Presbyterian Church -- Sermons; Sermons, English; Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- 17th century
Now, if any man will not now arraign himself before the tribunal of God’s
justice, if he will not search his guiltiness till his mouth be stopped,
and hear his sentence of condemnation read, and take with it,—that man
cannot come to Jesus Christ, to be absolved, for he justifieth none but
self-condemned and lost sinners. So your day is but yet coming, when you
must answer to justice. The tribunal of mercy shall be removed, and Christ
shall sit upon a throne of pure justice, to judge those who judged not
themselves. Alas for your loss, the most part of you! I pity you. You live
in great peace and quietness without the ports of the city of refuge. We
declare unto you in the Lord’s name, you are under the curse of God: will
you yet sit secure, and put the evil day far from you? Oh! rather trouble
your peace for a season, with the consideration of your sins! Enter into
judgment with yourselves till you see nothing but perishing in
yourselves;—and there is no hazard, because salvation is brought near in
the gospel. If you would not trouble yourselves so much as to judge
yourselves, then you shall be judged when there is no Mediator to plead
for you, none to appeal unto.
But whosoever takes the sentence of condemnation unto them, and subscribes
to the righteousness of the Lord’s curse upon them, we do invite all such
in the Lord’s name, to come in hither, even to Jesus Christ. There is no
condemnation to them that are in him. If you stand scrupulous, making many
questions in such a matter of so great necessity, you wrong your own soul
and dishonour him. Know this, that God is in Christ reconciling the world
to himself. Therefore thou condemned sinner mayest come to God in Christ.
If you ask any warrant, we think there should be no such questioning, when
you are in so great necessity. If a man were starving without a city, and
it were told him there is plenty within, were he not a fool that would
make any more business, but labour to enter in? This is enough to cross
all your objections; you are in extreme necessity, and like to perish
within yourself; “he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to
him.” What would you more? Let there be then a closure between absolute
necessity and sufficient ability to save. Will you yet stand disputing
without the city, when the avenger of blood is above your head? If you
will yet press for some more ground and warrant of believing,—then I will
tell you all that I know is in the word for a ground of faith. You have
great misery and necessity within you,—that you grant, and it is your
complaint. Christ hath mercy and sufficiency of grace in him; he is able
to save to the uttermost,—that you cannot deny. But I do add this third,
he is also willing to save thee, whoever will be saved by him; nay, he is
more willing than thou art. If you question this, I desire you but to
consider the whole tenor of the gospel. How many invitations! How many
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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