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,…

§. 7. To the quieting of the mind that cannot digest this, but thinketh God is thus dishonoured, being made more than Satan the cause of sin, and misery for sin, which the Scripture contradicteth; and that man is excusable at the bar of Justice that could no more (in innocency) forbear to sin, than to make a world; To them that think it hard that no one in all the world could ever possibly do more or less Good or Evil than they do, but that is all done, by physical motion as in an Engine, &c. he hath a great deal to say, and more than ever I elsewhere met with, and with great modesty proposed. §. 8. As to the Law (whose transgression is sin) he supposeth, that Whatsoever imposeth on us any thing to be done by us, as an antecedent condition to any consequent good, is the Law opposed to the Gospel. ¹Yea that the proposal or pressing of any Truth or Goodness on us, in a literal or moral way only, or the word as written in Letters, is the Law; and the spirit operating the thing it self on the soul is the Gospel; the first is the old Covenant and the second the New: That the proper and next ends of the Law (or letter) are sin, condemnation, death and the Divine wrath: To let in sin, and heighten it that it might abound; and to bring on us spiritual death; These flow not from the Law of it self; but by accident, from the weakness of the flesh and creature: But both Law and sin are brought in ultimately for good; viz. God having a design which he intended to enrich with the fullest, the highest glories of his Godhead, brings forth in the course of this design, a dark scene of all evils, sin, death, wrath; The evil in this scene is carried on to its utmost ⟨p. 110⟩extent and height; Thus the variety becomes more full in the whole design, and the chief design is heightened in its greatest Glory; God in his Infinite wisdom so bringeth in this scene of sin and evil, that himself is perfectly pure and good in the contrivance and conduct of it. He setteth up a Law, good, holy and spiritual, but such that sin inevitably may take occasion from it through the frailty of the flesh and of the creature, to spring up as an overflowing flood, to display it self over all things in its fullest foulest birth. This Law is to convince us of the frailty and mutability in mans primitive state, &c. (viz. that he is a creature.)

§. 7. To the quieting of the mind that cannot digest this, but thinketh God is thus dishonoured, being made more than Satan the cause of sin, and misery for sin, which the Scripture contradicteth; and that man is excusable at the barr of Justice that could no more (in innocency) forbear to sin, than to make a world; To them that think it hard that no one in all the world could ever possibly do more or less Good or Evil than they do, but that is all done, by physical motion as in an Engine, &c. he hath a great deal to say, and more than ever I elsewhere met with, and with great modesty proposed. §. 8. As to the Law (whose transgression is sin) he supposeth, that Whatsoever imposeth on us any thing to be done by us, as an antecedent condition to any consequent good, is the Law opposed to the Gospel.