Edward Hoare

“ But, before the cross of Christ, all such tendencies should at once disappear, and the immeasurable costliness of the Divine remedy should stamp all human schemes with nothingness. If man could do anything to make expiation for his sin, then why did the Son of God suffer? why the great mystery of the incarnation? why the agony in the garden? why the hiding of God’s countenance? and why the assurance that sin is blotted out through the Saviour’s most precious blood? ”

“ Surely guilt must be gone if we stand before the throne in the righteousness of Jesus. There is no stain on his garment, no defect in his love. It is perfect, spotless, and untainted for eternity; and the believer, who is clad in it, may cast to the winds all thought of punishment for bygone sin, and let his soul repose in the peaceful enjoyment of unimpeded love. ”

“ If a man were left for execution by an earthly judge, would his sentence be remitted if it were proved that, during his imprisonment, he had thought it right to abstain from meat? And if God’s heavy wrath frowns on a soul, and his justice demands the execution of his law, is it likely, I ask, that the sentence should be remitted because the sinner has thought it right to do penance for a week? The Catechism of Trent even presumes to say that penance is “as it were, a compensation for sin.” [11] Now, what penance can make a compensation to God? ”

“ The source of expiation is Divine justice, the means of it is punishment, and the end is the satisfaction of the law; the source of chastisement, on the other hand, is love, for “whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth;” the means of it may be sorrow, as the widow wept that she might rejoice over her risen son; but the end is that we are made more like to Christ, for “he does it for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” Let no afflicted believer, then, suppose that God is angry with him in his trouble, or that by his patient endurance he can make satisfaction for his sin. ”

“ They have been placed in various spheres in life, some buffetted by the rough adventures of this stormy world, some led through the fire of persecution, and called as witnesses for Christ to stand alone in their faith; while others have been led in the softer dealings of the Spirit by smoother paths, and to more gentle resting-places; but all have gained their strength from one source, and derived their peace from one truth—that source Christ Jesus; that truth the one most certain fact, that the Lord has made on the cross a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction for their sin. ”

“ It is felt by the profligate, for however earnestly he may strive to stifle conscience, he cannot altogether still the conviction that the path he is treading is the way to hell. The moralist feels it, for with all his propriety of outward conduct, and with all the delusive self-satisfaction which he grains from comparing his character with that of others, there remains a still small voice, which assures him, in language not to be mistaken, that in God’s sight he is defective, that God’s will has not been obeyed, and that his law has been most sadly broken. ”

“ Raise up, we earnestly entreat Thee, champions for the truth; revive in our days the spirit of the martyrs and reformers of old. Spare to Thy Church those who are zealous for Thee. May the faithful never fail from among us, but let the rising youth be trained to walk in the good old paths. ”

“ Thus the satisfaction for sin was perfect. The law passed sentence on man, and man endured it. The law claimed fulfilment, and man fulfilled it. The law required a worthy substitute for the whole race, and He, with all the attributes of the Godhead, was amply sufficient as a ransom for the world.
Thus his work is sometimes called atonement, because, by his own death, he atoned for sin, or presented an equivalent for the sinner’s guilt; sometimes expiation, because it expiated or took away the wrath due to sin; sometimes it is called satisfaction, because, in his death, he satisfied the law ”

“ Our satisfaction is that Christ has died, and that alone is sure to be sufficient, for it was purposed by the Father in his own eternal counsels; our atonement has been made by the spotless Redeemer, the eternal Son, and while we adore its full perfection, we give up all thoughts of mixing with it, or adding to it, the poor, defective, imperfect, sin-stricken efforts, which frail, feeble man may strive to make in order to effect a yet further compensation for his sin. ”

“ They bear with them all the deep interests of eternity, for without the atonement we are unquestionably lost, while receiving the atonement we are no less unquestionably safe. Measure therefore, if you can, the difference between the poor unhappy soul spending eternity in the agonies of the damned, and a blessed spirit rejoicing before the throne of God, and filled with delight in the unfettered exercise of holy love, and you may thence gain a scale or standard whereby to estimate the work of Jesus, when he gave himself as the propitiation for our sin. ”

“ Sometimes it is penance, through which mortal sin after baptism is said to be remitted, and of which the Council of Trent decrees, “Whoever shall affirm that the satisfactions by which penitents redeem themselves from sin through Christ Jesus, are no part of the service of God, but on the contrary, human traditions which obscure the doctrine of grace, and the true worship of God, and the benefits of the death of Christ, let him be anathema.” ”

“ When, therefore, we speak of a full satisfaction, we include both these truths, and in both these respects we are at direct variance with Rome.
As to the first, it is the doctrine of the Church of England that the work wrought out by Him was so complete, that there was nothing left for the sinner to do, in order to qualify himself for pardon, but that salvation is offered us on the simple terms, “Believe, and live.” “We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” ”

“ The formalist feels it, for, while, in the earnestness of his religion, he pursues with unremitting zeal his appointed course of rites and services, there is still a want of peace in the inmost recesses of his soul; there is earnestness without love, zeal without joy, religion without peace, and active devotion without any rest in communion with God. ”

“ The one great propitiation was enough, and we want no more. We know that there is deep corruption eating into the very heart’s core; we know that we cannot stand a moment before God without atonement, but we know also—and we hope to spend eternity in praising God for that blessed knowledge, that the atonement then made was perfect ”

“ Direct our hearts and minds by Thy Holy Spirit. Give us understanding of the times to know what we ought to do. Let Thy merciful help especially prevent and follow us as members of this Society. May we begin, continue, and end everything in Thee. ”

“ And, in the first place, it must be obvious that nothing else can make a satisfaction for sin. There is in the human heart a constant tendency to strive after some expiation, a tendency which is seen in Heathen as well as Christian lands, and which is nothing more than the natural effort of the unenlightened heart to shake off the burden of its guilt. ”

“ The Church of England, therefore, has decided in the Thirty-first Article, after describing the perfection of the work of our Lord,—“And there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone.” But in this respect we are in direct opposition to the Church of Rome, for, although its advocates admit in words the completeness of the atonement, and in theological discussion would trace all merit to it as the fountain-head, yet there are numberless decrees and practices which show too plainly that p. 10many other satisfactions have been practically admitted into their system. ”

“ We have neither prized nor improved our privileges as we ought. [We have sinned, and our fathers have sinned, and we have reason to fear lest there should be wrath upon us and upon our people, and lest Thou shouldest pour out the spirit of slumber and delusion upon us.] ”

“ The change in man’s heart is a consequence which follows from it, but the change in God’s regard to the sinner is the one effect immediately produced by it. Its one object was to enable him to spare the sinner without departing from his law, to give full vent to his love without detracting from his holiness, to take the curse away that the sinner, who deserved it, might be loved as an adopted child. “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ”

“ It is true that the punishment is described as temporary, but the fact that there is any punishment at all is a virtual denial of the completeness of the atonement, for there can be no punishment if there is no remaining charge of sin ”

“ Still less can there be any second offering of our Lord Jesus Christ himself. It would be strange to suppose that there could be any fresh propitiation made by any fresh victim, but stranger still would be the idea that the Saviour himself, the Son of God, should again suffer for man. ”

“ It is no less opposed to the doctrine of his mediation, for it is a living priest that we require, and it is because he ever liveth that “he is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him.” And it is no less in violation with every description of his glory, for though he appears in heaven as the Lamb, that has been slain, he has declared from that very throne that he can be slain no more: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore.” ”

“ Strengthen and encourage those Protestant Representatives who are faithful to Thy cause; increase their influence, and add to their numbers. Pour out Thy Spirit upon all estates of the realm, the clergy and the laity, the rich and the poor. May they strive together, as members of one body, for the common faith. ”

“ In the Catechism of Trent an explanation is given of the doctrines defined in the decrees, and there we find the same distinction between eternal and temporal punishments; we find also a distinction between God’s mercy and his justice, and it says of God, that “through his mercy he forgives sins, and the eternal punishments due to them; through his justice he punishes the man with punishments of limited duration.” [15b] The justice, therefore, of God is described as still in exercise against the believer. ”

“ Now believers in the Bible are not afraid boldly to say, “Let that anathema rest on us,” for we do believe from the bottom of our heart that the doctrine of grace is obscured and neutralized by such a system of human satisfaction. We believe it to be utterly impossible for penitents to redeem themselves from sin by any satisfaction whatsoever. “It cost more to redeem their souls, so that they must let that alone for ever.” We believe at the same time that there is no such satisfaction needed, but that the whole judgment has been so completely p. ”

“ There was never such a person, nor such a scheme. In order to represent man, he became himself perfect man. In order to satisfy the law, he first in his life fulfilled its holiness, and then in his death bore its sentence. ”

“ We are all by nature, according to our Article, “very far gone from original righteousness;” and, according to the language of the Scriptures, “the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God:” words clearly descriptive of an enmity on our part towards him. Then, again, that same Article teaches us that “in every person born into the world this inbred sin deserveth God’s wrath and damnation,” in exact accordance with the same Scripture, which declares, that “the wrath of God is p. ”

“ With meekness of wisdom may we ever be p. 24ready to defend our principles and to protest against error. Let us unite holy zeal, boldness, and stedfastness, with a spirit of genuine charity. Grant us a right judgment in all things, Christian unanimity in our counsels, and perseverance in well-doing. ”

“ Eighteen centuries have passed since it was offered, and have borne down in their passage thousands and tens of thousands of happy spirits, who, washed in that living fountain, have found a peaceful reception in the Lord. They have each one borne with them the sad taint of deep corruption, and have grieved in spirit over indwelling sin. ”

“ I. That this Society be called “The Islington Protestant Institute.”
II. That the objects of the Society be to awaken the attention of Protestant Christians to the progress of Popery; to call forth and unite their energies in opposing it; and to form a rallying-point, as well for the defence and promotion of Protestant truth, as for the maintenance of the Protestant principles of the Constitution. ”

“ As the pecuniary qualification for Membership has been fixed at the low rate of 5s., and as every Subscribing Member receives, in the form of publications, considerably more than an equivalent for that sum, it is obvious that the Society can only be maintained by the liberality of such as can afford to contribute more largely to its Funds. ”

“ He says, in chap. ix. 26, “Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Can he, then, be appearing daily in his human person, that he may be sacrificed again? He says, chap. ix. 28, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;” and chap. x. 10, “By the which will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Is it possible, then, that he should be offered every Sunday on ten thousand Romish altars? He says, chap. x. 12, “This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, p. ”