That the best Duties of the best Saints in this life are imperfect, and that by reason of sinful mixtures in them; and that daily the most holy come short of perfect legal Obedience, & might be charged with sin for their best, if God should be strict, we believe; & can appeal to the sensible complaints of holy men in Scripture; but for him hence to infer, that we say, that, the good works of God's Holy Spirit are defiled in & by the saints; and ⟨p. 119⟩to print it in another Character, as our very words, is cheating. But how far our Duties are the work of the Spirit, and how far they are our own, has been already discussed. Its he that makes the Chimaera, and not we; we never say, that One & the same thing is a perfect man & a perfect dog: We say, that every Believer in this life, hath a new nature & an old in him; a body of Grace, & a body of Corruption: the one increasing & the other decaying; imperfect grace, but growing; a body of death, but dying; and he is as it were two men: and so Paul distinguisheth of himself, Rom. 7.15.17. Nor do we say that the work is totally perfect, and totally sin; but we say, that the work it self is imperfect, by reason that, though it be influenced by grace, it is also defiled by sin, being done by one in whom there is both sin, & the Influence of it into his best performances. Nor do we any whit misinterpret God, when we say, He accepts of these works in Christ, tho they be defiled: and if he shall say, that we do therefore suppose that God accepts of the defilement that is in them, he mistakes: In all the gracious Actings of Gods people there is Imperfection (now all moral Imperfection is defilement) and God accepts of the sincerity, & pardons the imperfection, and both in ⟨p. 120⟩Christ. And this indeed is the privilege of the Covenant of Grace, above that of works: why else was the High-Priest to make an Atonement for the Sanctuary, &c. Lev. 16.33. but that the Services, notwithstanding the pollutions (but for which no atonement was needed) might be acceptable? and this was Typical. No doubt but that God sees sin in whomsoever it is, and where He sees it, He condemns it; but in respect of Imputation to the person, He does not always see it, i. e. charge it. Num. 23.21. and why? but because CHRIST hath made Satisfaction and Atonement for it.
That the best Dutyes of the best Saints in this life are imperfect, and that by reason of sinful mixtures in them; and that daily the most holy come short of perfect legal Obedience, & might be charged with sin for their best, if God should be strict, we beleeve; & can appeal to the sensible complaints of holy men in Scripture; but for him hence to infer, that we say, that, the good works of God's Holy Spirit are defiled in & by the saints; and ⟨p. 119⟩to print it in another Character, as our very words, is cheating. But how far our Duties are the work of the Spirit, and how far they are our own, has been already discussed. Its he that makes the Chimaera, and not we; we never say, that One & the same thing is a perfect man & a perfect dog: We say, that every Believer in this life, hath a new nature & an old in him; a body of Grace, & a body of Corruption: the one increasing & the other decaying; imperfect grace, but growing; a body of death, but dying; and he is as it were two men: and so Paul distinguisheth of himself, Rom. 7.15.17. Nor do we say that the work is totally perfect, and totally sin; but we say, that the work it self is imperfect, by reason that, though it be influenced by grace, it is also defiled by sin, being done by one in whom there is both sin, & the Influence of it into his best performances. Nor do we any whit misinterpret God, when we say, He accepts of these works in Christ, tho they be defiled: and if he shall say, that we do therefore suppose that God accepts of the defilement that is in them, he mistakes: In all the gracious Actings of Gods people there is Imperfection (now all moral Imperfection is defilement) and God accepts of the sincerity, & pardons the imperfection, and both in ⟨p. 120⟩Christ. And this indeed is the priviledge of the Covenant of Grace, above that of works: why else was the High-Priest to make an Attonement for the Sanctuary, &c. Lev. 16.33. but that the Services, notwithstanding the pollutions (but for which no attonement was needed) might be acceptable? and this was Typical. No doubt but that God sees sin in whomsoever it is, and where He sees it, He condemns it; but in respect of Imputation to the person, He does not alwaies see it, i. e. charge it. Num. 23.21. and why? but because CHRIST hath made Satisfaction and Attonement for it.
