The Doctrine of the Saints' Perseverance

Here is no Promise made, that they who once believe, how unworthily soever they shall behave themselves, shall still be preserved by the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of God in Believing, or that they shall be necessitated always to Believe.

Here is no Promise made, that they who once believe, how unworthily soever they shall behave themselves, shall still be preserved by the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of God in Believing, or that they shall be necessitated alwaies to Believe.

Ans. This is the old play still: It is not at all our intendment, to produce any Promise of safe-guarding men in the Love of God, how vile soever they may prove, but of preserving them from all such unworthiness, as should render them utterly uncapable thereof: And this is plainly here asserted, in the Assurance given of the perpetual residence of the Spirit in them, with such continual supplies of Grace from him, as shall certainly preserve them from any such state or condition as is imagined: Of being necessitated to Believe, I have spoken formerly. The expression is neither used by us, nor proper to the thing it self, about which it is used, nor known in the Scripture as to this purpose, and therefore we justly reject it, as to its signifying any thing of the way and manner, whereby we are preserved by the power of God, through faith unto Salvation. If it denotes only the certainly, and infallibility of the event, as the ⟨p. 208⟩phrase or locution is improper, so to deny, that there is a Promise of our being preserved, by the Spirit of God in believing, is not to Answer our Argument, but to beg the thing in Question, yea to deny the positive assertion of the Lord Christ: But if there be not such a Promise in the words, what then is in them, what do they contain? Saith he,

Ans. This is the old play still: It is not at all our intendment, to produce any Promise of safe-guarding men in the Love of God, how vile soever they may prove, but of preserving them from all such unworthinesse, as should render them utterly uncapable thereof: And this is plainly here asserted, in the Assurance given of the perpetuall residence of the Spirit in them, with such continuall supplies of Grace from him, as shall certainly preserve them from any such state or condition as is imagined: Of being necessitated to Believe, I have spoken formerly. The expression is neither used by us, nor proper to the thing it selfe, about which it is used, nor knowne in the Scripture as to this purpose, and therefore we justly reject it, as to its signifying any thing of the way and manner, whereby we are preserved by the power of God, through faith unto Salvation. If it denotes only the certainly, and infallibility of the event, as the