3. This conceit is strengthened in us, because many that profess Christianity live licentiously. All sins propagate their kind, and among others, abuse of grace. We see others have great hopes and confidence in Christ, notwithstanding their carnal and worldly course of living, and self-love prompteth us that we may hope to fare as well as they ; and so we leaven one another with a dead, loose, carnal sort of Christianity, instead of ' provoking each other to love and good works,' Heb. x. 24. Self-love is very partial, and loath to think evil of our condition. Now this cannot be justified by the laws of Chris- tianity, yet it is often justified by the lives of christians : after this rule they live in the world, and we think we may do as others do.
4. There is another cause, that is, Satan, who abuseth the weakness of some teachers, and the ignorance of some hearers, to misapply the grace of the gospel and the comforts of justification, to countenance their sins. The devil knoweth we will not receive his doctrine in his
Vers. 1, 2, J sermons upon romans vi. 157
own name, and therefore doth what he can to usurp the name of Christ, and to obtrude his commands upon us in the name of Christ, and so conveyeth poison to you by the perfume of the gospel ; and if he can set Christ against Christ, his merits and mercy against his government and Spirit, his promises against his laws, justification against sanctifi- cation, he knoweth that he obtaineth his end and purpose, that the gospel, which was set up to destroy the works of the devil, will be a means to cherish his kingdom in the world. And on the hearers' part, he abuseth them also ; carnal hearts turn all into fuel for their lusts, and with the more pretence if they can allege a dispensation from God liimself to serve and please the flesh, and no harm shall come of it. A little trusting in Christ shall serve the turn, though they live never so impure lives. I ascribe all this to Satan, because all error is from liim, who is the father of lies, who often obtrudeth upon the simple credulity of christians his own gospel instead of Christ's, and by a partial representation of Christ's gospel destroyeth the whole.
Secondly, I come now to make good the charge.
First, That this inference is very unjust and ill-grounded. The pretence here are those words of the apostle in the two last verses of the former chapter : * Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound ; but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.' These words yield no such consequence. To evince which — (1.) I shall state the meaning of those words; (2.) Show the unjustness of this illation from them.
1, For the meaning, the apostle showeth the law was given to the Israelites by Moses, not that they might be justified thereby, but that sin and punishment, to which we are liable by reason of sin, might the better be known ; and so the grace of God in Christ, which justifieth us, notwithstanding the grievousness of sin, might be the more esteemed, and we might the more earnestly fly to it for sanctuary and refuge, and the curse might drive us to the promise. For there are two things which the law discovereth —
[1.] The multitude and heinous nature of our offences : ' It entered that sin might abound;' not in our practice, but in our sense and .feeling, as being more apparent, and awakening more lively stings in our consciences. If a rugged and obstinate people sin the more, that is not the fault of the law, but of our corrupt nature, which always tendeth to that which is forbidden : ' It only took occasion from the commandment,' Kom. vii. 8. The proper effect of the law was to give us more convincing and clear knowledge of duty and sin, or to be a means to aggravate sin, to render it more exceedingly heinous, as being against an express law of God's own giving, with great majesty and terror.
[2.] The other use of the law is to give us an awakening sense of the punishment due to sin, as it exposes us to temporal and eternal death, ver. 21 ; and so our deliverance and life by Christ might be more thankfidly accepted, who by his mercy hath taken away the condemning and reigning power of sin, by granting pardon of it, and power over it ; so that as a great and mortal disease maketh a physician
158 SERMONS UrON ROMANS VI. [SeR. I.
famous if he cureth it, so sin maketh the grace of Christ more conspi- cuous and glorious.
2. The injustice of the illation.
[1.] There is a difference between causa per se, and causa per acci- dens, a cause and an occasion. Though the abounding of sin helpeth to advance grace, it is not of itself, but by accident, by God's over- ruling grace ; therefore it is a desperate adventure to try conclusions, to drink rank poison to experiment the goodness of an antidote, or to wound ourselves mortally to try the virtue of a plaster. God made advantage of the sins of the world for the honouring of his grace in Christ ; but they that presume to sin greatly, that God may pardon greatly, run a desperate adventure, whetlier God will pardon them or no.