Summarizing God and Sin

When we speak of original sin, we often do so in the context of our humanity.  Perhaps, instead, for just a moment, we might consider addressing this issue from the context of the Holiness of God.

What does it mean to be Holy?  Webster defines Holy as exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.  This is actually an excellent definition, and one that has Biblical roots from which we can work.  Let’s start from the second half of the sentence: one perfect in goodness and righteousness.

The perfection of God is an essential Christian theme.  God is perfect in every aspect.  We will address this point again soon.  Perfect in goodness means that God is the ultimate boundless Goodness.  We have discussed the problem of evil already, and how God allows evil but manipulates all things to His perfect intension.  God, Himself, does not create evil; God is perfectly Good.

The perfect righteousness of God is the problem that burned inside of Martin Luther.  We owe the match light of the Protestant Reformation to the concept of God’s perfect righteousness.  Once again, we will come back to this point shortly.

One other key Biblical distinctive about God is justice.  God is perfectly just.  This perfect justice is the problem that we will discover in scripture.  One of the key historical points concerning doctrine is that into the late Middle Ages, the work of Jesus on the cross was considered to be a ransom paid to the devil for the sinful world.  Anselm of Canterbury in the eleventh century put forth the understanding of scripture that the ransom paid by the blood of Jesus was actually to God.  The key to understanding this logic is to understand the perfect justice and righteousness of God.

Now, let’s introduce sin into the picture.  Remember, we are examining this question from the perspective of God, not man.  When man commits the original sin, man has done a number of things that are hugely problematic.  There are Old Testament Biblical passages that discuss the inheritance of curses for a thousand generations. (We will leave eschatological calculations out of the mix for now.  It’s a long time!) If we assume the progenitor status and federal headship of Adam, by either standard, mankind is now in a whole world of hurt due to the original sin.  Why was this such a big deal?  The problem is that God created Adam perfectly capable of fulfilling the Law, the law written on his heart as the creation covenant of obedience.  If Adam had kept the Law, we might all be perfectly righteous and without death.  It is, of course, difficult to speculate on the what ifs of theology.  But Adam did sin, and now Adam was no longer perfect.  Perfection is the standard of our most Holy, righteous, good and just God.  Perfection.  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 ESV) Now what?

This is the problem of sin.  God has an expectation of perfect goodness and righteousness.  He isn’t going to look away from sin, because He is perfectly just as well.  Justice must be satisfied.  Also, now that mankind has sinned, God is just a little bit put out and ticked off with mankind.  Sin is offensive to God.  Offensive.  We have offended God.  Not only does He expect perfect righteousness, but we offended Him as well.  Are you feeling comfortable with the situation still?

So, here is the situation from the context of a perfect, Holy, righteous, good and just God.  We have through sin, failed in perfection, are no longer Holy or righteous or good, and God’s perfect justice demands punishment for us.  Oh, yes, and God’s wrath is heading our way.

Here is an easy question: what are the wages of sin?  Death!  Of course.  Everyone can come up with that one.  So, let’s put things into some perspective here.  Adam took a bite of fruit from the wrong tree.  For that transgression, all of mankind for at least a thousand generations is condemned to die and remain in hell forever.  If you have any argument about mortal versus venial sins that you want to discuss, do so now in this context.  How much worse can we be punished?  There is, of course, more to that discussion; but it behooves us to have laid that foundation for later discussion.

That, my friends, is not fire and brimstone.  That is plain and simple Biblical truth.  All of the churches from Eastern Orthodox to Roman Catholic to Reformed, Confessional Protestants hold this to be the truth.  It is only from this position of sheer, utter devastation, that we can begin to understand our next topic: Grace.

– Troll –

The Problem of Sin

Our question for today is very straight forward: are most people, deep down inside, basically good?  Your answer to this question will set the stage for the rest of our conversations.  We will look at each answer and the consequences to each answer.  Finally, we will see where scripture leads us citing both Old and New Testament passages. 

Let us begin with the affirmative answer to our question.  In this paradigm, we have some significant theological consequences.  The first and most obvious is that this answer means that somehow all of humanity is free of Adam’s sin.  There are only two possible ways that this can be true.  First, we can assume that Adam’s sin is not imputed to all of mankind, that Adam was not a federal representative of all of us and did not sin for all of us (denial of original sin.)  Second, we can assume that Adam did impute sin to all of us, but that sin has been cleansed in some manner.

The first assumption was put forward by the British monk Pelagius in the fifth century.  The primary source of the church’s opinion regarding this position in that time was written by Augustine.  This position that denies original sin and the imputed sin of Adam to all of humanity is known as Pelagianism.  It has been condemned by every church counsel since the fifth century.  This point of view is held by many Americans and is clearly heretical.

There are other consequences of this assumption.  In order to attain salvation, man must seek God, an activity that he must be able to undertake in this system.  Because man has free will, he is able to choose to follow Jesus’ good example instead of Adam’s bad example.  The purpose of Jesus’ life was to provide a good example for man to follow in order to attain righteousness before God.  The question that is left unanswered in this system, though, is why then did Jesus have to die?

The second assumption has a couple of permutations.  It starts from the point that original sin is affirmed.  However, the purpose of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is to provide victory over sin and death and give mankind a clean slate.  This allows man’s free will to again be able to choose to follow God.  There are subtle nuances here about whether we take the first step or whether God takes the first step.  When we take the first step, this is called semipelagianism.  This is the default position of most Americans.  It has also been condemned by church counsels.  If we take a step towards God, He’ll do all the rest.  Does that sound familiar?  If you pray this prayer and walk this walk, God will come down and do the rest.  If you just turn around and just face God, He is standing right there.  These are semipelagian positions that have become the mainstay of American religion due the revivalism movement of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  This theology also assumes that if you can turn towards God, you can also later turn away from God and lose your salvation.  So, now that you have prayed this prayer, walking this walk is vital to maintaining your salvation.  Let me tell you the five rules for walking the walk in this area, and the seven rules for walking the walk in this area, and the fifteen principles of “Christian” living.  Deeds, not creeds.  All of this mess is under this theological umbrella, and it is all considered heretical.  Altar calls belong to this general heading, although they can also be seen with Pelagian and even Arminian theology.

Here is a historical aside.  On everything that is above this point, there is complete Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and historical Reformation Protestant agreement.  This is the horrible irony of the state of the church.  Over 1500 years of church history gets undone by our insistence on the efficacy of our free will and our American egalitarianism.  This combination may look great in our Constitution, but the historic church has condemned this position.  Therefore, the majority of what we Americans call Christianity and Church is actually neither.

The next position to consider is the reverse of this position.  What if God takes the first step, but we need to cooperate with God and make a decision to turn toward Him.  God enables us through an infusion of grace, prevenient grace, to be able to make a proper decision for God.  After God makes this first move, we have to cooperate with God and choose to follow God.  We have to choose to believe.  This is the position of a sixteenth century Dutch theologian named Arminius.  Original sin is intact in this system.  God offers the potential for salvation to all humanity and makes the first move.  It is up to us to respond.  This system is still synergistic; it requires action by both God and man, but God has to take the first step.  We are not capable of choosing God without this infusion of grace.  We can also choose not to follow God, and many people make this other choice.  Salvation, therefore, can be lost.  Arminianism is not considered heresy, but rather a doctrinal error by more orthodox branches of the Protestant traditions.  The Canons of Dordt are the Dutch Reformed response to Arminius and contain the enunciation of the five points of Calvinism, which refute the five points of Arminius’ Remonstration. 

The Roman Catholic position is more complicated and falls somewhere in here for our discussion.  The Roman Catholics have some notion of the perseverance of the saints, in other words, you cannot lose your salvation except by the unrepented commission of a mortal sin.  Their theology still insists on perfection for admittance into heaven.  There is a complicated system of sin, repentance and penance that is required to return to a right standing before God.  After we die, whatever deficit that we have from perfection has to be worked out in purgatory prior to acceptance into heaven.  At Baptism, we receive a similar prevenient grace that enables us to perform good works through the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the other sacraments (seven total in Roman Catholicism,) we receive infusions of grace throughout our lives that quantitatively accumulate to balance against our sin.  I want to make no effort to defend this position at this time.  Most Americans identify Roman Catholicism as heretical by definition, without ever bothering to understand what they believe.  The Roman Catholic system of justification is actually closer to the Reformed position than most Americans, who are either full blown Pelagians or semipelagians. 

Now, let us answer our original question in the negative.  Are most people, deep down inside, basically good?  No.  Let’s go to scripture to see why everyone except for the Pelagians who deny original sin would affirm this position.  We have done this exercise on this blog in the past, so for many, this will be familiar.  Here are some examples, by all means, not an inclusive list.  1 Kings 19:9-18, Isaiah 59:1-13, Jeremiah 21, Psalm 5, 14, 53, 140, Romans 3:1-20. 

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

 (Romans 5: 6-8, 12 ESV)

These are heavy words and they condemn all of us.  If you hold to this position, then not only do you need God to clean the slate, you are horribly incapable of even cooperating with God.  This is known as monergism, where God does all of the work.  God recognizes the problem and arranges the solution.  Jesus enters the world, lives the perfect life and overcomes death, thereby ushering in the interadvental time of this present evil age (between His life, death, resurrection and ascension and the Age to come, which begins at the second coming, Judgment Day. the Last Day.)  He then imputes righteousness to His elect and reconciles His elect to Himself.  As each elect saint enters the world, the Holy Spirit arranges for their conversion and belief.  The Good Shepherd does not lose even one.  God does not fail in His purpose even the slightest.  He accomplishes exactly that which He intends.

Americans will yell, “That’s not fair!” Our egalitarian sensibilities insist that this is arbitrary and capricious.  But from God’s perspective, when He looks out upon the world from all eternity, all he sees is sin and death, a vast graveyard of humanity.  In His infinite Mercy, He decides to save a vast number of humanity, more than can be counted.  Do not ask for fair, because fairly we are all condemned.  Rest assured, instead, in the certain hope of His mercy for you, His elect.

That is our biggest problem.  We are all condemned to die and enter into hell forever.  Only the absolute perfection of God can satisfy the righteousness of God on the Last Day.  Without the imputed righteousness of the One who did what we cannot do, and the reconciliation He offers by the imputation of our sin to Him, where He has already paid the price for that sin, we will get what we deserve.  Death, hell and eternal damnation.

– Troll –

Hebrews 3

Therefore.  Today’s passage begins, once again, with therefore.  The last section of chapter 2 dealt with Jesus becoming a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  The rest that follows is in light of that declaration, the key declaration of chapter 2.  But chapter 3 has a large quote stuck smack in the middle of it.  So, let’s go to Psalm 95 first, and see the context of that Psalm, then return to Hebrews and see how the writer of Hebrews contextualizes that Psalm.

The theme of chapter 3, perhaps the whole book of Hebrews, is true faith.  True faith is a faith placed in the correct place.  Faith always has an object (hint: look up to blue letters just above.) Before we jump back into the Old Testament, notice the first half of verse 7 first, Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says….  The writer is stating that the Holy Spirit was speaking the words of Psalm 95.  Jumping to John 14-16, we know that the Holy Spirit always speaks of the redeeming plan of God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the writer of Hebrews is saying that Psalm 95 is in some way about Jesus.  Now, we are almost ready to go there.

Psalm 94 is going to be our starting point.  Read it now.  Since we are already in chapter 6 of Hebrews, some of this is going to sound terribly familiar.  As you read Psalm 94, ask yourself to whom the Psalmist is speaking in verse 8.  Understand, O dullest of the people!  Fools, when will you be wise?  Now, just for a second, go peak at Hebrews 5:11.  About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  It is probably obvious that dull is not complementary.  One last section of Psalm 94 before we move on: verses 14-15.  For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.  I want you to hear these images, and just let them register for now.  Later, we will put all the images together into a collage, and from there a larger picture will emerge.

Psalm 95:1-7a fits in nicely with the Psalms of praise before and after.  But stuck into this string of praise, is 94 and 95:7b-11. 

Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.  10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I  swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Now, in Bible study, we learned that these words refer to events in Exodus 17:1-7.  But the key to this passage is the issues of hearts and rest.

Let’s go back to Psalm 94 and see that God will not abandon his heritage, and then in Psalm 95 that the fathers put God to the test, and he loathed them for it.  This is tough stuff.  Whenever I hear nominal Christians suggest that Jesus loves me, and he just wants me to do my best, or that God loves the sinner, but hates the sin, I think of passages like this. The fathers of that generation of Israel put God to the test, and He loathed them for it.  That sort of gives pause to how we choose to pray, does it not?  What is going on in those verses?

Now, for the heart, we are asked not to harden our hearts, because justice with return to the righteous, and all the upright of heart will follow it.  Upright is a virtual synonym for righteous in this phrase.  So, this all sounds like a command.  But what we have to realize is that this is Psalms, the center of the Old Testament.  David wrote many of these Psalms.  The covenants are all in play at this point, as we are prior to the Diaspora in redemptive history.  The key point is that the Sinai Covenant, or Mosaic Covenant, is a conditional covenant.  Do this and ye shall live; do it not and ye shall perish.  This is a Law passage.  What happened to Israel later in redemptive history?  They failed at keeping the Law, and were therefore thrown out of the promised land.  So, who then, ultimately are the righteous, the upright of heart?  We know from Psalms 5, 10, 14 and 36,  Isaiah 59 and 64, and Romans 1-3, that no one is righteous, no, not even one.  Look at Ecclesiastes 7:20.  Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.  So, who are the righteous, the upright of heart?  No one.  No one qualifies.  That is the point of the Law.  After the Fall, no one is capable of fulfilling the Law. 

But, we also have the part about God not abandoning His heritage.  Which covenant is still intact after the Diaspora?  Stop looking at Moses, and set your eyes upon Abraham.  That covenant is a royal grant that is guaranteed by God.  Upon what basis was Abraham deemed righteous?  Was he obedient to the Law?  I would remind you of the episode with his wife in Egypt.  He is declared righteous because he believes in the promise of God.  He did not earn this declaration by his works.  He did not deserve this declaration.  He received this declaration based upon his faith in the promise of God.

Reformed theology, and remember that the Episcopal Church is a reformed church, understands that the Bible is pounding away at the notion that the heart is evil, that man is not capable of good.  So, when we are told not to harden our heart, we are being asked to do the impossible.  All that we are capable of doing as fallen people is to turn away from God and harden our hearts.  It is God who seeks us.  God, through the power and work of the Holy Spirit, gathers the sheep and gives them the gift of faith.  We, the elect, receive that faith in the work of Jesus on the Cross and his propitiation on our behalves, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And now, finally, let’s go to Chapter 3, starting with verse 12.   

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 

Remember who the audience of Hebrews is: a believing community of Christians, who are predominantly of Jewish heritage.  The faith of the elect is through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, that is a faith that cannot be turned aside.  Jesus will not lose even one of his flock.  So, who then can these others be who are able to harden their hearts?

The answer is within that word that follows along from Old Testament to New Testament, describing the set of people known as believers: remnant.  To understand this whole comment, the Calvinist doctrine of visible and invisible church is helpful.  Suppose instead of church, we are talking about the Old Testament covenants.  There are clearly benefits to being a Jewish citizen during the time of David, unless your name is Uriah.  But while all Jewish citizens share in these same benefits, only a few are both in the family of Israel and also believers in the promise of God to Abraham.  Most of Israel viewed the covenants through the conditional covenant of Moses at Sinai.  Therefore, the object of their faith was on their own righteousness (or perceived self-righteousness) rather than upon the righteousness that is a gift from God through his promise as it is made known to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, there were some who benefited from being with the overall covenant community, but were not, in fact, a part of that remnant of whom the Bible speaks.  In the same way, the church is full of a group of people who benefit from being members of that community.  But some of them may not believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They might not have been given the gift of true faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.  These people would be sitting in church on Sunday, and listening to the sermon given by the writer of Hebrews.  These people are not true believers.  They will harden their hearts towards God.  This is the natural state of man.  Except for the Holy Spirit and His gift of belief by Mercy and Grace to the remnant elect, there we would all be, everyone of us.

So, who falls away and who holds fast to their faith in Jesus’ redeeming work and propitiation on our behalf to the end?  The people who give lip service to the gospel, but lack true believe: those will fall away.  The people who have received the gift of true faith in Christ’s redeeming work: those will persevere to the end, but not of their own doing.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that it is possible for anyone.

Now, look at verses 16-19.  Who were those who rebelled in the time of Moses?  Who were the ones who persevered and entered into His rest?  Verse 19 says: So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.  It’s right there in the text.  Belief is the criteria for boldly claiming the inheritance. 

In chapter 4, we are going to discuss this idea of His rest.

--Troll--

Heidelberg Catechism: The First Part--Misery

This first part is only three Lord's Days, so we will tackle them all at once.  This section is titled Of the Misery of Man.  This will obviously be about original sin, total depravity, the condition of sin, God's Wrath, truly happy stuff.  The point is to demonstrate to us the desperate nature of our situation and to impress upon us the absolute need of some divine help.  Let's begin with Lord's Day 2.

Question 3. Whence knows thou thy misery?

Answer: Out of the law of God. (Romans 3:20)

Question 4. What does the law of God require of us?

Answer: Christ teaches us that briefly, Matt. 22:37-40, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27)

Question 5. Can thou keep all these things perfectly?

Answer: In no wise; (Romans 3:10, 20, 23; 1 John 1:8,10) for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.(Romans 8:7, Ephesians 2:3, Titus 3:3, Genesis 6:5, 8:21, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 7:23)

If anyone every wants to tell you how wonderful they are, deep down in their heart, just run that last group of verses at them.  Start with the Jeremiah quote and go from there.  It isn't just Paul who says that the Law is impossible to keep.

Question 6. Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?

Answer: By no means; but God created man good, (Genesis 1:31) and after his own image, (Genesis 1:26-27) in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love him and live with him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise him. (Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:23-24, 2 Corinthians 3:18)

Question 7. Whence then proceeds this depravity of human nature?

Answer: From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise; (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12, 18-19) hence our nature is become so corrupt, that we are all conceived and born in sin. (Psalms 51:5, Genesis 5:3)

Question 8. Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness?

Answer: Indeed we are; (Genesis 8:21, John 3:6, Genesis 6:5, Job 14:4, 15:14, 16, 35, Isaiah 53:6) except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. (John 3:3, 5; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 3:5)

Did we create the situation that we are in?  No, Adam as our federal representative did it for us in the Fall.  Are we so completely lost that we are incapable of good?  Unfortunately, yes, but fortunately, we may be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  Amazing stuff.

Question 9. Does not God then do injustice to man, by requiring from him in his law, that which he cannot perform?

Answer: Not at all; (Ephesians 4:24, Ecclesiastes 7:29) for God made man capable of performing it; but man, by the instigation of the devil, (John 8:44, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Genesis 3:4) and his own willful disobedience, (Genesis 3:6, Romans 5:12, Genesis 3:13, 1 Timothy 2:13-14) deprived himself and all his posterity of those divine gifts.

Question 10. Will God suffer such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?

Answer: By no means; but is terribly displeased (Genesis 2:17, Romans 5:12) with our original as well as actual sins; and will punish them in his just judgment temporally and eternally, (Psalms 5:5, 50:21, Nehemiah 1:2, Exodus 20:5, 34:7, Romans 1:18, Ephesians 5:6, Hebrews 9:27) as he has declared, "Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things, which are written in the book of the law, to do them." (Deuteronomy 27:26, Galatians 3:10)

Question 11. Is not God then also merciful?

Answer: God is indeed merciful, (Exodus 34:6-7, 20:6) but also just; (Psalms 7:9, Exodus 20:5, 23:7, 34:7, Psalms 5:5-6, Nehemiah 1:2-3) therefore his justice requires, that sin which is committed against the most high majesty of God, be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment of body and soul.

OK, God made us capable of fulfilling the Law, but we blew it.  Because He is just, these sins must be punished, and the punishment is steep.  Yes, God is merciful, but that doesn't mean that justice can be overlooked.

Therefore, we have the problem laid out for us quite plainly: man, since the fall, is incapable of fulfilling the Law, and is therefore doomed under the Law.  God's justice must be satisfied, and the punishment is extreme.  These Heidelberg guys are sounding a bit depressing thus far.  Remember that you can track down the full document from this link called CRTA.  I highly recommend reading the passages.  It is important to see that this catechism and others are taken directly from the text.  The doctrine flows from the text rather than imposing some random doctrine on the text. 

This is the end of part one.  In the next post, we will start on part two, Of Man's Deliverance.

--Troll--

Arminianism vs. Calvinism: The debate part two

Jacobus Arminius was a Dutch theologian from the end of the sixteenth century.  His remarks in a paper published after his death were highly critical of certain aspects of what was becoming the Calvinist doctrines in the Dutch Reformation.  The Synod of Dordt was convened to deal with the Arminian problem, and the resultant Canons of Dordt contain the Five points of Calvinism.  Interestingly enough, Arminius’ document is called the Five Articles of the Remonstrants.  Since I plan to discuss the full Canons of Dordt in the future, this particular discussion will center on Arminius’ work, and the direct Calvinist rebuttal, without diving into the full set of doctrines for either side.

While it would be perhaps easy to label Arminius a heretic, Luther thought it important that there be a distinction between being in error over a particular doctrine and being a heretic.  Even if, as in the case of Arminius, you follow his error to its logical conclusion, and that conclusion is a heresy, this is not the same as being a heretic.  This distinction is thought to be very important.  At the end of the discussion, I will come back to this point so as to come as close to an ecumenical position as can be made.

Having said that, the Synod of Dordt declared the Five Articles of Remonstrance heretical.  Remember first, that the Remonstrants were reacting to the Calvinist doctrines of the Belgic Confession.  Therefore, they already had the Calvinists in a foul mood by complaining.  Secondly, this is all happening in the shadow of Trent, which occurred fifty years prior to 1610, when these Articles were published.  Therefore, many of the Reformers were clearly not in the mood to give ground back to Rome on any issue.  And so, without further elaboration, let’s discuss the specifics.

Article 1

That God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36: “He that believes on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also.

Nice.  At first glance, this doesn’t look that bad.  But if you will remember the recent post that I made about “only” being an important word, look where that word is importantly missing from this article.  First, there are conditions applied here.  Whereas Calvin would say shall believe only, Arminius says believe and persevere in faith.  This is a dangerous precipice on which he has moved.  To persevere implies activity or work on the part of the individual.  While Calvin talks about perseverance of the saints in that Jesus will persevere in the shepherding of His flock, Arminius has turned this into individual humans persevering in their faith.  In other words, although he states that through grace we receive faith, it is by our own works that we maintain it. 

Article 2

That agreeably thereunto, Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word of the Gospel of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  And in the First Epistle of John 2:2: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

More of the same.  We need to address the Article first and then 1 John 2:2.  Arminius specifically states that Christ died for every man.  This means that the resurrection is not sufficient for salvation for some men.  He requires a work from man.  He has turned belief and faith into a work, rather than a gift of grace received from the Holy Spirit.  Arminius actually contradicts himself from the first article.  The theological difference between Jesus having died for all men, but it wasn’t effective for some, and Jesus having died for His elect, and it was completely effective for them all, is huge.  Can you really worship a god who is ineffective in achieving his ends?  Or rather, do you believe that God accomplished exactly what He set out to accomplish?

1 John 2:2 is a huge passage.  When reading a verse that seems to say something out of step with the rest of the gospel, a good rule is to go back and put the verse back into context.  Look instead at the first paragraph of 1 John 2.  This looks a little different when you read the next four verses.  In the context of the whole letter, it is clear that there are schisms within the early church that John is addressing.  If Salvation was for everyone, much of the rest of this letter would not make any sense.  It makes far better sense that the phrase the sins of the whole world means that these Christians to whom John is writing are not the only Christians for whom the resurrection was effective.  The Christians in the whole world, both of that time and of all times, are the beneficiaries of the propitiation earned by the resurrection.  This is every much as vast and sweeping a statement in terms of numbers and future without compromising the rest of the letter or the Gospel.  Remember, any sentence removed from context is vulnerable to manipulation of its meaning.  This sentence makes perfect sense within its context in 1 John without attempting to apply meaning other than that which John intended.

Article 3

That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of an by himself neither think, will, nor do anything that is truly good (such as saving Faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.”

This one is interesting.  This is the idea of prevenient grace that you may hear about.  More on this is coming in the next article.  The Romans talk about the same thing in a slightly different way.  What is meant here is that fallen man needs a push.  The grace that saves sort of cleans the slate for you, but then you are on your own for the rest of your life.  So, we need Christ to teach us what is good, but after we are born again, we know what is right.  What this does is say that the curse of Adam is lifted in terms of the condition of sin, and yet we still suffer the wage of sin at death.  It is a truly remarkable contradiction for which no explanation is offered.  The only workable solution is that perfection is required to avoid death, but not for salvation.  I’m not finding any passages that make that work.

Article 4

That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good, even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient or assisting, awakening, following and cooperative grace, can nei­ther think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements, that can be conceived, must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ. but respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible; inas­much as it is written con­cerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Ghost.  Acts 7 and else­where in many places.

This article that discusses prevenient grace again explicitly denies the doctrine of irresistible grace.  But that is logical to Arminius, isn’t it?  If you do not believe that Romans 3:1-20 means that man’s condition is completely hopeless without Jesus, and do believe that everyone is the beneficiary of the resurrection, then it makes sense that people have to be able to say NO to God.  This is exactly backwards from Calvin.  Calvin thinks that God sees the world as a vast graveyard, and then God stoops down and saves a lot of us.  Arminius thinks that God saves everyone, but we have the ability to turn our backs on God.  Which God sounds worthy of worship to you:  God who does exactly what He sets out to do and is completely effective doing it, or god who tries to save everyone, but many humans are able to resist and defy him?  This is a Holiness of God problem.  Surely, Arminius had a higher view of God that this.

Article 5

That those who are in­corporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, have thereby full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well un­derstood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Ghost; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, and desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was deliv­ered them, of losing a good conscience, of be­coming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, be­fore we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our mind.

Clearly John 10:28 is a difficult passage for Arminius.  He tries to explain it away.  Essentially, he has to do great violence to the verse in order to make his theology fit.  A rule of thumb: theology flows out from the text; theology is not imposed upon the text.  Arminius is determined to elevate man to the level of God, with just a little hand up from God. 

This is what we are being sold in the church today.  Whenever we are asked to make a decision for God, we are being asked an Arminian question.  Calvin and Luther wouldn’t ask for altar calls because altar calls flow from either Arminian or, worse, Pelagian theology.  The style of worship is a necessary outflow from theology and doctrine.  When we change the way we worship, we are signaling a change in doctrine.  That should always get our attention.

Is Arminius a heretic?  He clearly errs.  The similarities to Pelagius are striking.  But Arminius maintains a small semblance of grace in his theology.  He at least requires Christ to wipe the slate of sin clean for us.  We are at liberty to muck it up again.  Finally, Arminius runs head long into John 10:28, by his own admission, and just tosses out the verse.  It is a difficult call, but many Calvinists would call many Arminians brothers in Christ.  That will break the tie for now.  In the end, it will not be us who decides.  We are not, after all, given the ministry of fruit inspection.

--Troll--

The ThirtyNine Articles: 9-14, Original Sin and Justification

From the prior post, we left with the idea that works righteousness may be a part of the belief set due to the last 3 lines of the Athanasian Creed.  In these next six articles of the 39, we will be dealing with the meat of the faith.  Starting with original sin and free will, we will then look at justification and finally works.  This section is what being a Protestant is all about.  Let’s see how the 39 Articles handle the topics.

IX. Of original or birth sin. 

Original sin stands not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk) but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusts always contrary to the spirit, and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserves God’s wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature does remain, yea in them that are re­generated; whereby the lust of the flesh called in Greek fronema sarkos (which some do expound, the wisdom, some sensuality, some the desire of the flesh) is not subject to the law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized; yet the Apostle does confess that con­cupiscence and lust has of itself the nature of sin.

This is classic Original sin.  Not only that, but Article 9 goes on to describe the Romans 6-8 situation of Paul simultaneously regenerated and sinful.  This is great stuff and full of all the classic Reformation categories.  Pelagius is even called out parenthetically.  The logical follow through on the next two points will be very satisfying.

X.  Of free Will.

The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God: 

Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and accept­able to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.

Here we have it.  Free will is corrupted as well by the fall.  There is no room even for Arminians here.  One suddenly wonders how the Anglican clergy can be characterized by the Puritans as being Arminian after reading Articles 9 and 10.

XI. Of the justification of man.

We are accepted righteous before God, only for the merits of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of justification.

Obviously, the Homily of justification will need to be inspected.  Still, the words here come down squarely on the side of the imputed righteousness of Jesus rather than a works based righteousness.  It remains to be learned how this will be reconciled with those points 41-42 of the Athanasian Creed.

XII. Of good works.

Albeit that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of Gods judgment:  yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and holy faith, in so much that by them, a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the fruit.

Once again, a truly classically reformed view of works after justification being consistent with the good fruits of the Spirit. 

XIII. Of works before justification.

Works done before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of his spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the scholar authors say) deserve grace of congruity: yea rather for that they are not done as GOD has willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.

More reformed doctrine is revealed here as works done without the person being regenerated in Christ remain tainted by original sin and therefore completely unsatisfactory in satisfying the just wrath of God.  Great stuff, but no clarity is offered yet on the points of the Creed.

XIV. Of works of supererogation.

Voluntary works besides, over and above Gods commandments, which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogance and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake then of bounden duty is required: Whereas Christ says plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We be unprofitable servants.

On this topic finally, I have hit a wall.  This concept is foreign to my reading.  So, let’s develop the two areas that raised questions.

The Homily of Justification seems to be the Homily on Salvation.  This is from the first Book of Homilies, Homily number 3.  This is hard reading in Old English, but what it represents is a very classically Reformed discussion of Justification.  There is absolutely no room for justification based upon works.  The works done after regeneration are done because we are bound and by our duty.  Anglicans will be familiar with the term bounden duty.  This concept leaves no room for antinomians, who are called here acting in carnal liberty.  This is completely different from the notion of Christian Liberty that is freedom from the rabbinical law.  Finally, there is a discussion of true faith.  Anglicans view the moment of regeneration to be Baptism, but understand that there needs to be true faith that justifies.  This true faith is said to be a gift of God.  In the Trinitarian view of these articles, this would be meant to say that the Holy Spirit as a true and vital part of that Trinity does accomplish the giving of this justifying faith.  We will return to this website later for the second book of Homilies, which are listed here.

Supererogation is action above and beyond what is expected.  This is a part of the Roman Catholic system of works righteousness, and is bound up with the system of indulgences.  Since Anglicans are talking about a faith alone system of salvation, it would stand to reason that the 39 Articles would call out Supererogation and therefore also indulgences as anathema.  These systems of works righteousness were well hated by Europeans of the sixteenth century.  The Reformers regarded this as fraud, and since it was fraud under the guise of Christianity, perpetrated by the Church, this was a most heinous system.  As recently as 2002, Pope John-Paul declared a year of indulgences.  To the Protestant ear, this rings foreign since we are so removed from it.  But if you turn on TBN and hear the televangelist talk about money in terms of seed faith, you will have a good notion of how indulgences work.  I don’t want to dwell on this as it is not a part of the Anglican system.  What is important is that Article 14 specifically denies its validity.

In summary, it would seem that the justification of the Anglican 39 Articles is based on faith alone, a faith that is a gift from God.  There is absolutely no room for a works based righteousness; in fact, the Roman Catholic system is specifically denounced.  In a very indirect way, this also denounces the modern theology of glory or prosperity gospel that so infects our Evangelical churches.  We still have to sort out some minor Creed irregularities, but the doctrines are very clearly set forth.

In the next section, Articles 15-18, we will be going through some more heavy reformed doctrines: sin, election and salvation.

--Troll--

Building Blocks: Calvinism: Total Depravity

The first point of Calvinism that we are discussing is Total Depravity.  This concept is active on two levels, both at the level of individual sin and mankind.  We will discuss the condition of sin as well as individual sins.  We will discuss specific passages that make this clear.

Sin is breaking the Law, the Commandments.  In the Old Covenant, the rabbinical law was included in this definition, but Jesus has cleared away all of the rabbinical law and left us with the Commandments.  There are two ledgers of the Law: Love God and Love your neighbor.  While these sound innocuous at first glance, it must be understood that the Law is designed to convict us.  The Law will demonstrate to us that we are hopeless in sin.  We may not have realized it until we are measured against the Law.  The Law teaches us that we sin.

Total depravity is the idea that man is sinful by definition.  The doctrine of original sin is that Adam, as a federal representative of mankind, sort of like an elected official who votes for us in Congress represents a group of constituents, represented all of mankind in the Garden of Eden.  His sin is inherited by all of mankind federally and legally.  What has to be understood here is that a Covenant existed between God and Adam.  Covenants are contracts; there is a legally binding obligation involved.  God’s contract with Adam contained blessings if he obeyed and curses if he failed.  This all takes place in Genesis 3 and is worth reading.  Don’t get bogged down in the creation story.  This concept is not about creation, it is about the Covenant of Law established by God in creation, in which Adam was mankind’s covenant representative.  The curse part of Adam’s breaking of this covenant is death.  The wage of sin is death.  This is our inheritance from Adam.

Let’s look at this concept both from the point of view of each person being in the individual condition of sin as well as the futility of fulfilling each Commandment.  Man has fallen, and from the moment of conception, each individual human is a flawed creature destined for Hell without the intercession of Christ on his behalf.  We live under the condition of sin in which every aspect of our being is corrupted by sin.  All of our decision process is based upon the evaluation of data through a lens colored by sin.  We will always make a decision and act in accordance with the fact of that sinful condition.  Therefore, our free will is tainted.  We are free to choose an action between sinful choices.   

In Covenant theology, there is a very important distinction between two kingdoms.  We may make decisions and act in a way that has civic righteousness in it, but our motives are also important.  Oprah Winfrey uses her fortune to do much good in the world, but she has clearly demonstrated that her theology is not Christian.  She is not, at this point a duel citizen of the Present Age and the Age to Come.  She is firmly rooted in the Present Age, still under the yoke of sin through Adam.  Her civic righteousness amounts to dust in the Kingdom of Heaven.  This distinction is huge.  You must have these categories in order to understand Covenant theology.

Let’s back up and look at sin as specifically breaking the law.  Total Depravity means that we will all break the law.  To understand this concept, try to look at the Ten Commandments like this.  God gave us these basic rules to live by and Jesus reinforced them during his time on earth, see Matthew 5:17-20, 48.  That is the minimum requirement to fulfill our duty to God.  Breaking any one of them is sin.  Any sin is worthy of eternal damnation.  Plus, Jesus says that perfection is the standard that is required to fulfill the law.  Wait, it gets worse.  We do not have to act to sin.  Our thoughts convict us.  No, wait, it’s worse than that.  Our hearts, in their sinful condition have sinned before our minds have had the thoughts and long before we ever get around to acting on these sins.  In fact, we may never act on these sinful thoughts.  That’s pretty heavy justice to lay on mankind, but that is essentially the deal.  It’s no wonder that the history of national Israel is one of falling short of the Will of God.  These are tough standards.  So tough, in fact, that no man can possibly meet the standard.  Let me say that again.  No man can possibly meet the standard, and is therefore damned to Hell.  This is what total depravity means in the end game.  If you think that you can come before God with your body of works, your good life and have any kind of positive outcome, you are deluded.  It’s not happening.  You are by definition flawed and sinful.  That is total depravity.

From what passages in the Bible does this stuff come?  Let’s start in the Old Testament and then work our way through the Gospel and finally to Paul.  The beginning is a good place to begin: Genesis 6:5.  That last half of the verse requires no explanation: every intention of the thoughts of [man's] heart was only evil continually.  Sort of heavy news, isn't it?  Let's try some more.  Ecclesiastes 9:3 is a good spot.  That verse is so horrible, that I'm going to come back to it at the very end.  Jeremiah is one of the prophets who is particular tough.  Chapter 3 has this gem.  And here are some more from Jeremiah.

And now from Matthew 15, Jesus tells us what wonderful things come from the heart:  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  This is not exactly telling us how wonderful that we are.  There are, of course, similar passages in the other synoptics.  But the real damage is done by Paul in Romans 1-3.  I've quoted the first half of Romans 3 above and here again.  In case you are unaware, that quoted section is from various chapters of the Psalter.  Paul is using the Old Testament, sections I haven't even mentioned yet, to prove his point.  Can there be that much debate on this topic?

Elsewhere, I introduced some terms that I want to bring back here:  Supralapsarianism, Infralapsarianism and Amyraldianism. These three terms relate to the order of decrees by God concerning the fall of man relative to the creation of man. Here is a great post to delineate the issue of decrees.  What is important here is that all of these things have happened already.  Whether you believe that creation occurred before or after God decreed the fall of man, it’s all over and done now.  There was either one (Jesus) or two (Adam and Jesus) men who ever came into this world sinless.  That’s it.  The rest of us came into the world after the fall of man and are BY DEFINITION sinful.  This is what Total Depravity means.  BTW, I will be supporting the Infralapsarian position in all of my posts.  This is not necessary to learn, but I include it for completeness, so that you will know, if you choose, the grounds for the arguments and the other possible positions that people might take.  Most Calvinists are Infralapsarians.

Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.  I mentioned that I would come back to this verse.  Imagine for a second that you are God looking out at fallen humanity from eternity.  Without Jesus in the world, God sees nothing but dead people.  With Jesus in the world, He sees one life.  Then he sees more, then there are more than can be counted.  But until Jesus was introduced into the picture, all that there was, under the Covenant of the Law, was death.  Keep that picture in mind when we come to the next section.  When we are talking about what is fair, remember this sea of death that God would see if it were not for Jesus. 

And from Romans 5:  12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.  It doesn't get any more clear than that.

This is where the doctrine of Total depravity leaves man: sinful, lost and most especially dead in sin.  So, how do we get by this little problem and hope to come to God and eternal life?  We’ll go to the concept of election in the next post.

--Troll--

St. Patrick's Day thoughts

Not for the first time, our Tuesday homily was about a saint, this time about the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick.  We learned some very interesting facts about Patrick.  To begin, Patrick wasn't Irish.  It seems that he was abducted from England by Irish raiders while a young teen and help captive in Ireland for six years until making his escape at the age of about 20.  But I do not wish to focus on Patrick.  His parents are far more interesting.


The history of the church in the British Isles is germaine to all Anglicans, Episcopalians and Presbyterians, as we trace our roots back to those islands.  Patrick was Roman.  His parents were Romans sent to England to deal with the Pelagian heresy by the church in Rome.  This is all taking place in the fifth century.  The great debate between Augustine and Pelagius and its aftermath subsequent to Pelagius' death was burning strongly in Rome.  The fact that Patrick's parents were sent to England for this reason speaks to just how widespread this problem had become for the church.  This heresy that infests the protestant churches of our time was the reason for Patrick's presence in Ireland in the first place.  It is shameful that we have come to the point that history has erased the most important legacy of Patrick's family, that of putting down the Pelagian heresy.


Happy St. Patrick's Day.  Isn't it nice to know that God chose you?

--Ogre--

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

This is reprinted from the source cited in the right column, all the way at the bottom.  Enjoy.  --Troll--

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Enfield, Connecticut
July 8, 1741
"Their foot shall slide in due time""
Deuteronomy 32:35

In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, who were God's visible people, and who lived under the means of grace; but who, notwithstanding all God's wonderful works towards them, remained (as verse 28.) void of counsel, having no understanding in them. Under all the cultivations of heaven, they brought forth bitter and poisonous fruit; as in the two verses next preceding the text. -- The expression I have chosen for my text, their foot shall slide in due time, seems to imply the following things, relating to the punishment and destruction to which these wicked Israelites were exposed.

1. That they were always exposed to destruction; as one that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall. This is implied in the manner of their destruction coming upon them, being represented by their foot sliding. The same is expressed, Psalm 72:18. "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction."
2. It implies, that they were always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction. As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall, he cannot foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once without warning: Which is also expressed in Psalm 73:18,19. "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction: How are they brought into desolation as in a moment!"
3. Another thing implied is, that they are liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another; as he that stands or walks on slippery ground needs nothing but his own weight to throw him down.
4. That the reason why they are not fallen already and do not fall now is only that God's appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.

The observation from the words that I would now insist upon is this. -- "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." -- By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment. -- The truth of this observation may appear by the following considerations.

1. There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men's hands cannot be strong when God rises up. The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands. -- He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel, who has found means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the numbers of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of God's enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in pieces. They are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?
2. They deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy them. Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins. Divine justice says of the tree that brings forth such grapes of Sodom, "Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?" Luke 13:7. The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God's mere will, that holds it back.
3. They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They do not only justly deserve to be cast down thither, but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell. John 3:18. "He that believeth not is condemned already." So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place; from thence he is, John 8:23. "Ye are from beneath:" And thither he is bound; it is the place that justice, and God's word, and the sentence of his unchangeable law assign to him.
4. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell. And the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth: yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of hell. So that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and does not resent it, that he does not let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such an one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God bums against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.
   
5. The devil stands ready to fall upon them, and seize them as his own, at what moment God shall permit him. They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion. The scripture represents them as his goods, Luke 11:12. The devils watch them; they are ever by them at their right hand; they stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back. If God should withdraw his hand, by which they are restrained, they would in one moment fly upon their poor souls. The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.
6. There are in the souls of wicked men those hellish principles reigning, that would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire, if it were not for God's restraints. There is laid in the very nature of carnal men, a foundation for the torments of hell. There are those corrupt principles, in reigning power in them, and in full possession of them, that are seeds of hell fire. These principles are active and powerful, exceeding violent in their nature, and if it were not for the restraining hand of God upon them, they would soon break out, they would flame out after the same manner as the same corruptions, the same enmity does in the hearts of damned souls, and would beget the same torments as they do in them. The souls of the wicked are in scripture compared to the troubled sea, Isa. 57:20. For the present, God restrains their wickedness by his mighty power, as he does the raging waves of the troubled sea, saying, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;" but if God should withdraw that restraining power, it would soon carry all before it. Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable. The corruption of the heart of man is immoderate and boundless in its fury; and while wicked me live here, it is like fire pent up by God's restraints, whereas if it were let loose, it would set on fire the course of nature; and as the heart is now a sink of sin, so if sin was not restrained, it would immediately turn the soul into fiery oven, or a furnace of fire and brimstone.
7. It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discem them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear, that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment. All the means that there are of sinners going out of the world, are so in God's hands, and so universally and absolutely subject to his power and determination, that it does not depend at all the less on the mere will of God, whether sinners shall at any moment go to hell, than if means were never made use of, or at all concerned in the case.
8. Natural men's prudence and care to preserve their own lives, or the care of others to preserve them, do not secure them a moment. To this, divine providence and universal experience do also bear testimony. There is this clear evidence that men's own wisdom is no security to them from death; that if it were otherwise we should see some difference between the wise and politic men of the world, and others, with regard to their liableness to early and unexpected death: but how is it in fact? Eccles. 2:16. "How dieth the wise man? even as the fool."
9. All wicked men's pains and contrivance which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do. Every one lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes will not fail. They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the greater part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done. He does not intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take effectual care, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail. But the foolish children of men miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The greater part of those who heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell; and it was not because they were not as wise as those who are now alive: it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape. If we could speak with them, and inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected, when alive, and when they used to hear about hell, ever to be the subjects of misery: we doubtless, should hear one and another reply, "No, I never intended to come here: I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself -- I thought my scheme good. I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief -- Death outwitted me: God's wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter; and when I was saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction came upon me."
   
10. God has laid himself under no obligation, by any promise to keep any natural man out of hell one moment. God certainly has made no promises either of eternal life, or of any deliverance or preservation from eternal death, but what are contained in the covenant of grace, the promises that are given in Christ, in whom all the promises are yea and amen. But surely they have no interest in the promises of the covenant of grace who are not the children of the covenant, who do not believe in any of the promises, and have no interest in the Mediator of the covenant.

So that, whatever some have imagined and pretended about promises made to natural men's earnest seeking and knocking, it is plain and manifest, that whatever pains a natural man takes in religion, whatever prayers he makes, till he believes in Christ, God is under no manner of obligation to keep him a moment from eternal destruction.

So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out: and they have no interest in any Mediator, there are no means within reach that can be any security to them. In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of; all that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted, unobliged forbearance of an incensed God.

Application

The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ. -- That world of misery, that take of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.

You probably are not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of hell, but do not see the hand of God in it; but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.

Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment; for you are a burden to it; the creation groans with you; the creature is made subject to the bondage of your corruption, not willingly; the sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan; the earth does not willingly yield her increase to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air does not willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your vitals, while you spend your life in the service of God's enemies. God's creatures are good, and were made for men to serve God with, and do not willingly subserve to any other purpose, and groan when they are abused to purposes so directly contrary to their nature and end. And the world would spew you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of him who hath subjected it in hope. There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, stays his rough wind; otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff of the summer threshing floor.

The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it.

The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction. However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you hear, by and by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for destruction came suddenly upon most of them; when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, Peace and safety: now they see, that those things on which they depended for peace and safety, were nothing but thin air and empty shadows.

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. -- And consider here more particularly,

1. Whose wrath it is: it is the wrath of the infinite God. If it were only the wrath of man, though it were of the most potent prince, it would be comparatively little to be regarded. The wrath of kings is very much dreaded, especially of absolute monarchs, who have the possessions and lives of their subjects wholly in their power, to be disposed of at their mere will. Prov. 20:2. "The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: Whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul." The subject that very much enrages an arbitrary prince, is liable to suffer the most extreme torments that human art can invent, or human power can inflict. But the greatest earthly potentates in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble, despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty Creator and King of heaven and earth. It is but little that they can do, when most enraged, and when they have exerted the utmost of their fury. All the kings of the earth, before God, are as grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as his majesty is greater. Luke 12:4,5. "And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him."
2. It is the fierceness of his wrath that you are exposed to. We often read of the fury of God; as in Isa. 59:18. "According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries." So Isa. 66:15. "For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." And in many other places. So, Rev. 19:15, we read of "the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The words are exceeding terrible. If it had only been said, "the wrath of God," the words would have implied that which is infinitely dreadful: but it is "the fierceness and wrath of God." The fury of God! the fierceness of Jehovah! Oh, how dreadful that must be! Who can utter or conceive what such expressions carry in them! But it is also "the fierceness and wrath of almighty God." As though there would be a very great manifestation of his almighty power in what the fierceness of his wrath should inflict, as though omnipotence should be as it were enraged, and exerted, as men are wont to exert their strength in the fierceness of their wrath. Oh! then, what will be the consequence! What will become of the poor worms that shall suffer it! Whose hands can be strong? And whose heart can endure? To what a dreadful, inexpressible, inconceivable depth of misery must the poor creature be sunk who shall be the subject of this! Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so fastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much in any other sense, than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires. Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear. Ezek. 8:18. "Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them." Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy. But when once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God, as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel, but to be filled full of wrath. God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that it is said he will only "laugh and mock," Prov. 1:25,26,&c.
   How awful are those words, Isa. 63:3, which are the words of the great God. "I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." It is perhaps impossible to conceive of words that carry in them greater manifestations of these three things, viz. contempt, and hatred, and fierceness of indignation. If you cry to God to pity you, he will be so far from pitying you in your doleful case, or showing you the least regard or favour, that instead of that, he will only tread you under foot. And though he will know that you cannot bear the weight of omnipotence treading upon you, yet he will not regard that, but he will crush you under his feet without mercy; he will crush out your blood, and make it fly, and it shall be sprinkled on his garments, so as to stain all his raiment. He will not only hate you, but he will have you in the utmost contempt: no place shall be thought fit for you, but under his feet to be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
   
3. The misery you are exposed to is that which God will inflict to that end, that he might show what that wrath of Jehovah is. God hath had it on his heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent his love is, and also how terrible his wrath is. Sometimes earthly kings have a mind to show how terrible their wrath is, by the extreme punishments they would execute on those that would provoke them. Nebuchadnezzar, that mighty and haughty monarch of the Chaldean empire, was willing to show his wrath when enraged with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and accordingly gave orders that the burning fiery furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was before; doubtless, it was raised to the utmost degree of fierceness that human art could raise it. But the great God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme sufferings of his enemies. Rom. 9:22. "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?" And seeing this is his design, and what he has determined, even to show how terrible the unrestrained wrath, the fury and fierceness of Jehovah is, he will do it to effect. There will be something accomplished and brought to pass that will be dreadful with a witness. When the great and angry God hath risen up and executed his awful vengeance on the poor sinner, and the wretch is actually suffering the infinite weight and power of his indignation, then will God call upon the whole universe to behold that awful majesty and mighty power that is to be seen in it. Isa. 33:12-14. "And the people shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire. Hear ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites, " &c. Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments. You shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and when you shall be in this state of suffering, the glorious inhabitants of heaven shall go forth and look on the awful spectacle, that they may see what the wrath and fierceness of the Almighty is; and when they have seen it, they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. Isa. 66:23,24. "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."
   
4. It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For "who knows the power of God's anger?"

How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been bom again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell? And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this year is out. And it would be no wonder if some persons, that now sit here, in some seats of this meeting-house, in health, quiet and secure, should be there before tomorrow morning. Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition, that shall keep out of hell longest will be there in a little time! your damnation does not slumber; it will come swiftly, and, in all probability, very suddenly upon many of you. You have reason to wonder that you are not already in hell. It is doubtless the case of some whom you have seen and known, that never deserved hell more than you, and that heretofore appeared as likely to have been now alive as you. Their case is past all hope; they are crying in extreme misery and perfect despair; but here you are in the land of the living and in the house of God, and have an opportunity to obtain salvation. What would not those poor damned hopeless souls give for one day's opportunity such as you now enjoy!

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? Are not your souls as precious as the souls of the people at Suffield, where they are flocking from day to day to Christ?

Are there not many here who have lived long in the world, and are not to this day born again? and so are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and have done nothing ever since they have lived, but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath? Oh, sirs, your case, in an especial manner, is extremely dangerous. Your guilt and hardness of heart is extremely great. Do you not see how generally persons of your years are passed over and left, in the present remarkable and wonderful dispensation of God's mercy? You had need to consider yourselves, and awake thoroughly out of sleep. You cannot bear the fierceness and wrath of the infinite God. -- And you, young men, and young women, will you neglect this precious season which you now enjoy, when so many others of your age are renouncing all youthful vanities, and flocking to Christ? You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity; but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as with those persons who spent all the precious days of youth in sin, and are now come to such a dreadful pass in blindness and hardness. -- And you, children, who are unconverted, do not you know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of that God, who is now angry with you every day and every night? Will you be content to be the children of the devil, when so many other children in the land are converted, and are become the holy and happy children of the King of kings?

And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now hearken to the loud calls of God's word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls; and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the greater part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on the great out-pouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles' days; the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you was born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's Spirit, and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the axe is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree which brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down and cast into the fire.

Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one fly out of Sodom: "Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed."