A continuation of the exposition of the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the…

It was sufficient for the Church of the Jews to believe in the Messiah, and to own the work of Redemption which he was to accomplish. Nor did the mere actual coming of Christ make it absolutely necessary that they should all immediately be obliged to believe him to be the Person. Many, I doubt not, died after his Incarnation and went to Heaven without an actual belief that it was He who was their Redeemer. But their obligation unto Faith towards that individual person arose from the Declaration that was made of him, and the Evidences given to prove him to be the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. So he tells those unto whom he preached and who saw his miracles, if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall dye in your sins, John 8. 24. It would not now suffice them to believe in the Messiah in general, but they were also to believe, that Jesus was He, or they must perish for their unbelief. Howbeit they only were intended who hearing his words and seeing his Miracles, had sufficient Evidence of his being the Son God. Of others in the same Church, this was not as yet required. Nor, it may be, doth our Saviour oblige them immediately unto Faith in this matter; only he declares what would be the event with them, who upon his Accomplishment of his work in the Earth, and the sending of ⟨p. 219⟩the Holy Ghost after his Ascension, whereby he gave the principal Declaration and Evidence of his being the Messiah, should continue in their unbelief. Hereon and not before, the Belief in his individual Person, in Jesus the Son of God, became the Foundation of the Church; so that whoever believed not in him did die in their sins. Wherefore the Apostles immediately upon the coming of the Holy Ghost, made this the first and principal subject of their Preaching, namely, that Jesus was the Christ. See Acts 2, 3, 4, 5. so our Apostle in this place, having asserted the Nature of the Office of the promised Messiah, makes an application of it unto his Person, as he also had done, Chap. 2. 9. And we may observe that,

It was sufficient for the Church of the Jews to believe in the Messiah, and to own the work of Redemption which he was to accomplish. Nor did the meer actual coming of Christ make it absolutely necessary that they should all immediately be obliged to believe him to be the Person. Many, I doubt not, died after his Incartion and went to Heaven without an actual belief that it was He who was their Redeemer. But their obligation unto Faith towards that individual person arose from the Declaration that was made of him, and the Evidences given to prove him to be the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. So he tells those unto whom he preached and who saw his miracles, if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall dye in your sins,