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through him , but to the sinner himself as the free gift of sovereign aftd unmerited grace , Sanctification is a work of Divine
Power and Goodness upon the rational susceptibilities and faculties of the mind , producing * a holy sensibility and justness of feeling , by virtue of which it detests all sin , and loves and pursues all holiness .
3 . Justification is an act of Divine love and mercy performed for us : Sanctificationis ah operation of Divine influence performed ih us . 4 . Justification is the ground of right and title to celestial blessedness : Sanctification is thd process of prfc * paring and qualifying for the possession of that blessedness . The ofte
may be comtpared to the reversal of an attainder , and the restoration of the forfeited estate , by the proper act of the legislature ; the other , to the educating of th ^ heir to fill his station , and the imbuing him with the mind
and manners congruous to his rank . Only , let it be observed , that in this imagined illustration the two requisites might be separated ; but , in the case illustrated , they are absolutely and for ever inseparable .
v . There is , therefore , an essential difference between the lowest decree of that kind of personal character which necessarily accompanies Justification before God , and that kind which is governed by sinful principles ,
whether it be plainly laid' open or masked with plausible h ^ ocrisy . — " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Mngdom of God > Be not deceived . Neither
fornicators rior idolaters , nor adulterer ^ , nor impure abusers of themselves , nor thieves , * nor covetoiis , not drunkards , nor revilers , nor rapacious men ; will inherit the kingdom of GodJ" A change of state may , indeed , take place with such persons , through the riehes of Divine grace ; and it will be infallibly attended by a change of
cha-—j-- . — In which class I cannot but include plagiarists , who publish other men ' s writings as their own ; and malverters of trusts , who apply the property which they hold as trustees for fulfilling the will and intent of others , to purposes which they know to be entirely contrary to that will and intent .
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racter : they will abhor and renounce their sijis , and turn to God and holiness wifch all their liearts . Then may they be addressed by the sediiel of
the passage : " Such were some of you : but ye are washed , ye are sanctified , ye are justified , by the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God /'
vi . Do the defects of Sanctification extinguish the interest in Justification ? I answer , No ; for they are defects , felt , lamented and opposed in sirieerity and with constancy : they ar& defects , not indulged sins masked urider the name of infirmities . If the
case M not thus ; if the professor of relfgrbii prove that he is not " red £ efnecHfrom all iniquity , purified unto Christ , and living soberly , righ-( C teously C and piously ; " let him know that lie has neither part nor lot in this mattery for his heatt is not right
in the sight of God . " vi * . But does not this doctrine make all characters equal , as sinners before their conversion , arid as saints after it ? By no means . The remarks already submitted sufficiently prevent
such an inference . As , among * unconverted persons , there are vast differences of character , though all are alienated from a right regard to God , and form themselves upon principles of corrupt selfishness , whether gross or refined ; so , among true Christians , thouffli all are justified before God ,
and all are governed by sincere and upright principles , there are great inequalities as to the attainment and exefciie of personal holiness . Yet I venting to think that , bating those dreadful falls b y sudden and violent temptation which with real Christians are , I trust , very rare , their deficiencies and infirmities are to be ascribed
mor ^ to other causes than to any corruptness of motive or principle . The more closely . I have been enabled to study the human character , and the more intimately to become acquainted with serious persons , the more have I seen reason to conclude that their
unhappy infirmities are chiefly the offspring of intellectual deficiencies ; of absurd and unchristian education ; of natural weakness of mind , producing contracted habits of thought and an inaptitude to understand and apply general principles to particular cases ;
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Dr . •/ , Pye Smiths ' Reply to . Mr . Gibson s Questions * 79
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1825, page 79, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2533/page/15/
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