A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian EthicsBaxter, Richard
Religion
A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics
Baxter, Richard
Casuistry; Christian sociology
The antinomians tell you, that "The moral law is abrogated, and that the
gospel is no law; (and if there be no law, there is no governor nor
government, no duty, no sin, no judgment, no punishment, no reward);
that the elect are justified before they are born, or repent, or
believe; that their sin is pardoned before it is committed; that God
took them as suffering and fulfilling all the law in Christ, as if it
had been they that did it in him: that we are justified by faith only in
our consciences: that justifying faith is but the believing that we are
justified: that every man must believe that he is pardoned, that he may
be pardoned in his conscience; and this he is to do by a divine faith,
and that this is the sense of the article, 'I believe the forgiveness of
sins,' that is, that my sins are forgiven; and that all are forgiven
that believe it: that it is legal and sinful to work or do any thing for
salvation: that sin once pardoned need not be confessed and lamented, or
at least, we need not ask pardon of sin daily, or of one sin oft: that
castigations are no punishments; and yet no other punishment is
threatened to believers for their sins; and consequently that Christ
hath not procured them a pardon of any sin after believing, but
prevented all necessity of pardon; and therefore they must not ask
pardon of them, nor do any thing to obtain it: that fear of hell must
have no hand in our obedience, or restraint from sin. And some add, that
he that cannot repent or believe, must comfort himself that Christ
repented and believed for him (a contradiction)."[74] Many such
doctrines of licentiousness the abusers of grace have brought forth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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