Richard Vines (c.1600–1656) on God’s Earnest Offers of Grace

Now having said this, concerning the grace put forth and exercised in the act of Conversation; and shown that Converting grace flowing from the purpose of God, is in the act of Conversion victorious over the resistance of the corrupt heart, and though it do not suddenly extirpate all the degrees of habitual perverseness and rebellion, yet it binds up the actual resistance at that time, as that it is imprevalent to divert the work of so powerful grace: I come to the point wherein the resistance offered to the grace of God doth lie; and that is, the grace that is promisciously offered unto man in the Ministry of the Gospel or other external means, though it be carried [on?] by great enlightenings, moral suasions, sweet invitations, loud pulsations, or knockings at the door of security: and though by these means there be wrought some common graces that are common in elect and reprobate, like the joy in the stony ground: I say though these be, yet both these offers of grace, which being received would make a man happy, are resisted and opposed: and these shallow graces are but like some winter [page 120 begins] fruit, that never ripen, and come to maturity, as the blade in the thorny and stony ground never came to ear well and so to harvest: so these graces may be finally choked, and from them a man may finally fall away: this is the point of resistance of this grace offered; which before I give the reasons of, I shall premise three things to be handled:

First, Concerning these offers of grace, I shall say three things.
Secondly, Show the entertainment of these offers is with opposition and recusancy.
Thirdly, The dangerous case that man falls into by this refusal;

As concerning the offers of grace that God makes you in the Gospel, know three things:

First, That the Gospel tenor or terms may be propounded to every creature; that’s the phrase of Christ, Mark 16:15. Go preach the Gospel to every creature; that is, in the dialect of Christ which was the received form of speech used at the time by the Jewish Rabbis, every man, every human creature, for it belongs not to the Angels that sinned, though they be sinful creatures; these Gospel proposals do not belong to them, but every human creature, which is expounded by Matthew, Go and Baptize, that is Disciple all Nations, Matt. 28. and what’s the meaning properly of all Nations and every creature? this, that whereas the Jewish Pale was but of one Nation, they were the Church of God impaled, and there was a wall of partition, and the several is made common; now go preach to every creature: that is, the Jews only are not the subjects of Gospel promises, but all and every [page 121 begins] man, to them it may be proposed: and what are those Gospel terms? he that believes and is baptized, shall be saved; he that believes not, shall be damned: but is this Gospel? he that believes not, shall be damned.

To this I answer, you must consider the meaning of it: under the Law there was a curse [that] went out against every man for every sin: there could not be an idle word or thought but the curse of the Law went out against: In Gal. 3:10 Cursed is everyone, &c. Now mark, though this curse may go forth against every sin by the sentence of the Law, yet it is dissolved and taken off from believers, and abides only because of unbelief, John 3, ult. Believing takes off every score; and that only.

About these offers of the Gospel consider two things, they are made with Invitations and with Encouragement.

First with Invitation of such as could not expect to be at the marriage feast of a King’s Son; Go out saith the King, to the high-ways and hedges, and invite the meanest and most remote creatures, Matt. 22:4. and they called in both good and bad, and furnished the feast with guests: all sorts may have these Gospel proposals made to them. And,

Secondly, It’s made with Encouragement, and that to the most crimson and scarlet sinners, Isa. 1:16–18. Wash you, make you clean, &c. None that came to Christ for cure were dismissed without healing, though they were Samaritans and not Israelites: therefore no man can say, that God by the tenor of the Gospel hath excluded him, or shut the door against him; for in Isa. 56:5, 6. the Prophet Isaiah gives in words of Encouragement; Let not the son of the stranger say I am cast out; nor the Eunuch, I am a dry tree (for both the son of the stranger, the Proselyte, and the Eunuch had a mark of disgrace upon them) for if they fear the Lord, they shall enjoy the privileges [page 122 begins] of children and favorites; his meaning is, there is no man so alien, so remote from God and his favor, that hath all the marks of disparagement upon him; but if he will come in and believe, the invitation is made to him: I confess we read in the Scripture, that the Spirit of God forbade the lantern-bearers of the Gospel to go into some Countries, and the providence of God at all times and at this time so regulates the sun of the Gospel, as that some people are as in night: but this I say, that no man is excluded by the Gospel tenor from the offer of grace that is propounded in the Gospel, by any national bar as in former time: And then,

Secondly, As the Gospel offer, and the proposals thereof may be made to every man without any other consideration than that he is a sinner. Art thou a sinner? for thee Christ is a Saviour: that as the brazen Serpent was set upon the pole for the wounded and bitten with fiery Serpents: So is grace offered in the Gospel, to them that are sinners without any other consideration for the offer of it: understand me right: but for the promise of the Gospel, that’s made to everyone that comes to Christ for the grace promised; and here is no condition of worthiness, but of fitness and meetness, whereby a man may be in a nearer capacity, but hath no more merit or worth, as I shall here show you: The Gospel makes the Proclamation of pardon to all men that are in actual rebellion: that as a Prince by his pardon charms the sword out of the hands of a Rebel: so if your iron hearts were softened to understand the grace of God, upon his Proclamation you might have the sword of rebellion charmed out of your hands, and be brought into submission unto Christ: but the Gospel makes the promise of pardon and grace to a believer in Christ, and to every believer without any respect to what he hath been in times past; [page 123 begins] whether he be a Barbarian or Scythian, bond or free; for the righteousness of God is upon all and unto all that believe; for there is no difference, Rom. 3:22. Mark and be invited I beseech you that have so long stood it out and resisted the grace of God: Oh! be you invited to come in; the promise is to every one that thirsteth, Isa. 55:1. All that are weary and heavy-laden with the burden of their sins and miseries, Matt. 11:28. And whosoever will (viz. is willing) let him come and take of the water of life freely, Rev. 22:17. Every one that believeth in Christ, shall not perish, but have eternal life, John 3:15, 16. So that you see the Proclamation is general, the invitation of the thirsty to water, wine & milk, of the loaden and weary unto rest, of the willing unto the water of life; and the Promise is general to all and every believer, and that of eternal life; and therefore you may conclude, there is an offer of grace made to sinful and wicked men by the Gospel; for thou (saith the Psalmist of Christ) hast received gifts for men; yea for the rebellious also that God may dwell amongst them, Psa. 69:18. And then,

Thirdly, Which binds all the rest, whomsoever God doth call to faith and Conversion by the invitations of his Word, and by the pulsations or knockings of his Spirit, he calls and invites them seriously and in good earnest: what think you? when Christ saith, how often would I have gathered you! and when God saith, Ezek. 14:13. I purged thee and thou wast not purged: are these things spoken in jest? we must not judge that grace is not offered in good earnest by the event that it hath in us, for it may be frustrate and without success, but judge by the nature of the benefit offered, by the excitements afforded, and the aids and motions supplied, and by the tendency of them what they mean, and in their nature drive at; even at the bringing of you to Christ Jesus: [page 124 begins] let no man think with himself that God Tantelizeth man with the offers of his grace, and that he is not really minded that they should be received; but let this principle be settled and thoroughly fixed in your hearts, that God is in good earnest and means seriously, when he wooes and invites you to repentence; for this principle is of great use; for that induces the acceptance, the reality of the offerer: no man will look on a bargain that is offered him in jest: look after a gift though never so rich that is holden forth in a pretense and simulation; this will not induce a man to look after grace, if he hath this persuasion that God Tantalizeth him with it: what man living under the Gospel can stand out and say? Lord, I would, but thou wouldest not; I put forth my hand and thou drewest back thine; let no man think this to excuse himself upon God; this was intended by a Parable, Luke 19:20. of him that had a talent given him who laid it up and did not use it, thinking to excuse himself on the temper, the austerity of the Master, so to put off all blame from himself, whereby our Savior signifies that men would put the fault upon God; saith he, Master, I knew you were a hard man, that reapest where thou didst not sow; therefore I laid up the talent that thou mightest have thy own; the Master speaks to him, calling him [an] evil servant, and retorts the objection upon himself, if I were a hard man, thou oughtest to have put forth thy talent rather: he is deceived that thinks to clear his neglect by fastening a reason for it upon God: for there are four things in the Scripture that seem to me to prove these offers of grace in the Gospel to  be serious; I know not how others may interpret them.

First, The pathetical form that is used of inviting sinners, so low sometimes that God doth beseech us to be reconciled; God and Christ doth beseech you by us that [page 125 begins] are his Ministers and Ambassadors, 2 Corinthians 5:20.

Secondly, By the frequent exhortations: and amongst the rest (for I should speak the whole Bible in a manner to name all) that 2 Cor. 6:1. we beseech you that you receive not the grace of God in vain (for its not offered to you in vain) for he saith there is a day of Salvation and that is now. And then,

Thirdly, By the expostulations with careless negligent men for not coming in, neglecting or abusing these offers; I wonder that you are so soon perverted and carried away to another Gospel, in Gal. 6:1. And then,

Fourthly, By the promises made and holden forth, Rev. 3:20. I stand at the door and knock, if any man will open to me, I will come and sup with him: and do not all these forms of dealing with man prove sufficiently the reality of the offers of grace to a sinner? yea verily, and that he doth not dally with men: For else,

First, God should seem hereby to deceive men, to offer them in the Name of his Son Christ, and never mean or intend that this grace should be by them received.

Secondly, The messengers whom God sends forth to be woers of chast virgins unto Christ, and to bespeak the espousals as the Word is, 2 Cor. 11:1, 2. they should be found false witnesses; for what would you take him to be that should speak to a man to bespeak a virgin for him, whom he never intends or means to have, if she would have him? And then,

Thirdly, The neglect of this grace might more excusably be made a great deal, and would have a greater color of excuse; for they would say, there was indeed grace holden forth to them in mockery, without any reality that they should receive it; but now God finds fault with men and blames them for not acknowledging [page 126 begins] or not considering that his goodness should lead them to repentance, and therefore do despise it as the phrase is, Rom. 2:4. And therefore it must be a plain case, that the drift and scope of that goodness is to lead men to repentance, and so the whole army of providential dispensations, the offers made in the Word, the excitements of the Spirit of God, as well as other goodness, do all speak and tend to the clearing of God of simulation or mere pretense: I would it were believed, that though you were never so remote and far from this grace, and seem to despair that you cannot have it, and think that God doth but dally when he makes the offer to you, or whatever your apprehensions be, settle it in your hearts, the offer is real, and God is serious and in good earnest when he offers Christ and grace in the Gospel. one great objection there is in this point.

Quest. How can these offers of grace be serious or in earnest, when so many thousands called by the Word are not absolutely converted? how doth God deal in good earnest in the offer of grace, when he doth not absolutely give it and work this Conversion? if God had a serious will, it would be absolute by power to work that he calls men unto; if God were in good earnest that I should be converted and believe in Christ, then God by his absolute and peremptory will would give me this grace and work it in me?

Answ. But we answer that the will of God may be serious, though it be not absolute and peremptory; God may by his serious will will that you repent, and yet by his absolute will work it not: The great instance in this point is: God had a serious will that Adam should stand, for God was not in jest in that business; but God had not an absolute will that he should stand, so as to work and confirm him in that estate; so as to cause Adam to stand [page 127 begins] in his integrity; so the will of God may be serious in commanding of a man to repent, and yet not absolute and peremptory to work it in that man if he refuse to obey the command; when God commands a man to make him a new heart, to circumcise his heart, or to obey his holy Laws, in all these God is serious and in good earnest, notwithstanding he doth not absolutely work these in all: In the Elect of God whom he hath chosen he doth indeed not only command, but works it: In all he doth not: And the reason is, because God is serious in his conditional promises or Covenant, when he speaks to man to believe, and thereupon promises pardon, he is in good earnest; for he would have men to believe, and it is their sin not to do it; and then if they do, the connection between faith and pardon is sure: a man earnestly persuades his servant or friend to be cut of the stone; they will not; the man takes his child and binds him, cuts and cures him; he goes further with his child then he did with his friend or servant; yet he did seriously persuade them, though he did not go so far with them, nor had he reason, but leaves them to themselves; not that a similitude should run on four feet, but take it in the general meaning; God doth persuade with men to break the stone, and to plough up the fallow ground of their hearts: but he takes them that belong to the Election of his grace, and whereas they refuse this grace as well as others, he takes away the heart of stone from them; I will take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh, and therefore when the Lord saith thus in Ezek. 18:31, 32. Cast away  your transgressions, make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die Oh house of Israel! I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, therefore turn yourselves and live: be assured God is in good earnest with you, this is his serious will, this God calls upon man [page 128 begins] for, notwithstanding he doth not work this new heart in all, but in some: for he saith in Ezek. 36:27. a new heart I will give you; he bids them to circumcise, and saith, I the Lord will circumcise, Deut. 30:6. man’s duty is made God’s act, that which God requires in man seriously, is made God’s act to perform in man graciously: in the mean time by his calling and offering of life, he hereby shows you what is his will or approbation, that is, what is the acceptable and perfect will of God, Rom. 12:3. there is an acceptable will and an effective will of God: the acceptable will of God is seen in this call and offer of grace: the effective will of God is that of his purpose which is effective of the work, works the work upon you: now God is serious when he speaks according to his acceptable will, though he doth not effect it absolutely and peremptorily.

Richard Vines, God’s Drawing and Man’s Coming to Christ (London: Printed for Abel Roper, at the Sun against St. Dunstans Church in Fleet-street, 1662), 119–128.

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Richard Vines (1600?–1656) on God's Drawing and Christ's Atonement

That as God sends Christ to us, so he must draw us also to him, or else there can be no salvation: and this may be thus proved. Those that come not to Christ, cannot be saved by him; those of the world that are not drawn by this drawing of the Father, do not come to Christ: therefore they are not saved: The service that this Inference doth, is, this will beat down the thoughts of many thousands that rest in this empty plea: God hath sent Christ to die, and to redeem mankind; it is well, and the plea is good for encouragement to believe; but if this be all the consolation, if this be all you rest upon, Gods act in sending Christ, you are much mistaken; for the great question is, Hath God drawn thee to Christ? Thou pleadest Christs mission: but Canst thou make Gods traction of thee to appear? This is the great point that this doctrine preaches: as if Christ should say, It is true, My Father hath sent me, and I am come to you by his appointment, to shed my blood for you; but you must come to me if you will have life; and come to me you cannot, except you be drawn by the power of him that sent me; for no man can come to me except the Father draw him.

Whether of the two be most necessary to salvation; Gods mission of Christ, or Gods traction of man to Christ, is as I conceive, a trivial question, hardly coming into the Schools, which will tye a knot in any rush; for they are both equally necessary: as the Serpent on the pole in view to be lookt upon, and the eye to see it were both necessary for the recovery of them that were bitten by fiery Serpents: except God send Christ, there is no object of Faith: except God draw you to Christ, there is no act of Faith: And the necessity of the object and of the act, cannot without fondness be compared together; for both are in their kind necessary in the highest degree: the mercy and the grace of God are eminent in both: the Father his sending Christ, and the Fathers drawing of sinners unto Christ, they are both necessary. But yet this sending, and this drawing, are of distinct consideration in divers respects.

First, God sending Christ, sets up to sinful man the object of his faith. For though all the Scripture be the object of that they call the Catholick faith; yet peculiarly, Christ in the Scripture is the kernel and marrow of all the types in the Old Testament: Christ is the object of Faith whereby it justifies: For though the eye that lookt to the brazen Serpent, could see many things besides; yet they could have no cure by the sight of any thing but that; this sets up to man the object of his Faith; Gods drawing, works in man the act of Faith: if Christ had not been sent, there had been no object to be believed on: If God should not draw sinners to him, there would be no faith to believe by: So that it would be as with Israel, if there were either no Serpent on the pole to be lookt unto, or no eye to look up to it, the recovery of those bitten with the fiery Serpents would fail.

Secondly, Gods sending of Christ was in pursuance of his Covenant made with our Mediator: Gods drawing unto Christ, is in pursuance of his Covenant made with sinners in the Mediator. That there is a Covenant of God the Father with Christ Jesus, seems very probable: because there was a Covenant made with the first Adam; therefore also with the second: And this is intimated by Christ himself, in these words, John 17.4. I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do. And in those, Heb. 10.9. Lo I come to do thy will O God. For there is that we call the Law, imposed upon our Mediator, that is the Covenant made with Christ. And Arminius in his Orations De Sacerdotio Christi, confesses this Covenant made with Christ, is very well expresst in these words, Isa. 53.10 When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin; therefore his soul was to be an offering: And the promise of the Covenant with Christ, that he should see his seed: this Covenant of God with the Mediator, what he should perform as Mediator, is pursued and brought to effect by God his sending of his Son: But the Covenant made with sinners in a Mediator, it is this, If you believe in, and come to this Lord Jesus whom he hath sent, you shall be saved: And this part of the Covenant is brought to effect and pursued by Gods drawing us to come to Christ: The want of making distinction between the Covenant with the Mediator, what he shall do, he shall make his soul an offering for sin: And what he shall have, he shall see his seed, he shall divide the spoil, take the captive out of the hands of the Devil: and between the Covenant with the sinner; where there are the same two respects; what he shall do, he shall come unto and believe in the Lord Jesus; and what he shall have, he shall be justified, saved, and recovered out of the hands of hell and damnation: How shall man be able to do this? saith God, I will draw him, for else he cannot come; for, No man can come to me except my Father draw him. I say, the not distinguishing of these two, breeds great confusion in the apprehensions of men about the Covenant.

Thirdly, Gods sending Christ, puts a difference between mankind and the Angels that sinned: But Gods drawing of man unto Christ, puts a difference between the elect and others. The speculation of which point, is of delightful and pleasant consideration. By sending Christ, he puts a difference between mankind, faln and lapsed, and the Angels that fell; there was no cord let down from heaven to them, to draw them out of the pit into which they were faln. By drawing unto Christ, he puts a difference between those that God will save, and those that he will not save; As many as were ordained to eternal life believed, Acts 13.48. To the Angels that sinned, Christ is not sent; there you see the love of God to mankind: And they that are not ordained to eternal life, are not drawn; that makes a distinction of men.

Fourthly, God in sending Christ doth not look at mans faith as antecedent, or required of man before God sends him: But Gods drawing man to Christ, works that faith whereby man is saved. Gods sending Christ, doth not look to faith at all, because Christ is sent to man yet resting in his unbelief; but that faith that is required to salvation, is wrought by Gods drawing, whereby he moulds the heart of man to Christ; as by a familiar comparison may be instanced: The eye looking up, was not required to the setting up of the Serpent upon the pole: by Gods command it was set up, whether any man was stung or no; but looking up was required to the recovery of the person stung.

Fifthly, If God should have sent Christ, and required it of mans power, or left it to mans power, to come in and to receive him, there would not have been a man, as I conceive, saved. And his sending, which is Gods act, would have faln short of its effect, without Gods drawing; because there would not have been faith found to have received and believed in him; for No man can, &c. and so Christs Kingdom had not been set up and built; there had no members been planted into this head. But the gift of Christ to and for men, being seconded by a power of bringing men in to Christ, gives effect and success; and therefore you shall find in the Gospel alwayes, Gods giving of Christ to man, is seconded by the giving of the Spirit; that as we are redeemed, reconciled, and justified by Christs merit and blood; so we must also be enlightened, regenerate and sanctified by Gods Spirit; the one of these accompanies the other: And this power of the Spirit doth so certainly go along with Christs merit, as the the salvation of any man, that it is said, Have one, have both. For he that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his, Rom. 8.9. Because though Christ be sent by the mission of God, yet without this Spirit there is no drawing, no traction of man to be a partaker of Christ, as we have some adumbration or shadow. In Israel they are delivered from the destroying Angel by blood sprinkled on the door posts: And from the Egyptian slavery by a mighty hand; shewing these two works in the delivery of man out of the slavery under which he lay: there is the work of Redemption, by the blood of Christ sprinkled upon him: and he must march out, be drawn out of sin by an out-stretched arm and mighty hand: these two must go together.

Sixthly, There is a general encouragement: you may call it Comfort, that arises to us from Gods sending Christ. For where there is no hope, there is no motion; where there is no encouragement to believe, there a man hath little heart: From Gods sending Christ to save you, there is encouragement; but the present Comfort, the special Consolation of a mans salvation, arises from the second particular of the two, that God hath drawn man to Christ Jesus; there is, I say, an encouragement that God hath sent Christ; that is, there is a salvability; men are made saveable from the curse and condemnation of the Law, under which they are involved: But the special comfort that they have to themselves in particular, must arise from this, that God hath drawn, and by converting grace, made them to believe in Christ: For this faith, this drawing of man to Christ, is both a pledge of salvation for the future, and a token of his election before-hand. And that which as it were doth couple both the poles together, the election of God, and the salvation of man; the one as a pledge because future; the other as a mark, or sign, because past; this is a comfortable point indeed. But certainly the point of sending Christ to make atonement for all, or of universal redemption, (let it be supposed) doth neither speak salvation nor election to any one in particular more then another; and therefore such silly souls, whether they be drawn by others, or through their own ignorance of the point, are mistaken and deceived, that do build the comfort of their salvation upon that, that God hath sent Christ for an encouragement to believe, & therefore they shall be saved; they do but build Castles in the air, that must be in the faith, and Christ must be in you, except you be reprobates, 2 Cor. 13.5. It is this drawing you to come to Christ that strikes the stroak; this teaching of God which teaches you to believe, that gives you the particular assurance of salvation. And therefore though God have sent Christ, yet there are thousands of reprobate and rejected persons in the world. It is Christ in you, and you in him by Faith, that strikes the stroak.

Seventhly, The point of Gods sending Christ affords sweet meditation; but the sense of Gods drawing they soul unto Christ, affords sweet consolation. In the one thou mayst see the love of God to the world; for God so loved the world, John 3.16. By the other thou mayst see his special love to thee; concerning which you find it written by the Apostle, Gal. 2.20. He loved me, and gave himself for me: No man can say this word me, until he be drawn unto Christ...

Richard Vines, God's Drawing and Man's Coming to Christ (London: Printed for Abel Roper, at the Sun against St. Dunstans Church in Fleet-street, 1662), 187–191.

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