WHAT MEN MAY ATTAIN THAT ARE UNDER THIS COVENANT OF WORKS.
Again, giving of alms is a Gospel command. Yet, if I provide alms from a legal principle, the command to me is not Gospel but legal. It binds me over, as aforesaid, to do the whole law—"For he is not a Jew," nor a Christian, "which is one outwardly"—that is, one only by an outward subjection to the ordinances of prayer, hearing, reading, baptism, breaking of bread, etc.—"But he is a Jew," a Christian, "which is one inwardly," who is rightly principled, and practiced the ordinances of the Lord from the leading forth of the Spirit of the Lord, from a genuine and saving faith in the Lord (Rom 2:28,29). Those men spoken of in the 7th of Matthew, for sure, for all their great declaration, did not do what they did from a right Gospel spirit; for had they, no question but the Lord would have said, "Well done, good and faithful servant." But in that the Lord Jesus doth turn them away into Hell, notwithstanding their great profession of the Lord, and of their doing in His name, it is evident that notwithstanding all that they did do, they were still under the law and not under that covenant as true believers are—to wit, the Covenant of Grace. If so, all their duties, which they boasted before the Lord, were not in and by a correct evangelical principle or spirit.
Again, saith the Apostle, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom 14:23); but there are some that do even practice baptism, breaking of bread, together with other ordinances, and yet are unbelievers; therefore unbelievers doing these things, they are not done in faith but sin. Now, to do these things in sin, or without faith, it is not to do things in an evangelical or Gospel spirit; also, they that do these things in a legal spirit, the very practicing of them renders them not under the law of Christ, as Head of His Church. Still, the works they do contradict the Gospel of God or the Covenant of Grace, that they that do them thus do even set up against the Covenant of Grace. Their very performance is of such force that it is sufficient to drown them subjected thereunto, even under the Covenant of Works. Still, these poor souls are not aware of, and there is their misery.
Quest. But have you no other way to discover the things of the Gospel, how they are done with a legal principle, and those you have already mentioned?
Answ. That thou mightiest be indeed satisfied herein, I shall show you the very manner and way that a legal, or old-covenant-converted professor, bear with the terms, doth take both in the beginning, middle, and the end of his doing of any duty or command, or whatsoever it is that he doth do. 1. He thinks this or that to be his duty, and considering of the same, he is also presently persuaded in his own conscience that God will not accept of him if he leaves it undone; he sees that he is short of his duty, as he supposeth, while this is undone by him, and also judging that God is angry with him until the thing is done, he, in the second place, sets to the doing of the duty, to the end he may be able to pacify his conscience by doing of the same, persuading of himself that now the Lord is pleased with him for doing of it. 2. Having done it, he contents himself. He sits at ease until some further convictions of his duty to be done, which when he sees and knows, he doth do it as aforesaid, from the same principle as he did the former, and so goeth on in his progress of the profession. This is to do things from a legal principle and from an old-covenant spirit; for thus runs that covenant, "The man that doth these things shall live in them," of "by them" (Lev 18:5; Gal 3:12; Rom 10:5). But more of this in the use of this doctrine.
Object. But, you will say, by these words of yours, you do seem to deny that there are conditional promises in the Gospel, as is evident in that you strike at such practices as are conditional and commanded to be done upon the same.
Answ. I think that a man in or with a legal spirit should not, nay, cannot, do any conditional command of the Gospel acceptably as to his eternal state because he doth it in an old covenant spirit. "No man put new wine into old bottles," but new wine must have new bottles, a Gospel command must have a Gospel spirit, or else the wine will break the bottles, or the principal will break the command.
