QUESTIONXIII. 359 youring to limit the extent of the death of Christ, and to take away all manner of hopes, and prayers, and endeavours from the non- elect. Does the doctrine of election of persons obtain any further confirmation by it ? No, by no means. Their salvation Is secured, whatsoever becomes of the rest ofmankind, whether they have any hopes or no. Does the goodness and special grace of God acquire any further honours by this limitation ? No certainly. Divine grace is perfectly the same towards the elect, as though there were nó other person in the world. Are the elect any way discouraged by it ? Not in the least : But many persons who are awakened to a sense of sin, and are seeking after Christ for salvation, by this narrow doctrinemay be terribly discouraged from receiving his offers of grace, when they are 'taught to doubt whether there be any grace provided forthem, or whether Jesus be appointed to act as their Saviour, Itmay be "a means to drive some poor souls to despair, when they hear, that unless they are elected, they may seek after salvation by Christ in vain, for there is none purchased for them, not so much as conditionally : And it may tempt them to begin at the wrong end, and seek to pry into the counsels of God, and enquire after 'What theycan never know, that is, their election of God, before they dare trust in grace, or submit to thegospel of Christ. Now ifmany inconveniencesmay arise from this limitation of thewhole virtue ofthe blood ofChristonly to theelect, and utterly secluding all the rest of mankind ; and if no valuable end or advantage to religion can be obtained by this narrow opinion, what should make men so zealous to get the greatest part of the worldexcluded Utterly from all hopes, and from all salvation ? I know there have been many objections raised against this charit- able opinion of the extent of Christ's death in books of contro- versy ; but the two chief and most plausible are these, which I Will endeavour chiefly to answer, and by these answers lead the way for solving the rest. Objection I. But may it not be said here,. if there be only an outward sufficiency Of salvation provided for the non-elect, by a conditional pardon procured through the death of Christ if they should repent and believe, but no inward sufficiency of grace .provided to enlighten their minds, to change their hearts, and enable them to exercise this faith and' repentance, the event will beinfalliably and necessarily the saine, and their damnation as necessary and certain, as if therewere no outward salvation pro- vided ; since they of themselves cannot repent, they cannot believe ; for by the fall all men are become blind in spiritual things, and dead in sin. Answer. It is granted, that no sinner will truly and sincere- ly repent and believe inChrist, without the powerful and efï'ectu- al influences of converting grace. ; and therefore they are called
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