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God and in their conscience better things than the blood of Abel, and actually procures for them all the blessings which they enjoy or expect. To say, therefore, that the doctrine of christian perfection supersedes the need of Christ's blood, is not less absurd than to assert that the perfection of navigation renders the great deep an useless reservoir of water. Lastly: are not the saints before the throne perfectly sinless? And who are more ready than they to extol the blood, and sing the song of the Lamb: "To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, be glory, &c. ?” If an angel preached to them the modern gospel, and desired them to plead for the remains of sin, lest they should lose their peculiar value for the atoning blood; would they not all suspect him to be an angel of darkness, transforming himself into an angel of light? And shall we be the dupes of the tempter, who deceives good men, that they may deceive us by a similar argument?

VIII. It discredits Christ as the Fulfiller of the Father's promise, and as the Sender of the indwelling, abiding Comforter, that our joy may be full: For the Spirit never takes his constant abode as a Comforter in a heart full of indwelling sin. If he visits a sinful heart with his consolations, it is only as a guest that tarrieth but a day. When he enters a soul fraught with inbred corruption, he rather acts as a Reprover than as a Comforter; throwing down the tables of the spiritual money-changers; hindering the vessels which are not holiness unto the Lord, from being carried through God's spiritual temple, and expelling, according to the degree of our faith, whatsoever would make God's house a den of thieves.

But instead of this, Mr. Hill's doctrine considers the heart of believers as a den of lions; and represents Christ's Spirit not as the destroyer, but as the Keeper of the wild beasts, and evil tempers which dwell in our breasts. This I conclude from these words of the Rev. Mr. Toplady.-" They (ind welling sin and unholy tempers,) do not quite expire, till the renewed soul is taken up from earth to heaven. In the mean time these hated remains of depravity will, too often, like the prisoners in a dungeon, crawl towards the window, (though in chains) and show themselves through the grate. Nay, I do not know, whether the strivings of inherent corruption for mastery, be not, frequently, more violent in ar generate person, than even in one who is dead in trespasses: As wild beasts are, sometimes the more rampant and furious for being wounded." See Caveat against unsound doctrines, pa. 54.-When I read this gospel, I cannot but throw in a Ca veat against Mr. Toplady's Caveat. For if his is not unsound, every body must allow it to be uncomfortable and unsafe. Who would

not think it dreadfully dangerous to dwell with one wild beast that cannot be killed, unless we are first killed ourselves? But how much more dangerous is it to be condemned to dwell for life with a parcel of them, which are not only immortal so long as we are alive, but are sometimes the more rampant and furious for being wounded. The Saviour preached by Mr. Toplady only wounds the Egyptian Dragon, the inward Pharoah, and makes him rage, but our Jesus drowns him in the sea of his own blood, barely by stretching out the rod of his power, when we stretch out to him our arms of faith. Mr. Hill's Redeemer only takes Agag prisoner as doubleminded Saul did: but our Redeemer hews him in pieces as upright Samuel. The Christ of the Calvinists says, " Confine the enemy: Though he may possibly be fiercer than before :" But our's thrusts out the enemy before us, and says. Destroy, Deut. xxxiii, 27. Oye preachers of finished salvation, we leave it to your candour to decide which of these doctrines brings most glory to the saving name of Jesus.

IX. The doctrine of our necessary continu ance in indwelling sin to our last moments, makes us naturally overlook or despise the ex ceeding great and precious promises given unto us, that by these we might be partakers of the divine, nature, [that is, of God's perfect holiness;] having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust," 2 Pet. i. 4, and by that means it naturally defeats the full effect of evangelical truths and ministerial labours; an effect this, which is thus described by St. Paul" Teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man per fect in Christ Jesus," i. e. perfect according to the richest dispensation of divine grace, which is the gospel of Christ Jesus. Col, i. 28.

Again, " The Scripture is profitable for in struction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works,” 2 Tim. iii. 16. Now we ap prehend that the perfection, which thoroughly furnishes believers unto all good works, is a perfection productive of all the good works which are [evangelically, as well as providen tially] prepared that we should walk in them before death: because (whatever Mr. Hill may insinuate to the contrary in England, and Father Walsh at Paris,) the Scripture says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, [in death, i. e.] in the grave whi ther thou goest," For as the tree falls, so it lies: If it fall full of rottenness with a brood of vipers and a never dying worm in its hol low centre; it will continue in that very condition and woe to the man who trusts that the pangs of death will kill the worm, or that a purgative fire will spare the rotten wood, and consume the vipers.

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X. It defeats in part the end of the gospel

precepts to the fulfilling of which gospel-pro. mises are but a means. All the law, the prophets, and the apostolic writings, hang on these two commandments; “ Thou shalt love God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself, through penitential faith in the light of thy dispensation ;" that is, in two words, Thou shalt be evangelically perfect. Now if we believe that it is absolutely impossible to be thus perfect by keeping these two blessed commandments in faith: We cannot but believe also that God who requires us to keep them is defective in wisdom, equity, and goodness, by requiring us to do what is ab. solutely impossible. And we represent our Church as a wicked step-mother, which betrays all her children into the wanton com mission of perjury, by requiring of every one of them in the sacrament of baptism a most solemn vow by which they bind themselves in the presence of God and of the congregation, that they will keep God's holy will and commandments. [i. e. that they will keep God's evangelical law] and walk in the same all the days of their life.

XI. It has a necessary tendency to unnerve our deepest prayers. How canwe pray in faith, that God would help us to do his will on earth as it is done in heaven, or that he would cleanse the thoughts of our hearts that we may perfectly love him and worthily magnify his holy Name: How can we, I say, ask this in faith, if we disbelieve the very possibility of having these petitions answer ed? And what poor encouragement had Epaphras upon the scheme which we oppose, always to labour fervently for the Colossians in prayers, that they might stand perfect and complete in the will of God; or St. Paul, to wish that the very God of Peace would sanctify the Thessalonians wholly, and that their whole spirit, and soul, and body, might be preserved blameless, if these requests could not be grant ed before death, and were unavoidably to be granted to them and to all believers in the article of death?

XII. It soothes lukewarm, unholy professors, and encourages them to sit quietly under the vine of Sodom, and under their own barren fig-tree: I mean under the baneful influence of their unbelief and indwelling sin; nothing being more pleasing to the carnal mind than this Syren song: "It is absolutely impossible that the thoughts of your hearts should be cleansed in this life. God himself does not expect that you should be purified from all iniquity on this side the grave. It is proper that sin should dwell in your heart by unbelief, to endear Christ to you, and so to work together for your good." The Preachers of mere morality insinuate, that God does not forgive sins before death. This danger ous, uncomfortable doctrine damps the faith of penitents, who think it absurd to expect before death, what they are taught they can

only receive at death. And, as it is with the pardon of sin, so it is also with the cleansing from all unrighteousness. The Preachers of christian imperfection tell their hearers, that no body can be cleansed from heart-sin before death. This new gospel makes them secretly trust in a death-purgatory, and hinders them from pleading in faith the promise of full sanctification before death stares them in the face; while others like spared Agag, madly venture upon the spear of the king of terrors, with their hearts full of indwelling sin. The dead tell no tales now, but it will be well, if in the day of the resurrection, those who plead for the necessary indwelling of sin during the term of life, do not meet in the great day with some deluded souls, who will give them no thanks for betraying them, to their last moments into the hands of indwelling sin, by insinuating that there can be no deliverance from our evil tempers, before we are ready to exchange a death-bed for a coffin.

XIII. It greatly discourages willing Israelites, and weakens the hands of the faithful spies, who want to lead feeble believers on, and to take by force the kingdom which consists in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; nothing being more proper to damp their ardour, than such a speech as this: "You may strive against your corruptions and evil tempers, as long as you please: But you shall never get rid of them: The Jericho within is impregnable: It is fenced up to Heaven, and garrisoned by the tall, invincible, inmortal sons of Anak : so strong are these adversaries, that the twelve Apostles, with the help of Christ and of the Holy Ghost, could never turn one of them out of his post. Nay, they so buffeted and overpowered St. Paul, the most zealous of the Apostles, that they fairly took him prisoner, sold him under sin, and made him groan to the last, O wretched, carnal man that I am, who shall deliver me from the law of my inbred corruptions, which bring me into captivity to the law of sin: I thank God through death. then, with the flesh you must, as well as St. Paul, serve the law of sin till you die. Nor need you fret at these tidings; for they are the pure Gospel of Christ,-the genuine doctrines of free grace, and christian liberty. In Christ you are free, but in yourselves you must continue to serve the law of sin: And indeed why should you not do it, since the sins of a christian are for his good, and even the dung of a sheep of Christ is of some use,nay of the most excellent use, if we believe Mr. Hill; for the most grievous falls,—falls into repeated acts of adultery, and into deliberate murder, serve to make us know our place, to drive us nearer to Christ, and to make us sing louder the praises of restoring grace. Besides, that gentleman represents those who preach deliverance from indwell

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ing sin before we go into a death-purgatory, grace, all the faith, prayers, and sacraments as men of a pharisaic cast,--blind men, who never saw their own hearts,-proud men, who oppose the righteousness of God,-vain men, who aspire at robbing Christ of the glory of being alone without sin In short, men who hold doctrines which are shocking, not to say blasphemous.

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How would this speech damp our desires after salvation from indwelling sin! How would it make us hug the cursed chains of our inbred corruptions, if the cloven foot of the imperfect, unchaste Diana, which it holds out to public view without gospel-sandals, was not sufficient to shock us back from this impure gospel to the pure gospel of Jesus Christ! And yet (if I am not mistaken,) this dangerous speech only unfolds the scope of Mr. Hill's "Creed for Perfectionists."

XIV. To conclude: The modish doctrine of christian imperfection and death-purgatory, is so contrived, that carnal men will always prefer the purgatory of the Calvinists to that of the Papists. For the Papists prescribe I know not how many cups of divine wrath and dire vengeance, which are to be drunk by the souls of the believers who die half purged, or three parts cleansed. These half-damned, or a quarter-damned creatures must go through a severe discipline, and fiery, salvation in the very suburbs of hell, before. they can be perfectly purified. But our opponents have found out a way to deliver halfhearted believers out of all fear in this respect. Such believers need not utterly abolish the body of sin in this world. The inbred man of sin not only may, but he shall live as long as we do. You will possibly ask "What is to become of this sinful guest? Shall he take us to hell, or shall we take him to heaven? If he cannot die in this world, will Christ destroy him in the next?". No: Here Christ is almost left out of the question by those who pretend to be determined to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. Our indwelling adversary is not destroyed by the brightness of the Redeemer's spiritual appearing, but by the gloom of the appearance of death. Thus they have found another Jesus, another Saviour from sin. The king of terrors comes to the assistance of Jesus's sanctifying grace, and instantaneously delivers the carnal believer from indwelling pride, unbelief, covetousness, peevishness, uncharitableness, love of the world, and inordinate affection. Thus the clammy sweats brought on by the greedy monster, kill (it seems the tree of sin, of which the blood of Christ conld only kill the buds! The dying sinner's breath does the capital work of the Spirit of Holiness! And by the most astonishing of all miracles, the faint, infectious, last gasp of a sinful believer, blows away, in the twinkling of an eye, the great mountain of inbred corruption, which all the means of

of twenty, perhaps of forty years; with all the love in the heart of our Zerubbabel, all the blood in his veins, all the power in his hands, and all the faithfulness in his breast, were never able to remove! If this doctrine is true, how greatly was St. Paul mistaken, when he said, "The sting of death is sin, &c. Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through Christ our Lord!" Should he not have said, "Death is the cure of sin?" instead of saying, "Sin is the sting of death?" And should not his praises flow thus, "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through death?" our great and only deliverer from our greatest and fiercest enemy, indwelling sin!

SECTION XIV.

An Answer to the Arguments by which the Imperfectionists support the doctrine of the necessary indwelling of sin in all believers till they go into the death-purgatory.

The pleasing effect of the lights in a picture is considerably heightened by the bold oppo. sition of strong shades. If the preceding ar guments are the lights, by which we hope agreeably to strike the mental eyes of the reader, who candidly considers the doctrine of christian perfection; it will not be improper to heighten those lights by the amazing contrast of the arguments, which our oppo. nents advance in defence of indwelling sin, and christian imperfection. These arguments appear to us shades;-bold, logical shades: but the bolder they are, the more they will set off the lustre of the truth which we recommend: For, if all things work for good, to then that lore God; why should not all the errors of others, work for good to them that love the truth? I am abundantly furnished with the erroneous shades I want, by three of the most approved authors, who sup port the ark of the imperfect gospel, the Rev. Mr. Toplady, author of the Historic Proof of Calvinism: The Rev. Mr. Martin, author of several tracts, which are esteemed by the Calvinists :-And the Rev. Mr. Henry, famous for his voluminous exposition of the Bible.

The first of these authors, in his Caveat against unsound doctrine, intimates that 'there never were on earth but three persons possessed of the sinless perfection which we contend for; Adam, Eve, and Jesus Christ: A bold intimation this, which, like the Babel, 1 attack, has its foundation in Confu sion:-in the confusion of three perfections which are entirely different;-the paradisaical sinless perfection of our first parents: The mediatorial sinless perfection of Jesus Christ: and the christian evangelically sinless perfection of St. John. His intimation is supported by some passages from Solomon, which

have been already considered in Section XI. and by the following argument.

Argument I. "A person of the amplest fortune cannot help the harbouring of snakes, toads, &c. on his lands; but they will breed and nestle, and crawl about his estate, whe-, ther he will or no. All he can do is to pursue and kill them wherever they make their appearance yet let him be ever so vigilant and diligent, there will always be a success on of those creatures, to exercise his patience, and engage his industry.' So it is with the true believer, in respect of indwelling sin." Caveat against unsound doctrine, page 54. To this we answer :

1. From the clause which I produce in Italic in this argument, one would think that patience and industry cannot be properly exercised without indwelling sin. If so, does it not follow, that our Lord's patience and industry always wanted proper exercise, because he was always perfectly free from indwelling sin? We are of a different sentiment with respect to our Lord's christian virtues and we apprehend, that the patience and industry of the most perfect believer, will always (without the opposition of indwelling sin) find full exercise in doing and suffering the whole will of God; in keeping the body under; in striving against the sin of others; in testifying by word and deed that the works of the world are evil; in resisting the numberless temptations of him, who goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may deFour;" and in preparing to conflict with the king of terrors.

2. Why could not assiduous vigilance clear an estate of snakes, as one of our kings cleared Great Britain of wolves? Did he not attempt and accomplish what appeared im possible to less resolute minds ? Mr. Toplady is too well acquainted with the Classics not to know what the heathens themselves have said of industry and love?

Omnia vincit amor.-Labor improbus omnia vincit. If "Love and incessant labour overcome the greatest difficulties," what cannot a diligent believer do, who is animated by the love of God, and feels that he can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth him ?"

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3. But the capital flaw of Mr. Toplady's argument consists in so considering the weakness of free-will, as entirely to leave God and the sanctifying power of his Spirit out of the question. That gentleman forgets that, "for this purpose the Son of God" [who is Lord God Omnipotent] was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Nor does he consider, that a worm assisted by Omnipotence itself, is capable of the greatest achievements. Of this we have an illustrious instance in Moses, with respect to the removal of the lice, the frogs, and the locusts. "Moses intreated the

Lord, and the Lord turned a mighty, strong west-wind, which, took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt," Exodus x. 19. If Mr. Toplady had not forgot the mighty God, with whom Moses and believers have to do, he would never have supposed, that the comparison holds good between Christ cleansing the thoughts and heart of a praying believer by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, and a man who can by no means destroy the snakes and toads that breed, nestle, and crawl about his estate.

4. The Reverend Author of the Caveat sinks in this argument, even below the doctrine of heathen moralists. For, suppose the extirpation of a vicious habit were considered, would not a heathen be inexcusable, if he overlooked the succour and inspiration of the Almighty? And what shall we say of a gospel minister, who, writing upon the destruction of sin, entirely overlooks what at other times he calls the sovereign, matchless, allconquering, irresistible power of divine grace, which (if we believe him) is absolutely to do all in us and for us?-who insinu. ates, that the toad, pride, and the viper, envy, must continue to nestle and crawl in our breasts for want of ability to destroy them; and who concludes that the extirpation of sin is impossible, because we cannot bring it about by our own strength? Just as if the power of God, which helps our infirmi ties, did not deserve a thought! Who does not see, that when a Divine argues in this manner, he puts his bushel upon the light of Christ's victorious grace, hides this sin-killing and heart-cleansing light, and then absurdly concludes that the darkness of sin must necessarily remain in all believers ? Thus, if I mistake not, it appears, that Mr. Toplady's argument in favour of the deathpurgatory, is contrary to history, experience, and gentilism and how much more to christianity, and to the honour of him who to the utmost saves his believing people from their heart-toads and bosom-vipers, when they go to him for this great salvation!

The next author who shall furnish me with logical shades, is the ingenious and Rev. Mr. Martin, who has just published a plea for the necessary indwelling of sin in all believers. He calls it, "The Christian's peculiar conflict, An Essay on Galatians, v. 17." And from it I extract the arguments which follow.

Argument II. Page 15, &c. "O ye vain boasters of inherent perfection, say, Where is the man among you to be found, who always doth the things that he would? If there be one, who has this pre-eminence above his brethren, why should his name be concealed? Is he a preacher ? and dare he assert he has at all times that discovery of the truth to

his own soul he could wish, &c. Is he a private christian? and will he venture to declare, that in every character he sustains, &c. he continually acts not only the conscientious part, but in every respect fulfils the desire of his mind? What, does he hesitate? Is he afraid to attest this in the presence of a heart-searching God? How deceitful then is his confidence! &c. Strange infatuation! If he cannot at all times do the things, the good things that he would, can he suppose his best desires are more extensive than that law which is exceeding broad? &c. If he can be so vain as to suppose this, there is more hope of a fool than of him who is so wise in his own conceit. If he disowns the inference, and yet maintains his premises, that he is perfect, i. e. he is without sin, he has ceased to commit iniquity, what is the conclusion? I am obliged to conclude, that perfection and imperfection, things as contrary to each other as light and darkness, are with such a deluded person, considered as one and the same thing."

This argument stript of its rhetorical ornaments, and put into a plain, logical dress, runs thus:

2. For want of infinite wisdom, does no perfect love in finite creatures frequently desire to do more for its object that it can? When Michael fought with the Dragon, is it not highly probable that he lovingly desired to hinder his cruel adversary from doing any farther mischief? But did not his performance fall short of his pious, resigned desire? May not this be said also of the guardian care of the angels who minister to the heirs of salvation? Do these loving spirits afford us all the help, or procure us all the bliss, which their tender compassion prompts them to wish us ?-If not, is it not absurd to sup pose, that barely on this account, they are sinfully imperfect? Nay, would it not be a high degreee of rashness and injustice to insinuate, that they are transgressor's of God's spiritual law; and that his commandment, which is broader than their desires, is broken by their not doing us all the good, which they desire to do us, and which they would actually do us, if a wise Providence had not set bounds to their commission? Does not this unscriptural, Calvinian legality, put the stamp of sinfulness upon all angels and archangels, merely to keep in countenance the Antinomian doctrine of the necessary sinfulness of all believers ?

"When Christians do not do all the good things which they desire to do, they sin, or break God's law, which is purer and broader 3. If we consider our Lord himself as a than their desires :-But the best ministers man, did he do all the good he would while and the best private christians do not do all he was upon earth? Did he preach as sucthe good things which they desire to do:cessfully as his perfect love made him deAnd therefore the best ministers, and the best private christians sin, and their sinless perfection is an empty boast." We may bring the argument into a still narrower compass, thus: "All short-comings are sin ful, and therefore inconsistent with every kind of perfection." Now this proposition, which is the basis of the whole argument, has error for its foundation. Granting that short-comings are inconsistent with the absolute will of God, and with the perfection of his boundless power, I affirm four things, each of which, if I mistake not, overturns our objector's argument.

1. The separate spirits of just men made perfect, are perfectly sinless; nevertheless they do not do all the things that they would; for they have not yet prevailed to get the blood of God's martyrs avenged-a display of justice this, which they ardently wish for. And I prove it by these words of St. John; "I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, Holy and True, dost thou not judge, and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth!" Rev vi. 9. Had they done what they wished, i. e. actually prevailed with God, their prayer would have been immediately turned into praises, and persecutors would long have been rooted out from

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sire to do? If he had all the success he desired in his ministry, why did he look round upon his hearers with anger; being grieved for the hardness of their hearts? Why did he weep and complain, "How often would I have gathered you, &c. and ye would not?" Were even his private instructions so much blessed to his own disciples, as he could have wished? If they were, what meant these strange expostulations, "How is it, that ye have no faith?"" Faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?-Hast thou been so long with me, Philip, and yet hast thou not known me? Will ye also go away?"

Did he not

Nay, had not Christ his innocent infirmities too? Did he not shudder at the prospect of the cup of trembling? Needed he not the strengthening support of an angel in the garden of Gethsamane ? "offer up prayers, with strong cryings and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death?" "Was he not heard in that he feared?" Heb. v. 7.-Did he not innocently cry out upon the cross; "My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken ne ?" And does not the Apostle observe, that, have not an High Priest, who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities: but (one who) was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin? Heb. iv. 15. When our opponents therefore, confound in with natural, innocent infirmities, or with our not

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