25. 1 Cor. 2. 8 11. Nor knowes it the children of God and what priviledges comforts and happinesse belongs unto them and that even in this life in the state of grace 1 Cor. 2. 9. 2. Sometimes an act also of the will or a joynt act of the minde and will regarding favourably respecting loving affecting approving things known Psal. 101. 4. Thus God is said to knowâ—… the way of the righteous Psal. 1. 6. Christ knowâ—… his sheep Job 10. 27. and so not to love noâ—… to approve is not to know Acts 7. 18. Matth. 7. 23. and 25. 12. In this sense the carnâ—… world knowes not God nor Christ i. e. lovâ—… them not cares not for them but ratheâ—… hates them Exod. 5. 2. Ier. 5. 4. And thâ—… also the world knowes not the children of God i. e. loves them not cares not for them but hates them persecutes them c. because such Iohn 15. 18 19. 1 Iohn 3. 12. So that the more the world hates us for Gods sake Christs sake as Christians the more encouragement we may have that we are not of the world but chosen out of the world into Gods family 1 Pet 4. 16 17. True believing that Iesus is the Christ evidenceth that we are borne of God Whosoever believeth that Iesus is the Christ is born of God 1 John 5. 1. For clearing this evidence of Regeneration Consider these two Questions 1. What is meant here by believing that Iesus is the Christ 2. Whence it may be evinced that whosoever does truly thus believe is borne of God Quest. 1. What is it to believe that Iesus is the Christ Answ. Faith or believing as it relates to Christ hath especially two primary and most remarkable acts viz Assenting and Applying 1. The Assenting act of faith is that whereby faith assents to Gods whole Scripture-Record touching Jesus Christ as true 1 Iohn 5. 10 11. viz. That this Jesus which is revealed so fully to us in the New Testament both in his Person and Offices is no other then the Christ the true Messiah or anointed of God that was fore-promised fore-prophesied of and prefigured under all periods of the Old Testament from the fall of the first Adam to the fulnesse of time for the incarnation of the second Adam to be the only Mediatour betwixt God and man and Saviour of the world This some call Dogmaticall faith some Historical faith because it barely and precisely entertaines the Doctrine and History of Scripture as Truth without any particular appropriation of any thing of Christ to them that so believe Now this bare naked assenting act of faith cannot be a character of Regeneration nor the faith here intended For 1. Hypocrites may assent to the truth of the Record which God hath given touching Christ. For we read often of the faith of such as Luk. 8. 13. Acts 8 13. which believing of theirs was at least an Assent for Assent to truth revealed is the least and lowest act of faith 2. Devils may assent to this truth Dogmatically That Iesus is the Christ yea they have assented to it and known it to be so See Mar. 1. 24. Luke 4. 34 41. Yet nor Hypocrites nor devils are regenerate 2. The Applying act of faith is that whereby faith having assented to the truth of all Gods Record touching Christ proceeds to apply and appropriate all particularly to a mans self as did Paul Who loved me and gave himself for me Gal. 2. 20. and Thomas My Lord and my God John 20. 28. This appropriating act of faith is sometimes called believing on the Son of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. into the Son of God 1John 5. 10. believing on his Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. into his Name 1 John 5. 13. John 1. 12. coming to him John 6. 35. receiving him John 1. 11 12. having the Son 1 John 5. 12. tasting him 1 Pet. 2. 3. eating him eating his flesh and drinking his blood John 6. 53 54 56 57. compared with ver 47. all which expressions denote faith's appropriating of Christ unto the particular individual believing soul as his Christ Priest Prophet and King as his Jesus his Saviour c. from whom he expects and looks for Redemption Righteousnesse Pardon Holinesse Adoption Peace Comfort Grace Glory and every thing that is promised or is to be expected from the Messiah as Calvin well observes To believe that Iesus is Christ is to hope for all those things from him which were promised of the Messiah This is true justifying faith Rom. 5. 1. now this is the faith here meant this is the true believing that Jesus is the Christ. Discoveries or Characters of this true faith are many Take these seven which gradually depend one upon another viz. 1. The habit of this faith is infused into the soul by God in Regeneration Eph. 2. 8. Iohn 1. 12 13. 2. This habit infused is brought into act by the Fathers drawing the soul to Christ. Iohn 6. 44. This drawing is effected 1. By discovering the necessity of Christ to salvation Acts 4. 11 12. 2. By displaying the sufficiency and alluring Excellency of Christ for salvation Heb. 7. 25. Cant. 5. 10. to the end 3. By manifesting the possibility of obtaining Christ and salvation by him 1 Tim. 1. 16. 4. By propounding the willingnesse and readinesse of God and Christ to entertain poor sinners Matth. 11. 28 29. Iohn 7. 37. Isaiah 55. 1. Iohn 6. 37. Luke 15. 20. to the end 5. By disclosing the invaluable happinesse in gaining Christ 1 Iohn 5. 12. Iohn 3. 16 18 36. And 6. By stirring up ardent strong desires in the heart after Christ that the soul is restlessely thirsting till he be obtained Isa. 55. 1. Iohn 7. 37. 3. Faith thus infused and acted is perswaded to accept Christ upon his own termes viz. self-denyal bearing the Crosse and following Christ and actually accepts him Luk. 9. 23. Iohn 1. 12. 4. Faith having received Christ tastes such sweetnesse and pleasantnesse in him that Christ is most precious to the soule 1 Peter 2. 3 7. and all things in the world are but losse and dung unto him Phil. 3. 8. Oh how is the soul filled with joy and peace in believing Rom. 15. 13. and 5. 1. and so it sits down under Christs shadow with great delight and his fruit is sweet unto its taste Cant. 2. 3. 5. Faith having thus taken and tasted Christ notably enlivens and quickens the soule that not so much the Believer lives as Christ by faith lives in the Believer Gal. 2. 20. Rom. 1. 17. Hab. 2. 4. Christ principally knows wills loves prayes and in a word performes all spiritual motions in him Oh that 's a sweet life indeed whereof Christ is both Authour to give it and Pilot to guide it 6. Faith having enlivened the soul by Christ it notably puts forth it self in vital operations from Christ. For true living faith is a working and fruit-bearing faith as Iames
the very Elect Mat. 24. 24. That comfortable Parenthesis if it were possible intimates a possibility of deceiving others yet an impossibility of deceiving the Elect. It 's the property of Christs sheep to follow Christ for they know his voicâ—… but a stranger viz. one that brings strange and false doctrines will they not follow but will flee from him because they know not the voice of strangers Joh. 10. 4 5. It is observable that when the Holy Ghost tells us that All that dwell upon the Earth shall worship the Beast yet the Elect are exempted All shall worship whos 's names are not written in the Lambs book of life Rev. 13. 8. And elsewhere Iohn testifieth clearly They went out from us viz. by embracing Antichristian doctrines v. 18. but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us 1 Joh. 2. 19. And Paul testifying to the Corinthians that there must be not only divisions but also Heresies among them that they which are approved may be made manifest among them 1 Cor. 11. 19. implyeth notably That even in times and places wherein Heresies abound yet Gods approved ones will withstand and reject Heresies when others will embrace them and so the approved of sound judgments shall be manifested among all the rest Nor need this seem strange that Gods elect children are not so apt to be carried away with every wind of Error as carnall hypocriticall persons for they are better ballasted then these are they have many protections preservations from Errour which carnall men have not As 1. Gods election is their sure foundation to keep them from dashing upon the rocks of Errour on which others split themselves Compare and consider well these two places Mat. 24. 24. and 1 Tim. 2. 17 18 19. 2. Gods power through faith keeps them unto salvation 1 Pet. 1. 5. not their own nor any meer created power but Gods power keeps them as in garrison â—…s the Greek imports and this through faith apprehending applying that Divine power Faith imbarks the soule in the armes of God omnipotent and so makes weaknesse strong And as Gods power through faith keeps them from other enemies and impediments to salvation so from pernicious and damnable Heresies 3. The spirituall anointing of the Holy Ghost given them teacheth them all things 1 Joh. 2. 27. The Spirit searcheth all things even the deep things of God So that through the Spirit they judge all things and have the minde of Christ 1 Cor. 2. 15 16. So that hereby they are enabled to discerne Truth to detect and avoid Errours in judgement as well as in practice which carnal men cannot do wanting this Anointing and spirituall discerning 4. Finally The love of Truth in Gods people is much they are the children of Truth 1 Joh. 3. 19. They can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth 2 Cor 13. 8. Their loynes are girt about with Truth Eph. 6. 14. and therefore they are hereby notably fenced against Errour Whereas carnall and hypocriticall men are either 1 Men of corrupt minds destitute of the trâ—…th 1 Tim. 6. 4 5. resisting the truth 2 Tim. 3. 8. and turning away their ears from thâ—… truth 2 Tim. 4. 4. Or 2. They hold the truth in unrighteousnesse Rom. 1. 18. Or 3. They are not able to come to the knowledge of the truth 2 Tim. 3. 7 Or 4 They loâ—…e not the truth 2 Thes. 2. 9 10. And no wonder such persons be unstable wavering and apt to embrace lies and fables 2. The true children of God do not so fully close with Errours in opinion but rather they are surprized and overtaken with them through infirmity Rom. 14. 1. The remains of darknesse in their minds sometimes dazling and prevailing against the principle of light So that as in practice they sin non voluntatâ—… plena sed semi-plena i. e. not with an whole but with an half-will So in judgement they erre not with an whole but with an half-mind the light of the minde being against the Errour which the prevalent darknesse entertains But carnall persons whose whole minds are darknesse Eph. 5. 8 and enmity against God Rom. 8. 7. having no spark of sanctified illumination in them at all must needs embrace Errour with more full compliance and approbation 3. The true children of God do not tenaciously and obstinately persist in Errours especially not in fundamentall Errours They may â—…re through invincible frailty but they will not wilfully and pertinaciously persevere in their Errour as is the property of Heretical dispositions Such have the anointing in them to teach them all things which consequently will in due time convince and recover them out of Errour 1 Ioh. 3. 27. A gracious heart is very ingenuous Convince him but clearly of his Errour he is ready to â—…cknowledge it and reform it Solomon not only miscarried in his practice but seems also to have erred grosly in his judgement thinking that happinesse satisfaction or contentment was to be found in the empty bubble of the creature But when his own large experience confutes his opinion how fully doth he publish his Recantation to all Ages in Ecclesiâ—…stes David beholding the prosperity of the wicked while the rod was tyed to his own back All the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning Psa. 73. 〈◊〉 14. began to harbour an erroneous opinion of his own and their state Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency v. 13. Thus he was ready even to condemn the generation of Gods children v. 15. But when he came into Gods sanctuary and had his eyes there opened how ingenuously doth he foole himselfe yea beast himselfe for it So foolish was I and ignorant I was as a beast before thee Psal. 73. 22. Augustâ—… deserved highly of the Church of God for many excellent Books which he wrote but especially for his 2 Books of Retractations and his 13 Books of Confessions For as in his Confessions he laments the Errours of his Practice which he had acted so in his Retractations he condemns the Errours of his judgment which he had written In both discovering a gracious self-denying spirit farre from obstinacie in Errour That truth may be honoured he treads his own honour in the dust and saith None but an imprudent man will blame me for blaming mine own errours for if I ought to have said them I ought not to have blamed them But he that could not at fiâ—…st be wise should yet afterwards be modest that not being able to say only things not to be repented of may at least repent of what he knowes ought not to have been said Yea afterwards be cautions his Reader * not to imitate him in Erring but in reclaiming his Errour But contrariwise a gracelesse heart is wont to be obstinate in Errour
Lord Pro. 15. 26. Yea every imagination of the thoughts of his heart are onely evil continually Gen. 6. 5. How emphaticallyl 1. not the thought but thoughts 2. not only the thoughts but if there be any thing before or beyond the thoughts the imagination of the thoughts of his heart 3. not onely some or many but every imagination of the thoughts 4. is not evill in the concrete but malice or evilness it selfe in the abstract as the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may import 5. Nor evilnesse in some respect as if there were some mixture or relique of goodnesse remaining but only evil meer malice 6. Nor all this only for some season in fit of temptation c but continually all the day long and every day so that carnal men so remaining can do nothing but sin in all they act speak or think 2. Their persons and all their inward principles are meerly carnal corrupt and odious to God not only sinners but dead in trespasses and sinnes Eph. 2. 1. Not only dark but darknesse it selfe Eph. 5. 8. Not only carnal or fleshly but flesh it self Iohn 3. 6. And in the flesh dwells no good thing Rom. 7. 18. Now such as are the persons of carnal men such are all their actions meerely carnal and sinful So is this people and so is every work of their hands and that which they offer there is unclean Hagg. 2. 14. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit How can ye being evil speak good things An evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things Matth. 12. 33 34 35. To them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure but even their minde and conscience is defiled being abominable and disobedient and to every good work reprobate Tit. 1. 15 16. Thus farre of the difference betwixt the sinning of the regenerate and unregenerate and how they that are borne of God sinne not nor can sinne Whereof I have treated the more largely that in this note which is of no small consequence the Conscience of the regenerate may be satisfied the more fully A Case of Conscience touching the Sinne against the Holy Ghost what it is and whether they that are born of God fall into it But before we passe from this Character of them that are borne of God viz. That they do not commit sinne nor can sinne to another it may be very usefull to lend a little help to the weake timerous and trembling Christian against that perplexing temptation that would perswade him that he hath sinned against the Holy Ghost Alas saith he If they that are borne of God commit not sinne as the unregenerate do if this be a signe of Regeneration what may I thinke of my selfe I am greatly afraid that I have sinned that very unpardonable Sinne against the Holy Ghost For 1. I have sined against my light and the checks of my Conscience 2. I have sinned against the experimentall tastes of spirituall things 3. I have crucified Christ afresh 4. I have bad many blasphemous thoughts in mine heart 5. I have fearefully fallen away from my first love and which kils my soule 6. under all this I find my heart as hard and obdurate as an Adamant without all Repentance or remorse for all this Have not I just cause to conclude that doubtlesse I am an unregenerate Person Answ. Poor soul forbear a little thy hard conceits of thy self and suspend thy censures They that have worst thoughts of themselves are not always in the worst conditiō towards God Every one that feares he hath sinned against the H. Ghost must not presently be concluded to have committed that horrid sin of sinnes All this may arise 1. partly from thy weaknesse not knowing either thy owne spirituall estate or the nature of this sinne truely and distinctly And 2. partly from Satans wickednesse abusing thy weaknesse to make thee believe this of thy self that so if it were possible he might drive thee to despaire But credit neither thine owne weaknesse nor Satans wickednesse to the ruine of thy precious soule For a more cleare and satisfactory resolution in this case consider these particulars 1. Who or what kind of persons are they that are in danger of sinning this sin against the Holy Ghost 2. What this sin against the Holy Ghost is and wherein it consists 3. What a vast difference there is betwixt the sinnes or falls of a regenerate person yea though against knowledge and their sinnes that sinne against the H. Ghost Take this in three several Sections SECT I. I. Who or what kinde of persons they are that are in danger of sinning this sin against the Holy Ghost Answ. This may be resolved Negatively and Affirmatively Negatively Who they are not So we shall more distinctly see who they are Take this in these few Positions 1. Doubtlesse those persons who are truly regenerate and borne of God they never any of them sin the sin against the Holy Ghost nor can so sin True 1. They may commit such sins against light of minde and checks of conscience sometimes Rom. 7. 15 19. They may possibly have such blasphemous and wicked suggestions darted and injected into their thoughts Matth. 4. 3 6 9. They may perhaps fal from their first love Rev 2. 4. Yea fall so fearfully as David and Peter did Yea it may be they may perceive such hard-heartednesse and impenitency upon their soules notwithstanding all this for a season that from all these Satan also subtilly taking advantage thereby they may have sad apprehensions and feares that they have fallen into the very sin against the Holy Ghost 2. They also that are borne of God as they have the root of all actual sin still in them viz. Original corruption dwelling in them Psalm 51. 5. Rom. 7. 17 18 21 23 24 so they have the very roote of this sin against the H. Ghost in particular in them originall sin being the proper seed spawne and fountaine of this sin as well as of any other whatsoever How humbly vigilantly and cautiously therefore should all Gods people walke before God seeing this dangerous principle of originall corruption still sticks in their hearts Yet notwithstanding persons truly borne of God never actually fall into this sin against the Holy Ghost nor all things well considered can do For 1. The Holy Ghost himselfe in Scripture plainly testifies that the regenerate sin not this great sin There is a sin unto death I do not say that he shall pray for it All unrighteousnesse is sin and there is a sin not unto death We know that whosoever is borne of God sinneth not viz as Tertullian notes not this sin unto death but he that is begotten of God keepeth himselfe and that wicked one toucheth him not 1 Iohn 5. 16 17 18. In these and the two precedent verses the Apostle asserts more generally the priviledge of believers in the point of prayer viz. confidence in Christ that they shall have whatsoever they