SECTION 111. 75 death is the foundationand spring of eternal life, to all that be- lieve on him ; when he preaches that the Lord ofglorywas cru- d ed ; 1 Cor. ii: $. that so the worst sort of sinners might be saved, and that he who knew no sinwas macle a sacrifice forour sins, that we might stand righteous in the sight of God through his righteousness ; 2.Cor. v. 21. Thiswas something that sound- ed so strange in the ears of the heathens, and the blind Jews too, that they multiplied reproaches upon the sermons and the preacher. AndSt. Paul thought ita considerable point gained, when he could assume sucha degree ofcourage as to be able to say, I dare preach amongstthe Gentiles, the Jews, the pharisees and the philosophers at Jerusalem, andatRome, such a gospel as this is ; for I aria not ashamed "of the gospel of Christ. This is an argument which, in my opinion, carries much evidence with it, that the gospel of Christ is such a doctrineas I have before described.: But here a considerable objection arises against this de- scription of the gospel. How can the atonement for sin, by the deathof Christ, be so considerable a part of the gospel, when Christ himself, the great prophet of his church, spoke so seldom and so very little of it, during the whole course of his minis- try. Surely one would think soimportant a part of the christian doctrine should not have been neglectedby Christ himself.* SECT. HI.Answers to Objections. Though there be a very large and particular answer given to all the parts of this objection in those sermons ; particularly, sermon the thirty-fifth, yet since it seems to carry some consider- able force in it, I would mention some hints of reply in this place. Answer I. The great design of our Saviour, in his public ap- pearance and ministryon earth, was to prove himself to wear the true characters of the Messiah, to deliver the Jews from many false expositions and glosses, which the scribes and pha- risees of that day had given to several parts of scripture, to lead the world to a conviction of their sins, and thereby pre- pare them to receive the doctrine of salvation with more zeal and desire ; whereas the salvation itself, and the manner whereby it was accomplished, was but briefly mentioned in some few texts, and the rest was left to be explained by his apostles. II. The doctrine of Christ's atonement for sin is, indeed, intimated in several places of his own ministrations, viz. Mat. xx. 29. The Son ofman came not be ministered unto, but to minister, andgive his life a ransomfor many ; John x. 15. I lay down my lifefor the sheep; John vi. 51. The bread which Iwill give is my ices z, which Iwill give for the life ofthe world. And * See a large and full answer to this objection in the Sermon on the Atonementof Christ." Vol. 1. page 405.
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