Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

91. Were it not evident in Scripture, that the world is under the Law of Grace as the norma officii & judicii, (as it is) yet could no man truly say that he is certain, that no one of them should be saved. For if they were all under the Law of Innocency, yet there is this great difference between it, and the Law of Grace, that whereas the sentence of the latter is peremptory, excluding all hope of Dispensation and Pardon, to the final Rejecters of its Grace, for ever; yet the former was a Law whose penalty was remissible, and it did not pass a peremptory sentence of despair. Though it gave no hope of Pardon, yet it took not away the hopes of it: that is, It had a threatening-dispensable: ⟨p. 50⟩(as Dr. Twice and many other say, Without a Saviour had God so pleased; And as others say, Through the virtue of Christ's Sacrifice even to them that know him not.) For the commination of that Law (which threatened not the death of a Surety, but of the Sinner,) was actually dispensed with in our Justification. And what God can do, they ought not to say, that they are certain that he never will do it, unless he had first said so himself.

91. Were it not evident in Scripture, that the world is under the Law of Grace as the norma officii & judicii, (as it is) yet could no man truly say that he is certain, that no one of them should be saved. For if they were all under the Law of Innocency, yet there is this great difference between it, and the Law of Grace, that whereas the sentence of the latter is peremptory, excluding all hope of Dispensation and Pardon, to the final Rejecters of its Grace, for ever; yet the former was a Law whose penalty was remissible, and it did not pass a peremptory sentence of dispair. Though it gave no hope of Pardon, yet it took not away the hopes of it: that is, It had a threatening-dispensable: ⟨p. 50⟩(as Dr. Twisse and many other say, Without a Saviour had God so pleased; And as others say, Through the virtue of Christ's Sacrifice even to them that know him not.) For the commination of that Law (which threatened not the death of a Surety, but of the Sinner,) was actually dispensed with in our Justification. And what God can do, they ought not to say, that they are certain that he never will do it, unless he had first said so himself.