The Atonement
Showing the Virtue of Christ’s Blood to Cleanse from Sin
A Sermon by Solomon Stoddard
"And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." —I John 1:7
In these words, we have the commendation of the blood of Christ. By the blood of Christ we are not to understand the natural blood of Christ. If a man had kept several ounces of that blood when it ran out of His side, it would have done him no good. The words refer to the sufferings of Christ and especially to His bloody death. The commendation of it is:
1. That it has efficacy to cleanse us from sin. Sin is a pollution and stain. It renders men offensive to God and makes them filthy in His eyes. Sin exposes men to God's wrath, but the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. Jesus Christ washes us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5).
2. The greatness of the efficacy is that it cleanses away all sin. Some sins are of a double dye—scarlet sins. Some have committed a multitude of sins. Nothing else can cleanse from any single sin; but this blood cleanses from all sin. This is amplified by the statement, "His Son." If He had been a man, if He had been only the son of Mary, His blood would have had no such virtue; but He being the Son of God, His blood cleanses from all sin.
I. DOCTRINE: THERE IS MIGHTY VIRTUE IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST TO EXPIATE THE GUILT OF SIN.
The law of God condemns sin, "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). It brings men under obligation to suffer eternal punishment. All men, by sin, are exposed to the wrath of God. This begets a great deal of disquietment in the hearts of some men. These men would gladly be put into a way to be delivered from the guilt of sin. They have tried some methods and they don't effect the thing—prayers and tears will not do—but this doctrine gives an account of what will do. There is virtue in the blood of Christ to do it. Some things have a tendency to work one effect and some another, but they are not always powerful; yet there is worth enough in the blood of Christ to take away all sin. Other things are not ransom for the soul, but they that have an interest in the blood of Christ are delivered from the guilt of sin. It is all the same whether men's sins be more or fewer, whether more or less heinous, the blood of Christ will wash them clean. Meats and drinks have virtue to nourish men, clothes have virtue to warm them, medicine may have virtue to heal them; but the blood of Christ has virtue to cleanse them from their sins. If a man have money he may purchase land or cattle or corn, but he cannot purchase pardon; but the blood of Christ will procure the pardon of sin. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). "Thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood" (Revelation 5:9). Wisdom is a defence against ignorance, and money is a defence against poverty; but the blood of Christ is a defence against the curse of the law, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).
For the proof of this we may consider these arguments:
FIRST ARGUMENT. The Father would not have put Christ on this service if His death would not have prevailed for the pardon of sin. Men were the instruments of putting Christ to death, but the thing was according to the counsel of God. "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23). Yea, God appointed Him to die for our redemption. God made Him a priest to offer up this sacrifice: "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4). God commanded Him to lay down His life, "No man taketh it (life) from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father" (John 10:18). God called Him to suffer upon our account: "The Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). From hence we may conclude the virtue of Christ's blood to take away sin.
It was a great thing for the Son of God to suffer. There never was any thing else like this from the foundation of the world nor will there ever be anything like it again. The dignity of Christ's person is infinite and the love of His Father exceeding great. There is no reasonable explanation of why the Father should be willing to lay this punishment on the Son if it would not have had a mighty efficacy for His taking away the guilt of sin. Would God lay this upon Him for nothing or for a small matter? Certainly it must be for some great design! God foresaw the great good that would come thereby! And would the Son have been willing to undergo such great sorrow if it would not have availed for the expiation of abundance of sin? He knew that many would be redeemed thereby. "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).
SECOND ARGUMENT. God promised to Jesus Christ that His death should be accepted for the doing away of sin. Christ did not suffer under any uncertainty whether His death would signify any great matter or whether any number of men would be the better for it. God gave a great number to Him to redeem and promised that His death should be accepted as the price of their redemption: "When thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death; and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:10-12). "I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). A number from "all nations shall call Him blessed" (Psalm 72:17). And what can be a stronger tie and greater security than the promise of God? Christ, on the encouragement of this promise, undertook this service, and the God that made such promises before He died and expressed such an estimation of His sufferings will not despise them now that they are accomplished.
THIRD ARGUMENT. The virtue of Christ's blood is illustrated in the sacrifices that were offered of old. Sacrifices were offered up from the beginning of the world (Genesis 4:3,4), and this practice was continued in the Church for four thousand years. There were daily sacrifices, sacrifices for the Sabbaths, for the beginnings of the months, and yearly sacrifices; there were burnt offerings, trespass offerings, sin offerings, peace offerings, free will offerings, and vows. Multitudes of creatures were offered up in sacrifice to God—22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep just at the dedication of the temple. There was much experience and labor in sacrificing, and these were all types and shadows of Christ. These sacrifices could not purge away sin, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). God did not regard them but as they were—types of Christ. "Wherefore when He cometh into the world He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared for Me; in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure" (Hebrews 10:5,6). The design of these sacrifices was to represent the death of Jesus Christ, to instruct the world about Christ's death, to be monitors and remembrances of the death of Jesus Christ so that the people of God might be continually exercising faith in Him. And would God have done this if there had not been wonderful virtue in this blood? Why should they be taught with such labor and experience to depend upon this death if there were not such glorious virtue in it? I may add to this the consideration of other types: the Passover was a type of Christ (First Corinthians 5:7), so were the brazen serpent (John 3:14,15) and the legal washings. God took abundant occasion to instruct them in the virtue of Christ's blood.
FOURTH ARGUMENT. The sacraments of the New Testament show the virtue of Christ's blood. Baptism shows the efficacy of Christ's death unto salvation; thereby is held forth our fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?" (Romans 6:3). Baptism is a seal of the doctrine of faith in the righteousness of Christ. Adult persons professed their faith in Christ before they were baptized (Acts 8:36,37). Baptism represents the washing away of the guilt of sin by the blood of Christ.
We are taught the same by the Lord's Supper. Therein His death is represented as a violent death and as on our account. "This is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). "This is My body which is broken for you" (First Corinthians 11:24). Christ appointed that in this way His death should be shown forth till He comes (First Corinthians 11:26). Surely it would not have been worthwhile to have appointed signs of this unto the end of the world if it had not procured salvation. The wine of the Lord's Supper is called "My blood of the New Testament" (Matthew 26:28) because it purchases the blessings of the New Testament.
In these ordinances God shows that it is much upon His heart to strengthen our faith in the blood of Christ. Here we see solemn ordinances founded on the doctrine of salvation by the sufferings of Christ. If this doctrine were not true there would be no occasion for these ordinances. God has not appointed any ordinances that should be like the stock, "a doctrine of vanities," as the phrase is (Jeremiah 10:8). God needs no such worship as is not built on a real foundation. If this doctrine were not true the sacraments would be a mere mockery.
FIFTH ARGUMENT. God directs us to trust in the blood of Christ. We have many invitations in the Scriptures to trust in Him including, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Surely God will not, with seeming love, draw us into a snare and will not, with great appearance of love, persuade us to build upon a sandy foundation. Yea, also He commands us to trust in Christ, "This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ" (First John 3:23). And will God require us to put an honor upon Christ that He is not worthy of? Will He command us to trust in that which will not save us? Will God command us to do that which we cannot do, except we be out of our wits? If it is not safe to trust in Christ, we could not do it unless we were under a delusion. It would be a hard lesson to be bound to do that for which there is no reason. Yea, God commands us, upon pain of damnation, to trust in Christ; "He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). But if there is no safety in believing on Him, there is no reason that we should be punished for not believing on Him. Will God damn men for not building their hopes for heaven upon the sand? Will He cast them into hell for not trusting in a broken reed? Further, this command is enforced with a promise of salvation, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). But God will not reward us with eternal life for trusting in that which has no saving virtue in it.
II. QUESTION: WHY IS THERE SUCH VIRTUE IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST?
I shall answer this in four propositions:
FIRST PROPOSITION. Christ suffered the curse of the law, that is, the evil that the law threatened. God was bound to execute the curse for sin, "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). Accordingly, the wrath of God fell on Christ. Sin was punished in Him. He did not bear a part of the curse, but the curse. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13).
1. He suffered the curse of the law in His body. They that suffer for themselves must suffer in their bodies; besides what they suffer in their bodies here, their bodies must suffer in hell. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell" (Matthew 10:28). The body is a partaker in sin and therefore it must partake in suffering. Jesus Christ did not only die for us, that would not serve the turn, but He died an accursed death. That was signified by the law, "He that is hanged is accursed of God" (Deuteronomy 21:23). So Christ bore a painful and ignominious death. "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). He endured a great deal of pain, "They pierced My hands and My feet" (Psalm 22:16). He died as a malefactor. There was a necessity that He should endure abundance of pain because He was to redeem us from the pains of hell. He was cruelly scourged and horribly tormented on the cross that we might be delivered from the bodily torments of hell.
2. He suffered the curse of the law in His soul. The soul of Christ was filled with sorrow, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death" (Matthew 26:38). He had a terrible sense of the wrath of God in his soul. He did not suffer much of this at the time of His public ministry, but at the time of His death, He was distressed with the sense of God's wrath. As sometimes godly men do enjoy the sense of God's favor, so Christ endured the sense of God's wrath. God was not angry with Christ for taking His office upon Him, but for our sins. And Christ Jesus had a deep sense of how God was provoked by the sins of the elect and that the guilt of all those sins was translated unto Him. God's wrath burned against Him. God looked on Him as the guilty person. God looked upon Him as the object of vindictive justice, and He was pursued by divine vengeance for those sins, "And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied; by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11). This was the principle part of the punishment of sin. This made Christ sweat as it were drops of blood. This was typified by that fire on the altar that did not consume the sacrifice.
Hereby Christ suffered the substance of that which was due us. There was no need that Christ should suffer the same in all respects that we should have suffered if we had borne the punishment of our own sins, but it was needful that He should suffer the substance of our punishment. Therefore, it is said that He endured the curse, "He was made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). Christ being our surety was bound to pay our debt, and God did not abate Him anything of the extremity of the curse that was due to us. He suffered the punishment of our iniquities and answered the challenge of justice. "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (First Peter 2:24).
SECOND PROPOSITION. Christ Jesus who suffered was the eternal Son of God. Christ Jesus was honorable on account of the excellencies of his Human nature, viz. His wisdom and His holiness; but the great dignity of Christ is that He was the Son of God. This character is given to the Messiah in the Old Testament, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever" (Psalm 45:6). He is the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6). The New Testament constantly asserts it, "This is My beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17). He is "the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person" (Hebrews 1:3). Even the works of creation are attributed to Him. Indeed, He suffered in His human nature only; the divine nature is not capable of suffering; the divine nature cannot suffer pain or grief. At the time when Christ was upon the cross in the greatest extremity, the divine nature was in perfect felicity. But yet His sufferings were the sufferings of the Son of God. If one part of a man suffers, the man suffers. Indeed, the human nature is not properly a part of Christ, yet it is personally united to Him; hence the sufferings of the human nature are the sufferings of God. "They crucified the Lord of glory" (First Corinthians 2:8). "They killed the Prince of Life" (Acts 3:15). He that was in the form of God suffered the death of the cross (Philippians 2:7,8).
Hence it follows that His temporary sufferings were equivalent to our eternal sufferings. Christ Jesus was in a state of humiliation all the while he was on the earth, but the extremity of His sufferings were about a night and a day; yet these did answer sufficiently for our eternal sufferings. If we had suffered in our own persons we must have suffered forever. "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41). His sufferings were but temporary, yet they are equivalent to ours because of the dignity of His person. We are finite persons and He is infinite. Our sufferings must have been infinite in duration, and His were infinite in respect to the dignity of His person. Finite creatures cannot bear infinite punishment in a finite time, but an infinite person may bear infinite punishment in a little time. The sufferings of an infinite person have an infinite value, and sufferings that are of an infinite value are equal to the sufferings of a mere man forever. God has purchased the Church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14).
THIRD PROPOSITION. Christ who suffered was perfectly holy. Many other men are imperfectly holy, but Christ was perfectly so. He was not guilty of the first transgression. The second Adam was not represented by the first Adam, and so was not involved in the guilt of his sin. Other men came into the world sinners, but He was holy from His birth. "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Christ was free from all manner of sin, both original and actual. "He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). He had great temptations from men to sin, but they did not prevail. "When He was reviled he reviled not again" (First Peter 2:23). He had temptations from Satan, but he did not prevail. "The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me" (John 14:30). He always did that which pleased God (John 8:29). The most famous men that ever lived were sinners: Noah, Moses, David, Hezekiah and Paul; but Christ was perfectly free from sin. Men found fault with Him, but God found no fault with Him. He was God's holy One (Acts 2:27). He fulfilled all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).
Hence, His sufferings might be on our account. The lambs that were offered in sacrifice were to be without spot. If Christ had not been holy, He could not have been a sacrifice for us. A sinful person is liable to suffer upon his own account and cannot suffer the wrath of God for others, but because Christ was holy, His sufferings were available for our redemption. "We are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without spot and without blemish" (First Peter 1:19). It would have been utterly unacceptable to God to offer that which is polluted; but Christ being perfectly holy, there could be no objection against His sacrifice. Being not liable to punishment on His own account, He was capable of suffering on our account. He was guilty by imputation, and therefore what He suffered was not on His own account, but on our account.
FOURTH PROPOSITION. He was appointed to be a surety for us. Even if that which is offered to God is of worthy consideration, it is not sufficient for us unless God accepts it. Even if a man offers to another the full price of a field or a house, no purchase can be completed without the consent of the owner. But in the case of Christ's sacrifice, God accepted it. He appointed Christ to this service. He made Him the second Adam. Therefore, Adam is said to be the figure of Him (Romans 5:14). Christ Jesus, in this undertaking, was God's servant, "Behold My servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth" (Isaiah 42:1). Christ was no intruder. He did not thrust Himself into this service. "Christ glorified not Himself to be made a high priest" (Hebrews 5:5). God made Him a priest to offer up this sacrifice, "The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4). Christ Jesus was chosen of God. God laid Him for a foundation in Zion (Isaiah 28:16). God gave Him a command to offer up Himself for us (John 10:18). He was put into the office of a Mediator, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus" (First Timothy 2:5). He stood as a surety to represent us, "Jesus was made a surety of a better testament" (Hebrews 7:22).
Hence, those sufferings that were sufficient for one were sufficient for thousands. Being appointed a public person, what Christ did and suffered is for everyone of them whom He represented. The virtue of Christ's sufferings is not divided among the Elect, but the virtue of His sufferings belongs to every one that is His. There was no need that He should suffer the more because He suffered for a great many. If Adam, being a public person, had performed obedience, it would have been reckoned to all his posterity; it would not have been divided among them so that if there had been a great many of them they would have had the smaller portions. Thus Adam's sin is the sin of all his posterity, be they more or less. So those sufferings of Christ that were sufficient to redeem one are a valuable consideration for millions. If many have been pardoned on that account, yet the cleansing virtue of Christ's blood is not diminished. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (First Corinthians 15:22).
III. THE USE OF THIS DOCTRINE.
FIRST USE. This doctrine reproves those who despise the blood of Christ. We read of some that count the blood of the covenant a common thing (Hebrews 10:29). You may well think that God takes it heinously when you despise it as if there were no great virtue in it. There are some of you that are distressed for want of a pardon; death is frightening to you, but you dare not trust in the blood of Christ, as if there were little virtue in it. You hear great commendations of it, but you don't believe them. You slight it as insufficient for the expiation of your sins. You don't believe that God has any great esteem of it. You think if you should trust in it, it would be a presumptuous thing, that it would be a way to be cheated in your soul. Though you pray that you may be sprinkled with Christ's blood and profess the saving virtue of it, yet you do despise it.
For it is not from the low opinion that you have of yourself that you are afraid, but from the low opinion that you have of Christ. You say you are a poor wretched sinner, that you have a bad heart and are extremely vile, and run on very much in condemning yourself as if you had a very humble sense of your own unworthiness; but this is not the thing that hinders your coming to Christ. Many persons that have lower thoughts of themselves than you have do yet venture upon Christ. Notwithstanding your pretended humility, you have too high thoughts of yourself, and the cause of your fear is that you are not sensible of the mighty virtue that is in Christ. It is not because you see yourself a great sinner but because you don't see Christ to be a great Saviour. It is not because you have so deep a sense of your malady but because you have so little sense of the remedy. Men that are wretched are invited to Christ, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind and naked; I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see" (Revelation 3:17,18).
Neither is it from the high opinion that you have of the justice of God that you are afraid to come to Christ. You say, "There be terrible threatenings in the Word of God against sinners." He says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them" (Galatians 3:10).You say, "God is just and will be as good as His Word and no jot or tittle of the law shall pass but all shall be fulfilled." But this is not the thing that hinders your coming to Christ. The thing is you are not sensible that Christ has fulfilled the law, that all the challenges of the law have been answered by Him, that He has fully paid our debt to the justice of God. Those that do come to Christ have as firm a persuasion of the justice of God as you have and that shows them the necessity of coming to Christ and doesn't at all discourage them, for they see a sufficiency in Christ to deliver them from the curse of the law. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13).
Neither is it from the high opinion that you have of the holiness of God that you are afraid to come to Christ. You say, "God is glorious in holiness" (Exodus 15:11); the seraphim cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:3); "God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity" (Habakkuk 1:13). And you say, "God will not endure such an unholy creature as I am. How can the holy God take delight in such a polluted creature? I am filthy and abominable." But this is not the reason why you are afraid to come to Christ, for it is in no way inconsistent with the holiness of God to pardon men's sins. God may hate sin, yet pardon it. He may hate sin, yet pardon sinners and take delight in saving them. The pardoning of sin is a promoting of holiness. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world" (Titus 2:11,12). If you had a due sense of the virtue of Christ's blood, the holiness of God would be no discouragement to you.
SECOND USE. This doctrine condemns those that have a greater value for their own works than for the blood of Christ. Some men make their own works the great foundation of their hope. "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:11,12). Some men can depend on their own works without Christ but cannot depend on Christ without their own works. Their great care is to establish their own righteousness (Romans 10:3). Some, because of their works, think God is not angry with them; though their consciences are not healed, yet they are at ease. Some are striving to get justification by works and are neglecting the offers of mercy through Christ. You are much out of the way for there is great virtue in the blood of Christ.
Consider 1. You have no divine warrant for this. It is a bold presumptuous thing to trust in God without His Word to warrant you. They that go in this way go upon the encouragement of their own carnal reason. Men have a warrant to trust in Christ because God commands them to, "This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ" (First John 3:23), and because God invites them, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). But where do you find any command to trust in your own works or any invitation to do so or any promise on that condition? The Scripture is silent! There is not a tittle that way! You must go somewhere else to find your warrant. The Word of God doesn't support that hope. It is a daring thing to trust in God without any encouragement from Him. Men have nothing but bold conjectures and rash suppositions to bear them out therein. They that do so venture their souls upon a foolish imagination.
Consider 2. God declares against it. To trust in God without His Word is bad, but to trust in Him against His Word is worse. God warns against it. It is presumption with a witness. To depend upon that as a way of salvation which God declares to be a way of damnation is extreme imprudence. The foundation of their belief is unbelief. Are we not told that works will not save men? "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight" (Romans 3:20). Are we not told that righteousness does not come by the law? (Galatians 2:21). Are there any solemn warnings to discourage men from trusting in Christ? Men are afraid to trust Christ, though God doesn't warn them against it; but they will trust in their own righteousness, though warned against it, as if God jested with them when He warned them.
Consider 3. Your best works have matters of condemnation in them. The best works of men are sinful. "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). There is pride, dullness, and selfishness that attends them, and can you imagine that those things that deserve condemnation deserve deliverance from condemnation? Are those works meritorious that are punishable? Do those things that deserve hell deserve heaven? Perfect obedience is the price of heaven, but with what assurance can men depend upon that obedience which is imperfect? Do men think that they pay for heaven by such works as purchase hell? Has God changed the price of heaven? Will such actions as were wont to provoke the justice of God now pacify His justice?
Consider 4. Your works don't answer the law. The law is a standing rule. As God bound us by His law, so He bound Himself. He made a law for Himself and will not depart from it. "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). By this rule your works will not justify you. The law threatens the curse for sin, "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). There is no such clause in the law that you may make satisfaction by works. Works do not have the nature of satisfaction in them. Imperfect works signify nothing and are of no help to those who rely upon them. Those who do can't claim eternal life by the Gospel because they reject Christ; they can't claim eternal life by the law because they don't keep the law. "What things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).
Consider 5. Your good works are fewer than your sins. Suppose your works were better than they really are. Suppose they had the nature of satisfaction in them so far as they would go. Upon examination you will find that your good works are fewer than your sins, your good thoughts are fewer than your sinful thoughts, and that your sins of omission and commission far exceed the number of your good works. You must say with David, "My iniquities are more than the hairs of my head" (Psalm 40:12). Do you imagine that one good work will satisfy for a hundred bad ones? If you owe ten thousand talents to the justice of God, your prayers and good works must be valued at a prodigious rate to make satisfaction. You are greatly in debt, having lived a rebellious life twenty or thirty years and having committed abundance of sin every day, and God must set a high price indeed upon your services or they can make no satisfaction.
Consider 6. Suppose your good works should prove hypocritical, can they justify you? If they be hypocritical, you will surely fail of your hope, for hypocrisy is a great sin and very abominable to God. And whatever hopes such men have, they will be deceived. "The hypocrite's hope shall perish" (Job 8:13). "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?" (Job 27:8). And have you good evidence that you are not a hypocrite? This is certain: if you trust in your own works and neglect Christ, you are a hypocrite. All such persons are under the power of pride, for carnal confidence reigns in them. Such persons are hypocrites for they don't know God and Christ. If they knew Them, they would receive the Gospel. "They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee" (Psalm 9:10). Such are hypocrites, for if they depend upon themselves, they don't know the plague of their own hearts. "For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died" (Romans 7:9).
THIRD USE. Examine yourself whether you really have an interest in the blood of Christ. There is virtue in the blood of Christ to expiate the guilt of sin, and if you have a part in the blood of Christ, you may be sure that your sins are pardoned. It is a thing of great consequence to have your sins pardoned. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32:1). Whatever afflictions you are under, you may bless yourselves if your sins are pardoned, but you are a miserable man if they be not. Your sins will sink you into hell. Inquire, therefore, whether you have an interest in the blood of Christ. You have been instructed in the need of it and the virtue of it. You have had time enough to obtain it. Others as young as you have obtained it. Examine, therefore, how it is with you. If you find that you have it not, that may stir you up to get an interest in it.
Sign one. If you indeed be convinced of the cleansing virtue of this blood, then you may have an interest in it. They that are convinced of this have saving light let into them; they are translated from darkness into light, and so are delivered from the kingdom of darkness. Light to discern the glory of Christ is the peculiar enjoyment of godly men. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (Second Corinthians 4:6). The mysteries of the Gospel are hid to other men but revealed to the saints. Conviction of the saving virtue of the blood of Christ is not from common illumination but from sanctifying and saving light. Whenever men are convinced of the saving virtue of Christ's blood, they will receive Him. It is for want of conviction and understanding that men reject Christ. God gains the will by convincing the mind. Many men cannot be persuaded to come to Christ because they don't see that it is safe. Light and life go together. "This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life" (John 6:40). "Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me" (John 6:45).
But here consider,
a) That it is one thing to be convinced of and another thing to be affected by this doctrine. Common illuminations are very affecting. Men may be affected with the terrors of hell, yet not certainly believe them. "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burning?" (Isaiah 33:14). So men may be affected with the Gospel, yet not be indeed convinced. Experience shows that men are commonly affected with tidings that they are not certain of. A probable apprehension of the saving virtues of Christ's blood may work much upon the affections of men. Many men are greatly affected with the Gospel who afterwards fall from the protection of the truth. Being much affected is no security from apostasy. "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better with them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (Second Peter 2:20,21). But if men be indeed convinced they will never fall away.
b) It is one thing to be convinced and another thing to be silenced. Men are wont to have a great many objections against the sufficiency of Christ's blood for them, but sometimes they are argued with so that their mouths are stopped; their objections from the number and aggravations of their sins, their objections from the anger of God, their not knowing their election, are answered and they cannot gainsay the replies that are made to them, yet they are not convinced. They may be confounded and put to silence, but not convinced. Saul "confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ" (Acts 9:22) For men may be put to silence, yet not see the grounds of faith, viz. the certainty of the Word of God, the riches of His grace, and the dignity of Christ. Men may be put to silence, yet harbor apprehensions that though they cannot answer what is alleged at the present, they may be able when they have studied more upon it, and that if they are not able to answer what is said, yet others may be able.
c) It is one thing to be convinced of the virtue of Christ's blood as a doctrine taught in Scripture, but another thing to be convinced that the Scriptures are true. Many are convinced that if the Scriptures be true, the ways of sin are dangerous. Many are convinced that if the Scriptures be true, salvation is by the blood of Christ; they are fully satisfied that this is the doctrine taught in the Bible, yet they don't believe in the virtue of the blood of Christ. They can plainly understand the sense of Scripture, but they are strangers to the divine authority of the Word of God. Many of the Jews, though they professed to believe Moses, do not believe him. "Had ye believed Moses," said Christ, "ye would have believed Me" (John 5:46).
d) It is one thing to be convinced of the virtue of Christ's blood, another thing to be persuaded that there is no other way of salvation. A man may be very clear that the way of the Turks is not the right way; he may be convinced that way countenances wickedness and makes no provision to satisfy justice but does promise carnal pleasures in the other world. So, also, he may be abundantly satisfied that the way of the Papist is false because of their idolatry and superstition, because their religion is against sense and reason, and because they don't teach the right way of justification. He may likewise be satisfied that the way of the Quakers is false in that they don't own the deity of Christ and give no rational account of justification. Yet this very man may be in the dark about the saving virtue of Christ's blood. He prefers our religion before others, looks upon it as probably true, yet is not certain of it.
Sign two. If you live upon the sufferings of Christ, you have an interest in His blood. Christ tells us that His flesh is meat indeed (John 6:55). If you believe in the blood of Christ, that is the fountain of your hope. Some pretend to believe in the blood of Christ, but their comfort doth especially depend upon the services they have done. When they think how they have provoked God to anger, they comfort themselves with their prayers and tears; they make them their refuge; they are the things that quiet their hearts and dissipate their fears. But they that have an interest in the blood of Christ make that blood their plea. That is their refreshing, "We rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). When conscience accuses, they set this against those accusations, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died" (Romans 8:34). When they think of the justice and jealousy of God, they remember the dignity of Christ's person. He who is the express image of the Father hath purged our sins with His own blood (Hebrews 1:3). They are comforting themselves that the just died for the unjust (First Peter 3:18). They remember that God promised that man shall be blessed in Christ (Psalm 72:17). When they consider the provoking nature of sin, they remember that Christ has offered a sacrifice acceptable to God (Ephesians 5:2). They sit under His shadow with great delight (Song of Solomon 2:3). They are beholding the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
They likewise receive strength from Christ to live holy lives. The consideration of the blood of Christ has a sanctifying efficacy upon them. They are not bold to sin because Christ has procured pardon, but they are strengthened against temptations thereby. "I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). The death of Christ is a means to crucify their sins. "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (Second Corinthians 5:14,15). The consideration of Christ's death is powerful to make them live holy lives.
FOURTH USE. Of exhortation to depend upon the blood of Christ. You want pardon, for you are undone if you be not pardoned. You dare not depend upon yourself, and it is well that you dare not; but you may safely depend upon the blood of Christ. It is men's wisdom to be cautious in what they do depend upon. It would be a dreadful thing to throw away your souls, but there is no danger in depending upon Christ. God never propounded any other way to sinners. This is a way very agreeable to the justice of God. This is a way contrived by the wisdom of God. This is a proper way to advance the glory of God's grace. This is the way that God contrived before the foundation of the world. You need not be afraid of any insufficiency in the blood of Christ. Fear to venture your soul on Christ is a reproach to God and to Christ, but there is nothing presumptuous in accepting God's offer. It was a safe thing for the Israelites to sprinkle the posts of the door with the blood of the Passover when the destroying angel was to go through the land of Egypt. It was a safe course for them that were stung with the fiery, flying serpents to look at the brazen serpent. So it is a safe thing for you to fall in with the counsel of God and trust in the blood of Christ for the cleansing of all your sin.
IV. OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED.
I shall now answer some objections that may arise in your hearts.
OBJECTION ONE. It is very uncertain whether I am elected, and if not I shall never be saved (Romans 11:7). The elect have obtained it, and the rest are blinded.
ANSWER. The uncertainty of election is no discouragement. Multitudes of persons have come to Christ and have been saved by Him, and they were all uncertain of their election before they came to Christ, for there is no way to know election but by vocation (Second Peter 1:10). And though your election be uncertain, yet the event of your faith is not uncertain. You use means for the preservation of your lives, although it is uncertain whether God has decreed that you shall live any longer. Besides, there is an absolute connection between faith and salvation. If you believe in Christ, that will be a sure sign of election. "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance" (First Thessalonians 1:4,5). Faith is a sure forerunner of salvation. The terms of the Gospel do not run: If you believe you shall be saved, provided you be elected; but, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).
OBJECTION TWO. There are but few that have the benefit of the blood of Christ. Multitudes in places of profession fall short of eternal life. "Many be called but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).
ANSWER. The reason why so many fall short in salvation is because they will not come to Christ; they refuse and so they perish. And if you refuse, you will perish. All that believe in Christ are saved. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12). If you believe in Him it will be no strange thing for you to be saved, though thousands fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand. And if there be but few saved, why may not you as well as others obtain this wondrous blessing? That was no discouragement to Paul or to Peter, and it should be none to you. You stand as fair as others for salvation and will not be rejected if you come to Christ.
OBJECTION THREE. I have not the inward call of the Gospel. All that have that call are justified (Romans 8:30); but I have only the external call, and multitudes have that who perish.
ANSWER. The external call is our warrant to believe. The Gospel is the Word of God, and offers of God recorded in the Scripture make it our duty to believe and our security in the way of believing. In the external call there is God's command and God's promise, and we must be judged by what is written, "God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel" (Romans 2:16). The inward call is no distinct call but only the opening of the eyes to see the external call to be true. You may not expect any such revelation as was made to the prophets. If you believe the voice of God in His Word, that is enough.
OBJECTION FOUR. The blood of Christ cannot move the heart of God to pity me. It seems that if I had a broken heart that would move God to pity me, but how can the suffering of Christ move God to pity me?
ANSWER. You do not need anything to move God to pity you. The pity of God is only from His own breast. "I will love them freely" (Hosea 14:4). All that is wanting is to answer to the law for you, to satisfy justice and pay the price of your redemption, and this the blood of Christ has effectually done. It was only the law that lay in the way of your salvation, and the blood of Christ answers all the challenges of that law. We are redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ (First Peter 1:18,19). His sufferings were as much as justice demands for our redemption.
OBJECTION FIVE. God seems to be too angry with me to accept me. He must needs be angry with me because I have been provoking Him all my days; and He appears to be so in that He doesn't answer my prayers.
ANSWER. God is always angry with men until He pardons them; till the very moment wherein they are pardoned, his anger is not abated. But He is never too angry with any man but what He stands ready to pardon him if he comes to Christ. "To Him gave all the prophets witness, that through His name whoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43). The anger of God is no passion. His anger is the anger of a judge. He is angry because men are guilty of breaking His law, but when they come to Christ they are no longer guilty by the law for they are acquitted, and thus God's anger ceases. God is never so angry as to be unfaithful; though He be angry, He will not forget His Word.
OBJECTION SIX. I am not godly but under the power of sin, and so it seems a presumptuous thing for me to thrust myself on Christ, for without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
ANSWER. God does not expect that men should first be holy and then be encouraged to come to Christ. They who have no holiness are invited; they that are wretched and blind and naked (Revelation 3:17,18); they that are athirst, being destitute of grace (Revelation 21:17). There is no need of antecedent holiness. Men come with a spirit of love and repentance. God is said to justify the ungodly, that is, such as were ungodly till the time of their justification