548 THE 9ACRIriCE Or CHRIST. or friends of Agrippa on these doctrines which Paulinus de- fended : He was borne down by the bouncesand boasts of just reasoning, which they never failed to make, and which, as they pretended, lay all on their side. However, he seemed at present astonished to observe, that the glorious designs of God and his grace in the gospel, led us plainly into other kind of doctrines than what is contained in Agrippa's creed, and par& cularly that concerning the atonement of Christ for sin. He could not at once freely and utterly renounce his errors, yet he was a little afraid to persist in them. He felt a sensible concern about his eternal interests, and fell to enquiring, upon supposi- tion that this scheme of Agrippa concerning the designs of the death of Christ should prove to be a mistake, whether it were not an innocent error. Are there not many mistakes, said he, concerning some truths of the christian religion, and concerning the sense of many texts in the Neto Testament, which are very pardonable things? Andwhat greater mischiefis there in deny- ing the proper atonement of Christ than in many other mistaken opinions which Paulinus himself' would grant might be received andembraced very innocently, and without danger to our chris- tianity ? Ferventio, who was a very warm and zealous defender of the common faith, and much in the same sentiments withPauli- nos, as to the doctrines of the gospel, immediately took fire whenhe heard Cavenor ask such a question as this : What mis- chief; says he, is there in these opinions? There is a long and dreadful trainof mighty mischiefs in them, there is a great ap- pearance of infidelity, and a large step toward it : There is a bold affront offered to scripture in some of its plainest revelations, and a denial of the blessed gospel in some of its chief glories : There is unspeakable injury done to the honour of God both in his justice and his grace, there is a sinking of the dignityof the Son of God, asa. dying Mediator, into a mere prophet and wit- ness; and there is a dreadful risk and hazard to the souls of men, by encouraging them to venture into the presence of God without a sacrifice. This is not a little dispute about the logical relations of the atonement of Christ to our pardon ; nor whether . the sufferings and death of ;Christ as a propitiation for sin must be properly imputed to us, or whether we must rely upon their merit merely as the price of a salvation purchased for us : This is not a strife about words, nor a lesser controversy whe- ther faith is an instrument to receive this atonement, or a condi- tion of having the fruits of it bestowed upon us: No, the contest here is, whether our Lord Jesus Christ made any atonement for sire at all or no, by all his sufferings? And whether his death laid any such sort of foundation for our hope ofpar- don t Wemay bear with a hundred errors and mistakes in the lesser things of Christianity, the doubtful disputables in opinion
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