The sound believer, or, A treatise of evangelical conversion discovering the work of Christs…The sound beleever, or, A treatise of evangelicall conversion discovering the work of Christs…

1. By this thou hast a most sweet and comfortable evidence of thy justification & favour with God; he that denies this, must (what ever distinctions he hath) abolish many places of Scripture, especially the epistles of James and John, who had to do with some spirits, that pretended faith and union to Christ, and communion with him, and so long as it was thus, this was evidence sufficient to them of their justified estates. What faith James? Thou sayest thou hast faith, show ⟨p. 295⟩it me then; prove it for my part, saith he: Isle prove by the blessed fruits and works which flow from it, as Abraham manifested his, Jam. 2.18, 22. What saith John? You talk (saith he) of fellowship and communion with Christ, and yet what holiness is there in your hearts or lives? If you say you have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lye and do not the truth; but if you walk in the light, then although your holiness, and confession, and daily repentance for sin doth not wash away sin, yet the blood of Christ doth wash us, 1 John 1.6, 7. Again, you say you know Christ, and the love and good will of Christ toward you, and that he is the propitiation for your sins: how do you know this? saith he: He that saith; I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, 1 John 2.4. True, might some reply, he that keeps not the commands of Christ, hath hereby a sure evidence that he knows him not, and that he is not united unto him; but is this any evidence that we do know him, and that we are united to him, if we do keep his commandments? yes verily, saith the Apostle, hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments, verse 3. and again, verse 5. Hereby know we that we are in him. What can be more plain? What a vanity is this to say that this is running upon a covenant of ⟨p. 296⟩works? Is not sanctification the writing of the Law in our hearts, a special benefit of the covenant of grace as well as justification? Heb. 8.10.12. and can the evidencing then of one benefit of such a covenant by another, be a running upon the covenant of works? is it a truth contained in the covenant of grace, viz. that he that is justified is also sanctified, and he that is sanctified is also justified? And is an error against grace to see this truth, that he that is sanctified is certainly justified;