An Antidote against some principal errors of the predestinarians a work designed for the information of the common people.

Of Falling from Grace.

The Predestinarian Doctrine in this Point is, that a Man who is once in a State of saving Grace, can never fall from it, or can never be in danger of Damnation by any Act of Sin which he shall afterwards commit: but this is an Error, because 'tis contrary to Scripture, which not only fore∣warns Men of the Danger, but declares expresly, that righteous Men may become wicked, and die in Sin; and 'tis also a Doctrine proper to give Men Peace and Comfort in a Course of Wicked∣ness, and for that Reason ought to be rejected by all good Men.

In the first place then, the Scripture plainly forewarns good Men of the Danger; which shews that 'tis possible for good Men to fall from a State

of saving Grace. Beware, saith the Scripture, lest ye also being led away with the Error of the Wicked, fall from your own Stedfastness, 2 Pet. 3.17. Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due time we shall reap if we faint not, Gal. 6.9. And you that were alienated, and Enemies in your Minds by wicked Works, yet now hath he reconciled—to present you blameless, if ye con∣tinue in the Faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the Hope of the Gospel, Col. 1.21, 22, 23. If a Man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a Branch, and is withered, Joh. 15.6. Now the Just shall live by Faith; but if any Man draw back, my Soul shall have no Pleasure in him, Heb. 10.38. Let him therefore that thinks he standeth (so fast as that no Sin shall move him) take heed lest he fall, 1 Cor. 10.12. Ye did run well, saith St. Paul to the Galatians, who did hinder you that ye should not obey the Truth? Gal. 5.7.

Secondly, the Scripture expresly declares, that righteous Men may become wicked, and die in their Sins: for 'tis said thus, that when the Righ∣teous turneth away from his Righteousness, and committeth Iniquity—shall he live? all the Righteousness he hath done, shall not be mentioned; in his Trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his Sin that he hath sinned, in them he shall die, Ezek. 18.24. When a righteous Man turneth away from his Righteousness, and committeth Ini∣quity, and dieth in them, for his Iniquity that he hath done he shall die, Ezek. 18.26. And agree∣able

hereunto are the Words of David to his Son Solomon; And thou Solomon my Son, saith he, know thou the God of thy Father, and serve him with a perfect Heart, and with a wil∣ling Mind: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever, 1 Chron. 28.9. It is impossi∣ble, saith the Author to the Hebrews, for those who were once enlightned, and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift, and were made Partakers of the holy Ghost, and the Powers of the World to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again to Re∣pentance, Heb. 6.4, 5, 6. Hence 'tis said of the younger Widows that were wanton, that they have Damnation, because they have cast off their first Faith, 1 Tim. 5.12.

Now these and such-like Scripture-Evidences are a plain and undeniable Proof that righteous Men may fall from a State of Salvation, and die in their Sins; and therefore the Doctrine which asserts the contrary, is certainly an Error.

Yea, 'tis a foul Error, because it gives En∣couragement to Sin and Wickedness, since it as∣serts that no Sin can provoke God to withdraw his saving Grace from them that are once Saints: but such Presumption has doubtless ruined more Souls than deep Despair; for how are bad Men (as there are many of this Perswasion as well as of others) hereby encouraged to do ill things, when they shall be perswaded that no Sin can deprive them of God's Favour who are once

inroll'd in the Book of Life? And 'tis evident that the Generality of both Good and Bad who believe this Doctrine, are so foolish as to think that they are all certainly of this Number, meer∣ly because they profess themselves Predestinari∣ans; and therefore they comfort up themselves with this Consideration, that tho they are guilty of some gross Sins, yet their Salvation is still safe, because their Names are written, as they think, in the Book of Life: than which no Do∣ctrine in the World can be more proper to en∣courage Wickedness, nor can any thing be more contrary to Scripture, which expresly affirms thus, Whosoever sinneth against me, him will I blot out of my Book, Exod. 32.33. Which shews that a Man may be in God's Book, and yet he may afterwards commit such Sins as shall blot him out of it.

'Tis not to be supposed that Men will much boggle at any Matter of worldly Advantage, when they are really perswaded that good Works are not concern'd in Justification: for they think that Justification is only the Fruit of Election, and not the Fruit of Obedience to God's Law; and that being elected, they are by Consequence justified before they are sanctified, or in a State of Grace before they are converted unto God; none being converted, they say, but those who are before in God's Love, by virtue of his De∣cree of eternal Election; and that after Conver∣sion, which does only manifest their being elect∣ed, if they do happen to sin, and fall very

foully, as David did, yet God still loves them as much under this their Relapse as he did before their first Conversion: and tho such Sins may bring upon them temporal Miseries, yet they shall never deprive them of eternal Glory; for they shall not die, till by an unresistible Pow∣er God has raised them up again by Repentance. They confess they may fall for a time, but their Fall shall not be final, nor end in Death eternal.

Men, I say, that believe all this, and believe withal that they themselves are of the Number of these elected Ones, as great Numbers do who have no other ground for their so doing but Self-confidence, and an erroneous Perswasion that so it is; these, I say, have a great deal of En∣couragement not to boggle at such Opportuni∣ties and Actions, as others who really believe the contrary, dare not either take or do, for fear lest God should cut them off in their Sins, and damn their Souls; 'tis plain that such have not those Advantages of doing ill afforded them from their Faith as the others have, because they dare not do an ill thing, lest they should lose the Fa∣vour of God: they may sin by surprise, but they dare not sin presumptuously. But the other be∣lieves that there's no eternal Danger in it, be∣cause those whom God once loves, he loves to the end; and he will not so see Sin in his Elect as to damn them for it: and this they call a Doctrine full of Comfort and Consolation; and indeed it does in this respect equal that of the

Papist; for as a Papist's Sins do not much terrify him, because he believes the Priest can forgive him upon Confession, so neither can the other's, because he believes God will not take away his Life till he has brought him to Repentance.

That there are wicked Men among those who believe contrary to these Predestinarian Doctrines, I readily grant: but they have no Encourage∣ment to be wicked from any natural Consequen∣ces that may be drawn from the Doctrines they believe; they are plainly self-condemned by their own Principles in all the Evils which they do allow themselves in Some, I know, en∣deavour to perswade the World that the Doctrine of Free-Will does encourage Men to Wickedness, because they say it makes many think that if God has given Men a Power to repent when they will, that therefore they may sin as long as they please, and repent at last: but in this they are strangely mistaken; for tho we teach that Men who have not hardned their own Hearts by many repeated Acts of wilful and malicious sins against God, may repent if they please at any time, yet we don't teach that Men can live as long as they please; and we know that when Life ceases, then the Opportunity. of Repentance ceases also. God that promises Pardon whenever we sincerely re∣pent, has not promised us a To morrow to repent in; and no Man who rightly believes that there is in Man a Free-Will, will be so mad to say, I will yet sin on one Week longer, and then repent, when for ought he knows his Death

may come this very Day, and prevent his so repenting.

Thus 'tis plain that no Free-willer, who tru∣ly understands the Nature of the Doctrine which he professes, can sin without being sensible of the Danger of Damnation; whereas the oppo∣site Perswasion plainly infers, that Disobedience can never make void the Decree of God to save them that are elect, or in a State of Salvation, even in spite of their own resistance: so that 'tis evident a Predestinarian may sin with some Con∣fidence and Comfort, but the Free-willer always sins under great Discouragement from his own Principles, there being in his Faith nothing that can yield him any Security in his so doing. I will conclude this Point by asking the Predestinarians this one Question, as I before have done under some of the other Heads; Suppose all Mankind that believe the Gospel, and endeavour to live up to it, should be perswaded that 'tis possible for those that are in a State of saving Grace to fall from it, and should they by virtue of this Perswasion be careful, through the Divine Assi∣stance, not to fall from their own Stedfastness, 2 Pet. 3. 17. nor fail of the Grace of God, Heb. 12.15. and so live good and pious Lives; what hurt would this do either to the Interest of Reli∣gion, or the Good of Souls? Where is the Im∣piety or Perniciousness of such a Faith and Pra∣ctice, that the Predestinarians should so long and so loudly exclaim against it? I am sure 'tis a Faith that all truly good Men practise, and

which he Adversaries do themselves teach in all their Exhortations to a vertuous and godly Way of living.