Fourthly, How is it a consequent of our dying with Christ ? There are two sorts of men that profess communion with Christ's death — (1.) Those that are visibly baptized into his name ; (2.) Those that are really converted to God ; the professed or penitent believer, or the nominal and real christian.
1. The visible professor. It is his duty to look after freedom from sin. All christians do visibly profess by virtue of Christ's death to die unto sin ; they are dead by profession, they are dead by their bap- tismal vow and undertaking ; but this is but in word, not in deed, in show, not in power, if they do not mind these things. The careless christian forgets the obligation of baptism, though he doth not re- nounce it : 2 Peter i. 9, ' He is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.' Christianity calleth him out of those pollutions that he walloweth in, and affordeth him
208 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SeR. VI.
great helps to avoid tbem ; but he undervalueth all, and is little affected with that pardon and life which is offered in the new cove- nant, and which by his baptism he seemed and was esteemed to have a right unto ; and. as a purblind man cannot see things at a distance, they are so intent upon things worldly and sensual, that they forget the purification of their souls, or due preparation for the world to come. Now we cannot say de facto that such a man is actually freed from sin, for he is not truly dead with Christ; but de jure, of right, he should mind this dying to sin, that he may no longer serve sin : he cannot comfortably conclude himself to be pardoned or sanctified, or one who is made a partaker of this grace ; it is not his privilege to be freed from sin, but because of his engagement to Christ it is his duty.
2. The next sort is the real convert, or penitent believer, who is indeed dead with Christ ; it is both his duty and his privilege : he hath not only undertaken to die unto sin, and to renounce his former course of life, but hath seriously begun it, and by the power of the Spirit of Christ carrieth on this work daily ; so that by virtue of Christ's dying he is dead, and so really is, and is also reckoned to be one that is freed from the dominion of sin. So the apostle's speech in the text is exactly parallel with that, 1 Peter iv. 1, ' He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin ; ' he that is dead, that is, spiritually dead here, is the same with him ' that hath suffered in the flesh ; ' freed from sin, that is, is absolved from sin, not in regard of guilt but power, is the same with ' hath ceased from sin ' there ; so that one place doth explain another. But let me prove —
[1.] It is his duty to be cleansed from sin, or freed from the do- minion of sin ; for it is brought to prove that he must no longer serve sin.
(1.) All our communion with Christ is by the Spirit of Christ. Now wherever the Spirit comes to dwell, he doth infuse a principle of grace, which doth not only strive against sin, but conquer sin, at least so far as to take away the dominion of it: Gal. v. 16, 17, ' Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh ; for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh ; ' therefore they cannot serve sin as they did before. There are two principles ia us, and accordingly there are two desires, the one proceeding from the flesh, the other from the spirit, which are so opposite one to another, that what the one liketh, the other disliketh, and whatsover you do in compliance with the one, you do it in opposition to the other ; but that which is in predominancy is the spirit, which rebuketh the carnal nature and principle in us.
(2.) In our conversion to Christ there is included an aversion from sin ; and therefore it must not bear sway and command, and influence our actions, as it did formerly. It is called ' repentance from dead works,' Heb. vi. 1 ; not for them only, but from them. It breedeth not only a sorrow, but a loathing and forsaking of the sin we repent of. Many will say they are sorry, and do repent for sin which they have committed ; but all kinds of sorrow do not evidence true re- pentance : there is a sort of repenting and sorrow for sin in hell ; all do repent and are sorry for sin at last. When a sinner hath sucked out all the carnal sweet that is in sin, and the sting only is left be-
VeR. 7.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. 20D
hind, no wonder if he be troubled : this is attrition, not contrition, not a sorrow that ariseth from love to God, a sorrow that doth not break the force of sin ; they go on still, there is no change of heart or life.