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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89732	A discussion of that great point in divinity, the sufferings of Christ; and the question about his righteousnesse active, passive : and the imputation thereof. Being an answer to a dialogue intituled The meritorious price of redemption, justification, &c. / By John Norton teacher of the church at Ipswich in New-England. Who was appointed to draw up this answer by the generall court.	Norton, John, 1606-1663.	1653 (1653)	Wing N1312; Thomason E1441_1; ESTC R210326	182,582	293

of Gods dispensation Paul speaks frequently of this accidental use of the Law in order to conversion after the cessation of the judicial and ceremonial Law Christ not only being come in the flesh but also dead buried and ascended Rom. 3.20 4.15 7.8 9 10 11 13. into heaven The whole Law of Moses was a school-master to leade us unto Christ the moral Law leades us unto Christ by an accidentall direction of it self it shuts souls up into the prison of sin that it may condemn it is by accident that being shut up we seek after righteousnesse and life by faith in Jesus Christ the ceremonial Law led unto Christ by direct signification and its period of duration the judicial Law led unto Christ by his distinction of the Jews from all other people and by the the period of its duration It follows by good consequence from this School-masterly discipline of the Law that God did never intend to justifie any corrupt son of Adam by Legal obedience done by his own person but that God did not intend to justifie his Elect by our Saviours Legal obedience followeth not at all from hence except in the mistake of the Authour of the Dialogue Paul evidently enough concludes the direct contrary consequence Par. in loc Gal. 3.24 those words the Law was added for transgressors till the seed should come Gal. 3.19 are to be interpreted according hereunto in a limited not in an absolute sense Dialogu God cannot in iustice iustifie sinners by our Saviours Legal obedience imputed because Legal obedience is altogether insufficient to iustifie a corrupt son of Adam from his original sin for our corrupt and sinful nature did not fall upon us for the breach of any of Moses his Laws but for the breach of another Law of works which God gave to Adam in his innocency by way of prohibition In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death so God cannot in iustice impute our Saviours Legal obedience to any corrupt son of Adam for his full and perfect righteousnesse because it is altogether insufficient to make a sinner righteous from his original sin Answ We are to distinguish of the Law it 's taken sometimes more largely either for all the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament Luk. 16.17 Joh. 15.25 or for all the Books of Moses Matt. 7.12 sometimes more strictly for the Moral Law Rom. 7.7 So Paul opposeth the Law of works to the Law of faith and Luke the Law of Moses unto Christ Act. 13.39 because by him all that beleeve are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses The Law of Moses taken strictly and the Law of works usually known by the name of the Decalogue or ten Commandments are the same and differ no otherwise then as two Editions of the same Book the Law of Moses being nothing else but an external pattern of the internal Law of nature printed in the hearts of our first Parents by their creation after the Image of God consisting in holiness and righteousnes Eph. 4.24 the sum of the two Tables it is called the Law of works Rom. 3.27 because it required personal obedience unto life Lev. 18.5 the Law of Moses Act. 13.39 because it was given to the people of Israel by the Ministry of Moses Joh. 1.17 In the Law strictly taken which also holds concerning the Law taken largely we must distinguish between that part of it which is moral positive Vide Wille Exod. 21. qu. 1. Jus morale positivum jus divinum positivum Weems exerc 37. in precep 8. The habitual writing whereof in our hearts by nature together with its obligation were both from the first instant of Creation this bindes perpetually and is immutable so essential is the nulling and obliging nature of the Law as that though life be not attained by obedience thereunto as it was in the Covenant of works yet is obedience thereunto unseparable from life in the Covenant of grace and that part which is divine positive which though it be habitually written in our hearts by nature yet it bindes not without a superadded command these are accessory Commandments added to the Law written and binde not by force of creation or light of nature but by force of institution both moral positive and divine positive Law are the Law of nature only that 's the primary this is the secondary Law of nature As God at Mount Sinai after the Decalogue gave the judiciall and ceremonial Laws which were accessory commands part of and reducible thereunto as conclusions to their principles so God at the creation having given the Law unto Adam by writing it in his heart Gen. 1.27 after that gave him this accessory command concerning the Tree of the knowlege of good and evil Gen. 2.17 part of and reducible thereunto and as a Conclusion of its principle The transgression then of Adam in eating of the forbidden fruit was a breach of the same Law of works which was given to Adam and afterwards given by Moses and so the punishment of original sin inflicted upon man therefore did fall upon us for the breach of Moses Law which was first given to Adam and afterwards given by Moses that the imputation of the Legal obedience of Christ God so being pleased to accept thereof is sufficient to make sinners righteous from all sinnes is manifest because Christ performed perfect obedience for us unto the Law of works given to Adam which had Adam himself personally performed he had been just The Law that was given by Moses convinceth us effectually and fully of Adams sin Rom. 5.20 moreover the Law entred that sin i. e. Adams sin for of that he speaks might abound therefore Adams sin was committed against the Law of Moses to this purpose serveth the labour of Divines shewing how Adams sin was a violation of the most yea of all the Commandments if so then it was a breach of Moses Law Dialogu If Christs Legal obedience imputed were sufficient to iustifie a sinner from all kinde of sinne both originall and actuall then Christ made his oblation in vain for it had been altogether needlesse for him to give his soul as a Mediatorial sacrifice of atenement for the procuring of our iustice in Gods sight if his Legal righteousnesse performed by his life had been sufficient to iustifie us from all sin in Gods sight for if righteousnesse could have come to sinners by the Law then Christ died in vain Gal. 2.21 Answ Christs inherent righteousnesse and active obedience is an essentiall part of our justification but not all our justification Christs active and passive obedience make up our righteousnesse Original justice and active obedience was sufficient to justifie man innocent but not to justifie man fallen The law in case of innocency required only doing Lev. 18.5 but in case of sin it cannot be satisfied without suffering Gen. 2.17 and doing Gal. 3.10 that is without both passive

FINIS Isa 45.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And there is none else beside me a just God and a Saviour there is none beside me Rom. 3.26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To declare I say at this time his righteousnesse that he might be just and the justifier of him that beleeveth in Jesus Discant hi igitur quid peccatum Mereatur quaeque ad illud expiandum satisfactio necessaria sit Ne fortè de ijs dicendum sit quod Irenaeus Iren. adv haer l. 3. c. 21. Debitum Christi dum negant satisfactionem illius integram dum credere renuunt debitores ipsi manent antidotum vitae non accipientes Parker De Descensu l. 3. n. 52. The Copy of a Letter written from New England in Answer to a Letter which they had received from some Brethren in Old England in the behalf of Mr Pinchin Reverend and Beloved Brethren in our Lord Jesus VVE see by your Letters you have thought it meet to address your selves to us the Elders of these Churches in behalf of Mr Pinchin and his Book to incline us to a favourable construction of the Tenets held forth in it as Disputable and and to some of note probable and for himself to move us to intercede with our Magistrates to deal favourably with him as a Gentleman pious and well deserving In both which we shall give you a just account of our Proceedings When Mr Pinchin's Book came over to us it was the time of the ●itting of our Generall Court wherein both the Magistrates and Deputies of every Town in the Country do assemble together to consider and determine of the chiefest affairs which concern this Colony At the same time a Ship in the Harbour was ready to set sayl for England Now the Court both parts of them the Magistrates and Deputies perceiving by the Title Page that the Contents of the Book were unsound and Derogatory both to the Justice of God and the Grace of Christ which being published in England might adde to the heap of many Errours and Heresies already too much abounding and this Book being published under the name of a New English Gentleman might occasion many to think that New England also concurred in the allowance of such Exorbitant Aberrations They therefore judged it meet not to stay till the Elders could be gathered together but whilst the Ship yet stayed to declare their own Judgement against the Book and to send a Copy of their Declaration to England by the Ship then ready to depart Had the Tenets therein seemed to them to be matters either of doubtfull disputation or of small moment we doubt not they would either not at all have declared themselves against the Book or if they had they would have stayed for some opportunity of previous consultation with the Elders but some of the Tenets seemed to them so directly to shake the Fundamentals of Religion and to wound the vitals of Christianity that they being many of them well versed both in the Dogmaticall and Controversall points of Divinity thought it their duty to profess their Orthodox faith against all destructive Paradoxes and dangerous Innovations vented from amongst our selves for according as they beleeve they do also profess as our selves likewise do That the Obedience of Christ to the whole Law which is the Law of Righteousness is the matter of our Justification and the Imputation of our sins to Christ and thereupon his suffering the sense of the wrath of God upon him for our sin and the Imputation of his obedience and sufferings are the formall cause of our Justification and that they that do deny this do now take away both these both the matter and the form of our Justification as this Book doth and take away also our Justification which is the Life of our souls and of our Religion and therefore called the Justification of life Rom 5.18 As for the Notion which you conceive he declineth of Infinite wrath we readily conceive with you that though Gods wrath be as himself is infinite yet no creature can hear infinite wrath but he swallowed up of it and therefore the wicked are put to suffer finite wrath in an infinite time yet this suffering in an infinite time is accidentall in regard of the finitenesse of the creature but Christ being infinite God as well as finite man his manhood suffering though in a finite measure the sense of Gods wrath both in soul and body the infinitenesse of his Godhead whereto his manhood was united in one person made his finite suffering in a finite time to become of infinite value and efficacy for the satisfaction of Gods Justice and transaction of our Redemption Thus much for the Book Now for the Author of the Book before your Letter came to our hands the Court dealt favourably with him according to your desire Before they knew your desire they appointed three of our fellow Elders and Brethren all of them his friends and acquaintance such as himself chose to conferre with him and finding him yielding in some main point which he expressed willingly under his own hand the Court readily accepted the same as a fruit of his ingenuity and a pledge of more full satisfaction withall they gave him a Book penned at their appointment by our Reverend Brother Mr Norton in way of Answer to all his grounds which he thankfully accepted and promised upon a due perusal consideration thereof to return further Answer All which though it pleased God to have done before your Letter came to our hands yet we acquainted our Magistrates with the contents of your Letter whereto they returned this Answer They doubted either you had not read the Book throughout or that having seriously weighed it as the matter required you would find some Fundamentall Errours in it meet to be duly witnessed against For our selves we thankfully accept of this your labour of love in advertising us of what you think behooffull wherein though we differ and as we beleeve justly differ from you yet if we did not lovingly accept advertisements from our Reverend Brethren sometimes when there is less need we might discourage our selves and other Brethren from sending us due advertisements when there is more need Now the Lord Jesus Christ the God of Truth and Peace lead you by his Spirit of Truth into all Truth and support you with a Spirit of faithfulness and holy zeal to stand in the gap against the Inundation of all the Errors and Heresies of this present Age and by his Spirit of Peace guide and blesse your Studies and holy Labours to the advancement and establishment of Peace with Truth throughout the Nation So desiring the Fellowship of your Prayers we take leave and rest Your loving Brethren in the Lord Jesus and in the Fellowship of his Gospel John Cotton Rich. Mather Zech. Symmes John Wilson Will. Thompson