6. Error 4: No Need to Pray for Pardon of Sin.
notorious cheat and imposter in the world, Jer. 17.9. Does it not deceive all the formal hypocrites in the world, in this very point? And shall every strong conceit and presumptuous confidence, begotten of Satan by a deceitful heart, and nursed up by self-love, pass without any examination or suspicion for as infallible and assured a truth, as that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners? The Lord sweep that doctrine out of the world by reformation, which is like to sweep so many thousand souls into hell by a remediless selfdeception.
Error 4: No Need to Pray for Pardon for Sin Error 4. The fourth Antinomian error before-mentioned, was this,
That believers are not bound to confess their sins, or pray for the pardon of them; because their sins were pardoned before they were committed; and pardoned sin is no sin.
Refutation. If this be true doctrine, then it will justify and make good such conclusions and inferences as these, which necessarily flow from it: viz.
1. That there is no sin in believers.
2. Or if there be, the evil is very inconsiderable. Or, 3. Whatever evil is in it, it is not the will of God that they should either confess it, mourn over it, or pray for the remission of it; whatever he requires of others, yet they need {570} take no notice of it, so as to afflict their hearts for it; God hath exempted them from such concernments: There is nothing but joy to a believer, saith Mr.
Eaton. But neither of these conclusions are either true or tolerable; therefore neither is the principle so which yieldeth them.
(1.) It is not true or tolerable to affirm, that there is no sin in a believer: 1 John 1.18, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not," Eccl. 7.20. "In many things we offend all," James 3.2. The scriptures plainly affirm it, and the universal experience of all the saints sadly confirms it. It is true, the blood of Christ hath taken away the guilt of sin, so that it shall not condemn believers; and the spirit of sanctification hath taken away the dominion of sin, so that it doth not reign over believers; but nothing, except glorification, utterly destroys the existence of sin in believers.
The acts of sin are our acts, and not Christ's; and the stain and pollution of those sinful acts, are the burthens and infelicities of believers, even in their justified state. Dr. Crisp indeed, in p. 270,
271. calls that objection (I suppose he means distinction betwixt the guilt of sin, and sin itself) a simple objection, and tells us, the very sin itself, as well as the guilt of it, passed off from us, and was laid upon Christ: So that speaking of the sins of blasphemy, murder, theft, adultery, lying, &c. from that time (saith he) that they were laid upon Christ, thou ceasest to be a transgressor. If thou hast a part in the Lord Christ, all these transgressions of thine become actually the transgressions of Christ. So that now thou art not an idolater, or persecutor, a thief, a murderer, and an adulterer, thou art not a sinful person; Christ is made that very sinfulness before God, &c. Such expressions justly offend and grieve the hearts of Christians, and expose Christianity to scorn and contempt. Was it not enough that the guilt of our sin was laid on him, but we must imagine also, that the thing itself, sin, with all its deformity and pollution should be essentially transferred from us to Christ? No, no. After we are justified, sin dwelleth in us, Rom. 7.17, warreth in us, and brings us into captivity, verse 23, burthens and oppresses our very souls, verse 24. Methinks I need not stand to prove what I should think no sound experienced Christian dares to deny, that there is much sin still remaining in the persons of the justified. He
that dares to deny it, hath little acquaintance with the nature of sin, and of his own heart.
(2.) It is neither true nor tolerable to say, there is no considerable evil in the sins of believers, deserving a mournful confession or petition for pardon. The desert of sin is hell: it is an artifice of Satan to draw men to sin, by persuading them there is no great {571} evil in it; but none except fools will believe it. Fools, indeed, make a mock of sin; but all that understand either the intrinsic evil of it, or the sad and dismal effects produced by it, are far from thinking it a light or inconsiderable evil. The sins, even of believers, greatly wrong and offend their God, Psalm 51.4. and is that a light thing with us? They interrupt and clog our communion with God, Rom. 7.21. They grieve the good Spirit of God, Eph. 4.30. Certainly these arc no inconsiderable mischiefs.
(3.) Now if there be sin in believers, and so much evil in their sins (neither of which any sober Christian will deny) then undoubtedly it is their duty to confess it freely, mourn for it bitterly, and pray for the pardon of it earnestly; unless God have any where discharged them from those duties, and told them these are none of their concernments, and that he expects not these things from justified persons; but that these are duties properly and only belonging to other men. But on the contrary, you find the whole current of scripture running strongly and constantly in direct opposition to such idle and sinful notions. For, (1.) He hath plainly declared it to be his will, that his people should confess their sins before him, and strongly connected their confessions with their pardons, 1 John 1.9. and frequently suspends from them the comfortable sense of forgiveness, till their hearts be brought to this duty, Psalm 32.5. compared with verses 3,4. the more to engage them to this duty, by the sensible ease and comfort attending and following it.