A treatise of self-judging, in order to the worthy receiving of the Lords Supper.…

7 The people of God in their sins have this aggravating particular why God should judge them rather then others, because they have greater power to withstand it, there is not that necessity upon them in sinning, as is in unregenerate men: It is true, an unregenerate man cannot but sin in all that he doth, yet this necessity doth not excuse but aggravate, both because it is voluntarily contracted upon himself, and because this necessity is voluntary, and with delight, Eo magis libera quo magis Ancilla, as Bernard: ⟨p. 107⟩But now in a godly man, there is a spiritual life and power within him to avoid sin; he is not in the progress of holiness, as in the first conversion, merely passive, but now actì agimus, and moti movemus; the grace of God exciting, we have life within us to co-operate. Now then, if God hath infused such a life within us, it is thy greater sin, if thou dost not act accordingly: God hath brought thee out of thy first bondage, and if thou dost yet live a slave, the greater is thy condemnation. It's made a dispute, whether a godly man can avoid any more ⟨p. 108⟩sins then he doth, or do any more good then he doth: Some Orthodox men are reported by the Arminians to affirm they cannot; but no doubt converting grace takes away that spiritual death in sin, and giveth principles of life, and all habits of grace infused, have a sufficiency in their way to produce their acts, yet so as they need actual grace to excite and apply these to operation. A man that hath his eye healed, hath a power to see, yet if there be not light to actuate the medium, he cannot see. We need grace even after conversion, to excite and ⟨p. 109⟩quicken those principles: But this showeth that a godly mans sin is therefore to be aggravated, because he hath a principle within to refuse it.

7 The people of God in their sins have this aggravating particular why God should judge them rather then others, because they have greater power to withstand it, there is not that necessity upon them in sinning, as is in unregenerate men: It is true, an unregenerate man cannot but sin in all that he doth, yet this necessity doth not excuse but aggravate, both because it is voluntarily contracted upon himself, and because this necessity is voluntary, and with delight, Eo magis libera quo magis Ancilla, as Bernard: