3. That an impenitent continuance in and under the guilt of such a sin is a sore sign of a heart that neither hath nor ever had any true faith. In others, there is a truth in that of Austin, who af- firmed that " he dared say that it might be good for some to have fallen into some eminent particular sin, for their humiliation and caution all their days."
4. That this frequent conception of sin and bringing of it forth, in persons who have been heightened by conviction to a great regu- larity of walking and conversation, is the means Avhereby they do go forth unto that which is mentioned in the last place, Avhich is Jimsh- ing of sin ; that is, so to be brought under the power of it as to com- plete the whole work of sin. Now, men bring it forth by the temp- tations and upon the surprisals forementioned ; but they that come to finish it, or do the whole work of it, in them it will bring forth death. This I take to be the intendment of that expression, ' Afinp- r'la dvoreXsaOuea, '" Sin perfected." The word arroriXiTv is nowhere used in the New Testament; nXiTv and ItitsXiTv are. There is rhv vd[iov TikiTv, which is, not to do any one act which the law requireth, but to walk studiously and constantly according to the rule thereof; and so Imny-.m, as the apostle useth it, Phil. i. 6, where we translate it, as here, avonXiTv. To " perfect the good work," is to walk in the way of grace and the gospel unto the end: so to "perfect sin" is to fulfil the work of sin and to A/alk in the way of sin, to be under the dominion and reign of sin so far as to be carried out in a course
XV.] THE SINS OF EELIEVERS CONSIDERED. 561
of sinning. And this is that alone which we exempt believers from; which that they are exempted from, unto all that hath for- merly been spoken, I shall add the consideration of one place of Scriptm-e, being turned aside from my thoughts of handling this at large as the second part of the doctrine of the saints' perse- verance, the former being grown under my hands beyond expec- tation.
Now, this place is 1 John iii. 9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, because he is born of God ; " — a place of Scripture that always hath amazed the adversaries of the doctrine which hitherto, through the grace of God, we have asserted, being in itself fully sufficient to captivate every understanding unto the obedience of its truth that is not resolved to cleave to a contrary conclusion, let what demon- stration soever lie against it. In the defence of the doctrine under consideration, should we use expressions of the same importance with those here used by the apostle, as we should abundantly satisfy ourselves that we had delivered our mind and sense to the under- standing of any indifferent person with whom we might have to do, so we should by no means avoid all those imputations of folly and error that our doctrine suffereth under from the men that have entertained an enmity against it, as it is held forth in equivalent expressions l)y us. The authority of the Holy Ghost hath gained thus much upon our adversaries, that when he asserteth in express and exjDressive terms the very thing or things that in us are called " folly,'' evasions should be studied, and pains taken to rack his words to a sense which they will not bear, rather than plainly to deny his authority. But let the words, with the scope and tendency, be considered. The scope and intendment of the apostle in the place is, to give a discriminating character of the children of God and the children of the devil. Thus he fully expresseth himself unto us, verse 10: " In this," saith he, "the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil : whosoever doth not righte- ousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother;" and withal, to press on an exhortation against sin, whereunto he useth the argument that lieth in the following words, "If any one sin that thinketh himself to be born of God, he deceiveth himself:" verses 7, 8, " Little children, let no man deceive you : he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that com- mitteth sin is of the devil." But how proveth he this? In these words, " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, — doth not, cannot sin." Such is the genius and nature of the children of God, of them that are born of him, that they do not, they cannot sin. You are persuaded that you are so born of God; therefore you must press after such a frame, such an ingenie and disposition, such a principle,
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662 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS' PERSEVERANCE. [CHAP.
as that thereby yoti cannot sin. It must manifest itself to be in you, if you be the children of God.
Now, whereas it is offered by Mr Goodwin, chap. x. sect. 27, p. 194, " That the context or scope of the whole place doth not invite such an exposition as is usually insisted on, because" (saith he) " the intent and drift of the apostle, from verse 3 even to the end of the chapter (as he that doth but run the context over may read), is not to show or argue whether the sons of God maj' possibly in time so degenerate as to live sinfully and die impenitently ; but to evince this, that those who claim the great honour and privilege of being the children of God cannot justify or make good this claim, neither unto others nor unto themselves, but by a holy and Christian life and conversation. Now, it is one thing to argue and prove Avho are the sons of God at present; another, whether they who are such at present must of necessity always so continue. The former is the apostle's theme in the context; the latter he is wholly silent of"