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النشر الإلكتروني

THE

NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS.

XXXII. LORD'S DAY.

Titus ii. 14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Q. 86. Since then we are delivered from our misery merely of grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we still do good works?

A. Because that Christ, having redeemed and delivered us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit, after his own image; that so we may testify by the whole of our conduct our gratitude to God for his blessings, and that he may be praised by us; also, that every one may be assured in himself of his faith by the fruits thereof; and that by our godly conversation others may be gained to Christ.

Q. 87. Cannot they then be saved, who continuing in their wicked and ungrateful lives, are not converted to God?

A. By no means; for the holy scripture declares that no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, covetous man, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or any such like, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

"GREAT

TREAT peace have they which love thy law," saith David, Psalm cxix. 165. They have peace with men, who are otherwise their enemies; for "when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him," Prov. xvi. 7. Have they who love the law of the Lord any enemies, who fight against them, they have nevertheless a great peace. whereby they are so encouraged, that they are fearless of the fiercest and most mighty enemies: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I he afraid ? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear," saith that great lover of the law of God, Psalm xxvii. 1, 3. They who love the law of the Lord have a great peace and tranquility in their soul with and in the Lord:" The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, and which keepeth the heart and mind through Jesus," as it is desribed by the apostle, Phil. iv. 7. Is this matter of wonder? Christ hath purchased that great peace for them: "The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed," Isaiah liii. 5. The love of the divine law is itself a sweet peace: the person who loves the law " rejoiceth in the way of God's testimonies, more than in all riches," according to Psalm cxix. 14. When he loves the law of God so that he practises it, the Lord rewards him for it with "peace and mercy," as Paul testifieth, Gal. vi. 16. When the first Christians "walked in the fear of the Lord, the comfort of the Holy Ghost was multiplied," Acts ix. 31.

Thus also the instructor understands this matter, when he shows us that we are obliged to manifest gratitude by good works, as a mean of obtaining peace and comfort; for after having proposed our only comfort in the first question of the catechism, he exhibits in the second question three means of obtaining that comfort, namely, the knowledge of our misery, of our deliverance, and of gratitude; for knowing that a knowledge of misery renders the sinner indeed capable of comfort, but that it doth not of itself merit, or procure. comfort, he therefore teaches the deliverance of the elect sinner by the Mediator Jesus, who hath obtained peace, and comfort for him. But who can derive peace and comfort from this, while he doth not love the law of the Lord, and conduct according to it? He therefore shows, that if we will live comfortably, we must do good works, as an acknowledgment of that deliverance. This he doth in the third part of the catechism, in which five particulars are proposed :

I. The necessity of good works in the thirty-second Lord's day. II. The principle from which they must be performed, to wit. conversion, Questions 88, 89, 90. III. The nature of good works, Question 91. IV. The rule, according to which good works must be performed, to wit, the law of God, from the 34th, to the 44th Lord's days. V. The mean of doing good works, namely, prayer, from the 45th, to the 52nd Lord's days.

We must attend at present only to the necessity of good works, which is exhibited in this Lord's day by two particulars:

I. The motives that oblige a Christian, who hath been delivered, to perform good works, Q. 86.

II. The impossibility of being saved without performing good works, Q. 87.

1. We are taught in the second part of the catechism, that " we are delivered from our misery only of grace by Christ, without any merit of our own." The Papists, who cannot endure this sacred truth, say that then we need not do any good works; yea, they slander us as enemies of good works They are strengthened in this by the Antinomians, or adversaries of the law, who hold that a person, who hath been delivered, doth indeed do good works, but not as a duty, because Christ hath satisfied the law of duty for those who are delivered. They will admit that the delivered must do good works, because it is their nature, as a vine must bear fruit; but they say that they are not obliged to do them as a duty, which is commanded and enjoined on them, as though this were the work of slaves, and not of the free children of God. Those who have not their senses exercised will think that these things are right and fair; but they who understand the secret, know that these men esteem every action, how abominable soever, to be good; because all things are done according to the eternal decree of God, and therefore according to his will. And what is that eternal decree an unchangeble law of nature, or fate, which determines all things without God. And so this assertion is the offspring of Atheism, and the denial of a God, tricked up by Spinoza and Van Hattem.

Bu we, who have learned bettery say that a person who is delivered without any merit of his own, merely of grace through Christ, "must" still do good works; not that he may merit by them, as we have proved upon the twenty-third and twenty-fourth Lord's days; and not only because it is become the nature of the delivered, but also as a duty, which they are commanded to do. Believers are commanded again and again to perform good works with a holy fear: the passages are too numerous to be transcribed here. See only Exod xx. Deut. v. Psalm ii. 11. Phil. ii. 12. Titus üi. 8, 14. Heb iv. 2 The delivered glory that "the Lord is their Judge, their Lawgiver and King," Isaiah xxxiii. 22. Must we not obey God according to his commandments? and is not that which we do in obedience to him a good work? Surely believers

must be obedient to God their Father with fear, not as slaves, but as children, as Peter admonisheth, 1 Peter i. 14, 17

There are also many reasons, which oblige those who are delivered to do good works, whether we attend to the Lord, who obligeth them by himself, and by his benefits, or whether we attend to the ends, for which they must do good works.

1. With respect to the Lord, he is the Most High, and every human creature is subject to God, and to him as the only Lord. God is the most glorious being, alone holy and worthy of himself to be obeyed, believed, feared and served. This lays an everlasting obli gation upon the reasonable creature to acknowledge it by good works. In whatsoever condition a man may be. whether delivered by Christ, or still a miserable sinner, he can never discharge him. self from this obligation; as long as the Lord is God, this bond will remain upon man: for since the Lord is so excellent, is it not natural and equitable, that his reasonable ereature should acknowl edge his glory ? And how shall the creature acknowledge it? only by his apprehensions of it, and by words? must not all his actions proclaim and declare it? when a Christian acts from this principle, his work is then most pure and excellent. This high excellence of God obligeth his people to do good works: "Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy," saith he, Lev. xix 2. See also I Peter i. 15. 16. Hear how the prophet proclaims this to the praise of the Lord. Jer. x. 6, 7. "Forasmuch as there is none like thee, O Lord, thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O) King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: for asmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee."

But the Lord God, willing to mamfest his kindness, obligeth bis people by his goodness and love, to perform good works: for this reason he hath delivered and freed them from their condemnation and misery. Why then do men say, that a person who hath been delivered without any merits of his own, of grace only is not bound to do good works? He is for this very reason, even that he hath been delivered of grace, bound to do good works. Attend only to the dispensations of the divine grace which each Person in the Godhead exerciseth toward the sinner, in order to his deliverance, and it will appear, that they who are delivered, are under the strongest obligations to do good works, and must do them. For, (1) the Fa ther from eternity foreordained them, elected, and gave them in the council of peace to his Son, that he might deliver them, and that they might might be conformed to the image of his Son, and be

holy and unblamable," Rom. viii. 29. Eph. i. 4. "He hath called and effectually delivered them out of the power of darkness, and translated them into the kingdom of his dear Son." They must therefore "walk worthily of the vocation wherewith they are called," as Paul enjoineth, Eph. iv. i. The Father establishes also his great covenant of grace with them: "They avouch the Lord to be their God, and the Lord avouches them to be his peculiar people;" but this is done, that they may hearken to his voice, and keep his commandments," as Moses saith, Deut. xxvi. 17, 18. Doth he justify them, it is "that he may be feared," Psalm cxxx. 4. Doth he adopt them to be his children, "they must separate themselves from the unclean thing, and walk in fear," 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. 1 Peter i. 17. And when he preserves them, " he puts his fear into their hearts, that they may not depart from him," Jer. xxxii. 40. (2) The Son "hath redeemed and delivered them by his blood," saith the instructor. He bore their punishment, paid the price of his blood for them, and thus satisfied the justice of God. But for what end? was it that he might discharge them from all obligation? Did the Son of God do and suffer so much, that he might be a minister of sin to them? who dares assert this? and nevertheless our adversaries must assert it, when they will maintain, that we are not obliged to do good works, if Christ have delivered us of grace only without any merit of our own. But the Spirit of God speaks otherwise by the mouth of Paul in the text, when he saith, that the Saviour Jesus Christ "gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Titus ii. 14. hath also exalted him with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel," as well as "forgiveness of sins," Acts v. 31. See only how Paul infers from the humiliation and exaltation of Christ the obligation of them who are delivered to do good works, Rom. vi. Are they bought and made free from sin, it is that they may "be servants of righteousness," according to Rom. vi. 18-22. "They are bought with a price, therefore they must glorify God in their body, and in their spirit, which are God's," as Paul teacheth, 1 Cor. vi. 20. Yea, shall not this great "love of Christ constrain them," to look upon themselves, as bound to live for him?" certainly yes: see 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. (3) They who are delivered, having been bought with the blood of Christ, are also renewed by his Holy Spirit, after his image; for "he is made unto them of God sanctification," as well as "righteousness," 1 Cor. i, 30. And therefore he hath given them "his Holy Spirit to renew them," after his image, See Titus iii. 4, 5, 6. By this renewing

"God

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