1The Doctrine about remission of sin being thus particularly declared, we come to that great Question, How afflictions come upon the godly after the pardon of their sins? For the Antinomian goeth into one extremity, and the Papist into another, so true is that of Tertullian, Christ is always crucified between two thieves; that is, Truth suffers between two extreme errors. Therefore in prosecuting this point, which is of great practical concernment, I will lay down, First, What the Antinomian saith; Secondly, What the Papist; And lastly, What the Orthodox. The Antinomian,2 in his book, called the Honey-Comb of Justification, explaineth himself in these particulars, by which you may judge, that his Honey is Gall. Having made this Objection to himself, That the children of God are corrected by God, therefore he seeth sin in them, maketh a large Answer: Distinguishing first of afflictions, 3calling some Legal, and some Evangelical, and then he distinguisheth of Persons, making some unconverted, others converted; the unconverted again, he makes to be either such as are reprobate, or else elected; now (saith he) the legal crosses have a two-fold operation, either vindicative or corrective: Vindicative are such afflictions as God executeth upon the wicked and reprobates▪ in which sense God is called the God of vengeance: Corrective, are such lashes of the Law, as are executed upon those persons that are the children of God by election, but not yet converted, and so under the Law, therefore these afflictions are not in wrath, to confound them, but in mercy to prepare ⟨p. 25⟩them to their conversion, for God seeing sins in them, layeth crosses upon them. Now these elect persons he calls unconverted, actively and declaratively, in a very ambiguous, and suspicious manner, as if conversion were from all eternity, as well as Justification, so that as they say, a man in time is justified only declaratively, being indeed so from all eternity, thus he must be said to be converted: and if this be true, then it will likewise follow, that a man in heaven is glorified likewise only declaratively, but actually and indeed glorified from all eternity, even while he is in this miserable house of clay.
1THe Doctrine about remission of sin being thus particularly declared, we come to that great Question, How afflictions come upon the godly after the pardon of their sins? For the Antinomian goeth into one extremity, and the Papist into another, so true is that of Tertullian, Christ is alwayes crucified between two thieves; that is, Truth suffers between two extream errors. Therefore in prosecuting this point, which is of great practical concernment, I will lay down, First, What the Antinomian saith; Secondly, What the Papist; And lastly, What the Orthodox. The Antinomian,2 in his book, called the Honey-Comb of Justification, explaineth himself in these particulars, by which you may judge, that his Honey is Gall. Having made this Objection to himself, That the children of God are corrected by God, therefore he seeth sin in them, maketh a large Answer: Distinguishing first of afflictions, 3calling some Legal, and some Evangelical, and then he distinguisheth of Persons, making some unconverted, others converted; the unconverted again, he makes to be either such as are reprobate, or else elected; now (saith he) the legal crosses have a two-fold operation, either vindicative or corrective: Vindicative are such afflictions as God executeth upon the wicked and reprobates▪ in which sense God is called the God of vengeance: Corrective, are such lashes of the Law, as are executed upon those persons that are the children of God by election, but not yet converted, and so under the Law, therefore these afflictions are not in wrath, to confound them, but in mercy to prepare ⟨p. 25⟩them to their conversion, for God seeing sins in them, layeth crosses upon them. Now these elect persons he cals unconverted, actively and declaratively, in a very ambiguous, and suspicious manner, as if conversion were from all eternity, as well as Justification, so that as they say, a man in time is justified only declaratively, being indeed so from all eternity, thus he must be said to be converted: and if this be true, then it will likewise follow, that a man in heaven is glorified likewise onely declaratively, but actually and indeed glorified from all eternity, even while he is in this miserable house of clay.
- 1How afflictions come on the godly after their sins are pardoned.
- 2The Antinomians error therein.The Antinomians errour therein.
- 3Cap. 7. p. 121.
