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,…

And that it is pernicious to the lapsed is rashly said: For in the reprobate it doth them no harm but good; and in the elect it tendeth to higher grace. And he mistaketh in saying that it supposeth nature sound: For if it were proved that nature without grace hath no good inclination, yet why may not unsound nature, receive grace ad posse? Is not that grace some cure of its unsoundness? and tends to more?

III. But as to his saying that the more men have of it the more miserable they are, and the more damnable, and that no man ever used sufficient grace or will do, I answer, 1. The good man it seemeth forgot that all the same may be said as truly of his special Grace, both in them that come short of faith and Justification, and them that apostatize from it (as he holdeth many do.) 2. But it is not true, that having it maketh them damnable any more than having life, health and riches; but it's the abusing it. 3. That never any used sufficient grace, by his leave and the School-mens, is unproved: viz. that no man since the fall ever did any good, or forbore any evil, obediently, by such grace as left him able to have done otherwise in the instant before the act, or as inferred not his volition as necessary exviillius causae. 4. And that all that which cometh short of the effect, is none of the Grace of Christ is unproved, unless he mean only the adequate immediate effect. The Law doth make Duty, and so hath its effect; And Gods motions make their various Impressions on the soul, and so have their effect: But whether a Godly mans will could not by that same motion have produced a better effect in his will than was produced by it, he must better prove.

Ad XII. I. Whereas Paul opposeth the Law of works, and the Grace of Christ, he opposeth, or too far distinguisheth the Law of Christ and the Gra•e of Christ; Just as Sir H. V. in his Meditations. He taketh all spoken and written precepts or Laws, to be the Law, which is distinguished from Grace, which is mere Alteration of the soul. But this is confusion, and subverteth true Theology. For the Law is the instrument of signifying Gods mind, and the Spirit worketh with and by it on our minds: And both go together both before the fall and under Christ: And both are Grace now even as body and soul are one man: The Gospel is oft called Grace in the New Testament: It's true that a Law merely as a Law may be distinguished from the Spirits operations on the soul: And so Paul and Augustine oft show that the Jewish Law as a Law could not make men righteous without grace. And we deny not but the Law of Christ merely as a Law is insufficient without the Spirit Grace. But to conclude hence that this is the difference between the Old covenant, and the New, and the Righteousness of each of them (of men under them), that one is obedience to a written Law and the other is the effect of the Spirit, is not sound: For under each Covenant there was both Law and Spirit, though with difference. Adam had Grace as Jansenius confuseth: And the Fathers before the Flood had Law and Spirit. And the Godly ews had Law and Spirit: And all Christians are subject to Christ their King, and obey his Laws, though by the Grace of his Spirit: And it is not two Righteousnesses that relate to Law and Spirit, but one as an effect of two concauses; The doctrine of faith and Law and promises of Crystal the Means which the Spirit useth in operating our Faith, Love and Obedience.