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ted, were, some way or other, to be expiated, or some atonement was to be made for them; upon which account they offered sacrifices, and, in order thereunto, had their temples, altars, and priests, consecrated for that purpose; which is something more than they had learnt from the law of nature.

Answ. This argument has very little weight in it; it is true, it seems to allow that there is a necessity of persons being, at least, in a small degree, apprised of some doctrines, which first took their rise from divine revelation: but that which was transmitted to the church, pure and uncorrupt, was handed down to several nations by uncertain tradition, with a great mixture of corruption; so that it is hard to find such a resemblance between them, as would denominate them of divine original. But suppose they had a conviction that sin was to be expiated by sacrifice; yet they had no manner of idea concerning the reference, of those sacrifices they offered, to Christ, which, as the apostle observes, was the only thing, in those sacrifices that were performed by a divine warrant, which had a tendency to take away sin, or make them that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience, Heb. ix. 9. and therefore, when the Jews offered sacrifices, and observed several other rites of worship, which were instituted by God, yet, inasmuch as they rested in the external performance thereof, and were destitute of faith in Christ, and other religious duties that were to attend them, they were reckoned no better than vain oblations, Isa. i. 13. or unprofitable services: how much more might all the rites of worship, observed by the heathen, be deemed so? Therefore this does not give us sufficient ground to conclude, that they had the means of salvation, who were destitute of divine revelation, and faith in Christ.

III. It is farther observed, in this answer, that Christ is the Saviour only of his body the church. This seems to obviate an objection that might be brought against the impossibility of attaining salvation, without faith in Christ; for some will be ready to conclude, that Christ may be a Saviour by his death, to those who are strangers to him, and not members of his body the church, and therefore it is added, that he is the Saviour only of such; which is what several understand, when they say, that there is no salvation out of the pale, or inclosure of the church. This is rather to be explained than denied; and it will appear, from what is said in the following answers, wherein the visible church is described, as including in it those who profess the true religion; and the invisible church is called the body, of which Christ is the Saviour, Eph. v. 23. and the members thereof are said to be made partakers of union and communion with him, and to be inseparably joined to him, as their head and Husband, when they are effectually

called; so that these have an interest in that salvation, which he has procured. From hence we have ground to conclude, that he will save none by his merits, but such who are made partakers of the internal graces of the Spirit, and are united to him by a lively faith, founded on divine revelation; which is agreeable to what has been before maintained in this answer, which establishes the necessity of divine revelation, or the impossibility of persons attaining salvation by framing their lives according to the light of nature, who never heard of the gospel, nor of Jesus Christ, the sun and substance thereof.

If this be reckoned an hard saying, tending to lessen the mercy of God, with respect to the objects thereof, it must be considered, that we have no other rule of judging concerning this matter, but what is contained in scripture. If God has therein made known to his people the only way of salvation, we have no warrant to extend it farther than he has done, or to say, that because he can apply his grace in such methods, as are altogether unknown to us, that therefore he will do it, is no just or conclusive argument. And the great design of all that has been said, in this answer, is to induce us to set the highest value on Christ, and his gospel; to adore and magnify him for the privileges which we enjoy, in being favoured with it, and to put us upon improving it to the best purposes; for, if they are excluded from the benefits thereof, who never heard of it, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? Heb. ii. 3.

QUEST. LXI. Are all they saved who hear the gospel, and live in the church?

ANSW. All that hear the gospel, and live in the visible church, are not saved, but they only who are true members of the church invisible.

QUEST. LXII. What is the visible church?

ANSW. The visible church is a society made up of all such as, in all ages, and places of the world, do profess the true religion, and of their children.

QUEST. LXIII. What are the special privileges of the visible church?

ANSW. The visible church hath the privilege of being under God's special care and government, of being protected and preserved in all ages, notwithstanding the opposition of all enemies, and of enjoying the communion of saints, the or VOL. II. 3T

dinary means of salvation, offers of grace by Christ to
the members of it in the ministry of the gospel, testifying h
that whosoever believes in him shall be saved, and exca
ing none that will come unto him.

•QUEST. LXIV. What is the invisible church?

ANSW. The invisible church is the whole number of the ske that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, unde Christ the Head.

HEY who are made partakers of Christ's redemption and are brought into a state of salvation, have been be fore described, as members of Christ's body the church; ai we are now led to consider them as brought into this reli to him, and accordingly are to enquire in what sense ther members of Christ's church, and so to speak of this church to its nature, constitution, subjects, and privileges. And, I. What we are to understand by the word church, as find it applied in scripture.

1. It is sometimes used to signify any assembly that is m together, whatever be the design of their meeting. Though indeed, it is very seldom taken in this sense in scripture: nevertheless, there are two or three places in which it is so derstood: thus the multitude that met together at Ephesus who made a riot, crying out, Great is Diana of the Ephesian are called a church; for the word is the same, which we geneally so render, in Acts xix. 32. Our translators, indeed, re der it, The assembly was confused, and, in ver. 39. it is said, "This matter ought to be determined in a lawful assembly, the being an unlawful one; and, in ver. 41. The town-clerk du missed the assembly; in all which places, the word, in the Greek*, is the same which we, in other places, render church and the reason why our translators have rendered it assembly, is, because the word church is used, in a very uncommon sense, in these places: and we do not find it taken in that sense in any other part of scripture.

2. It is frequently used, by the Fathers, metonymically, for the place in which the church met together for religious wor ship, and so it is often taken among us, and some other re formed churches, as well as the Papists; but it does not suff ciently appear that it is ever so understood in scripture. It is true, some suppose, that it is taken in this sense in 1 Cor. xi. 28. where it is said, When ye come together in the church Thear that there are divisions among you; and, they think, Is farther explained, and proved to be taken in this sense, from what the apostle adds, in ver. 20. When ye come together in

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one place; and also from what is said in ver. 22. Have houses to eat and drink in, or despise ye the church of God? From whence, they conclude that the apostle means nothing else but the place where they were convened together, and, more especially, because it is here opposed to their own houses. But to this it may be replied, that, in the first of these verses but now mentioned, viz. when ye come together in the church, it may be very easily understood of particular persons met together with the rest of the church; and when it is said, in ver. 20, that when ye come together into one place, this does not refer to the place in which they were assembled *; but to their meeting together with one design, or accord. And when it is said, in ver. 32. Have ye not houses to eat and drink in, or despise ye the church of God? the opposition is not between their own houses and the place where they were together; but the meaning is, that by your not eating and drinking in your own houses, but doing it in the presence of the church, or the assembly of God's people that are met together, you are not only chargeable with indecency and interrupting them in the work which they are come about, but you make a kind of schism among them, as doing that which they cannot, in conscience, approve of, or join with you in; and this you are, ready to call caprice, or humour, in them, and hereby you despise them. And, indeed, the place of worship cannot properly speaking, be said to be the object of contempt; therefore the apostle does not use the word, in this metonymical sense, for the place of worship, but for the worshipping assembly.

Object. The word synagogue is often taken metonymically, in scripture, for the place where persons were assembled to worship: thus our Saviour is said sometimes to teach in the synagogue of the fews, Matt, iv. 23. and elsewhere we read of one, concerning whom the Jews say, He loveth our nation, and hath built us a synagogue, Luke xii. v. and elsewhere the Psalmist speaking of the church's enemies, says, they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land, Psal, Ixxiv. 8. and the apostle James, adapting his mode of speaking to that which was used among the Jews, calls the church of God a synagogue, If there come unto your assembly, or synagogue, as it is in the margin, a man with a gold ring, &c. James ii. 2. where the word is taken for the place where they were assem bled; therefore we have as much reason to understand the word church for the place where the church meets together. Answ. It is true, the word synagogue, in most of these

The words in to pula, when used elsewhere, cannot be understood of the place A where persons were met, but of the unanimity of those who were engaged in the same, action and therefore it is rendered Simul, in Acts iu. 1. and chap is 25

scriptures, is taken for the place where persons meet together on a religious account, though it is very much to be doubted whether it be to be understood so in the last of the scriptures referred to, and therefore our translators render it assembly; and so the meaning is, when you are met together, if a poor man come into your assembly, you despise him: but suppose the word synagogue were to be taken in this, as it is in the other scriptures, for the place of worship, and that, by a parity of reason, the word church may be taken in the same sense; all that can be inferred from hence is, that they, who call the places of worship churches, speak agreeable to the sense, though It may be not the express words of scripture: but this is so trifling a controversy, that it is not worth our while to say any thing more to it.

The learned Mede insists largely on it, in a discourse, founded on those words of the apostle before-mentioned, Have ye not houses to eat and drink in, or despise ye the church of God? in which he attempts to prove, that the apostle, by the church, means the place of worship, from the opposition that there is between their own houses and the church of God, the inconclusiveness of which argument has been before considered. What he farther says, to prove that there were places in the apostle's days, appropriated, or set apart, for divine worship; and, in particular, that the room in which they met together, on the days of our Saviour's resurrection, and eight days after, in which they were honoured with his presence, was the same in which he eat his last Passover with them, and instituted the Lord's Supper, and that it was in that place that they constantly met together for worship, and that therein the seven deacons were afterwards chosen, mentioned in Acts vi. and that after this a goodly church was erected on the same spot of ground; these are no other than uncertain conjectures. That they met together in an apartment, or convenient room, in the dwelling-house of some pious disciple, is very probable; but his observations from its being an upper room, as freest from disturbance, and nearest to heaven, seems to be too trifing for so great a man. And what he says farther, in defence of it, as supposing that this is what is intended by their breaking bread from house to house, in Acts ii. 4, 6. is not so agreeable to the sense of the Greek words †, as our translation, which he militates against, and supposes, that it ought to be rendered in the house, that is, in this house appointed for the same purpose.

What he farther adds, to prove that there were particular places appropriate for worship, in the three first Centuries, by referring to several quotations out of the Fathers, who lived See his works, Vol. I. Book II. Page 405, & seq.

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