(2.) By applying grace and mercy to an unmortified sin, or one not sincerely endeavoured to be mortified, is this deceit carried on. This is a sign of a heart greatly entangled with the love of sin. When a man hath secret thoughts in his heart, not unlike those of Naaman about his worshipping in the house of Rimmon,^ " In all other things I will walk with God, but in this thing, God be merci- ful unto me," his condition is sad. It is true, indeed, a resolution to this purpose, to indulge a man's self in any sin on the account of mercy, seems to be, and doubtless in any course is, altogether incon- sistent with Christian sincerity, and is a badge of a hypocrite, and is ' Ps. Ixxvii. 6-9. 2 2 Kings v. 18.
46 MORTIFICATION OF SIN IN BELIEVERS.
the "turning of the gi-ace of God into wantonness;"^ yet I doubt not but, through the craft of Satan and their own remaining unbelief, the children of God may themselves sometimes be ensnared with this deceit of sin, or else Paul would never have so cautioned them against it as he doth, Kom. vi. 1, 2. Yea, indeed, there is nothing more natural than for fleshly reasonings to grow high and strong upon this account. The flesh would fain be indulged unto upon the account of grace, and every word that is spoken of mercy, it stands ready to catch at and to pervert it, to its own corrupt aims and purposes. To apply mercy, then, to a sin not vigorously mortified is to fulfil the end of the flesh upon the gospel.
These and many other ways and wiles a deceitful heart will some- times make use of, to countenance itself in its abominations. Now, when a man with his sin is in this condition, that there is a secret liking of the sin prevalent in his heart, and though his will be not wholly set upon it, yet he hath an imperfect velleity towards it, he would practise it were it not for such and such considerations, and hereupon relieves himself other ways than by the mortification and pardon of it in the blood of Christ; that man's " wounds stink and are coiTupt," and he will, without speedy deliverance, be at the door of death.
3. Frequency of success in sin's seduction, in obtaining the pre- vailing consent of the will unto it, is another dangerous symptom. This is that I mean : When the sin spoken of gets the consent of the will with some delic/ht, though it be not actually outwardly perpe- trated, yet it hath success. A man may not be able, upon outward considerations, to go along with sin to that which James calls the "finishing" of it,^ as to the outward acts of sin, when yet the will of sinning may be actually obtained ; then hath it, I say, success. Now, if any lust be able thus far to prevail in the soul of any man, as his condition may possibly be very bad and himself be unregenerate, so it cannot possibly be very good, but dangerous ; and it is all one uj)ou the matter whether this be done by the choice of the will or by inadvertency, for that inadvertency itself is in a manner chosen. When we are inadvertent and negligent, where we are bound to watchfulness and carefulness, that inadvertency doth not take off from the voluntariness of what we do thereupon ; for although men do not choose and resolve to be negligent and inadvertent, yet if they choose the things that will make them so, they choose inadvertency itself as a thing may be chosen in its cause.
And let not men think that the evil of their hearts is in any mea- sure extenuated because they seem, for the most part, to be surprised into that consent which they seem to give unto it ; for it is negli- 1 Jude 4. 2 James i. 14, 15.
SYMPTOMS OF A PARTICULAR LUST. 47
gence of their duty in watching over their hearts that betrays them into that surprisal.
4. When a man fighteth against his sin only with arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, this is a sign that sin hath taken great possession of the will, and that in the heart there is a superfluity of naughtiness. Such a man as opposes nothing to the seduction of sin and lust in his heart but fear of shame among men or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin if there were no punishment attending it ; which, what it differs fi'om living in the practice of sin, I know not. Those who are Christ's, and are acted in their obedience upon gospel principles, have the death of Christ, the love of God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God, a deep-grounded abhorrency of sin as sin, to oppose to any seduction of sin, to all the workings, strivings, fight- ings of lust in their hearts. So did Joseph. " How shall I do this great evil," saith he, " and sin against the LoRD?'' my good and graci- ous God.^ And Paul, "The love of Christ constraineth us;"^ and, " Having received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit," 2 Cor. vii. ] . But now if a man be so under the power of his lust that he hath nothing but law to oppose it withal, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law, it is most evident that sin hath possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest.