Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

302. And it must be remembered that the Will is always in the time of sinning, more for the committing the Sin, than against it, actually, or else it would not be committed; And in omissions, it is not prevalently for the Duty; else it would be done. And if it were Habitually so too, as to a holy or a sinful life, the person were unholy. And when the will (known by the practice) is sometime actually more for a gross Sin than against it, and daily actually more for some small Sins than against them, it is wondrous hard here to discern certainly that the contrary habit is our state.

302. And it must be remembred that the Will is always in the time of sinning, more for the committing the Sin, than against it, actually, or else it would not be committed; And in omissions, it is not prevalently for the Duty; else it would be done. And if it were Habitually so too, as to a holy or a sinful life, the person were unholy. And when the will (known by the practice) is sometime actually more for a gross Sin than against it, and daily actually more for some small Sins than against them, it is wonderous hard here to discern certainly that the contrary habit is our state.

303. And it addeth to the difficulty, that it is hard to be sure whether the Habit of Love and Holiness may not be predominant, and yet the very Habit of some one Sin (as well as the act) be stronger than the contrary habit: For a daily use of the acts seemeth to prove a prevalent Habit. As a Habit of Anger, of vain jesting, &c. And if a very Habit of one Sin may be prevalent, though not of all others, it will be ⟨p. 108⟩hard to say either how great that Sin may be (and so whether a Habit of Lust, of Pride, of Covetousness, may stand with Grace, in that prevalency) or yet, how many Sins may be so habitually prevalent, in a sanctified man. But if no one, what shall those think of themselves that live in the daily act of smaller Sins before-mentioned? And that they err who tell us that all Sin is equally mortified in the Habit, common experience fully proveth. But such men use not to distinguish between the General habit of Love to Good and Hatred to evil (which is as the trunk of the Tree to the branches (which may have their particular Cankers and Diseases) and is indeed Virtually a Habit of all Good, and against all Evil); and the particular Habits of Good and Evil which are also found in every Soul.