A survey of the spiritual antichrist opening the secrets of familism and antinomianism in…A survey of the spirituall antichrist opening the secrets of familisme and antinomianisme in…

CHAP. XXXIX. Of Mortification.

We judge Repentance, and Mortification of the old man, to be a personal turning from sin, and the abating of the lusts of the old Adam, a deading of the heart to the ⟨p. 41⟩pleasures of sin, a growing in a heavenly disposition, to rise with Christ, and seek the things that are above; flowing from the death and resurrection of Christ, apprehended by faith. Antinomians say, ^aTo repent, and to mortify sin, is to believe that Christ repented, and mortified sin for us, and obeyed the whole Law for us; It is not, the not acting of sin, nor is it ^bthe mortifying, cleansing, and purifying our sins out of the sight of God, no not by the Spirit of sanctification, but it is to purify out of our own sight, and sense, before the world, and declaratively, these sins which the wedding garment hath purified out of the sight of God. What is Mortification (saith ^cDen) but the apprehension of sin slain by the body of Christ? What is vivification but our new life? the just shall live by Faith. I must needs say, this is a shorter cut to heaven, and a more Honey-Gospel then Christ and his Apostles knew. For 1. They command us to mortify our members which are on earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate ^daffection, &c. And to forbear lying, Antinomians free us from all personal mortifying our selves, and put us on an imputative mortification, to believe that Christ hath satisfied justice for our fornication, and that Christ was chaste in his own person, and abstained from fornication, and lying, for us; this is to blow away all sanctification, and make justification all. 2. So, may we live in our lusts, and believe our lusts to be mortified in Christ, and they are so; and if we should live slaves of sins, and sons of the Devil, and under the dominion of our lusts, if we believe that Christ hath mortified our lusts, our naked act of believing, without any personal change in our selves, maketh us sons of God; which is nothing else, but to turn the grace of God into wantonness. Antinomians tell us, it is but an abusing of grace to wantonness, to sin, because grace doth abound, and he that believeth cannot walk still and live according to the flesh, if he still lives in his lusts, his faith is no faith.