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THat the will is not capable of spirituall gifts; and that therefore there never were any spi∣rituall gifts in the will of man before his fall; that these graces were never severed from the will of man upon his fall, and that such graces are never infused in regeneration into the wills of men.
THe holy Scripture, in placing Gods spi∣rituall gifts in the heart, acknowledgeth also them to be in the will. As namely
uprightnesse or truth, Psal. 32.12. Rejoyce all yee that are true in heart: puritie, Mat. 5.8. Blessed are the pure in heart: goodnes, Luke 8.15. They are those, which with an honest and good heart heare the word of God and keepe it.
1 But if any man shall referre these graces to the affections, and place them without the will, he shall (which were a foule enormity) settle the chiefest gifts of divine grace in the unreasonable part of the soule. Moreover, the very habituall conversiō of the will unto God the Creator, & the aversion or turning away thereof from the inordinate desire it had to commit fornication with the creature, with∣out doubt is to be counted a chiefe and princi∣pal gift. And that the will was capable of this gift, it doth hence plainly appeare, because it was created with such uprightnesse. For God in the beginning made man righteous. But that this righteousnes is lost, it is over manifest by the effects, seeing that now the will being carnall, cannot choose but injoy and rest in those things which it ought onely to make use of, and use the things which it ought ra∣ther to injoy: forasmuch as a whole trope of
sinfull dispositions have rushed and broke in upon the will.
2 Furthermore, as the will of a meere na∣turall man, is said to be vicious frō a certaine inbred & inherēt wickednes, wch in a wicked man even thē when he doth nothing, is habi∣tuall, so againe we must acknowledge that in the will of the regenerate there is a certaine righteousnesse, infused and given from God, which is presupposed in their religious actions
Saint Austin in many places setteth forth this habituall righteousnesse.
The good will of man goes before many graces of God,* 1.1 but not before all, and this good will it selfe is to be reckoned among those gifts which it selfe can∣not precede.
But lest any man should dreame that this goodnesse of the will is not an inward gift infused into that very faculty, but onely a bare denomination fetched from the act of the will;* 1.2 Prosper calls it the first plantation of the hea∣venly husbandman. Now a plantation notes something engrafted in the soule, not an act or action flowing from the soule.
THat that grace, by which wee are converted is onely a gentle and moral swasion or induce∣ment.
WEE deny not, but in the worke of con∣version, whether in fitting us for that future grace, or in confirming us therein, as already performed, God useth the perswasive force of his threats, promises & exhortations, by which he allureth, stirreth, and ploweth up the fallowes of mens hearts. But moreover, for adding without faile the last close to this operation, hee works more powerfully and unconquerably, according to the exceeding great∣nesse of his power, and the working of his might, Ephes. 1.19. Neither is swasion sufficient, which no more then contingently affecteth and inviteth the will.
1 For morall swasion, moveth onely by way of object, and so farre forth as the end propounded can allure. But the Philosophers rightly determine, that, as the inclination of any one is, accordingly hee apprehends the end; So long therefore as a man is carnall and
unregenerate, his will cannot so bee affected with supernaturall benefits proposed unto it, that by the desire of them hee should bee throughly enflamed to beleeve and convert. But the will must be overcome and changed by a powerfull operation exceeding all swasi∣on, that so it may effectually embrace the good represented unto it.
2 If men should be converted unto God onely by a morall swasion, then this question, why, upon profer of equall grace, one man beleeves, another doth not, might be answe∣red out of the free wils owne power of wil∣ling or nilling, neither should we have herein any cause to admire the unsearchable wise∣dome and justice of our God. But this sound doctrine hath alwaies beene defended against the Pelagians,* 1.3 That conversion & faith comes from the secret grace of God, which according to his mer∣cie is afforded to some, and according to his justice is not vouchsafed to others.
3 If men were converted onely by morall swasion, he which receives this swasive grace might truly say, I have separated my selfe: For I have received this gentle and swasive grace,
which hath solicited me to faith and conver∣sion, but no more then it solicited others: they, by the liberty of their free-will, did re∣ject this morall swasion, and therefore they still remaine unconverted; but I, by the liber∣tie of my free-will, have given way and em∣braced the same swasion, and therefore I am converted. To what purpose then is that of Saint Paul, Who hath separated thee? What hast thou, which thou hast not received?
* 1.4Faith both begunne and perfected is the gift of God, and no man, who doth not oppose most manifest Scripture, will doubt, but that this gift is given to some, and not given to other some.
THat, presupposing all the operations of grace, which God useth for the effecting of this con∣version, yet the will of man is still left in an equall ballance, either to beleeve, or not to beleeve, to convert, or not to convert it selfe to God.
1 IF after all the workings of grace the will of man be left in eaven point, it will necessarily follow, that, not God by his grace, but man by his free-will, is the chiefe
cause and author of the very act of beleeving and converting. For he, who by the utmost dint and straine of his grace prevailed no fur∣ther, then to raise up a mans will to an indif∣ferency, or estate of equall ballance, doth not concur, as a principall and predominant, or over-ruler, but onely as an associate, and con∣tingently, that is, upon this condition, if so be that the will, by its owne naturall power, first shall have removed it selfe from that equalitie. That therefore which is of lesse moment, the will receives from God, namely, that it should be placed in a certaine middle estate, equally inclined to beleeve, or not to beleeve, but that, which is of greater moment, as specifying the very event, that is, actually to beleeve, this the will by its owne power hath performed.
2 It would else follow, that God affordeth no more grace to the Elect, then to those, who are not elected, and that those owe no more thanke to God, then the other: in as much as the hand of God hath wrought in both nothing else, but an eaven stand of the will: which equally consists in a point, and is not capable of any latitude, or degree.
3 The grace of conversion is given with that intention, that it shall become effectuall, and shall not onely set a man forward on his way, but also bring him to performe the ve∣ry act of faith, whither although such grace might perchance sometime reach by the sway of mans will, equally poised to embrace and follow the motions of grace, yet no lesse often should such grace be frustrated by reason of the same free will, likewise placed at eaven ballance, and freely thence setling it selfe to refuse grace, and to resist it. For in levell coun∣terpoise there is alwaies presupposed an equal hazard of setling to either side.
* 1.5This grace is refused by no hard heart: For it is therefore given, that the hardnesse of the heart bee first taken away.
THat a man cannot doe any more good, then he doth, nor omit any more evill then, he doth omit.
THis is most false and absurd, whether it be spoken of an unregenerate and na∣turall man, or of one that is regenerate, and supported by sanctifying grace.
1 First, concerning the state of a naturall man, although hee cannot put off his inbred corruption, nor shake off the dominion of sinne in generall, yet can he represse many out∣ward actions, in which he lets loose the reines to his owne concupiscences. Corrupt concu∣piscence enclines a wicked man to all kinde of evill, yet it doth not determine or confine him unavoydably to commit this or that sinne in particular, as to act this murder, that robbery, that adultery.
2 This is manifest also in that the very lewdest men attempt their wickednesse not without some precedent deliberation, and most free contriving of the meanes tending thereto, and being ready to commit the act, they have power to hold in and restraine themselves, being awed by the reverence of some other man, or through some present feare of danger.
3 Lastly, punishments by the Lawes of
men should be without cause menaced, if no man could omit those crimes which he doth commit.
But as for actions which are in themselves good, certaine it is that unregenerate men doe omit many outward morall acts, which for the substance of the worke they could per∣forme, and for the voluntary neglect of such actions they are justly condemned. Matt. 25. 42. I was an hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was athirst, and ye gave me no drinke, &c.
Likewise the same is to bee avowed con∣cerning those that are regenerated and truly sanctified; to wit, that although they are freed from the dominion of sinne, Rom. 6.14.18. Being made the servants of righteousnesse. Rom. 8.1. Which walke not after the flesh, but after the spirit: They can notwithstanding, and that voluntarily, step out of the strait path of righ∣teousnesse, even then also, when they doe not transgresse: In like manner then, when they fell or slipped, they were able by the helpe and power of grace, through their free (that is, freed) will, to have resisted their owne concupiscence, and to have avoided those ma∣nifest
workes of the flesh recounted, Gal. 5.9. Fornication, uncleannesse, debate, contentions, &c. What man of sound judgement will say that David could not but commit adulterie, and, that being committed, that hee could not choose but by a leud and deliberate plot take away the life of him, to whom hee had offe∣red that extreame wrong? But (that we goe not far for examples) we appeale unto the con∣sciences of all godly men. Who is hee, that daily praying unto God, Forgive us our trespas∣ses, doth not also acknowledge that through the grace of God it was in his power to per∣forme divers good workes which yet hee hath omitted, and likewise to overcome di∣vers temptations, to which he notwithstan∣ding hath yeelded. 1 Cor. 10.13. God is faith∣full, who will not suffer you to bee tempted above that you be able, but will even give the issue with the tentation, that you may be able to beare it.
Enchir. cap. 32.
De vocat. lib. 1. cap. 6.
Aug. de persev, l. 1. cap. 7.
Aug. de praedest. cap. 9.
Aug. de praedest. Sanct. c. 8.