The saints dignity and duty· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardness. /…The saints dignitie and dutie· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardnesse. /…

For the further opening and unfolding of this excellent Point, consider with me briefly these four particulars.

First, That all believers, they are by nature under all Iniquity, when the Text saith, That Christ gave himself to redeem them from all iniquity: This implieth that believers were under all iniquity, what need Christ give himself to redeem them from that under which they were not? You shall find this evidently declared, Rom. 5. 12. By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon ⟨p. 28⟩all men, for that all have sinned. And Ephes. 2. 1, 2. 3. the Apostle speaking of believers, he saith of them, as well as of others, that they were dead in trespasses and sins, and that they are by nature the children of wrath as well as others, and that they were in time past, acted by the Devil, and walked after the course of the world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; And again, Rom. 3. 19. all the world is become guilty before God; all men by nature, as well believers as unbelievers are all under iniquity: First, they are under the transgression of the Law, they break the Commandments of God continually. Secondly, they are under the guilt of that transgression, for he that hath the sin must have the guilt. Thirdly, they are under the punishment that belongeth to the breakers of the Law, for he that committeth sin, and hath the guilt thereof, must needs be liable to the punishment.

First, That all beleevers, they are by nature under all Iniquitie, when the Text saith, That Christ gave himself to redeem them from all iniquitie: This implieth that beleevers were under all iniquitie, what need Christ give himself to redeem them from that under which they were not? You shall finde this evidently declared,