Of the Demerit of Sin
you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, at the day of judgment, than for you.
Q. 13. What is the third inference hence?
A. That great sinners, when pardoned and received to mercy, should excel all others in love to Christ; Luke 7:42, 43. Which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Q. 14. What is the last inference hence?
A. Let no man neglect Christ, because his sins are not so heinous as others; because the least sin without Christ is damning; Rom. 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death, &c. And greater sinners are often called when lesser are not; Mat. 21:31, 32. The publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Of the Demerit of Sin Quest. 84. WHAT doth every sin deserve?
A. Every sin deserveth God's wrath and curse, both in this life and in that which is to come.
Q. Wherein doth the evil of sin principally consist?
A. It consists principally in the offence it gives, and the wrong it doth to God; Psalm 51:4. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.
Q. 2. What is the first offence and wrong sin doth to God?
A. It consists in its enmity to God; Rom. 8:7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, &c. Expressed in scripture by walking contrary to him; Lev. 26:40. They have also walked contrary to me.
Fighting against God; Acts 5:39. Lest haply ye be even found to fight against God. And resisting his Spirit; Acts 7:51. Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.
Q. 3. Wherein is its enmity to God further discovered in scripture?
A. It is discovered under the names and notions of hatred of God; Rom. 1:30. Backbiters, haters of God, &c. Rebellion against God; 1
Sam. 15:23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, &c. And despising the commandment of God; 2 Sam. 12:9. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord?
Q. 4. What are the attributes of God that sin wrongs?
A. It wrongs all his attributes; for it slights his sovereignty; Exod. 5:2.
And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice, to let Israel go? Resists his power; 1 Cor. 10:22. Are we stronger than he? Despiseth his goodness; Rom. 2:4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, &c. Taxeth his justice; Ezek. 18:25. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal, &c. And clouds his holiness; Jam. 2:7.
Do not they blaspheme that worthy name, by which ye are called?
Q. 5. What doth sin deserve in the course of justice from God?
A. It deserves all temporal and eternal effects of God's wrath, on the souls and bodies of sinners, all which in scripture go under the name of death; Rom. 6:23. For the wages of sin is death, &c.
Q. 6. Can these sufferings satisfy God for all this wrong?
A. No, they cannot; and therefore they must, and shall be eternal on the damned; Matth. 5:26. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Mark 9:44. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Q. 7. Shall all sinners bear the desert of their sins?
A. No, all that are out of Christ shall; but Christ hath freed believers from it; John 3:18. He that believeth on him is not condemned, &c.
Q. 8. But is it not hard, that sinners should suffer eternally for the sins of a few years?
A. No, it is not; for the evil of sin is not to be measured by the time in which, but by the object against which it is committed; Psal. 51:4, 5.
Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, &c.
Q. 9. What learn we from hence?
A. Hence in the first place we learn the impossibility of satisfying God's justice for the least sin that ever we committed; Job 7:20. I have sinned, what shall I do unto thee? &c. Psalm 130:3. If thou,
Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand?
Q. 10. What is the second instruction hence?
A. Hence we see the necessity of a Mediator betwixt God and us; Psal. 40:6, 7. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, &c. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me.
Q. 11. What is the third instruction hence?
A. That the greatest suffering is rather to be chosen than the least sin; Heb. 11:25. Chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Q. 12. What is the fourth instruction hence?
A. It teacheth us what an invaluable mercy the full, free, and final remission of sin is; Psal. 32:1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, &c.
Q. 13. What is the fifth instruction hence?