The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errors of Papists, Arminians,…The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errours of Papists, Arminians,…

That it is one thing to acknowledge such a defilement and impurity by sin absolutely; and another to acknowledge it so, That justifying grace, or remission of sin must take that blot away. Herein the Papists err, That they hold sin leaveth such a stain, which remission of sin taketh away; whereas indeed there is such a filth by sin, but that is taken away by sanctifying grace, not justifying; so that it is a dangerous error to speak of such a defilement by sin, and then to say, God by pardoning takes it away; This were to confound Justification and Sanctification.

That it is one thing to acknowledge such a defilement and impurity by sinne absolutely; and another to acknowledge it so, That justifying grace, or remission of sin must take that blot away. Herein the Papists erre, That they hold sin leaveth such a stain, which remission of sin taketh away; whereas indeed there is such a filth by sin, but that is taken away by sanctifying grace, not justifying; so that it is a dangerous errour to speak of such a defilement by sin, and then to say, God by pardoning takes it away; This were to confound Justification and Sanctification.

But in the second place, we may according to Scripture, say, not only in Adams sin, but in every sin we commit there is a blot and stain made upon the soul, Matth. 15.20. These things that come from the heart defile a man, Ephes. 5.27. Sin is compared to a spot and wrinkle. So Rom. 3.12. All by nature are said to become unprofitable. The Hebrew word in the Psalm, out of which this is taken, signifieth corruption or putrefaction, for such sin is to the soul, not that you may conceive that the essence of the soul is naturally corrupted by sin, as rust doth the iron, and moths the garment; but in a moral sense, by sin the soul in its faculties is disenabled from doing its duty. Thus the Apostle calls sins dead works, Heb▪ 9.14. not in that sense, as if they did bring death to a man, for that the Apostle expresseth otherwise, killing us, when he speaks of the Law; but he calls them dead works, because they defile man, as dead carcasses in the old Testament: For the Apostle, vers. 1. spake of cleansing by the blood of an heifer, which was to be used when a man had touched any dead thing, which made him legally unclean. Thus (saith he) Christs blood will cleanse from sin that contaminateth a man. Neither is it necessary that grace must really have been in the soul before, and then sin by depriving the soul of it, so to stain it: for its enough that the soul ought to have grace in it, though it were not present before: as when a man doth not believe Gods Word, though this unbelief do not deprive him of the beauty and grace of faith, which he had, yet it doth of that beauty of faith, which he ought to have.