Part 66

2. That the sacrifices duly offered, did make a real and proper atonement for the political guilt of the Israelites in the sight of God, considered as their peculiar king, and continued them in his political favour, or restored them to it, after some breach of the Jewish laws. This seems to be the sense of the apostle, Heb. ix. 13. _The blood of bulls and goats sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh_, as well as of many expressions in the books of Moses. And yet these same sacrifices might make a typical atonement for their moral guilt in the sight of God, considered as their God, that is, as the Lord of conscience, and the God of the souls of men: And all this with a direct aspect upon the sacrifice of Christ, the great and real atonement that was to come: And indeed, the next words; Heb. ix. 14. intimate so much, _How much more shall the blood of Christ purge your consciences from dead works?_ that is, from works of sin which deserve death in the sight or judgment of God, considered as the supreme Lord of souls and consciences.

These sacrifices, I say, could make but a typical atonement for moral guilt in the sight of God, considered as their God; for it is sufficiently evident to any thinking mind, that it _was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin_, as committed against a God; Heb. x. 4. And therefore the Jews themselves, when they had offered their chief sacrifice of yearly expiation, had not so clear, so full, and so satisfactory a peace in their consciences, as the gospel of Christ bestows on christians; The apostle says, verse 1, 2. _The comers thereunto were not made perfect_; for if they had _the worshippers once purged, would have no more conscience of sin_, or sense of guilt. _Wherefore, when Christ came into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering_, that is, _of bulls and goats, thou wouldst not, for they were not sufficient, but a body hast thou prepared me_; and for what end this was done, the following verses tell us, that sinners might be purified from the guilty defilements of sin, _through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all_; verse 10.

Thus the blessed God, who designed in due time to make his own Son an atonement for sinners, did early give some emblematical notices of this divine atonement to those few who were taught to understand them: And in this manner he kept alive in the world the hope of some such glorious future transaction, which should be the ground-work of peace between God and men, by the appointed death and sacrifice of beasts throughout all ages, ever since he made the first promise, and gave the first hope of grace to fallen man.

And indeed, all the souls that were pardoned, and all the sins that were remitted under the several ancient dispensations of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, must be referred to the virtue of this great sacrifice of the Son of God, though all who were pardoned might not distinctly know the ground of it. _Him hath God set forth to be a propitiation for the remission of sins that are past_ in far distant ages, as well as for sins that are yet to come; Rom. iii. 25. His sacrifice has a most extensive efficacy, it reaches through all nations, and all ages, from the beginning of the world to the end of it. It was this sacrifice of Christ, that gave virtue to all other institutions and rights of atonement that were appointed by God himself. In themselves they were weak and insufficient, but they were made powerful through the blood of Christ, to speak pardon and peace in some measure, to the guilty conscience, though since Christ is come, we hear the joyful sound of peace and pardon more distinctly.

IV. Nor was this doctrine manifested only in the ancient forms of worship and sacrifice which God had ordained, but some of the noblest of the following prophecies confirm and explain the first promise, and shew that Christ was to die as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of men. I will mention only the words of those two great men, Isaiah and Daniel. By Daniel we are told, that the _Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself, and the design of this is, to finish transgression, to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness_; Dan. ix. 24, 26. Isaiah speaks the same thing more largely, in his liii. chapter, verses 5, 6, 10, 11. _Christ was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed: We like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.——It pleased the Lord to bruise him, and_ _to put him to grief, and to make his soul an offering for sin.—By the knowledge of him shall he justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities._ How exceeding plain and strong is this language to support my doctrine, and how exceeding hard to construe it to any other sense!

It may not be amiss to subjoin the witness of John the Baptist, who was more than a prophet, and the very fore-runner of the Messiah; John i. 26. _Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world._ Now a Lamb takes away sin in no other way than by dying as a sacrifice. Thus our blessed Redeemer who, once in the end of the world, appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, as a great High priest, was, as it were, ushered into his office by a long train of types and prophecies: All these went before him, that when his great sacrifice was offered, it might not seem a strange thing, but might be more easily received by all the world, who stood in so much need of him, and to whom the tradition of sacrifices had been conveyed from Noah; and especially by the Jews, who had so much notice of him before, by more express revelations beyond what the heathens could learn by their broken traditions of sacrifice.

V. Our Saviour himself, among the rest of his ministrations as a prophet, taught us the doctrine of atonement for sin by his death, and that in these three ways:

1. He did speak of it, though but sparingly, in plain and express language to his own disciples in private. Mat. xx. 28. _The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many_: And this he spoke a little after he had foretold his sufferings, his crucifixion, his death, and his rising again the third day.

2. He preached this doctrine publicly to the multitude in parables and figures of speech; John vi. 51. _The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you_: Which can signify nothing but his dying as a propitiation for sin, that we might live by our feeding upon his sacrifice, or partaking the benefit of it. John xii. 24. _The hour is come that the Son of man must be glorified. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit._ Verse 32. _If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me: This he said, signifying what death he should die._ His being lifted up on the cross should draw many souls to him as their way to the favour of God. Once he spoke it in a little plainer language, in public; John x. 11. where he represents himself as the _good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep_.

3. He taught the same doctrine both in types or emblems, and in plain language, just before he died, at the institution of the holy supper; Luke xxii. 19. _He took bread—and brake it_, saying, _This is my body which is given for you_. And of the cup he said, _This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you_; or as St. Matthew expresses it, _This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many, for the remission of sins_. These things put together, make it evident that Christ himself taught this doctrine.

Objection. But it will be said, How can we suppose that this doctrine of atonement by the death of Christ, should be so considerable a part of the gospel, if our blessed Redeemer, the great Prophet of his church, spoke so seldom of it in public, and that in so obscure a manner?

Answer 1. This doctrine of atonement for sin by his death, and the acceptance of it with God the Father, could not be so well preached in public till he died, and rose again; for his death was the foundation of this atonement; his resurrection and his ascension to heaven were the proofs of its being accepted of God. Now it was divinely wise and proper for our Lord not to preach such doctrines too freely in public to the multitude, till these events should appear in the world. If he had spoken all these things, concerning himself it would have probably amazed and confounded the common people, and raised their rage or their ridicule; so ignorant and so full of prejudice as they were in that day.

2. If Christ had publicly and plainly preached up the atonement of his death, he must thereby have foretold openly that he must die as a sacrifice; and this might have had very ill effects on the malicious Jews, either, 1. To provoke them to kill him, before his hour was come, and pretend that they only obeyed his own prophecy and commission when they put him to death: Or, 2. They might lay hold on him, and keep him prisoner without killing him, to endeavour to falsify his prophecies of his death, and thus attempt to make void his doctrine of atonement.

It is true, God, by his immediate influence on the wills of men, could have prevented these effects: But it is not the manner of God’s conduct in providence to answer and accomplish his own predictions by such immediate, divine, and over-ruling restraints upon the wills of men, if it may done otherwise. And therefore indeed, the prophecies, and especially such as are accomplished in the same age in which they are spoken, are usually given forth in metaphors and parables, that men may not so clearly and perfectly understand them, and that God, in his moral government of the world, may not be constrained to go out of his common and ordinary methods, in order to bring these prophecies to pass.

3. It is evident, from many expressions in the evangelists, that it was not the design of Christ, in his own life-time, to publish the grace and glory of the gospel, in so clear, so distinct, and so complete a manner, as he designed to have it published by his apostles after he was gone to heaven. The design of his own public ministry was rather to prepare the way for the setting up of his own kingdom in the world, than to set it up in the full glory of it in his own person. According to this view of things, his preaching was formed; _Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand_; Mat. iv. 17. That is, the gospel state approaches, or hath approached to you. The prayer he taught his disciples stands on the same foot, wherein they are instructed to pray, _Thy kingdom come_; Mat. vi. 10. Therefore when he spake to the multitude, of the special glories of his gospel, and especially of his atoning sacrifice, it was generally in parables; and when he instructed his disciples more particularly in private, he gave them but hints of it, and told them that they should publish these things upon the house-tops after the Son of man should rise from the dead, but not before.

Even just before his death, his own disciples themselves could not bear many things that he had to teach them; John xvi. 12. These things were reserved therefore for the forty days communication with them after his resurrection, when he spake with them _of things pertaining to the kingdom of God_; Acts i. 3. and more especially for the teachings of his own Spirit, which he poured out upon them after he went to heaven. By these means they were more completely furnished for their ministry, and learned the doctrines of the gospel, in a more perfect manner than ever our Lord himself taught them in his life-time. Thus it appears that though Christ was the founder of a new religion among men, yet there is good reason to be given, why he did not teach plainly and publicly some of the chief doctrines of this religion, during his own life on earth, _viz._ because these doctrines were built on his death, his rising again, and ascending to heaven, which events were then unaccomplished[38].

Thence we may infer, as we pass along, that if we would learn the plainest and fullest account of the gospel of Christ, it is not enough for us to consult merely his public sermons, or the histories of his life, which are called the four gospels, but we must read carefully the writings of the apostles after he went to heaven; for, during the life of Christ, neither did he preach, nor did the apostles themselves learn this gospel in the complete extent and glory of it. But this is only an inference by the way.

[This is a proper pause in the middle of this sermon, when it is read in families.]

Let us proceed to the next reason to prove that Christ was a propitiation for our sins in his death.

VI. The terrors of soul, the consternation and inward agonies which our blessed Lord sustained a little before his death, were a sufficient proof that he endured punishments in his soul which were due to sin. These were vastly greater than the persecutions of bloody men, and the mere fears of dying: Can it ever be imagined, that the Son of God, whose virtues and graces, whose patience and holy fortitude sparkled with divine lustre in the various parts of his life, should have shewn so much natural fear, and innocent disquietude of spirit, at the mere thoughts of death by the hands of men, as if he had nothing else to encounter with? When this dreadful hour was come, and the powers of darkness were let loose upon him, _he began to be sore amazed, and very heavy_; Mark xiv. 23. He told his disciples, _My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death; He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed, that if it were possible that hour might pass from him_. He entreated his Father, _with prayers and supplications, with strong cries and tears_; Heb. v. 7. Such a terror was upon his spirits, that three times he repeated the same petition, that he might be excused if possible from drinking that cup of sorrow. The agonies of his soul pressed great drops of blood through the pores of his body, and bathed him in a crimson sweat. These cries and tears, these agonies and these sweats of blood preached the doctrine of atonement with dreadful power, and uncontested evidence. And as upon the cross, so in the garden, it is probable his Father forsook him, or hid his face from him, so that he had need of an angel to be sent down from heaven on purpose to comfort or strengthen him; Luke xxii. 43. It was here that he learned feelingly what was the curse of the broken law, what was that indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, that were due to the sin of man. Here the seed of the woman maintained a combat with that great serpent, the devil, and had his heel bruised; that is, his lower nature filled with anguish. And it is most probable, that his nature being worn out with this load of distress, was the true reason why he expired on the cross much sooner than was expected, so that _Pilate marvelled to hear that he was already dead_; Mark xv. 44.

I think it is impossible for the Socinians, who represent the death of Christ chiefly as a martyrdom for the truth of his doctrine, and an example of patience in suffering, to support their scheme against this argument, or to give any tolerable account of this amazement which possessed his spirit before his enemies came near him, and of these agonies of soul which our blessed Lord sustained. Surely such sorrows and such terrors demonstrate the work of propitiation and the dreadful labour of reconciling an offended God and sinful man.

VII. This doctrine of satisfaction for sin by the death of Christ is declared, and confirmed, and explained at large by the apostles in their writings, when they were fully furnished for their ministry, by the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Read St. Paul’s letters to the churches, and you find them abounding in such expressions as these: _Christ died for our sins_; 1 Cor. xv. 3. _He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity_; Tit. ii. 13. _We have redemption through his blood_; Eph. i. 7. _God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them._ _He was made sin_; 2 Cor. v. 19, 21. _And he was made a curse for us_; Gal. iii. 13. _He is our propitiation and atonement_; 1 John ii. 2. _He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself_; Heb. ix. 26. _When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by his death_; Rom. v. 10. _He made peace by the blood of his cross_; Col. i. 20. _He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification_; Rom. iii. 25. _By the righteousness of one man, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life._ _By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous_; Rom. v. 18, 19.

Now in the writings of St. Paul on this subject, we may observe three things.

1. He speaks this language, when in a plain doctrinal way he is teaching the gospel of Christ, therefore these expressions of his are to be understood in the common sense and meaning of the words. It would be a very great force and torture put upon these expressions, if we construe them only to mean, that God promised forgiveness to penitent sinners by Jesus Christ, as a messenger of grace, and that Christ died as a martyr to bear witness to this truth. Read his epistles to the Romans, the Ephesians, the Colossians, and the Hebrews, where he treats of these subjects, and you will find that the apostle in his doctrine of atonement, means much more than this; for he talks in a plain rational and argumentative style and method, to inform the minds of men, of the true design of the death of Christ, and give them the clear knowledge of the truth.

2. He not only represents the death of Christ as our atonement for sin, but he declares this to be the great end of his appearing in the flesh. Heb. ii. 14. _Because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he himself also took part of the same, that through his own death he might destroy the devil._ Heb. x. 5. _Sacrifices of bulls and goats were insufficient, but a body hast thou prepared me._—ix. 26. _Once in the end of the world he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself._ This was the design of his incarnation.

3. He makes the cross of Christ, and Christ crucified, to stand for the gospel itself, and glories in it; 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. _Christ crucified is the wisdom of God, and the power of God_;—ii. 2. _I desired to know nothing among you but Christ, and him crucified._ Gal. vi. 14. _God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ_: And many such expressions he uses, as though the public sermons of Christ, the example of Christ, and the duties that he prescribed, were all as nothing without the atoning virtue of his death, and his sacrifice on the cross; for all these would not save us without his dying. This is eminently the gospel.

Nor is the apostle Paul singular in declaring this doctrine of atonement, or different in his sentiments from the other apostles. You find Peter and John saying the same things in their epistles: 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. “Ye were not redeemed with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish.”—ii. 24. “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. Ver. 21. Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God.” 1 John i. 7. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.”——ii. 1, 2. “Jesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation for our sins.” iii. 16. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, that he laid down his life for us.” Rev. i. 5, 6. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood be glory and dominion for ever. These apostles take every occasion to publish the same gospel and the same promises and hopes of salvation, by the death and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

VIII. To sum up many arguments in one, These were the doctrines that were witnessed to the world by those amazing gifts of the Holy Ghost, which attended the gospel[39]. The gifts of tongues, the wonders of prophecy, the powers of healing and destroying, communicated to men in such a manner as the world never saw, and astonished the spectators, all confirmed the truth of this atonement which the apostles preached. These were the discoveries that were made so gloriously successful for the conversion of nations. These doctrines subdued kingdoms to the belief of them, and triumphed over the souls of men: These were the truths that changed the corrupt natures of men into virtue, piety, and goodness, that turned sinners into saints in multitudes, and raised a church for Christ in the world, in spite of all the rage of enemies, the superstitions of the priests, the learning and sophistry of the philosophers, the wild prejudices of the people, and the tyranny of princes.