The Doctrine of the Saints' Perseverance

This is the issue of all the former swelling Discourse, mens sins are from their own wills, and not because the Spirit is not stronger than the flesh; And who ever doubted it, the Conclusion you were to prove, is, That Believers sin with their whole will and full consent of their wills, and that the new principle that is in them, doth not cause their wills to decline from acting in sin to the just efficacy of all their strength and vigour; But of this [Greek or Hebrew], for the insinuation in that expression of the Will hearkening to the lusts of the flesh, and not the lusting of the Spirit, in a sovereign indifferency to both, and a liberty for the performance of either, in a way exclusive of good, or vicious habitual Principles of operation in the will it self, I shall not now divert to the consideration of.

This is the issue of all the former swelling Discourse, mens sinnes are from their owne willes, and not because the Spirit is not stronger than the flesh; And who ever doubted it, the Conclusion you were to prove, is, That Believers sinne with their whole will and full consent of their wills, and that the new principle that is in them, doth not cause their wills to decline from acting in sinne to the just efficacy of all their strength and vigour; But of this 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, for the insinuation in that expression of the Will hearkening to the lusts of the flesh, and not the lusting of the Spirit, in a sovereigne indifferency to both, and a liberty for the performance of either, in a way exclusive of good, or vicious habituall Principles of operation in the will it selfe, I shall not now divert to the consideration of.

What else remains in this Section,¹ either doth not concern the business in hand, as the fine notions of the Spirits return to move Believers when his motions have been rejected, with the manner, whereof according to his conception, must be afterwards considered apart, as the fall of David into Adultery and Murder; if there be need to go forth to the consideration of his examples and instances: and therefore I shall not longer insist upon it; only the close of it consisting of an inference made from some words of Peter Martyr deserves consideration; Upon Davids sin (saith he) Peter Martyr, makes this observation, That the Saints themselves being once fallen into sin, would always remain in the pollution of it, did not God by his mighty Word bring them out of it; which saying of Martyr clearly also implies that the Saints many times sin with their whole wills and full consents, because were any part of their wills bent against the committing of the sin at the time, when it is committed, they would questionless return to themselves and repent immediately after the beat and violence of the Lust being over, by reason of the satisfaction that hath been given thereunto.