watchful, active, and diligent, yet utterly to despair of all help in yourself, and to maintain a lively impression, that all the progress of spiritual life must flow from your union to Jesus Christ; and that you must therefore rely upon him only to do all in you and for you. It likewise concerns you to look unto Jesus Christ, not only as a sufficient, but a compassionate Saviour; willing to receive you to mercy in your present state, how bad soever; and therefore to endeavour a cheerful and immediate compliance with the Gospel offer, without waiting for moral qualifications to recommend you to the Redeemer's acceptance; and let Christ Jesus be your steady hope and confidence, whatever darkness, difficulties, trials, or temptations, you may meet withal in your way.

If you are in doubt about your state, and in an uncomfortable suspense whether you are united to Christ or not, do not rest satisfied in such a case, wherein your eternal ALL is at stake, and in a precarious uncertainty; but labour to resolve your doubts, by the lively exercise of faith, and by an humble, cheerful confidence and delight in the blessed Saviour. Then may you know that "he dwells in your heart by faith, when you are rooted and grounded in love." Labour to evidence your union to Christ, by having your heart purified by faith, and your affections spiritual and heavenly. Then may you know that "you are risen with Christ, when you seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God, and when you place your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth." Labour to clear up this doubt, by the ex

ercise of all the several graces of the Spirit of life. If you you live in the exercise of faith, repentance, love to God, humility, hope in Christ, desire after, and delight in him; if you bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, "hereby you know that he abideth in you, by the Spirit which he hath given you." Labour, likewise, to clear up this difficulty, not only by the life, but by the growth of grace. If you grow more humble, self-abasing, and self-condemning-if you grow more penitent, and more passionately groan under the burden of, and mourn for, deliverance from all your sins if your love to God increases, and you take more delight in him and in his ways, or at least long after a life of nearer communion with him, with more ardent desire-if you are more spiritual in your thoughts, meditations, and affections; more heavenly in your conversation, and more careful of your respective duties both to God and man-then you may know that" Christ abideth in you and you in him, in that you bring forth much fruit."

If you get satisfying evidences of your union to Christ, adore, admire, and praise the infinite condescension, and the astonishing love of the glorious Redeemer, in taking such dust and ashes, such sin and pollution, into union with himself. Contemplate the amazing transaction of love with admiration; and let the "love of Christ constrain you to live to the praise of the glory of that grace by which you become accepted in the Beloved."

That Christ may abide in you, and you in him; that you may win Christ, and be found in him at his

appearance, and kingdom, and that you may reign with him for ever, is the prayer of,

LETTER XVIII.

Yours, &c.

SOME ANTINOMIAN ABUSES OF THE DOCTRINE OF
BELIEVERS' UNION TO CHRIST, OR PLEAS FROM
IT FOR LICENTIOUSNESS AND SECURITY IN
SINNING, Considered and obviated.

SIR,

ALLOW me the freedom to tell you, that the consequences you draw from the doctrine of our union to Christ, as I have represented it, are without any foundation; and that a just view of the case must convince you, that this doctrine gives no "advantage to licentious and latitudinarian principles," but the direct contrary. I shall therefore endeavour, according to your desire, to consider the Antinomian principles you are pleased to propose, and see whether they "naturally follow from what I taught in my last."

"You do not see, (you tell me,) if the principles I teach are allowed, how the Antinomians can be charged with error, in supposing that the true believer has no cause to repent of his sins, or to entertain any disquietment of mind with respect to them, since he is united to Christ, and all his sins are charged to Christ's account, whereby he has satisfied for them all. Why, therefore, should the

1

believer be concerned about a debt which is fully discharged? Justice is satisfied with respect to him; Christ delights in him, as a member of his own body; the Spirit of God dwells in him, notwithstanding any of his sins and imperfections. Why may he not therefore be perfectly easy with respect to sin, and look upon it (as a modern Antinomian expresses himself) unworthy of our least regards ?" To this I answer,

66

1. That no man, who is practically conformed to this Antinomian principle, can know himself to be a believer; and therefore there can be no foundation for this reasoning, in any person whatsoever. Were your arguing allowed to be just, it can take place with none but those who have infallible evidence of their union to Christ; which it is impossible any man should have, who is not burdened with his sins, who does not hate them, and groan after deliverance from them. Repentance is the genuine and necessary fruit of a true faith. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and shall mourn." "That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God." "And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings which were, not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations." It is the true believer, and he only, that is capable aright to mourn for sin, truly to hate it, and to groan under the burden of it. Unbelievers may mourn under a sense of their guilt

What

sup

and danger, but this is not to repent of sin. It is the believer only who sorrows for sin as sin; who hates all sin; who groans, being burdened, from a sense of his sinfulness; and who cries out, with the Apostle, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!" room can there then be for those licentious conclusions you speak of? Who is the person that can thus rock his conscience to sleep, under the prevalence of his lusts, from the doctrine of our union to Christ, as I have described it? Must it be posed to be one who is united to Christ, or one who is not united to Christ? Surely not the former; for how can he be indolent, careless, and secure, in the commission of sin, from the doctrine of our union to Christ, who has no evidence of this being his case; nor can have any such evidence, till he is poor in spirit, and is thereby qualified for the kingdom of heaven; till he is one that mourns for his sins, and comes under the promise of comfort; and until he is of a contrite and humble spirit: for with such, and only with such, has the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, promised to dwell. And I think I need not endeavour to prove, that he, who is not united to Christ, has no shadow of a plea or pretence to make for carelessness and security in sin, from the doctrine before us. Whence it follows, that all pretences of this kind are without any rational foundation. They only proceed from men's delight in sin, in a life of sensual ease and carnal security, and not at all from the precious truth before us. This sacred truth may indeed be perverted and abused; and so may all the other doc