"when I was mourning over my own corrupti "ons, I felt the fanctifying fire come out of "heaven into my heart; like a dry leaf in the "flame, it burnt up all the fin that was in me, " and I have not finned a fin fince." A believer in the Gospel, would be at no lofs to reply to fuch prefumption; unmoved by any or all the great fwelling words of vanity, which fuch might. utter, he would anfwer, If we say we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. To him it will be perfectly obvious, that such a fentiment can only be the offspring of pride, and could only be indulged in a mind that abideth in darkness. He will plainly perceive, it is unfupported by fact, and not merely uncountenanced, but decidedly condemned in the Scriptures. A fentiment, to support which, the law of God must be abridged or mutilated, and which, admitting it to be poffible, would call away our attention from the truth revealed in the Gofpel, to fome attainment in ourfelves. In oppofition to it, it were easy to produce many declarations of divine truth; Who can understand his errors ?-Who can fay, I have made my beart clean, I am pure from my fin?-For in many things we offend all, and come fhort of his gloryBut the supporters of this fentiment afk with an air of triumph, Is it not afferted, whosoever abideth in him finneth not? It is but juft as explicitly afferted in the fame paffage, that whosoever finneth, hath not feen him, neither known him; and therefore, it militates with as much force, against paft experience, as prefent, acceptance. In the fenfe in which perfectionifts ufe the expreffion in, it is alfo contrary to the word of God. If any man fin we have an advocate with the Father. No, fays the Arminian, (he muft fay it

to

to be confiftent) If any man fin, he has neither feen Chrift, nor known him, nor abideth in him, he is without Chrift, and therefore without God, and without hope in the world.

As the Scripture cannot be broken, we have yet. to enquire, what is the fin which is here fpecified? It will aid us in this enquiry, to confider what is faid refpecting it. It is plain, from the words which introduce the effay, that it is a fin which no believer commits, He that abideth in him finneth not. It is as evident from the 9th verfe that no believer can commit it. He cannot fin; the reafons are, because his feed remaineth in him, and because he is born of God.. He is therefore under the dominion of a mind, in direct oppofition to it, and in poffeffion of a principle quite the reverfe; the feed of God, or truth of the Gospel, remaineth in him, effectually leading him, to love God and delight in his character, in his character as revealed in his word, and in the effects of this character, in those who believe. Again, the fin here spoken of, is the fin of the devil, v. 8th. Our Saviour informs us what that fin is, He abode not in the truth, i. e.. he opposed the character, hated the government, and rejected the teftimony of God concerning Jefus; and the whole of his influence, from the beginning till now, has been employed in oppofition to that truth, under one form or another. In this he is readily fallen in with by the world that lieth in wickedness, who either treat it with indifference, or corrupt its fimplicity, or blafpheme its principles, and they do fo, because the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, and the carnal mind is enmity against him. But this is a fin which no believer either does or .can commit. He that is born of God loveth him

that

that begat, and also the truth by which he was begotten, and will therefore, as a new born babe, defire the fincere milk of the word, that he may grow thereby. He does not give oppofition to that truth which he fees is fo fuitable to his wants, and conducive to his happiness. He cannot hate that truth, which he is convinced, alone, provides for his fafety, and gives birth to all his expectations. Such then feems, evidently seems,, to be the import of the paffage we are now confidering; whofoever abideth in Chrift, hateth not the truth by which he was brought into him; whoever has been bleffed with a sweet, a fupernatural discovery of Jefus, which is life everlasting, cannot have malice against that truth, by which fo precious, fo glorious, a bleffing was conveyed to his foul.-Once more, the love of the truth produces defire for, and love to, the effects of it. It makes those who have it to be,. not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and flew bis brother, because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous; but it makes them to be like Barnabas, who when he had feen the grace of God was glad, and exhorted them with purpose of heart to cleave unto the Lord. As a believer loves. Christ himself, he muft love every degree of his image, wherever it appears-must rejoice over every additional trophy of divine grace-and be delighted the nearer that any follow the example which Chrift hath left them, that they should walk in his steps; and thus we know we have paffed from death to life, because we love the brethren. We fee then that the fin here fpoken of is, hatred of the truth-oppofition to the character of God as drawn in that truth-and enmity against the effects of this truth in the minds and lives of others;-that this fin is not agreeable to

the

the nature, and cannot be committed by him who believes; for the feed of God remaineth in him, and he cannot fin because he is born of God.

This view of the paffage, makes it quite confiftent, with itself,-with other paffages of the Scripture, with the general tendency of the Gofpel, and the experience of believers. On all these I could eafily enlarge, but a few reflections may fuffice. It makes it quite confiftent with itfelf. The Apostle fpeaks of it as a peculiar characteristic of the Son of God, in him is no fin. But this could not be peculiar to Chrift, if many perfectionifts, even in this world, were in the fame fituation. Further, the time of our perfect conformity to Chrift is fixed to be when he fhall appear, v. 2d; but this could not be the cafe, if long before his appearance, many were perfectly pure in their own perfons, and completely purified in their walk and converfation. This view alfo makes it confiftent with fuch. paffages as point out the existence of different principles in those who believe, the flesh lufteth against the Spirit,-and thefe are contrary the one to the other; for in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. The dominion of fin ceafes, when the finner is brought under fubjection to the Gospel; the exiftence and motions of fin, and the conflict confequent thereon, fhall only terminate when mortality is fwallowed up of life, according to that delightful portion, Bleffed are the dead who die in the Lord-they reft from their labours.

Again, this view of the paffage harmonizes with the general tendency of the Gofpel, which is to bring us to truft in the Son of God, to give us to fee, that we are only complete in him whe is the end of the law for righteoufnefs, to every one that believeth-that we need him daily in his vari

ous characters-and that it is neceffary for us to be coming daily to his throne, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need. And furely this view of the paffage accords with the experience of believers, who find their perfons polluted, and their belt fervices defiled with fin-who find there is a law within them ftriving against their new mind, and which they are compelled to refift, in the ftrength of the Lord!

Nor need it be objected, that this illustration of the paffage feems to encourage any idleness. It is directly the reverfe. It will powerfully ftimulate those who believe it to gratitude, and love, and devotedness to the glory of God; for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. While our love to these commandments leads us to fee and acknowledge how very far we come fhort of their fpirit; it ftrongly prompts us to feek, to have our lives conformable to them, as dead indeed unto fin, but alive unto God through Jefus Christ our Lord. In fhort, we do not hefitate to affert, that the faving operation of the truth produces, and the view we have given of this paffage renders indifpenfible, to give validity to a Chriftian profeffion, a character, which (motives and conduct confidered) is as far fuperior to an Arminian perfectionist, as he is above an open profligate. This will appear by a fhort contraft. Instead of falling in love with, and taking comfort from our own attainments; we are kept conftantly humble, under a fenfe how very far we come short of what we ought to be. Instead of mangling the law of God, or murmuring at its ftrictnefs; we let it stand in its purity, and truft and rejoice in that righteoufnefs which magnifies and makes it honourable.

Inftead