Anonymous on Article XV: Of Christ alone without Sin

I. Christ was really Man, not in Appearance only, but in the Truth of our Nature, in the reality of Flesh and Blood, was made like unto us in all Things, Sin only excepted ; from which he was clearly and plainly Void, both in his Spirit, Mind, and Conscience, and in his Life and Conversation, Behaviour and Actions. He had Flesh and Blood about him, as we have, and was subject to all the innocent Infirmities of Human Nature; he Eat and Drank, was Weary, and took Repose, was Sorrowful and Troubled, had his Afflictions and Griefs, which pressed him down and fat heavy upon him; but in all Respects he was free from Sin; he neither con- sented to it in his Spirit, nor discovered it in his Life; but was

Exemplary in all Goodness, was Innocent to Perfection, and was

the only Pattern of Righteousness for all Mankind to imitate and

follow ; his Words were well weighed, and agreeable to the Cafe

before him; his Actions were govern’d with the most consummate

Wisdom ; and by all that he said or did, it appear’d that he was

the same, he professed himself to be, the Son of the Living God. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his Mouth.

II. He came intothe World to be the Sacrifice for Sin, being a

Lamb without Spot, and by the Sacrifice of himself atton’d for tlie

Sins of Men, and by one Offering took away the Sins of the

—Werld:

1. He was a Lamb without Spot, the choicest and most accom-

plisn’d Person that ever appear’d upon Earth; and therefore the fit- test and properest to be separated from the rest of Men, to propitiate

411d attone for Mankind: He is called a Lamb, from the custom of

the Jews, who were enjoyn’d to cull and chuse out of their Flocks,

a Lamb without Spot or Blemish, to be a Sacrifice for the Passover, which was slain in remembrance of their deliverance from Egyp- tian Bondage; and to typify his own Blood, which he was to thed (being the true Paschal Lamb) to secure us from the Wrath of the most High: And as he was appointed to be the Lamb of God, he exactly answer’d the Representation, being without Spot or Sin, that he might be the only acceptable Sacrifice, which could be offered unto

the Father, to take away the Sins of the World. Upon this Consi-

deration he is called frequently in Scripture, the Lamb of God ; and 7ohn Baptist applies the taking of Sin away, to him, as he was the Lamb of God. The next Day, John seeth Jesus coming to

him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taksth away the Sins of the World. 5

2. He came to be a Sacrifice, and to attone for the Sins of Men;

or (as he expresses it) to lay down his Life for his Sheep, to make a sufficient Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the World, for

the Dishonour that had been put upon God and his Government, the

Violation of his Laws, and the Affronts that had been past upon his

Authority and Power: For Men had incurr’d that Penalty of Death, which was threaten’d in the Law ; and there could be no Remission granted without shedding of Blood, no Deliverance from Death, but by the Blood of a Sacrifice sufficient to obtain Deliverance from

O 2 Death;

A rtic le

XV. r

1 Pet. 2. 22.

John x. 29.

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An EXPOSITION of the

Article. XV. WAY RY

1 Cor. 5. lat- ter part 7.

Death. For this Reason, when the Fulness of Time was come, the

Son of God afsum’d that Body that was prepar’d for him, be- came that Lamb of God, which was to be slain for the Sins of

Men: Which St. Paul acknowledges, when he calls him the Passover, the usual Name that was given to the Lamb which was Slain at that Time. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed or Us, . 3. By the Sacrifice of himself once made, he took away the Sins of the World, obtain’d our Pardon and Deliverance, and secur’d Eternal Redemption for us: His Excellency was so Great, his Inno- cency so Perfect, and his Worth so Transcendent, that by one Offer- ing he expiated and atton’d for all Men: His Death was sufficient,

and what was sufficient, need not be repeated by himself or others:

But it seems (as it is objected) that That was a bloody Sacrifice that was but once made; but there is a bloodless Sacrifice, that is to be made often, to the End of the World; I answer, if by way of Re- presentation and Commemoration at the Sacrament, it may be grant- ed; for the Bread and Wine do represent the Body and Blood of Christ, and the Church does offer up these to God, and thankfully Commemorate his Dying Love: But if in reality Christ’s Body is there, and remains bloodless in the Sacrifice; I cannot apprehend it: for how can all Christ be there present without Blood? Can he have Flesh and Bones about him, and no Blood in his Veins? Or

can the Cup have all Christ in Blood, and the Sacrifice be without

Heb. 5; 27 Chap. 9. 25.

Chap. 10. 14.

it? But admit it to be a bloodless Sacrifice; how then does it turn to the Remission of Sins? For there can be no Remission of Sins without shedding of Bood: Or if the Blood of the first Sacrifice sufficeth, what need can there be of Sacrificing him again and again? Or how can that be a proper Sacrifice, which is perform’d without shedding of Blood, and has no Remission of Sins annex’d to it? We have more Cause to believe the Scripture, which saith, He

needeth not daily, as High. Priests, to offer up Sacrifice, first for his

own sims, and then for the Peoples; for this he did once, when he

ofter’d up himself. By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctisied. And what is perfect, needeth not to be re-

peated.

III. He might well be such a compleat Sacrifice, when (as St. John

says) Sin was not in him: For there could then be no Exception taken against the Offering; it was the very same which the Divine Justice required; it had no Blemish, no Stain, and no Deformity ; but was in every respe&t Worthy and Perfect; the Blood of which was truly valuable, and in it self Meritorious ; such as could expi- ate (according to the Divine Agreement) for the Sins of the World, and purchase Deliverance and Acceptance : All this must be allowed, in that he was without Sin. Other High-Priests were Sinners, and were forced to Sacrifice for their own Sins, before they could pre- tend to attone for the People’s; but our Lord was innocent to Per- section, and he dyed not for any thing which he had done, but that he might offer up a Sacrifice truly acceptable to the Father.

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Thirty Nine ARTICLES.

And ye know that be was manifested to take away our sins, and in

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IV. All the rest of Men are Sinners; all we the rest, though Baptized, and Born again in Christ, yet offend in many things:

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Article XV.

Va 4 1 John 3. 5.

Those that are Baptiz’d are Born again; and yet all we, the rest,

offend in many things.

1. Those that are Baptiz’d, and thereby receiv’d into the Cove- nant of Grace, and God’s Family, are Born again, and grafted into Christ’s Church ; for being by Nature Born in Sin, and the Children of Wrath, we are hereby made the Children of Grace; we are re- ceiv’d into Favour upon the account of thus Sacrifice, are allowed to share in the Benefits, that were thereby purchased in the behalf of

Sinners, and are entitled to Pardon of Sin, and Eternal Life; and

from the Time of our Baptism, we are, in the Esteem of God,

look’d upon as Members of Christ, his Children, and as Heirs set

apart for Eternal Life: And if we die immediately after it, there is no doubt to be made of our Happiness : But if we live, we are up- on our Tryal and good Behaviour, and hold all our Interest in the Covenant of Grace, upon this Condition, that we live up sincerely to it in some measure, and fo fultil the Laws of Christ. This is that Regeneration which the Primitive Christians maintain’d, the Scrip-

| tures testify, and our Church professes to this Day. Jesus answered,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be burn of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 2. All Men offend ; even we that are baptiz’d and born again :

What * the Weakness of our Understandings, the Perverseness of

our Wills, the Byass and Inclinations of our Affections; what b the Propensity of the Flesh, the Allurements of the World, and the Temptations of the Devil, Men are prone to fin, and too often trans-

gress and offend. And it is of God’s infinite Mercy, that we are not

consumed. And ‘tis not only the Unhappiness of this present Age, that Men are so frail and overtaken with Faults ; but it has been the deplorable State of Mankind ever since the Fall, and will be to the

End of the World : Nay, though we are baptiz’d and born again,

we are not freed from the Danger of Offending ; for our Baptism does not secure us from consenting to (in, though it puts us into a State of Pardon. We enter then indeed into God’s Service, and promise Christian Obedience : He receives us into his Service, and gives us Grace and Strength to be dutiful. We solemnly vow to do what we can, through his Grace ; and he promises to accept of our hearty Endeavours for his Son’s Sake. All this does not exempt us from sinning, or prevent or hinder us from being assaulted and tem- pted, or secure us from yielding and offending: It guards and

| strengthens us indeed, that we may not Sin; encourages and enables

us to remain faithful ; and would we watch and Pray’ we may retain our Integrity. But whilst we are under this Discipline, we carry

John 3. 35.

those Infirmities ahout us, are so apt to mistake and chuse amiss, that

Mercy must pardon our Offences, or we cannot be saved. Under the Gospel our Duty is made more ealy ; our Lord’s Yoke is easy,

his

Te A. wg.” Wi A N =” * _

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An EXPOSITION of the

Article his Burthen light, and his Laws are not grievous : Nevertheless we

XV.

cannot live without Sin; and though God in Mercy passes by our

— Transgressions, they are Transgressions still; and if any are holy

Jam. 3. 2.

| I Joh. 1. 8.

and acceptable, it is because Grace and Mercy forgive, and make them so. Those that are Saints in Heaven, had their Faults up- on Earth, and committed many Things which the Divine Compas- sion passed by. For in many Things we offend all: if any man oe

fend not in Word, the same is a perfect Man, and able also to bridle

the whole Body.

V. Whoever pretend to the contrary, deceive themselves; and if we say we have no Sin, we deceive our selves, and the Truth is not in us. St. 7ohn the beloved Disciple, who lean’d upon our Savi- our’s Breast, as good a Disciple, as he was beloved of our Lord, who

| might as well as the best pretend to be freed from Sin; this St. Fohn

declares, That if we say we have no Sin, we deceive our selves.

He includes himself in the Number, and does not offer to excuse

himself frum it, but frankly owns, If we fay, if I or any other say it, we deceive our selves. And I am persuaded, were the As- sembly of Saints above allowed to publish the Infirmities of their earthly State, that they would acknowledge one by one, every one for himself, that whilst they were in this trying State, they had their Failings, and made their Mistakes, like other Men. Nay, the Bles- sed Virgin her self (though Blessed amongst Women) would confess too, that she was born in Sin, responsible for her Share in Adam’s Guilt, as well as for the Errors of her Life. And none upon Earth,

but presuming, arrogant, and conceited Men, would pretend to live

without it; nay, the challenge of such a Freedom would be a suffi-

_ cient Manifestation of their Guilt ; for our Hearts are naturally so

vain, our Inclinations so froward, that we may safely say that our

own Hearts deceive us, when we boast of being freed from Sin. IF

we say that we have no Sin, we deceive our selves , and the Truth is Not in Us, | 1 . ao | 7g

By this Declaration of our Church, we must acknowledge it safest and most ingenuous, to confess our Sins to God; to set the steadier

Guard over our Hearts and Lives; and to depend upon the Sacri- fice of Christ for Pardon and Peace. e 5

1. It is safest and most ingenuous to lay aside all Self. conceit and Pride of Heart, and to own in all Humility that we are Sinners, and

in many Things have offended. For if we consult our own Hearts, and search into the Privacies of our Lives; we must take this Shame to our selves, and ingenuously own that we are Sinners, Which of us can say, That we have fulfilled the Laws of Christ > Whose Conscience can bear him Witness, that he never did transgress the Laws of God? Or who can fay , that his Thoughts never went a- {tray ; his Tongue never mistook, or that his Actions never swerved from Righteousness ? This is such a Perfection, as no Man can in

Modesty pretend unto ; such a Purity, which cannot be found on

Earth. For as we are all the Children of Adam, we are the Chil- dren of Wrath : And though we are Christians, we are still in the 2 Flesh,

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Thirty Nine Ax TIc LES.

Flesh, still are weak, till are imprudent and vain, and must not boast of any Perfection. For St. 70hn owns, he had his Sins, and the other Apostles had theirs ; and the best of Men were perhaps weaker and vainer than they. And therefore it is our Duty to own uprightly what we are, and to humble our selves before God, that he may lift us up. For if we confess our Sins, there is some Hope, that we may forsake them, and become new Men: But if we will not confels them, there can be but little Hope that ever we will amend. If once we excuse our selves, because others are Sinners as well as we, we may die in our Sins: For the Faults of others will not excuse our own, nor will their Crimes lessen ours. We must confess nd amend, or we shall perish with the rest of the World. If we conf+/s our Sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins, and t cleanse s from all Unrighteousness. 55 |

2. We must think it reasonable to set the steadier Guard over our

Hearts and Lives ; that, since we know how weak and vain we are,

we may take the greater Heed to our Ways, and behave our selves

with the greater Caution. What can be more reasonable, than for the Man that knows his own Infirmities, to be the more careful in

his Conversation ? I am sure we can do fo in reference to our Health; if we know we are liable to catch a Distemper, we are the more wa- ry to shun it : I know no Reason why we should not be as careful of our Behaviour; that since we know how apt we are to fall, we

may take the more Heed how we walk. Thus all of us may cor-

rect our Mistakes, prevent our being gross Offenders, and acquit our

selves with the greater Circumspection, Those that are apt to drink

too much, may thus watch and be sober ; or those that are prone to

be lascivious, may thus take heed and be chast ; and such whose

Hearts are set upon tlie World, may thus consider, and withdraw them from it. Our Saviour thought this the best Expedient to be us’d in such Cases, when he calls upon us to Watch and Pray. And St. Paul gives us this Caution, that we may take heed left we fall ;

Article XV. KAR

1 Joh. 1. 9.

and common Discretion may teach us the same Wisdom. For what

Man that knows his own Weakness, would not for his own Safet and Reputation, strive against it? And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch. R 5

3. Depend upon the Sacrifice of Christ for Pardon and Peace. For as he was without Sin, he was able to satisfy the Father in our Be-

Mar. 13. 37,

half: And as he died and rose again, we are sure he has obtained

Eternal Redemption for us. We must therefore do our best to please God in him; and when we have done all we can, we must trust to his Blood and Mediation for our Pardon and Salvation. Trust not

to others in this important Case ; no nor to your selves, or any thing

ye can do, but to him, who, In the end of the World hath appeared to put away Sin, by the Sacrifice of himself.

ARTI-

Heb, 20 2 6.

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| 104 An EXPOSITION of the |

| Article | XVI. | —