William Beveridge: Bad men cannot do good works

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Reformed Covenanter

Cancelled Commissioner
Not one of those that are bad persons can do any good actions: but the best of their performances, as well as the worst of their iniquities, is an abomination to the Lord. Neither doth reason itself contradict this truth. For reason itself, as well as scripture, saith, that corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Matt. vii. 18; nay, a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit, ver. 17. As the tree is upon which the fruit grows, so will the fruit be that grows upon that tree. If the tree be good, the fruit cannot be bad; and if the tree be bad, the fruit cannot be good.

And so if a man’s person be righteous, his actions will be holy; but his actions cannot but be sinful if his person be wicked. For it is the person that doth the actions whom God looks at in the first place, and then at the action that is done by the person. And therefore though the action be in itself good that the person doth, yet if the person be bad that doth the action, the action cannot but be bad too, as well as the person. For though the righteousness of a man’s person can never make a bad action good, yet the wickedness of a man’s person doth always make a good action bad. And therefore though a good man may do a bad act, yet a bad man can never do a good act.

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