CHAP. VII. How we may know we have Repented and are in a Pardoned and Good State, Othing is of greater importance to us than to make a right judg ment of our felves as to our Spiritual State, to know whether we are in a State of Grace and Pardon with God, whether our Condition be fuch that we may reasonably hope we are in his Favour at prefent, and have a Title to Heaven and Happiness hereafter. No Man that believes Religion, and is not perfectly thoughtlefs and ftupid, but muft upon the account of these things have the greateft Peace and Comfort of Mind or the greatest uneafinefs and disturbance: For nothing is fo great an object of our Hopes and Fears, and does fo highly affect us as thefe will or ought to do. No Man should one would think, enjoy himself one moment, or be at quiet in his thoughts Hh 4 thoughts who is in a ftate of enmity with the great God, and lives under his anger and difpleasure, and however he may escape here yet lyes under the dread and terrour and amazing danger of another World. To know and examine and be able to judge of this fhould one would think be very plain, because the Rule is fo by which we are to judge our felves, and by which God will judge us. The Terms and Conditions of our Salvation are laid down very clearly in Scripture, fincere and conftant Obedience to Gods Laws, or where we fail of performing that, true Repentance, which is to be in the place, and will be accepted inftead of Perfect Obedience. But many are willing to cheat themselves, and be deluded with falfe hopes and miftaken grounds of Comfort, and to fay, Peace, Peace, where there is no Peace, and to deceive themselves with falfe marks and figns of Grace, and without any good reafon to believe themselves to have an Intereft in Chrift and be the Favourites of Heaven. There were fome in the Apostles time as well as ours who had this Opi nion of themselves, and made great pretences to the most mysterious knowledge (calling themselves Gnofticks) and to the most intimate Communion with Heaven, and to be Chriftians of the highest form and order, who yet wallowed in all manner of Wickedness, and lived in very great Sins and unlawful Liberties exprefly forbidden by the Gofpel. They abufed fome of the Doctrines of Chriftianity, and perverted the very Defign and Conftitution of it, and by making a falfe Scheme of it to themselves altered its Nature, turning it like our latter Antinomians into a mere Notional Superftition inftead of an Inftitution of Vertue and Holiness, and judged of themselves not by its Rules and ftanding Terms and Conditions, but by fome ungrounded and imagi nary Priviledges that no way belonged to them. St. John in his firft Epiftle layes down feveral Cautions againft fuch as these, and warns the Chriftians to beware of their loose and pernicious though pretendedly Chriftian Doctrines, fuch as St. James alfo fpeaks very openly against when he corrects their mistakes who would be justified juftified by faith without works, i. e. put into a Righteous and Good State by Christianity without Obedience and Vertue. Little Children, fayes St. John, let no man deceive you, he that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous, 1 John 3. 7. He that committeth fin is of the Devil, ver. 8. Whofoever is born of God doth not commit fin, ver. 9. In this the children of God are manifeft and the children of the Devil, ver. 10. Where in oppofition to all the falfe Opinions by which thofe wicked Men believed themselves in a good State, notwithstanding their Wickedness or their not being Righteous, and made falfe marks and figns of Grace to themselves, and accounted themselves the fpecial Favourites of God and of Chrift by fome conceited and peculiar Priviledges, though they were wicked and impenitent, and lived in a state of plain and notorious Sin, he layes down a clear and certain, a plain and obvious Mark and Criterion by which we may judge of our felves, and by which alone we can judge aright of our Spiritual Condition, and know whether we are in a Pardoned and Good State, and that is this, that we do not commit fin, or live in the practice of any known and wilful Sin whatsoever, till we bring our felves to this, we can never by any means whatever, by any priviledge of Christianity, or by all that Chrift has or could do for us, be free from a state of guilt and danger, till we get rid of every Sin and break off every every evil way, then we shall recover our good State however dangerous and deplorable it was before, and fhall be as fure of Gods Favour and a Title to Heaven as if we had been alwayes innocent, and never had finned. Many are inclined to judge of themselves by fome other and kinder measures, and are willing to believe well of themselves, and hope they have an Intereft in Chrift, and a Title to Gods Favour and hopes of Heaven without leaving every Sin, and living fuch a strict and holy Life as the Gofpel requires, they have fome Referves, and fome falle Notions and Principles in Religion whereby they comfort themselves against this fevere Doctrine, and think by fome way or other to reconcile their Sins with the hopes of Heaven and their Eternal Salvation. There |
