SERMON XII. THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. ROM. iii. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. It is one of chat plent T is one of the chief glories of the gospel, that it discovers a full atonement for sin by the blood of Christ, that it sets before us the reconciliation of sinners to an offended God, by the death of his own Son. One would be ready to wonder, that any of the guilty race of Adam should be unwilling to receive so divine a discovery, or should refuse a blessing so important. But such unhappy principles have prevailed over the minds of some men, and particular the Socinians in the last age, that they have been content to venture their eternal hopes on the mercy of God, without a dependence on the satisfaction made for sin, by Jesus the Saviour. They imagine Christ the Son of God came into our world chiefly to be a teacher of grace and duty, to be an example of piety and virtue, to plead with God for sinners, and in short, to do little more than any other divine prophet might have been employed in, if the wisdom of God had so appointed it. They suppose he yielded to death that he might seal his doctrine with his blood, and might set us a glorious pattern of suffering and dying, and then he led the way to our resurrection, by his own rising from the dead. It is granted indeed, these are some of the designs of the coming of Christ, some of the necessary parts of the blessed gospel; but it seems to me, that this blessed gospel is shamefully curtailed, and deprived of some of its most important designs and honours, if a proper atonement for sin by the blood of Christ be left out of it. Forgive me, my fellow Christians, if I spend a discourse or two on this great article of our common faith. I think it of so high moment, that I would fain pronounce and publish it aloud in an age that verges toward infidelity; I would glory in the cross of Christ, and endeavour to support this doctrine with all my power. O may none of those who wear the Christian name, ever grow weary of it, or run back again to the mere religion of nature, as though we had no gospel! I shall not spin out my thoughts, or employ yours in a laborious enquiry into the connection of the words, but take them just as they lie and make this plain sentence the foundation of my discourse. DOCTRINE. God hath set forth his Son, Jesus Christ, to be a propitiation for the sins of men. When the apostle says, God hath set him forth, Christ is plainly the person intended; and this Greek word (proetheto, set forth,) denotes either, 1. That God hath fore-ordained and appointed his Son to become our propitiation, by his divine purpose in eternity, which purpose he executed here in time; Or, 2. It intends that God hath set him forth, i. e. proposed and offered him to the world as an atonement for the sins of those who trust in the merit of his death; for so the following words intimate, God set him forth for a propitiation, through faith in his blood. I am not solicitous which of these senses the reader will choose; either of them perfectly agrees with the design of the apostle. I would just take a brief notice also, that some interpreters transpose the words of the text a little, and read them thus, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation in his blood through faith; and thus they suppose the apostle in this very verse, declares that Christ atoned for our sins by his own blood; and if this be the true sense of it, it does but more effectually confirm the design of my doctrine, which is to shew, that Christ by his bloody death became a sacrifice to God, in order to make satisfaction for the crimes of men. My method of discourse shall be this, I. To explain more at large the manner in whic I conceive Christ to become an atonement or propitiation for our sins. II. To give some reasons to prove, that he is ordained of God, and set forth or offered to the world under this character. And, III. I shall shew what glorious use is made of this doctrine throughout the whole Christian life. First, let me explain the manner wherein Christ becomes an atonement or propitiation for sin. And to render this point easy to the lowest understanding, I would draw it out into these propositions. PROPOSITION 1. Thegreat God having made man, appointed to govern him by a wise and righteous law, wherein glory and honour, life and immortality are the designed rewards for perfect obedience; but tribulation and wrath, pain and death are the 232 as heresy ? Should we pronounce anathemas, and curses upon him that leaves out of his creed a few hard words which men have invented, or that differs from us in the business of meats, and days, and ceremonies? We ourselves think it, hard to have doubtful reports of evil published concerning us, and suspicions blown up into guilt; we think it hard if our crimes are aggravated to the utmost, and no reasonable allowances are made; we find it very painful to us, and think it unreasonable to be ever teased with the mention of our former follies, or to have our little differences from another's faith or worship to be pronounced heresy, and to be cut off from the church for it. In short, if this blessed rule of our Saviour did but more universally obtain, we should never persecute one another for our disagreement in opinion, for we should then learn this lesson, that another has as much right to differ from me in his sentiment, as I have to differ from him. If this rule did but prevail amongst all that own the Christian name; then truth, honesty and justice, meekness and love would reign and triumph through all the churches of Christ, and those vile affections and practices of pride, envy, wrath, cruelty, backbiting, and persecution would be banished for eyer from amongst us. 9. It is not only a rule of equity and love to direct our whole conduct toward our neighbours in the social life, but it is also a rule of the highest prudence with regard to ourselves, and it promotes our own interest in the best manner; for if we make conscience of treating our neighbours according to all the justice and tenderness that this rule will incline us to, we may reasonably expect the same kind and tender treatment from those that are round about us. Such a practice will naturally engage the greatest part of mankind on our side, whensoever we happen to be assaulted or opprest by the sons of malice or violence. Happy is that person who has gained the love of mankind, by making the love of himself a rule and measure of his actions toward them, and who has piously followed that precept of the law of God, "Love thy neighbour as thyself." Let us remember that we live in a changeable world, and the scènes of life are continually shifting. I am now a master, and in possession of riches, and if I treat my servant, or any poor man insolently, I may expect the like insolent treatment if my circumstances sink and reduce me to a state of poverty or service. But if I follow this golden rule of our Saviour, in treating my inferiors, I do (as it were) hoard up for myself a treasure of merit and benevolence among men, which I may hope to receive and taste of, in the day of my necessity and distress. Thus, in behaving myself toward others according to this holy rule of friendship, I not only please and obey my God and my Saviour, but I happily secure my temporal interests also. 10. In the last place, to mention no more, this rule is fitted to make the whole world as happy as the present state of things will admit. It is not to be described nor conceived what a multitude of blessings and felicities the practice of this single precept would introduce among all mankind. If we were not thus wrapt up entirely in self, in our own party, or in our own kindred, but could look upon our neighbours as our other selves, and seek their advantage together with our own, every man would become a diffusive blessing amongst his neighbours, and the mutual benefits of mankind would scatter happiness through all the world. such a beneficent state as this, every man would be, as it were, a good angel to all that came within the reach of his commerce; this earth would be a little image of heaven; and our present social life In |