Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/357

 C,u.. X!.] ac---s,sv, cvm. 840 smallest offences are not only threatened, but may be punished with death; therefore they are transgressions of the divine law. 3. Every sin, even the smallest, is against cimity, which is the end of the commandment. 4. When God appointed expiatory sacrifices for sins, though there was enough to show there is difference in the degrees of sin, yet be- cause "without the shedding of blood there was no remission," all sins rendered the transgressor guilty and liable to punishment. "For cursed is he that continues not .in all things written in the law to do them."There were no venial sins by virtue o� that covenant; for there was s,o remission; and without the death of Christ there could be none. Since, theretbre, any sin is venial or pardonable, it is only owing to the death of Christ and the grace of God. And since, through the death of Christ, God pardons all upon lhe condition of faith and repentance, and pardons none otherwise; it follows that, though sins differ in degree, they differ not in their essential character. The man that commits any sin dies, if he repents not; and he that does repent timely and effectually, dies for none. "The wages of sin is death ;" of sin indefinitely, and therefore of all sin. (3.) No good man can indulge in any sin, however small. All sins are estimated according to our affections; and if a man loves any sin, it becomes destructive to his soul. No man can love sin and love God at the same time. If a man about to commit a sin inquires whether it is venial or not, that sin cannot be trivial; for what is done by choice and affection cannot be of small moment where transgression or obe- dience is concerned. Besides, such a person, in this inquiry, asks leave to sin against God, and shows by his conduct that he would sin more, provided he could do it with impunity. 8. The distinction between mortal and venial sins, as taught by the Church of Rome, is a eat cause of an unholy heart and wickedness o� life. Although we do, with rite ancient doctors, admit of distinctions in sins as gray/era et leviera, heavier and liglter; yet we teach, that in their own nature, and in the rigour of divine justice, every sin is damnable and deserves God's anger, and that in the unregenerate they are so accounted; yet, by divine mercy, the smaller sins, which come by surprise, by invincible ignorance, inadvertency, or unavoidable in- firmivy, shall not be imputed to those who love God and delight not in any sin, but use caution and prayers, watchfulness and remedies against them.. But the Church of Rome teaches that there is a whole k/u/of sins, which are uf,za or pardonable in their own nature; such, which if all o� them in the world were put together, would not equal one mortal sin, nor destroy charity, nor deprive us of the fayour of God; such, for which no man can perish, and for which the atonement of Christ is not needed; and yet such as may be done deiberagely, with for the sin, out of an unreadsteal eu custom, &c., and which prepares for and leads to mortal sin. And though Christ said, "Of every idle word a man shall speak he shall give account at the day of judgment ;" and, "By our words ye shall be justified, and by your words ye shall Y . cmmdemned :" BellsrFmme expressly affu'ms,* "It is not intelligible hsw �As quoted by,Bidtop.Tylor, Dias., e. ii, sec. & 1 ,Goocle

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