1Is Jesus Christ ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead, great then is the security believers have, that they shall not be condemned in that day. Who shall condemn, when Christ is Judge? If believers be condemned in Judgement, Christ must give Sentence against them. Yea, and they must condemn themselves too. I say Christ must give Sentence, for that is the proper and peculiar Office of Christ. And to be sure, no Sentence of condemnation shall in that day be given by Christ against them. For
First, He died to save them, and he will never cross and overthrow the designs and ends of his own death. That cannot be imagined, nay,
Secondly, They have been cleared, and absolved already. And being once absolved by divine Sentence, they can never be condemned afterward. For one divine Sentence, cannot, cross and ⟨p. 597⟩rescind another. He justified them here in this world by Faith. Declared in his Word (which shall then be the rule of Judgement, Rom. 2.16.) That there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, Rom. 8.1. And surely he will not retract his own Word, and give a Sentence quite cross to his own Statute-book, out of which he hath told us they shall be Judged. Moreover,
Thirdly, The far greatest part of them will have past their particular Judgement long before that day, and being therein acquitted by God the Judge of all; and admitted into Heaven upon the score and account of their Justification; it cannot be imagined that Christ should now condemn them with the World. Nay,
Fourthly, He that Judgeth them is their head, husband, friend, and brother; who loved them, and gave himself for them: Oh then, with what confidence may they go, even unto his Throne? And say with Job, though he try us as fire, we know we shall come forth as Gold. We know that we shall be justified. Especially, if we add, that they themselves shall be assessors with Christ in that day.2 And (as a Judicious Author pertinently observes) not a Sentence shall pass without their Votes. So as that they may by Faith not only look upon themselves as already in Heaven, sitting with Christ as a common person, in their right; but they may look upon themselves as Judges already. So that if any sin should arise to accuse, or condemn, yet it must be with their Votes. And what greater security can they have than this, that they must condemn themselves, if they be condemned.
1Is Jesus Christ ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead, great then is the security believers have, that they shall not be condemned in that day. Who shall condemn, when Christ is Judge? If believers be condemned in Judgement, Christ must give Sentence against them. Yea, and they must condemn themselves too. I say Christ must give Sentence, for that is the proper and peculiar Office of Christ. And to be sure, no Sentence of condemnation shall in that day be given by Christ against them. For
First, He died to save them, and he will never cross and overthrow the designs and ends of his own death. That cannot be imagined, nay,
Secondly, They have been cleared, and absolved already. And being once absolved by divine Sentence, they can never be condemned afterward. For one divine Sentence, cannot, cross and ⟨p. 597⟩rescind another. He justified them here in this world by Faith. Declared in his Word (which shall then be the rule of Judgement, Rom. 2.16.) That there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, Rom. 8.1. And surely he will not retract his own Word, and give a Sentence quite cross to his own Statute-book, out of which he hath told us they shall be Judged. Moreover,
Thirdly, The far greatest part of them will have past their particular Judgement long before that day, and being therein acquitted by God the Judge of all; and admitted into Heaven upon the score and account of their Justification; it cannot be imagined that Christ should now condemn them with the World. Nay,
Fourthly, He that Judgeth them is their head, husband, friend, and brother; who loved them, and gave himself for them: Oh then, with what confidence may they go, even unto his Throne? And say with Iob, though he try us as fire, we know we shall come forth as Gold. We know that we shall be justified. Especially, if we add, that they themselves shall be assessors with Christ in that day.2 And (as a Judicious Author pertinently observes) not a Sentence shall pass without their Votes. So as that they may by Faith not only look upon themselves as already in Heaven, sitting with Christ as a common person, in their right; but they may look upon themselves as Judges already. So that if any sin should arise to accuse, or condemn, yet it must be with their Votes. And what greater security can they have than this, that they must condemn themselves, if they be condemned.
- 1Infer. 1.
- 2Geodwirs Triumph. p. 146.
