Survey of the Spiritual Antichrist, Part 2 · Chapter 39
CHAP. XXXIX. Of Mortification.
WEe judge Repentance, and Mortification of the old man, to be a personall turning from sinne, and the abating of the lusts of the old Adam, a deading of the heart to the pleasures of sinne, a growing in a heavenly disposition, to rise with Christ, and seeke the things that are above; flowing from the death and resurrection of Christ, apprehended by faith. Antinomians say, aSaltmarsh free grace, 5….60, 6….6….63.64.6….To repent, and to mortifie sinne, is to beleeve that Christ repented, and mortified sinne for us, and obeyed the whole Law for us; It is not, the not acting of sin, nor is it bEato. Hon combe, c. 8. ca 164.16…. A man in Christ, p. 3….the mortifying, clensing, and purifying our sinnes out of the sight of God, no not by the Spirit of sanctification, but it is to purifie out of our owne sight, and sense, before the world, and declaratively, these sinnes which the wedding garment hath purified out of the sight of God. What is Mortification (saith cDenne d…ct. of Iohn Ba… …st pag. 45.Denne) but the apprehension of sinne slaine by the body of Christ? What is vivification but our new life? the just shall live by Faith. I must needs say, this is a shorter cut to heaven, and a more Hony-Gospel then Christ and his Apostles knew. For 1. They command us to mortifie our members which are on earth, fornication, uncleannesse, inordinate dCol. 3, 5.… Antinomians Make mortification no re…d or personall worke in us, but an imputative apprehension, beleeving Christ was morti…ed for us.affection, &c. And to forbear lying, Antinomians free us from all personall mortifying our selves, and put us on an imputative mortification, to beleeve that Christ hath satisfied justice for our fornication, and that Christ was chast in his owne person, and abstained from fornication, and lying, for us; this is to blow away all sanctification, and make justification all. 2. So, may we live in our lusts, and beleeve our lusts to be mortified in Christ, and they are so; and if wee should live slaves of sinnes, and sonnes of the Devill, and under the dominion of our lusts, if we beleeve that Christ hath mortified our lusts, our naked act of beleeving, without any personall change in our selves, maketh us sonnes of God; which is nothing else, but to turne the grace of God into wantonnesse. Antinomians tell us, it is but an abusing of grace to wantonnesse, to sinne, because grace doth abound, and he that beleeveth cannot walke still and live according to the flesh, if he still lives in his lusts, his faith is no faith.
Answ. Its most true, if Faith be taken for the affiance and recumbency of a broken sinner on Christ; but the Antinomian faith is a perswasion of a fleshly Pharisie, standing on his tiptoes, proudly resisting Christ, burning in his lusts, and beleeving his boyling lusts are pardoned, and remitted before ever they were committed, and that they are no sinnes.
2. Wee grant it is not grace, but the abuse of grace, that teacheth David, Peter, to act adultery, and deny Christ: but if it be the grace of Faith, that is to beleeve, contrary to sense, that Adultery, and deniall of Christ, are not sinnes; because sinnes pardoned are no sinnes, then grace it selfe doth teach us to sinne.
3. We must be justified by mortification, if mortification, he the faith or apprehension of our lusts crucified with Christ.
4. When the Holy Ghost biddeth us beleeve, repent, pray, mourne, rejoyce in God, we have this Gospel-sense of these from Antinomians, we doe all this compleatly, when wee beleeve that Christ beleeved, repented, prayed, mourned, rejoyced in God for us; and there is an end: for sure the doing of all these, came from a Spirit of Faith, drawing life and strength out of Christs death and resurrection to doe all these; as we draw strength from Christ to mortifie the lusts of the flesh.
5. The word expoundeth mortification not to be in relative acts to beleeve Christ mortified our, or his owne lusts for us, but in reall and personall acts of obedience, to be deadned to to the world, Gal. 6.14. To abstaine from fleshly lusts, that warre against the e1 Pe…. 2.11.soule, from fornication, uncleanesse, inordinate affection, evill fRom. 10.14.concupiscence, and such sinnes, for which the wrath of God commeth on the Children of disobedience, to wit, on the Gentiles that never heard the Gospel; now in reason, wrath cannot come on the heathen, who never heard of Christ, because they beleeve not gIo…. 15.22.that he, of whom they never heard, hath crucified those sinnes for them on the crosse▪