A20752:658
The Christian warfare wherein is first generally showed the malice, power and politic stratagems…The Christian warfare wherein is first generally shewed the malice, power and politike stratagems…
The Christian warfare wherein is first generally showed the malice, power and politic stratagems of the spiritual enemies of our salvation, Satan and his assistants the world and the flesh, with the means also whereby the Christian may withstand and defeat them : and afterwards more specially their particular temptations, against the several causes and means of our salvation, whereby on the one side they allure us to security and presumption, and on the other side, draw us to doubting and desperation, are expressed and answered : written especially for their sakes who are exercised in the spiritual conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in conscience in the sight and sense of their sins / by I. Downame ...The Christian warfare wherein is first generally shewed the malice, power and politike stratagems of the spirituall ennemies of our saluation, Sathan and his assistants the world and the flesh, with the meanes also whereby the Christian may vvithstand and defeate them : and afterwards more speciallie their particvlar temptatiions, against the seuerall causes and meanes of our saluation, whereby on the one side they allure vs to security and presumption, and on the other side, draw vs to doubting and desperation, are expressed and answered : written especially for their sakes who are exercised in the spirituall conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in conscience in the sight and sense of their sinnes / by I. Dovvname ...
London: printed for Cuthbert Burby, 1604
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
CHAP. XVI. Of those temptations which Satan useth against the faithful concerning their redemption.
CHAP. XVI. Of those temptations which Sathan vseth against the faithfull concerning their redemption.
§. Sect. 1 And thus much concerning those temptations which Satan suggesteth into mens minds to nourish in them carnal security:1 now we are to consider of those which he useth to move men to doubting and desperation. First therefore he objecteth that it is a thing unreasonable, and utterly repugnant to Gods justice, that Christ who was innocent should be punished ⟨p. 296⟩for us who are guilty, that we should deserve the blame, and he suffereth the stripes, that the righteous should be condemned, and the wicked acquitted, that we who like barabbas were cruel murderers and wicked sinners should be let lose, and the immaculate lamb of God in whom there was no fault should be delivered up to be crucified; for what were this but to make the just God like unjust Pilate? what were this but to deny his own word, having said that the righteous should live in his righteousness,2 and the sinner die in his iniquity? To which I answer, first, that it would not indeed have stood with Gods justice, to have punished Christ as he was innocent and righteous, nor to have acquitted and absolved us who were unrighteous and wicked; but he punished Christ in respect that he had taken upon him the sins of all the faithful, and absolveth us as we are freed from our sins, & clothed with his righteousness and obedience. He punished Christ, not as he was most just and free from sin, but as he was our surety who had taken upon him to discharge our debt, and to satisfy for our sins; and thus the creditor may justly require his debt of the surety though in respect of himself he owed him nothing, and thus he may, nay ought to release the principal, when the surety hath already discharged the debt. Secondly I answer that it had bin injustice in God, if he had forced our Saviour Christ, who was just and innocent, to undergo the punishments which were due unto us, who were malefactors and offenders; for this were to condemn the righteous, and to justify the wicked: but our Saviour Christ of his own free accord, did voluntarily offer himself to stand in our place, and to discharge that debt which we owed, and to make satisfaction to his father, by suffering that punishment which we had deserved.