Archive for July 28th, 2010
Lorimer:
1) (4thly.) Yet by some Passages in his1 letter, we guess that he points at the controversy about the extent of Christ’s Death, which hath been amongst Protestant divines since the Reformation, or since the time that Beza and Piscator began to write on that Head after the Reformation.
And if that be the thing he points at without naming it, we will, first, give the true state of the controversy. Secondly, declare briefly what our opinion is, as to that matter. And for the state of the controversy:
First, there are some divines in the world, who are said to hold that Christ died equally for all men, Elect and Non-elect; and that God on the account of Christ’s death, gives a common sufficient grace to them all, whereby they may all (if they will) apply to themselves the virtue of Christ’s Death, and thereby obtain justification and salvation. But that Christ did not dye for the elect, out of any special love to them above others; and that God through Christ doth not give any special effectual, determining grace to the elect more than to the non-elect. This is the Arminian extreme.
Secondly, there are other divines, who hold that Christ died for the elect only and exclusively of all others, and that he died not for any of the non-elect in any proper tolerable true sense; that he no more died for any of those men, who are not elected to eternal life, than he died for the Devil; and that such Men have no more to do with the satisfaction and merits of Christ, than the Devil has. This is the other extreme. And we suppose that this is that which our author accounts the orthodox side, and that he is of this side himself.
But thirdly, between these two extreme opinions, there is a golden mean, there is a middle-way, which hath been many hundred years ago, and still is expressed in this form of words, “That Christ died only for the elect sinners of mankind both sufficiently and efficaciously, but that he died for the non-elect only sufficiently but not efficaciously.” This is the state of the controversy.