A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many useful questions and cases of conscience are…A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many usefull questions and cases of conscience are…

That though Christ meant that all men ⟨p. 279⟩should have some sort of call to believe on him, and should be saved upon condition of their believing; yet he had no thought nor intention by his death to procure unto all men that grace without which they cannot believe. This doctrine of theirs while it undertaketh to comfort all men and to encourage all to believe, it tells them withal upon the matter that all cannot be saved because all cannot believe, that God will not give faith, and so not salvation either, unto millions of sinners. What comfort is it then to know that all shall be saved, if all believe, when men are told withal, that all shall not, cannot believe, and so shall not be saved? This latter they hold as well as we, therefore their universal comfort taken from Christs dying for all men upon condition of Faith, amounts to as much as nothing.

That though Christ meant that all men ⟨p. 279⟩should have some sort of call to believe on him, and should be saved upon condition of their believing; yet he had no thought nor intention by his death to procure unto all men that grace without which they cannot believe. This doctrine of theirs while it undertaketh to comfort all men and to encourage all to believe, it tels them withall upon the matter that all cannot be saved because all cannot believe, that God will not give faith, and so not salvation either, unto millions of sinners. What comfort is it then to know that all shall be saved, if all believe, when men are told withall, that all shall not, cannot believe, and so shall not be saved? This latter they hold as well as we, therefore their universall comfort taken from Christs dying for all men upon condition of Faith, amounts to as much as nothing.

The true and safe grounds of encouragement to faith in Christ are these. First, Christs all-sufficiency, if he will he can, He is able to save to the uttermost, Heb: 7. 25. art thou a sinner to the uttermost, his plaster is broad enough to cover the broadest sore. As Gods mercy, so Christs merit is infinite, and the reason is, because the blood is the blood of God as well as of man, Act: 20. 28. This is a good strong foundation of comfort, if a soul convinced of its own sinful estate, and of the vanity of creature comforts, doth so far settle its thoughts upon Christ that as he is the only Saviour so an all-sufficient Saviour. Then is the sinner so far encouraged (which is no small encouragement) as to resolve there is virtue enough in the blood of Christ to cleanse my crimson sins, even mine. There is no help for me out of Christ, but in him there is help for all that come unto God by him. Tis a great part of true faith to believe that Christ is able and all-sufficient. Therefore he himself said to the blind men,