ward to say more; I fhall now only add, that this fug- SERM. geftion, well confidered, may afford another argument to LXXI. confirm our doctrine; which is this. 10. If our Lord be the Saviour of all those to whom God's truth is declared, and his mercy offered; or, if he be the Saviour of all the members of the vifible Church; particularly if he be the Saviour of thofe, who among thefe, rejecting the overtures and means of grace, or by difobedience abufing them, fhall in the event fail of being faved, then is he the Saviour of all men. But our Lord is the Saviour of those persons; and therefore he is the Saviour of all men. The affumption we affayed to fhew in the last argument; and many express testimonies of Scripture before mentioned establish it; the common style of Scripture doth imply it, when in the apoftolical writings to all the vifibly faithful indifferently the relation to Christ as their Saviour is affigned, an intereft in all his faving performances is fuppofed, the title of σωζόμενοι and σεσωσμévos (with others equivalent, of justified, fanctified, regenerated, quickened, &c.) are attributed. And in our text God is faid to be the Saviour chiefly Twv wswv, of the faithful; which word in its common acception denotes all visible members of the Christian communion. And for its confirmation we adjoin; the Apostles at firft, and the Church ever fince after them (except fome heterodox people of late) have profeffed readily to confer holy baptism, and therein to dispense remiffion of fins, together with other evangelical graces and privileges, to every man profeffing his faith in Chrift, and refolution to observe Christ's law, upon this fuppofition, that Christ is the Saviour of all fuch persons, and by his falutary paffion hath purchased that remiffion for them; although the dispensers of these graces could not difcern what decrees God in his fecret providence had paffed upon them, or what the event should be as to their final state; yea although according to the judgment of prudence they could not but conceive, that all fuch fhould not be faved, but that many of them should be of thofe, who (as the Apostle to the Hebrews fpeaketh) would draw back unto perdition, Heb. x. 39. 2 Pet. i. 9. SERM. who (as St. Peter implies fome might and would do) LXXI. would forget the purgation, which they had received of their fins. That in thus doing the Church proceeds upon a perfuafion that Chrift is truly the Saviour of all its vifible members, duly admitted and incorporated thereinto, the thing itself plainly fignifies; the tenor of its practice makes palpable; the forms of speech used in its holy adminiftrations (of prayers, of facraments, of exhortations) do fuppofe or exprefs. For how can each member fingly be afferted in holy baptism to be washed from his fins, and fanctified to God, and made regenerate or adopted into the number of God's children, and made partaker of Chrift's death? How can thanksgiving in the common name, in moft general terms, be offered up for Chrift's faving performances? or the holy bread and cup be imparted to each communicant as symbols and pledges of Christ's charity and mercy toward him? How can every Christian be instigated to obedience in gratitude to Christ ; and those who tranfgrefs Chrift's laws, upbraided for their ingratitude toward him; their rejecting, or renouncing, defpifing, or abufing him and his falvation? How can fuch things be faid and done with any truth or confiftency; yea without forgery and mockery, if every baptized Chriftian hath not an intereft in our Lord's performances; if Chrift be the Saviour only of an uncertain and unknown part in the Church? This confideration of the Church's practice hath made even the moft vehement affertors of St. Auftin's doctrine, (ftrained to the highest pitch,) in the more ancient and modeft times, fully to acknowledge this pofition; that Chrift is the Redeemer of every member of the vifible Church, as appears by this Anno 855. remarkable decree of the Council of Valentia in France, (confifting of the bifhops of three provinces, favourers of Godfcalcus's opinions.) m We alfo do believe it most firmly to be held, that all the multitude of the faithful, being regenerated by water and the Holy Spirit, and hereby truly incorporated into the Church, and according to the apofto m.Item firmiffime tenendum credimus, &c. fupra. LXXI. lical doctrine baptized into the death of Chrift, is by his SERM. blood washed from their fins. Because there could be no true regeneration, unless there were made alfo a true redemption; fince in the facraments of the Church there is nothing empty, (or vain,) nothing ludificatory; but all thoroughly true, and fupported by its own very truth and fincerity. Yet that out of the very company of believers and the redeemed, fome are eternally faved, becaufe by God's grace they faithfully abide in their redemption, bearing the Lord's fpeech in their hearts, He that perfeveres to the end shall be saved; and that others, because they would not abide in the salvation of the faith, which they at firft received, and did rather choose to frustrate the grace of redemption by evil doctrine or life, than to keep it, do nowise arrive to the plenitude of falvation, and to the perception of eternal beatitude. It is then a catholic and true doctrine, that at least Christ is a Saviour of all appearing Chriftians; and fuppofing the truth thereof, I say that by consequence he is alfo the Saviour of all men. For it appeareth thence, that the defign of our Saviour's performances did not flow from, or was not grounded upon any special love, or any abfolute decree concerning those perfons who in event fhall be faved; fince according to that fuppofition it extendeth to many others; wherefore it proceeded from God's natural goodness, and common kind affection toward mankind; from the compaffion of a gracious Creator toward his miferable creature, whence all men are concerned and interested therein. Why God's merciful intentions were not explicitly declared and propounded to Socrates and Epictetus, as they were to Judas Iscariot and Simon Magus, is another queftion, which we may afterward in some manner affpil; at prefent, it fuffices to say, that the overture of mercy made to fuch wretches doth argue God's kind difpofition and good intention toward all men; fo it did in St. Ambrofe's opinion; who fays, that our Lord ought not to pafs by the man who fhould betray him, that all men might take notice, that in SERM. the choice even of his traitor, he did hold forth a pledge LXXI. or mark of all men's being to be faved". But the truth of this doctrine will farther appear by the declaration and furveyal of those respects according to which Chrift is reprefented the Saviour of men, as alfo by confidering how useful and conducible to piety this doctrine is, as miniftering grounds and obligations, encouragements and motives to the practice of moft confiderable duties required from all men. But these things must be referved to another occafion. * Et ideo nec proditurum debuit præterire, ut adverterent omnes, quod in electione etiam proditoris fui fervandorum omnium infigne prætendit, Ambr. de Parad, 8. SERMON LXXII. THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION I TIM. iv. IO. -The living God; who is the Saviour of all men, efpecially of thofe that believe. THAT our Lord Jefus is the Saviour of all men, we SERM. have before from plain teftimonies of holy Scripture, and LXXII. from some arguments grounded there, aflayed to fhew. The fame will be made farther apparent by confidering the respects according to which he is fuch; and thofe we may first confider generally and in the grofs, then survey them more particularly and diftinctly. In general we may fay, that our Lord is the Saviour of all men, for that he hath rendered all men falvabiles, capable of falvation; and falvandos, defigned to falvation. For that he hath removed all obftacles peremptorily debarring men from access to falvation, and hath procured competent furtherances to their attainment of it. For that he hath rescued mankind out of that dead and defperate condition, wherein it lay involved; being the bread John vi. 33. of God, who hath defcended from heaven, that he might give life to the world, as he faith of himself. For that he hath performed whatever on his part is neceffary or fit in order to falvation, antecedently to the acceptance and compliance with those reasonable conditions, which by God's wisdom are required toward the inftating men into |