblameable beforehim in love." But is this that which firstly and principally we are ordained unto, and that for its own sake, namely, holiness, and unblameableness in the obedience of love? No; we are firstly ordained unto eternal life, Acts xiii. 48. We are chosen from the beginning unto salvation, 2 Thess. ü. 13. That which God, in the first place, intends as his end in the decree of election, is Ohr eternal salva-
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