Again, here we see the use of God’s laws, which serve to prevent, restrain, and cut off sin, into which otherwise men would fall unless they were compassed and guarded by laws. Some object for freedom of will, on this manner. If the laws of God cannot be kept, they are in vain. But they are not in vain. Therefore they may be kept. Answer. The major or first part of the reason is not true. For there are other uses of the laws of God than the keeping of them. For they serve to restrain and to prevent open offences, and to keep men in order, at the least outwardly.
William Perkins | The Works of William Perkins, ed. Paul M. Smalley, Joel R. Beeke, and Derek W. H. Thomas, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2015), 203.
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