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A03586 A learned discourse of iustification, workes, and how the foundation of faith is overthrowne. By Richard Hooker, sometimes fellow of Corpus Christi College in Oxford Hooker, Richard, 1553 or 4-1600.; Jackson, Henry, 1586-1662.; Spenser, John, 1559-1614. 1612 (1612) STC 13708; ESTC S121045 45,591 98

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of the medicine whereby Christ cureth our disease about the manner of applying it about the number and the power of meanes which God requireth in vs for the effectuall applying thereof to our soules comfort When they are required to shew what the righteousnes is whereby a Christian man is iustified they answere that it is a divine spirituall quality which qualitie receaued into the soul doth first make it to be one of them who are borne of God and secondly indue it with power to bring forth such workes as they doe that are borne of him even as the soule of man being ioined to his body doth first make him to be of the number of reasonable creatures and secondly inable him to performe the naturall functions which are proper to his kind that it maketh the soule amiable and gratious in the sight of God in regard whereof it is tearmed grace that it purgeth purifyeth and washeth out all the staines and pollutions of sinne that by it through the merite we are delivered as from sinne so from eternall death and condemnation the reward of sinne This grace they will haue to be applied by infusion to the end that as the body is warm by the heate which is in the body so the soule might be righteous by the inherent grace which grace they make capable of increase as the body may be more and more warme so the soule more and more iustified according as grace shall be augmented the augmentation whereof is merited by good workes as good works are made meritorious by it Wherefore the first receipt of grace in their divinity is the first iustification the increase thereof the secōd iustification As grace may be increased by the merit of good workes so it may be diminished by the demerit of sinnes veniall it may be lost by mortall sinne In asmuch therefore as it is needfull in the one case to repaire in the other to recover the losse which is made the infusion of grace hath her sundry after meales for the which cause they make many waies to apply the infusion of grace It is applied to infants through baptisme without either faith or works and in them really it taketh away originall sinne the punishment due vnto it it is applied to Infidels and wicked men in the first iustification through baptisme without works yet not without faith and it taketh away both sinnes actuall and originall together withall whatsoever punishment eternall or temporall thereby deserved Vnto such as haue attained the first iustification that is to say the first receipt of grace it is applyed farther by good workes to the increase of former grace which is the second iustification If they worke more and more grace doth more and more increase and they are more and more iustified To such as diminished it by veniall sinnes it is applyed by holy water Ave maries crossings papall salutations such like which serue for reparations of grace decayed To such as haue lost it through mortall sinne it is applyed by the sacrament as they terme it of Pennance which sacrament hath force to conferre grace anew yet in such sort that being so conferred it hath not altogither so much power as at the first For it only cleanseth out the staine or guilt of sinne committed and changeth the punishment eternall into a temporall satisfactory punishment here if time do serue if not hereafter to be indured except it be lightened by masses workes of charity pilgrimages fasts and such like or else shortened by pardon for terme or by plenary pardon quite removed and taken away This is the mistery of the mā of sinne This maze the Church of Rome doth cause her followers to treade when they aske her the way to iustification I cannot stand now to vnrip this building and to sift it piece by piece only I will passe by it in few words that that may befall Babilon in the presence of that which God hath builded as happened vnto Dagon before the arke 6 Doubtlesse saith the Apostle I haue counted all things losse and iudge them to be dounge that I may winne Christ and to be found in him not having my owne righteousnes but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnes which is of God through faith Whether they speake of the first or second iustification they make it the essence of a divine quality inherent they make it righteousnesse which is in vs. If it be in vs then is it ours as our souls are ours though we haue them from God and can hold them no longer then pleaseth him for if he withdraw the breath of our nostrils we fall to dust but the righteousnesse wherein we must be found if we wil be iustified is not our owne therefore we cannot be iustified by any inherent quality Christ hath me rited righteousnesse for as many as are found in him In him God findeth vs if we be faithfull for by faith we are incorporated into Christ. Then although in our selues we be altogither sinnefull and vnrighteous yet even the man which is impious in him selfe full of iniquitie full of sin him being found in Christ through faith and having his sin remitted through repentance him God vpholdeth with a gracious eie putteth away his sinne by not imputing taketh quite away the punishment due therevnto by pardoning it and accepteth him in Iesus Christ as perfectly righteous as if he had fulfilled all that was commanded him in the lawe shall I say more perfectly righteous then if him selfe had fulfilled the whole law I must take heed what I say but the Apostle saith* God made him to bee sinne for vs who knew no sinne that we might be made the righteousnes of God in him Such wee are in the sight of God the father as is the very sonne of God him selfe Let it bee counted folly or frensie or furie whatsoever it is our comfort and our wisdome we care for no knowledge in the world but this that man hath sinned and God hath suffered that God hath made himselfe the sonne of man and that men are made the righteousnesse of God You see therefore that the Church of Rome in teaching iustification by inherent grace doth pervert the truth of Christ and that by the handes of the Apostles wee haue received otherwise then shee teacheth Now concerning the righteousnesse of sanctification we deny it not to be inherent wee graunt that vnlesse we worke we haue it not only we distinguish it a thing different in nature from the righteousnesse of iustification we are righteous the one way by the faith of Abraham the other way except wee doe the workes of Abraham we are not righteous Of the one S. Paule To him that worketh not but beleeueth faith is counted for righteousnesse Of the other S. Iohn Quifacit iustitiam iustus est He is righteous which worketh righteousnes Of the one S. Paul doth proue by Abrahams example that we haue it of faith without
vnsowred with this and so be * saved Fourthly if they all held this heresie many there were that helde it no doubt but only in a generall forme of words which a favourable interpretation might expound in a sense differing farre enough from the poysoned conceipt of heresie As for example did they holde that wee cannot bee saved with Christ without good works We our selues do I thinke al say as much with this construction salvation being taken as in that sentence Corde creditur ad iustitiam ore fit confessio ad salutem except infants and men cut off vpon the point of their conversion of the rest none shall see God but such as seeke peace and holines though not a cause of their salvation yet as a way which they must walke which will be saved Did they that hold without works that we are not iustified take iustification so as it may also imply sanctificatiō And S. Iames doth say as much For except there be an ambiguitie in the same tearme S. Paul and S. Iames do contradict each the other which can not be Now there is no ambiguity in the name either of faith or of workes being meant by them both in one and the same sense Finding therefore that iustification is spoken of by S. Paul without implying sanctification when he proveth that a man is iustified by faith without workes finding likewise that iustificatiō doth some time imply sanctification also with it I suppose nothing to be more sound then so to interpret S. Iames speaking not in that sense but in this 21 Wee haue already shewed that there bee two kindes of Christian righteousnes the one without vs which we haue by imputation th' other in vs which cōsisteth of faith hope and charitie and other Christian vertues And S. Iames doth proue that Abraham had not only the one because the thing beleeved was imputed vnto him for righteousnes but also the other because he offered vp his son God giveth vs both the one iustice and the other the one by accepting vs for righteous in Christ th' other by working christian righteousnes in vs. The proper and most immediate efficient cause in vs of this later is the spirit of adoptiō we haue received into our hearts That whereof it consisteth where of it is really and formally made are those infused vertues proper and particular vnto Saints which the spirit in the very moment when first it is given of of God bringeth with it the effects whereof are such actions as the Apostle doth call the fruits of works the operations of the spirit The difference of the which operations from the root whereof they spring maketh it needfull to put two kinds likewise of sanctifying righteousnes Habituall and Actuall Habituall that holinesse wherewith our soules are inwardly indued the same instant when first we begin to be the temples of the Holy Ghost Actuall that holynesse which afterwards beautifieth all the parts and actions of our life the holynes for the which Enoch Iob Zacharie Elizabeth other Saints are in the Scriptures so highly commended If here it be demanded which of these we do first receiue I answere that the spirit the vertues of the spirit the habituall iustice which is ingrafted the externall iustice of Iesus Christ which is imputed these wee receiue all at one and the same time whensoever we haue any of these we haue all they goe together Yet sith no man is iustified except he beleeue and no man beleeueth except he haue faith and no man except he haue received the spirit of adoption hath faith for asmuch as they doe necessarily inferre iustification and iustification doth of necessity presuppose them we must needs hold that imputed righteousnes in dignitie being the chiefest is notwithstanding in order the last of all these but actuall righteousnesse which is the righteousnes of good workes succeedeth all followeth after al both in order and time Which being attentiuely marked sheweth plainely how the faith of true beleevers cannot bee divorced from hope and loue how faith is a part of sanctification and yet vnto iustification necessarie howe faith is perfected by good workes and no worke of ours without faith finally how our fathers might hold that we are iustified by faith alone and yet hold truely that without works we are not iustified Did they think that men doe merit rewards in heaven by the workes they performe on earth The ancient vse meriting for obtaining and in that sense they of Wittenberg haue it in their confession We teach that good workes commaunded of God are necessarily to be done and by the free kindnes of God they merit their certaine rewards Therefore speaking as our fathers did and we taking their speech in a sound meaning as we may take our fathers and might for asmuch as their meaning is doubtfull and charity doth alwaies interprete doubtfull things favourably what should iuduce vs to thinke that rather the dammage of the worst construction did light vpon them all thē that the blessing of the better was granted vnto thousands Fiftly if in the worst construction that may bee made they had generally al imbraced it living might not many of them dying vtterly renounce it Howsoever men when they sit at ease do vainely tickle their hearts with the wanton conceipt of I knowe not what proportionable correspondence betweene their merits their rewards which in the trance of their high speculations they dreame that God hath measured weighed laid vp as it were in bundles for them notwithstanding we see by dayly experience in a number even of them that when the houre of death approcheth when they secretly heare themselues summoned forthwith to appeare and stand at the barre of that Iudge whose brightnesse causeth the eies of the Angels themselues to dazle all these idle imaginations doe then begin to hide their faces to name merits is then to lay their soules vpon the racke the memorie of their own deeds is lothsome vnto them they forsake all things wherein they haue put any trust or confidence no staffe to leane vpon no ease no rest no comfort then but only in Iesus Christ. 22 Wherefore if this proposition were true To hold in such wise as the Church of Rome doth that we cannot be saved by Christ alone without workes is directly to denie the foundation of faith I say that if this proposition were true nevertheles so many waies I haue shewed where by we may hope that thousandes of our fathers which lived in popish superstition might be saved But what if it be true what if neither that of the Galatians concerning circumcision nor this of the church of Rome by works be any direct denial of the foūdatiō as it is affirmed that both are I neede not wade so farre as to discusse this controversie the matter which first was brought into question being so cleere as I hope it is Howbeit because I desire that the truth even in that also should receiue
workes Of the other S. Iames by Abrahams example that by workes wee haue it and not only by faith S. Paul doth plainely sever these two parts of Christian righteousnes one frō the other For in the 6. to the Rom. thus hee writeth Being freed from sinne and made servants to God yee haue your fruite in holinesse and the end everlasting life Yee are made free from sinne and made servants vnto God this is the righteousnesse of iustification yee haue your fruite in holinesse this is the righteousnesse of sanctification By the one we are intressed in the right of inheriting by the other we are brought to the actuall possession of eternall blisse and so the end of both is everlasting life 7 The Prophet Abak doth here tearme the Iewes righteous men not only because being iustified by faith they were free from sinne but also because they hadde their measure of fruits in holines According to whose example of charitable iudgement which leaueth it to God to discerne what we are and speaketh of them according to that which they doe professe themselues to be although they be not holy men whom men doe thinke but whom God doth know indeed to bee such yet let every Christian man knowe that in Christian equitie he standeth bound for to thinke and speake of his brethren as of men that haue measure in the fruite of holinesse and a right vnto the titles wherewith God in token of speciall favour and mercy vouchsafeth to honour his chosen servants So we see the Apostles of our Saviour Christ do evse every where the name of Saints so the Prophet the name of righteous But let vs all be such as we desire to be tearmed Reatus impij est pium nomen saith Salvianus Godly names doe not iustifie godlesse men Wee are but vpbraided when we are honored with names titles wherevnto our liues manners are not sutable If indeed we haue our fruit in holinesse notwithstanding wee must note that the more we abound therein the more neede wee haue to craue that we may be strengthned and supported Our very vertues may be snares vnto vs. The enimie that waiteth for all occasions to worke our ruine hath foūd it harder to overthrow an humble sinner then a proud Saint There is no mans case so dangerous as his whom Sathan hath perswaded that his owne righteousnesse shall present him pure and blamelesse in the sight of God If we could say we were not guilty of any thing at all in our consciences we know our selues far from this innocencie we cannot say we knowe nothing by our selues but if we could should we therefore pleade not guiltie before the prefence of our iudge that sees further into our hearts then we ourselues can doe If our handes did never offer violence to our brethren a bloody thought doth proue vs murderers before him if we had never opened our mouth to vtter any scandalous offensiue or hurtfull word the cry of our secret cogitations is heard in the eares of God If we doe not commit the sinnes which dayly and hourely either in deed word or thoughts wee doe commit yet in the good things which we do how many defects are there intermingled God in that which is done respecteth the mind intention of the doer Cut of then all these things wherein wee haue regarded our owne glory those things which men doe to please men and to satisfie our owne liking those things which we doe by any respect not sincerely purely for the loue of God and a smal score wil serue for the number of our righteous deeds Let the holiest and best thing we doe bee considered we are never better affected vnto God then when we pray yet when we pray how are our affections many times distracted How little reverence do we shew vnto the grand maiestie of God vnto whom wee speake How little remorse of our owne miseries How little taste of the sweet influence of his tender mercies doe we feele Are we not as vnwilling many times to begin and as glad to make an end as if in saying call vpon me he had set vs a very burdensome taske It may seeme somewhat extreame which I will speake therefore let every one iudge of it even as his owne heart shall tell him and no otherwise I will but onely make a demaund If God should yeeld vnto vs not as vnto Abraham if fiftie fortie thirtie twentie yea or if ten good persons coulde bee found in a citty for their sakes that citty should not be destroyed but an if hee should make vs an offer thus large Search all the generations of men sithence the fall of our father Adam finde one man that hath done one action which hath past from him pure without any staine or blemish at al and for that one mans one only action nether man nor Angell shall feele the torments which are prepared for both doe you thinke that this ransome to deliver men and Angels could be found to be among the sonnes of men The best things which we doe haue somewhat in them to be pardoned How then can wee doe any thing meritorious or worthy to be rewarded Indeed God doth liberally promise whatsoever appertained to a blessed life to as many as sincerely keepe his lawe though he be not exactly able to keepe it Wherefore we acknowledge a dutifull necessity of doing well but the meritorious dignity of doing well wee vtterly renounce We see how far we are from the perfect righteousnesse of the law the little fruite which wee haue in holinesse it is God knoweth corrupt and vnsound we put no confidence at all in it we challenge nothing in the world for it we dare not call God to reckning as if we had him in our debt bookes our continuall suite to him is and must be to beare with our infirmities and pardon our offences 8 But the people of whom the prophet speaketh were they all or were the most part of thē such as had care to walke vprightly Did they thirst after righteousnesse Did they wish did they long with the righteous Prophet O that our waies were made so direct that wee might keepe thy statutes Did they lament with the righteous Apostle O miserable men the good which we wish and purpose and striue to do we cannot No the words of the other Prophet concerning this people do shew the contrary How grievously doth Esay mourne over thē O sinfull nation laden with iniquity wicked seed corrupt children All which notwithstanding so wide are the bowels of his compassion inlarged that hee denyeth vs not no not when we were laden with iniquity leaue to commune familiarly with him liberty to craue and intreate that what plagues soever we haue deserved wee may not be in worse case then vnbeleevers that wee may not be hemmed in by Pagans and infidels Ierusalem is a sinfull polluted Cittie but Ierusalem compared with Babilon is righteous And shall the righteous