10. Error 8: Believers need not fear Sin.
elect as completely righteous as Christ himself, there could not possibly be any the least guilt in the elect to be pardoned; and consequently no place or room could be left for any justification in time. And then it must follow, that seeing Christ died in time, for sin, according to the scriptures; it must be for his own sins that he died, and not for the sins of the elect; diametrically opposite to Rom. 4.25, and the whole current of scripture, and faith of Christians.
It is therefore very unbecoming and unworthy of a justified person, after Christ hath taken all his guilt upon himself, and suffered all the punishment due thereunto in his place and room; instead of an humble and thankful admiration of his unparalleled grace therein, to throw more than the guilt and punishment of his sins upon Christ, even the transgression itself: and comparing his own righteousness with Christ's, to say he is as completely righteous as Christ himself.
This is, as if a company of bankrupt debtors, arrested for their own debts, ready to be cast into prison, and not having one farthing to satisfy, after their debts have been freely and fully discharged by another, out of his immense treasure, should now compare with him, yea, and think they honour him, by telling him, that now they are as completely rich as himself.
I am well assured, no good man would embrace an opinion so derogatory to Christ's honour as this is: did he but see the odious consequences of it, doubtless he would abhor them as much as we.
And as for those now in heaven, who fell into such mistakes in the way thither, were they now acquainted with what is transacted here below, they would exceedingly rejoice in the detection of those mistakes, and bless God for the refutation of them.
Error 8: Believers need not fear Sin.
Error 8. They affirm, That believers need not fear their own sins, nor the sins of others; forasmuch as neither their own, or other sins can do them any hurt, nor must they do any duty for their own good or salvation, or for eternal rewards.
That we need fear no hurt from sin, or may not aim at our own good in duty, are two propositions that sound harsh in the ears {584} of believers. I shall consider them severally, and refute them as briefly as I can.
Proposition 1. Believers need not fear their own sins, or the sins of others; because neither our own or others sins can do us any hurt.
They seem to be induced into this error, by misunderstanding the apostle, in Rom. 8.28, as if the scope of that text were to assert the benefits of sin to justified persons; whereas he speaks there of adversities and afflictions befalling the saints in this life. Universalis restringenda est ad materiam subjectam, loquitur enim de afflictionibus piorum. The subject-matter (saith Paræus on the place) restrains the universal expression of the apostle: for when he there saith, "All things shall work together for good;" he principally intends the afflictions of the godly, of which he treats there in that context. It may be extended also to all providential events; Omnia quæcunque eis accedunt forinsecus, tam adversa, quam prospera:
All adverse and prosperous events of things without us, as Estius upon the place notes. Nothing is spoken of sin in this text. And the apostle distributing this general into particulars, verse 38, plainly shews what are the things he intended by his universal expression, verse 28, as also in what respect no creature can do the saints any hurt, namely, that they shall never be able "to separate them from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And in this respect it is true, that the sins of the elect shall not hurt them, by frustrating the purpose of God concerning their eternal salvation; or totally and finally to separate them from his love. This we grant, and yet we think it a very unwary and unsound expression, That believers need not fear their own sins, because they can do them no hurt: It is
too general and unguarded a proposition to be received for truth.
What if their sins cannot do them that hurt, to frustrate the purpose of God, and damn them to eternity in the world to come? Can it therefore do them no hurt at all in their present state of conflict with it in this world? For my part, I think the greatest fear of caution is due to sin, the greatest evil; and that Chrysostom spake more like a Christian, when he said, Nil nisi peccatum timeo, I fear nothing but sin. Though sin cannot finally ruin the believer, yet it can many ways hurt and injure the believer, and therefore ought not to be misrepresented as such an innocent and harmless thing to them. In vain are so many terrible threatenings in the scriptures against it, if it can do us no hurt; and it is certain nothing can do us good, but that which makes us better and more holy: But sin can never pretend to that of all things in the world. But to come to an issue, sin may be considered three ways.
1. Formally. 2. Effectively. 3. Reductively.
First, Formally, as a transgression of the preceptive part of the {585} law of God, and under that consideration it is the most formidable evil in the whole world. The evil of evils at which every gracious heart trembles, and ought rather to chuse banishment, prison, and death itself in the most terrible form, than sin, or that which is most tempting in sin, the pleasures of it; as Moses did, Heb. 11.25.
Secondly, Sin may be considered effectively, with respect to the manifold mischiefs and calamities it produceth in the world, and the spiritual and corporeal evils it infers upon believers themselves:
Though it cannot damn their souls, yet it makes war against their souls, and brings them into miserable bondage and captivity, Rom.
7.23. It wounds their souls, under which wounds they are feeble, and sore broken; yea, they roar by reason of the disquietness of their hearts, Psalm 38.5,8. Is war, captivity, festering, painful wounds, causing them to roar, no hurt to believers? It breaks their very bones,
Psalm 51.8. And is that no hurt? It draws off their minds from God, interrupts their prayers and meditations, Rom. 7.18-21. And is there
no hurt in that? It causeth their graces to decline, wither, and languish to that degree, that the things which are in them are ready to die, Rev. 3.1, and Rev. 2.4. And is the loss of grace and spiritual strength no hurt to a believer? It hides the face of God from them,
Isa. 59.2. And is there no hurt in spiritual withdrawments of God from their souls? Why then do deserted saints so bitterly lament and bemoan it? It provokes innumerable afflictions, and miseries which fall upon our bodies, relations, estates; and if sin be the cause of all these inward and outward miseries to the people of God, sure then there is some hurt in sin, for which the saints ought to be afraid of it.
Thirdly, Sin may be considered reductively, as it is over-ruled, reduced, and finally issued by the covenant of grace. Under this consideration of sin, which rather respects the future than present state, the Antinomians only respect the hurt or evil of it; overlooking both the former considerations of sin, which concern the present state of believers, and so rashly pronounce, Sin can do believers no hurt; an assertion tending to a great deal of looseness and licentiousness. A man drinks deadly poison, and is, after many months, recovered by the skill of an excellent physician; shall we say,
There was no hurt in it, because the man died not of it? Sure, those fearful twinges he felt, his loss of strength and stomach were hurtful to him, though he escaped with life, and got this advantage by it to be more wary for ever after. Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum.
And then, for other men's sins, (which they say we need not fear) it is an assertion against all the laws of charity; for the sins {586} of wicked men eternally damn them, disturb the peace and order of the world, draw down national judgments upon the whole community, cause wars, plagues, persecutions, &c. which considerations of the sins of others opened fountains of tears in David's eyes, Psalm
119.136, caused horror to take hold upon him, verse 53, and yet, if you will believe the Antinomian doctrine, believers have no need to fear, much less to be in horror (which is the extremity of fear) for other men's sins. How is Satan gratified, and temptations to sin strengthened upon the souls of men, by such indistinct, unwary, and
dangerous expressions as these are? A good intention can be no sufficient salve for such assertions as these.
Secondly, They tell us, 'That as the saints need fear no sin for any hurt it can do them, so they must do no duty for their own good; or with an eye to their own salvation, or eternal rewards in heaven.'
Refutation. This, as the former, is too generally and indistinctly delivered. He that distinguisheth well, teacheth well. The confounding of things which ought to be distinguished, easily runs men into the bogs of errors. Two things ought to have been distinguished here; 1. Ends in duties.
2. Self-ends in duties.
First, Ends in duties; there are two ends in duties, one supreme and ultimate, viz, the glorifying of God, which must, and ought to take the first place of all other ends: Another secondary and subordinate, viz. the good and benefit of ourselves. To invert these, and place our own good in the room of God's glory, is sinful and unjustifiable; and he that aims only at himself in religion, is justly censured as a mercenary servant, especially if it be any external good he aims at; but spiritual good, especially the enjoyment of God, is so involved in the other, viz. the glory of God, that no man can rightly take the Lord for his God, but he must take him for his supreme good, and consequently therein may, and must have a due respect to his own happiness.
Secondly, Self-ends must always be distinguished into, 1. Corrupt or carnal self-ends.
2. Pure, and spiritual self-ends.
As to carnal and corrupt self-ends, inviting and moving men to the performance of religious duties; when these are the only ends men aim at, they bewray the hypocrisy of the heart, and accordingly, God charges hypocrisy upon such persons. Hos. 7.14. "They have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds;
They assemble themselves for corn and wine," &c. God reckons not the most solemn duties animated {587} by such ends, to be done unto him. Zech. 7.5. "Did ye at all fast unto me?"
But beside these, man hath a best self, a spiritual self, to regard in duty, viz. The conformity of his soul to God in holiness, and the perfect fruition of God in glory. Such holy self-ends as these are often commended, but no where condemned in scripture. It was the encomium of Moses, that "he had respect unto the recompence of reward," Heb. 11.26. These ordinate respects to our spiritual, best self, are so far from being our sin, that God both appoints and allows them for great uses and advantages to his people in their way to glory. They are, (1.) Singular encouragements to the saints under persecutions, straits, and distresses, Heb. 10.34, and to that end
Christ proposes them, Luke 12.32, and so the best of saints have made use of them, 2 Cor. 4.17,18. (2.) They are motives and incentives to praise and thankfulness, 1 Pet. 1.3,4. Col. 1.12. (3.) They stir up the saints to cheerful and vigorous industry for God, Col.
3.23,34. 1 Cor. 15.58.
Now to cut off from religion all these spiritual and excellent selfrespects, and to make them our sins and marks of hypocrisy, is an error very injurious to the gospel, and to the souls of men. For, (1.) It crosses the strain of the gospel, which commands us to strive for our salvation, Luke 13.24,25. Phil. 2.12. 1 Tim. 4.16. (2.) It blames that in the saints as sinful, which the scripture notes as their excellency, and records to their praise, Heb. 11.26. (3.) It makes the laws of Christianity to thwart, and cross the very fundamental law of our creation, which inclines and obliges all men to intend their own felicity: and on this account, not only our Antinomians are blame worthy, but others also, who are far enough from their opinion, who