SERMON IX.

CHRIST THE ONLY SAVIOUR.

ACTS iv. 12.

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

WHEN it pleased Almighty God to create the world, and all things in it, he was pleased to do it by his Word: he said, "Let there be light: and there was light'." Thus the whole work was finished: as David observes, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth," and St. Peter, "By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water;" by that eternal Word, who, subsisting from all eternity in the form of God, at the beginning of time exerted his divine power in the production of all things out of nothing: for, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." This we are assured of by St. John, in the beginning of his gospel, where he also tells us soon after, that this Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us;" that is, he "took upon him the

1 Gen. i. 3.

3 2 Pet. iii. 5.

66

2 Ps. xxxiii. 6.

* John i. 14.

form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men as St. Paul expresseth it, and then he was called Jesus, "the Saviour," as being the only Saviour of men, whose form and nature he for that purpose had so assumed. So that we can now be saved only by him, by whom we were at first created. For that this Jesus, called also "the Christ," is that Word of God by whom all things were made, appears not only from the gospel of St. John, before quoted, but likewise from the apostolical epistles, where it is said, that "God created all things by Jesus Christ "," "whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds'." And especially from that remarkable place, where the apostle, speaking of Jesus Christ, ascribes our redemption and creation to him both together; saying, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist." And that this glorious and Almighty Creator of all things is not only our Saviour, but the only Saviour that we have in all the world, is positively asserted by St. Peter in my text, where, speaking of Jesus Christ, he saith, "Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Which words are so plain, that I cannot but wonder how any, who profess to believe the Holy Scriptures, can doubt of the great truth revealed in them. And yet there have been, and still are, some who have the confidence to affirm that there are other ways besides Jesus Christ, whereby men may be saved: at least such as never heard of him, nor have had his gospel made known unto them,-they may, notwithstanding, Eph. iii. 9.

Phil. ii. 7. 7 Heb. i. 2.

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Col. i. 14-17.

be saved, as these people think, if they do but live up to the light and knowledge which they have, and according to the rules of that sect, or persuasion, they are of, be it what it will. But this is a great and dangerous mistake, if not one of those damnable heresies which St. Peter foretold should be privily brought into the church. Be sure it is severely condemned by our Church in her Articles, where she hath declared herself against it in these words, They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved '.'

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In which Article there are two things much to be observed. The first is, that this is the only Article wherein the Church expressly denounceth a curse, or anathema. I say expressly, because it is said, They also are to be accursed,' and in the Latin, Sunt et illi anathematizandi;' where the particle 'et,' " also," seems to imply, that the curse is to be referred to all the foregoing Articles: so that whosoever contradict or oppose the doctrine established in any of them, as well as this, are to be also accursed. But, howsoever, this is the only Article of all the XXXIX, in which the anathema is expressed; whereby our Church hath declared her utter abhorrence and detestation of the opinion she here condemns in a more particular manner, and hath taken special care that none of her members should be infected with it. For, having denounced this curse upon all that presumed to hold it, she afterwards required, and still doth, that all who are admitted to holy orders, or into any cure of souls, shall subscribe, and within two months after induction, publicly in the presence of God, and of the congregation, where they are to minister the word, declare their assent to this among her other Articles; and so to

9 2 Pet. ii. 1.

1 Article xviii.

their own curse, if they shall presume to say, either publicly or privately, that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, if he be diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature: or, as it is expressed in the title of the Article, that eternal salvation may be obtained any other way than by the name of Christ. And whatsoever some may think, I am sure it is no light matter to fall under the curse of the whole Church of England in any thing, especially in this, wherein she doth no more than what the apostle in effect did before; where he saith," If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha 2;" that is, let him not only be Anathema, "accursed" in general, but let him be "accursed in the highest manner that can be;” let that curse come upon him, which in Syriac is called 14, Maran-atha, in Hebrew N Shematha, by contraction, now, Shammatta, "The Lord cometh;" whereby a man was utterly cast out of God's Church, never to be restored, but wholly left to the judgment of the great day, when the Lord cometh to pass an irrevocable sentence upon all men. This is that curse which the apostle, by God's own direction, here denounceth against all that love not the Lord Jesus Christ. But they who think that a man may be saved without him, can never have that love for him, which is due to the only Saviour of the world; and therefore are subject to this curse also. How they can stave it off I know not: let them look to that.

The other thing to be observed in the aforesaid Article of our Church is, that she grounds it upon the words of my text, giving this as the reason of it,because Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved: not but that the same thing may be proved from many other places of Holy Scripture; but because this is so clear and full to the purpose, that he, who doth not wilfully shut his eyes, cannot but see it here. For

St. Peter and St. John having restored a lame man to his perfect health only by saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk;" and being afterwards examined by the rulers of the Jews, by what power they had done it, St. Peter, full of the Holy Ghost, tells them boldly, "That it was done in the name of Jesus Christ, whom they had crucified, and whom God had raised from the dead." And that this, this Jesus, is the stone the prophet speaks of, which was set at nought by these builders, which is now become "the head of the corner." And then he adds, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,"-"there is none other name," that is, there is no person, no way, no thing, that is or can be named under heaven, given or granted by Almighty God to men, whereby they must be saved, if they ever be at all, "but only the name of Jesus Christ."

In which words I do not see how any thing can be doubted of, except it be the true sense of the word "salvation," or what the apostle means here, by "being saved." For salvation is a word that hath various significations in Holy Scripture. Sometimes it is used for deliverance from temporal troubles; sometimes for safety and protection from them; sometimes for grace to eschew evil, and do good; sometimes for the remission of sins, and reconciliation unto God; sometimes for eternal life and happiness in the other world. Now the question is, in what sense the word is to be understood in my text? I answer, In all senses: all sorts of salvation are here signified by it; for the apostle here speaks indefinitely, There is no salvation in any other but in Christ; no name whereby we can be any way saved but his; he is the only Saviour of mankind in all respects. Whatsoever evil any of us are saved from, whatsoever good we enjoy, it must be wholly and solely ascribed to Jesus Christ; without whom we should never have received any favour or mercy at the hands of God, no more than the apostate angels do. They