Ch.39. of the iffite of Beleever;r. 323 Gentiles. Reafon is flrong for this they well knew' as it is with the Parent, fo it is with the Childe for Church -;late and condi- tion -being a priviledge communicable and defcendable from Parent to Childe. If the. Parent were without, and of the Gen- tiles , the Childe was ever fuck; and in cafe they were of the peo- ple of God, their children were reckoned fo in like manner. Now Parents being divided, the one holy , the other unclean , they feared that the if ue would follow the worfer part , a Rain would lie upon them, they would be accounted unclean with the unbe- lieving Parent. In a like cafe it had been fo determined, Ezra, to 3. Now therefore let ma make a Covenant with our God, to put away all the wives, and filch- at are borne of them. The Apoflle takes off thefe fears of theirs, and tells them that the unbelieving party doth not (as they fear) defile the iffue but is fan lifted as to iffue by the Beleever, fo that their children are holy, and to be reckoned with the beleeving Parent , who is a Saint, not un- clean,and not reckoned with the unbelievingParent,who is aGen tile, and fo takes off their fcrùplesrefpec`live both to themfelves their ifl'ue, and quiets their fears. So that feverall pofitions might be here laid down for a right underfranding of the words. 1. By Beleever in this place is meant, a man or woman profeffing the true Faith and bearing the name Chriftian. 2. By Unbeleeveris meant, an Infidel, an unconverted Gen- tile living in Idolatry , facrificing to Devils , and not to God. 3, To be fancftified here, is not to be made holy which is the cafe of the Regenerate ; or to be fet apart for God, which is the cafe of the vifible Saint and Chriflian; but together with their yoke - fellow to be an holy root to produce an holy feed. 4. By Holy is meant, federal holineffe, to be reputed and recei- ved among the people of God, who are holy. 5. By Unclean is meant a fanner of the Gentiles , an alien and firanger from the Common- wealth of Ifrae1. 6. Elfe implies a certainty,that upon this account of fandifica- tion of the Parent from whom thelground of ;dear arofe, the children are holy a like certainty that were it not that they , were thus fanc}ified, they were unclean. . T t 2 Sect.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=