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On
Romans 8:32
He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things? - Rom. viii
32.
The us all, or
all us, for whom God has delivered up his Son, are no
other than the predestinated, called, justified, and glorified,
ver. 30, which cannot be said of every individual of mankind.
Moreover, those on whose account God spared not his Son, but
delivered him up into the hands of justice and death, in their
room and stead, to be a sacrifice and a ransom for them, will
certainly be spared by him, and delivered from the wrath to come;
it being consistent neither with the justice nor with the love of
God, to cast his wrath upon them, or deliver them up to eternal
punishment. Now it is certain that some persons are not spared by
him, nor do escape eternal damnation: whence it must needs
follow, that Christ being not spared: was not on their account;
otherwise they would have been spared; and that though he was
delivered up to justice, and to death, yet not for them;
otherwise they would have escaped everlasting destruction.
Besides, to all those for whom God has delivered up his Son, he
freely gives all things: but there are thousands in the world to
whom God does not give his Son, and all things freely with him;
and therefore, it may be strongly concluded, that for these he
did not deliver him up. In answer to this it is said,
1. That this
argument, as before, supposes "that Christ died only for
those who shall be saved, and so liable to all the absurdities
before mentioned; and to these that God could not equitably
require all men to repent, nor could he equitably require of them
obedience to his laws." To which I reply, that we freely own
the assertion, and abide by it, that Christ died only for those
who shall be saved; the end of his dying being salvation: if any
for whom he died should not be saved, the end of his death would
not be answered; and so be in vain with respect to them.
As to its being liable to the former absurdities, these have been
removed; and as to the additional ones, it is certain that God
might have required repentance and obedience of men if Christ had
never died for any, or at all; as has been observed in the former
part of this work (Part I, Section xxxii).
2.
It is here, as before said, "That there is no such
proposition in Scripture as this, to all those for whom God
delivered up his Son, he will give all things: the Scripture
cited respects only us, who are the adopted sons of God,
etc." I reply, that this Scripture does abundantly confirm
the truth of the proposition: for admitting that it only respects
the adopted sons of God, to whom God gives the blessings of the
new covenant: not because they have performed the conditions of
it, as is intimated; for then he could not be said to give them
freely; yet the Apostle's argument does not proceed upon
their being the sons of God, and still less, upon their having
fulfilled the conditions of the covenant, but upon God's
delivering up his Son for them, and therefore will hold good with
respect to all those for whom he has delivered him up, as
it did with respect to them. For it may be as strongly concluded,
that God will give all things freely to all those for whom he has
delivered up his Son, as that he would bestow them on these
particular persons: since there is the same reason for the one as
for the other. Else there is no force in the Apostle's
reasoning, no weight in his argument, nor any real conviction or
solid consolation to be received from it; since it might be
replied to him, that God might deliver up his Son for persons,
and yet not freely give all things with him to them.