An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

Those men are injurious to the Blood of Christ, ¹who attribute no more to it than a non-imputation of sin; That by his death Christ,² bearing and undergoing the punishment due to us, paying the ransom due for us, delivered us from the wrath and curse of God: And thus by Christ's death all cause of quarrel is taken away: But then ⟨p. 467⟩this will not complete our acceptation, the old quarrel may be laid aside, and yet no new friendship begun; we may be not sinners, and yet not so far righteous, as to have a right to the Kingdom of heaven: So that the Blood of Christ only makes us innocent, delivers us from guilt and punishment; but (if we will take the Doctor's word for it) it can give us no title to Glory; this is owing to the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness, to the Obedience of his Life: But you see the Scripture gives us a quite different account of it; we are said to be justified and redeemed by the Blood of Christ; nay, We have boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus, Heb. 10.19. which is an allusion to the high Priest's entering into the Holy of Holies (which was a Type of Heaven) with the blood of the Sacrifice: Thus by the Blood of Christ we have admission into heaven it self, though the Dr. says, That the Blood of Christ makes us innocent, but cannot give us a Title to Heaven. The Scripture takes no notice of their artificial Methods, That the guilt of sin is taken away by the death of Christ, and that we are made righteous by his Righteousness: But the Blood of Christ is said to justify us, ⟨p. 468⟩and to give us admission into the holiest of all; into heaven it self; nay, we are made righteous by the death of Christ too, 2 Cor. 5.21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him: That is, Christ died as a Sacrifice for our sins, that we might be reconciled to God: So that our Righteousness as well as Innocence is owing to the death of Christ, to that Sacrifice he offered for our sins; his Blood had a great virtue in it, to make us righteous, to purge our consciences from dead works, that we might serve the living God; and our righteousness and acceptance with God is wholly owing to that Covenant, which he purchased and sealed with his Blood.