the hearers of the law there is Faith for what can any sacrilegious Enthusiast say more who robs God of mens hearts in regular and sound prayers to place all Religion in the ear sure there were many hearers of St. Pauls Sermon for it was preached on the Sabbath and in a place where prayer was wont to be made Act. 16. 13. who heard more than the law for they also heard the Gospel yet only one Lydia for ought we know was judged faithful unto the Lord and the text gives this reason of her Faith whose heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul Therefore the hearers of the law have not Faith but the doers of it at least in vote and desire i. e. those who labour to do it yet they when they have done all are taught to say we are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty to do Luk. 17. 10. Their doings cannot fully reach the obligation of their duty and how can they be a satisfaction for their undutifulnesse All their works of righteousnesse when they have laboured to do all those things which are commanded and as they are commanded them will leave them unprofitable and much more must their works of unrighteousnesse make them unacceptable so that you have only supposed a false Faith in the hearers of the Law not disprov'd Justification by Faith in the doers of it for he that saith not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the doers of the Law shall be justified doth not thereby suppose much less averre any men to be so compleat doers of the Law as to rely upon their good deeds for their justification 12. You might happily better have appealed to St. James than to St. Paul for justification by works and yet neither would he have befriended this your appeal much lesse have justified that your position for St. James doth not contradict the doctrine of St. Paul but doth only correct those who had misunderstood or at least misapplied it bidding them add to their Faith Vertue as St. Peter had done before 2 Pet. 3. 5. or not expect to be justified by it wherefore those two Apostles may very well be said to have delivered but one and the same doctrine concerning justification if we take their words not as we please but as they intended them for St. Paul writing against proud Justitiaries among the Jews who sought for righteousness from their own works according to the Law of Moses and rejected the righteousnesse of God by Faith in Christ strongly denyed Justification by works meaning works properly so called that is to say a perfect and perpetual observation of the whole Law because all men whatsoever Christ only excepted had many wayes transgressed the Law But St. James writing against licentious and profane Hypocrites among the Christians who pretending to Faith in Christ lived not according to the Rule of the Christian Faith but altogether neglected the study and practice of good works affirmed Justification by works meaning by works the very obedience of Faith or a working by love and obedience The one writ against the proud opposers the other against the fond Pretenders of Faith in Christ therefore the one tells the proud Jews that their works were not answerable to the Law in which they trusted that he might teach them the necessity of Faith in Christ The other tell the hypocritical Christians that their works were not answerable to the Gospel of which they boasted that he might teach them the obedience of that Faith accordingly as often as St. Paul affirmeth in sense at least if not in words That we are justified only by Faith so often he understandeth a Faith working by love Gal. 5. 6. or an unfained unhypocritical Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such a Faith as belongs not to hypocrites 1 Tim. 1. 5. And as often as St. James denieth that we are justified only by Faith so often he understandeth a Faith not working by love a Faith only in profession or in perswasion not in obedience or in affection a Faith belonging to hypocrities not to good Christians a Faith in noise and in word but not in truth and in deed as appeares from the manner of his expression ver 14. If a man say he hath Faith for the Apostle would not say it for him because he had only a dead Faith A Faith without works and therefore without life operari sequitur esse the Faith of devils from the evidence or power of truth convincing the understanding not the Faith of Abraham or Rahab from the acceptance and love of truth converting the will therefore these two positions are not contrary A man is justified before God not by the works of the Law which he cannot have but only by Faith in Christ which alwaies worketh by love and A man is justified before God not only by Faith that is an historical knowledge of the Gospel and an emptie profession of Faith but also by works that is an affectionate love of the Gospel and a sincere obedience of Faith The former position is maintained by St. Paul against those Jews who rejected the Gospel of Christ the latter position is maintained by St. James against those Christians who profaned the same Gospel Both Apostles teach one and the same Justification by Faith in Christ only St. Paul speaks of Faith more in relation to its proper object even to Christ because he went to convince gainsaying Jews and to make them Christians St. James speaks of Faith more in relation to its proper effect even good works because he went to convert revolting Christians and to make them good Christians For so himself saith concerning Abraham Seest then how Faith wrought with his works and by work was Faith made perfect ver 23. He saith not By works was his justification made perfect but only his Faith whereby he was justified requiring works only to the Faith that justifieth but not to the act of justification And after the same manner are we to understand his conclusion ver 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified and not by Faith only as if he had said From this example of Abraham you may gather that 't is not the wording but the working not the professing but the performing Faith that justifies a man before God requiring works in that man which is justified but not denying to Faith the power and prerogative of justifying 13. You have well reconciled St. Paul with St. James in your question But what Faith which intimaâ—…eth that a justâ—…fying Faith is such a 〈◊〉 as workeâ—…h by love but you have ill reconciled your selfe with St. Paul in your position That works are required to Justification as well as Faith which plainly asserteth the contradictory of St. Pauls doctrine And surely 't is not safe for any Divine to differ in this Doctrine of Justification from St. Paul no more than it is safe for him
of this Truth taking this for their chiefest Topicks for Maxima locus Maximae Sirs ye know that by this craft we have our wealth Acts 19. 25. For no other reason but covetousness can easily be alledged why the same men should so mainly cry up the Imputation of their own and their Saints imaginary merits and righteousness to the maintaining and filling the supposed Treasure of the Church and yet so mainly cry down the imputation of our blessed Saviour's real and allsufficient merits and righteousness to the exhausting and emptying the Treasures of the people Thus it is clear that pleasure in unrighteousness hath hitherto opposed the Truth in its doctrine making Mammons Chaplains not over zealous to serve God in searching out his Truth that they may believe it or over zealous to serve themselves in not preaching a Truth which they do believe Again why should so many other formidable Truths and reasonings concerning righteousness temperance and judgment to come in and from the mouth of the same St. Paul make a Heathen tremble and not once move so many confident Christians but that this heavenly Truth of Justification by Faith hath been hitherto amongst them not rightly believed or poisoned in its belief and what venome can poison the operations of the soul but onely that of the Serpent the venome of sin turning the grace of our God into wâ—…n onness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into petulancy insolency and unsufferable contentiousness for so the Greek Orator hath joyned these together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isocr in Panath. contending against not for the Faith once delivered to the Saints or which is all one denying the onely Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Jud. 4. Such men do falsely pretend Faith in Christ who do not deny ungodliness and worldly lusts who do not live soberly righteously and godly in this present world for they cannot look for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ The Grace of God which bringeth salvation to others will bring the great damnation upon them because they resist that grace betray that Saviour and belye their own Souls For most certainly the greatest miscreants that are would break off their sins by repentance and their iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor if they did with the eye of Faith see a watcher and an Holy one coming down from heaven and saying Hew the Tree down and destroy it Dan. 4. Or if they did hear with an honest and good heart and Faith cometh by no other hearing that word of Christs forerunner in his first coming to save us which is therefore the fittest to put us in mind of his second coming to judge us O generation of Vipers who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the Tree Therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire Matth. 3. For surely that Faith cannot justifie the sinner which cannot justifie it self a Faith that hath eyes and seeth not the watcher the Holy one coming down from heaven that hath ears and heareth not the crier the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his paths strait A Faith that lets men profess Christâ—…ans but live and act Infidels hardning their hearts stopping their ears closing their eyes lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their eares and understand with their hearts and should be converted and their Saviour the Physitian of Souls should heal them Thus it is also clear That pleasure in unrighteousness hath hitherto poisoned this Truth in its belief making men take phansie for Faith and think themselves in Heaven by their perswasion whiles they are even in Hâ—…ll by theit affections and by their actions not regarding that word which they cannot deny dare not gainsay If ye were Abraham's children who is the Father of the faithful ye would do the works of Abraham Joh. 8. 39. 5. For God gave us not the Articles of our Faith to be like Pharaohs lean kine to eat up the rules of his Commandments the fat-fleshed and well-favoured kine such as were fit for Sacrifices for himself much less such as were offered to himself for Sacrifices Therefore those can be no Gospel Instructions which teach men to devour widows houses nay to devour Gods own house and not onely his house but also his glory and worship under pretence of Faith for of these starveliug Documents we may justly say now and others will be able to say to the worlds end what is said of the starveling kine And when they had eaten them up even all the fat Kine that came up out of the river and fed in the medow This is all the fatness of Sea and Land which their Forefathers had consecrated to the Service and Honour of God it could not be known that they had eaten them but they were still ill-favoured as at the beginning Gen. 41. 21. He that hath commanded us to sanctifie publick Persons as Mininisters publick times as Sabbaths or Festivals publick places as Churches to his own worship will not cannot justifie those who sacrilegiously rob and persecute his Ministers mock and suppress his Sabbaths revile and profane his Churches For it were very strange if such men who are angerly reproved and openly branded for sacrilegious profane blasphemous persons by the Spirit of God should if they still persist in their Sacriledge profaneness and blasphemy be acquitted and absolved for righteous and innocent persons by the Son of God The Spirit of God calleth them enemies adversaries and such as hate him Psal. 14. Therefore surely the Son of God will not make them Saints accept them as friends reward them as servants Such a devouring Gospel as this was never of Gods teaching though it hath been of mens practising to the discountenanceing of Gods Truth and to their own shame and destruction that have practised it For God will never uphold those men in his Truth who discourage others from embracing it 6. Yet as long as Gods Truths are infinitely above all mens discouragements neither are your Priests excusable if they will not embrace them nor ours if they do forsake them notwithstanding both be as much discouraged as either open enemies or false friends and brethren can discourage them What shall the Sons of God come no more to present themselves before their Father because Satan will coâ—…e also among them to present himself before the Lord Shall the the Holy Angels be out of love with their own light because the Devil himself can and doth also appear an Angel of light no more may we be out of love with this heavenly Truth of being righteous by the righteousness of our blessed Redeemer because Hypocrites and Atheists have made it an occasion of or a pretence for their
abominable unrighteousness For even immediately after the first clear preaching of Justification by Faith we find a strange generation of licentious and ungodly men who did boast of Faith in Christ without good works committing all manner of sin with greediness and without remorse This gave occasion to St. Peter St. John St. James and St. Jude who all writ after St. Paul to direct their stiles chiefly against such vain boasters of this empty Faith and their Epistles were afterwatds peculiarly called Catholick for this reason amongst others That they were all written in Vindication of the true Catholick Faith which did teach a man so to believe in Christ as to have his life answerable to his belief This account doth St. Peter give for himself saying I have written briefly exhorting and testifying That this is the true Grace of God wherein ye stand 1 Pet. 5. 12. As if he had said These two things I have chiefly proposed to my self in my writing 1. To testifie the doctrine of the Gospel concerning the Grace of God in Christ to be the onely doctrine to bring you to eternal Salvation 2. To Perswade you to stand fast and persevere in that doctrine by leading your lives answerable to your profession And this account may we give concerning the rest of the Authors of the Catholick Epistles for thus the whole Argument of St. Johns first Epistle consists of those two principal parts of the Christian Religion The Promises and the Precepts of the Gospel For to the Promises we must refer all that he speaks of Communion with God of the expiation of our sins by the blood of Christ and of the hope of eternal life To the Precepts we must refer all that he speaks of true Faith in Christ of living godly and righteously according to that Faith and of loving God sincerely or not loving the world that we may live godly and of loving our Bretheren sincerely not hypocritically That we may live righteously The like may we say for St. James and St. Jude that their Epistles are chiefly against the Solifidean Hereticks and are therefore filled with divers exhortations to several Christian Virtues which they had deserted and with Dehortations from the the contrary vices which they had committed And we may be Catholicks in this doctrine of Justification according to these Catholick Epistles and yet still deny Justification by works For it is only the Faith in Christ that is justified by its works but the man is still justified only by his Faith 7. You are as zealous for Justification by works as St. Paul is against it with what good Conscience I cannot say but sure upon no good ground yet you have appealed to St. Paul himself as the Judge of this controversie to decide on your side and accordingly to St. Paul you shall go who sure will very little befriend you by his decision For I pray what works can any man do which are not comprised under The works of the Law But it is St. Paul's most absolute Determination Therefore by the deeds or works of the Law there shall no flesh be justified Rom. 3. 20. He that looks upon the foregoing words setting forth the abominable sins that were in the best of men then living the Jews and in those times wherein they lived best even the times of David and Hezekiah for all the proofs here concerning their wickedness are taken out of the Psalms and the Prophesie of Isaiah will easily acknowledge that the words though particular in their occasion yet are universal in their Instruction and do set forth the general corruption of all men whatsoever whereby they are most grievous transgressours of the Law and most odious in the sight most obnoxious to the Justice of God for their transgressions This considered He must be led by the spirit of errour who will not see the evidence and by the spirit of contradiction who will gainsay the power of St. Paul's conclusion Therefore by the works of the Law there shal no flesh be justified for it followeth upon these Premises No Transgressour of the Law can be justified by the works of the Law But all men whatsoever are transgressours of the Law Therefore no man whatsoever can be justified by the works of the Law which is as much as to say That no man whatsoever can be justified by works for all works whatsoever are reducible to the works of the Law as being done through obedience to its authority and not rightly done but through compliance with and conformity to its righteousness And to this Argument he adds another v. 27. which may be put into this Syllogism The Law of works doth not wholly exclude mans boasting in his Justification But God will have mans boasting wholly excluded in his Justification Therefore The Law of works doth not justifie The Major is further proved by Rom. 4. 2. For if Abraham were justified by works he hath wherof to glory The Minor by Eph. 2. 8 9. For by Grace ye are saved through Faith not of works lest any man should boast what remains then for the conclusion but that the Law of works doth not justify For if it justified not Abraham who had so good works as to be called the friend of God much less will it justify me who by my wicked deeds am become Gods enemy We have yet a third argument in this very place v. 29 30. which concludes thus If Justification were by the works of the Law then onely the Jews who alone had the Law written in tables could be justified and God should regard the salvation of no other people save of the Jews But these consequents are directly against the goodness of God and the whole scope or Tenor of his Word Therefore so is that Antecedent that Justification is by works of â—…e Law These are St. Paul's three arguments in this place for his Negative conclusion which is against Justification by works And he is not contented with this but he gives us also an affirmative conclusion which is for Justification by Faith v. 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ which he fully explaineth and confirmeth from all the causes of our Justification The principal efficient cause is God of whom it is said v. 30. It is one God that shall justify by Faith and through Faith and this needs no other proof because no other could give us our blessed Jesus for a Saviour nor can give us Faith to be made partakers of his salvation The meritorious cause is Christ the Mediator betwixt God and man v. 25. Whom God hâ—…th set forth to be a propitiation The instrumental cause is Faith v. 22. The 〈◊〉 of God which is by Faith of Jesus Christ upon all that beâ—…eve for there is no apprehending of Christ without 〈◊〉 as there is no righteousness and salvation without Christ and again v. 25. through Faith in his blood not excluding any other act of his Mediatorship
end But the Faith which doth not this as it proceedeth not from the grace of Christ but from the strength of our own conviction and tendeth not to the glory of Christ So it is rather the Faith of Devils than of good Christians and may well let a man go to hell for it may go thither along with him and therefore as it is not the foundation of righteousnesse so it cannot be the foundation of blessednesse Again the same Father tells us That though our blessed Saviour had at first in effect called the woman of Canaan a Dog it is not lawful to take the childrens bread and give it unto Dogs yet when he saw in her soul â—…he fruit of that reproof he changed his dialect and said not O Dog but O Woman great is thy Faith Non ait O canis sed O mulier magna est fides tua mutavit vocabulum quia mutatum vidit affectum That Faith which Christ approved in her had changed the affection and 't is not possible but the Affection should change the Action and therefore St. James feared not to call an actionless Faith or a Faith not working by love a Faith not of Christians but of Devils Fidem non Christianorum sed Daemonum For they are not Christians but Dogs and Devils who persist in ungodly affections and in unrighteous actions nay indeed they are Infidels so farre from having true Faith in Christ that they do not know what is true Faith They rightly affirme saith he that whosoever will not believe in Christ doth in some sort sin against the Holy Ghost and put himself under a necessity of damnation but they do not rightly understand what it is to believe in Christ for that is not to believe as Devils but as Christians not to have a dead Faith but a Faith living and working by love Illud sane non absurde intelligunt eum peccare in spiritum sanctum esse sine veniâ reum aeterni peccati qui usque in finem vitae noluerit credere in Christum sed si rectè intelligerent quid sit credere in Christum non enim hoc est habere Daemonum fidem quae rectè mortua perhibetur sed fidem quae per dilectionem operatur Aug. ibid. cap. 16. I have of purpose alledged many quotations out of St. Augustine indeed most of them which concerned this argument that all the world may see that his intent in confuting those mistaken brethren who thought to be saved by Faith without works was only to shew out of â—…t James and the other Catholick Epâ—…stles what Faith it is that justifieth sc. a Faith working by love but not to ascribe the glory of Justification either to works or love because they hold of mansrighteousness but only to Faith which holdeth of the righteousness of the Son of God I will now to St. Augustine further add St. Ambrose who in his Comment upon the Romans cap. 3. hath these words Justificati sunt gratis quia nihil operantes neque vicem reddentes solâ fide justificati sunt They are justified freely by his grace because working nothing sc. worth Gods acceptance and their own acquitment and making no recompence they are justified only by Faith through the gift of God And again upon those words cap. 4. Credenti autem in eum But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly he saith thus Sic decretum dicit à Deo ut cessante lege solam fidem gratia Dei posceret ad salutem The Apostle tells us it was so decreed of God that the Law ceasing sc. as to that male diction Cursed is he that continueth not in all things to do them The grace of God should require only Faith to our salvation we find no mention of a Decree in the Text either in the Greek Original or in the Latine Translation yet St. Ambrose sets down the words thus Ei vere qui non operatur credenti autem in eum qui justificat impium reputatur fides ejus ad justitiam secundum Propositum Gratiae Dei To him that worketh not but believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly his Faith is accounted for righteousness according to the Purpose of the Grace of God not intending by the addition of these words according to the Purpose of the Grace of God that any should cavil against the true reading of the Truth as of late some Criticks have taught us to do but that all should understand the true meaning of it and no more question that in justification of the ungodly Faith is accounted for righteousness then they dare question the Purpose of the Grace of God This is palbably St. Ambrose his Doctrine and therefore he asks him Is it possible the Jews should think themselves justified by the works of the Law according to the justification of Abraham when they saw that Abraham himself was justified not by the works of the Law but only by Faith Quomodo ergo Judaei per opera legis justificari se putant justificatione Abrahae quum vident Abrahamum non ex operibus legis sed solâ fide justificatum He saith moreover That our Apostle proved this from the Psalmist pronouncing them blessed unto whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works Beatos dicit quibus hoc sanxit Deus ut sine labore aliquâ observatione solâ fide justificentur apud Deum He calleth those blessed concerning whom the Lord hath determined that without their own labour and any observation of the Law by Faith alone they should be justified before Him which are so clear and high expressions for Justification by Faith alone that for any Divine now to say works are required to Justification as well as Faith is either to suppose the Apostles and Prophets not to have known Gods intent and meaning or to suppose St. Ambrose and St. Augustine not to have known the intent and meaning of the Apostles I must yet further add one more Testimony that in the mouth of two or three witnesses this so heavenly Word of Truth may be firmely established And that shall be the Testimony of St. Chrysostome who upon the two first Verses of the fourth Chapter to the Romans where the Apostle speaketh of Abrahams Justification giveth us this Exposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For as much as the Jews did turn this point of Divinity upside down because their Patriarch the friend of God was first circumcised sc. before he was accepted as a friend The Apostle is resolved to shew them that even Abraham himself was justified by Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For that a man should be justified by Faith who had no works were nothing strange But for one that flourished in deeds of righteousness not to be made just from them but from his Faith was very wounderful and doth exceedingly declare the power of Faith Therefore passing by all others he maketh mention only of him that is of Abraham Chrys. Aug. 11. in
the authority of a particular Church to defend his Decrees notwithstanding that some others of your profession would fain perswade the world That the Popes Decrees ought to be received and embraced as the infallible rules of the whole Catholick Church 9. Having done my weak endeavour to vindicate the Church I now come to vindicate my self and to make good my decarded instances As for that of Abraham if it reach not Siricius it must content me For if my salvation shall go no further then to be in Abrahams bosom my Religion may seek no further then for Abrahams righteousness And he must be to me a bold Dogmatist who would make me more righteous then my Father who am not righteous but for being his Son And if Saint Paul hath thought fit to argue from Abrahams faith to our faith sure I am not mistaken in my Topicks for arguing from Abrahams righteousness to our righteousness And yet I will give you a better precedent then Saint Paul for I find our blessed Saviour himself so arguing This did not Abraham John 8. 40. 10. As for my instance out of Saint Paul It is better to marry then to burn I think it doth prove Siricius a false Dogmatist for he saith It is not better to marry then to burn and I am sure that both parts of the contradiction cannot be true and dare not imagine That Siricius hath taken the true Saint Paul the false part For if for Priests to marry is to be in the flesh Then clearly it is better for Priests to burn then to marry notwithstanding Saint Paul hath said generally concerning all men It is better to marry then to burn And neither good Reason nor good Religion nor good Manners will allow any man to give an exception upon Gods general Rule or to distinguish where his Law doth not distinguish or to set up an Hypothesis against his Thesis by saying That is unlawfull for some particular men which he hath declared to be lawful for All men or to say That puts a man in the state of sin which God hath said is consistent with the state of righteousness For this is to give earth a Dominion over heaven to allow men a legislative power over God for he that in this manner judgeth the Law doth indeed condemn the Law-giver according to that assertion of the irrefragable Doctor Si enim aliquis effecit aliquid quod non sit determinatum in sacra Scriptura mortaliter peccat quia se constituit supra Deum Halensis Par. 1. qu. 68. num 1. art 2. Therefore I dare not say The Church hath determined that to be unlawful in Any which God hath determined to be lawfull in All For I am in love with that Rule in the Angelical Doctor which he hath improved out of Aristotle as he hath indeed all other Ethicks In his quae arbitrio Judicis relinquuntur viri boni est ut sit Diminitivus Poenarum 22. qu. 67. art 4. ad 1. In those things which the Law hath left to the Judges arbitrement it is the part of a good man to Diminish Punishments and if so Then much more to diminish not to encrease sins What an Heathen hath allowed to be the part of a good man pray let a Christian allow to be the part of his best Mother and not suppose the Church 10 cruel as to be willing to encrease sins when he may not suppose a good man so cruel as to be willing to encrease Punishment 11. This makes me follow the Trullane Fathers who thought it fitter Can. 13. to tax the Roman Church for making a Canon to keep married Priests from cohabiting with their wives then by consenting to such a Canon to bring themselves under the suspition of disparaging or disgracing marriage which God had instituted by his Law and both honoured and blessed by his presence For the whole Gospel say they cryeth aloud What God hath joyned let not man put asunder but if Priests that are married be in the state of damnation let us say not God but the Devil hath joyned them and their wives together and therefore man ought to put them asunder and so call marriage in them not Gods but the Devils institution The same Fathers urge further that of Saint Paul Heb. 13. 3. Marriage is honourable in all to prove it honourable in Priests for that was the whole matter then in debate And I desire you to shew me How in this enuntiation marriage is honourable in All the universal particle All doth signifie All but Priests And yet in another enuntiation Drink ye All of this the same particle All doth signifie none but Priests me thinks by this extraordinary kind of subtilty All is come to signifie None For All is none of the Clergy in one place and none of the Laity in another and in my dull sense the whole company of Christians are either Clergy or Laity I will yet further add the testimony of Adrian that I may oppose a Pope against a Pope both for the credit of this Council and for the truth of this cause For I find him in Gratian speaking these words Sextam Sanctam Synodum recipio cum omnibus Canonibus suis I receive the sixt holy Synod with all her Canons Gr. de consec dist 3. c. 29. He saith I receive the sixt holy Synod so the Council is good as to you who are so zealous for the Pope whatever it be to others He saith with all her Canons so the cause is good against you for this Canon is received among the rest And he that said all this lived above 800. years after Christ so your assertion is not good That the Apostles themselves were the first that taught and decreed that Priests ought to abstain from wives For if Pope Adrian could have alledged the least particle of an Apostolical decree against Priests marriage no doubt he would not have said He received all the Canons meerly for this one Canons sake which had been made of purpose to confute his own Church and Chair of both which he was not a little zealous meerly for following Siricius in being addicted to the contrary opinion chuse you which of the two Popes to follow Siricius or Adrian for both you cannot 12. But you say To burn doth not here signifie to be tempted but to fornicate I cannot think Saint Paul was so zealous to determine that which no man was yet so impudent as to doubt viz. It is better to marry then to fornicate for that is no more in effect then this It is better to be a man then to be a beast which surely was not the doubt concerning which the Corinthians had desired to be resolved Therefore I think this cannot be Saint Pauls meaning It is better to marry then to fornicate and I suppose you will think so too when you shall consider that from this interpretation I can justly make this inference That if Priests do fornicate first they may marry afterwards
from one another in the man that is justified for true Faith alwaies worketh obedience and God will not cannot justifie the disobedient yet we must separate them from one another in the doctrine of Justification For 't is only the Imputative righteousness which we have from our Saviour not the Inherent righteousness which we have in our selves which can acquit us at God's Judgement seat or absolve us as righteous and consequently which may be accounted the formal cause of our Justification Lastly the final cause of our Justification is set down first explicitly that it is the declaration of Gods Righteousness vers 25 26. To declare his righteousness not onely that this way of justifying a sinner is according to Gods Promise both in words and Types in all the Old Testament but also that this promise was according to the rule of righteousness because it acquitteth not a sinner without a due satisfaction for his sin nor without a true and serious aversion from himself and conversion to his Saviour Secondly the final cause of our justification is set down implicitly That it is our glorying or boasting in God alone For whereas v. 27. he excludeth all other boasting t is necessary he must include this as himself saith more largely 1 Cor. 1. 30 31. Christ Jesus is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption There is our Justification set forth in it self in its antecedents and in its consequents In it self for Châ—…st Jesus is our righteousness to deliver us from the guilt of sin by acquitting and discharging us In its antecedents for he is our wisdom to free us from the blindness and darkness of sin by enlighting and instructing us In its consequents for he is our Sanctification in this life to free us from the pollution of sin by renewing and cleansing us and our Redemption in the life everlasting to free us from the miseries of sin by receiving and by glorifying us That according as it is written he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord There is the final cause of our Justification Christ Jesus doth therefore instruct us by his most holy Word justifie us by his allsufficient merit sanctifie us by his most holy Spirit glorifie us by his all saving Mercy that we may not glory in our selves but onely in our Saviour from whom we have both the Knowledg and the Purchase and the Procurement and the Enjoyment of our salvation The Apostle having thus severally proved first his negative conclusion which is against justification by works and after that his affirmative conclusion which is for justification by Faith he at length joyns them both together in one Dogmatical determination Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by Faith wâ—…thout the deeds of the Law v. 28. And this conclusion he again repeateth Gal. 2. 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but by the Faith of Jesus Christ which he immediately confirms with no less then Ten several arguments in the next Chapter all alledged to confute their foolishness in falling from Christ to the Law from Faith to works in the doctrine of Justification And being alledged by the Apostle to confute their foolishness they will either the more easily prevent or the more acceptably reform and redress Ours The first Argument is this You have received the gift of the Holy Spirit not by the works of the Law but by the hearing of Faith v. 2. but the gift of the Holy Spirit is the best pledge of your Justification or Reconciliation with God for he giveth not his Spirit to his enemies Therefore you are justified not by the Law but by the Gospel or by the Hearing of Faith The second Argument is this The same way that Abraham was justified who is the â—…ather of the faithful and to whom the Promise was made The same way must you be justified But He was justified onely by Faith v. 6 7 8 9. The Third this As many as are of the works of the Law are under the curse ver 10. but none that are under the curse are justified The fourth this The just shall live by Faith but the Law is not of Faith ver 11. 12. that is The just obtaineth life and salvation by the free grace of God apprehended by Faith in Christ but the Law alloweth no such free grace for that promiseth life only upon the now impossible condition of perfect obedience The man that doth them shall live in them The fifth this Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us ver 13. Therefore the Law could not justifie us for it did curse us and if it could in vaine was Christ made a curse for us in vaine did he do and suffer so much for our Redemption The sixth this To whom the Promises were made to him they were performed but the Promises of spiritual blessings and consequently of justification were made to Abrahams seed not seeds that is to Christ and his members not to them that should be under the Law but only to them that should be in Christ. The seventh is this The Promise of spiritual blessednesse was made to Abraham long before the giving of the Law therefore neither to be accomplished from the observation nor to be abolished by the obligation of the Law ver 17. which is further argued ver 18. If the inheritance be of the Law 't is no more of Promise but God gave it to Abraham by Promise therefore 't is not of the Law The eighth this That which was a sign of enmitie cannot be a means of reconciliation but the Law was a sign of enmitie betwixt God and man as appears in that it was ordained by Angels not immediately by God himself who being offended had withdrawn his presence which shews that men were at a distance from and at enmitie with God ver 19 20. Therefore the Law cannot be the means of our accesse to or of our reconciliation with God The ninth is this The Law cannot give life to any man by exempting him from the punishment of sin nor give righteousnesse by exempting him from the guilt of sin ver 21. 22. Therefore both righteousnesse and life are given only by Faith in Christ. The tenth and last argument is this The office of the Law was to be our School-master to bring us unto Christ to shew us the imperfection of our own and to make us desire the imputation of his righteousnesse that we might be justified by Faith ver 24. but the Law cannot go beyond its own office therefore no man can be justified either in whole or in part by the works of the Law 8. Thus have I mustred up S. Pauls Artillery to batter down our own but to keep up our Saviours righteousness in the doctrine of Justification which being a doctrine that came down from Heaven is best maintained by arguments from Heaven For as humane reason could not
imputativè tantum suum Christus sanctificavit populum Arg. 10. True righteousnesse not Imputative and If Christ sanctified his people not truly but Imputatively whereby He supposes Imputative to be not True Then say that St. Paul did forsake a True for a false righteousness because he forsooke an inherent righteousnesse for an imputative But take heed that in saying so you do not only injuriously callumniate St. Paul chosing to be justified by an Imaginary righteousness but also impiously blaspheme your Saviour by supposing all that he did and suffered for sinners to be made theirs only by Imagination And consequently That Justification is but matter of phansie not of reality which the holy Scripture ascribes only to Imputed righteousnesse For the Text doth plainly say Abraham believed God and it was counted or imputed to him for righteousness Rom. 4. 3. And again v. 5. His Faith is counted for righteousnesse anâ—… v. 6. David describeth the blessednesse of the man unto whom the Lord imputeth righteousnesse without works and again v. 22. It was imputed to him for righteousnesse He that shall consider these Texts and say Imputed righteousnesse is a meer fiction will scarce be able to wash his hands from charging the Holy Ghost with teaching a Fiction and may easily keep the Holy Ghost from washing his heart from the guilt of that charge Pereâ—…ius durst not so thwart the Text cap. 4. ad Rom. disp 2. but saith of Abraham as St. Paul had taught him That though he was just and holy yet his faith not his holinesse was imputed to him for righteousnesse Abraham licet is justus jam esset sanctus propter fidem tamen non propter opera Justitia dicitur esse imputata What a vast difference is here betwixt Two men not only of the same Church I mean of Rome but also of the same order I mean of Jesuits Bellarmine being a zealous Disputant strives to bring the Holy Ghost to his Position Pererius being a judicious Commentator strives to bring his exposition to the Holy Ghost For doubtlesse he had observed the Hebrew words Gen. 15. 6. to which St. Paul here related to be these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Imputavit illud ei in justitiam And he that is the Lord imputed it to him for righteousnesse So the Jewish Doctor Solemon Jarchi who best understood his own dialect glosseth those words He that is â—…oly and blessed imputed it tâ—… Abraham for purity and Justice or righteousnesse because of the Faith through which he had believed him If Abraham were made just by imputed righteousnesse then so also are the sons of Abraham therefore said the Prophet Look untâ—… Abraham your Father Isa. 51. 2. exhorting all the sons of Abraham after the pattern of their Father to trust in Christ as saith our Church in the contents nay as saith Gods holy Spirit in the Text Foâ—… St. Paul argueth from Abrahams Justification to ours That as he was not so we cannot be justified by inherent but by imputed righteousnesse For God is alwaies like himself not one to Abraham another to us therefore as He justified Abraham so He justifieth us And Aquinas gives a demonstrative reason for it saying Tota Ecclesia quae est mysticum corpus Christi computatur quasi una persona cum suo capite quod est Christus 3. par q. 41. art 1. c. The whole Church which is the mystical body of Christ is computed but as one person with its Head which is Christ Abraham the Father of the faithful and all his children are members of one and the same mystical body therefore they have all but one and the same righteousnesse whereby to be justified And Christ is the Head of that mysticall body therefore they all have His righteousness imputed to them for their Justification To set up another righteousness for this is to set up another Head and to set up another Head is to destroy the Body The righteousnesse of the Head is communicated and may be imputed to all the members of his Body because Head and Body make but one Person But the righteousnesse of one member is not communicable and may not be imputed to another member because all the members make several persons forasmuch as the Body whereof they are members is not natural but mystical so we have in the judgment of Aquinas great reason to believe the imputed righteousnesse of Christ but none at all to believe the imputed righteousnesse of the Saints For the Head hath but the members have not a communicable righteousnesse For though the Head and all the members make but one Person mystical yet the members make several distinct persons naturall and several distinct persons as they have their subsistencies so they have their properties and operations both alike incommunicable Each member hath its own righteousness not possibly to be communicated to another because it is confined to its own subject and therefore not truly imputed to another because it is not communicated This is a kind of imputed righteousness which is a meer figment or a fiction but 't is a righteousnesse both taught and imputed by man not by God even in the superfluous or superabunant righteousness of the Saints put into the treasure of the Church if we may believe your Authors to be communicated to those that want merits or satisfaction of their own either merits of their own working or satisfaction of their own making This imputed rightousnesse of man is in truth a meer fiction both in regard of the imputation and in regard of the righteousnesse First In regard of the imputation for it is againg the nature of Justice that one mans righteousness should be imputed for the satisfaction of another mans unrighteousnesse without his consent that is to be satisfied but God hath nowhere declared much less promised his consent to receive such satisfaction So that the imputing one mans righteousnesse to another must needs be vain because God may be thought not to accept it nay more it must needs be sinfull because man may be thought to prescribe if not to extort Gods acceptance And if there be vanity and sin in the imputation we must say there is fiction in it for having its very being in Vanity and sin it cannot have a real but a meer imaginary or fictitious being Secondly This imputed righteousness of men is a meer fiction in regard of the righteousnesse it self For it supposeth the righteousness of the creature to make condigne satisfaction to the Justice of the Creator which is impossible because the one is finite the other is infinite Nay yet farther to heighthen this impossibility at least in our conception though not in truth it supposeth the righteousness of the creature not only to satisfie for its own but also for anothers unrighteousnes whereas it is the opinion of some of the best Scholemen even of Bernard Scotus and Gabriel if we may believe Vasques That no creature can have a righteousnesse adequate
Rom. in principio what should I add more witnesses here are enough to shew the unanimous consent of Greek and Latine Church in this doctrine of Justification by Faith without works so it is not of our Invention And they are consenting with the Prophets and Apostles in this Doctrine so it may not be of your rejection For you know who hath said If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead Luk. 16. 31. That is to say in this present case they will not be perswaded though one that hath passed under the Judgement of God should come from the dead to tell them That he had not been acquitted for his own but for his Saviours righteousness I was the more desirous to insist the longer upon the Fathers because some late Protestants to make their own writings the more acceptable have not stuck to say That the Fathers did write either defectively or obscurely of this point whereas if they had written with a pen of Iron or of a diamond they could not have written more Fully and with a Sun-beam they could not have written more clearly And because some Papists on the other side to make their Tenent the more passible have not stuck to say that the Fathers writ all fully and clearly for Justification by works Let any unprejudicate man judge from these few quotations whether all their fulness and plainness be not to enlarge and explain this very doctrine of St. Paul which you have blamed in me Therefore being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5. 1. Whereby he attributes not only our Justification from the guilt of sin but also our peace for the deliverance from the terrour of that guilt only to Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ But because men of the contrary opinion do pretend to be wholly for the Church it shall not suffice me to have shewed what the Catholick Church did believe and profess in the daies of St. Ambrose St. Augustin and St. Chrysostom but what the present Roman Church doth believe and profess at this very day for that still teaching all her Communicants to pray on this wise Effunde super nos misericordiam tuam ut dimittas quae conscientia metuit adjicias quod oratio non praesumit per dominum nostrum Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy forgiveing us those things whereof our Conscience is afraid and giving unto us that that our Prayers dare not presume to ask through Jesus Christ our Lord 12. Sunday after Trinity doth plainly shew and declare That forgiveness of sins and quietation of our Consciences are among those blessings which our prayers dare not presume to ask and much less may hope to attain by any of our own but only by our Saviours righteousness and what is Justification but the forgiveness of sins and what is the immediate effect of it but the quietation of our Consciences God hath made Remission of sins an Article of our Faith not a duty of our life and his Church accounteth them Infidels who do not believe it But if we can purchase it by our own works t is rather to be merited or to be deserved then believed Let us then change the daily Hymne of the Church and say When we had overcome the wickednesse of life we did open the Kingdom of Heaven to our selves that were workers not when Thou hadst overcome the sharpnesse of death Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers The Church owns the opening of Heaven to Christs death not denying true believers to be workers but denying Heaven to be opened by their works And shall we say that Heaven is opened by our Saviours merits but entred by our own 15. But see first if by saying so we do not only forsake Christs Church but also destroy it For none can shut the gates of Hell but He that hath opened the gate of Heaven The same righteousness shuts Them for they are many and wide and opens This for it is but one and very narrow If mans righteousnesse can do so let not Hierusalem be any longer called by this name The Lord our righteousnesse Jer. 23. 16. But if she be no longer so called How will she be Gods Church for withoubt dout the gates of Hell will easily be able to prevail against Her righteousness though not against Her Saviours Therefore the Church that Hell shall not prevail against must be founded on the Rock of Christs righteousnesse not on the Sand of mans righteousness for then God may soon come to have no Church because the Church may soon come to have no righteousness surely it can have no such righteousness as either to vanquish Hell or to challenge Heaven no such righteousnesse as not for ever to say most justly what now she saith si iniquitates observaveris Domine Domine quis sustinebit If thou Lord wilâ—… be exâ—…ream to mark what is done amisse O Lord who may abide it That man would be very desperate who should answer this question and say I may abide it and consequently that Divinity must needs be very dangerous which must put him upon such an answer for his Justification This is for Christians to have a worse opinion of Christ then had the Jews for even Rabbi David upon these words of Jeremy The Lord our Righteousnesse gives us this glosse Israel shall call the Messias by this name The Lord our righteousnesse because in his daies the Justice of God shall be firmly established for ever acknowledging that a Justice which is to be established in us for ever is not to be obtained may not be expected by and from our selves but by and from the Messias by and from him who is here called The Lord our righteousnesse 16. Yet your Bellarmine lib. 2. de Just. useth no less then ten Arguments to prove that the imputation of Christs righteousness in our justification is little other then a fiction or a vain and empty opinion Justificationem non consistere in Imputatione justitiae Christi He saith positively That Justificatoin doth not consist in the imputation of Christs righteousnesse Sure St. Paul taught him not to say so for he plainly rejecteth his own inherent righteousnesse and cleaved only to the imputed righteousnesse of Christ when he desired to be justified Phil. 3. 9. That I may win Christ and be found in him not having mine own righteousnesse which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God by Faith He desired not to be found in his Own but in his Saviours righteousnesse when he was to pass under Gods sentence and he could not be found in that unless it might be imputed to Him for being Anothers it could not be inherent in Him Therefore if your Cardinals contradistinctions stand for good in your account Vera mundities non Imputativa arg 9. non verè sed