The Sum of Christian Religion

it is both foolish and injurious, to judge of the elect and godly by their humour, or for their frowardness to hide and smoother the truth. Lastly, against the defects of liberty in the second and third state or degree of man they object after this sort: If whole conversion and perseverance do so depend of Gods will, and do the work of God in men, that neither they can have it, in whom he doth not work it; neither they cannot but have it, in whom he will work it: that then not only the liberty, but all the action and operation of the will is taken away, and there remaineth only that it be constrained and suffer: which is against the scripture, experience, the inward strife and combat of the godly, and our own confession. But we answer, that the will is not therefore idle when as it doth not resist the spirit forcibly moving it. For to assent ⟨p. 190⟩also & obey is an action of the will.¹ But when they reply, That we make that obedience of the will in conversion & perseverance wholly the work of god, & so leave nothing to the will, what to do: they run into an other paralogism of consequent, whereas they remove the working of the second or instrumental cause, for that the first cause or principal agent is put. For that which is so wholly the work of god in man that man is only as the subject, in which god worketh; in that we grant that the will is only passive & suffereth, & doth work nothing: as in imprinting or working, or maintaining in the will & heart new qualities or inclinations. But that which is so the work of god, that the will of man is not only the object, but the instrument also of gods working, & an agent by it own force given it of god in producing an effect; in that the will is not only passive, but both active & passive, for as much as it is to this end moved of the spirit to work, that it self might do that, which God will work by it: which also so cometh to pass in all the good actions of the will; even as in ill actions also, when it is incited either by the Devil or other causes, it self is not in the mean season idle. Wherefore in Ezekiel it is added, 36. I will cause you to walk in my Statutes, and ye shall keep my Judgements, and do them.

it is both foolish and iniurious, to iudge of the elect and godly by their humour, or for their frowardnes to hide and smoother the truth. Lastly, against the defectes of libertie in the second and third state or degree of man they obiect after this sort: If whole conuersion and perseuerance doe so depend of Gods will, and doe the worke of God in men, that neither they can haue it, in whom hee doth not worke it; neither they cannot but haue it, in whom he will worke it: that then not onely the libertie, but all the action and operation of the will is taken away, and there remaineth onely that it bee constrained and suffer: which is against the scripture, experience, the inward strife and combate of the godlie, and our owne confession. But we answere, that the will is not therefore idle when as it doth not resist the spirit forciblie mouing it. For to assent