Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/76

70 it, he does not sin. We sin only when we do evil, with the knowledge at the time that it is evil. The selfish or evil desire may be very strong in us; but if we regard and shun its indulgence as a sin, we are then free from guilt;—free from sin, though the evil inclination may still remain.

And not only so, but by continuing to do this, and at the same time acknowledging that it is the Lord alone who gives us the disposition and the power to resist the vicious propensity, we gradually weaken and overcome the evil inclination, and lose, at last, all desire to transgress. And in this consists the great work of regeneration. It is that thorough mastery over all inherited vicious proclivities, which the Lord gives to every one who acknowledges Him and humbly strives to obey his precepts.

Intimately connected with the nature of sin, is the doctrine concerning its remission. The prevailing idea among Christians a hundred years ago,—nor has it become quite obsolete yet,—respecting the Divine forgiveness or remission of sins, was altogether erroneous. It was believed that sins could be forgiven and the sinning soul cleansed of its defilements by an act of immediate Divine mercy, or through the willingness of God