Beveridge on Article XVIII: Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ

people he ought to use in the preaching of predestination, I do not think it sufficient, unless he add this or something like to it, so as to say, You therefore ought to hope for this perseverance in obedience from the Father of lights, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, and desire it in your daily prayers: and in doing this, to trust that you are not strangers from the predestination of his people, because it is He that enabled you to do this. But be it far from you therefore to despair of yourselves, because you are commanded to put your trust in Him, and not in yourselves. For cursed be every man that putteth his trust in man; and it is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in man; because, blessed are they that put their trust in him. And having this hope, do you serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” And thus doth this reverend Father annex the same caution to this doctrine of predestination, that after him our reverend convocation did; even that, for all the truth of that doctrine, we are still to hope in God’s promises and obey his precepts; or as it is here expressed, We must receive God’s promises as they be generally set forth in holy scripture : and in our doings that will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the word of God.

They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature. or the hoby scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.

S there is no nation where there is not some religion or other professed in it, so neither is there any religion

but what hath some professors or other that are serious in the profession of it. So that there may be some strict pro- fessors in the worst, as well as some loose professors in the best of all religions whatsoever. And though the loose pro- fessors of no religion can look for salvation by it, yet the strict professors of all religions expect happiness from that religion they do profess. The Indians hope to be saved as well as the Mahumetans ; the Mahumetans hope to be saved as well as the Jews ; and the Jews they hope to be saved as well as the Christians ; and the Christians they hope to be saved as well as any of them. And yet all these religions being so contrary one to another, it is impossible they should all have happiness entailed upon them. And now the great question is, Which of all these religions a man had best pick out from amongst the rest, to settle himself upon, and to become a professor of ; or which religion will be surest to bring salvation to us, if we be serious in our profession of it? Which question I have endeavoured elsewhere to determine; and here we have it decided by a whole council, even that it is the Christian

Arr. XVIII. Of obtaining Eternal Salvation &. 353

religion that is not only the best, but the only way to true happiness and everlasting salvation; and that they are to be accursed that presume to say that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature. So that let a man be never so strict a Jew, never so strict a Mahu- metan, never so strict in any other religion whatsoever, unless he be a Christian he can never be saved. So that though many Christians may go to hell, yet none but Christians can ever go to heaven ; many that profess Christ may not be saved, yet all that deny Christ are certain to be damned: for it is by Christ, and Christ only, that we can be saved.

And this appears very plainly from the word of God; for there doth Christ himself say, */ am the way, the truth, and the life: none cometh to the Father, but by me. John xiv. 6. And if none can come to the Father but by Christ, it is by Christ only that we come to happiness: for it is he alone in whom we may be happy, without whom we cannot but be miserable. And as we cannot be happy unless we come to God, so neither can we come to God but only by faith in Christ. And therefore is it said, He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, John ii. 18. ¢So that it is as certain that all that do not believe in him shall be condemned, as that all that do believe in him shall be pardoned : it is as certain we shall be damned without him, as it is certain we may be saved by him. And therefore also it is said expressly, Neither is there salvation in

a Ipsum audiamus, Ego sum via seipsum. Et nos quo imus nisi ad

et veritas et vita. Si veritatem que- ris viam tene, nam ipse est via que est veritas. Ipsa est quo is, ipsa est qua is. Non per aliud is ad illud, non per aliud venis ad Christum. Per Christum ad Christum venis. Quomodo per Christum ad Chri- stum? Per Christum hominem ad Christum Deum. Aug. in Joh. tract. 13. [4. vol. III. par. u.] Quid au- tem opus erat ut diceret, Hyo sum via, veritas et vita, cum via cognita qua iret, restaret nosse quo iret, nisi quia ibat ad veritatem, ibat ad vi- tam? Ibat ergo per seipsum ad

ipsum ? Et qua imus nisi per ipsum ? Ibid. tract. 69. [2.]

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Aa

354 Of obtaining Eternal Salvation Arr.

any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts iv.12. That is, there is no other ¢thing in the whole world whereby our sins may be pardoned, our persons justified, and our souls saved, but only Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is only by him that we can be saved, as it was only for us that he was condemned : nay, he was therefore condemned only for us, that we might be saved only in him.

And to scripture we might add reason too, but that I have already demonstrated it from reason, not only elsewhere, but even in these Articles themselves, having before proved that all men were born in sin: art. IX. that all men have sin living in them; art. XV. that man cannot free himself from sin; art. X. nor deserve to be freed by any other; yea, and that it is by Christ only that he can be freed; art. XII. that it is Christ only, who by the value of his death can take away the guilt of those sins that lie upon him, and it is Christ only, who, by the virtue of his blood, can wash away the filth of those sins that reign over him; and if so, it must needs fol- low, that it is only by Christ that we can be saved. For if without him we be of what religion we will, we shall still lie

@ And thus we find in scripture the name oft put for the thing itself, as jy Te OxNos dvopdrav em Td adr, és €xarov eikoow, And the company of the names together were an hun- dred and twenty, Acts i.15. That is, as the Syriac renders it, [ods] So yol fealr lara 02 —) —f-DXo, i.e. But the company of men there were an hundred and twenty. And so the vulgar Latin, Erat au- tem turba hominum simul fere cen- tum viginti. And so is mim OW The name of God in scripture fre- quently put for God himself; as, py mx cow, The name of the God of Jacob, that is, The God of Jacob defend thee, Ps. xx. 2. Hence R. David upon that place, And they shall know myn» onw %> that my name is Jehovah, Jer. xvi. ult. saith, YOW) WOW NIT TAD RN Dd IND xin, i.e. As if he should have said, that I am the Lord, for that is his name, and his name is himself,

And therefore is own The name put sometime for God himself, as DWT MN MOR T WONT JI apy And the woman of the Israelitish son blasphemed the name, that is, the Lord, or the name of the Lord, as our translation hath it, Lev. xxiv. ar. The reason of which denomi- nation Elias saith is, w\DNw D> 75025 yYNIDwWY) ITN W515, that is, Because it is forbidden to remem- ber any of his names in vain. Elias in Thisb. [p. 247.] Where he saith also, it is never used for God but with myo? NWT an emphatical He before it, viz. own. But we may see the contrary in the same chapter with that before quoted, viz. Lev. xxiv. 16, where it is said, ow 11p3a, i.e. when he blasphemeth the name, that is, the Lord, or the name of the Lord, as we render it; and so the LXX, 7d dvona kupiov, Syr. aioe my name ; Jonath. 3727 xow the proper name, viz. of God, which is Jehovah.

XVIII. only by the Name of Christ. 355

in our sins: it is impossible that without him we should attain to happiness, for freedom from sin is the first step to happi- ness. So that as it is impossible hell should be heaven so long as God is not enjoyed there, so is it impossible a soul should be happy so long as sin reigns there. It is sin that made hell, and there is something of hell in every sin: and therefore, until sin be perfectly pardoned to us, we can never be perfectly free from misery ; and until sin be subdued under us, we can never be perfectly brought to happiness. Now seeing it is only by Christ our transgressions can be pardoned, and only by Christ our corruptions can be conquered, it must needs be only by Christ our souls can be saved ; and if it be only by Christ we can be saved, without him we cannot but be damned. And therefore, let a man be of what religion he please, and as strict in that religion as he can, unless Christ be his, and he be Christ’s, his religion is in vain; he may be strict in his profession of it, but it will never bring any happiness to him. No, it is Christ, and Christ alone, we are to expect salvation from.

The Fathers are also very express in this particular. Igna- tius plainly: ¢ Let no man be deceived; unless he believe that Jesus Christ was conversant in the flesh, and acknow- ledge his cross and passion, and blood which he shed for the salvation of the world, he cannot attain to everlasting life, whether he be a king or a priest or a prince ; whether he Be a private man, or a lord or a servant, or a man or a woman.” None saved without Christ. For as Justin Martyr saith, f“<In whom is it possible for us sinful and ungodly persons to be justified but only in the Son of God! Oh sweet change! Oh unsearchable contrivance ! Oh unexpected benefits! That the sin of many should be hid in one just Person, and the righteousness of one should justify many sinners !”

And hence it is that the Fathers are so peremptory in

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Epist. ad Diognet. [9. |

eee ake?

356 Of obtaining Eternal Salvation &c. Arr. XVIII.

avouching, that there is no salvation to be had, but only within the pale of the church. 8“ Let no man therefore,” saith Origen, “persuade himself, let no man deceive himself ; without this house, that is, without the church, there is none saved.” And St. Cyprian, 1“ Neither can they live without, seeing the house of God is but one, and none can have salva- tion but only in the church.” And so Gaudentius: ‘“ But it is manifest that all the men of that time perished in the flood, but only such as obtained to be found within the ark, which bore the type of the church. For in like manner now they can by no means be saved that are strangers to the apostolic faith and catholic church.”

And St. Augustine or Fulgentius to the same purpose: k«« Firmly believe, and doubt not at all, but that not only all pagans, but also all Jews, heretics, and schismatics, that end this present life without the catholic church, shall go into eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels.” For as the same Father, St. Augustine, elsewhere saith, !‘‘Do not believe you can be saved by any other art than by the invocation and cross of Christ.” And to name no more, the fourth council at Lateran also expressly saith, ™“‘ But there is one universal church of the faithful, out of which there is none at all saved.” And therefore we may well conelude, it is only by the name of Christ that eternal salvation can be obtained.

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h Neque enim vivere foris pos- sunt, cum domus Dei una sit, et nemini salus esse nisi in ecclesia possit. Cyprian. Epist. ad Pompo- nium, [iv. |

i Periisse autem constat in illo diluvio omnes ipsius temporis homi- nes, preter eos qui intra arcam, quee typum gerebat ecclesie, reperiri meruerint. Nam similiter etiam nunc omnino salvi esse non poterunt, qui ab apostolica fide et ab ecclesia ca- tholica fuerint alieni. Gaudent. epise. Brix. de lect. evang. tract. [8. vol. V. p. 955. Bibl. Max. Patr.]

k Firmissime tene, et nullatenus dubites non solum omnes paganos, sed etiam omnes Judzos, hzreticos atque schismaticos, qui extra eccle- siam catholicam presentem finiunt vitam, in ignem zternum ituros, qui preparatus est diabolo et angelis ejus. De fide ad Petrum diaconum, [81. Aug. vol. VI. App. ]

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Notes

• Per nullam aliam artem salvari vos credatis, nisi per invocationem et crucem Christi. Aug. de rectitu- dine catholicz conversationis, [5. Ibid. ]