Archive for January 4th, 2008
Watts:
Consideration V. This seems to be a fair and easy way to answer several of those texts of Scripture, which represent God ass the Saviour of all men, especially of them who believe; 1 Tim. iv. 10; and assert, that God calls and commands all men every where to repent; Acts xvii. 30; that Christ tasted death for every man; Heb. ii. 9; that he gave himself a ransom for all men, to be testified in due time; 1 Tim. ii. 6; that he died for all; 2 Cor. v. 15 ; that he gave himself to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world; 1 John ii. 2; and the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world; chapter iv. 14; and that God so loved the world of mankind, that he sent his Son, not to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved; and that whosoever believes in his Son Jesus, should not perish, but should have eternal life; John iii. 16, 17.
I grant indeed, that many of these Scriptures may have a Pretty sufficient answer given to them by the art of criticism, even upon the supposition that salvation is provided only for the elect; but there are some few of those Scriptures, and of their parallel places, which can never be so well explained, but by supposing the death of Christ has such an all-sufficient and overflowing merit in it, as to provide a sufficient conditional pardon, and conditional salvation, for the non-elect, while it also provides absolute, effectual, and certain pardon and salvation for those whom God has elected.
It seems evident to me from several texts of the word of God, that Christ did not die with an equal design for all men; but that there is a special number whom the Father chose and gave to the Son, whose salvation is absolutely secured by the death and intercession of Christ; John xvii. 6, 9, 10. But why should this hinder our interpretation of some other texts in a more general and catholic sense, where the love of God and Christ to mankind, are expressed in more universal phrases and terms Why should we affect to limit that grace which is expressed in an unlimited form of speech? Why may me not suppose conditional pardon and conditional salvation, and the offers of the gospel, and the means of grace, which are necessary to it, to be the purchase of the death of Christ, since the death of so glorious a person has such an exuberant value in it, and such all-sufficient merit; and especially since it is allowed to superabound so far as to purchase the continuance of the world, and common blessings of life for mankind.