QUEST. II.—WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED BY GRACE?
Now I come to the second question—What is it to be saved by grace? For so are the words of the text, "By grace, ye are saved." But,
First. I must touch the word GRACE and show you how diverse it is. Sometimes, it is taken for the goodwill and favor of men (Esth 2:17: Ruth 2:2: 1 Sam 1:18: 2 Sam 16:4). Sometimes, it is taken for those sweet ornaments that a life according to the Word of God put about the neck 9 (Prov 1:9; 3:22). Sometimes it is taken for the charity of the saints, as 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.
But "grace" in the text is taken for God's goodwill, "the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush," and is expressed variously. Sometimes, it is called "his good pleasure." Sometimes, "the good pleasure of his will," which is all one with "the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7). Sometimes, it is expressed by goodness, pity, love, mercy, kindness, and the like (Rom 2:4; Isa 63:9; Titus 3:4,5). Yea, he styles himself, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty" (Exo 34:6,7).
Second. As the word "grace" signifies all these, it intimates to us that all these are free acts of God, love, mercy, and kindness; hence, we have other hints in the Word about the nature of grace, as, 1. It is an act of God's will, which must need to be free; an act of his own will, of the good pleasure of his will; by each of these expressions, it is intimated that grace is a free act of God's goodness towards the sons of men. 2. Therefore, it is expressly said—"Being justified freely by his grace" (Rom 3:24). 3. "And when they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both" (Luke 7:42). 4. Again, "Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you" (Eze 36:32; Deu 9:5). 5. And therefore "grace," and the deserving of the creature, are set in flat opposition one to another—"And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace; otherwise work is no more work" (Rom 11:6).
The word "grace," therefore, being understood, doth most properly set forth the true cause of man's happiness with God, not but that those expressions, love, mercy, goodness, pity, kindness, &c., and the like, have their proper place in our happiness also. Had not God loved us, grace had not acted freely in our salvation; had not God been merciful, good, pitiful, kind, he would have turned away from us when he saw us in our blood (Eze 16).
So then, when he saith, "By grace ye are saved," it is all one as if he had said, By the goodwill, free mercy, and loving-kindness of God ye are saved; as the words conjoined with the text do also further manifest: "But God," saith Paul, "who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ —by grace ye are saved."
[Third.] The words thus understood admit us to these few conclusions: 1. God, in saving the sinner, hath no respect for the sinner's goodness; hence, it is said he is frankly forgiven and freely justified (Luke 7:42; Rom 3:24). 2. That God doth this to whom and when he pleases because it is an act of his own good pleasure (Gal 1:15,16). 3. This is the cause why great sinners are saved, for God pardoned "according to the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7). 4. This is the true cause that some sinners are so amazed and confounded at the apprehension of their own salvation; his grace is unsearchable; and by unsearchable grace God oft puzzles and confounds our reason (Eze 16:62,63; Acts 9:6). 5. This is why sinners so often recover from their backslidings, heal the wounds they get from their falls, and rejoice in God's mercy. Why, he will be gracious to whom he will be gracious, and he will have compassion on whom he will have compassion (Rom 9:15).
[Fourth.] But I must not conclude this point here. We are here discoursing of the grace of God, and that by it we are saved; saved, I say, by the grace of God.
God is outlined in the Word unto us under a double consideration—1. He is outlined in his own eternal power and Godhead. Thus, we are to conceive of him by his attributes of power, justice, goodness, holiness, everlastingness, &c. 2. But then, we have him outlined in the Word of truth as consisting of Father, Son, and Spirit. Although this second consideration contained the nature of the Godhead, the first did not demonstrate the persons in the Godhead. We are saved by the grace of God—that is, by the grace of the Father, who is God; by the grace of the Son, who is God; and by the grace of the Spirit, who is God.
Now, since we are said to be "saved by grace," and that the grace of God, and since also we find in the Word that in the Godhead there are Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we must conclude that it is by the grace of the Father, Son, and Spirit that we are saved; wherefore grace is attributed to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost distinctly. 1. Grace is attributed to the Father, as these scriptures testify; Romans 7:25, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3. 2. Grace is also attributed to the Son. I first manifest it by all those texts above-mentioned, as also by these that follow: 2 Corinthians 8:9, 13:14, Galatians 6:18, Philippians 4:23, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:18, Philemon 25, Revelation 22:21. 3. It is also attributed to the Holy Ghost. He is called the Spirit of grace because he is the author of grace as the Father and the Son (Zech 12:10; Heb 10:29).
