A. D. 57. tranfgreffion, who is the figure of him that was to come. ty of his finful Act. Yet they were all fubject to Death, as the natural Confequence of that_first Sin. Now, you allow the firft Adam to be a Type and Resemblance of Chrift the Second Adam. And fo far 'tis true, that by the one came Sin and Death, and by the other came Obedience and Redemption. But pray, where is the Proportion and Agreement between the Sin of the one, and the Redemption of the other, if you fay all Mankind, Jews and Gentiles were involved in the Effect of the Sin of Adam, and but only your felves to have a Right to the Redemption of Chrift? 15. But not as the offence, fo alfo is the free gift. For if thro' the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jefus Christ, hath abounded unto many*. 16. And not as it was by one that finned, fo is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. 17. For if by one mans offence, death reigned 15. Whereas on the contrary, 'tis plain, that the free and gracious Redemption of Chrift, is fo far from being inferior and narrower in its Effects upon Mankind, than the Sin of Adam; that it is in itself more available to reduce the whole World to Life, than his Sin was to condemn it to Death. 16. As you may fee by this, That thefe Merits of Chrift do not only fuffice to deliver all Men from the final Effect of his Tranfgreffion, viz. Death, but also to the Pardon of all their own actual Tranfgreffions, upon true Faith and Repentance. 17. So that if one Tranfgreffion in indulging a Pleasure was enough for * Ver. 15. οι πολλοὶ — τες πολλὲς - The many, i. e. all Men, the fame with πάν]ας ανθρώπες, ver. 12. + Ver. 16. The Judgment unto Condemnation, or xgíua sis nalangina, The Crime or Offence which brought Condemnation. Agreeably to ver. 15 and 18, where the Offence and the Condemnation are relative to each other. See the learned Mr. Mede's Works, Fol. pag. 911、 reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteoufnefs, fhall reign in life by one, Jefus Chrift. 18. Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation: even fo by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto jufti for the Death of all Mankind, 4. D. 57. 18 & 19. Therefore unless you fication of life. fo by the obedience of one, fhall many be made righteous. 20. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound: but where fin abounded, grace did much more abound. 20. You think the Mofaical Law neceffary to this Redemption from Sin and Death. But as I faid (Chap. iv. 15.) tho' you had indeed fuch a Law given peculiarly to yourselves, yet the only Ufe you have made of it, by your notorious Tranfgreffions of its Precepts, has been to fink you* deeper in Guilt and Condemnation, than you would have been without it. And therefore the Mercy of Chriff's Redemption is ftill greater and more valuable to you Jews, in that, befide the common Effect of Adam's Sin, you have fo many Perfonal Tranfgreffions of your own to be delivered from. 21. That as fin had reigned unto death, even fo might grace reign 21. Which ought to make you particularly thankful, That as Sin and Death has, as it were, per fectly Ver. 20. "Iva reovaly n dμaslia. The Law entered in, fo as that yet Sin abounded, i. e. The Guilt of Sin by their wilful Violation of it. reign through righte- fectly mafter'd you, the free Grace of Chrift's Redemption has now triumphed over them and faved you. CHAP. VI. The CONTENTS. The notorious Sins both of Jew and Gentile, ferve to il luftrate and magnify the free Mercies of Chriff's Redemption. Yet this is no Encouragement for Men to go on in Sin, as fome ignorant or malicious Jews pretended to infer from the Apostle's Difcourfe. (See Chap. iii. from 3 to 9.) The very Nature and Defign of the Chriftian Religion, is to mortify all vicious Principles, and to reduce us to moral Holinefs and Purity. Our Baptifm fhews us this Obligation. An Exhortation to Chriftian Virtue and Purity from the Effects and Confequences of Sin and Virtue, illuftrated by a Metaphor taken from Romish Freedom and Slavery. HAT fhall we say then? fhall we continue in fin that grace may a A. D. 57.1. WHA bound? I. I Said indeed (Chap. v. 20.) That the deplorable State of wilful Sin, that all Men, but efpecially the Jews, lie under, has ferved to illuftrate the divine Mercy in our Redemption. And I took Notice (Chap. iii. 7, 8.) what an abfurd and dangerous Confequence fome of you were apt to draw from fuch Expreffions, as if I gave Men Encouragement to fin on. But I fhall now more fully clear myself of fuch an unjust Imputation. 3. Know ye not, that fo many of us as were baptized into Jefus Chrift, were bap tized into his death? mony to exprefs our 4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Chrift was raifed up from the dead by the glory of the Father; even fo we alfo fhould walk in newness of life. 3. And you cannot be igno- A. D. 57rant, That our Chriftian Baptifm is intended to refemble the Death, Burial and Refurrection of Jefus Chrift, and is a fignificant ČereBelief of them. 4. For our being covered with Water, fignifies our being dead and buried as it were to all finful Courfes, as Chrift died and was buried in the Earth. And our afcending again out of the Water reprefents the great Obligation we are under of rifing from those evil Courses, to a new and virtuous Converfation, anfwerable to his Refurrection, and Afcenfion to the Glory of God the Father. 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death: we shall be alfo in the likeness of his refurrection. 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of fin might 5. For it would fignify nothing for us to resemble his Death, by being plunged in Water, if we don't take Care to answer his Refurrection by a new and religious Course of Obedience. 6 & 7. It being plainly the only Thing meant by our Baptifm, That all our former Habits of Sin fhould be in a Manner killed and cru Ver. 5. We fhall be planted together. Though the Verb oiueda here, and ouoouer, We ball live with him, in Ver. 8. be in the future Tenje, yet they feem to me to intend the Obligation to a pious Life here, not the Certainty of the future Life bereafter, though the one indeed is a Confe quent of the other. It fhould therefore be rendered, We ought to be planted together, and we ought to live with (or like) him. In the fame Sense I take xversure in Ver. 14. Sin fball not, i. e. ought not to have Dominion over you. Whoever compares them with Verfes 11, 12, 13. and confiders the Scope of the Apoftle's Argument, viz. That Chriftianity does not encourage to Sin; but oblige to Holiness, will perhaps think the fame. A. D. 57. might be deftroyed, that henceforth we fhould not ferve fin. 7. For he that is dead is freed from fin. 8. Now if we be crucified, and we freed from all flavifh Obedience to them; thus dying to Sin, fignifies our Freedom from it, as Slaves are freed from their Mafters. 8. Nor would this dying with dead with Chrift, we him in Baptifm be any Thing but believe that we shall a mere Figure, and a lifeless Comparison, if we be not throughly Obligation to live an holy Life in fenfible of our 9. Knowing that ver him. 10. For in that he died, he died unto fin 11. Likewife reckon 12. Let not fin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye fhould obey it in the lufts thereof. tal Bodies any longer. 13. Neither yield ye your members as inftruments of unrighteousness unto fin: but yield 9, 10 & II. And duly confider, That as Chrift by once + dying has redeemed us from all our paft Sins, and is rifen again to an endless and immortal Life with God the Father; fo we his Difci ples by being once baptized into his Religion, are for ever after engaged to renounce all Practices of Sin, and to live to the Service and Honour of God, thro' JESUS CHRIST our Lord. through Jefus Christ our Lord. 12. Let it be therefore your utmost Endeavour to answer the Defign of your Chriftianity, by fuppreffing all vicious Habits, from ruling and reigning in your mor 13. And fuffer not the Members of them to be any longer the Inftruments of ungoverned Paffions and immoderate Inclinations, *Ver. 8. See Ver. 5. the NOTE. but + Ver. 10. He died unto Sin, T duasria, for, or upon account of Sin. Ibid. Unto Sin once, spaña, once for all. |