Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT70 .B397 1675

Prelñoñitzon- oblige him to fome love. .7. He had a Law given him to dreg and keep the Garden, whichif he accepted not by content in Obedience fa God, he finned. 8. He gave, names to all the Creatures upon Gods bringingthem tohim 3 whichmuff be doneobedientlyor finfully. 9. He had the Law of Marriage given hint, with the Woman; which ifhe received not in love and obedience he finned. ro. He had all the World before him to thew himGods Perfections, and if yet he had not one adof lovetoGod as God, he hainoufly finned. i 1. He had the Law ofLove and' Obedience given him by way of Covenant, that is binding him prefently to content ; And he could not delaya willing con- feat one minute or hour without fin : And confect is Love and Obedi- ence in the firft ad. 12. He loved himfelf, And his Life, and othek Creatures before his Fall : But ifhe lovednot God before, than heall that while loved himfelf, his Wife, and all the Creatures more than God, yea withoutGod : And then they were his Idols. s;'. Elfe he never ufed one Creature holily before his Fall , and therefore finfully. 14. Youmake Adam to have had lets actual good before his Fall than theweakeft Chriftian now ; If not than manywicked men ; who have fomemoral good fecundumquid, though not fmpliciter. 4. I do not think that the Reward which Chrß was to have for his fulfilling the Lawwas immutability or confirmation : For I thinkhe had that inhis verynature, by the Unity of the Divine and Humane in one Perlon. But I think thattheperfed Glory of his Humanity was part of his Reward, Phil. 2. 7, 8, 9. Heb.12. 23, &c. And therefore thatGlory hath much more in it, than confirmation in Grace: But it's plain in the Gofpel, that it was not only one All of obedience, which was Chris condition, in order to his receiving the Fruits or full Reward of his Merits: But it was perfell Holinefs of Nature and Life to the end of his coitrfe on Earth. Elfè you mutt faythat Chrift's firft Adof Obedience was his performance ofhis Covenant- Condition, and all the reft for fome other purpofe only; which is abfurd. g. One at of our Obedience nowis not the fulfilling ofall the Con- ditionof the Covenant of Grace, nor entitleth us alone to Glory, unlefs God cut off our life as loon as that ait is done : Perfeverance to the end is part of our Condition of Glory. And we know of no fuch diffe- rence betweenAdam's Covenant or Cafe and ours, as willprove it other- wife with him. 6. Elfe it would make the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace to bemuchharder and feverer than of the Law of Innocency ; which is not likely : To perform one adof Love and Obedience, is not fo hard as to do it to the death, though we late' our lives in the expreffions' of it. Object. But ourffrfFaithgiveth as Right to the Spirit of Confirmation*.. and Immutability, though moremuff be donefor Perfection. Anfw. 1. It appeareth then that Perfection and Glory is more than Confirmation. 2. It is certain, that the Regenerateare mutable. as to the degrees of Grace, and are far from Perfection at the firft. 3. The generalityof the Fathers and ancient Churches thought thattrue Juftifi- cation, and Rightto Heaven, and trueLove toGod, was loft by many : And Axton himfelf and his Followersfo thought. 4. And they that think otherwifeyet know, that Glory is (till givenus (quoádjus in the Promife) on condition of our perfeverance: And we ttiould hardly find Co many Threatnings againft them that fall away, if all might fo eafily knowthat thefirlt act of Obedience doth fo fix us, and give us in juftice a Right to Immutability.

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