A Golden Chain

Secondly, the man regenerate can not sin in what manner he would: and there be two reasons thereof. First, he can not sin with full consent of will, or with all his heart: because the will so far forth as it is regenerate, resisteth and and draweth back: yea, even then when a man is carried headlong by the passions of the flesh, he feels some contrary motions of a regenerate conscience. It is a rule that sin doth not reign in the regenerate. For so much grace as is wrought in the mind, will, affections: so much is abated proportionally of the strength of the flesh. Wherefore when he commits any sin, he doth it partly willingly, and partly against his will. As the mariners in the tempest, cast Jonah into the sea willingly: for otherwise they had not done it: and yet against their wills too: which appears because they prayed, and cast their goods out of the ship, and laboured in the rowing against the tempest, and that very long before they cast him out. And herein lies the difference between two men committing one and the same sin, the one of them being regenerate, the other unregenerate. For the latter sins with all his heart and with full consent, and so doth not the first. Secondly, though he fall into any sin, yet he doth not lie long in it, but speedily recovers himself, by reason of grace in his heart.

Secondly, the man regenerate can not sinne in what manner he would: and there be two reasons thereof. First, he can not sinne with full consent of will, or with all his heart: because the will so farre forth as it is regenerate, resisteth and and draweth backe: yea, euen then when a man is carried headlong by the passions of the flesh, he feeles some contrarie motions of a regenerate conscience. It is a rule that sinne doth not raigne in the regenerate. For so much grace as is wrought in the minde, will, affections: so much is abated proportionally of the strength of the flesh. Wherefore when he commits any sinne, he doth it partly willingly, and partly against his will. As the marriners in the tempest, cast Ionas into the sea willingly: for otherwise they had not done it: and yet against their wills too: which appeares because they praied, and cast their goods out of the shippe, and laboured in the rowing against the tempest, and that very long before they cast him out. And herein lies the difference betweene two men committing one and the same sinne, the one of them beeing regenerate, the other vnregenerate. For the latter sinnes with all his heart and with full consent, and so doth not the first. Secondly, though he fall into any sinne, yet he doth not lie long in it, but speedily recouers himselfe, by reason of grace in his heart.