folve it to be a Course Unneceffary to Amend their Evil and Vicious Lives: Nay, They went farther: They from thence Concluded, that, by the more Sin a Man Committed, He did God the more Glory, as giving the more Occafion for His more abundant Grace. And yet the Apostle did not, for this Abufe, Retract His Doctrine of the Abounding of Grace by Faith, above the Abounding of Sin and Guilt by Tranf greffion; but with proper Diftinction, infifted on it the more; paffing Sentence of Damnation upon all Those that did pretend, as from that Doctrine of His, to Teach, that Evil might be done that Good might Come; that is, That Men might Sin more, to give the more Occafion, as aforefaid, for the Operations of Grace. Rom. 3. 5. 7, 8. and, 6. 1. And we, not to run into Extreams on either Hand, muft, as the Cafe, at any Time, is, do the Same. The Doctrine of Juftification by Faith, rightly Understood, cannot Excufe or Encourage any Man in Sin; Repentance and a Good Life following as the Natural Fruit of that Divine Virtue. For, It fuppofes Us to be even Dead with Chrift to our Sins: And, if fo, If we be Dead to Sin, How (as the Apostle does demand) fhall we Live any longer therein? Rom. 6. 2. For, as many of Us as are Baptized into Chrift, are Baptized into His Death, that like as Chrift was Raised from the Dead By THE GLORY of the Father, even fo we also Should Walk in NEWNESS of Life. To be a Believer, is to be Dead with Chrift; And, To be Dead with Chrift, and yet to Live in our Sins; Sins; This in the Nature of Things implies an Impoffibility, a Contradiction. So that, upon the Whole, We are very fafe with the Scripture-Doctrine of Fuftification by Faith, rightly Understood: But, not fo with the Adverfaries Doctrine of Repentance divided from Faith. For, this Robs our God and Saviour of the Honour of His Work of Redemption: It gives the Lie to His Reveal'd Word: It offers Contempt to the Divine Mercy; Does Despite to the Spirit of Grace: It fets up SELF; And, therefore, must be a Crime more Hateful and Pernicious even than Idolatry. Nay, As Men, according to this Doctrine, are fuppofed to be already Perfect in Themselves; And, to be able, (if at any Time they fall from fuch Their fuppofed Perfection) to Recover, and Re-inftate Themselves in the Same: As, according to this Scheme, They need no Grace to keep them Right, nor to Recover and Reftore them, when they have gone Wrong: As they cannot, therefore, be in any Danger of Forfeiting Grace, nor of being Reprobated for their Neglect or Abuse of it; But, Repentance, Simple Repentance, is, in any Cafe, All that they want; And, To Repent, (except under certain Accidents which Few expect will happen to themselves) is always in their Power. I fay, As all these are Branches or Confequences of this Doctrine of Repentance divided from Faith; So does this Doctrine give Sinners up, to Sin on with all poffible Complacency, Affu L rance, rance, and Satisfaction; As presuming, that they have the Game at all Times in their own Hands; That they may, therefore, very well Take and Enjoy the Wages of Sin for the prefent, and Repent at better Leifure, in Languid Years, or on a Death-Bed; when it fhall not be in their Power, or Inclination, to Sin any Longer. I fhall Finish with Oppofing to the Talk of one bad Lay-Writer the Senfe of another good one, Pointing at both the Corrupt Original and Tendency of fuch Doctrines as that of the Sufficiency of Repentance to Obtain the Divine Pardon and Forgiveness to Sinners without Faith in the Redemption by Chrift. " "Falfe Schemes of Religion, being the Pro"ducts of Men's own Inventions, being con"trived to Magnify their fuppofed Wisdom, "and to Gratify their Pride and Lufts; do "naturally give them that Falfe Pleasure, do "make them Act with that Affiduity, Union, "&c. which is common among Enthufiafts, "Quakers, and Free-Thinkers ;' Whereas the Defign of Christianity, being the Pulling down of Strong Holds, Cafting down Reasonings, and every High Thing that Exalteth Itself against the Knowledge of God, and Bringing into Captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Chrift. This never was, nor will, be Agreeable to the Palate of the Philofophizing Genius's of the World; who cannot bear a Religion that fo breaks in upon all Their Notions of Wisdom, and Abilities in Themselves to Direct and De termine termine Their own Actions without any Affiftance from Above; Of a Right and Sufficiency in Themselves to gratify Their Appetites in Pleasures of Sense, and to Form Creeds for Themselves; And, Finally, Of the Obligation the Deity is under (upon fuch Terms as They fhall fuppofe Reasonable) to admit Them to the Eternal Fruition of His Prefence. And, in another Place more directly to our Point. Where Pride has once Entered, 'tis Hard to Plead Guilty: Where Guilt even is Confeffed, 'tis ftill Hard to Own a Man has no fhare in Saving Himself, and to Believe and Confess, that God was in Chrift doing the whole Work of Reconciling the World unto Himfelf: And, therefore, becaufe by Faith only it is that Men do Surmount thefe Difficulties caft in their Way by their Pride, that they do Debafe and Renounce Themselves, and Attribute to the Deity the Thing that is Properly His; For thefe Reasons, I fay, Faith, is made the Part of Man in this Affair of Reconciling Him to the Deity, and is Properly That by which He does Apprehend and Perceive the Benefit of All that Chrift hath Suffered and Done to Redeem and Save Him. And, therefore, Laying afide every Weight, and the Sin that doth eafily befet Us, Pride and high Conceit of our Reasoning Powers, our Moral Performances, and Simple Repentances; Let us with humble Devotion Pray to God for That which is the only Proper Ground of our Acceptance L 2 and |