[2.] There is a difference between the remission of sins past, and allowance of sin future. Our fixed purpose must be not to sin, but if we sin, we have the use of God's remedy : 1 John ii. 1, ' My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.' If God made advantage of sins past to honour his grace, we also by sins past may make an advantage for a renewed use of faith in our Eedeemer, and renewed desires and expectations of pardon by his intercession ; but it is a wrong conclusion to think we may heap up new sins for time to come, and still make more work for pardoning mercy, and be content to offend God again, that he may still be pardoning, and we never forsake sin. In short, we must not sin that grace may abound ; but when we have sinned, we must make use of abounding grace. Faith and repentance may draw good out of sin itself, to make the remembrance of it a means of our hatred and morti- fication of sin, and of more gratitude to our Eedeemer ; but not to take liberty to indulge sin, antedating our pardon before the fact.
[3.] It is contrary to all ingenuity, and love to God or Christ. This is the difference between faith and presumption, or a sound and a blind confidence of pardon by Christ, namely, that faith maketh us hate sin, and presumption maketh us secure and bold in sinning, and slightly to pass it over with little remorse and reluctancy when we are guilty of it. He who presumeth doth the work of an age in a breath. God is merciful, Christ died for sinners, and all our confidence must be in , Christ. But the true believer is more affected with sin ; as ' she wept much and loved much to whom much was forgiven,' Luke vii. 47; and Ezek. xvi. 63, ' That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee, for all that thou hast done.' They express their gratitude for remission of sin by a careful keeping from it. Pardoning mercy maketh God amiable to us, and his laws acceptable, our duty sweeter, and sin more grievous.
Secondly, It is absurd and contrary to the doctrine of grace : true Christianity is of a far different make from this conceit.
1. It is not consistent with the grace that goeth along with pardon, for God sanctifieth all those whom he justifieth : we receive, together with the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
Vers. 1, 2.] sermons upon romans vi. 159
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redenaption ;' 1 Cor. vi. 11, ' But ye are washed, but ye are justified, but ye are sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' These are in- separable, the application of the merit of Christ and the gift of his Spirit, which reueweth us to the image of God, and mortifieth the life of sin in us ; the heart broken with compunction seeketh this double benefit : 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to (orgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness ; ' as a malefactor that hath a leprosy on him needs not only a pardon, but a medicine ;' and in a broken leg not only ease of the pain is desirable, but that the bone be set right. Therefore we are both justified and sanctified ; continuing in sin cannot consist with the truth of regenera- tion.
2. It is contrary to the order of God's grace in the new covenant, who requireth of us faith and repentance if we would be partakers of Christ. Now, to continue in sin is to be under the bondage of it, with- out restraint, or any change of heart and life.
[1.] It is against faith. Take it for assent, it is a belief that he will save all those that submit to be sanctified and ruled by him in order to their salvation : Heb. v. 9, ' Being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.' If you hope to be saved by him, and will not be ruled by him, you do not believe Christ, but the devil ; for if you believe Christ, you must believe that you cannot be saved unless you be converted : Mat. xviii. 3, ' Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Take faith for acceptance of Christ, it is a hearty consent both of subjection to him and dependence upon him as the saviour and redeemer of the world. The mediator's blessing is * to turn every one of you away from your iniquities,^ Acts iii. 26 ; he is a saviour ' to save his people from their sins,' Mat. i. 21 ; to say nothing of ' receiving Christ the Lord,' which the scripture presseth. Col. ii. 6.