A51847:156
Sermons preached
Sermons preached by the late reverend and learned divine, Thomas Manton ...
London: printed for Brabazon Aylmer, 1678
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.
2. Now to give you some Reasons, why this is the chief Benefit most eyed by Christ, and should be most regarded by us.
1. Christ's Undertaking was principally for the Glory of God, All the Promises are in him Yea and Amen to the Glory of God. And it should not be a Question which should have the precedence, the Glory of God, or our Good. Christ came to promote God's Glory, and that must have the precedence of our Benefit. Now then the abolishing the Guilt of Sin doth more directly respect our Interest and Good; but the abolishing the Power of Sin, or the turning and cleansing the Heart from it, doth more immediately respect the Glory of God, and our Subjection to God. Therefore Christ would not only pacify the Wrath of God, but his chief Work, that doth mostly concern the Glory of God, was, to heal our evil Natures, and prevent Sin for the time to come.
2. To be turned from Sin is to be freed from the greatest Evil. For Pardon gives us an Exemption from Punishment, which is a natural Evil, but Conversion gives us freedom from our naughty Hearts, which is a moral Evil; and certainly Vice is worse than Pain, and Sin than Misery. Besides, Sin is the Cause of all Evil, and the taking away the Cause is more than ceasing the Effect.