to the E PH E SI AN S. ll flill, lived a long time after, but it received the fatal Sentence for the Sin it then ~ committed. . . ~ 2 • AManisdead in Sin, inrefpeB:ofthePowerofSm. There 1s a twofold Death in refpeB: of the Power of Sin, in every Man by Nature: (My Bre– thren 'I muft enlarge upon this, becaufe it is that whereby the Apofrle doth il– luf'cra;e the Grace of Chrift in quickning us,, in freeing us from all thefe forts of Death, for he intendeth them all.) There is firfr: a p~ivative Death; and fe– condly, there is a pofitive Death, or rather a pofinve L1fe, that followeth upon th;-Jt privative Death: . . • . ' There is firfi, a pnvat1ve Death. Every Sm, as tt IS a dead Work to a Mans Confciencc, binding it over. unto Guilt, fo it works a Deathin him, in refpeCl: of the Power of Sin, difcnabhng him to Good, and .makmg h~m more acbve and lively to Sin, which is his Death: for the more. hvely he 1s made to _s,_n, the more dead he frill groweth; why? becaufe he IS hvely to that which ts mdeed his Death. For that I lhall give you another place, it is in Heb. 6. I. (I chufe thefe places the rather, becaufe they open and are parallel one to another); As he had faid before, The Blood of Chrifl p11rgeth o11r Confciences from dead Work; calling every Sin fo in refpeB: of the Guilt of it : fo here he calleth thtm dead Works, in refpect ofthe Power ofSin, Togive them Repmtance fro"' dead Works. - Now, my Brethren, as there is this double Death, the one of the Guilt, and the other of the Power of Sin ; fo there is a doubl.e Life we are reftored unto by Chrift. There is: Firft; ALife ofJu!l:ification from the Death of Guilt, which is called, a paffing from Death to Lift ; which is a greater change upon a Man, ( not a change in a Man) in refpefr of his eftate, than for a Man condemned to die, to receive a Pardon, that you may fay now he is a living Man, whereas be– fore he was a dead Man. And fecondly, there is a Life of SanCtification, a fpiritual Life. Now firft, you have a Jufl:ification of Life, oppofed to a Con· demnation, and to a Death, as you lhall find it in Rom. 5· comparing verf. I2, with verf. I 8. In the I 8th Verfe, taith be, As by the Offince of one, Judgment t:ar;ze upo?Z all Men to Condemnation5 even fo by the Righteoufoefl of one, the free Gift came 11pon aD Men to 1•tflification of Life. Mark it, here Ju!l:ification is called a .Mt,u Lift, and compare now but the Verfes before, verf. I 2. BJ rme Ma, Si 11 entred, and Death by Sin, tmd fo Death pajfed (as a Sentence, namely, before Men died,) "P"" aD Mm. And that which in this 12th Verfe he calleth Death, in the I 8th he calleth :Judgment, Jndgment came upon all Men to Condemnation, There is aDeath therefore of Condemnat.ion, and there is a Juftification of Life. Then fecondly ; there is a Life of Sanctification alfo, oppofed to the Power of Sin, and the Death that the Power of Sin bringeth ; for that I lhall not need to infifl: upon. T01t hath he ptickped, faith my Text afterwards; and what is that quicfzning, but giving you Faith, creating a new Workmanlhip? as we lhall find when we come to open thofe words that follow. Now the quefl:ion will be, Whether that the Apofrle, when he faith, We ard 'dead in Sins and TreJPajfes, cloth in this Phrafe include both, or which more chiefly? I anfwer, He certainly includeth both; for in the firfl: place, when he had faicl in the firft Verfe, Dead in Sins and TrefPoj[es, he cloth in the clofe of this De• fcription fay, We are aU by NatHre Children of Wrath, that is, obnoxious unto Wrath, unto Condemnation for every Sin, and that is all one,alld to be dead Men in Sin: It appears likewife by that parallel place, Col. 2. i3. (which Epifrle, and this of the Ephcjions, as I faid, are as the Evangelifl:s, the one ~xplaining the other.) You lhall find there, that their being dead in Sin is fpoken in refpeCl: of Gudt clearly l. yea, and their being quickped with Chri{l, is fpoken in refpeCl: of thm Jufl:Ificauon by Chnft. Read but the words, .d,d JOlt being dead in your Sins, ( ther~ is the Guilt of Sin,) and the Vncirtttmcijion of your Flejb, (there is the Corruption of Nature, and the Power of Sin,) bath he quick.ped together with him; wherein lay that quickning? Having forgiven you all Trejjoj{es. There– fore For~ivenefs of Sins, and Juftification, ·being a taking off of the Sentence, and acqmttmg a Man from Death, and pronouncing a Man free from it, is part ofthatqmckning. Hence it is, thatasinSanCl:ification we receive the virtue of Chrifl:'s Refurrcil:ion, fo we are faid to be juftified by virtu~ of his Refurrection: * B 2 He
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=