Richard Baxter · 4 of 8

A Call to the Unconverted. · Sermon II. · Part 1

Ezek. xxxiii. 11.

Say to them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways, for, why will ye die, O house of Israel?

A TRUE description of those who are in a converted state has already been given you; the change which conversion makes in the soul has also been described; and the request is most earnestly repeated to you, impartially and thoroughly to consider your condition: Rest not satisfied, till you know whether you are indeed converted.

But perhaps you will say, what if we should find ourselves yet unconverted, what shall we do then?—This question leadeth me to my second doctrine, which will do much to the answering of it, to which I now proceed.

Doct. 2. It is the promise of God, that the wicked shall live, if they will but turn; unfeignedly and thoroughly turn.

The Lord here professeth that this is what he takes pleasure in, that the wicked turn and live. Heaven is made as sure to the converted, as hell is to the unconverted. Turn and live is as certain a truth as turn or die. God was not bound to provide us a Saviour, nor open to us a door of hope, nor call us to repent and turn when once we had cast ourselves away by sin, but he hath freely done it to magnify his mercy. Sinners, there are none of you shall have cause to go home and say I preach despair to you. Do we use to shut up the door of mercy against you? O that you would not shut it up against yourselves! Do we use to tell you that God will have no mercy on you, though you turn and be sanctified? When did you ever hear a preacher say such a word? You that bark at preachers of the gospel, for desiring to keep you out of hell, and say that they preach despair, tell me, if you can, when did you ever hear any sober man say, that there is no hope for you, tho’ you repent and be converted? No, it is the contrary that we proclaim from the Lord; and, whoever is born again, and by faith and repentance doth become a new creature, shall certainly be saved: And so far are we from persuading you to despair of this, that we persuade you not to make any doubt of it. It is life, not death, that is the first part of our message to you, our commission is to offer salvation, certain salvation; a speedy, glorious, everlasting salvation, to everyone of you; to the poorest beggar as well as the greatest Lord; to the worst of you, even to drunkards, swearers, worldlings, thieves, yea, to the despisers and reproachers of the holy way of salvation. We are commanded by the Lord our master to offer you a pardon for all that is past, if you will but now at last return and live: we are commanded to beseech and intreat you to accept the offer and return; to tell you what preparations are made by Christ; what mercy stays for you, what patience waiteth on you, what thoughts of kindness God hath towards you, and how happy, how certainly and unspeakably happy, you may be, if you will.—We have indeed also a message of wrath and death, yea, of a two-fold wrath and death; but neither of them is our principal message; we must tell you of the wrath that is on you already, and the death that you are born under, for the breach of the law of works; but this is but to shew you the need of mercy, and to provoke you to esteem the grace of the Redeemer. And we tell you nothing but the truth, which you must know: For, who will seek out for physic, that knows not that he is sick? Our telling you of your misery is not it that makes you miserable, but drives you out to seek for mercy. It is you that have brought this death upon yourselves. We tell you also of another death; even remediless and much greater torment, that will fall on those that will not be converted. But, as this is true, and must be told you, so it is but the last and saddest part of our message. We are first to offer you mercy if you will turn; and it is only those that will not turn, nor hear the voice of mercy, to whom we must foretel damnation to. Will you but cast away your transgressions, delay no longer, but come away at the call of Christ, and be converted, and become new creatures, and we have not a word of damning wrath or death to speak against you.—I do here in the name of the Lord of life, proclaim to you, all that hear me this day, to the greatest, the oldest sinner, that you may have mercy and salvation, if you will but turn. There is mercy in God, there is sufficiency in the satisfaction of Christ, the promise is free, and full, and universal; you may have life, if you will but turn. But then, as you love your souls, remember what turning it is the scripture speaks of. It is not to mend the old house, but to pull down all, and build a-new on Christ, the rock and sure foundation. It is not to mend somewhat in a carnal course of life, but to mortify the flesh, and live after the spirit. It is not to serve the flesh and the world, in a more reformed way, without any scandalous disgraceful sins, and with a certain kind of religiousness; but it is to change your master, and your works, and end, and to set your face the contrary way, and do all for the life that you never saw, and dedicate yourselves and all you have to God. This is the change that must be made, if you will live.

Yourselves are witnesses now, that it is salvation, and not damnation, that is the great doctrine I preach to you, and the first part of my message to you. Accept of this, and we shall go no farther with you; for we would not so much as affright or trouble you with the name of damnation without necessity.

But if you will not be saved, there is no remedy, but damnation must take place; for there is no middle place between the two, you must have either life or death.

And we are not only to offer you life, but to shew you the grounds on which we do it; and call you to believe that God doth mean indeed as he speaks: that the promise is true, and extendeth conditionally to you, as well as others: and that heaven is no fancy, but a true felicity.

If you ask, Where is your commission for this offer? Among a hundred texts of scripture, I will shew it to you in these few:

First, you see it here in my text, and the following verses, and in the 18th of Ezekiel, as plain as can be spoken. And in 2 Cor. v. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, you have the very sum of our commission. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away, behold, all things are become new. And all things are from God, who hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation: now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you, in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled unto God; for, he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” So Mark xvi. 15, 16. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to all creature. He that believeth, (that is with such a converting faith as is expressed) and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.” And Luke xxiv. 46, 47. “Thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance, (which is conversion) and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.” And Acts v. 30, 31. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree: him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” And Acts xiii. 38, 39. “Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this name is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and, by him, all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” And, lest you think this offer is restrained to the Jews, see Gal. vi. 15. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” And Luke xiv. 17. “Come, for all things are now ready.” and ver. 23, 24.

You see by this time that we are commanded to offer life to you all, and to tell you, from God, that if you will turn, you may live.

Here you may safely trust your souls; for the love of God is the fountain of this offer, John iii. 16. and the blood of the Son of God hath purchased it: The faithfulness and truth of God are engaged to make the promise good; miracles have sealed up the truth of it; preachers are sent through the world to proclaim it; the sacraments are instituted and used for the solemn delivery of the mercy offered to them that will accept it; and the spirit doth open the heart to entertain it; and is itself the earnest of the full possession: So that the truth of it is past controversy, that the worst of you all, and every one of you, if you will but be converted, may be saved.

Indeed, if you will needs believe that you shall be saved without conversion, then you believe a falsehood; and, if I should preach that to you, I should preach a lie: This were not to believe God, but the devil and your own deceitful hearts.—God hath his promise of life, and the devil hath his promise of life: God’s promise is, “return and live:” The devil’s promise is, “you shall live, whether you turn or not.”—The word of God is, as I have shewn you, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven,” Matt. xviii. 3. “Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,” John iii. 3, 5. “Without holiness none shall see God,” Heb. xii. 14.—The devil’s word is, “you may be saved without being born again and converted; you may do well enough without being holy; God doth but frighten you; he is more merciful, than to do as he saith; he will be better to you than his word.”—And, alas! the greatest part of the world believe this word of the devil before the word of God: just as our sin and misery came into the world. God saith to our first parents, “if ye eat ye shall die:” And the devil contradicted him and said, “Ye shall not die, if you do but cry, God have mercy, at last, and give over the acts of sin when you can practice it no longer.” And this is the word that the world believes.—O heinous wickedness, to believe the devil before God!

And yet that is not the worst; but blasphemously they call this a believing and trusting in God, when they put him in the shape of Satan, who was a liar from the beginning. And, when they believe that the word of God is a lie, they call this a trusting God, and say they believe in him, and trust in him for salvation. Where did ever God say, that the unregenerate, unconverted, unsanctified, shall be saved? Shew such a word in Scripture. I challenge you, if you can. Why this is the devil’s word, and to believe it is to believe the devil, and the sin that is commonly called presumption. And do you call this a believing and trusting God? There is every thing in the word of God to comfort and strengthen the hearts of the sanctified: but not a word to strengthen the hands of wickedness, nor to give men the least hope of being saved, though they be never sanctified.

But, if you will turn, and come into the way of mercy, the mercy of the Lord is ready to entertain you. Then trust God for salvation boldly; for he is engaged by his word to save you. He will be a father to none but his children, and he will save none but those that forsake the world, the devil, and the flesh, and come into his family to be members of his Son, and have communion with his saints. But, if they will not come in, it is long of themselves. His doors are open, he keeps none back. He never sent such a message as this to any of you, “It was now too late; I will not receive thee though thou be converted.”—He might have done so, and done you no wrong: But he did not; he doth not to this day: He is still ready to receive you, if you were but ready unfeignedly, and with all your hearts, to turn. And the fulness of this truth will yet more appear in the two following doctrines, which I shall therefore next proceed to, before I make any farther application of this.

Doct. 3. God takes pleasure in men’s conversion and salvation, but not in their death or damnation: He had rather they would turn and live, than go on and die.

I shall first teach you how to understand this, and then clear up the truth of it to you.

And, for the first, you must observe these following things.

1. A simple willingness, or complacency, is the first act of the will, following the simple apprehension of the undertaking, before it proceedeth to compare things together. But the choosing act of the will is a following act, and supposeth the comparing practical act of the understanding. And these two acts may often be carried to contrary objects without any fault at all in the person.

2. An unfeigned willingness may have divers degrees. Some things I am so far willing of as that I will do all that lieth in my power to accomplish them: and some things I am truly willing another should do, when yet I will not do all that ever I am able to procure them, having many reasons to dissuade me therefrom, though yet I will do all that belongs me to do.

3. The will of a ruler, as such, is manifested in making and executing laws; but the will of a man, in his simple natural capacity, or as absolute Lord of his own, is manifested in desiring or resolving of events.

4. A ruler’s will, as lawgiver, is first and principally that his laws be obeyed, and not at all that the penalty be executed on any, but only on supposition that they will not obey his laws. But a ruler’s will, as judge, supposeth the law already either kept or broken; and therefore he resolveth on rewards or punishments accordingly.

Having given up these necessary distinctions, I shall next apply them to the case in hand in these following propositions.

1. It is in the glass of the word and creatures that in this life we must know God; and so, according to the nature of man, we ascribe to him understanding and will, removing all the imperfections that we can, because we are capable of no higher positive conceptions of him.

2. And, on the same grounds, we do (with the scripture) distinguish between the acts of God’s will, as diversified from the respects or the objects, though as to God’s essence they are all one.

3. And the bolder, because that, when we speak of Christ, we have the more ground for it from human nature.

4. And thus we say, that the simple complacency, will, or love of God, is to all that is naturally or morally good according to the nature and degree of its goodness. And so he hath pleasure in the conversion and salvation of all, which yet will never come to pass.

5. And God, a ruler and law-giver of the world, hath so far a practical will for their salvation as to make them a free deed of gift of Christ and life, and an act of oblivion for all their sin, if so be they will not unthankfully reject it, and to command his messengers to offer this gift to all the world, and persuade them to accept it. And so he doth all that, as a lawgiver or promiser, belongs to him to do for their salvation.

6. But yet he resolveth, as lawgiver, that they that will not turn shall die: And, as judge, when their day of grace is past, he will execute that decree.

7. So, that he thus unfeignedly willeth the conversion of those that will never be converted; but not as absolute Lord, with the fullest efficacious resollution, nor as a thing which he resolveth shall undoubtedly come to pass, or would engage all his power to accomplish. It is in the power of a prince to set a guard upon a murderer, to see that he shall not murder and be hanged: But, if upon good reason he forbear this, and do but send to his subjects, and warn and intreat them not to be murderers, I hope he may well say, that he would not have them murder and be hanged: He takes no pleasure in it, but rather that they forbear and live: And, if he do more for some, upon some special reason, he is not found to do so by all. The king may well say to all the murderers and felons in the land, “I have no pleasure in your death, but rather that you would obey my laws and live: But, if you will not, I have resolved for all this, that you shall die.”—The judge may truly say to the thief or murderer, “Alas, man, I have no delight in your death: I had rather thou had kept the law and saved thy life: but seeing thou hast not, I must condemn thee, or else I should be unjust.” So, though God have no pleasure in your damnation, and therefore calls upon you to return and live; yet he hath pleasure in the demonstration of his own justice, and the executing his laws; and therefore he has for all this fully resolved, that, if you will not be converted, you shall be condemned. If God were so much against the death of the wicked as that he were resolved to do all that he can to hinder it, then no man should be condemned; whereas Christ telleth you that few will be saved. But so far God is against your damnation as that he will teach you and warn you, and set before you life and death, and offer you your choice, and command his ministers to intreat you not to damn yourselves, but accept his mercy, and so to leave you without excuse. But, if this will not do, and if still you be unconverted, he professeth to you, he is resolved on your damnation, and hath commanded us to say to you in his name, ver. 18, “O wicked man, thou shalt surely die!” And Christ hath little less than sworn it over and over, with a “Verily, verily, except you be converted, and born again, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven” Matt. xviii. 3. John iii. 3. Mark that he said, you cannot. It is in vain to hope for it, and in vain to dream that God is willing for it, for it is a thing that cannot be.

In a word, you see then the meaning of the text, that God, the great law giver of the world, doth take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn and live; though yet he be resolved that none shall live but those that turn, and, as a judge, even delighteth in justice, and in manifesting his hatred of sin, though not in the misery, which they have brought upon themselves, in itself considered.

2. And for the proofs of the point, I shall be very brief in them, because I suppose you easily believe it already.

1. The very gracious nature of God, proclaimed, Exod. xxxiv. 6. and xx. 6. and frequently elsewhere, may assure you of this, that he hath no pleasure in your death.

2. If God had more pleasure in thy death than in your conversion and life, he would not have so frequently commanded thee in his word, to turn; he would not have made thee such promises of life, if thou wilt but turn; he would not have persuaded thee to it by so many reasons. The tenor of his gospel proves the point.

3. And his commission, that he had given to the ministers of the gospel, doth fully prove it. If God had taken more pleasure in your damnation than in thy conversion and salvation, he would never have charged us to offer you mercy, and to teach you the way of life, both publicly and privately; and to intreat and beseech you to turn and live; to acquaint you with your sins, and foretel you of your danger, and to do all that possibly we can for your conversion, and to continue patiently so doing, though you should hate or abuse us for our pains. Would God have done this, and appointed his ordinances for your good, if he had taken pleasure in your death?

4. It is proved also by the course of his providence. If God had rather you were damned than converted and saved, he would not second his word with his works, and entice you by his daily kindness to himself, and give you all the mercies of this life, which are his means to lead you to repentance, Rom. ii. 4. and bring you so often under his rod to force you to your wits. He would not set so many examples before your eyes, no, nor wait on you so patiently as he doth, from day to day, and year to year. These are no signs of one that taketh pleasure in your death.—If this had been his delight, how easily could he have had thee long ago in hell? How often before this could he have caught thee away in the midst of thy sins, with a curse or oath, or lie in thy mouth, in thy ignorance, and pride, and sensuality? When thou wast last in thy drunkenness, or last deriding the ways of God, how easily could he have stopped thy breath, and tamed thee with his plagues, and made thee sober in another world? Alas! how small a matter is it for the Almighty to rule the tongue of the profanest railer, and tie the hands of the most malicious persecutor, or calm the fury of the bitterest of his enemies, and make them know that they are but worms? If he should frown upon thee, thou wouldst drop into thy grave. If he gave commission to one of his angels to go and destroy ten thousand sinners, how quickly would it be done. How easily can he lay thee upon the bed of languishing, and make thee lie roaring there in pain, and make thee eat the words of reproach which thou hast spoken against his servants, his word, his worship, and his holy ways, and make thee send to beg their prayers whom thou didst despise in your presumption! How easily can he lay thy flesh under gripes and groans, and make it too weak to hold thy soul, and make it more loathsome than the dung of the earth!—That flesh which now must have what it loves, and must not be displeased though God be displeased; and must be humored in meat, drinks, and clothes, whatever God says to the contrary, how quickly would the frowns of God consume it?—When thou wast passionately defending thy sin, and quarrelling with them that would have drawn thee from it, and shewing thy spleen against the reprover, and pleading for the works of darkness; how easily could God have snatched thee away in a moment, and set thee before his dreadful Majesty, where thou shouldest see ten thousand times ten thousand glorious angels waiting on his throne? and have called thee there to plead thy cause, and asked thee, “What hast thou now to say against your Creator, his truth, his servants, or his holy ways? Now plead thy cause, and make the best of it thou canst. Now what canst thou say in excuse of thy sins? Now give account of thy worldliness and fleshly life, of thy time, of all the mercies thou hast had!” O how thy stubborn heart would have melted, and thy proud looks be taken down, and thy countenance turned pale, and thy stout words changed into speechless silence, or dreadful cries, if God had but set you thus at his bar, and pleaded his own cause with thee, which thou hast here so maliciously pleaded against! How easily can he at any time say to thy guilty soul, “Come away, and live in that flesh no more till the resurrection,” and it cannot resist! A word of his mouth would take off the poise of thy present life, and then all thy parts and powers would stand still: And, if he say unto thee, “Live no longer, or live in hell,” thou couldest not disobey.

But God hath yet done none of this, but hath patiently forborne thee, and mercifully upheld thee, and given thee that breath which thou didst breathe out against him, and given those mercies which thou did sacrifice to thy flesh, and afforded thee that provision, which thou spentest to satisfy thy greedy throat; he gave thee every minute of that time which thou didst waste in idleness, or drunkenness, or worldliness: and doth not all his patience and mercy shew that he desired not thy damnation? Can the candle burn without the oil? Can your houses stand without the earth to bear them? As well can you live one hour without the support of God. And why did he so long support thy life, but to see when thou wouldest bethink thee of the folly of thy ways, and return and live. Will any man purposely put arms into his enemy’s hands to resist him; or hold a candle to a murderer that is killing his children, or to an idle servant that plays or sleeps the while? Surely it is to see whether you will at last return and live, that God hath so long waited on thee.

5. It is farther proved, by the suffering of his Son, that God taketh no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Would he have ransomed them from death at so dear a rate? Would he have astonished angels and men by his condescension? Would God have dwelt in flesh, and have come in the form of a servant, and have assumed humanity into one person with the Godhead? And would Christ have lived a life of suffering, and died a cursed death for sinners, if he had rather taken pleasure in their death? Suppose you saw him but so busy in preaching, and healing of them, as you find him in Mark iii. 21. or so long in fasting, as in Matt. iv. or all night in prayer, as in Luke vi. 12. or praying with the drops of blood trickling from him instead of sweat, as Luke xxii. 44. or suffering a cursed death upon the cross, and pouring out his soul as a sacrifice for our sins: Would you have thought these the signs of one that delighted in the death of the wicked?

And think not to extenuate it by saying, that it was only for his elect: For, it was thy sin, and the sin of all the world, that lay upon our Redeemer; and his sacrifice and satisfaction is sufficient for all, and the fruits of it are offered to one as well as another: but it is true, that it was never the intent of his mind to pardon and save any that would not by faith and repentance be converted. If you had seen and heard him weeping and bemoaning the state of disobedient, impenitent people, Luke xiv. 41, 42. or complaining of their stubbornness, as Matt. xxiii. 37. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Or, if you had seen and heard him on the cross praying for his persecutors, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” would you have suspected that he had delighted in the death of the wicked, even of those that perish by their wilful unbelief? When God hath so loved, (not only loved, but so loved) the world, as to give His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, by an effectual faith, should not perish, but have everlasting life; I think he hath hereby proved, against the malice of men and devils, that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but had rather that they would turn and live.