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,…

§. 12. Difference is but Dissimilitude: And an alteration of one of the subjects which soever, will make it dissimile or to differ from the other. When the good Angels stood and the evil fell, if you ask, Who made the difference, It was the Devils by forsaking their first estate: Though Constitutively, both their sin, and the Angels obedience made the dissimilitude. If you suppose Cain and Abel equally under grace at first, and ask, Who made the difference, I answer, Constitutively Cains sin and Abel's righteousness maketh, or is, the difference: But as to Reputative efficiency, Cain made the difference by rejecting grace. So if you should suppose two equally qualified with common grace, and one of them to lose it, the efficience of the difference is Imputable to him. But if you suppose two equally lost in sin, and one converted and not the other, the Constitutive Causes of the difference are ones sin and the others repentance. But the Imputable efficiency is Gods grace and mans repentance or will, that is recovered.

§. 12. Difference is but Dissimilitude: And an alteration of one of the subjects which soever, will make it dissimile or to differ from the other. When the good Angels stood and the evil fell, if you ask, Who made the difference, It was the Devils by forsaking their first estate: Though Constitutively, both their sin, and the Angels obedience made the dissimilitude. If you suppose Cain and Abel equally under grace at first, and ask, Who made the difference, I answer, Constitutively Cains sin and Abels righteousness maketh, or is, the difference: But as to Reputative efficiency, Cain made the difference by rejecting grace. So if you should suppose two equally qualified with common grace, and one of them to lose it, the efficience of the difference is Imputable to him. But if you suppose two equally lost in sin, and one converted and not the other, the Constitutive Causes of the difference are ones sin and the others repentance. But the Imputable efficiency is Gods grace and mans repentance or will, that is recovered.

§. 13. But when Paul doth ask, [Who made thee to differ?] he meaneth [Who gave thee that good by which thou differest?] and expoundeth it by [What hast thou which thou hast not received?] And no doubt but all good is received from God: And this would have held true, if God had by equal operation done as much on the other which had been uneffectual by his indisposition or rejection.