At all times and in all ages the world has been so far from God that all people have deserved banishment from his kingdom. So we see that, in the time of the law, he chose a certain people and gathered them to himself, leaving the rest of the world in confusion. Although men were so separated from God, yet they all naturally belong to him, and as he made them all, so he governs and maintains them by his power and goodness. Therefore, when we see men going to destruction, because God has not been so gracious as to join them with us in the faith of the gospel, we must pity them, and endeavor to bring them into the right way.

Paul says, For there is one God, as if he had said, God has made all mankind, and has them under his protection, and therefore there must be some brotherhood existing between us. It is true that those who do not agree with us in faith are at a great distance from us, yet the order of nature shows us that we must not utterly cast them off, but take all the pains we can to bring them back to the unity of the body, because they are, as it were, cut off. When we see men thus scattered, we may well be astonished, when we reflect that we are all of the very same nature, and that the image of God was imprinted in them as well as in us. Moreover, that which should have been the strongest band to hold us together has caused the division, and made us enemies, namely, the service of God and the religion of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when we see poor unbelievers wander and go astray from the way of salvation, we must have pity on them, and do all we can to reclaim them, keeping in remembrance the words of the apostle, there is one God.

Paul adds, and one mediator between God and men. By this he gives us to understand that our Lord Jesus Christ came, not to reconcile a few individuals only to God the Father, but to extend his grace over all the world. We see set forth throughout the whole Scripture that he suffered, not for the sins committed in Judea only, but for those committed throughout the world. The office of our Lord Jesus Christ was to make atonement for the sins of the world, and he is the mediator between God and men. Having taken our flesh upon him, and so far abased himself as to become man, we ought to submit ourselves to him in all his requirements. Our Lord Jesus Christ was made like us, and suffered death, so that he might become an advocate and mediator between God and us, and open a way by which we may come to God.

Those who do not endeavor to bring their neighbors and unbelievers to the way of salvation plainly show that they make no account of God's honor, and that they try to diminish the mighty power of his empire, and to set him bounds, so that he may not rule and govern all the world. They likewise darken the power and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and lessen the dignity given to him by the Father. The apostle, in his epistle to the Hebrews, says, in chapter 2:17-18, Therefore in all things it behooved him to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. If a man does not know what adversity means, he has no compassion on those who suffer, but, being drunk with pleasure, he counts poverty to be nothing.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was a partaker of all our miseries, and tasted all our afflictions, sin only excepted. And why? To the end that, when we come to him, he may be ready to help us. Having tasted our afflictions in his own person, he entreats God to have pity on us. When he appears as mediator, we have nothing to fear. We may come with uplifted hands, calling upon God our heavenly Father, not doubting that he will receive us as his children, through the merits of his Son, and make us feel the fruit of our adoption, so that we may come familiarly to him, laying open our necessities, and making known the grief that torments us, that we may be relieved from it.

The papists endeavor to prove that the saints are our patrons, and that they make intercession for us, alleging that we are not worthy to appear before God. But if this were the case, of what use is the office of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is mediator, and man? Let us notice what is contained in the law. When God commanded the people to pray to him, he showed them at once in what manner they were to perform this service, which was this. The people were to stand far off in the court of the temple. Neither the king nor any other, except the priest, was allowed to approach the sanctuary, for he was the figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the reason why he was clothed in new garments, and was consecrated and dedicated to God. The high priest, entering into the sanctuary, carried with him the blood of the sacrifice that he had offered, by which we may understand that no man can find favor with God except by virtue of the sacrifice that is offered in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus God has shown, by this solemn ceremony, that we could not call upon him unless there were an advocate to make intercession for the whole body of the church, and that this intercession must be grounded upon a sacrifice offered. This is the reason why Paul, after he had spoken of the intercession of Jesus Christ, adds, Who gave himself a ransom for all. For these things cannot be separated one from the other, the death and passion of the Son of God, and that he is our mediator, to the end that we may have access in his name to God the Father. Has not Jesus Christ appeared to show the truth, the substance, and the perfection of the figures of the law? And yet Satan strives to darken our minds, so that we may not perceive this mediator who was given.

We see that in the beginning of the gospel there were many heretics who believed the angels to be advocates. Paul, speaking of such, says in Colossians 2:18, Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. Paul gives such honor to Jesus Christ that all other intercessors and advocates must give way, and he alone be received as the only Savior. For forty years past, a man might as soon have heard Mohammed called the Savior of the world, as have heard the Son of God named as mediator and advocate among the papists. And to this day, if any of us call Jesus Christ a mediator and advocate, they will immediately begin to quarrel with us, wishing to know whether we mean that Christ is the only advocate, or that the saints are advocates as well. If we endeavor to maintain the dignity of the Son of God, they are displeased with us. Let us therefore be armed with the doctrine of the apostle, which teaches us that we cannot come near to God except through the mediation of Jesus Christ.

The papists are so shameless, I mean their doctors, that when they wish to prove the case they have forged against the pure doctrine of the gospel, they say, It is true that there is a mediator, but he is not the only one, for when we call a man one, it is not understood that he alone is in the world, and none else. But is not that which Paul says in this place, that there is one mediator, as true as that where he says, there is one God? It is the just vengeance of God, seeing they have endeavored to take away the office of mediator, that they should be brought into shame and disgrace, because they have dishonored the Son of God, the Lord of glory, the one to whom the Father commands both great and small to do homage, before whom every knee must bow, and in whose person we must worship the majesty of our God.

The papists acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the only mediator of redemption, and that it is he alone who redeemed the world, but as touching intercession, they say he is not alone, and that the saints who are dead have this office as well as he. The apostle says that we were redeemed by the blood of the Son of God, and therefore we must pray for all the world, for there is one mediator who has opened the way by which we may come to God. Jesus Christ is called mediator not only because he made reconciliation by his death, but because he now appears before the majesty of God, so that through him we may be heard, as Paul shows in the eighth chapter to the Romans. Jesus Christ has therefore redeemed us by his death and passion, and now makes intercession for us before God.

When we are exhorted to pray one for another, this does not diminish the office of our Lord Jesus Christ, but rather, through his means, we may all be made one together. When a man prays for himself, he ought also to include in his prayers the whole body of the church, so that we may not separate what God has joined together. The doctrine of the gospel must be our rule and guide. Does it lead us to departed saints? Does it appoint them to be our patrons and advocates? No, no. There is not a syllable in holy writ that makes mention of it. It is true that, while we live in this world, there ought to be mutual love between us, and every one ought to pray for his neighbors, but if I do anything more than the Scripture directs me, I go astray.

In the law it was said that the people should not come near the sanctuary, but should remain in the court, and that no man should enter into it except the one who offered the sacrifice. Even so, let us consider our own unworthiness, knowing that we are not only earthly creatures, but that we are full of sin, having become polluted and unclean in Adam. Therefore we can bring nothing to commend us to God, because we are not worthy to open our mouths before him. Let us then acknowledge our disease, so that we may come to the remedy. And what is this remedy? It is to have our Lord Jesus Christ for our High Priest, he who shed his blood, and gave himself a ransom for all. Therefore, let us not doubt that God is now merciful to us, seeing that Christ has reconciled us to him by virtue of his death and passion.

As the high priest bore the names of the children of Israel upon his shoulders, and had before him a breastplate that contained twelve precious stones, signifying the twelve tribes of Israel, even so Jesus Christ bore our sins and iniquities upon the cross, and now bears us, as it were, in his heart. This is the foundation upon which we stand. Therefore, let us not doubt that we shall find favor with God, if we come to him in the name of this mediator. We must not devise advocates and patrons after our own notions, but content ourselves with the simplicity of holy writ. Jesus Christ is called the mediator, not only because he makes intercession for us at present, but because he suffered for the sins of the world.

Therefore, let us learn to glorify God, and to thank him with all humility, because it has pleased him to draw us out of the abominations of the papists, so that we may be stirred up to walk in fear and carefulness. Seeing that it has pleased God to give us such an advocate and mediator as his own Son, let us not be afraid to come and present ourselves before him, and to call upon him in all our necessities, not that each one must do so privately, for himself alone, but let us all pray to God for the whole body of the church, and for all mankind.

When we pray to God, our prayers must be sanctified and consecrated by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have no need of the sprinkling of the pope's holy water, but the price of which Paul speaks must make satisfaction for us before God. We may rest assured that God will not cast away the sacrifice by which he has been reconciled to us, but will be content with it. When we pray, if we do not ground ourselves upon the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must of necessity be in doubt and perplexity, and so all our prayers will be vain and unprofitable. The Scripture informs us that if we do not pray in faith, we shall not be profited by it.

Who gave himself a ransom for all. When the apostle speaks thus of our Lord Jesus Christ, he casts down whatever men might presume upon, with respect to their own satisfactions, as they call them. This is a point well worth noting, for the world has deceived itself at all times, by endeavoring to please God with trifles. Consider the heathens. They were aware that they could not call upon God unless they had some mediator, and so they had their intercessors, by which they devised a thousand ways to find favor with God. The papists endeavored to please him by washing and purifying themselves, which was nothing but an apish imitation of that which God had appointed for the fathers, where he made use of corruptible elements to draw them to Jesus Christ. When they came to the temple of Jerusalem, the water was ready, even at the entrance, so that every one might purify himself, and thus come near the majesty of God. But the remedy was not in the water, which was a corruptible element, but it was a figure of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us deceive ourselves no more, by thinking that we can purchase God's favor by any ceremony or trifle of our own, for we would have been cast off and utterly condemned, had it not been for the atonement made by the blood of Jesus Christ. Here our whole trust lies, and by this we are assured that our sins are absolved. The papists say that original sin is forgiven us in baptism, and that if a Jew or heathen were baptized at the age of twenty, thirty, or forty years, the sins he had committed during his life would then be forgiven him. But if, after we are baptized, we fall and commit sin, they say we must not expect to find grace and pardon unless we bring some recompense.

The papists are constrained to confess that they cannot fully recompense God as they ought, and that it is impossible for men to make payment to him in all things. Therefore they add another supply, which is the blood of the martyrs, and the keys of the church, that is, the power given to the priests. Thus they destroy the ransom that was made for us by the death and suffering of our Lord Jesus, trusting in their own performances and works of supererogation, and if anything is wanting, the blood of the martyrs and the keys of the church fill up the account. Behold what horrible blasphemy! Does Paul speak here of a ransom that was made for little children only, and for those who are not baptized? No, on the contrary, he comprehends all the faults that make us guilty before God, for the way is open by which we may come to him by prayer, and find mercy. The ransom of which Paul speaks reaches to all our sins. We must therefore have recourse to it from day to day, and place all our confidence in it.

It is not only in this place that holy writ directs us to the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the shedding of his blood for the forgiveness of our sins, but this doctrine is common throughout the Scripture. Let us understand the necessity of a redeemer, and that by the price of his blood we are reconciled to God the Father, and have free access to him by prayer. Paul, having shown us that the grace purchased by the Son of God was common to all mankind, and was not confined to the Jews only, it might be asked, why did God choose one certain people for his inheritance? Why was it his pleasure that the Jews only should call upon him? Why did he shut up his promises among them? Why did he give them the figures, and exercise them with an expectation of this great redeemer who was promised?

It is true that, from the creation of the world, God always reserved for himself some people, and when he made his covenant with Abraham, he shut out the heathen from the hope of salvation. Although for a time it pleased him to use a special grace toward the Jews, yet this does not prevent his calling all mankind at present, for it pleases him to make the heathen and the Gentile partakers of it, and to have his church extend throughout the world, and to bring to the fold those who were far off. Thus we have the meaning of the apostle. We may notice here that it would have been of little use to us for Jesus Christ to have made the atonement, unless we were assured of this benefit, and were told that God had called us to enter into possession of this salvation, and to enjoy the blessings that had been purchased for us.

For example, behold the Turks, who cast away the grace purchased for all the world by Jesus Christ. The Jews do likewise, and the papists, although they do not do it so openly, show it in effect. All of them are as much shut out and banished from the redemption that was purchased for us, as if Jesus Christ had never come into the world. And why? Because they do not have this witness, that Jesus Christ is their redeemer. Although they have some little taste, yet they always remain starved, and if they hear the word redeemer mentioned, it brings no comfort to them, nor do they receive any benefit from what is contained in the gospel. Thus we perceive that those who are not partakers of the blessings purchased by our Lord Jesus Christ do not receive the witness.

Before Jesus Christ came into the world, the Gentiles were not only unbelievers, but God had blinded their eyes, so much so that it seemed as if Christ came only for one certain people. Indeed, one would have thought, in the time of the law, that God had not spread the knowledge of his truth over all the world, but had given it to a particular people, whom he held for his church. Paul informs us that it pleased God to give his law to the fathers, and to set them apart from the rest of the world. He testified his good will toward Israel, and not to other nations, as it is said in Psalm 74:20, Have respect unto the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Moses likewise says, in Deuteronomy 32:9, For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. We see, therefore, that God chose for himself a particular people, namely, the stock of Abraham, setting others aside as strangers.

This is true, says Paul, but it is now necessary that this knowledge should be spread over all the world, that is, that God is the Father and Savior of the Gentiles, as well as of the Jews. We may therefore perceive that the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ would be unprofitable to us, unless it were witnessed by the gospel, for it is faith that puts us in possession of this salvation. This is a very profitable doctrine, for it is acknowledged that the greatest benefit that can be bestowed on man in this world is to be a partaker of the salvation purchased by Jesus Christ. Yet there are few who take the right way to obtain it. For we see how the gospel is despised, and how men stop their ears against the voice that God has ordered to be proclaimed throughout the world.

We see but few nowadays who become reconciled to God by the death of Jesus Christ, for they deprive themselves of this witness. Others cast it away, or at least profit so little by it that Jesus Christ does not dwell in them by faith, to make them partakers of his blessings. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 1:30, But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, so that, being grafted into him, we may have part and portion in all his riches, and whatever he has may be ours. Seeing that he was once pleased to become our brother, we must not doubt that, in taking upon him our poor and wretched state, he has made an exchange with us, so that we may become rich through his grace.

It is certain that God has always borne witness of himself, even to the heathens. Although they had neither law nor prophets, he has revealed himself to them sufficiently, to leave them without excuse. If there were nothing but the order of nature, as Paul mentions in Acts 14, it would be enough to convict unbelievers of their unthankfulness to God, who formed them, and has nourished them throughout life. For it is said in Psalm 19, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. Although they do not speak, yet they set forth his goodness in such a manner that we ought to be convinced without any other teacher. Behold the book of nature, written in letters plain enough to make known to us that we ought to glorify God!

But this witness was too dark for the rudeness and weakness of men. It was therefore necessary that God should reveal himself in another manner, which was far greater, and this he has done by means of the gospel. The law and the prophets were as a lamp to give light to the Jews, but they belonged to one people only. But this grace is bestowed generally upon all the nations of the earth. Therefore it is not without cause that Paul says this witness was to be testified in due time. In another place we see how marvelously he sets forth this great secret, which God had kept from the beginning of the world, but had now revealed by the preaching of the gospel, so that, he says, the angels marvel at it, to see those who were separated from God, who seemed to be cut off and banished from salvation, now taken for his children, to be members of Jesus Christ, and of the fellowship and company of the angels. This was a wonderful secret, and enough to astonish all creatures.

Paul says, in Galatians 4:4-5, But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. In this it pleased him to make known to the world that which was before unknown to the fathers. For he says, in Ephesians 2:12-15, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world, but now, in Christ Jesus, you who were sometimes far off are made near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, to make in himself of the two one new man, so making peace.

Thus the discord that was between the Jews and the Gentiles was abolished. Jesus Christ has not only proclaimed the glad tidings, but has sent forth his apostles and ministers to preach and publish peace to the world, to assemble the Jews, who were near by reason of the covenant, and of the solemn pledge made to their fathers, but who still needed a reconciliation through Jesus Christ the redeemer. These glad tidings were afterward directed to those who were far off, even to the poor Gentiles. They also received the message of salvation, and the peace of God, being assured that God so loved them that he forgave all their sins. Thus the wall of partition was broken down, and the ceremonies destroyed, by which God had made a difference between the Jews and the Gentiles. And why? Because this salvation belongs to all the world without exception.

We therefore have this doctrine made clear, namely, that it was necessary for our Lord Jesus Christ to make atonement for our sins, and that by his death he has purchased our redemption. We must therefore come to the testimony set forth in the gospel, so that we may enjoy the blessings contained in it. We must not say that God is changeable, because it pleased him to hide the witness of his gospel from the Gentiles for a season, and afterward to have it preached throughout the world, for this he had determined in the counsel of his own will. Let us therefore be convinced that it is our duty to worship and reverence him with all humility, for this is the greatest wisdom we can possess.

We must not be too curious in seeking vain and unprofitable questions, for God, who knows what we are able to bear, has made known that which is profitable for us to understand. Let us therefore learn in his school, and nowhere else. Isaiah speaks of an acceptable time, in chapter 49:8. He calls it an acceptable time when the message of salvation is carried throughout all the world. Seeing, then, that God has displayed his goodness, and shows that he chose a particular time to call us to salvation, let us not, on our part, be stiff necked, and show our corrupt hearts, and say that all is not well, for this churlishness will keep us from coming to God. But let us heartily content and rest ourselves upon the grace offered, so that there may be a sweet union between God and us, and that we may acknowledge it to be a fit time, because the Lord has chosen it.

If things do not go according to our own minds, we must not find fault, and say that God should have done otherwise, but let us restrain ourselves, and show implicit obedience to his divine will. Let us be ruled by his counsel, and remember that it is not for us to appoint a time when he shall do what is to be done. This mastery and office of commanding is not in our hands, but belongs to God alone. When the gospel is called a witness, it is to assure us that God is kind and favorable toward us. But if we doubt, after having this assurance of his good will, and stand wavering, and show ourselves rebellious against him, we cannot do him a greater dishonor. Let us remember that, whenever the gospel is preached to us, God bears us witness of his goodness.

Moreover, although those who speak to us are mortal men, yet let us consider in what position God has placed them. He has made them his witnesses. When a man is sworn as a notary in any place, the writings he receives must be taken for true and authentic. If magistrates, who have so little authority, can do this, and the order is good and allowable in a commonwealth, how much more ought we, when God sends his witnesses to proclaim the gospel, to receive the message of salvation that they bring. If we do not, the honor of God is shamefully abused.

Let us learn, therefore, to be more obedient than we have been in times past, and to attend more strictly to the doctrine of the gospel. If Paul was driven to fight against the pride and malice of men in his time, what is to be done now? For we see that ungodliness overflows, and the papists endeavor to abolish the remembrance of God's truth from the world. But we need not go so far. Many among ourselves are profane, and tread the word of God, as it were, under foot, and even live in defiance of it. We see men who call themselves Christians, and wish to be taken for such, yet they will not be governed by the word of God, but scorn and scoff at the doctrine of the gospel. I wish to God these things were not so common among us.

If these scoffers come to hear a sermon once a month, it is to find out whether we speak according to their own fancy or not. If not, they immediately begin to murmur, and to say, all is worthless, you would make us believe that we do not our duty. But let us mark well the words of Paul, where he protests that he is God's witness, and shows that all who rebel against the gospel, and will not submit themselves to it, must not think that they have to deal with men, but with God, for the work is his. Let us therefore beware that we submit ourselves to God, and bow down our necks to his obedience, and so honor and magnify his glorious name, that he may acknowledge us as his children, and that we may, all the days of our life, call upon him as our Father and our Savior.