the doctrine which he taught was true, and from God. And thus I have fhewn you, how the refurrection of Christ from the dead, is a powerful demonstration that he was the Son of God. All that remains, is briefly to draw fome practical inferences from the confideration of our Saviour's refurrection. 1. To confirm and establish our minds in the belief of the Chriftian religion, of which the refurrection of Chrift from the dead is fo great a confirmati on. And therefore I told you that this one article is mentioned by St. Paul as the fum and abridgment of the Chriftian faith; If thou shalt confefs with thy mouth the Lord Jefus Chrift, and believe in thy heart that God hath raifed him from the dead, thou shalt be faved. The belief of our Saviour's refurrection doth by neceffary confequence infer the belief of his whole doctrine for he who believes that God raised him from the dead, after he was put to death for calling himself the Son of God, cannot but believe him to be the Son of God; and confequently that the doctrine which he delivered was from God. 2dly, The refurrection of Chrift from the dead affures us of a future judgment, and of the recompences and rewards of another world. That Chrift was raised from the dead, is a demonftration of another life after this; and no man that believes the immortality of our fouls, and another life after this, ever doubted of a future judgment; fo that by the refurrection of Chrift from the dead, God hath given affurance unto all men of a future judgment, and confequently of the recompences and rewards of another world. The confideration whereof ought to have a mighty influence upon us,more efpecially to these three purposes: ift, To raise our minds above the prefent enjoyments of this life. Were but men convinced of this great and obvious truth, that there is an infinite dif ference between time and eternity, between a few days and everlasting ages; would we but fometimes reprefent to ourfelves, what thoughts and apprehenfions dying men have of this world, how vain and empty empty a thing it appears to them; how like a pageant and fhadow it looks, as it paffeth away from them ; methinks none of these things could be a fufficient temptation to any man to forget God and his foul; but notwithstanding all the prefent delights, and allurements of fenfe, we fhould be ftrongly intent upon the concernments of another world, and almost wholly taken up with the thoughts of the vast eternity which we are ready to enter into. For what is there in this world, this vaft and howling wilderness, this rude and barbarous country which we are but to pafs through, which fhould detain and entangle our affections, and take off our thoughts from our everlafting habitation, from that better, and that heavenly country, where we hope to live and to be happy for ever? 2dly, The confideration of the rewards of another world fhould comfort and fupport us under the trou bles and afflictions of this world. The hopes of a bleffed refurrection are a very proper confideration to bear us up under the evils and preffures of this life. If we hope for fo great a happiness hereafter, we may be contented to bear fome afflictions in this world, because the bleffednefs which we expect will fo abundantly recompenfe and outweigh our prefent fufferings. So the Apoftle affures us, Rom. viii. 18. We know that the fufferings of this prefent time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The confideration whereof was that which made the primitive Chriftians to triumph in their fufferings, and in the midst of all their tribulations to rejoice in the hopes of the glory of God; because their fufferings did really prepare and make way for their glory. So the fame Apoftle tells us, 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. Our light afflictions which are but for a moment, work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; whilst we look not at the things which are seen; for the things which are feen are temporal, but the things which are not feen are eternal. 3dly, and lastly, The affurance of our future reward is a mighty encouragement to obedience and a holy life. What greater encouragement can we have than than this, that all the good which we do in this world will accompany us into the other? That when we reft from our labours, our works will follow us? That when we fhall be ftript of other things, and parted from them, these will fill remain, with us, and bear us company; our riches and honours, our fenfual pleasures and enjoyments will all take their leave of us, when we leave this world; nay, many times they do not accompany us fo far as the grave, but take occafion to forfake us, when we have the greatest need and use of them; but piety and virtue are that better part which cannot be taken from us. All the good actions which we do in this world will go along with us into the other, and through the merits of our Redeemer procure for us, at the hands of a gracious and merciful God, a glorious and eternal reward; not according to the meannefs of our fervices, but according to the bounty of his mind, and the vastnefs of his treafures and eftate. Now what an encouragement is this to holiness and obedience, to confider that it will all be our own another day; to be affured that whoever ferves God faithfully, and does fuffer for him patiently, does lay up fo much treasure for himself in another world, and provides lafting comforts for himself, and faithful and conftant companions, that will never leave him nor forfake him! Let us then do all the good we can, while we have opportunity, and ferve God with all our might, knowing that no good action that we do fhall be loft and fall to the ground, that every grace and virtue that we exercife in this life, and every degree of them, fhall receive their full recompence at the refurrection of the just. How fhould this infpire us with refolution and zeal and industry in the fervice of God, to have fuch a reward continually in our eye! how fhould it tempt us to our duty, to have a crown and a kingdom offered to us, joys unspeakable and full of glory, Such things as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man! And fuch are VOL. VI. G the the things which God hath laid up for them who love him heartily, and ferve him faithfully in this world. SERMON CXXI. The danger of apoftacy from Christianity. HE B. vi. 4, 5, 6. For it is impoffible for those who were once enlightened, and have tafted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come; if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; feeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open Shame. T Hefe words are full of difficulties, and the misunderstanding of them hath not only been an occafion of a great deal of trouble, and even defpair to particular perfons, but one of the chief reafons why the church of Rome did for a long time reject the authority of this book; which by the way I cannot but take notice of as a demonftrative inftance both of the fallible judgment of that church, and of the fallibility of oral tradition; for St. Jerom more than once exprefly tells us, "That in his time (which was about 400 years after Chrift) "the church of Rome did not receive this epiftle for ca"nonical :" But it is plain, that fince that time, whether moved by the evidence of the thing, or (which is more probable) by the confent and authority of other churches, they have received it, and do at this day acknowledge it for canonical: from whence one of these two things will neceffarily follow; either that they were in an error for 400 years together, while they rejected it; or that they have fince erred for a longer time in receiving it. One of thefe is unavoid able; able; for if the book be canonical now, it was fo from the beginning; for Bellarmine himself confeffeth (and if he had not confeffed it, it is neverthelefs true and certain) that the church cannot make a book canonical, which was not fo before; if it was not canonical at firft, it cannot be made fo afterward fo that let them choose which part they will, it is evident, beyond all denial, that the church of Rome hath actually erred in her judgment concerning the authority of this book; and one error of this kind is enough to deftroy her infallibility, there being no greater evidence that a church is not infallible, than if it plainly appear that fhe hath been deceived. : And this is alfo a convincing inftance of the fallibility of oral tradition. For if that be infallible in delivering down to us the canonical books of fcripture, it neceflarily follows, that whatever books were delivered down to us for canonical in one age, must have been fo in all ages; and whatever was rejected in any age, muft always have been rejected: but we plainly fee the contrary, from the inftance of this epiftle, concerning which the church of Rome (which pretends to be the great and faithful preferver of tradition) hath in feveral ages delivered feveral things. This is a peremptory inftance both of the fallibility of the Roman church, and of her oral tradition. Having obferved this by the way, which I could not well pafs by upon fo fair an occafion, I fhall betake myself to the explication of these words; towards which it will be no fmall advantage to confider the particular phrafes and expreffions in the text. It is impoffible for those who were once enlightened that is, were folemnly admitted into the church by baptifm, and embraced the profeffion of Christianity. Nothing was more frequent among the ancients, than to call baptifm our outv, illumination; and those who were baptifed were called WTICONEVOI, enlightened perfons, because of that divine illumination which was conveyed to the minds of men by the knowledge of Christianity, the doctrine whereof they made profeffion of at their baptifm: And therefore Juftin G 2 |