nal life; and the violation of every one of these commands is declared to be sin. We are ordered to be "perfect, even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect"; "-and so far from being able to exceed what is required for our salvation, the Gospel assures us, that after our utmost care and best endeavours we shall still fall short of our whole duty; and that our deficiencies must be supplied by the abundant merits of our blessed Redeemer. We are directed to trust to the mercy of God, and to the mediation of Christ: and to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling"," that is, with anxiety lest we should not fulfil the conditions upon which it is offered. Upon these grounds we may pronounce that WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION are inconsistent with the nature of man, irreconcilable with the whole tenor and general principles of our religion, and contrary to the express declarations of Scripture. ARTICLE THE FIFTEENTH. OF CHRIST ALONE WITHOUT SIN. Christ, in the Truth of our Nature, was made like unto us in all Things, Sin only except, from which he was clearly void, both in his Flesh, and in his Spirit. He came to be the Lamb without Spot, who, by Sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the Sins of the World; and Philip. ii. 12. a Matt. v. 48. Sin, as St. John saith, was not in him. But all we the Rest (although baptized and born again in Christ) yet offend in many Things; and if we say we have no Sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. THIS Article consists of two parts; in the former, Christ's freedom from sin is asserted, and in the latter it is declared that all men are guilty of sin. That CHRIST, IN THE TRUTH OF OUR NATURE, WAS MADE LIKE UNTO US IN ALL THINGS, that is, that Christ partook of the ordinary nature of men, was shown under the second Article. " a SIN ONLY EXCEPT, FROM WHICH HE WAS CLEARLY VOID, BOTH IN HIS FLESH AND IN HIS SPIRIT. That Christ was free from sin of every species and denomination appears from the whole course of his life, as recorded in the Gospels; and it is expressly asserted in the following passages in the Epistles : "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all things tempted like as we are, yet without sin.""-Christ is also called, "Holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." -The Socinians hold that Christ was peccable, which seems to be a consequence of their considering him as a mere man, and of their denial of the doctrine of the atonement. HE CAME TO BE A LAMB WITHOUT SPOT, WHO, BY SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF ONCE MADE, SHOULD TAKE AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD; AND SIN, AS ST. a 1 Pet. ii. 22. b Heb. iv. 15. c Heb. vii. 26. The Jews were JOHN SAITH, WAS NOT IN HIM. commanded, when they celebrated the Passover in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, to choose out of their flocks a lamb without spot or blemish, and to offer it as a sacrifice to God. This was a type of Christ, who, being without spot or sin, offered himself to God as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world; and thence he is called the true Paschal Lamb: "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.""" Behold," said John the Baptist, "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world."""Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." "Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin."d e C a But all we the REST (ALTHOUGH BAPTIZED AND BORN AGAIN IN CHRIST) YET OFFEND IN MANY THINGS. That all men are liable to sin, and actually commit it, has been noticed in the explanation of former Articles and, therefore, IF WE SAY WE HAVE NO SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES, AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US. This latter part of the Article was directed against the Pelagians and others, who asserted that men after baptism might live without sin. But in the ancient fathers of the church we find a very opposite doctrine: "Let no one," says Cyprian, "flatter himself with the idea of being innocent, since nobody is innocent; and by extolling himself, a a person would only aggravate his punishment. He is instructed and taught that he is guilty of sin every day, since he is commanded to pray every day." Some modern enthusiasts consider themselves as entirely free from sin; and the Moravian Anabaptists are said to omit this part of the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us;" because being regenerated, they are no longer guilty of sin." While we condemn the presumption of those who think more highly of themselves than they ought to think, we must be careful not to suffer the infirmity of human nature to be abused into an encouragement to sin, or perverted into a cause of gloomy despondence; it should rather stimulate us to vigilance and exertion, than drive us to negligence or despair. Though we cannot arrive at sinless purity, it is still our duty to aim at an uniform obedience to all God's commands; and to indulge any apprehensions which tend to weaken the energy of our minds, is doubly sinful, because we thus voluntarily increase the difficulty of obedience to the will of God, and in reality doubt his assurance, that our sincere endeavours to persevere in the paths of virtue and religion will be forwarded by the assistance of divine grace. a De Orat. Dom. b Hey's Lectures, vol. iii. p. 422. ARTICLE THE SIXTEENTH. OF SIN AFTER BAPTISM. Not every deadly Sin, willingly committed after Baptism, is Sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable, wherefore the Grant of Repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into Sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from Grace given and fall into Sin; and by the Grace of God we may rise again and amend our Lives: and therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the Place of Forgiveness to such as truly repent. THIS Article is directed against the Montanists, Novatians, Anabaptists, and others, who denied the efficacy of repentance in certain cases; and also against those who contended that men could not possibly be guilty of sin after they had once received the Holy Ghost, or divine grace. In the preceding Article we noticed a sect of Christians who maintain the peccability of Christ, and in this Article we have to argue against those who con But before we tend for the impeccability of man. proceed to explain the propositions contained in this Article, it may be right to inquire into what is meant by the Sin against the occurs in the former part of it. means agreed concerning this sin. I shall state what appears to me to be intended by it, and refer those, who wish to see the different opinions which Holy Ghost, which |