SECTION V. 563 I confess I have been leaning towards the opinionsof ,Agrippa, but my reason in its sincere exercises is almost won over by the argument of Paulinos, and I am ready to become his disciple. I must acknowledge also, that I would take care of my immortal interests, and I dread the thoughts of being found in so danger- ous a mistake as Ferventio has represented. But pray, Fer- ventio, give me leave to doubt a little of the force of your rea- sonings, and permit me to ask you a few questions on this head. Query I. Can no man partake of salvation unless he be particularly acquaintedwith all the mediums of it ? Shall not a person be accepted of God, who acknowledges Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, and Saviour of the world, who confesses him to be a great prophet to instruct us, a high-priest to inter- cede for us, a king to rule and defend us, and an example to be imitated by us, and who receives him honestly under all these characters and offices ; I say, cannot such a man be accepted of God, if he be sincere in all this, though he sloth not know any other character or office which Christ sustains in the work of our salvation ? Shall not' he who receives the proposals of the gospel, - and acceptsthe salvation of Christ as the great Mediator between God and man, in all its rules of holiness and its promises of hap- piness, shall not be made a sharer in this salvation, unless he be acquainted with all the mediums wherebyit is provided, procured, and applied to men ? As for instance, will you say he shall have no benefit by theoriginal covenant of redemption between God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, who dotty not know there was such a covenant? Will you tell me, he cannot possibly be one of the elect of God, who hags not learned the doctrineof election ? Must he not be a partaker of the blessings arising from the sacrifice or atonement of Christ, who is not acquainted with this atonement? Can he not be enlightened or sanctified by the Holy Spirit until he know and acknowledge the Holy Spirit as a divine enlightener and sanctifier? Who shall en- lighten him in his doctrine, ifthe Spirit does not ? Shall he never obtain persevering grace who háth not learned to construe the promises of the covenant to extend to this perseverance ? Pray, Ferventio, tell me, are you very sure that you know, understand, and receive every divine medium where this salvation is tran- sacted between God the Father, and his Son Jesus, or between Jesus Christ and his people, so far as they may be revealed in the New Testament ? And will you venture to exclude yourself from that salvation, if there shouldhappen to be some or other of these divine mediums mentioned in the scripture which you have not yet learned or understood in the proper sense of it ? Why then should Agrippa be utterly excluded from the blessings of the gospel, if he be sincerely willing to receive this, salvation in the holiness and happiness of it, merely because lie hack not vn2
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