Chapter IV.
Of sanctification, and of the cause of faith, and the procurement thereof by the death of Christ.
Arg. VIII. Another argument may be taken from the effect and fruit of the death of Christ unto sanctification, which we thus propose:— If the blood of Jesus Christ doth wash, purge, cleanse, and sanctify them for whom it was shed, or for whom he was a sacrifice, then certainly he died, shed his blood, or was a sacrifice, only for them that in the event are washed, purged, cleansed, and sanctified; — which that all or every one is not is most apparent, faith being the first principle of the heart’s purification, Acts xv. 9, and “all men have not faith,” 2 Thess. iii. 2; it is “of the elect of God,” Tit. i. 1. The consequence, I conceive, is undeniable, and not to be avoided with any distinctions. But now we shall make it evident that the blood of Christ is effectual for all those ends of washing, purging, and sanctifying, which we before recounted. And this we shall do; — first, from the types of it; and, secondly, by plain expressions concerning the thing itself:—
First, For the type, that which we shall now consider is the sacrifice of expiation, which the apostle so expressly compareth with the sacrifice and oblation of Christ. Of this he affirmeth, Heb. ix. 13, that it legally sanctified them for whom it was a sacrifice. “For,” saith he, “the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh.” Now, that which was done carnally and legally in the type must be spiritually effected in the antitype, — the sacrifice of Christ, typified by that bloody sacrifice of beasts. This the apostle asserteth in the verse following. “How much more,” saith he, “shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” If I know any thing, that answer of Arminius and some others to this, — namely, that the sacrifice did sanctify, not as offered but as sprinkled, and the blood of Christ, not in respect of the oblation, but of its application, answereth it, — is weak and unsatisfactory; for it only asserts a division between the oblation and application of the blood of Christ, which, though we allow to be distinguished, yet such a division we are now disproving. And to weaken our argument, the same division which we disprove is proposed; which, if any, is an easy, facile way of answering. We grant that the blood of Christ sanctifieth in respect of the application of the good things procured by it, but withal prove that it is so applied to all for whom it was an oblation; and that because it is said to sanctify and purge, and must answer the type, which did sanctify to the purifying of the flesh.
Secondly, It is expressly, in divers places affirmed of the blood-shedding and death of our Saviour, that it doth effect these things, and that it was intended for that purpose. Many places for the clearing of this were before recounted. I shall now repeat so many of them as shall be sufficient to give strength to the argument in hand, omitting those which before were produced, only desiring that all those places which point out the end of the death of Christ may be considered as of force to establish the truth of this argument.
Rom. vi. 5, 6, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” The words of the latter verse yield a reason of the former assertion in verse 5, — namely, that a participation in the death of Christ shall certainly be accompanied with conformity to him in his resurrection; that is, both to life spiritual, as also to eternal: “Because our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed.” That is, our sinful corruption and depravation of nature are, by his death and crucifying, effectually and meritoriously slain, and disabled from such a rule and dominion over us as that we should be servants any longer unto them; which is apparently the sense of the place, seeing it is laid as a foundation to press forward unto all decrees of sanctification and freedom from the power of sin.
The same apostle also tells us, 2 Cor. i. 20, that “all the promises of God are in him yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” “Yea, and Amen,” — confirmed, ratified, unchangeably established, and irrevocably made over to us. Now, this was done “in him,” — that is, in his death and blood-shedding, for the confirmation of the testament, whereof these promises are the conveyance of the legacies to us, — confirmed by the “death of him, the testator,” Heb. ix. 16: for he was “the surety of this better testament,” chap. vii. 22; which testament or “covenant he confirmed with many,” by his being “cut off” for them, Dan. ix. 26, 27. Now, what are the promises that are thus confirmed unto us, and established by the blood of Christ? The sum of them you have, Jer. xxxi. 33, 34; whence they are repeated by the apostle, Heb. viii. 10–12, to set out the nature of that covenant which was ratified in the blood of Jesus, in which you have a summary description of all that free grace towards us, both in sanctification, verses 10, 11, and in justification, verse 12. Amongst these promises, also, is that most famous one of circumcising our hearts, and of giving new hearts and spirits unto us: as Deut. xxx. 6; Ezek. xxxvi. 26. So that our whole sanctification, holiness, with justification and reconciliation unto God, is procured by, and established unto us with, unchangeable promises in the death and blood-shedding of Christ, “the heavenly or spiritual things” being purified with that sacrifice of his, Heb. ix. 23; “For we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins,” Col. i. 14; “By death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil,” that he might “deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage,” Heb. ii. 14, 15.