412 / 504
C. XV.
Regeneration not to
be
Repeated.
356
and yet to be renewed
againe
and
to hive
a.
second Regenerat
o
;do
you not
incourage
him
to
venture boldly
to
fatisfy his finfull
defires,having
fuck a
re-
liefe againft
the
worft that
his
thoughts
and
feares can fuggeft
to
him
?
But
whatever it be
in
refpeít
ofGod
or
men, yet
that
fo
it
may
be Mr
Goodwin
proves from.
Heb.
6.
6.
Where
'tis
faid, that 'tis
iinpofiblé to
renew
fame
to repentance,
wherefore fome may
be renewed;and
in fuck
12.
Men
are
faid
to
be
twice
dead,
therefore they
may live twice Spiritually;
The
firft
proofe
feemes
fomewhat uncouth.
The
perfons fpoken
of
in
that
place
are
in
M:
G.
judgement
Believers
;there
is
no place
of
Scripture wherein
he
more
try-
umphs
in
his
endeavoured confirmation
of
hisThefis.The
Holy Ghofr
Pays
ex-
prefly
ofthé,that'tis
impoffible
to
renew
th6:
therefore
Pays
M.G.'tis pofiìble;
what
is
of
emphafesin
the Argument mentioned
arifeth
fró
two
things,
s
.Tha
t
they are
true
Believers
of
which
afterwards.
2.
That
they
fall
totally away;
This then
is
the importance
of
M. Goodwin'
plea, from thisplace,
If
true be-
lievers
fall
totally
away,
it
is impoffible they
fhould
be
renewed
to
Repentance,
therefore
if
true
Believers
fall
totally
away,
it
it
pof
ble
they
fhould
be
renewed
to
and
by
Repentance;
that
there
is
a falling away,, and
a
renewing againe by
Repentance
of
the
fame perlons,
we
grant.
That
falling away
is
partial] only,
which
is
incident unto
true
Believers,
who, when God heales
their
backfli-
dings,
art
renewed by Repentance.
To
be
renewed
alfo
by Repentance,
is
ta-
ken either for
the
renovation
of
our Naturas,
and
our
change as
unto
ftate and
condition, and
fo
it
is
the
fame
withRegeneration
and
not
to
be
repeated; or
for
a
Recovery
by
Repentance
in refpe&
of
perfonall
f
ailings, fo
it
is.
the daily
worke
of
our
lives.
fade
faies,
tome are
twice
dead;
that
is,
utterly
fo, an hyper-
bolicallexpreffion
to
aggravate their condition. Thofe
to
whom
the
Gofpell
is
afavour
of
Death
unto Death
, may well
be
faid
to
be
twice
dead;
unto
the
Death that
they are
involved
in,
and are
obnoxious
to
by
nature, they adde
a
fecond
death, or rather,
Peale
up their
foules
under the
power
and
mifery
of
the
other,
by
contempt
of
the
means
of
Life
and recovery; therefore Regene-
ration may
be reitera
ted;2uod
erat
Demonflrandum.
Much
of
the
Se&ion
that
remains,
is
taken up,
in
declaring
in
many words
without the
leaft
attempt ofproofe,
that'tís
agreeable
to the
honour
ofGod,
to
renew men totally
fallen
away;
that
is,
when thofe who
ha
ye been
quick-
ned
by him, wafht
in
the
blond ofhis
Sonne,made partakers
ofthé
Divine
na-
ture,
imbrac'd
in
the
armes
of
his
Love,
fh4ll
defpife
all
this, dif-
faith
them-
felves,reje& the
Lord
and
his
Love,
trample
on
the blond
of
the Covenant,
kill their
foules,
by depriving them
of
fpirituall
life,
proclaims
to
all
the
world,
their
diflike
of
him, and
his
Covenant ofGrace;
yet though he
bath
not any
where revealed,
that
he
will
permit
any
one
fo
to
doe, or
that
he will
accept
of
them againe, upon their
fo
doing; yet
M.
Goodwin
affirming
that
for
him
fo
to
doe,
is
agreeable
to
his Holineffe
and Righteoufneffe,
'tis
fit
that
thofe who
conceive themfelves
bound
to
believe
what ever he faies, fhould
think
fo
too;
for
my
part
I
am
at
liberty.
4.47.
3
fhould not
farther
purfue
this difcourfe,
nor
infift
on
this
digreffion
,
but
thatM.Coodwin
hath taken advantage by the mention
ofRegeneration,to
deli.
ver
Tome
rare notions
of
the nature
of
it,
Which
deferve
a
little our farther
taking notice
of, for which end doubtlefhe be publifhed
them,
To
make way
then
for
his
intendment,
he informes
us
(Sea:29.)
That
Regeneration
it
felfe,
according
to
the Grammaticali
and
proper
fignification
of
the word imports
a
al-
teration, or repetition
of
force
generation or other;
it
cannot import
a
Repetition
of
the
naturall
Generation
of
men;
the
ence
of
Nicodemus
in
this
poynt
was Ortho-
dox,
who
judged
fuch a thing
impel
le,
therefore
it
mufì
import a
repetition
of
a
fpirituall
generation,
unleffe
we
fhallfay
(which
I
think
is
the road opinion)
that
it