SECTION B. ttsa blessings of the gospel, if we wilfully despise and neglect the use of the seals : And, in this sense, they may be called condi- tions of the privileges, and comforts that are annexed to them. I desire it here to be noted, that I speak not this to encou- rage and promote the common use of the wordcondition in these cases for it is not used in scripture, except once in a parable ; and that not in the original, but only in our translation. The text is Luke xiv. 33. where it is not at all to the purpose of the present controversy : The conditions there mentioned are not the conditions of our salvation, but quite another thing : The design of the parable is to shew that those who have not courage to fight with their spiritual enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, must even make conditions of peace with them, that is, sit still and neglect Christ and religion. Besides the word con- dition, though it be an innocent -and an useful and expressive word in the matter of duty and privilege, yet it hath been ill ex- plained by some preachers, and worse understood by some hearers, and thereby it bath given great offence : I say this therefore only to shew that there is not so much heresy and poi- son in those four syllables, as some learned men pretend, and some unlearned believe and fear. If any man will fix such a rigid sense on the word condition, as is inconsistent with the grace of the gospel, and then say, the gospel has no conditions in it, I Will not contend with him ; for he speaks consistently with himself, and with scripture too; because scripture does not use theword : But if condition betaken in a very plain and common sense, for any one thing upon which another is sus- pended, I do not knowany scripture that forbids the use of it but such texts as these, 1 Cor. x, 32. Give no offence to the church of God. Rom. xv. 2. Please your neighbour for his good to edification. SECT. II.Question H. " Is the gospel a new law ?" Whether commands and threatenings belong to the gospel ? Answer. The word gospel or I'va y_a,o,, though it signifies glad tidings in its original derivation, yet it is used in scripture some- times in a larger sense, as well as sometimes in a more proper and limited one. When it is used in its proper and limited sense, it denotes a mere declaration of the good-will of God for the recoveryof fal- len man So the texts before cited Gal. iii. S. Heb. x. 16, 17. And so 2 Cor. v., 19. where the gospel is called the word of re- conciliation, the substance of it is, that God was in Christ, recon- ciling the world to himsei, not imputing their trespasses to them. So the first gospel that ever was preached to Adam, after the fall, was a free discovery of mercy ; Gen. iii. 15. The seedofthe woman shallbruise the serpent's head. When the word gospel is used in its larger sense, it r2 -s
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