all the justified by Faith are sanctified if it be sanctification indeede it may be made an evidence of justification 6 Yet neither all seeming peace and quietnesse of conscience or joy in expectation of salvation or hope that is made the ground of this joy and such other like seeming effects of Justification are alway sure evidences to a man that he is justified because not alway fruits or parts of sanctification they may proceed from another and baser principle viz. from the deceitfulnesse of their heart or self-love and self-advancing or from the spirit of slumber upon the conscience or from ignorance of Gods way and method of bringing many Children to glory Nor are all seeming holiness honesty meeknesse temperance patience and other like vertues either in their habite as they really affect the heart or in their act as they are with an ardent zeale for God brought forth into practice sure evidences of sanctification by Christ because these also may proceed from other and baser principles and not from the Spirit of Christ as from the abiding prints of the Law of Nature written in the heart or from the power and suggestions of a convinced and awaked conscience or from strong impressions made into the soule by a morall and vertuous education or other like sub-celestiall and unspirituall principles So that our certaine and known union to Christ and our justification and sanctification sensibly thence flowing may be properly and unfailingly made our sound evidence of the spirituall life and acceptablenesse of our vertues and works But these in themselves in no wise certaine evidences and demonstrations to us of our justification and sanctification by Christ Sanctification is one thing and a zealous endeavour to be in all things conformed to the will of God is or may be another The former is only from the Spirit of Christ and wrought only in them which are in Christ The later may proceed from morall principles and is incident even to them also that are aliens from Christ 7 Neverthelesse even these vertues and good works do so farr evidence that from the Negation of these a man is certainely denyed to be in Christ or to be justified or sanctified by the faith of Christ I mean that whosoever can allow himself in the habituall practice of any known sin or rejection of any known duty that man may know himself and be known of others to be an Alien from Christ Because whosoever is in Christ is a new Creature all things are become new not only in respect of his relation but of his manners and conversation also and in whomsoever the Spirit of Sanctification dwelleth it dwels in a state of reign not of bondage Withall these vertues and good works when they are found to flow from our union to Christ and the love of God shed abroad in our hearts through Christ and upon examination a man can truly say that he hath ceased to hew from any other Qâ—arrie or to dip from any other Fountain than from Christ that from his Spirit alone hee daily sucketh life as the branch from the root to bring forth fruit and from the sacrifice of Christs death a sweet odour to make himself and his fruit acceptable then they serve as good seconds to prove to his soul that he is justified and sanctified But so that his being in Christ must first prove his fruit to be good before his fruit can have any power to evidence him to be in Christ and the evidence of both his justification and sanctification consisteth not so much in the qualifications which he hath attained or works which he doth and hath done as in his continuall waiting upon Chrih from him alone to receive what hee ought to be and to do in all wel-pleasing before God and the love of God in Christ enabling to obedience 8 That although Sanctification and the fruits thereof do each in its own degree as aforesaid more or lesse evidence our Justification yet have they no concausality with Faith to the producing of it All that are in Christ are Saints in Christ yet their sanctity goes not before their being in Christ but is an immediate fruit thereof The forgiveness of sin and Adoption doth in order go before their doing of acceptable service to God and unacceptable service cannot justifie 9 The grace of God which bringeth salvation and justification teacheth men to deny ungodlinesse c. and to live soberly c. Cals upon all to stretch forth their Faith to apprehend to themselves in Christ both the imputed and the inherent righteousness so far is it from breathing a soul-cozening or a soul-corrupting faith Therefore is the justifying Faith called by the Holy Ghost a most holy Faith Jude 20. A soule purifying Faith Act. 15. 9. A sanctifying Faith Act. 26. 18. Implying its efficacy as well to sanctifie as to justifie and that there is no true sanctification but that which is instrumentally obtained or at least received by Faith Lastly that one chief end of our Justification is that we bring forth acceptable fruit to God here inchoate hereafter in perfect obedience to God and conformity with him And the Justifier doth and will attain his end in justifying therefore brings none to glory but such as have all vertues and good works at least in their root and seed while they are here and if after their effectuall calling they live to have time and opportunity do not unfeigâ—edly endeavour universally to declare the same in their practice So that to dream of any glorified man in heaven that was not actually a Saint upon earth is a dream from hell not from heaven All these things might have been largely proved both from the Scriptures and our Protestant Writers but that I esteem them all to be so known to be the consenting asserteons of all our Churches and by them so fully confirmed by the word that I should but abuse time to take it up in particularizing what is in this Case so generally written and read I have been the more large in expressing the doctrine of the Protestant Churches upon this Argument to wipe off the stain which Mr. Br. hath learned of the Papists to lay upon it in this and the former quere which are wholly framed to beguile the weaker sort having nothing in them to stagger the Judicious And now I leave it both to the strong and weak to judge whether the Accuser of the Brethren himself can possibly expresse more impudence and falshood in slandering the Churches of Christ than this man hath done or if he had not bound himself to speak after the Jesuits and Monks whatsoever they traducingly say whether there be any colour of reason for him to have layd upon us these two accusations To hold my self to that which I am now examining what is there in this Faith and Doctrine thereof which I have described deserving to be called a soul-cozening Faith And when he addeth That Faith which is by many
requires sincere obedience but affirmed that it calls for both sincere and perfect obedience I much doubt I should slander Mr. Baxter if I should say that hee means by sincere obedience sincerely Evangelical obedience For hee will not bee known to know what that is It is besides the Orb of Philosophers Scholasticks and Sophisters in which he moveth But if beyond our beleef he meane so then I shall consent and speak with him When the New Covenant saith Thou shalt obey sincerely i. e. purely according to the Gospel rule which teacheth us to fetch all our guidance in every work of obedience to make it Evangelical from the Word of Christ all our strength to doe it from the Spirit of Christ all our acceptance from our union to Christ presenting all and our selves withall to God through the mediation of Christ doing all not to attain Justification by all done but to glorifie God with the fruits of our thankfulness for the prizelesse gift of Justification conferred upon us in and through Christ When the New Covenant I say hath taught us to obey in a sincerely Evangelicall manner here now the Moral Law steps in and tels us as Mr. Baxter saith wherein and what we must endeavour to doe i. e. What be those duties of Moral holyness and righteousnes which being in this Gospel way performed doe receive a higher title then Moral and become Evangelical Christian and spiritual obeying If Mr. Baxter mean or will mean thus we will go hand in hand wiâ—h him or what shall be more proper give him his due precedency and follow him The next answer put in numb 4. whether it be also an answer to this second Question or intended as an answer to the third Question which else passeth without answer or else to both questions runs in these words B. But that the Moral Law without respect to either Covenant should command us perfect obedience or that Christ as the Mediator of the New Covenant should command us not onely sincere but also perfect obedience to the Morall Law and so hath made it a proper part of his Gospel not onely as a directory and instruction but also as a command I am not yet convinced though I will not contend with any that think otherwise My reason is because I know not to what end Christ should command us that obedience which hee never doth enable any man in this life to performe If it were to convince us of our disability and sinne That is the worke of the Law and the continuing of it upon the old terms as is before explained is sufficient to that But I judge this question to be of greater difficulty than moment The multiplication of nice and unnecessary questions hath been one special means to bring a darkness upon the doctrine of the Word in those parts thereof that in themselves are clear and full of light It sufficeth me to know what hath been a little before proved that the Moral Law both with respect and as considered in it self without respect to either Covenant hath been ever is and shall be ever the perfect rule and directory of Moral obedience And that Christ as the Mediator of the New Covenant hath not dissolved or made voyd any part of the Morall Law or of the Righteousness and duty which the Moral Law requireth in reference to either the sincerity or perfection in performing the same but contrariwise hath avouched the contrary and denounced that whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandements and teach men so i. e. as I conceive shall take liberty by the abuse and misunderstanding of the New Covenant to neglect or be remiss in any part or degree of that righteousness which the Law requireth and teach others the same remisnesse also The same shall be least in the kingdom of heaven i. e. A useless and unprofitable Teacher in the Gospel Church This sufficeth me to know and this the Scripture plainly affirmeth and fully confirmeth Mat. 5. 17. 19. But whether the Moral Law to them that are under the New Covenant and truly in Christ be onely a rule and directory or else a commander also Or whether Christ hath made the Moral Law a proper part of his Gospel these are things Heterogeneous from the former and first devised by those distinctionary Sophisters that to strengthen their doctrine of merits and workes of superogation have distinguished between the precepts and counsels of Christ Sure I am that the Gospel in its strict and proper sense consists not at all in bringing precepts but life grace righteousness peace joy holiness liberty and salvation from heaven and whatsoever else tendeth to the perfect and never ending welbeing of poor souls together with an alsufficient light and direction how to attain all these and manage them being attained to the advancing of the glory of the grace of the giver This is properly the summe of the Gospel and the precepts intermixed with the doctrine hereof no otherwise proper to the Gospel than as they are furtherances to the attainment of them and lights and helps to direct us how to stand fixed in the enjoyment of them and walk holily honourably and worthily in the strength and comfort of them Yet it cannot bee denyed but that still the Law Moral is a perfect rule of all perfect Moral righteousnesse and that Christ hath expunged no part of it but commands all yea writes the righteousnesse of all in the hearts of beleevers that they might will all and delight to doe all not onely after the Moral but after the Evangelical rule through Christ for whose sake their unperfect services are accepted with God as though they were full and compleat This hath been cleared before in our examination of Master Baxters second Answer to the seeond Question and express Scriptures alleadged for confirmation thereof Neither can wee think that the many infinite benefits freely conferred in the way of the Gospel upon us do exempt us from but are obligations upon us unto the fulfilling of all righteousness or that it is our bondage but our liberty to be free from sinne and the servants of righteousnesse The nature of the commands being now altered under the Covenant of Grace from what they were under the Covenant of workes Then they proceeded from meer soveraignty and power now from tender Grace and Love Then had they a sting in the tayle the curse and hell to inflict in case there were not full performance This sting and curse is now carried away in the body of Christ no threat of it to them that are in Christ but the thing commanded for the compleating of our perfection which consists in our conformity with the will and nature of God with this dammage annexed that the lesse perfectly we perform the father off we are yet from our desired perfection There the Lord commanded his servants here the father his dear Children There man was commanded to work in his own strength here the treasury
perfecting by the flesh The question therefore was whether Faith alone in Christ or eâ—â—e together with it a naturall faederall and practicall righteousness after the rule of the Law were required to the acquiring of the Justification which is by Christ Hence is that his zealous expostulating with Peter and Barnabas for giving some occasion to the Gentiles to question whether besides Faith in Christ some Conformity to the Law were not also needfull to Justification We saith he who are Iewes by Nature and not sinners of the Gentiles knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but by the Faith of Iesus Christ even we have beleeved in Iesus Christ that we might be justified by the Faith of Christ and not by the works of the Law for by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified Gal. 2. 15 16. The sum of his debate is as if he had said If we that besides the supereminent prerogative vouchsafed to us to be the Apostles of the Lord Jesus have a derivative holines by nature and the Covenant of God from Abraham and withall a righteousness oâ— works by living up to our utmost in the highest pitch of obedience to the Law having found by revelation from the Lord Iesus Christ that all these are nothing available but Faith alone proper and effectuall to obtein the salvation and righteousness which is by Christ have wholly rejected all confidence in and use of these in order and reference to justification and made our addresses by Faith alone to partake of his righteousness why do we by our judaizing beguile the poor Gentiles that have none of these prerogatives into a pernicious opinion of perfitting their justification by Christ with their practicall righteousness in obedience to the Law Where it is to be noted that in one and the same verse the Apostle doth thrice expresly banish works from having any thing to doe in the business of justification by Christ and no less often attribute it to Faith and belâ—leeving in Christ without all help of works And can it be doubted what the question is about which he disputeth To the same scope is directed all that he delivereth in the third Chapter That he pronounceth the Galathians foolish and even bewitched that having obteined justification already by Faith alone in Christ they would be seduced to seek the perfecting thereof by works Gal. 3. 1 2 3. That while they were ambitious to become the Children of Abraham they fell utterly from Abraham and from the justification which Abraham found by seeking it another way then Abraham found it viz. by works and not by Faith onely ver 6 7 8 9. That so to seek it was the way to meet with the Curse in steed of the blessing of Christs righteousnesse ver 10-12 of which more may be said a little after That the justification which is by Christ discendeth by promise to us and promises are the object of Faith not of works ver 17 18 22. But all this together with what the Apostle disputeth of liberty and bondage in the fourth Chapter I leave to them that will but considerately read it to judge whether it evinceth not that to be Pauls question which I have mentioned Lastly when the Apostle Gal. 5. 4. brandisheth so heavy a denuntiation against such as had suffered themselves in this point to be sedueed by the false Apostles whom Mr Br. followeth as his guides and gods Christ is become of no effect to you whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace What force had there been in this wrathfull threat if the question between him and them had been about the proper Righteousness by which we are justified if they had held iâ— to be their own righteousness in opposition to Paul that held it to be the righteousness of Christ they would have laughed at such a Commination as a meerly frighting squibb or scar-crow answering we grant all that we are fallen from Grace that Christ is become of no effect to us But what damage can by all this befall us we make not Christ our Justifier but labour to Justifie our selves we seek Salvation not from Grace but as a debt in justice due to the Righteousness of our own works The Apostle surely was not such an ignorant Antinomian as to dispute so impotently that his Arguments might by subtle Baxterians be thus flung back as absurdities in his face It is therefore evident that the Galathians when most sednced ceased not to make Christ their Righteousness but had yeelded to this imposture as the next Vâ—rse declareth that not Faith alone but their own works and righteousnes with it were pre-required to make them capable of the righteousness which is by Christ and that upon this ground the Apostle denounceth them to be Apostates from Christ and Grace because they sought by their own righteousness to entitle themselves to the righteousnesse which is by Christ and sought it not by Faith alone If any demand the reason of this Consequence that whosoever seeketh right to the Justification of Christ by his own works makes himself an alien from Christ from Grace the Apostle in part implyeth it in that which he speaketh in these 4 and 5 verses of Chapter 5. But had more fully explained himself Chap. 3. 9 10 11 12. So that by comparing together what he hath said in both places the reason of his Conclusion resulteth into all mens view viz. that such a one seeketh the righteousness and salvation which are by Christ in a legall not an evangelicall way by works and not by Faith therefore is bound to bring the perfect righteousness and works which the Law requireth to make him capable of justificasion by Christ or els falls from Christ from Grace to his everlasting ruine I shall add no more upon this subject not because the Scripture hath no more but because I hold this sufficient and know the morosity and humorousness of most readers in our times preferring an erroneous conciseness before a sound and full manifestation of the truth But my endeavour is to please not men but Christ I leave Mr. Br to trample his own rule not to be bold with Scripture by being first bold with Conscience I dare not usurp to my self his peremptory audaciousness with one breath of the mouth to destroy the whole Gospel in saying onely not shewing and proving that it must be thus understood He that can so do with holy things bewrayeth much pride and prophanness in his heart though he be never so much pharisaically enamelled and philacterized in the outside Let him see how he can answer God for his audacious curtness I shall not fear the censures of men for my length in bringing to light what he hath stifled in darkness Let my style please or displease fancies it shall suffice me to have taken off his first Paradoxicall imposture that he brings to prove his doctrine to be the same with
the Author wisheth all Grace and perfections in the LORD JESUS Madam IT abides I know in fresh remembrance with you by whom and with what transcendent praises both of the Worke its Author the Aphorisms in this ensuing Tractate examined were commended to your perusall to be an Enchiridion or Manual still in your hand or rather a Pectorall and Antidote next your heart to defend it against errors and inward Anguish But so abundantly hath God enriched you with the knowledg of and zeale for that pretious Mistery of Christ that you quickly saw the Misterie of iniquity that lurked in it therefore cast it aside as unprofitable yea noxious Yet afterward finding some of the Ministers with whom you had acquaintance deceived by it you intreated me to take it and give you my judgment of the worke and my exceptions against some Mistakes in it And as the deceit was â—urther propagated so you urged me to increase my exceptions and now at length that which was not purposed at first is come forth to publique view an Answer to Mr. Brs Aphorisms Alas that wee are brought forth in such an Age wherein the defence of Christs cause is left to fools and carkasses of men the Learned and potent declinâ—ng the service that in the midst of our Civill or rather uncivil broyls one against another there should be found such as fall foule with the Grace of God and Merits of Christ also that to preach the Gospel of Christ purely after the example and precepts of Paul and Luther should render a man in the opinion of so many an Heretick but to follow Arminius and Bellarmine gets applause that we are forced to see men violent and using force to subvert not to enter into the Kingdom of Christ If this â—reatise shall by the assistance of Gods mercy be in any degree helpfull to cure this Malady they that finde or see the benefit are bound to praise God for you that by you as a speciall instrument instigating it came to see the Light Whatsoever weakness there is in it will redound to the shame of the Author not at all reflect upon you whose desire it was could you have attained it to have had the best Patron employed in the defence of the best Cause I expect that Mr. Br. will come forth and that speedily with a vehement Reply But whatsoever he saith I shall follow the precept of the Apostle Tit. 3. 10 11. He hath had a first and two hundred of Admonitions as they report which come from him which he laies as heaps of sand not answering any of them how should I follow the Apostles precept in not rejecting in having any thing more to do with him The present Worke had no other relation to him but as to the undeceiving of the simple which had received infection from him But if my beloved and Reverend Brother in the work of the Lord which commended to you Mr. Brs Aphorisms and hath made it long his work to propagate it through many Counties yea undertaken in the Western Counties to be the defâ—nder of all that Mr. Br hath written in that Book the performance whereof is by many Ministers there expected will take it up as his task to Apologize for him and affirm the Apology as in his name so to be his owne I shall in despight of all infirmities of mind and body so long as breath lasteth by Gods assistance Anti-apologize for Christ and that not in such an expression of words as I have used to M. Br whom I look upon as an Impostor but in such a spirit of meekness and Reverence as is meet to be used towards so pious and learned a Divine who cannot dares not against the light of his conscience hold any Truth of God in unrighteousness The Lord give unto you to keep your station firm in the Light and heat of the Sun of Righteousness that the splendor thereof may more and more shine into your understanding and the heat thereof more inflame your affections to the pure Gospel of Christ that you may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height And to know the love of Christ which surpasseth all knowledg and be filled with all the fulness of God This is the request of From my Lodging Decemb. 24. 1653. MADAM Your humble servant and daily Remembrancer at the throne of Grace J C THE PREFACE TO THE READER Courteous Reader IF thou knowest me as well as I know my selfe thou wilt also wonder as much as my self to see me appeare in Print specially in so Momentous a Cause and that against so formidable an Antagonist But the ground of our wondering may somewhat differ That which affects thee may be that a man of so despicable parts should dare to brandish a weapon though the Lords against so great incomparable a Champion as flesh and blood accounts him But the thing which affects me is that the Heroick Worthies of our Land hide their heads and Come not forth to helpe the Lord against the mighty Jud. 5. 23 but leave the defence of Christs cause to contemptible and unqualified persons for such a performance In excuse of my selfe against the imputation of rashnesse and presumption I can say Mr. Baxters Aphorisms had been extant full three yeares before I put pen to paper to except against him A strong expectation still possessed me of seeing something come forth against him from an abler hand When my expectation failed and I found his Tractate of all other that have come forth these many yeares most perillous and pernicious as destroying the very foundation of a Christians hope and comfort at length I thought it fit to do my endeavour for the undeceiving of some private Friends either taken or in danger to be taken in his snares not ceasing still to expect the publication of some work by others openly to vindicate the grace of God from his injurious warring against it At length having finished what I thought fit to be communicated privately to some friends and not with-holding the view thereof from any that craved it I suffered it to sleep many moneths in hope still to see a more learned answer to his worke What should I do more May not I justly say with David when all the armed Worthies of Israel either fled or at least shunned the encounter was there not a cause to stand forth for lack of better weapons with a sling and a smooth stone trusting in the name of the God of Israel whose grace this man had defied When the wise and prudent the high Priests Scribes and Pharisees oppugned the grace of God in giving Christ to be the justifier of Publicans Harlots and Sinners the spirit of Christ enlarged the hearts of the illiterate and vulgar to sing their Hosannahs and out of the mouths of babes and sucklings ordained praise to himselfe Nay if these should hold their peace the very stones should cry out
saith nothing Yet because this still leaveth sub judice litem and certain Conclusions cannot be inferred upon premisses left uncertain I should answer secondly That the Curse pronounced and inflicted upon Adam related to him not as a private but publike person For so he fell and so was he sentenced As comprehending the Elect he had the blessing of the seed of the woman but as representing those that perish so he had the Curse But touching those things which he and the other godly do suffer the learned Sadeel Adver sus humanas satisfactiones answereth this Popish Argument here proposed by Mr. Baxter out of Augustine Posset aliquis dicere saith Augustine Si propter peccatum Deus dixerit homini In sudore vultus tui edes panem tuum spinas tribulos proseret tibi terra c. Cur fideles post peccatorum remissionem eosdem dolores patiuntur Respondemus saith Austin Ante remissionem esse supplicia peccatorum post remissionem esse certamina exercitationesque justorum i. e. Some one may say If for sin God said to man In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread and the earth shall bring forth to thee bryars and thorns c. Why do the beleevers after the remission of sinns suffer these sorrowes We answer saith Austin Before remission these are punishments of sinns after remission they are tryalls and exercises of the Righteous Whereunto Sadeel addeth Non sequitur si mors vitae praesentis aerumnae per se sunt peccati poenae quippe propter peccatum in mundum ingressae eas esse proptereà peccatorum paenas ipsis etiam fidelibus quibus peccata sunt propter Christum condonata i. e. It followeth not if death and the sorrows of the present life be in themselves the punishments of sinn because they entred into the world for or by means of sinn that they are therefore punishments of sinn to the very faithfull also to whom their sinns are forgiven for Christs sake But to do him a pleasure should we give him his Argument forgiving the unsoundnes of it what doth he conclude Thus much that the suspending of the rigorous execution of the sentence of the Law is the most observable immediate effect of Christs death that the redeemed of the Lord partake of By suspending the rigorous execution of the Law he means that he doth forbear an hour or a day or some short time to destroy their lives and cast their souls into hell But so that every moment they must stand in expectation of it and that to their greater torment at last as their sinns during the time of the suspension is increased Whosoever now of Gods redeemed ones receives comfort by this doctrine will I doubt not give his verdit for Mr. Baxter having so nobly and divinely resolved this question that He is a Divine indeed He tells us there be other effects of Christs death c. But he is not at leisure now to communicate them But if they have no more sweet and marrow than this let him keep them to himself we will not be inquisitive after them P. 68. B. To the second Quâ—stion The Elect before Conversion do stand in the same relation to the Law and Curse as other men though they be differenced in Gods Decree Eph. 2. 3 12. Very short yet not so sweet as short He saith it but he proves it not For the Scripture which he brings for proof doth onely declare what the Elect are by nature before conversion not what they are before God in relation to his Covenant of Grace But Mr. Baxter purposeth to speak more largely hereunto in another place which will give me occasion to enlarge my answer At present he is in travell with his answer to the third question and cannot be at rest untill he be delivered of so beautifull a Monster and thus it comes from him Bax. To the third question I confess we have here a knotty question The common judgment is that Christ hath taken away the whole Curse though not the suffering by bearing it himself and now they are onely Afflictions of Love and not punishments I do not contradict this Doctrine through affectation of singularity the Lord knoweth but through constraint of judgment and that upon these grounds following 1 It is undeniable that Christs taking the Curs upon himself did not wholly prevent the execution upon the offender Ge. 3. 7 8 10 15 16 17 18 19. 2 It is evident from the event seeing we feel part of the Curs fulfilled on us we eat in labor and sweat the earth doth bring forth thorns and brayars women bring forth their children in sorrow our native pravity is the Curs upon our souls we are sick weary full of fears sorrows and shame and at last we dye and turn to dust 3 The Scripture tells us that we all dye in Adam even that death from which we must at the Resurrection be raised by Christ 1 Co. 15. 21 22. And that death is the wages of sin Ro. 6. 23. and that the sickness and weakness and death of the godly is caused by their sins 1 Co. 11. 30 31. And if so then doubtles they are in execution of the Law though not in full rigour 4 It is manifest that our sufferings are in their own nature evils to us and the sanctifying of them to us taketh not away their naturall evil but onely produceth by it as by an occasion a greater good Doubtles so farr as it is an effect of sinn it is evill and the effect of the Law also 5 They are ascribed to Gods anger as the moderating of them is ascribed to his lâ—ve Psa 30. 5. and a thousand places more 6 They are called punishments in scripture and therefore we may call them so Lev. 26 41 43. Lam. 3. 39. 4. 6 22. Ezras 9. 13. Hos 4. 9. 12. 2. Lev. 26. 18 24. 7 The very nature of affliction is to be a loving punishment a naturall evil sanctified and so to be mixt of evil and good as it proceeds from mixt causes Therefore to say that Christ hath taken away the Curs and evill but not the sufferings is a contradiction becaus so farr as it is suffering it is to us evill and the execution of the Curs What Reason can be given why God should not do us all that good without our sufferings which now he doth by them if there were not sin and wrath and law in them Sure he could better us by easier means 8 All those Scriptures and Reasons that are brought to the contrary do prove no more but this that our afflictions are not the Rigorous execution of the Law that they are not wholly or chiefly in wrath but as the common love of God to the wicked is mixt with hatred in their sufferings and the hatred prevaileth above the love so the sufferings of the godly proceed from a mixture of Love and Anger and so have in them a mixture
have done their Law their iniquities past present and to come are blotted out their peace made and they reconciled to God This is observably set forth in Aaron and the other High Priests his successors as they were Types of Christ Aaron the High Priest must bear the Names of the Children of Israel engraven upon 2 precious stones on the two shoulders of his Ephod before the Lord for a memoriall Exod. 28. 10 12. yea he must bear their names in the breast-plate of judgment upon his Heart when he goeth in unto the Holy place viz. with the blood of the sacrifice for the expiating of siâ—s for a memoriall before God continually What memoriall that they were the men for whom the sacrifice was offered and that their sins were purged thereby that God should therefore have them in remembrance to preserve them from the Curse and judgment of the Law for so it followeth And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Children of Israel upon his heart continually ver 29 30. These things were but figuratively done in Aaron but really and fully accomplished in Christ his Antitype who being constituted our High Priest and having received Command from the Father not onely what but for whom to offer even for Israel i. e. the elect of God which for a great part were not yet in being hâ—th by his own blood entred into the Holy place with their names engraven upon his heart having purchased for them an everlasting Redemption Not into the Holy place made with hands but into Heaven there to appear for them by way of Mediation and Intercession Heb. 9. 12 24. Rom. 8. 34. Wherefore also God hath given him not onely an acquittance for them from all their sins Heb. 10. 17. but hath also given and delivered up them into his hands as hath been before proved and Mr. B himself confesseth yet not as he insinuateth to plague and Curse them and hold them during life under the intolerable bondage of the Law but to deale with them in a gentle dispensation according to the tenor of the Covenant of Grace in tender mercy to draw them unto and keep them in the Faith without all Apostacy to the end All which he performeth to all his elect as is evident from most of those Scriptures which were brought for the confirmation of the former point and elswhere Gods giving them to Christ and into his dispensation being their perfect translâ—tion from the Covenant of the Law into the Covenant of Grace And this was done before their beleeving All that the Father giveth me shall come to me first they are given and then they shall come Be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace for I have much people in this City said the Lord Jesus to Paul of the Corinthians yet Heathen Acts 18. 9 10. They were his people before therefore must they be gathered to him by Faith I have other sheep which are not of this fold them also I must bring and they shall hear my voyce c. Jo 10. 16. he means the Gentiles that were infidels yet nevertheless his sheep that must afterward hear his voice because they were his sheep how were these termed Christs people Christs sheep while yet in Paganism idolatry and unbeleef but because they were his redeemed and justified ones Ye beleeve not because ye are not of my sheep Jo 10. 26. What is that but because they were not of the number of them for whose sins he had effectually satisfied Gods justice 3 Justification and Remission of sins may be considered also as it is brought into their own apprehension and Conscience that were justified by Christ and in Christ before And in this sense it is oftenest taken in Scriptures yea alway when we are said to be justified by Faith This is done when Christ by the manifestation and ministry of the Gospel maketh known in all ages to them for whose sins he hath satisfied the Mystery of Grace by him and frameth their hearts with all gladnes by Faith to embrace him and it thorow him unto Justification Then are they justified in themselves and remission of sins sealed up by the spirit to their own Consciences and so have the Kingdom of God within them consisting of Peace Righteousnes and Joy in the Holy Ghost Before this Christ had life for them now they are said to have it themselves Jo 20. 31. 1 Jo 5. 12. Untill now was their winter season so that all their life was in Christ as the Vine or Root now is their spring so that the life sheweth it self in them as the branches blossoming with peace and joy unto all obedience Before life was purchased and seizure thereof taken for them by Christ Now they are passed from death to life 1 Jo 3. 14. i. e. are put into the actuall possession of it Before though they were Lords of all as the Apostle in a case little different from this speaketh Gal. 4. 1 2. yet differed nothing from Servants being in their own apprehension under the threats and condemnation of the Law and so still in slavish fears and terrors But now they see their freedom and take possession of it with boldness to cry Abba Father and to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus and through the veil of his flesh with full assurance of hope c. Hebrewes 10. 19 20. These things so premissed we shall the better see whether the Scriptures which Mr. Baxter here produceth do by their own force or else by his mis-interpretation of them seem to prove that the Elect while unbeleevers are under the Law as a Covenant of works First that of Joh. 3. 18. is a threat of the Gospel Covenant against the Contemners of it and of Christ the preacher thereof and not of the Law Covenant And it is brandished against reprobats and not against elect unbeleevers Christ had now preached his Gospel a while in Galilee the elect beleeved and of them saith Christ they are not condemned The reprobates would not beleeve of them he saith they are condemned already and the reason is rendred not because they have broken the morall Law but because they have not beleeved in the Name of the onely begotten Son of God This is the condemnation that Christ the light is come into the world and men preferred their own darknes before him c. The same also is the meaning of the 36 ver which he citeth Neither of these pointing in their threat to the elect but the reprobates among unbeleevers Neither threatening for Contumacy against the Law but the Gospel Therefore nothing here proveth the elect before they beleeve to be under the Law as a Covenant of works Again those Scriptures which he saith bid us to beleeve for the remission of sinnes Act. 2. 38 c. do only prove that faith in Christ doth justifie the elect in the third consideration of Justification or remission of sinns before mentioned viz. as it evidenceth and brings
Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law no flesh is justified Why then do we draw the poor Gentiles to seek any furtherance to their justification by the observation of the Law by which our selves who were most privileged with it could not be justified but by Christ onely without the law So here Even they that had the law and were not a little zealous for and active in the righteousness of the law had need of a redeemer were justified and saved not at all by the lawes righteousness but onely by Christs redeeming of them What madnes is it then in you O foolish Galathians that are not of the holy stock of Israel but sinners of the Gentiles to seek any help to your justification by the works of the law which could not justifie the very Israelites that were born and brought up in it and not to repose your selves upon Christ alone If Mr. Baxter will pretend any other meaning of the Text besides he shall therein wound and not strengthen his Cause For he speaks of the same persons here to be under the law onely in the hand of a Mediator not under the Curse of the law but under such an administration thereof that even before they actually beleeved in Christ the very person of Christ are affirmed ver 1. to be Lords of all all the inheritance which is by Christ ergo not under the wrath of God before they embraced the Faith of Christ As for the other Scriptures which he annexeth yet further to prove that the very elect before and untill they beleeve are under the Law in the sense so oft manifested let him once shew how he will argue and what he will conclude and upon what grounds from them we shall be ready to answer him In the interim I profess I see not any thing in them more prevalent to his purpose than a nights lodging in a bed of snow and ice to cure the Cough Yet from all these wrested Scriptures he Concludes at last that the deliverance which beleevers have by Christ from the Curse of the Law is a conditionall deliverance viz. if they will obey the Gospel i. e. when they beleeve if they will beleeve not onely while they live but also when they are dead and buried For as we say that a conditionall proposition doth nihil ponere so it is true in the sense of Mr Bax. here that this conditionall promise doth nihil promittere The Condition as long as this world lasteth being still in performing not performed and so nothing obteined Yet will he have this new nothing together with the abrogation of the ceremoniall Law to which we never were none but the Israelites ever have been subject to be the great privilege of beleevers and effect of Christs bloud When we poor souls with our dull eyes can see no more privilege that we have herein by Christs bloud than the worst of infidells and reprobates have for they also â—ave this conditionall deliverance from the curse and freedom from the ceremoniall law And this deliverance saith he is yet more full when we perform the conditions of our freedom And then we are said to dead to the Law Rom. 7. 4. and the obligation to punishment dead as to us ver 6. This is indeed a full and perfect deliverance But what doth he mean in saying when we perform c. either when we are performing the conditions That were a contradiction to himself in what he saith p. 74. that we are not perfectly freed till the day of resurrection and judgement And so also it will be hard for another save Mr. Br. to make sense of the words That the deliverance of beleevers is yet more full when they perform the Conditions are performing the conditions of their freedom i. e. more full when they beleeve than when they do beleeve For if we should grant to Mr. Br Faith to be a condition and not rather a mean or instrument of our justification yet would we grant him no other condition thereof Or doth he mean it is full when they have performed the Conditions it seems then that some of the Conditions are left to be performed in the next world because untill then he tells us we can have no such perfect freedom This is the free Grace of God which Mr. Br boasteth himself so much to extoll p. 79. let him that delights in it be his disciple That which he speaks in the upshott for the mitigation of his harsh doctrine aforegoing that he knoweth this Covenant of works continueth not to the same ends and uses as before c. is but a trick of the Jesuits to give sugar after the poyson which was before gone down to destroy Neither can he make out how beleevers are under the law of nature as a Covenant of works and yet not bound to seek life according to the tenor and condition of that Covenant If any marvell that Mr. Baxter should so waste his spirits in abusing both divine and humane learning to prove the Saints to be still under the Curse under the law as a Covenant of works he will cease to wonder if he take notice of a further aim that he hath therein He would not out of doubt have so much insisted on it had he not looked to a further end in it If the beleevers are still under a Covenant of works as to the Curse wrath and Condemnation much more are they under a Covenant of works as unto life and Justification If the former be once granted he accounts the game wonn as to the latter Therefore doth he so much stirr in the former that he may with the more facility and less contradiction bring in afterwards the latter Justification by works which is his very busines in Compiling this book CHAP. XI Whether as the Covenant of Works was made with all mankind in Adam their representative so the Covenant of Grace was made with all the elect in Christ their Representer What relation the Covenants made with Adam Abraham the Israelites and lastly with us under the Gospel have to that Covenant made with Christ B. Thesis 14. p. 89. THe Tenor of the New Covenant is this that Christ having made sufficient satisfaction to the Law whosoever will repent and beleeve in him to the end shall be justified through that satisfaction from all that the Law did charge upon them and be moreover advanced to far greater privileges and glory then they fell from But whosoever fullfilleth not these conditions shall have no more benefit by the bloud of Christ than what they here received and abused but must answer the charge of the Law themselves And for their neglect of Christ must also suffer a far greater condemnation Or briâ—fly whosoever beleeveth in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life but he that beleeveth not shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Mar. 16. 16. Jo. 3. 15 16 17 18. 36.
before and in those thousands of years oft held out afresh and renewed but in opposition to the Covenant of Grace as it is now held forth in a new form and administration under the Gospel So that the two Covenants there mentioned are termed Old and New not for their differing in substance but for their different wayes of administration The Church of Israel then and the Churches of Christ now are and were under the same Covenant of Grace in substance but the Church then under a legall and the Church now under an Evangelicall and spirituall administration thereof That was the old this the new administration and in respect hereof the same Covenant then and now are termed the Old and New Covenant This is evident from the Text It shall come to passe saith the Lord that in those dayes I will make a New Covenant with them not such as I made with their Fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Aegypt which my Covenant they brake though I were an Husband to them saith the Lord. But this is the Covenant that I will make with them in those dayes I will put my Lawes in their minds c. And I will be their God c. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour c. For I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnes and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more Here Mr. B. must 1 Grant that the Old Covenant in this place mentioned was the Covenant of the Law given in the Wildernes For this is expresly affirmed where it is said to be made with their Fathers when the Lord took them by the hand to bring them out of the Land of Aegypt And 2 Notwithstanding Israel being under the Covenant they were not either wholly under a Covenant of works or besides the Covenant of Grace For the Apostle maketh these two phrases to be Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel and Strangers from the Covenant of Promise to sound one and the same thing Ephes 2. 12. and telleth us that the Law which was 430 years after could not null the Covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ so as to make the Promise of no effect but that after the addition of this Legall Covenant that Gospel Covenant made with Abraham and them iâ— him of blessednes by Christ the seed of Abraham stood firm unto them still Gal. 3. 17. This also will doubtles be granted 3 That therefore the Gospel Covenant in this Scripture promised is called a New Covenant not in opposition to that made with Abraham for that is the same with this here promised onely that was confirmed of God in Christ to come this in Christ already come and yet in opposition to that legall administration of it and additory Covenant of the Law 430 years after annexed 4 That this additionall Covenant was that Pedagogy of the Law under which the Apostle affirmeth the Jewes though Lords of all to be kept untill the coming of Christ in the third and fourth chapters to the Galathians And it consisted partly of Ceremoniall Lawes and typicall Ordinances pointing to Christ that was to come and obscurely teaching Christ and Faith in him partly of the Morall Commandments the observation whereof was injoined as a condition of attaining that blessednes before promised to Abraham in Christ yet so as this condition If ye will obey was still in the hand of a Mediator satisfying for disobedience because no perfect obedience could be fulfilled This Pedagogy or leading of the Jewish Church by the hand while it was a child in the knowledg of the mystery of salvation by Christ was needfull it could not well be without the typicall Ordinances which by Lectures read upon them by their teachers might discover and seal up much of Christ to them Neither could it well be without the promises and threats of the Law while yet the Grace of the Lord Christ was veiled to them that in the light joy and brightnes thereof they could not as the Saints now run the race of Gods Commandments of pure love without some mixture of servile fear 5 It will hence then follow that the New Covenant here promised is termed a new Covenant because exempted from that additament of the Law 1 From the Ceremoniall Law which in its revealing of Christ veiled him and let out but a dark shadow of him and the grace that is by him so that there was need of a large exposition upon every figure Circumcision Passeover Sacrifices c. Brother to teach Brother and one Neighbour another what these things meant and yet at last both teachers and learners remained exceeding dark in the mystery of Christ But it is otherwise with us under the Gospel The shaddowes are vanished and we have the very body which is Christ Col. 2. 17. Our eyes have seen we have heard with our ears and our hands have handled the bread of life 1 Joh 1. 1. All is made out to us cleerly by the Doctrine and Spirit of Christ The Law by which the Prophet speaking in the tone of the Iewes and in a phrase which under that administration they best knew understandeth the Gospel and Law of the Spirit of life is written in our hearts revealed and sealed up to our Consciences We need not say Who shall ascend up to Heaven or who shall discend to the deep c. But the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart this is the word of Faith which we preach Rom. 10. 6-8 So that there is not so much need of brothers teaching brother c. because all is held forth not in the shadow but in the clear light 2 From the conditions of the morall Law yea from all conditions which made that former administration of the Covenant terrible because conditions could not be performed The New Covenant saith the Holy Ghost shall be absolute not such as was made with their Fathers that might be broken but free and absolute all begun and ended by the meer grace of God I will teach c. I will be their God and they shall be my people I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnes and their sins and iniquity will I remember no more I am not so happy as to express my self in few words nor so either reckles or evilly subtle as under a pretence of brevity to leave things in ambiguity for self-ends This I conceive to be the meaning of this text and in these five Positions I have sub calculo melioris judicij expressed what yet I conceive to be the truth about the Covenant of Grace 1 between God and Christ 2 between Christ and man To this last thing handled that the Covenant of Grace in its present administration is free and not conditionall otherwise then I have before granted the Apostle giveth purposely his suffrage affirming the Covenant made to Abraham is that which now stands in force that the Law
I say much to the 17 18 Aphorisms because they are but as it were a bridge of Mr. Brs making on which to pass over to the following matter Yet that he may not Complain of wrong that he is deprived of the honour of his artificiall Methode I shall transcribe his words and annex some animadversions upon them Thesis 17. Bax. p. 102. Therefore as there are two Covenants with their distinct conditions So is there a twofold Righteousnes and both of them absolutely necessary to salvation Thesis 18. pag. 103. Our Legal Righteousnes or Righteousnes of the first Covenant is not personall or consisteth not in any qualifications of our own persons or actions performed by us for we never fulfilled nor personally satisfied the Law but it is wholly without us in Christ And in this sense it is that the Apostle and every Christian disclaimeth his own Righteousnes or his own works as being no true legal Righteousnes Phil. 3. 7 8. Thesis 19. p. 107. The Righteousnes of the New Covenant is the onely Condition of or interest in and enjoyment of the Righteousnes of the old Or thus Those onely shall have part in Christs satisfaction and so in him be legally Righteous who beleeve and obey the Gospel and so are in themselves Evangelically Righteous Thesis 20. p. 108. Our Evangelicall Righteousnes is not without us in Christ as our legall Righteousness is but consisteth in our own Actions of faith and Gospel obedience Or thus Though Christ performed the conditions of the Law and satisfieth for our non-performance yet it is our selves that must perform the Conditions of the Gospel I close up all these positions together as it were in one Frontispice partly in regard of their neer Cognation in Nature and partly that the profoundnes and dexterity of Mr. Br may the more cleerly appear and that it may be here evidenced to the very senses of all what is said Gen. 3. 1. That the Serpent is more subtle than all the beasts of the field which God hath made The one part of Mr. Brs Gospel we have found in the former part of this Tractate the summe and substance whereof may be thus expressed That Christ Jesus by the will of his Father hath by the satisfaction made to justice for the sins of the Elect obteined that the whole Curse and managing thereof together with the Elect for whom he hath satisfied should be delivered up into his hand And he sheweth himself in this his power an unmercifull High Priest holding his redeemed ones under the Curse wrath and torment in soul and body not giving them deliverance untill the day of judgement He did somewhat before look unto but now really enters upon the second part which is like to the former holding forth a justification in the world to come upon such Conditions as will not bring any unto but certainly exclude all that to this end use and perform them from justification into condemnation Within the Confines of these two essentiall parts of his Gospel he comprizeth all the riches of grace by Christ which whosoever likes it may if he will partake of Such have we already found the Nature of the first part of his Gospel We are now to examine whether the second part thereof be not such as I have here mentioned if not I have wronged Mr. Br if so he wrongs Christ and works against him seeking the damnation of the Elect. And by the very words of these four propositions of his if nothing els were to be added he that is both orthodox and judicious may somewhat judge whither Mr. Br driveth finding him to set up mans righteousnes parallell with Christs righteousnes and equally necessary to our Justification so making man at least a demisaviour to himself and so in effect prove an absolute destroyer of his own soul For whosoever brings any thing besides Christ to his justification falls utterly from Christ righteousnes and salvation Yet while he thus acts the part of one of those evill workers mentiuned Phil. 3. 2. he shews himself an Artizâ—n to deceive the wits of the time no less than Muncer did himself to beguile the witles Common people in Germany He when he was vanquished taken and now under the hands of the tormentor being demanded why he had so deluded the silly vulgar multitude to his own and their ruine breaking forth into a vehement laughter answered Sic voluerunt They would have it so insinuating that because he found them little regarding the solidity and power of the Gospel but itching after novelties he attempered and even sacrified his studies to their humour untill he had subverted himself and them So Mr. Br taking notice of some affected wits that had rather perish and dye for ever by Art that which is falsely called Science or learning 1 Tim. 6. 20. than to live and be saved by the simplicity and plainnes of the Gospel composeth himself wholly to please their humour and make himself their darling handles the Case so finely and artificially that he may kill them softly they never feeling it untill they are dead and ruined for ever One peece of his artifice we have here in his invention of that twofold Righteousnes of the two Covenants absolutely necessary to justification or salvation The one in Christ the other in our selves Christs righteousnes purchasing for us a conditionall justification a possibility of righteousnes bliss in the world to come but the other our righteousnes when once finished and compleated being that which doth the deed and drives the nail to the head making both Christs righteousness and the justification purchased by it to be no longer Conditionally but actually and really ours Provided and alwayes excepted that this cannot be in this life and so the tryall of Mr. Brs doctrine by experience can never be made untill this world be wholly ended This is learning indeed such as neither the dictates of men at least totidem verbis in so fine a contexture of words nor the Oracles of God could ever teach Mr. Br. It is his own and possibly may continue his onely to the worlds end all men els proving themselves too wise or too foolish to joyn with him in this his speculation We thought that the righteousness according to the Covenant under which God hath placed us had sufficed to justification he tells us nay but we are under both the Covenant of works and the Covenant of grace too and must be righteous in the righteousnes of both The world had not the wit untill now nor yet Christ or any of his Prophets or Apostles had it ever in their Consideration to term Christ our legall and our own works and qualifications our Gospel righteousnes Mr. Br first having received it rough hewen from Papists and Arminians teacheth us this piece of distinctionary learning Neither did it enter ever into our thoughts that the righteousness of the Old Covenant was of a more noble â—ace or that the righteousnes
was a voluntary agent Called and Consecrated by the Father to be our Priest Heb. 5. 5. No man taking his life from him but himself laying it down of himself for us and in our stead Joh. 10. 18. Thus he became the purchaser of righteousnes for us and is made of God Righteousnes to us 1 Cor. 1. 30. But all this he did not by the rule of the Law or Covenant of works but of the secret and sacred Covenant made between the Father and him Therefore having mentioned the voluntarines of his suffering in the fore quoted Joh 10. 18. He addeth This Commandment have I received of my Father implying that this his satisfactory obedience in dying for us had its regulating not by the old Covenant of works or any precept of the Law given to man but by the Covenant which had passed between the Father and the Son in reference to man and a speciall positive Commandment from the Father agreeing with the tenor of that Covenant As for our apprehending and pleading the righteousnes of Christ to Justification impudency it self will neither affirm it to be done by the rule of the Covenant of law and works nor deny it to be done in Conformity to the Covenant of grace and rule of the Gospel Or because Christ hath born the penalty of the Lawes breach shall he therefore be Called our legall righteousnes as from the formall reason of the thing Nay both that Christ suffered and the Father received and accepted his sufferings in full satisfaction for our transgressions That the Father sent him to satisfie the justice of his law for us and for his satisfactions sake he doth no more impute to us the breach of his Law All this is the fruit of his grace and in conformity to the Gospel and Covenant of grace not to the Law and Covenant of works Therefore if we give the denomination from the formall reason of the thing we must call it our Evangelicall not Legall righteousnes which is in Christ Touching the other opposite term that any thing inherent in man whether the gifts of grace Faith Repentance Charity c. or their fruits and works should be called our Gospel righteousnes I see no reason for it neither can devise in what other sense they may be so called but by a Catachresticall Ironia which names a thing and means the contrary As the Mounteins are called Montes quia minime movent Mounts or Movers because they do in no wise Move or as the Fames Auri is sometimes called sacra the inordinate desire of money is termed holy quia minime sacra sed prorsus execrabilis because it is in no case sacred but wholly accursed So in no other sense may this righteousnes in self be called Gospâ—l righteousnes in reference to Justification but because it is totally opposite to the doctrine and nature of the Gospel and because the Gospel doth wholly reject and abandon it Mr. Br. peradventure may and will bring other reasons and where he doth it we shall take pains to examine them 4 Why he calls beleeving or Faith to be our Gospel righteousnes and whether it be to any other end but with the Papists upon the same grounds to bring in good works to Justification also If he deny this the whole sequele of his Book will be an enditement of falshood against him CHAP. XIV That which Mr. Baxter brings to confirm the matter of this his Doctrine examined and found both fallacious and empty And what he addeth to mitigate the asperity viz. That we perform these conditions not by our own strength but by the grace of Christ evidenced to be a meer shift borrowed from the Papists Mr. Baxter after he hath thus made a flourish and nothing but a flourish to explain and defend his phrase and make odious the phrase of Scripture now proceedeth to confirm the matter of his doctrine Let us see whether there be any thing Logicall or Theologicall and not meerly sophisticall He hath confessed before p. 109. that some who are not Antinomians but Orthodox Divines have startled at the expressions of his 19 and 20 Positions as conteining in them some self-exalting horrid doctrine therefore will he say something thereto by way of explication and confirmation Now having said something as bad as nothing to take off contention about words what doth he add for the confirmation of the matter of his doctrine He was to have proved 1 That Gospel righteousnes or the righteousnes of the New Covenant consisteth not in the imputation of the righteousnes which is by Christ to us but in our own actuall and personall faith and obedience 2 That we must be righteous in our selves first and then after be made righteous by Christ 3 That the righteousnes of the New Covenant is not sufficient to justifie and save but onely to give us right to the righteousnes of the old Covenant which doth actually and immediately save and justifie 4 That those gifts of grace vertues and endowments that are required to our sanctification are not the fruits but the causes of our justification and conditions of our interest in Christ and consequently that our sanctification hath a priority and goes before justification These were the points in which he acknowledgeth himself to be down-right opposed by some and startled at by others What doth he now say for the silencing of these down-right opposers and startlers Just so much as he that would confute all that Bellarmine had written in three words viz. Bellarmine thou liest Or what brings he for the confirmation of those his assertions wherein he is so opposed Nothing but a fardle of sophisticall fallacies consisting of begged principles and homonymies of words First he clustereth together many Conclusions without either premisses or proofs The righteousnesse of the New Covenant then being the performance of its conditions this is his first Conclusion which by the word then bearing the force of therefore he would insinuate to lean upon some foregoing premisses when contrariwise there is not so much as a peble of four grains to sustein it not a word laid as the foundation thereof It is the thing in question we deny it he brings nothing to confirm it besides his bare affirmation which to us is no more then a pillar of straw to bear up a Castle And its conditions being our obeying the Gospel or believing This is his second Conclusion taken as granted when contrariwise his opposers utterly deny it And here he plaies also with an homonymy of words as if faith and obeying the Gospel which in the Apostles sense are so in his sense also were the same thing covering his poyson untill the feat be done by it It must needs be plain that on no other terms do we partake of the legall righteousnes of Christ I will not say that self-confidence hath made the man mad but rather that he thinks all the world mad and in such a sottish slumber that none can
by Christs repenting beleeving c. his satisfying of Gods justice by his expiatory sacrifice for the failings of our Faith and Repentance at they held not up to the Lawes perfection I dislike it no less then Mr. B. But can we conjecture that Mr. Saltmarsh himself was not the first that disliked it and all the rest both good and bad of what he wrote in that Tractate I have been told by some of his godly acquaintance that the man had a naturall impotency of crazines in his brain And the whirlwind of imaginations wherewith he was carried to a hasty taking up of opinions and no les hasty hurling away of them again the much of the top and the little of the bottom of wit the flashes of nimblenes and the want of solidity and depth which he shewed in his writings his inconsistency with himself with others with the Scriptures his exâ—reme mutability and roving from Tropick to Tropick without settledness any where do in great measure prove the report to be true And if so he is to be pittied though his infirmities are not to be patronized However this extravagancy of his into so loos and careless expressions doth neither justifie Mr. B. Tenents nor ought to â—rejudice the Truth from which Mr. B. or any other hath erred Neither doth Mr. B. captiousnes so null my charity as to enteâ—â—ain the least conjecture that ever Master Saltmarsh meant or thought that Christ had sinne to repent of or beleeved to obtein the pardon thereof Here now wee finde Master Baxter returning from his irefull pursuit of his imaginary not reall Antinomians and of a dead mans Ghost that could neither see nor hear him And when hee reviews what he had written hee sees it neither holpen nor amended by his hot words spent upon the wind He had affirmed that there is a two-fold Righteousnesse necessary to our Justification one the Righteousnesse of Christ imputed to us the other a personall Righteousnesse or Righteousnesse of our owne inherent in our selves And to this our own Righteousnesse had attributed an equall power with the Righteousnesse of Christ to our Justification if not a power above and superiour to it This assertion of his he perceives to savour so much of humane arrogance and to use his own words to be a self-exalting horrid Doctrine of so high a nature and so contradictory to the whole Tenor of the Gospel that a short affected brawl with No-bodies and dead men cannot turn away the hatred which all that know and love the Lord Jesus must needs conceive against it Hee is therefore in a streight cure it he cannot revoke it he will not Therefore in stead of a better shift he posteth to the Monks Jesuits borrows their either Cowl or Cloak to cover the deformity of it And good reason have they to stead him for it is their cause in his hand viz. Justification by our own personal Righteousness that hath streightened him Let us now see what he brings from them to us to make their assertion from his pen tolerable B. Thes 21. 115. Not that wee can perform these conditions without Grace for without Christ we can doe nothing But that he enableth us to perform them our selves and doth not himself repent beleeve love Christ obey the Gospel for us as he did satisfie the Law for us B. Explication This prevention of an objection I adde because some think it is a self-ascribing and derogating from Christ to affirm our selves to bee but the Actors of those duties though we professe to doe it onely by the strength of Grace But that it is Christ that repenteth and beleeveth not we is language somewhat strange to those that have been used to the language of Scripture or Reason Though I know there is a sort of sublime Platonick Plotinian Divines sprung up of late among us who think all things to bee but one c. We find in Scripture that as Christ hath his Mystery so hath Antichrist his Mystery also And that this latter is a Mystery of iniquity 2 Thess 2. 7. and Mystery Babylon the great c. And it is somewhat mysterious and strange that the materials of this Babel-building will not hold and close together without Babel slime to cement it Mr. Baxter would fain have fortified and fastened together the gaping chinks of this Babel with his owne morter But it will not hold therefore is he forced ever and anon to make use of the proper slime which the former Builders have left for them that come after to repair so doth hee in this place None of his own sHifts and tricks could hide the menstruousness and monstrousness of his Doctrine this Pall from Rome doth it no less perfectly then the Fig-leaf Aprons covered the nakedness and filthiness of our first Progenitors from the eye of God It sounded before so dreadfully as it was enough to make the ears of a true Christian to tingle at the hearing that Our own righteousnesse must goe foot by foot with Christs righteousnesse to our Justification but that which Mr. Baxter brings here from Rome takes off the ghastlyness and makes all smooth and himself in what he hath said no less amiable then he that had the Lambs horns but the voice of the Dragon Rev. 13. 11. How should it bee otherwise when all the glory is ascribed to Gods Grace and to the Spirit and Power of Christ so saith he Wee are justified in part by our own righteousnes indeed yet Not that we performe in this Righteousnesse which he termeth these conditions without Grace for without Christ wee can doe nothing but hee enableth us to perform them c. And in the Explication This prevention of an objection I adde because some thinke it a self-ascribing and derogating from Christ to affirm our selves to bee the Actors of these duties though we professe to doe it only by the strength of Grace Now when Mr. Baxter hath thus sayd and professed what reason can there be given why he should not bee thought as honest and innocent as the proudest Popish Prelates Jesuits and Friars that in answer to this objection which Mr. Baxter preventeth here have said and professed the same thing over and over many hundred times In stead of them all which even to name with their words abbreviated would fil a volumne I shall mention some few only First the Popish glosse thus speaketh Opera nostra quatenus nostra Glosa ordinaria in cap. 6. ad Rom. ver 23. sunt vim nullam Justificandi obtinent quatenus verò non à nobis sunt sed in nobis à Deo facta sunt per Gratiam Justificationem promerentur i. e. Our works as farre as they are ours have no power to justifie but as farre as they are not from us but wrought of God by Grace in us so they deserve justification In the same manner our English Jesuit Campian is recorded in the dispute which hee had with some of our English
here in defining or describing righteousness denying it a positive and reall being herein puffing off all the Classicall Philosophers and Divines Philosophers for Aristotle affirmeth that all Philosophers call Righteousnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Such an habit by which men are apt to practise just things and by which they act and will just things And to them he gives also his assent calling it further 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not onely a virtue but a perfect virtue citing and approving that Proverbial verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That all or every vertue is complexively or comprehensively in Righteousness Yea the most perfect virtue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and again it is saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the most excellent of virtues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not a part of virtue but virtue in the whole So speakes he of Righteousness in the general and as in the next Chapters he distributes it into its specials he makes virtue the general of those several Righteousnesses In the same manner the choicest of all the learned and Orthodox Divines that I have met with make Righteousness thus taken in its largest sense to sound and to bee one and the same thing with virtue it self Some call it bonitatem probitatem integritatem goodnesse honesty and integrity others rectitudinem virtutis the uprightnesse or rectitude of Virtue defining its specials by Virtue when they assign the next and immediate genus by habitus when they assign the remote genus And are not Virtues and either naturall morall or infused Habits Positive and Reall Beings Must all other Philosophers and Divines vanish to nothing when Mr. Baxter comes with his Denominations Modifications or rather Noddifications Neverthelesse though we deny to him that Righteousnesse is but a bare Denomination or dead notion yet we grant to him that true righteousness both of Mens Actions and persons must relate to some rule What will follow hence B. This Rule when it is the law of Man and our actions suit thereto we are then Righteous before men True and yet latet anguis in herba under this truth there lurketh a fraudulent falshood Mr. Baxter hath his restrictions to promote but not to prevent a falshood The thing that he pretends to prove is That men are called Righteous in Scripture in reference to the New Covenant onely There he finds the word onely to make a falshood Here he cannot find it will not finde it for if it bee brought in place it will reprove him of falshood to all men Is it for mens actions suiting to the Lawes of men onely that they are called in Scripture righteous before men He would be so understood for if it be not onely for this if at all for their outward and appearing conformity to the Law of God they are called Righteous before or in the account of men his conclusion is destroyed by this prop which he brings to sustain it And yet he dares not to say onely for this they are called Righteous before men For he knoweth whole streames of Scriptures would bee brought â—o confute so bold an assertion But he proceedeth B. When this Rule is Gods Law it is either that of Workes or that of Grace In relation to the former there is none righteous no not one c. ut supra This and that which followeth is all sophisticall fallacious and catching First the distinction which he here maketh of the Law of God that it is either the Law of Works or Law of Grace is somewhat a strange phrase to chaste ears that desire to hear Scripture Doctrines delivered in Scripture termes that oppose Grace to the Law and are not wont to call it a Law Secondly it is contrary to Mr. Baxters doctrine and Gospel for howsoever he in words talketh of a two-fold Covenant of Works and of Grace to beguile such as desire to be beguiled yet really hee labours to bring all under a Covenant of Works making mans own righteousnesse the condition of both so altering the name but retaining the nature and power of the first Covenant still as I have before evinced from his disputes and himself will in the following part of his book discover more fully 3. There is an ambiguity in the word Rule he manifesteth not how farre his meaning therein in reference to the Law extendeth whether for a direction onely what is good and what is evill wherewith God will be served and what is it that offendeth him teaching us to perform the one and to shun the other Or whether also for a direction how far in what degrees the good is to be done and the evill shunned that we may bee justified and saved thereby Though we may without much difficulty smell his meaning herein yet because he reserveth it for another place clearly to expresse himselfe we also will reserve it for the same place to make him a full answer 4. He playeth his usuall game of equivocation in telling us that In relation to the former there is none righteous no not one This is not that which is concluded and nothing ought to be in the conclusion which is not also in the premises The conclusion as we have seen is that none is called righteous c. The proof here is that none is righteous These phrases much differ A man may be called righteous in reference to the rule of the Law though he be not absolutely righteous in every particular thereof to Justification and himself acknowledgeth that in many respects the Scripture calleth men righteous in reference to the Law of Works who notwithstanding shall never be justified by the Law of Works as a little before in this Explication we have seen Concerning the Righteousnesse which is by the Law I was blamelesse saith the Apostle Phil. 3. 6. And I have lived in all good Conscience unto this day Act. 23. 1. Lo even while Paul was yet a Saul a hater a persecuter of the Gospel Righteousnesse yet he is termed and called Righteous blamelesly Righteous conscientiously righteous in relation to the Law of Works Or when Judah saith of Tamar She is or Saul of David Thou art more righteous then I and Solomon of Joab Two men more righteous then himself Gen. 38. 26. 1 Sam. 24. 17. 1 Kings 2. 32. Were these here called Righteous in reference to the righteousness of the Gospell and not of the Law Or when the Lord by his Prophet calls them righteous which turned from their righteousnesse and perished in and for their wickednesse Ezek. 3. 20 21. and 18. 20 24 26. and 33. 12 13 18. was it an Evangelical or a legal Righteousnesse that gave them the denomination of Righteous persons When Isaiah calls all his all the peoples Righteousnes menstruous or filthy Raggeâ— and Paul his Righteousnesse Dung Isa 64. 6. Phi. 3. 9. yet both such as gave them the denomination of Righteous men Mr. Baxter himself will not say that these were the righteousness of the New Covenant I could
it to that end and partly as it is the effect of Grace and wrought in us by the Spirit so that the value and efficacy thereof is to be taken not from the righteousnes inherent in us or performed by us but from Gods ordination of it to the end to which himself will make it effectuall and from the vertue of grace and the spirit of grace in whose strength it is performed So also Antoni par 4. tit 9. c. 7. ante sect sect 1 2 3. Osor de Jus li. 6. nu 151 ex Hos Confut l ih 5. pag. 451 452. Andrad Orths. explic li. 6. pag. 181. Pemb. of justif p. 34 35. sect 2. cap. 2. the rest of the Scholasticks Monks and Jesuits affirm that they do not by this doctrine Contribute any thing to mans righteousness or diminish the glory of Gods grace and Christs merits Nay they are the sole advancers of Grace and of Christ for that they attribute due power to them to make mans righteousness that is base and nothing in it self to be effectuall or meritorious to Justification That these Heretikes the Lutherans are the Cursed enemies unto Christ and grace in denying our Righteousness available to justifie and save us so streightening the vertue and power of Grace and of Christ as being unable to infuse vertue and efficacy into our righteousness to justifie and save us but more fully of this in a more proper place The same paint doth Arminius use to make tolerable if not plausible his imputation of the Act of Faith to Justification as his very words are alleaged by Mr. Pemble No marvell then if Mr. Br hath proficiently learned at the feet of such Gamaleels But what force or shew of substance is there in his and their so peevish shifts and evasions It is as he that brake up a neighbours house killed the Master and enriched himself with the Treasure thereof with this mentall reservation that the Act should be without any guilt of Murther before God or of felony before men And what either God or man could then lay any thing to his Charge So Mr. Br with those whom he followeth robs God of the glory of his grace and Christ of the honour of his merits to inrich the righteousness of their own Faith and works therewith but with this proviso first layd in their fancies and after subscribed to with their hands that God and his Christ must not take their grace and righteousnes herein wronged nor mans righteousness extolled nor the actors therein offenders and when they have layd all things so sure what hath God or man to say against them Yet is there one inconvenience and the same a shrewd one that Gods way of reckoning in the point of Justification was fixed before this of Mr. Br and his Masters and without any Consultation with them about it by means whereof it runs right Contrary to theirs And it is much to be feared because he is God he will not now Change He hath in this point set so in direct opposition mans righteousness and Gods righteousness grace and works that both Cannot shall not Consist together but either exclude and frustrate the other It must be onely Gods righteousness or onely mans righteousness according to his rule by which we must be justified he prohibits all medleyes will have no mixture of heaven and of earth of the Spirit and of the flesh the oxe and the asse must not be yoked together in this busines he that brings any of his own righteousness frustrates to himself the Grace and righteousness of God He that trusteth to grace and putts on by Faith the righteousness of God must derelinquish his own righteousness to be found in Gods alone unto Justification Rom. 9. 30 31 32. Rom. 10. 3 4. Phil. 3. 9. If by Grace then it is no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace but if it be of works then it is no more grace otherwise work is no more work Rom. 11. 6. And other such like Scriptures which in the more proper place I shall produce What will Mr. Br answer at Gods tribunal for raising his pepper-corn as a mount from which to batter the impregnable grace and righteousness of God If this doth not what can extoll his pepper-corn To conclude what I have to say to the foresaid words of Mr. Br let him not take pepper in the nose as the Country phrase is if I take a grain or two of his own loose powder to blow up his pepper-corn that it may not be abusive to the feeble and simple Christians If these will but consider well these two things first what he means by his pepper-corn secondly how farr he will abase or extoll it they should easily see his subtlety and keep their foot from being taken in this his snare laid for them Both these are to be gathered from himself Touching the former he means by the pepper-corn the whole righteousness of man the entire righteousness which the Law requireth in the full substance though not in the full degree which the Law requireth it all personall vertues and duties which the morall Law injoyned upon men This is cleer enough by what he hath said before hinted by that which he annexeth in the application of this Similitude when he saith Even so is our Evangelicall Righteousness or Faith insinuating that by Faith he means all that Can be brought under the notion of Evangelicall righteousness in his sense which is all that the Law Commandeth and the Gospel approveth as righteousness and in the following part of his Treatise when he Comes to the Anatomizing of his Faith here spoken of he doth in express words affirm seek to confirm it Here is a pepper-corn able like Moses his rod-serpent to eat up all the pepper-corns of the East-Indies Possibly the royall Soveraign was built to fetch it from the East Indies to us it being too great a fraught for any other Shipp in England And it must not be divided for a peece will do no good in this busines but the whole is required Doth not the weakest Christian here see discovered the Cunning of the man that would have them to swallow such a pepper-corn such a Camel into themselves What room would be left then for Christ which of the Pharisees of old or of the Papists in latter ages have more extolled mans righteousness or more fully ascribed salvation to works onely though they used terms equipollent to Cover their falshood yet they did not hit upon the pepper-corn to delude poor souls with an opinion that if there were any difference between their doctrine and the Doctrine of the Scriptures yet was it as small as the weight and worth of a pepper-corn so that they might be followed without danger Touching the latter how farr he will extoll the pepper-corn of our own workes and righteousness to Justification and salvation he doth not here though afterward he doth in express words
of Rev. 3. 4. to be taken And hereunto runs the whole tenor of the Gospel making not our own righteousnes works but Christ in us the hope of Glory i. e. all the ground and worth upon which we may Cherish within our selves a lively hope of glory Col. 1. 27. 4 The word worthy in Scriptures oft signifieth Meet beseeming answerable to as Ma. 3. 8. Bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance Eph. 4. 1. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called Col. 1. 10. Walk worthy of the Lord. The meaning is that we should bring forth fruits beseeming the repentance which we profess walk agreeable unto in ways becoming our holy vocation answerable to the Grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ not to make our selves worthy of the gift of repentance of so high a vocation of so glorious a Christ to be conferred upon us And in the same sense are those other scriptures Ma. 10. 11 12 13 37 22. 8. alleaged here by Mr. Br to be taken Where those that are termed worthy or unworthy of Christ and his Gospel are meant to be such as carry themselves in a way becoming or not becoming Christ and his Gospel preached to them Without any hinting at an imaginary worth or Merit in their performances that might make them deservers of Christ and the grace of the Gospel as is easie to be made out from the very Texts here alleaged if there were need thereof Thus it appears to be false either that in a larger sense promise is an obligation the thing promised is called Debt or that the performers of the coÌ„ditioÌ„s are called worthy their performance merit in the scriptures And consequently neither the fallacies nor the falsities of Mr Br do any thing avail him here to the setting up of Mans the frustrating of Christs Merits which is the scope of his levelling The explication in reference to this part of the Thesis hath nothing that may be called an addition to it Onely there pag. 141. as here in describing the third kinde of meriting he tels us that The obligation to reward is Gods ordinate Justice the truth of his promise the worthines lyeth in the performance of the Conditions on our part He doubted it seems that we would have taken him notwithstanding that which he had said equipollent with this in the Thesis to have had some seed of Christian modesty humility remaining in him that he had not totally forsworn all self-deniall unless he should express therefore hath expressed himself at the ful here to be ful of self-arrogance But in this doth he declare his intolerable contempt of the word that having himself quoted at the least 13 testimonies of scripture all with one harmony affirming that Gods Gospel dispensations are free of meer grace mercy without any reference to our works righâ—eousness that Gods grace mans works or worth cannot stand together but that they destroy either the other in reference to Justification salvation That mans merit in any respect without difference is a subversion and denyall of Gods grace in all respects For all this he shall find that will but peruse the 13 first scriptures which Mr B. quoteth in this Thesis yet he doth elude all w th this frothy distinction in the beginning of the same Thesis True Our Performances cannot be said to Merit in the most strict proper sense c. but in a larger sense they may What is this but to oppose the sacred verity of the most high God with the froth of mans wit what Scripture shall henceforth stand in its venerable Majesty authority if the boldnes of a corrupt worm shall thus puff it to nothing Of all other men I conceive Mr Br hath most need to make grace alone free Mercy his refuge For of all that I have met with accounted Members of any of the reformed Churches I never found any whose very meritorious services as he terms them such as this work of his is have more provocation in them But thus farr of his assertion which we have found full of the Leaven or rather to be the Leaven it self of the Scribes and Pharisees both of the former and latter ages Let us see now how he lenifieth sweeteneth it that his sacrilege in robbing God of the honour of his grace appear not B We ascribe not Merit saith he in the Thesis to our works as Merit is taken in its most proper and strict sense seeing there is nothing in the value of it or any benefit that God receiveth by it which may so entitle it Meritorius Neither is there any proportion betwixt it and the reward but in a larger sense as promise is an obligation and the thing promised is debt c. Yet in the explication p. 138 he grants to man a capacity of Meriting somwhat at the hands of God in this sense also lest he should seem to acknowlege that there are some of the worst reprobates yea devills that have not at all merited from God But of these he Concludes p. 139. that it is a poor kind of Meriting which they can boast of yet without some Merit that of good from the Justice of God he will not leave them destitute But in the Conclusion of the explication pag. 141. he adds somewhat more to take off the harshnes of his self-ascribing doctrine of Merit thus B This kinde of Meriting is no diminution to the greatnes or freenes of the Gift or Reward because it was a free and gracious Act of God to make our performance capable of that title and to engage himself in the foresaid promise to us and not for any gain that he expecteth by us or that our performance can bring him Lo ye now the strength of this mans wit that can blow heaven earth into a confusion with one breath with the next breath sett both into their due place and order again Nothing inferior is the slight of his wit to the slight and dexâ—erity of that head-mans hand that is reported so nimbly to execute his office that having cut off the head he left it standing without any wagging upon the shoulders still So this man hewes off the honour of Gods grace yet leaves it in all its glory without diminution still Yet let us reckon with the man a little Can he name any one of the worst Papists or Jesuits that doth attribute Merit to mans works in a higher degree than or doth not when he hath extolled mans Merits salve the grace of God as finely as himself Are not his words and theirs about Gods Grace and mans merits the same Doth he add any thing here of his own that he hath not learned of them We cannot merit saith Mr Br in the most strict and proper sense Why Alas saith he There is nothing in the value of our works or any benefit that God receives by them that may
the day of judgement then for the truly Orthodox in this point to prove it to be in this life absolute and unconditional Were I the man that were fit to undertake such a dispute I should as I conceive have a great advantage against such an adversary for most of the arguments which he should bring to prove the absoluteness and immutability of justification in the Kingdom of glory would strengthen against himself the same absoluteness and immutability of justification in the Kingdome of grace And almost all that he should be able to answer for the eluding of my arguments against absolute justification above would strengthen me to answer his arguments against absolute justification here But I hold it altogether unproper to make so holy a thing the subject of ludicrous exercitations The Scripture is as full to prove the Saints perseverance in grace here as their perseverance in glory above and as possible is the falling from the latter as from the former Now before I wholly pass from these positions of Mr. Baxter to make way for the examination of other Positions of his which I shall annex to these in this Chapter because of the neer affinity of their matter with that which is contained in these I shall speak something in opposition to Mr. Baxters universall conditional Justification in Christ or as Mr. Baxter termes it in Christs own Justification First then whatsoever sins of whatsoever persons were imputed unto Christ and for which he hath made full satisfaction to Gods Justice these are no more imputed but forever remitted in Christ absolutely and unconditionally to them who were the committers thereof But all the sinnes of all the elect and of them onely and not of the world were imputed to Christ and hee hath made full satisfaction c. Therefore c. The proposition is clear unless we will pronounce God unjust For if he should impute to the offender any one sin which was imputed to Christ and for which Christ hath fully satisfied Gods Justice then should God bee unjust in taking vengeance twice of the same sin once from Christ and another time from the offender contrary to the both equity of his justice and infallibility of his truth in either of which it is unpossible for God to fail Or if any should say that their sins were but conditionally imputed to Christ and that he made but a conditional satisfaction for them this were totally to deny the truth and reality of Christs sufferings It was not a conditional but absolute and real satisfaction that he made to divine Justice they were real stripes real and absolute wounds groans torments death-pangs by which he satisfied Justice He was not conditionally but verily made fin for us 2 Cor. 5. 21. a Curse for us Gal. 3. 13. himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree 1 Pet. 2. 24. was wounded for our transgression bruised for our iniquity Isa 53. 5. When all this was done absolutely and really and so a real and absolute condition made shall all this produce only a conditional and not a real and absolute justification in Christ to and for them who in him have made absolute satisfaction so that themselves in themselves must make absolute satisfaction again This possibly may agree with Mr. Baxters Justice but never with the Justice of God The assumption is thus proved as to his bearing and satisfying for the sins of the Elect only and not of the world He suffered not for such as we call Individua vaga certain uncertain persons himself not knowing who they were or should be The High Priest that typifyed him offered not his sacrifices at adventures for he knew not whom but bare the names of them for whom he offered before the Lord Exo. 28. 9 10 11 12 29. And this was to be fulfilled in Christ their Antitype I lay down my life for the sheep saith he and know my sheep Joh. 10. 11 14 15. For the sheep onely for them whom he knew to be his sheep he layd downe his life And lest any should think hee speakes here onely of his called and not his elect ones he addeth Other sheep also I have which are not of this fold i. e. of Israel but of the Gentiles them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice They are his sheep and he layeth down his life for them to satisfie for their sins before they were beleeving before they were in being and brings them home by the voice of his Gospel afterward ver 16. But to the unbeleeving Jews he saith Ye beleeve not because ye are not of my sheep ver 26. First sheep purged and redeemed by the blood of the Shepheard and then beleevers afterward And if not sheep first then unbeleevers forever Neither saith he ye are not my sheep justified and reconciled by my death because ye beleeve not but ye beleeve not because ye are not of my sheep in the number of my Elect and justified ones Justification absolute justification in Christ still goeth before faith in the so justified Again for them all and onely did Christ as our Priest offer himself in sacrifice for whom as our Priest he offered prayers to God when the offering of himselfe was at hand but he so offered his prayers not for the world but for them which God had given him i. e. the elect Joh. 17. 9. So in this part the Assumption stands firme on the other part that he bare and satisfied for all the sinnes of all the Elect is plain The blood of Christ purgeth from all sinne 1 John 1. 7. by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified Heb. 10. 14. When it is said they are perfected forever it is included that there remaines not one sinne unsatisfied for And this is the priviledge of all the Elect of all the Sheep both in being and in futurition both within and without the fold as before was manifested 2. If Christ hath purchased and we receive in this life onely an universall conditionall Justification It will follow also that God hath in himself decreed before all time onely such a justification to men and consequently that he neither loved nor elected to life them that are saved more then the damned For the Son was in the bosom of the Father therefore privy to his secret will to his very bosom counsels came down from heaven not to transgresse but to fulfill his will Joh. 6. 38. 4. 34. 5. 30. was faithfull to him that appointed him c. Hâ—b 3. 2 6. So that he acted in time according to the will and decree of God before all time But it is false that God decreed onely such an universall conditionall justification to all not preferring in his love and elâ—ction those that shall be saved before them which shall be damned as appeareth Act. 13. 48. Rom 8. 30. 9. 15 to the 25. Eph. 1. 4 5 6 7. Therfore it is false also that
of rich glasses set in artificiall order and able to dazle the eye of the beholder what pity is it that any one of them should meet with a knock and be broken and so the beautifull order in which they were placed be on a suddain marred yet if such a thing should fall out it were no great wonder Pretinesse and strength are rarely twins and we speak of prety things but rarely long in the present tense before their perishing by weaknesse forceth us to take up another tone and to tell that there was such a delicate toy but if we seek it the place thereof is not to be found It is possible such a stroke may befall the image that Mr. Baxter hath here set up in imitation of that of Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 2. 31 32 33 c. it hath clay in the feet cannot goe without halting if it meet with a stone to crush its toes it may possibly fall all to shivers Himself seems to doubt of it therefore prepares himself to defend it as seeing it cannot defend him or it self So saith he in the Explication B. Here it will be expected that I answer to these Questions 1. Why I call the Gospell the Instrumentall cause 2. Why I call Christs satisfaction the Meritorious cause and the Causa sine qua non 3. Why I make not Christs righteousnesse the Materiall cause 4. Why I make not the imputation of it the formall cause 5. Why I make not faith the Instrumentall cause 6. Why I make it only the Causa sine qua non To these Quaeries it will be expected saith he that he answer But what if other besides these exceptions be made though it be in his power to deny his answer yet it is not in his choice or authority to restrain any from excepting 1 Perhaps some may except why he in asserting God to be the principall efficient cause of Justification lets it passe so nakedly without an adjection of any of his attributes so leaving it doubtfull whether it be the grace or the justice the love or the hatred the mercy or the wrath of God that is the efficient of Justification We may easily answer our selves as to this question It is not Gods but Mr. Baxters justification whereof the causes are here assigned such as the Scriptures are unacquainted with a justification of his own devising defining and distinguishing himself and none before himself that I know was in every point acquainted with it No marvell then if he speak differingly in setting forth the causes of his from our Divines in laying down the causes of Gods justification And indeed it is a difficult question to determine whether his justification if it were at all granted to be of God might challenge more properly the love or the hatred the grace or the justice of God for its womb It being a justification that leaves all men under the curse under the wrath of God both in life and in death untill the very day of Judgment as we have found him disputing most profoundly in and under his 9. Thesis A justification that gives only a titular title without actuall and absolute possession of any greatest or least benefit to the justifyed which according to Mr. Baxter is the same thing as if we should say to the unjustifyed A justification more unpossible to be apprehended and held then was the first justification by works that was held forth upon possible tearms exacting from a living man only continuance in the works of life this upon unpossible as respecting our present state of infirmity offering to a dead soul righteousnesse and life upon condition the dead soul will quicken and arise from the dead to fetch it thence whither if it come it must still abide empty as it came untill the day of Judgment and then Mr. Baxter will come again to tell us more of his minde whether it be at all attainable I do not at all injury the man in saying he offers justification to a dead soul c. upon condition the soul will quicken it self For let there be found but one clause in his whole book that implyeth a concurrence and effusion of grace from God more to the quickning and justifying of Peter and Paul then of Cain and Judas of the damned then of the saved Or what doth he lesse that brings in works to justification then destroy grace to set up justification after the order and rule of strict justice Or when Mr. Baxter is so exact in enumerating the Procatarcticall or outwardly moving causes to what purpose doth he jumpe over the Proegumene or inward moving cause viz. the grace love and mercy which is within God himself but to imprison it in darknesse and eclipse its glory that mans righteousnesse might have the praise which pertains to God alone 2 It may be also questioned why amongst all the causes of justification here assigned there is no mention made of union and communion with Christ when as our Divines following the rule of the Word makes our union with him the very chief cause and ground of our being justifyed or declared to be justifyed according to the Gospell justification 1 Joh. 5 12. Phil. 3. 9. 1 Cor. 5. 19. and a multitude of other Scriptures which they alleadge and if there were the least need I might here quote a score What else but an evill eye maligning the praise of God and of his Christ suppresseth in silence and suffers not to appear in the chain of the causes of justification this link of union with Christ Is it not that he will make our faith and works yet out of Christ the cause of our union with Christ and not this the ground of the other 3 To come to those questions which Mr. Baxter answereth because he conceives it will be expected 1. About the instrumentall cause we question not what he goes about to answer why he cals the promise or grant of the new Covenant or the Gospell the instrumentall cause of justification actively considered but 1. Why he makes it the only instrumental cause of justification howsoever considered For this grant and promise doth by it self no more justifie the beleevers then the infidels the justifyed then the unjustifyed Doth not God also make the spirit his instrument of justifying by declaring and unfolding the doctrine of the Gospell and evidencing and witnessing to the soul remission and justification together with the love and grace of God from which this justification floweth Why doth he stifle the working of the Spirit from having to do in this great work except either with the Sadduces he denies the being or with the Socinians the divinity and divine operation of the Spirit or else to leave open a door to let in justification by the flesh not by the Spirit by the strength of mans free will without the preventing helps of the Spirit of grace Or as justification is taken passively for our being justifyed in our selves why is not faith put as an
Treatise what before he did but hint and whisper in a kind of darkenesse now he preacheth on the top of the house proclaiming it as the sole Soul-saving doctrine canonizing as Saints the Papists for the constant holding forth of it and Anathematizing all the Protestants Churches as Apostaticall for departing from it as by examining what followes in this his Tractate will appear For the avoiding of confusion and prevention of a voluminous prolixity into which I see my self already carried by following him Thesis after Thesis being necessitated thereby as he speaks so to examine and answer the same things often in many places I shall endeavour to reduce unto some few heads the sum of what he saith upon this Question examining that which is to the purpose and leaving the rest that is inconsideraable or impertinent to it 1 Then I shall endeavour to draw out from him the state of the Question what he holdeth and how he holds it forth to us 2 I shall examine his Arguments and Reasons by which he endeavoureth to confirme his assertion or assertions 3 I shall also examine what force there is in the Reasons which he bringeth to clear himself and his doctrine from being derogatory to the grace of God and full efficacy of Christs mediation or from all tainture of Popery Socinianism or other heresies Within this Triangle I conceive the whole fabrick of his doctrine of workes to be comprehended and in examining of these fully nothing to be left unexamined that may make for his purpose 1 The state of the Question or his assertions which he maintaineth I shall as neer as may fitly be done transcribe from him in his own words thus 1 The bare act of beleeving is not the only condition of the new Covenant but severall other duties also are part of this condition viz. of Justification For this is his meaning and if he be not so understood he is understood besides his meaning and in what he saith he saith nothing His Tractate contains Aphorisms of Justification only And the conditions of the new Covenant which tend to Illumination Sanctification Glorification c. must not be confounded with those of Justification if it were granted him that the Gospell dispenseth all or any of these upon conditions In this sense therefore he must he will be understood Thes 60. pa. 235. 2 That these duties coordinate with Faith to our Justification as conditions thereof are Repentance praying for pardon forgiving others love hearing the word consideration conviction godly sorrow knowledge of Christ assent to the truth of the Gospell subjection consent acceptance cordiall covenanting self-resigning esteeming and preferring Christ before all loving him above all sincerity perseverance affiance sincere obedience and works of love serious painfull and constant use of Gods ordinances hearing praying meditating in a word all good works i. e. all the works of Righteousnesse holinesse mercy c. which the Law requireth yet with this proviso that all these legall workes must be called not our Legall but our Gospell Righteousnesse Thes 60. p. 235 236. p. 240 241 242. Thes 73 74 p. 289. 290 291 292. 3 That the non-performance of any one of these doth hinder but it is not one or many but a concurrence of all these together in one that sufficeth to condition us unto Justification Thes 61. So that when the promise of life is made in Scripture to our beleeving in Christ or to any other inseparable concomitant of Faith you must understand it Caeteris paribus viz. that your knowledge repentance obedience good workes c. are not an inch behind your faith or in sensu composito that it is a compounded Faith hath all other vertues not only included in it but also actuated and cooperating with it for justification or else you must be shaken off unjustified yea though all the rest be in act and but one out of act Thes 61. and its Explication He saith not this indeed totidem verbis word by word But let him deny the least particle of all this to be his meaning he shall by such a denyall extremely wound if not wholly subvert his cause and yeeld it to us 4 It is not the habit of these vertues as infused from above into us but the act or work of them as set in operation by us that justifieth For so saith he of Faith it self much more implieth it of the other vertues that it is the act of faith alone as it is our act or work that justifyeth aâ—d consequentially that we are justifyed wholly by works viz. as the alone condition or causa sine qua non 5 That some of these justifying vertues or works are antecedaneous to or fore-going preparatives of some integrall parts some proper essentiall formall acts some differentiall and essentiall parts some modifications some in separable products some both parts and necessary consequents and subservient acts some necessary continuing and exercising means and lastly some separable adjuncts of Faith yet tending to the well being thereof and thus having adorned faith like the Cornish Chough with the feathers of all the best birds he sends it to scar aloft with these plumes to heaven for justification which without this borrowed help of it self it was not in a capacity to do pa. 240 241 242. In these particulars I take the whole sum of his doctrine about this Question to be comprehended He addeth indeed some lenitives here and there to mitigate and make tolerable the asperity and harshnesse of these his assertions which we shall examine among the reasons that he brings to manifest his doctrine not to be derogatory from the glory of Gods grace c. as being more proper to that then this place All the forementioned particulars may be summed up in this one That all the acts or works of all morall vertues and of all insuâ—ed Habits if he grant any such are required coordinately with faith to make up the conditio upon which we shall and without which we cannot be justifyed In opposition to this all the Protestant Churches do and still have maintained that Faith alone and the same not as it is in the consideration of a habit or vertue or as an act of ours but by way of a means or instrument as hath been before explained justifyeth without any concurrence of works with it in the act and office of justifying This assertion he endeavours to destroy and establish his own with many Arguments which we shall examine severally either after other CHAP. II. Mr. Baxters preface to his first Argument drawn from Scriptures to prove Justification by works examined and the Scriptures which the Protestant writers bring against it and Mr. Baxter would have stifled in darknesse here brought to light together with the opinion of the most eminent Protestant writers upon this Subject HIS first argument is drawn from Scriptures unto which he thus prefaceth B. 235. I desire no more of those that deny this but that
nothing c. When the Auâ—hor in the quoted place speaketh nothing of the New Covenant but of the Law of Christ by which hee there declareth himselfe to meane the Ten Commandements as they are now in the hand and disposing of Christ And this Law he understands also in relation not to the whole world but to them that are implanted into Christ his words being directed to Neophytus To such Christ having already borne the penalty of the Law in their stead temporall and fatherly chastisements onely for their purging and perfecting are threatned in case through infirmity they transgresse the Law In this I conceive hee alludeth to the priviledges of the Covenant made with David as the Type of Christ and his seed as the Type of Christs seed and so pertayning as a Gospel liberty no lesse fully to us than to them If his children forsake my Law breake my statutes c. Then will I visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes nevertheless my loving kindness will I not take utterly from him nor suffer my faithfulnes to fail my Covenant will I not break c. Ps 89. 31-34 And this is M. Brs. own doctrine when he teacheth that there is no deathly violation of the new Covenant besides final unbelief rebellion against Christ in and under Thes 32. 33. 34. and 37. But the Author whom Mr. Br. calls heer ad partes speaks not of finall unbeleefe or rebellion incident to the world but of some particular transgression of any of the Ten Commandements as hee expresseth himselfe through the infirmity incident to the Saints What fire and fury is there in this mans wrath that having made an Adversary will have him wounded vel per me though through his owne heart aniâ—amque in vulnere ponit If it be an intolerable errour in this man much more in Mr. Baxter who much more vehemently and upon sligâ—â—er and slenderer grounds asserts it The Scriptures which Mr. Baxter alleâ—dgeth as contraried by this doctrine speak eytherof such rebells as when the Grace of Christ is offered them persist in a finall refusall of it or of such hypocrites as having once seemingly tasted it Apostatize utterly from it And with these this Author hath nothing heere to doe Onely Mr. Baxter being heavily burthened with another Monster which hee had a purpose to have disburthened himselfe of in a Tractate of Universall Redemption being prevented by another must needs now and then case himselfe of it and speake out how hatefull to him the doctrine of the certaine perseverance of the Saints in grace is The other things which hee hints and but hints at as errours in this Author might bee taken into examination if Mr. Baxter would alleadge his words and shew what hee excepts against in them I see not but the passages are pure and cleare enough in the Booke if hee would forbeare the casting in of his salt-petre to corrupt them As he sayth it was not his businesse to have objected so neither was it my businesse to have defended had hâ—e not sought under a pretence of opposing this Booke to defame many truths of Christ CHAP. XI Whether according to Mr. Baxter the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without works tend to carnall Liberty and to the driving of Obedience out of the World IN prosecuting his second Quere Mr. Baxter hath lead us a long race In the rest he is more straight and short A third Quere which bears the force of another Argument to subvert Justification by Faith without works hee so proposeth as contayning another absurdity and evill likely to follow upon this doctrine His words are as followeth B. Aphor. pa. 325. Whether this Doctrine doth not tend to drive obedience out of the world For if mâ—n doe once beleeve that it is not so much as a part of the Condition of their Justification will iâ— not much tend to relax their diligence I know that Love and thankfulnesse should bee enough and so it will when all our ends are attained in our ultimate end Then wee shall Act for these ends no more wee shall have nothing to doâ— but love and joy and prayse and beâ— thankâ—full But that is not yet Sure as God hath given us the affections of Feare Desire Hope and Care so he would have us use them for the attainment of our great ends Therefore he that taketh downâ— but one of all our motives to obedience he helps to destroy obedience it selfe seeing we have need of every Motive that God hath left us I shall examine heere first the Quere it selfe then the amplification of it The Quere or Interrogation bears the force of a strong Affirmation That the doctrine of Justification by Grace without Workâ— doth tend to drive obedience out of the world and to relax mens diligence to good works It must bee therefore a prodigious doctrine that produceth so cursed an effect First then I demand whom he censureth as the Authors of so direfull an evill God or men If the Holy Ghost hath not taught men this doctrine let the guilt of this evill bee upon such men as have entertayned it But the Holy Ghost hath taught it To him that worketh not but beleeveth on him that justifieth the ungodly his Faith is imputed to him for righteousnesse But hee that worketh or brings works to be justified by them is excluded Ro. 4. 4. â— His is the blessedness to whom God imputeth Righteousness without works ver 6. Not of works but of him that calleth Ro. 9 11. If at works then not by Grace if by Grace then not of works Ro. 11. 7. By Grace through Faith not of works Eph. 2. 8. 9. Not our owne righteousnesse but the righteousnesse which is by the Faith of Christ Phil. 3. 9. Not by works of righteousnesse which wee have done but according to his mercy And many more testimonies before in a fitter place alleadged all in one harmony evincing the Holy Ghost to bee the Author of this Doctrine So that Mr. Baxter loadeth not man but God with this reproach of seeking to drive obedience out of the world 2. Whether hee hath not taken up this slander from the Monks and Jesuits Whether there bee any of them that having written against Justification by Faith which hath not aspersed it and our Churches that hold it with this scandall Or any one of the Protestant Divines which hath defended this Article of our Faith but hath spoken fully to the vindicating of this Doctrine from this so injurious a slander When Mr. Baxter is so much Popish that hee takes up every most frothy Objection of every shaveling of that side to adore it and so much an Anti-Protestant that hee scorns to mention what on our part hath beene regested in way of answer to it why takes he up his habitation among Protestants but to corrupt and seduce them 3. If hee meane by the World the unbeleevers of the World that are strangers to Christ and the Covenant
praises of the man yet this act of his meriteth it not no not from Mr. B. For as far as he transcribes him p. 182. Mr. Ball no further foâ—lowes Grotius then to Gods relaxing of the Law to take satisfaction from Christ in our steed But if he had also asserted that after satisfaction actually taken they which in Christ have satisfied are yet all their life-time under the Curse of the Law to bear it in their own persons would Mr. B. have hidden it Yet this is the thing in question between Mr. B. and the Protestants whether after the giving and receiving of satisfaction for our breaches of the Law the Curs of the Law be either nulled or els onely in part relaxed as to our bearing it Yea if he â—e as Mâ— B. stiles him then have we the testimony of so great learned and holy a Divine as almost England ever bred against Mr. B. himself not being able to deny any one almost that England ever bred which hath written more directly and contrarily to Mr. B. then this man in his Tractate of Faith about Justification If elswhere he contradicts himself I shall oppose Ball against Ball yea Ball in afflictions when he lived by Faith and had nothing else but Christ apprehended by Faith to support his troubled soul to Ball nâ—w raised to a prosperous state in the world and whâ— seeing the Court infected with Popery Socinianism and Arminianism and no other bridge to prefermâ—nt so effectuall as some shew of bending at least to these wayes might possibly as far as Conscience would permit him make use of the language there held most authentick I say of the language for I cannot condemn his doctrine alledged in his three following Testimonies it taken in a good sense But his ambiguities of words seem to speak him out to have had a levell to somewhat els besides the supporting of the truth and yet his Conscience seems to hold him bound from saying any thing manifestly against the truth Mr. B. may possibly tickle himself with his words but his matter duly pondered gives him a sting sufficient to perswade him to forbear laughter Let the unbiassed judicious Reader add consideration to his reading and then judge The rest of the testimonies which he hath here cited and quoted I let passe as altogether besides the questions which Mr. B. hath set in agitation between himself and all the Protestant-Churches And thus at length have his Arguments been examined which he brings to confirm his Justification by works He hath many things tending to the confirmation of some other Paradoxes scattered in his Aphorisms beginning at p. 123. of his Appendix and ending at p. 164. but because those things are handled by way of disputation against others and Mr. B. as a challenger doth call out there by name Mr. Owen and Maccovius to a Duell with himself each after other exposing them to the world as base and silly Animals in what they have said except they come forth into open field to make it good It shall be both impertinent and uncivil in me to meddle in a business to which others and the same far more worthy and able are called as to their peculiar task I should not be excused by any herein from being one that loveth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be busie in another mans office specially seeing I know not what these challenged have done or are doing in the defence of themselves and the doctrine which they have asserted Were it that their reputation alone and not a truth of Christ which they had undertaken to defend were here clouded by Mr. B. I should think it no fault in them to pass it by in contemptuous silence but seeing Mr. B. endeavours upon their ruines to erect his mounts against the City of the living God to destroy it or at least spoyle it of its principall immunities denying the full justification of the Lords redeemed ones in this world holding them under the curs and wrath of God both in their life and death I perceive not how they can be silent without betraying the truth of God which they once undertook to defend Since this was written I understand Mr. Owen hath fully vindicated himself and learnedly defended all that Mr. B. had laid on his score Thus far to his Arguments that he hath brought to prove Justification by works I find no more nor in these have I hidden any thing but set them forth in their fullest strength CHAP. XV. Mr. Baxters Plea to prove his Doctrine free from Popery examined and refuted I Come now to the most accurate finest and chiefest part of Mr. Brs. Art his Alcumistry by which hee turneth the basest metals into gold darkness into light death into life deformity into beauty and hell into heaven it self All this he with strong endeavours labours to accomplish while with strong confidence hee goes about to vindicate his doctrine from all error all infection of Popery Socinianism Pharisaism and to render it the same with the doctrine of Paul and of Christ guiltless of all derogation to the praise of Gods grace Christs merits or the Saints comfort Yea to set it forth in such a splendor that although hee hath hitherto described such a grace of God as by his donation was no more appropriated and peculiarized to Peter then to Judas to the cursed in hell than to the Saints in heaven and such a Christ as reigneth Tyrant-like in the Kingdom of grace chaining up his own all his own subjects and friends under the curse of the Law to bear the horrors and torments of it in soul and body all their life yea after death as long as the world shall continue though he hath taken away from the Saints after their self-denyall repentance building themselves by their most holy Faith upon Christ the Rock after their renovation and sanctification by the Spirit all hope and possibility of attaining any assurance of Gods unchangeable love to them or of their sinns irrevocably pardoned or of their perseverance in the state of Grace or of their indefeazable right to glory or of their exemption from the curse and wrath of God while they live or of the rest and freedom of their souls after death either from the flames of Hell or of Purgatory as long as the world standeth After hee hath taught that no man shall have any part in Christ and his benefits which procureth it not by his own righteousness his own perfect righteousness in suo genere yea by the merits of his righteousness After that he hath proclaimed that his Gospel brings no better tidings of joy than these Yet at length hee comes to varnish over such a Grace such a Christ such a Gospel such a state of believers who are all of his own faigning with such paints and fine colours as by them to enamour all men to embrace these as the only true and appetible Grace Christ Gospel and state of beleevers That this Doctrine
and actions the godly are called Righteous in Scripture and their faith and duties are said to pleas God viz. at they are related to the Covenant of grace i. e. as they are coÌ„ditions procuring our Justification by Christ as well as in regard of the imputed Righteousnes which he addeth but as a cypher bringing no proof for it but all seemingly for the former Aphor. Thes 18 19 20 22 and its explication p. 119. c. We are justified by works commanded This is the generall vote of all Popish writers none excepted in the Law yet as they make up not our Legall but our Evangelicall Righteousness not as they are done upon legall terms but as they are conditions of the New Covenant This is the chief substaÌ„ce of Mr Brs whole book and it is a poorer shift to elude the doctrine of Paul than is that of the Papists Love is an essentiall part of Justifying Faith not properly a fruit of of it Aph. p 266. When Faith therefore The common Tenet of Papists not love is said to justifie it is said so to work in its essentiall work of accepting by Love pa. 268. That both are necessary to salvation are concurrent in apprehending Christ is doubtless p. 271. Love doth truly receive Christ c. p. 224. The people are to understand that for them to take upon trust from their Teachers what they cannot yet reach to see in its own evidence is less absurd and more necessary that many This also is a known Tenet among the Papists do imagin Epistle to the reader in the last page save two These may suffice for a Taste by which the reader may judge whether Mr. Brs and the Papists Barrells are filled with the same Herring or not Should I proceed to Compare also his and their equivocations ambiguities mentall reservations together with their purposed and not unwary Contradictions when to say and deny the same thing in severall places as may severally make for their advantage But specially if I should go on to Compare them how they bring the same arguments to prove their severall assertions and the same distinctions and other shifts of Sophistry to elude the Scriptures and reasons which make against them I should procedere ad infinitum almost begin but finde no end In alleaging the words of the severall Authors something here and there hath perhaps been abbreviated some words standing as cyphers without waight in reference to the questions Controverted interserted to make up some orderly Connexion of the following with the foregoing particular cited But no where have I wittingly Committed any such alteration of the words as to alter in one Title the sense of the Writer as will be evident to all that will but take the pains to examine the citations with their authentique or books from which they are cited Neither is there any one thing alleaged in which the two parties Cohere but what hath been still Controverted between the Papists and Protestants Else would it be easie to produce a thousand particulars wherein the Pope and Luther themselves speak one and the same thing without opposition or difference If any where when Mr. Br and the Papists speak the same words yet Mr. Br means not punctually the same thing with the Papists in every such allegation I undertake to manifest that he is worse and delivers more self-exalting Grace-depressing doctrine than they Yet all this is too little to set forth the frame of Mr. Brs spirit he may take himself injured and left too obscure if he be but matched with the Papists and have no pre-eminence granted him before and above them in exalting mans righteousnes and nullifying the Grace of God in Christ That we may not rob him of the praise to which his ambition seems to aspire we will grant to him that the Papists are but the Pigmies and he the Giant that in the battell between Michael and the Dragon he hath superexcelled more deserved the Scarlet Hat Miter Crosier yea Triple Crown it sâ—lf than they that have and wear them if not by his Art yet at least by his daring boldnes in his undertakings This service therefore I shall do him to manifest not onely his equality with but also his exâ—perancy above many of the famous Champions of Rome That many of the brave Cardinals Bishops Jesuits and Fryars of the Church of Rome are Protestants in the poynt of Justification as compared with Mr. Br and that he sheweth himself in many particularâ— about this doctrine a Papist of a deeper dye than the more modest Papists yea than some of the most Jesuitized and Trentified Rabbi's among them This shall be the business of the next Chapter CHAP. XVII A comparing of Mr. Baxters Doctrine with the Doctrine of some of the more Modest and other more Trentified and Jesuitized Papists in which he is found more Antichristian than they Papists 1 IT is to be noted that the Scripture attributeth this imputation of Righteousness to no other thing but Faith 2 Faith hath not of it self any efficacy as it is our act to forgive and reconcile but all its vertue proceeds from its object namely Christ whose vertue and merit God hath disposed to apply to the sinner unto Justification by Faith on him 3 If it be enquired how the Law of Faith is distinguished by Paul against the Law of works even of morall works when Faith also is comprehended under the genus or kind of works for to beleeve is our work The solution is that to beleeve in him that justifieth the ungodly leaneth upon the Righteousnes of another to wit of God through Christ but other works do lean upon their own Righteousness every work is in or after it self good and makes him good that hath it 4 If Faith as it is a certain Act and of it self should procure Righteousness then were not Righteousness given freely God hath not used works to justifie as he hath used Faith that men should not boast attributing Righteousness to the vertue or merit of works 5 Faith is not counted to us for Righteousness as if it self were made our Righteousness but because it brings a Righteousness on man before God not as it is an act of man then Grace should be of works for to beleeve is a kind of work but of Gods will as he hath willed that Righteousness should be given to man by Faith and the vertue of Christ upon whom man beleeveth should be communicated to the beleever This is to count or impute Faith to Righteousness before God 6 Whereas we attain a twofold Righteousness by Faith an inherent Righteousness c. by which we become pertakers of Gods nature and the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us c. It remains to be enquired upon which of these we ought to lean or trust and to account our selves justified before God My judgment is that we are to rest to rest I say as upon a stable
out to be children of the Devill though they brake not out in them into every particular Act as in the Devill The utmost that M. Br. can from such premisses conclude is that though in many things els it be yet in this one his Doctrine is not aspersed with Socinianism 2. I think it will not be objected by any to M. Br. that he is ambitious in all things to be a Socinian but in such only wherein the Socinians are most subtle Sophisters than the Jesuites and doe bring more shew of sophisticated reason to exalt Popery than the Papists themselves and with greater plausibility and craft do pervert the truth and simplicity of the Gospel more extolling mans pride and more nullifying Gods grace than any of the Champions of the Pope had either the wit or the audacity to do untill these had taught them If then in the before-mentioned point hee holds not with Socinus no marvell for then should he have relinquished the Papists I do not think that his wits do run in Pilgrimage to Racovia upon any other grounds but in love to Rome and in abhorrence of free Jerusalem Gal. 4. 26. 3. Hee should have cleered if hee could his Doctrine from other peeces of Socinianism which he knows it guilty of would be objected against him As 1. His To Credere or Act of believing justifying a sinner 2. All other works of obedience as our Acts or works justifying in an equality and in the same manner with Faith without mentioning any vertue that they have from the death of Christ to this end as the Papists teach but rather that Christ fetcheth vertue from these to justifie 3 His doctrine of Gods dispensing with and relaxing of his Law To which I might add in the 4 th place his canonizing and almost deifying Reason and that without any adject of renewed or spirituallized even of naturall and sophisticall reason to which he doth so frequently in his book almost sacrifice as to the sole and sufficient Judg of the Scriptures and guide unto salvation These things he cannot deny to be originally from Socinus though probably brought home to him by other dirty Channels and not dipt from the spring or rather puddle it self It is but a vain piece of his sophistry to defend himself where none will accuse and to hide himself in the dark where ke knows he should meet with opposition and accusation 4 He professeth himself to be but yet a puny in the School of Secinus hath read but little of their doctrine yet is much sowred with the Leaven thereof when hee hath more fully tryed the quaintnes depth of their sophistry in which his soul delighteth more than in the plainnes foolishnes of the Gospel who knoweth whether he may not following such a guide as reasō at length also sup up with pleasure what now he casteth off with defiance the Apost speaks somthing that may put us in fear of it 2 Tim. 3. 13. 5 Even this error of Socinus against which in speciall he protesteth his abhorrence he doth in generall maintain with as strong a Front as any of the Socinians They say that Christ offereth salvation to all but it is every particular mans particular faith and obedience their actuall believing and obeying following his precepts and treading in his steps to the end that in the end makes him to be actually and effectually a Saviour to them And this is the sum and full dimension of Mr. Brs. doctrine Only they make Christ the Prophet chiefly but this man Christ as Priest and King to be the Saviour In this they both agree that except we by our own righteousness become self-Saviours we shall have no salvation by him What else he hath in this Section for the vindicating yea magnifying of his doctrine hath been oft spoken to already and will a little after be examined again where hee useth the Tantundem though not literally the Idem of these words to apologize for his doctrine against other crimes imputable to it CHAP. XIX Mr. Baxters first Reason examined by which he endeavours to evince his Doctrine not to be repugnant to Pauls viz. that Pauls question in his Epistles and his question in his Aphorisms are not one but divers Pauls question what is that proper Righteousness by which we are justified from the laws malediction which the Apostle concludeth to be Christs satisfaction only But Mr. Brs. and St. Iames his question what is the condition of this Justification by Christs Righteousnes whether Faith alone or works also WEe have examined what he hath to say for the vindicating of his Doctrine from Popery and Socinianism we expected also that hee should in the next place have shewed or at least pretended some distance between him and the Arminians But it seems he glories in it as his Crown to be reputed one of their part Therefore leaving this he undertakes a greater Task an Herculean Labour in his third dispute of this kind viz. to cleer his doctrine from all opposition to Paul and the Scriptures This is a work indeed which if hee discharge honourably and full up to what he promiseth all will grant him the Lawrell above all the Angelical and Seraphical Divines that have in any age made use of ink and paper It is the sole thing that we long after for satisfaction Let him bless us with sound demonstrations to prove it wee shall all run after him And though some madd men may term us Papists Socinians Arminians or whatsoever else we shal gladly bear it to become his Disciples All what else he hath said would be superfluous to every conscientious man This alone would win him But how poorly and Pigmie-like this supposed Giant dischargeth this bold adventure let his owne words declare B. p. 307 c. Lastly let us see whether S. Paul or any other Scripture do contract I thinke it should be printed do contradict this And for my part I know no one word in the Bible that hath any strong appearance of contradiction to it The usuall places quoted are these Rom. 3. 28. 4. 2 3 14 15 16. Gal. 2. 16. 3. 21 22. Eph. 2. 8 9. Phil. 3. 8 9. In all which and in all other the like places you shall easily perceive 1 That the Apostles dispute is upon this question what is the Righteousness which we must plead against the accusation of the Law or by which we are justified as by the proper Righteousness of that Law And this he well concludeth is neither works nor Faith but the Righteousness which is by Faith that is Christs Righteousnes But now St. James his question is what is the condition of our Justification by this Righteousness of Christ whether Faith onely or works also This is the first part of this his Dispute Let us examine what force it hath to the end for which he useth it whether it reconciles Paul to Mr Br. or shew they never contradicted one the other 1
Sophister to be guâ—le fools in stead of a Logician to satisfie the intelligent He that ascribeth saith he to works or obedience no part of that work which belongeth to Christs satisfactory Righteousness doth not derogate in that from that Righteousness No less true than the Gospel but so farr from the question as the earth is from heaven For who ever questioned whether the not ascribing to works that which belongeth to Christs satisfactory righteousness be a derogating feom that righteousness Yea it were madness in any to question it For if the not ascribing should so derogate then God Christ Spirit Word Apostles Prophets all Protestants yea all animate and inanimate Creatures without understanding should be guilty of derogating from Christs satisfactory righteousness For none of these ascribe to works any part of that work which belongeth to that righteousness of Christ How palpable is this cheat which Mr. Br. would put upon us He that doth not ascribe c. doth not derogate in that i. e. in his not ascribing to mans works what belongs to Christ from Christ By the like Argumentation might Joah clear himself from the guilt of murther Committed upon two better men than himself and Christs Tormentors themselves from having any hand in his death Thus might they learn of Mr. Br. to plead They that wound not that keep a mans head from wounding do not in that take away his life True the not wounding of the head was not prejudiciall to the life of them whom they slew But the wounding and piercing of their bodies and shedding out their bowells made them as actually murtherers as if they had also dashed out the brains of them whom they slew It was not what they did not but what they did that Constituted them guilty of murther So it is not Mr. Brs not ascribing but his ascribing to works that derogates from Christ Shall we thinke that Mr. Br. slumbered and doated into this fallacy Is he a puny that he should need to be taught how to express himself in an argument Nay all must see that he knows it to be a heterodox and desperate Conclusion which he mainteineth that no honest and holy means can pillar up therefore tramples all ingenuity under-foot running over it to fetch patronage from his Sophistry And even herein bewraies the high thoughts that he hath of himself that all his flies are Eagles and his grossâ—st Conceptions oracles and his abasing of all others that they are so blinde as not to see and so blunt as to be all taken in his rook nets Or if we take his meaning thus That his doctrine in making Works a Collaterall with Faith to Justification which he would say plainly if he meant not fraudulently and had not his own judgement and Conscience suggesting to him the weakness falshood of such an assertion because it ascribeth no part of the work of Christs satisfactory righteousness to works doth not derogate from Christ and his righteousness Then I deny both the Consequent and Consequence of the Proposition For 1 It derogates from him and it a full potency and efficacy to justifie any one untill it be animated and enlivened by our own works to do it leaving it all feeble dead to produce its effect untill our obedience as its Concause gives life to it And this is Contradictive to the doctrine of the Apostle who asserteth the efficacy and actuall efficiency of Christ and his righteousness to justifie us yet ungodly Rom. 4. 5. yet without strength to work yet sinners yet enemies and so workers against him Rom. 5. 6 8 9 10. 2 It derogates from it its glory in parting and dividing our Justification between his righteousness our righteousness so ascribing part of the praise to man which ought to be attributed full and entire to Christ This also is contrary to the doctrine of the Apostle that excludes works under every notion from having to do in the business of Justification to exclude Boasting lest any man should boast or glory in himself Rom. 3. 27. 4. 2. Eph. 2. 9. But that He that glorieth may glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1. 29 30 31. Nay it doth not onely derogate from but totally destroy and nullifie the righteousness of Christ as to us and our justification For so first the Apostle testifieth Christ is become of no effect to you whosoever of you are justified by the Law Gal. 5. 4. And to be justified by the Law or by the works of the Law are with the Apostle the same thing as hath been oft shewed before Yea to seek justification in any part or degree by the works or obedience which the Law requireth as a Condition of Justification is to seek to be Justified by the Law Works being the Condition of Justification by the Law and not by Grace 2 Because it obstructeth the way of Justification which Christ hath made and sends poor souls to seek it in a way that is impervious by which there can be no access to Christ his righteousness For the righteousness of Christ is given of free Love pure grace meer mercy as a free Gift Rom. 5. 15. Freely offered and received Rev. 22. 17. Without money and without price Isa 55. 1. He is the worst Simoniak that seeks to buy this gift of the Holy Ghost for money to make it his by his own Merit and obedience Whosoever is admitted to it such a one is rejected from it For Christ came to call not the Righteous but sinners to repentance The Publicans and Harlots enter when these are excluded They shall come from the East and from the West c. From all parts of Paganism and Barbarism that shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jaakok in the kingdome of God in the possession of graâ—e and righteousness by Christ but these that think themselves in their own righteousness to be the children of the kingdome shall be cast out with the Jewes into whose doctrine manners they are naturallized And justly For he that worketh i. e. brings works to inright him to Justification Challengeth it as Debt from Gods Justice as the fruit of his own work Merit that God oweth to him not as a free gift from his grace Rom. 4. 4. Who will envie to him the fruit of his deservings This is Condemnation from the Tribunall of Justice where no flesh can be justified when they which work not but beleeve on him which Justifieth the ungodly i. e. which bring Faith alone without works as Coadjutors to put them into the actuall and sensible possession of the righteousness which is by Christ these even these alone shall be justified at the throne of grace Rom. 4. 5. Why these seek it in the way where God is present to give it The other in a way wherein God never was never will be present to bestow it Lastly I deny the Assumption also It is false that Mr. Br. making so as he doth it Obedience or Works the condition
again with the strokes of his Curse so sorely that we shall be healed no more while the world lasteth I have sworn that I would no more be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee Isa 54 9. i. e. I have sworn but never meant to stand to it I might instance hundreds more of such Scriptures wherewith Mr. Brs. glosses and distinctions do as well agree as fire towe together If Mr. Br. did so much honour the very intrals of Gods word as hee doth the backside of Aristotles Topicks he would not dare so to elude and elide them But Gods authority with him must it seems stand or fall as it hath or hath not approbation from Aristotles or Socinus his Reason being submitted to the censure thereof And then what living plant of God can stand where this man brings the Axe of his distinctions to fell and prepare billets in heaps for his Cole-fires B. 2. As to the Covenant of works though he make them Concomitants with Faith in justifying and that the voyce of the New C is after his Assertion the same with the voyce of the Old Do and Live yet he denies his doctrine to be herein Legall Because there is a manifold difference implyed though not expressed between the Lawes and the Gospels justifying by works 1 The Law requireth an obedience or righteousness of works in every number and degree perfect to justification But hee makes the New Covenant or Gospell to require only sincere obedience or obedience perfect in sincerity for the attainment of this end Aph. pa. 133. 316. and Thes 77. pa. 310. and App. pa. 76 77. And the sincere covenanting of this obedience or this sincere obedience covenanted must be thus conditioned else it is not sincere 1 It must follow upon the knowledg of the Nature ends conditions of the Covenant 2 It must be done deliberately and not in a fit of passion or rashly 3 It must be done seriously and not dissemblingly or slightly 4 Freely and heartily and not through meer constraint and fear 5 Intirely and with a resolution to perform the whole Covenant and not with reservations giving themselves to Christ by the halves or reserving a purpose to maintain their fleshly interests 6 It must be the taking and obeying of Christ alone not joyning others in office with him but renouncing all other happiness save what is by him and all government and salvation from any which is not in direct subordination to him Append. pa. 33. These make up a sincere and perfect obedience a sincere and perfect Gospel-righteousness perfect in respect of Evangelicall though not of legall perfection For sincerity is our Gospel perfection being a conformity to the rule of perfection viz. the New Covenant as it is a Covenant a perfection of sufficiency in order to its end which is to be the condition of Justification Aph. p. 132 133. Who now is there of all men that hath eyes in his elbows but seeth distinctly a vast difference between the Laws and the Gospels justifying by works For it is justice which requires perfect but Grace that requireth but sincere obedience to justification All this is without book the dictates not of the Holy Ghost but of Mr. Br. and that spirit which wrought in his Masters from whom he learned it For 1. The Scriptures which he alledgeth in any part of this Treatise to make any part thereof probable have been examined and none of them found to speak for him most against him Neither do these assertions of Scripture that affirm Christ to give or promise that he will give life salvation c. to such or such qualified or working persons as to them that love him or fear him or obey him or to the meek the righteous c. any more infer that these qualifications or works have any proper or improper causality to produce their justification than when the Scriptures affirm him to give grace and life to Centurions Publicans Harlots Sinners Enemies Uâ—godly Chief sinners Samaritans Heathen do infer that their being such had any causality unto their justification 2. Nay the Scriptures utterly deny the Gospel to have to do with the Law in this voyce Do and Live as I have before oft alleged them Not by works of righteousness which we have done but of his Mercy he hath saved us by Faith not of works Not of workes but of Grace And how poor a shift Mr. Br. useth to elude the force of these and the like Scriptures hath been shewed in the examination of his vindicating himself from being contradictive to St. Paul 3. Yea if works in any notion or consideration be brought as coupled with Faith to promote Justification the Scriptures affirm them to destroy the hope of Justification and to repell the grace of Christ by which the Beleevers are justified If ye be circumcised which in Pauls sense there is if yee bring but this one work to forward your Justification by Christ ye are bound to keep the whole law Christ is become of no effect ye are faln from grace and faln under the Curse Gal. 5. 3 4. 3. 10. 4. And if works or obedience in Mr. Brs. sense which is the doing of the moral Righteousness that the Law commandeth be not as much as adjuvant to Justification then surely sincere obedience cannot be helpful where obedience yea perfect obedience is excluded This is and appears to be either an instinct or a distinction of Mr. Brs. own brain not a doctrine of the Scripture for which way shall we turn the leaves thereof to find it 5. Yea how rational or how ridiculous this distinction or gloss of Mr. Br. applyed to those Scriptures which deny justification by the obedience of works I leave both to the seeing and the blind to judg By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified saith the Apostle i. e. saith Mr. Br. by the perfect obedience of works but by unperfect obedience if sincere we may be justified Not of works but of grace i. e. not of works perfectly done but of works unperfectly yet sincerely done so grace and works may be made friends that is Gods grace and mans vain glory may kiss each other as co-equal workers of mans justification Not by works of Righteousnes which we have done but of his mercy c. i. e. which wee have done perfectly but which we have done maimedly yet sincerely If some Festus should hear such a Commentary of Mr. Br. upon Paul he would conclude sure that one of them is beside himself much learning hath made him madd Either Paul that he had not wit or words to express his own meaning that in the whole bulk of his disputes denying unto our works and righteousness indefinitely all operation to Justification doth not as much as with a Parenthesis in any place inform his Reader that he speaks not of Gospel but of legall works not of sincere but of perfect obedience that these are rejected from those necessarily
required to justification Or Mr. Br. that without craving leave of Paul by such gross distinetions goes about to make him unsay what he hath said and the world to believe that in all what he wrote of Justification hee meant to be understood on the contrary to what hee speaketh 6. If we bring works at all to procure justification by Christ we do by evacuating the grace of God and merits of Christ to our selves oblige put a bondage upon our selvet to fulfil the whole Law legally in its perfection else can we never be justified but abide under the Curse for ever For he that worketh requireth the reward as a debt in law and not as a gift of grace therefore except his work be so perfect as that it can in strict justice save him hee can never attain salvation as by comparing together these Scriptures will be evident viz. Gal. 5. 3 4. 3. 10. Rom. 4. 4 5. 9. 30 31 32. 7. As to the rules or qualifications which he gives to covenanting and obedience that it may be sincere they are in substance meerly legal the Name of Christ being only put in stead of the Name of God And who is there not only of the Jesuits Socinians with the Arminians from whom he borroweth most of his principles but even of the reall Antinomians whom he pretends to oppose who in all those particulars thinks not himself or gives not cause to all to think them as sincere as Mr. Br what ground have we to conclude but that they know the ends nature and conditions of the Covenant so truly and obey with so much deliberation and as little fittishness and rashness so seriously without dissimulation and slightness so freely intirely and singly aâ— Mr. Br. doth Thus every stigmatized Heretick in his own way bringing with him such a sincerity of obedience shall thereby be possessed of the investiture of Christs righteousness though he seek it in his own not in Gods way by his own righteousness and not by Faith alone which alone God hath stamped with an aptitude and efficacy to this work B. 2. The Law saith he requireth obedience and doing by its own righteousness to justifie us but the Gospel requireth it as a Medium to acquire to us Christs Righteousness by which wee may be justified So that the one requires works to justifie us withoutt the other the same works to justifie us by a Mediator This he saith so frequently in substance that it were lost labour to quote the places And it hath been almost so oft answered as said Therefore I shall referr the Reader to the places where it hath been answered and specially to the examination of those his disputes in which he labours to cleer his doctrine from all tincture of Popery from all contradiction to Paul and from being derogatory to Christ his righteousnes Here only I add that this doctrine is the same with that of the most legal Pharisees against whom the Apostle so much inveigheth wishing them accursed cut off for troubling the Churches therwith Gal. 1 9. 5. 12. For they arrogated to themselves alone part in Christ his Righteousnes because of their own personall righteousness in the works and obedience which the Law requireth resisting the Gentiles denying to them all possibility to partake in the Justification which is by Christ by means of Faith alone except they also fulfilled the righteousnesse which the Law required to give them right to him and it Yea Mr. Br. with these ascribes more to works than the very unbeleeving Pharisees For these claymed Justification only by their works but he and the beleeving Pharisees challenged for their works right both in the Justifier and in his justification also For Causa causae est etiam causa causati As farr as they ascribe to their works a Causality to make Christ theirs they make them causal to render the Justification which is by Christ theirs also B. 3. That neither is his Doctrine legall nor doth he ascribe too much to works because he maketh Faith and obedience to be but a Condition or a Mâ—dium or a poor improper Causa sine qua non of our Justification Aph. pa. 223 224. and our doing no part of satisfaction for our unrighteousness for this hee seems to have ascribed before to our sufferings in bearing the Curse but to be our Gospel-Righteousness or the Condition of our participation in Christ who is our legall Righteousness so of all the benefits that come by him App. p. 78. I say that subjection and obedience justifie 1 Not as works simply considered 2 Nor as legall works 3 Nor as meritorious workes 4 Nor as good works which God is pleased with 5 But as Conditions to which the free Law giver hath promised Justification and life Nay your i. e. the Protestants doctrine ascribeth farr more of the work to man than mine For you make Justification an effect of your own Faith and your faith an instrumentall cause of it and so make your self your own Justifier And you say your faith justifieth as it apprehendeth Christ which is the most intrinsicall essentiall consideration of Faith so faith hath much of the Honour But while I affirm that it justifieth only as a condition which is an extrinsicall consideration and alien from its essence and Nature I give the glory to him that freely giveth mee life and that made so sweet a condition to his Covenant and that enableth me to perform the said Condition App. pag. 120 121. All this hath been oft and fully examined before in its place also and how little truth there is in any part or parcell thereof discovered It would be weariness to the flesh and vexation to the Spirit but to look so often upon his great Goddess his Queen of Heaven CONDITION as he blesseth her O that his conscience had been so well acquainted with Christ as his fancy is with this Idoll he would not then have pestered the Church with such an imaginary Deity nor prostituted all that is called God at the feet of such a Proserpina I am weary any more to attend to him making the will of God i. e. God willing conditional and so the immutable God a conditional God the salvation of Christ conditional so Christ a conditional Saviour or the witness seal of Christ a conditional seal and witness and so the Holy Ghost a conditional Spirit of Adoption or the gospel of righteousness forgiveness and life a conditional Gospel and consequently nulling all thâ—se and pronouncing them no God no Christ no Holy Ghost no Gospel For a conditional proposition doth Nihil ponere and after Mr Brs. principles it is in mans righteosness to give or destroy the actual existence of every of these But I leave to him that delights therein to bury himself in this guâ—ph I conceive my self obnoxious to censure for spending and spilling so many words already to shew the deformity and