An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

But Thirdly, ¹The Law of sin hath different workings in the People of God than in others; This working of the Law of sin in Gods People, me thinks, is an ill thing. But let us hear how it is: First, Where sin is committed industriously and designedly, there it is the Law of sin in the Graceless; unless Men be very cunning at the trade of sin, they are not under the Law of it, as graceless persons are: Grace is consistent with taking all fair opportunities of sinning, so we do not design it before hand. Secondly, When the temptation easily prevails, then it is the Law of sin in the unregenerate; This is an Argument indeed, that a Man is a willing Slave; but when a Man is conquered by a temptation, though he make some resistance, it is an Argument, that sin is his Master, which rules and governs, especially if this be often, such a Man surely is none of Christs freemen, and therefore not to fail. Thirdly, ⟨p. 546⟩When sin carries it in spite of all opposition, against all external discouragements, threatenings of the Law, the Sceptre of the Gospel, the Love of God, and his Wrath, the Death and Wounds of Christ, Reproofs, Resolutions, Vows, Promises, &c. then it is the Law of sin; So that it seems, when sin carries it in despite of all external oppositions only, it is the mark of an unregenerate Man; but when it carries it against internal and external oppositions, that is a sign of a regenerate Man; for a regenerate Man has the same external oppositions, to preserve him from sin, that an unregenerate Man hath, and besides these he hath internal oppositions, the checks of his own conscience, which he says the unregenerate Man has not. And Fourthly, When it is sinning and no sense of sin, no after Repentance for it, then it is the Law of sin: Now what bad Man is there, who does not at one time or other repent of his sins, & complain of them? And how many are there, that repent of their sins, and make large Confessions of them, and return to them again? There are no Men, but do at one time or other express some sorrow for their sins, (which he calls Repentance) and there are a great many, who pretend thus to be sorry for their sins, ⟨p. 547⟩who it is to be feared, are never the better Men for it; and yet were there any such, who sin without any sense of it, they would be much better then those regenerate Men, who feel the gripes of conscience for sin, and yet return to it.