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Acts 7.51

Gal. 3. 1.

Converfion and Perfeverance of a Chriftian, then all in vain I have disputed for Predeftination according to Prefcience; which is therefore defended, because it giveth place to freedom of Will, proper freedom in the working out our own Salvation, which effectual Grace utterly deftroyeth. Again, if efficient Grace do work our Converfion, not abfolutely alone but with another coworker which is Free and Lord of it's own Action, and may fail in working, then there must needs be Prefcience, certain of this contingent event, or else Predeftination fhall not be certain and then this Doctrine of a Sinner's Converfion will well ftand with the Doctrine of Predeftination, after foreknowledge of all contingences, and this with that, as all parts of Truth ought to agree one with another.

The Question in the ufual Terms, or in those in which fome love to fpeak, is, whether Grace be refiftible? Which expreffion though it be grounded on thofe words of St. Stephen, ye do always refift the -5.7. holy Ghost; yet I had rather use words more frequent 2. Theff. in Scripture; whether Grace can be difobeyed? Whether it can be in vain? Whether a Man can be wanting to the Grace of God, that hath him in hand to convert him, or to work in him fome Good.

1. 8.

2. Cor. 6.

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Heb. 12.

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To come to the Truth by a near and compendious way, let me take that firft which is given by an ingenuous and Judicious Adverfary, the Reverend Profeffor Dr. Ward in his Clerum on Phil. 2. 12. who yieldeth fo much to the Truth, and putteth the Question in fo narrow a point, that he feemeth to me plainly to give over the caufe which he Pag. 7. would contend for. See what he grants, after much fpoken for the freedom of the Will: " for we freely

*Lady Margts. Prof. of Divinity. and Master of Sidn, Suff. Coll. Camb

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"profess neither Operating, nor Cooperating Grace, neither in Converfion, nor a ter converfion, doth take away " from Man's will, in the very exercise of us elicite "act, the Power of refifting or diffenting, if he will; "For this is natural and born with us, infeparable from "the Will it felf as 'tis a natural faculty, &c. And a- Pag. 27. "gain, It is not queftioned here fimply, whether God in

the work of Converfion or in any other good Work, "doth work this to will and to do refiftibly; for that “we have already affirmed. This is given then, that refiftibility is never taken away; Let us fee then what remains in Controverfie: the whole dispute, faith he, is touching the manner of refiftibility: for this is that which we say, when God by his effectual Grace Works in the Will ipfum velle, this Grace doth effectually produce in the Will non-refiftency, and fo for that time takes away actual refiftance; which is brought to pass, as St. Auguftine well explains it, by the holy Ghoft's infpiring us with that fweetnefs of Grace, which renders, what he moves us to, more delightfome, than any thing that might divert us from it &c. - therefore do we maintain actual refiftance for that time to be certainly taken away; because 'tis impoffible fuch a refiftance fhould confift together with effectual Grace received in the Will. -- Because thefe two things cannot coexift together, or be compofed in the Will (as the Schools fpeak,) nameby, the Will to be wrought upon by effectual Grace, and the Will at the fame time to refift; which were as much as to say, in the fame inftant the Will not to refift, and to refift; or velic non refiftere, & velle refiftere.

Let us have leave a little to fearch into this Myftery: the whole difpute is touching the manner of refi ftibility; nay truly there is no difpute at all about the manner of refiftibility; for refiftibility importeth à Power to refift, and the Act of refifting: now about refiftibility the Power there is no controverfie; for you grant that neither the refiftibility that is na

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tural to us, that is, the Power, or Poffibility we have of doing Evil; nor that which sprung from the corruption of our Nature, that is, the proneness to Evil, is taken away by Grace. Here then can be no queftion about the manner of refiftibility, all muft be about refiftence it felf; or the manner of nonrefiftance: for this, fay you, is what we say, &c. this is what we contend for, &c. If fo, you fay nothing extraordinary; and contend for that which no body denies for is there any Remonstrant so filly, as to fay, that where Grace is fupposed to work effectually there remaineth any refiftance; that when the will doth actually yield, that then it doth or can refift? Who bears a part in this dispute? the ftate of the Queftion is plainly changed; for the Question of contingency is not when things are actually in being, but before they were, whether they were not poffible to be otherwife.

*

The Question then of the refiftibility is before the very act of Good or Evil, not in it; it were fenfe I trow, to fay a regenerate Man willeth Sin refiftibly, not in the very moment when he willeth it, but because ere he willed it, he could have refifted it; fo a convert obeyeth Grace, or willeth his converfion refiftibly, because ere he willed it, he could have diffented: Sin is refiftible, though it be too late to refift when it is confented unto; and Grace

* Scholaftici utuntur hâc eruditâ diftinctione; quod fit, confideratur duobus modis; uno, ut eft jam in fe, & extra fuas caufas, & hoc modo ipfum fieri tranfit in factum effe, & prafens in preteritum, proinde res illa non poteft non esse, dum eft, quia non poteft non facta effe, que facta eft. Altero modo ut fuit a caufa, five ut habet ordinem ad caufam, id eft, quatenus eft adhuc in manu caufæ: atque hoc modo fi caufa eft libera & contingens, poteft res illa non effe, & contingenter eft, non necessario, quia habet ordinem ad caufam, feu (ut loquar cum Zabarella) connexionem cum caufa non neceffariam, fed contingentem. Goclenius.

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may be refifted, tho' to fay fo is too late, when it is accepted in the will; for to be received and be refifted cannot coexift.

Again, granting that non-refiftance which is in the very act of confenting, the Question is ftill as doubtful what is the caufe of this non-refiftance, and on what its production did once depend, whether on the operation of effectual Grace, or on an effectual determination of the Will; for the felffame may be faid of the Will that you fay of Grace; when the Will obeyeth it is impoffible it fhould difobey or will to refift. No Man can tell by the very act of obeying, which is the cause of not refifting; for put either of the two, Grace or Will, to remove refiftance, it is furely gone in the act of confenting. And to me it feemeth demonftrable, that the Will is the proper caufe that endeth refiftance, or refufeth to refift; first, becaufe that effectual Grace, which you talk fo much of, is but an empty name, there being no fuch Grace that can determine the Will but it deftroyeth it, the nature of the Will being to determine it felf. Secondly, because to refift and not to refift are the proper acts of the Will, as to Convert, Repent, or Believe, are the immediate acts of Man who Converteth, Repenteth, or Believeth, and are not the acts of God, though without his Help and Power they are not produced; which is a plain fign, that Man is later in the Operation than God, in the order of Nature, by whom the Act was terminated.

The fense of our Church in this matter is fet forth in the Homily of Salvation, where the plainly declareth, for the neceffity of fomething to be done on our part for our juftification: the fum of what is there faid is that to God's Mercy and

*Tom. 1. Pag. 13. Fol.

Grace

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-10. 16.

Grace on his part and Chrift's fatisfaction on his part, concurrs on our part, a true and lively Faith in the merits of Jefus Chrift, which yet is not ours, but by God's working in us. How the underftands this, not ours, but by God's working in us, is explained a little lower, lively Faith is the Gift of God, and not Man's work only without God. This might fuffice fober Wits, that all confefs, God's Grace to prevent, to operate, to help Man's will, and the will of Man to have fome office and part under the Grace of God, though we were not able to exprefs or declare the manner of the coworking. God promifeth to circumcife the Deut. 30. Heart, and Man is commanded to circumcife his own Heart; God promifeth to give Men a new Heart and Spiritand Men are commanded to make them a new Heart, and a new Spirit. This Promife and this Commandment are both Evangelical, the Promife fuppofeth and imEzek. 11. plyeth our utter impotency of our felves to do these fupernatural Acts, and tendreth unto us the Power, Affiftance and Operation of God to comfort and encourage us. The commandment fuppofeth and implieth a Power in us by the affiftance of God, to endeavour, and to do fomething towards these fupernatural A&s: and that they are our Acts doth appear, for that they favour of our imperfections, from whence it is, that we daily accufe our felves, and complain of the weakness of our Faith, the coldnefs of our Love, and the pride of our Hearts, tho' it be true that God hath given us Faith, Love, and Humility. Why do we not rather magnify the Gifts and Graces of God, but extenuate and difgrace them like ungrateful Perfons? But becaufe we have impaired them, or made them defective by our being wanting to the Grace of God.

19. -18. 31.

Let Bernard conclude this Chapter concerning this joint acting of Grace and Freewill, who was a true Friend to the Grace of God; But fo doth

Grace

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