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,…

But the clear Answer is, That our Saviour speaks allusively to those three Courts of Judicature among the Jews, the least punishment whereof was death; so that the first Court punished with death, the second, death with a more grievous torment; The third with a most grievous. For that our Saviour doth only allude to these Courts, and not speak of what faults the Courts punished, is plain; for none can think that the Court put any to death for calling his brother fool. It was murder and such •ins that they punished with capital punishments. The other place is, 1 Joh. 5.15, 17. where the Apostle makes a difference ⟨p. 206⟩between a sin unto death, and a sin not unto death, but that is clearly to be understood either of the sin against the holy Ghost (which in those times, when the spirit of discerning was frequent, might easily be known) or of such sin that did plainly discover obstinacy and impenitency accompanying of it, otherwise no man might pray for another man that hath committed a mortal sin, if by a sin unto death, the Papist will mean every mortal sin.

Lay therefore this foundation, That every sin is mortal, in respect of its desert and guilt, howsoever to the godly believing and repenting, no sin is mortal, but all venial, Rom. 8.1. There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. Therefore Musculus observes well, That in this case, the persons offending are to be considered (whether they be believers) more then the sins themselves.

A second Proposition.