⚫ men; and this I can fay with joy and comfort.' And fo fays St. John, when laying down the marks whereby to difcern a child of God from a child of the devil; (t) Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doth righteoufnefs, is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth fin is of the devil; for the devil finneth from the beginning. For this purpofe the Son of God was manifefted, that he might deftroy the works of the devil. Wbofoever is born of God, doth not commit fin, for his feed remaineth in him; and he cannot fin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil. Whofoever doth not righteousness, is not of God; whereby alfo is implied, on the contrary, that whofoever doth righteousness, is of God. Whence it follows, that a true member of Christ, and heir of the kingdom of Heaven, must be one who has fo far got the maftery over all his corrupt inclinations and paffions, that he is fully fet upon doing God's will to the utmost of his power; not daring to allow himself in any known violation of his Lord's commands, tho' when under the greateft preffure and temptation. With Job, he refolves to (u) bold faft bis integrity, and not let it go; and that his heart shall not reprove him fo long as he lives. With David, he (x) fets God always before him, that in nothing he may dare to provoke his Divine Majefty; who, he confiders, is prefent with him. And, with St. Paul, he (y) exercifes himself always to have a confcience void of offence towards God, and towards man. He bethinks himself, that the promises of God are made to the faithful and obedient; and till he fhall acquit himfelf as fuch, he can have no pretence of claim to them. And this convinces him of the neceffity of keeping a diligent watch over himself, that he not only never indulge himself in any known fin, but that he be not, for want of due care, betray'd into it, through ignorance, infirmity, or inadvertency. And if he be fo (1) John iii. 7, S. (y) Ats xxiv. 16. (u) Job xxvii. 6. (x) Pfal. xvi. 8. un For unhappy as to fall, before he is aware of it, into any kind of fin, he immediately repents of it, laments and bewails it, fues moft earnestly to God for forgiveness, and keeps a peculiar watch over himself in that partiEcular, that he may incur the like guilt no more. This he knows is the only way to make kis calling and election fure, and accordingly he refolutely applies himfelf to it, and will upon no terms be diverted from it. In a word he ferioufly lays to heart, and takes care to follow, the advice given by the prophet Isaiah, (z) Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while be is near. Let the wicked forfake his way, and the unrighteous man bis thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and be will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for be will abundantly pardon. Eufeb. This we all know, that to turn from our iniquities, and walk holily before God, in the more difficult, as well as the eafier duties of religion, is the fure way to please him, and secure an intereft in his favour. But how fhall a man know certainly when he has done this! Could he indeed perform his duty without any failure in it, it were eafy for him to pronounce of himself, that he was in the right way to everlasting peace and glory. As alfo, on the other hand, it is eafy for a wicked man to know, into what a miferable condition he has brought himself, and that till he alters his courfe, and enters upon a new and more holy converfation, he can look upon himself as no better than a loft undone wretch, a veffel of wrath fitted for deftruction. But now betwixt thofe two different states, it is in fome cafes, and at fome times, a difficult matter to determine, on which fide of it the man is; that is to fay, whether he has arrived to fuch a degree of goodness, as that he is in fafety, or his guilt ftill adheres to him, and so he is every moment in danger of dropping into Hell. And how thall he do to make a right judgment of himself in so nice a cafe? (z) Ifa. lv. 6, 7. Anchith. Anchith. You fay very right, Eufebius. This is fo common a case, and yet withal fo difficult to be clearly stated, that I must again intreat Theodorus's determi nation of it. Theod. This, I confefs, is the main difficulty. And that I may fet it in the best light 1 can, I shall deliver what I have to fay to it by way, first, of advice, and then of direct anfwer to your inquiry. Eufeb. Pray what is it you would advise? Theod. This is very obvious; and I wish all perfons were as ready to follow it, as they are capable of fee. ing the reasonableness and admirable usefulness of it. It is no other than this, that every one would fet himself in good earneft, not to relapfe into fin; or, if he can, to be still making greater improvements in religion, to grow in grace, purging himself, as far as he fhall be able, from all the remainders of his fins, and ftudying to increase daily in virtue and goodness. By this means his evidences for Heaven will become fo incontestable, that he needs have no doubt about them: which would be the best and most effectual refolution of this enquiry, that it is capable of. Eufeb. I thank you, Theodorus, for your neceffary and most useful advice. And if you be but as happy in your answer, we shall be highly indebted to you. Theod. What I have to answer in the first place is, That fo long as a man allows hinfelf in any one known fin, of whatever nature it be, he may depend upon it, that he is but in a bad condition, and has all the reason in the world to fet upon a speedy reformation; left otherwise he be fnatch'd away in his fin, and fo be for ever miserable. For there is nothing more certain, than that whilft he allows himself in the wilful tranfgreffion of any part of his duty, no forrow for it, or fupplications for pardon, will restore him to God's favour. As St. Paul teaches, that, (a) if a man bestow all his goods to feed the poor, and though he give his body to be burned, and hath not charity, it profiteth bim (e) 1 Cor. xiii. 3. nothing; nothing; fo may I fay, though a man fhew ever fuch tokens of trouble and anguifh for his fins, tho' he water his couch with his tears, and humble himself in fackcloth and afhes, yet unless he renounce and forfake them, all his grief will turn to no account to him, as to his everlasting welfare. It may either stave off temporal evils, as it fared with (b) Abab, and the (c) Ninevites; or may leffen them, as in the cafe of (d) David, and of (e) Rehoboam, and the princes of Ifrael; but will never entitle him to eternal happiness. It is not his being forrowful for what he has done amifs, "in what degree foever it be, that will denominate him a child of God, unless he conftantly take care to do fo no more. (f) When the wicked man turneth away from bis wickedness that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, we know affuredly, that he shall fave his foul alive; but I do not fee what ground he can have to hope for falvation upon any easier condition. And hereto agrees that of St. Peter to the Jews, (g) Repent, and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out; plainly intimating the infufficiency of whatever repentance, that is not attended with converfion and amendment. And our bleffed Lord himself feverely rebukes fuch as profeffed a great zeal and honour for him, but did not give a due attendance to his laws, fo as ftedfaftly to practise whatever he had required of them: (b) Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I fay? Whence it neceffarily follows, that we must never dare to allow ourselves in any one fin whatever, as if we could hope to be faved whilft we continue in it. Eufeb. This is a very proper and neceffary direction; but is not fufficient to fatisfy the confciences of most inquirers. And the reafon is plain, because the weakness of our nature is such, and the fubtilty of our adverfary, and his temptations, are fo prevalent, that (6) 1 Kings xxi. 27, 28, 29. (c) Jɔnah iii. 10. (d) 2 Sam. xii. 13, 14. (e) 2 Chron. xii. 6, 7, 8. (f) Ezek. xviii. 27. (g) Ats Mi. 19. (b) Luke vi. 46. even when people have refolved well, and fet themfelves feriously to put their good refolutions in execution, yet they too often find the fad effects of their frailty, in relapfing into fome of thofe fins they had but a little before fo avowedly renounced. It is to their shame and forrow that they fall in this manner; yet it is plain they do it. Your opinion therefore is defired concerning fuch, whether they are to look upon themfelves as in a ftate of falvation, or not. Theod. This is a cafe that has its difficulties; and I fhould, for that reafon, be glad to fee it well determined by fome more learned and judicious cafuitt. But however, fince you have put it to me, I will endeavour to give you the best light into it that I can. Here therefore I muft obferve, that whenfoever the relapfes proceed from a direct and deliberate choice of the will, though it be but now-and-then, if I fay, that in this cafe the perfon falls from his ftate of falvation, till he shall have made his peace with God, by a hearty repentance and forrow for them, and new refolutions of a better obedience for the future, this is no more than to me feems to be fully warranted by what the prophet Ezekiel proclaims in the name of God to the Jews, and by parity of reason to all mankind: (i) The righteousness of the righteous fhall not deliver him in the day of his tranfgreffion-neither fball the righteous be able to live in the day that he finnetb. And the learned Dr. Hammond had therefore good reafon to fpeak of fuch a fin, as (k) fauciating and wounding the foul, putting it for a time into a bloody direful condition, fuch as that should God before repentance ftrike, for ought we know, there would be no remiffion; and fo, fearful would be the end of that foul. And fo fays Bishop Taylor: (1) When he [the penitent] prevails regularly and daily over his fin, then is he in a ftate of regeneration; but let him take heed, for every voluntary or chofen fin is a mortal wound.' But to (4) Fzek. xxxiii. 12. (E) Of Confcience, § 46. Neceffar. cap. 7. fea. 7. (1) Un. put |