12. “I am not satisfied yet. He that has sin in him, is a slave to sin. Therefore you suppose a man to be justified, while he is a slave to sin. Now if you allow, men may be justified, whilethey have pride, anger or unbelief in them; nay if you aver, These are (at least, for a time) in all that are justified: what wonder that we have so many proud, angry, unbelieving believers?”
I do not suppose any man who is justified, is a slave to sin. Yet I do suppose, sin remains (at least for a time) in all that are justified. “But if sin remains in a believer, he is a sinful man: if pride, for instance, then he is proud: if self-will, then he is self-willed; if unbelief, then he is an unbeliever; consequently, no believer at all. How then does he differ from unbelievers, from unregenerate men?”
This is still mere playing upon words. It means no more than, if there is sin, pride, self-will in him, then——there is sin, pride, self-will. And this nobody can deny. In that sense then he is proud or self-willed. But he is not proud or self-willed in the same sense, that unbelievers are, that is, governed by pride or self-will. Herein he differs from unregenerate men. They obey sin; he does not. Flesh is in them both. But they walk after the flesh: He walks after the Spirit.
“But how can unbelief be in a believer?” That word has two meanings. It means either no faith, or little faith; either the absence of faith, or the weakness of it. In the former sense, unbelief is not in a believer: in the latter, it is in all babes. Their faith is commonly mixt with doubt or fear, that is (in the latter sense) withunbelief. Why are ye fearful, says our Lord, O ye of little faith. Again, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? You see here was unbelief in believers: little faith and much unbelief.
13. “But this doctrine, that sin remains in a believer, that a man may be in the favour of God, while he has sin in his heart, certainly tends to encourage men in sin.” Understand the proposition right, and no such consequence follows. A man may be in God’s favour tho’ he feel sin; but not if he yields to it. Having sin does not forfeit the favour of God; giving way to sin, does. Though the flesh in you lust against the spirit, you may still be a child of God. But if you walk after the flesh, you are a child of the devil. Now, this doctrine does not incourage to obey sin, but to resist it with all our might.
V. 1. The sum of all is this. There are in every person, even after he is justified, two contrary principles, nature and grace, termed by St. Paul, the flesh and the Spirit. Hence altho’ even babes in Christ are sanctified, yet it is only in part. In a degree, according to the measure of their faith, they are spiritual: yet in a degree, they are carnal. Accordingly, believers are continually exhorted to watch against the flesh, as well as the world and the devil. And to this agrees the constant experience of the children of God. While they feel this witness in themselves, they feel a will not wholly resigned to the will of God. They know they are in him, and yet find an heart ready to depart from him, a proneness to evil in many instances, and a backwardness to that which is good. The contrary doctrine is wholly new; never heard of in the church of Christ, from the time of his coming into the world, ’till the time of count Zinzendorf. And it is attended with the most fatal consequences. It cuts off all watching against our evil nature, against the Delilah, which we are told is gone, tho’ she is still lying in our bosom. It tears away the shield of weak believers, deprives them of their faith, and so leaves them exposed to all the assaults of the world, the flesh and the devil.
2. Let us therefore hold fast the sound doctrine, once delivered to the saints, and delivered down by them with the written word, to all succeeding generations: that altho’ we are renewed, cleansed, purified, sanctified, the moment we truly believe in Christ, yet we are not, then renewed, cleansed, purified altogether: but the flesh, the evil nature still remains (though subdued) and wars against the Spirit. So much the more, let us use all diligence, in fighting the good fight of faith. So much the more earnestly let us watch and pray, against the enemy within. The more carefully let us take to ourselves, and put on the whole armour of God: that although we wrestle, both with flesh and blood, and with principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places, we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
SERMON XIV.
THE REPENTANCE OF BELIEVERS.
MARK i. 15.