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,…

A. By making it impossible to fall from Grace, they make fear, and care, and endeavour to be folly; or unnecessary at least: For what use is there of fearing an impossible hurt? or of care and endeavour to prevent it? And so all religious Duties and diligence, as means, are made to be but vain.

B. 1. You wrong them in your supposition: Except a few ignorant men ¹that understand not the state of the Controversy, I meet with few or none that say, It is impossible to sin or fall away; but only de eventu that it will never come to pass. For they say (as I remember I heard Mr. Vines once preach) that our falling away is not only possible, but too easy in respect to us, and the habits of Grace which we have received: But they lay the certainty of our perseverance on Gods Decree and Promise. Now, say they, God did not decree that it should be non-possibile, but only that it should be non-futurum. And so that he hath promised the non-futurity, but not an impossibility of falling away. 3. And yet they sometimes use the term impossible here: But how? 1. Say they, There is a logical impossibilitas consequentiae; And so there is on supposition of mere prescience and prediction. For do but make this one of the premises [God fore-knoweth that Paul will persevere] and it is impossible this conclusion should be true: [Paul will not persevere.] But yet this may be nevertheless true, [It is possible for Paul to fall away.] But this impossibility of consequence in order of arguing, is nothing to the impossibilitas rei, in respect to the Causes. 2. And also they say, that there is impossibilitas hypothetica; supposing that man wilfully reject not Grace, Gods Power it self is so engaged ⟨p. 199⟩to defend him against Satan and all Enemies, that it is impossible for them to overcome God, and destroy him: But here impossible is related to the power of Enemies only: It is a thing that Satan hath not Power to do, to conquer Grace. 3. But when the question is of the Power of the Person himself, they say, It is unfit to say that he is unable to fall away, or that it is impossible in respect to his own Power. 1. Because that to fall away is an effect of Impotency and not of Power. 2. Because God will not so operate by his Grace, as to make a man unable to sin, but unwilling, and actually to keep him from it. So that Grace doth not make us impotent to resist it, and make it really impossible to us to fall away; but maketh us able and willing to stand, and causeth us freely de facto to persevere. 3. And I must tell you, that your Crimination is grounded on a lame and faulty recitation of their Opinion; you name but half of it, instead of the whole: