Duty and that Debt we owed to God Dare you deny Christ as our Surety paid it Certainly had he not fulfilled the Preceptory part of the Law as well as born the Penal part for us we could not be justified from the Charge and Curse thereof But why must we because we say Surety hath done this be justified by the Law or Covenant of Works Are we Saviours or Mediators because we have his Righteousness imputed to us of meer Grace Is the Debtor the Surety because the Surety's Payment is accepted for him The old Covenant-Righteousness was an inherent Righteousness a Righteousness in a Man's self i. e. Adam's own Righteousness not a Righteousness imputed but inherent the Righteousness of your new Law is a Legal or Law-Righteousness and looks more like an old Covenant-Righteousness because 't is inherent or infused into you not put upon you or imputed to you as being wrought out for you without you And Sir is there no favour shewed to us because our Surety has paid this Debt Was it not great Love great Grace and Favour for God to accept of a Surety nay to substitute his own Son in our stead to satisfy all the Demands of the Law and Justice True we are not simply dealt with in a way of Mercy I mean pardoned only but in a way of Justice and Righteousness also Justification has more than Pardon in it as your Notion allows we found not the Surety but God found him therefore all is of God's free Grace tho also all is by the Obedience of Christ i. e. by his keeping Law for us and dying in our stead To plead for a Righteousness by Obedience to any mild Law is no other than to plead for a Legal Righteousness in our selves to justify us and that is as opposite to the Righteousness of God as the trusting in the Moral and Ceremonial Law it being opposite to Grace the Righteousness therefore of the Law by which no Flesh can be justified is a Righteousness rested in or trusted to that is inherent in us whatsoever Thoughts a Person may have of it i. e. as perfectly or only sincerely kept But to proceed Did not God send his Son that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us c that is in our Nature in our Head Christ and Believers as I said before are one in a Law-sense and evident it is that the Righteousness of the Law is not fulfilled in us in Sanctification because that is imperfect that is far from fulfilling it and there is no other way it can be said to be fulfilled in us but by imputation Moreover by Christ's coming to keep the Law in our Nature God hath magnified the Law and made it honourable and hereby we do not make void the Law through Faith but establish the Law in that the Son of God in Man's Nature yielded perfect Obedience thereto and died for our breach of it whose Obedience is ours by imputation to our Justification at his Bar. Pray observe that through Faith we attain a perfect Righteousness i. e. are interested in the most compleat Obedience of Christ to the Moral Law but now if Christ only satisfied for our breach of the Law by his Death and his perfect active Obedience has no hand in or is not the material Cause of our Justification before God how do we by believing in him establish the Law I say the Righteousness of the Law which is so called which the Apostle decries as unable to justify us is a resting in or trusting to our inperfect Conformity to it or to any other Law tho never so sincerely performed for this sort of Righteousness is always opposed to the Righteousness of Faith or of Grace If it be of Works of any Works whatsoever it is not of Grace all works of sincere Obedience to any Law of God are alike materially good But God has not ordained any Law of sincere Obedience to justify us because Grace excludeth all Works done by us in point of Justification in God's Sight We can no more be justified by the Law of the Gospel i.e. the New Law than by the Old Mr. Clark says The Justification Paul speaks of in the Romans and that which James speaks of is the same And further he says to be justified by Faith according to Paul and by Works according to James is all one Justification by Works springing from Faith is Justification by Faith in this Sense Answ Now we and the Orthodox say that Paul speaks of our Justification before God or of the Person James of the Justification of our Faith good Works demonstrating our Faith to be of the right kind or do declare to Men and to our own Consciences that we are justified Persons Paul speaks of the Justification of a Sinner James of the Justification of a Believer as it is said the People justified God that is declared he was just so our Gospel-Works springing from Faith declare that our Faith is true and we sincere Believers Yet he would have his Reader believe he is no Heterodox Person in this Point Paul speaks of Justification and Absolution of a Sinner at God's Bar through the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness James speaks of the Manifestation or Declaration of that Justification to the Conscience Paul speaks of the cause of our Justification before God James of the signs of it before Men. Paul speaks of the Imputation of Righteousness James of the Declaration of Righteousness Paul speaks of the Office of Faith by God's Ordination as it apprehends Christ c. James of the quality of Faith or of its own excellent Virtue Paul speaks of the Justification of a Person James of the Justification of the Faith of that Person Paul speaks of Abraham how justified James of Abraham's good Works as already justified and as declaring him so to be Paul speaks of Justification in a proper Sense as God's gracious act through Christ's Righteousness whereby a Man is imputed or counted Just and Righteous in God's Sight James speaks of Justification whereby we are not made Just before God but declared to be justified being sincere Believers and free from Hypocrisy Paul had to do with Legal and Judaizing Christians such who either brought in a Law or a self-Righteousness instead of God's Grace in imputing Christ's Righteousness or else setting up an inherent Righteousness with it as these Men do now And James had to do with such who might be justly called Antinomians i.e. such that abused the Grace of God or Doctrine of free Grace to encourage themselves in Sin boasting of a false and presumptuous Faith a dead Faith Now James's work is to shew the effects and nature of true Faith therefore he speaks not of Justification in a proper Sense when he says Abraham was justified by Works but declaratively only Faith wrought not with Abraham's Works in the Justification of his Person at God's Bar but in declaring and evincing that his
not or whilst an Unbeliever or before he believed And is it not good nay best to keep to the form of sound Words For tho it is said that God justifies the Vngodly yet they are not ungodly when justified true that excludes all previous Qualifications to Faith but not that God justifies an Unbeliever that is in his Sins in the first Adam Obj. Is it not Christ and his Righteousness that which justifies us or is the matter of our Justification Will ye make Faith to be a Cause or the condition of our Justification before God Answ No by no means tho I know some Learned Men and sound in the Faith seem to hint as if Faith was a condition of our Justification But how that which God himself gives to us by his free and absolute Promises can be a condition of the Covenant or of our Justification I see not that which is part of the Covenant on God's part can't be the Condition of it on our part Also they call Faith the instrumental cause of Justification which we must leave them to explain they mean I think but as the Hand that applies a Plaister is a cause of the Cure We must say with a late learned Author Faith is no qualifying Condition nor any procuring Cause of our Justification tho without Faith God declares no Man a justified Person 2. Faith doth not cause or render the Satisfaction of Christ any ways the more satisfactory unto God for God was as much satisfied in Christ for his Elect before Faith as after tho the Satisfaction Merits and Righteousness of Christ are not applied so as the Man is pronounced a justified Person until he is united to Christ by the Spirit and so is help'd to believe on him Faith being the Hand that receives or that apprehends Jesus Christ Brethren The Holy Spirit in our Union with Christ puts upon us the Robe of Righteousness which was not upon us before we obtained that Spiritual Union it is offered unto all but it is upon all them that believe All our Orthodox Divines agree with us that Faith neither as a Habit or Grace or as an Act much less in respect of the Fruits thereof justifies us when therefore 't is said we are justified by Faith it intends not any Moral or Physical Causality in Faith as a Qualification but only by virtue of the Object it apprehends Mr. Bradford that Holy Martyr saith Not the Action it self of believing as it is a quality in Man doth so deserve but because it taketh that Dignity and Virtue from the Object Jesus Christ We do not mean that Faith by it self and of it self doth justify us which is only as an Instrument whereby we apprehend Christ who is our Justice Faith was accounted to Abraham for Righteousness not the action by which but that which he did believe or Faith not in respect of it self apprehending but in respect of the Object apprehended Faith justifies a Sinner in the sight of God not because of those other Graces that do always accompany it or of good Works which are the Fruits thereof nor as if the Grace of Faith or any act thereof were imputed to him for Justification but only as an Instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his Righteousness For any to say otherwise is to render Faith to be part of our Reconciliation or Satisfaction to God which is to lessen the Merits of Christ and take the Crown from his Head and make Justification not to be by Grace alone or by Christ alone Faith we know is the Creatures act tho given of God or a Grace bestowed upon us by which we are helped so to do yet with the Heart Man belâ—eveth c. The Doctrine of some Men about Faith justifying the Sinner tends to bring in a new Covenant of Works i.e. a mild Law of Faith and sincere Obedience in the stead of the severe Law of perfect Obedience and plainly renders the Satisfaction and Righteousness of Christ defective or insufficient as if Faith was part of our justifying Righteousness or as if we were not fully reconciled to God by the death of his Son but that he was only reconcileable and that it is Faith and sincere Obedience indeed which compleats that Reconciliation Brethren Faith I say again is said to justify us only in respect of the Object Jesus Christ whom it apprehended and it is no part of the matter which doth justify us the Righteousness of Christ being alone the material cause of our Justification nor doth Faith add any thing to Christ's Satisfaction or to his Righteousness which alone is imputed to us to our Justification before God Tho we say that Righteousness is not imputed to the actual and personal Justification of any Man till he has actual Union with Christ yet I deny that Faith in order of Nature is before Union or at least before the reception of the Spirit in order to Union tho not as to time for Christ takes hold of us before we can take hold of him also Faith is a Fruit of the Spirit and sure the Seed must be sown before there can be Fruit. We are passive in Regeneration but not in the act of Faith But when a poor Sinner receives the Spirit then it is that he in his own Person is declared and pronounced righteous he being in Christ is pardoned and actually acquitted and discharged from that Legal Guilt or from that Obligation he lay under to Condemnation in the first Adam the Sentence being then taken off and he loosed from those Fetters and Chains by which he was before bound and this therefore is more no doubt than simply justified in his own Conscience For tho Christ as our Surety when he rose from the dead received a full discharge for us yet until we are united by the Spirit unto him by which Faith is wrought in our Souls and our Eyes are inlightned we have not this great Blessing made over to us Mind that Passage of the Apostle again By whom now we have received the Atonement Now the Case is altered now we are in Christ Jesus Brethren we have not the Portion until we have the Person now the Law 's Sentence and Condemnation can no more reach us now that Husband is dead that cruel Husband and we are married unto another now we are actually acquitted or not till now personally justified Some add justified Foro Dei or in God's sight but so expressing it I fear hath clouded the matter because known to God before him or in his sight were all his Works from everlasting Justified before God may be taken two ways 1. In distinction from that before Men or in a Man 's own Conscience if they mean that I grant it 2. In respect had to that sight he hath of things who calls things and seeth things that are not as if they were As Abraham is called the Father of many
Faith was true and saving not a dead Faith good Works being the Fruits of saving Faith If this was not so how could he say in vers 23. that The Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for Righteousness not his Act of Faith but the Object his Faith believed in or took hold of The Justification of a Sinner in a proper Sense is one thing and the Justification of a Believer as such a one is another thing How then can Mr. Clark say the Justification Paul speaks of and that which James speaks of is all one and the same thing This Man contends for a mild Law certainly the Moral Law remains a perpetual Rule of perfect Obedience let this Man shew us where and how he can prove that God in the Gospel only commands sincere imperfect Obedience to the Moral Law the Law surely loses no part of its sanction by the Gospel that is as holy just and good as ever Be ye perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect We are still to love the Lord our God with all our Hearts with all our Souls and with all our Strength Our Faith Love Patience c. ought to be perfect the Law or Commands of the Gospel know no bounds or limits tho the Law is abrogated as a Covenant of Works yet not as a rule of perfect Obedience See what Reverend Mr. Cross says i.e. Either the Gospel Law or Law of Faith must require perfection in those Duties or some other Divine Law or else God would become an indulger of Sin by Law if it be by another Law viz. the Moral that requires perfect Obedience and this sincere only then these Laws differ but in degree not in Specie or Kind because both require the same Duties or Works and so this Gospel Law would be no distinct Law but only the measure of sincere Obedience would receive a new Use of its giving right c. which we own it has to wit to be an index or mark of our Justification tho we can't own that use of giving right c. a distinct Law they must hold or quit their Cause or this Foundation of it for the Text sets the Law of Faith down as an opposite Law to that of Works and that they hold then if it be a perfect Law requiring perfect Obedience there is no possibility of Justification in this Life but this is not all the difficulty for it 's the adding a load to a burden Is this Gospel to a Man that is not able to perform the least part of the Moral Law to tell him that God or the Mediator requires perfect Obedience to it for the future and another too Or is this Gospel to say you shall perish eternally and have the Fire of Hell seven times heated if you obey not the Gospel it's indeed a conditional Hell but it is more dreadful than the Fire of Hell and the condition is more impossible because we have less Power to shun this difficulty of two perfect Laws Mr. Bull owns no other perfect Law but the Gospel since Man fell but by shunning one difficulty he falls into as great 1 Then the Moral Law is abrogated besides the falseness of the Doctrine it self for it is impossible that should cease to be our duty to love God with all our Hearts and Souls What advantage brings in Christ's Death to abrogate one perfecting Law and establish another here is little Gospel A second difficulty i. e. we must either say Christ has purchased to us pardon for Sins against the Gospel Law or none at all but that one Sin of Adam's if the Moral Law be abrogated after the fall we never sinned against any Law but the Gospel for we were under no other Law according to him c. Thus Mr. Cross Is not much of our Obedience under the Gospel Obedience to the Moral Law Nay is not the Moral Law the Rule of all our Obedience to God in all positive Gospel-precepts Reader This mild Law of theirs they say requires sincere Obedience as the condition of Justification now there is no sincere Obedience without it be universal c. how then may this fill a poor Christian with terror and slavish Fear I do all I hope sincerely but I may not obey universally some Precept through ignorance I may lie short of I can't tell when my Obedience is full Also according to them I can be but partially justified in this Life and therefore I am partially condemned and thus the Creature hangs till Death between Heaven and Hell Ah poor England poor Church of God where are thy brave old Heroes that stood up to maintain the Truths of Christ What Apostacy is here from the Orthodox Faith what decay of doctrinal and practical Christianity what dark Clouds spread over our Heavens How are many fallen from the Faith But I must leave Mr. Clark to an abler Pen I design'd no more than to make a few Remarks to provoke some others to reply to the Argumentative part of his Book which I see no great difficulty to answer Now that the Lord would scatter this Cloud and all other dangerous Errors let it be all our Prayers both Day and Night Yet I doubt not but the present opposition against this Fundamental Point of Faith will cause the Truth in the end to shine more clear and bright which the Lord grant in his Infinite Mercy to the praise of his own Glory Amen FINIS The Scope of the Epistle to the Romans Rom. 8.3 Rom. 3. Parts of the Text opened The Terms explained Rom. 8.33 1 Cor. 11.32 Eph. 2.3 Rom. 6.14 Rom. 13. ult The 2d and 3d Verses of Rom. 8. explained Rom. 7.12 1 Cor. 1.30 Joh. 1.16 The Method proposed 1st Proposition by way of premise The Elect fell in the first Adam and were brought under Condemnation All Men by Nature under Guilt of Original Sin Rom. 3.12 Psal 51.5 Job 25.4 Caryl on ob chap. 25. p. 706. Rom. 5.14 All Men naturally under the Guilt of actual Sins Rom. 6.23 All Men by nature Children of Wrath. Eph. 2.3 Rom. 8.7 Psal 7.11 Psal 5.5 Rom. 3.19 Rom. 10.4 Gal. 4.4 Vers 5. Heb. 9.15 The Elect were once under the Curse of the Law Gal. 3.13 Gal. 2.10 Rom. 6.17 Heb. 9.19 20 21. Rom. 5.10 Heb. 10.14 Vers 11. 2 Pet. 1.4 Sinners that believe not condemned already Joh. 3.18 and 36. Rom. 5.1 Rom. 3.28 Gal. 2.16 Gal. 3.24 Act. 13.35 Joh. 3.36 Rom. 4.5 Faith no procuring cause or condition of Justification Rom. 3.22 Fox p. 1659. The later Helvetian Confession Zanchy on Phil. 3. Assemblies large Catechism Rom. 5.11 Before God or in his sight all things were from Eternity Rom. 4.17 An Elect Sinner not pronounced justified before he is in Christ Rom. 5.17 When we receive Christ we receive his Righteousness and not till then Justification makes a relative Change Luk. 15.32 1 Cor. 6.9 10 11. There was a federal Vnion of the Elect with Christ The Elect virtually justified when Christ rose from the dead Dr. Tho. Goodwin Christ set forth p. 76. Pag. 77. Ministers preach to Sinners as under Wrath and Condemnation Joh. 8.33 35 36. See his Book Christ alone exalted p. 235. The Holy Spirit in Convictions represents to Sinners their state is bad Eph. 2.3 Rom. 3.22 1 Cor. 6.11 1 Joh. 3.14 Called Scripture-Justification In his Introduction Pag. 1 5. Pag. 62. Pag. 85. * Phrasis hac side justificamur metonymica est aquipollet huic merito Christi side apprehensio justificamur Welleb Compend pag. 163. Can. viii Pag. 18. Joh. 8.36 Cant. 4.7 Chap. 5.2 Gal. 2.21 * But certainly all may see it is in effect the same with the Papists 2 Vol. on Gal. pag. 210. Gal. 1.8 Rom. 3.27 Pag. 43. Pag. 100. Pag. 96. Pag. 97. Rom. 4.11 Rom. 5.19 Dr. Owen on Justification p. 307. Pag. 105. Pag. 85. Pag. 46. Rom. 8.3 Mr. Sam. Clark Pastor of the Church at Bennetfink his Medulla Theologiae or the Marrow of Divinity Pag. 280. Rom. 8.3 Rom. 3.31 Rom. 11.6 Pag. 71. See Pool's Annot. Jam. 2.23 Mat. 5.48 Serm. on Rom. 4.5
save others as he did c. Ans Take Dr. Owen's as to this viz. The Apostle declares that as Adam's actual Sin is imputed unto us to Condemnation so is the Obedience of Christ imputed unto us to the Justification of Life but Adam's Sin is not so imputed unto any Person as that he should then and thereby be the cause of Sin and Condemnation unto all other Persons in the World but only that he himself should become guilty before God thereon And so is it on the other side and as we are made guilty of Adam's actual Sin which is not inherent in us but only imputed unto us so are we made righteous by the Righteousness of Christ which is not inherent in us but only imputed unto us and with it not for himself but for us Object The Effects of Christ's Righteousness c. are imputed to us Answ Saith the Doctor In this Imputation the thing is first imputed unto us and not any of the Effects of it but they are ours by virtue of that Imputation To say that the Righteousness of Christ that is his Obedience and Sufferings are imputed to us only in their Effects is to say that we have the benefit of them and no more but Imputation it self is denied so say saith he the Socinians Again he saith The Righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us as unto its Effects hath this sound Sense in it viz. that the Effects of it are made ours by reason of that Imputation it is so imputed so reckoned unto us of God as that he readily communicates all the Effects of it unto us but to say the Righteousness of Christ is not imputed unto us but the Effects only is really to overthrow all Imputation But Mr. Clark says 'T is the Righteousness of God by which we are justified not the Righteousness of Christ He will not have it be the Righteousness of him that was God or take it in that Sense but that Righteousness that God hath ordained and instituted for our Justification viz. our Faith and sincere Obedience Answ We do not only say it was the Righteousness of him that was God as well as Man but also that Righteousness which God hath found out and approves of as agreeing with his Holy Nature and infinite Justice and Purity of his Law That he might be just not the essential Righteousness of God but the Righteousness of Christ as Mediator Who of God is made to us Wisdom and Righteousness c. Where pray hath God made our imperfect Righteousness a Righteousness to justify us at his Bar I am perswaded this Man would not willingly be found in his own Righteousness at Death let it be never so sincere Ay but we must take the Scripture in the plain literal Sense about Justification this he much harps at tho his Notion by thus doing brings in Justification by Works which the Apostle shews is inconsistent and directly contrary to Grace Rom. 11.6 Works are Works whether Law-Works or Gospel-Works He argues much as the Papists in another case and upon as grand a Point Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church I will appeal to all whether the Words in the Letter do not seem to run smoother for the Papists i.e. for the Church to be built upon Peter than upon Christ that Peter confessed And so this is my Body c. Mr. Clark cries out against puzling perplexing Distinctions and taking Faith Metonymically i. e. for the Object of Faith tho it is clearly imply'd and that way only it beareth a true Analogy of Faith I infer saith he that we are not justified by the active Righteousness of Christ or his Obedience to the Law of Works imputed to us for then a Man would be justified by the Law and by the Deeds and Works thereof as much to be reckon'd his own as if they were done personally by himself for that is their Sense of Justification then we are justified by the Law or Covenant of Works in a Legal and in an Evangelical way for then the Law is fully satisfied by Christ our Surety and we stand recti curiâ and the Law has nothing to say to us or charge us withal as if a Surety in Bond pay the full Debt the Creditor has no Action against the principal Debtor and there 's no Favour at all show'd him in his Discharge Answ In all Places where in the New Testament it is said a Man is not cannot be justified by the Works of the Law or by the Deeds of the Law 't is evident that the Apostle speaks of that Obedience to the Law that frail depraved and impotent Man is able to yield thereunto and the Reason why no Man can be justified hereby is 1. Because he hath both originally and actually broken it and as it admits of no pardon for what is past so also it affords no strength to keep it for time to come Hence what the Law could not do God sent his own Son What for Was it only to make God amends for our Breach of it and so to purchase a new a milder and better Law of Works c No sure Where is there the least shadow of proof for this See what this Gentleman 's Reverend Father saith speaking of Christ's fulfilling the Law for us he saith That it was not meerly Obedience but a meriting Obedience there was an intrinsick Worth and Excellency in Christ's Obedience answering to our Salvation Hence tho we have Justification of meer Grace yet in respect of Christ it was Justice and Debt so that in Christ the Covenant of Works was fulfilled tho in us the Covenant of Grace This Work Christ finished and compleated First In that he did it wholly and universally there was not one Tittle of the Law which he did not fulfil Secondly He finished it universally for Parts and not only so but fully for Degrees He did not only love God but loved him as much as the Law requires all that he did was so fully done that there wanted not the least Degree of Grace in any Duty Thirdly Because he had not only an Objective Perfection in Parts and Degrees but also a Subjective all within was throughly and perfectly holy So that as we are originally and actually polluted he was originally and actually holy so that the Law had no fault to find with him Fourthly He finished it in respect of Duration the Law requiring continuance tho there were Perfection of Parts and Degrees and subjective Perfection also Yet cursed is he that continueth not therein Again he saith For to obey the Law of God and to suffer all the Wrath that was due to our Sins was a bitter Cup to drink Thus Christ fulfilled the Law for us as our Surety and in him it was fulfilled in us there being a Legal or Law-Union between him and us Now since this perfect this compleat and constant Obedience to the Law was our