6. I say, “Repentance rightly understood.” For this must not be confounded with the former repentance. The repentance consequent upon justification is widely different from that which is antecedent to it. This implies no guilt, no sense of condemnation, no consciousness of the wrath of God. It does not suppose any doubt of the favour of God, or any fear that hath torment. It is properly a conviction wrought by the Holy Ghost, of the sin which still remains in our heart, of the φρόνημα σαρκός· the carnal mind, which “does still remain,” as our church speaks, “even in them that are regenerate:” altho’ it does no longer reign, it has not now dominion over them. It is a conviction of our proneness to evil, of an heart bent to backsliding, of the still-continuing tendency of the flesh to lust against the spirit. Sometimes, unless we continually watch and pray, it lusteth to pride, sometimes to anger, sometimes to love of the world, love of ease, love of honour, or love of pleasure more than of God. It is a conviction of the tendency of our heart to self-will, to atheism, or idolatry: and above all to unbelief, whereby in a thousand ways, and under a thousand pretences, we are ever departing, more or less, from the living God.
7. With this conviction of the sin remaining in our hearts, there is joined a clear conviction of the sin remaining in our lives, still cleaving to all our words and actions. In the best of these we now discern a mixture of evil, either in the spirit, the matter or the manner of them: something that could not endure the righteous judgment of God, were he extreme to mark what is done amiss. Where we least suspected it, we find a taint of pride or self-will, of unbelief or idolatry: so that we are now more ashamed of our best duties, than formerly of our worst sins: and hence we cannot but feel, that these are so far from having any thing meritorious in them, yea so far from being able to stand, in sight of the divine justice, that for those also we should be guilty before God, were it not for the blood of the covenant.
8. Experience shews, that together with the conviction of sin remaining in our hearts and cleaving to all our words and actions, as well as the guilt which on account thereof we should incur, were we not continually sprinkled with the atoning blood; one thing more is implied in this repentance, namely a conviction of our helplessness, of our utter inability to think one good thought, or to form one good desire; and much more to speak one word aright, or to perform one good action, but thro’ his free, almighty grace first preventing us, and then accompanying us every moment.
9. “But what good works are those, the practice of which, you affirm to be necessary to sanctification.” First, all works of piety, such as public prayer, family prayer, and praying in our closet: receiving the supper of the Lord: searching the scriptures, by hearing, reading, meditating: and using such a measure of fasting or abstinence, as our bodily health allows.
10. Secondly, All works of mercy, whether they relate to the bodies or souls of men: such as feeding the hungry, cloathing the naked, entertaining the stranger, visiting those that are in prison, or sick, or variously-afflicted: such as the endeavouring to instruct the ignorant, to awaken the stupid sinner, to quicken the lukewarm, to confirm the wavering, to comfort the feeble-minded, to succour the tempted, or contribute in any manner to the saving of souls from death. This is the repentance, and these the fruits meet for repentance, which are necessary to full sanctification. This is the way wherein God hath appointed his children to wait for compleat salvation.
11. Hence may appear the extreme mischievousness of that seemingly innocent opinion, That “there is no sin in a believer; that all sin is destroyed, root and branch, the moment a man is justified.” By totally preventing that repentance, it quite blocks up the way to sanctification. There is no place for repentance, in him who believes there is no sin either in his life or heart. Consequently there is no place for his being perfected in love to which that repentance is indispensably necessary.
12. Hence it may likewise appear, that there is no possible danger in thus expecting full salvation. For suppose we were mistaken, suppose no such blessing ever was, or can be attained, yet we lose nothing: nay, that very expectation quickens us in using all the talents which God has given us; yea, in improving them all, so that when our Lord cometh, he will receive his own with increase.
13. But to return. Tho’ it be allowed, That both this repentance and its fruits are necessary to full salvation, yet they are not necessary either in the same sense with faith, or in the same degree: not in the same degree; for these fruits are only necessary conditionally, if there be time and opportunity for them, otherwise a man may be sanctified without them. But he cannot be sanctified without faith. Likewise let a man have ever so much of this repentance, or ever so many good works, yet all this does not at all avail: he is not sanctified till he believes. But the moment he believes, with or without those fruits, yea, with more or less of this repentance, he is sanctified. Not in the same sense; for this repentance and these fruits are only remotely necessary, necessary in order to the continuance of his faith, as well as the increase of it: whereas faith is immediately and directly, necessary to sanctification. It remains, that faith is the only condition, which is immediately and proximately necessary to sanctification.
14. “But what is that faith whereby we are sanctified, saved from sin and perfected in love?” It is a divine evidence and conviction, 1. That God hath promised it in the holy scripture. Till we are throughly satisfied of this, there is no moving one step further. And one would imagine, there needed not one word more, to satisfy a reasonable man of this, than the ancient promise, Then will I circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul. How clearly does this express the being perfected in love? How strongly imply the being saved from all sin? For as long as love takes up the whole heart, what room is there for sin therein?
15. It is a divine evidence and conviction, secondly, That what God hath promised he is able to perform. Admitting therefore that with men it is impossible, to bring a clean thing out of an unclean, to purify the heart from all sin, and to fill it with all holiness, yet this creates no difficulty in the case, seeing with God all things are possible. And surely no one ever imagined it was possible to any power less than that of the Almighty! But if God speaks, it shall be done. God saith, Let there be light: and there is light.