meer pardon if it must rest upon him to satisfie or to provide satisfaction for the Law But doth this hinder God's providing and bestowing on him the righteousness of his Son As a Bankrupt is capable of nothing but to have his debt freely forgiven him for ought that he can do towards satisfaction yet this hindreth not but his Friend may pay the Debt for him and so render him solvent in Law 'T is once more said Object Iustâ—â— Evang p. 35 36. If a Sinner be not made Righteous by pardon but may be counted a Sinner still then by the same reason when Christ his Righteousness is imputed that being not his own Obedience he may be counted a Sinner still and so be Righteous and a Sinner at the same time which implieth a loud Contradiction Answ It is no Contradiction being not eodem respectu not in the same respect or in the same sence A man is a Sinner in himself and righteous in Christ the Law pronounceth him a Sinner and sentenceth him to death but the Law-giver who is above the Law accepteth Christs fulfilling the Law for him and thus being admitted upon Christs account the Law it self must acknowledg him Righteous CHAP. II. The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness to Believers explained and proved HAving proved that to Justifie is to accept as Just or Righteous and likewise that our own Obedience is not cannot be the Righteousness wherein we must appear before God it remaineth that it must be the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us for and by which we must be justified and this is now to be proved But before we come to the Proof we shall briefly inquire What we mean by Christs Righteousness and what by the Imputation of it The Righteousness of Christ which we say is imputed to a Sinner for his Justification is that Righteousness which he fulfilled or wrought in conformity to the Law of God whereby the Law violated by us was fulfilled and satisfied for us and in our stead Rom. 10.4 Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Therefore it is not the Righteousness of his Divine Person which is imputed to us for that is Infinite such as men are uncapable of and 't was never required from them Yet the Perfections of his God-head do add the meritorious Dignity to his Satisfaction Nor is it the connate habitual Righteousness of his Man-hood For this is presuppos'd to enable to the performance of the Law but not properly required by the Law yet the Law requireth the preservation and exercise of perfect inherent righteousness Adam was created perfect to make him capable of receiving a Law of perfect obedience therefore that Law supposed a Holy Nature and only required continuance in that perfection of Nature which he had received In like manner it was necessary that Christ should be born with a perfect holy Nature that he might undertake the fulfilling of the Law for us and the preserving and exercise of that Holiness once received was a part of his obedience to the Law but that Holiness as natural and habitual was antecedent to the obedience of the Law and therefore no prober part of it Christ's Righteousness then which is imputed to us is his Holy Life in obedience to the Law of God and his voluntary obediential suffering the Penalties of the Law unto death it self for us and in our stead By the latter he made satisfaction for our sins and breach of the Law and by the former he fulfill'd the Law in the proper and principal design of it and thereby purchased eternal life which was promised by the Law to them that fulfill it By obeying the substance of the Moral Law as given to Man-kind and suffering death the Penalty thereof he satisfied the Law and wrought Righteousness for men in general and by obeving the Jewish Law and suffering the penalties and that kind of death threatned and accursed particularly by â—t he wrought righteousness for the Jews Gal. 4.4 5. Now when we say This Righteousness of Christ is imputed to Believes reckoned or accounted theirs Rom. 4.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we do not mean that they are accounted to have done and suffered those Actions and Penalties which Christ was Author of and endured Christ and Believers are still distinct natural persons and so the actions and passions of one person cannot be reckoned properly the actions and passions of the other Nor do we teach by imputing Christs Righteousness to Believers that God looketh upon them as if they had done and suffered in their own persons what Christ did in his in any proper sence For Christ only is accounted the Author of his own Righteousness and though Believers be justified by it yet the honour of working that righteousness and of being the proper subject of its Inherence belongeth to Christ alone But by Imputation we mean that God accounteth the Righteousness of Christ to have been wrought by him for every one that believeth and doth justifie or accept them to life eternal for that very righteousness believed or trusted in according to the promise of the Gospel and so Christs Righteousness is reckoned theirs or reckoned to them put to their account as if it were theirs not efficienter but effectivè not as if they had wrought it but that they may have the full benefit of it and be justified by it as effectually as if they had obeyed the Law perfectly in their own persons This is that which our Divines mean by saying Christ righteousness is ours in law that Christ and Believer are one in Law viz. that the Law â—f God is as truly and sully satisfied for us by â—he righteousness of Christ as if we had fulfilled it our selves and that God being pleased â—o admit of the fulfilling of the Law by Christ â—or us the Law doth pronounce us righteous â—nd Heirs of life for that righteousness which Christ wrought in obedience to it In this â—ence also they say That the very formal righteousness of Christ is a Believers righteousness or imputed to him viz. not that a Believer is reckoned to have wrought that righteousness as an efficient cause of it nor that Christs righteousness is transfused into him implanted in him as the subject of inherence â—ut that the very righteousness which Christ wrought was intended and wrought for him by the Son and is accepted for him by the Father that he is justified for it and intituled to life eternal Christ is the efficient the subject of Inherence of his own active passive obedience but the immediate benefit of it as satisfactory to the Law is a Believers and he is the subject of it a subject of external denomination he is denominated righteous from that righteousness wrought for him and accepted in his behalf Thus it is not forma inhaerens but denominans not an internal but an external Form When a Debtor is discharged his Surety paying the Debt
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and v. 17. Death reigned had its full power upon Man kind by means of this one Man And v. 18. By the Offence of one Judgment came upon all to condemnation all are condemned for his Offence And v. 89. The reason is because by that one mans disobedience peccatores instituti sunt they are made constituted Sinners whence the Argument is strong All men be condemned dead sentenced adjudged to death for the Sin of Adam therefore that sin is accounted theirs imputed to them not as if they had personally been the Actors of that Sin or that it did inhere or adhere properly to them but Adams sinning as the Head of Man kind and as it were for all men they are accounted to have sinned in him so as to incur all the punishment of his Sin Now let it be observed that ex adverso in like manner cometh the Gift of Life of Justification and the Gift of Righteousness by Jesus Christ by his Obedience men are made righteous justi constitutisunt are constituted righteous But men were made Sinners by Adams Sin and so fell under the Sentence of death before they sinned in their own persons without their own personal disobedience through being destitute of grace they must needs sin and so add to their punishment Therefore they that believe are made righteous in Christ with his Righteousness before any personal righteousness in them without the condition of their own obedience though being made righteous in Christ they receive grace to be obedient and so to be fit to receive the Inheritance giv'n them in Christ Object It is objected by a learned and grave Person that in this place v. 19. we are not said to be justified with Christs Obedience Hotchkis ut supra p. 43 44. but by it and that by signifieth an efficient or meritorious cause but with a formal cause and that we may be said to be justified by the Obedience of Christ as it merited Justification upon the Terms of the Gospel but not with it as imputed to us Answ Forgetfulness of Grammar is no wonder scarce a fault in his Age but that tells us that the Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when construed with a Genitive Case doth signifie cum with as well as per by and gives this example 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cum gladiis The same also say the Lexicons So then by the favour of the Greek word we may translate it with the Obedience of one many are made Righteous Moreover by signifieth the formal Cause which is causa per quam and with an Instrumental Cause Part 1. p. 229 230. not a Formal as hath been shewed And thus this distinction is grounded upon a mistake both in Grammar and Logick But he farther saith that here is no word of Imputation or imputing Christs Obedience to us and that it is barely said By his Obedience we are made Righteous I answer It is necessarily implied we are made righteous by the Obedience of Christ as we were made Sinners by the Disobedience of Adam but his Disobedience made us Sinners by imputation or being imputed to us ergò the Comparison is expresly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If this Authors sence be admitted in the latter words it must be affixed also to the former i. e. If we are made righteous by Christs Obedience only because he merited that we should be justified if we obey the Gospel then it must follow we are made Sinners by Adam's Disobedience only because he merited by his Fall that if we sinned we also should perish If Christ only brought in a way of righteousness how we might be justified if we observed it then Adam only brought in a way of Sin how men might be condemned if they trod in his Steps but this is absurd To return that Adam's Sin is properly imputed to us I farther prove from Eph. 2.3 We were by Nature Children of wrath even as others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the rest of men Grotius his gloss upon these words viz. That the Apostle meaneth only the Gentiles who were born out of the Church and out of the Covenant and therefore were by nature Children of Wrath is against the words of the Text. For the Apostle having spoken of the Gentiles in the two former verses putteth himself and the Jews into the same condition in this verse saying Amongst whom we all had our Conversation in times past and we were by nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Children of wrath even as the rest All men therefore are by nature Children of wrath i. e. are born Heirs of wrath under the Sentence of Condemnation For as Children of Life Children of the Kingdom signifie those that are Heirs under the Promise of Life so Children of Wrath are those that are Heirs under the Sentence of Condemnation Now I demand how all men should come under the sentence of condemnation and inherit it as their natural though woful Birth-right unless Adams Fall be sharged upon them and so as soon as they have a Being derived from him in a natural way the Sentence pronounced against him is â—n force against them also Suppose God might justly have deprived all Mankind descending from Adam of his present Favour and of the Gifts and Graces Priviledges and Benefits which Adam enjoyed because Adam had forfeited them and could not therefore leave them to be enjoyed to his Posterity Aâ— a Father spending or forfeiting his own Inheritance and Honours doth deprive his Children of them though they are not therefore made guilty of his Offence yet how will it consist with Justice besides the loss of all Privileges to adjudge sentence men to death before any Trial is made of their Obedience whether they will not do better than Adam did or aâ— least do something that in their forlorn Estate may move some compassion to them and mitigate their misery This is our Case we are born Heirs of Death Judgment and Condemnation is past upon all men taketh hold of them as soon as they are men How can this be without any guilt chargeable upon them and if there be any it must be the guilt of Adams Fall Ezek. 18.20 God declared that the Son should not die for the Fathers Sin it would certainly be high injustice in men to deprive the Posterity of an Offendor for ever not only of their Fathers Inheritance but of all possibility of return and recovery of themselves so that they should ever be dealt with as Malefactors Much more is it consistent with Divine Justice to punish all Mankind not only with the loss of Adams Priviledges but with Eternal Death inevitably for any thing the Law provideth to the contrary meerly because they descended from him without trying or expecting how they would behave themselves There must therefore be a Guilt upon all men by nature viz. the Guilt of Adams Sin and that must be imputed to them and
if that be imputed then Christs Righteousness is imputed also to them that believe Moreover if Adams Sin be not imputed to us then are we not guilty of the breach of the First Covenant â—en we were never obliged to yield perfect obedience nor is the want of it properly a â—â— in us and so men are born in such a forworn and lost state as the Scripture prescribes â—â—em to be The reason of the consequence is â—e were never under the first Covenant in â—r own persons it was made with Adam â—t with us and if his breach of it be not impted to us it must follow that the Covenant is intended for him only not for his Posteriâ—â— his Obedience should not have profited them to Justification as well as his Disobedience not hurt them to condemnation and â—â—s the Covenant of Works is wholly made and by Adams Fall nor was it ever renewed a Covenant of Life Moreover Mr. Baxter's Preface to the Treat of the 2 Covenants p. 2 3. our Opposites teach that the Covenant of Grace was â—â—de with all Mankind immediately after 〈◊〉 Fall they had all new Terms of Life given â—â—m in Christ If then Adams Sin be not imâ—â—ed to his Posterity they have indeed lost â—â—se blessed Priviledges which Adam sinned â—â—ay and so could not convey to them but â—â—y were not at all oblig'd to the Covenant of â—â—fect obedience but were all immediately in under the Covenant of Grace and are â—â—y to answer for their neglect of and disobedience to that Thus much for the first argument from the Imputation of Adam's Argument 2. Christ was made subject to Bradshaw de Just c. 18. and fulfilled the Law to which Man was subject and the which Man had broken Ergò his Obedience of Righteousness is imputed to us For he was not made subject to that Law for his own saâ—â— but for ours nor did he fulfill it for himself but for us he fulfilled it not simply as a general Law of Obedience but as the Law give to Man and broken by him therefore what he did in this case was done in Mans stead aâ—â— to be imputed to him for his Righteousness that the Curse of the Law might be remove and the Blessing of the Law might descend up on Mankind Sermon of the Salvation of Mankind Vid. Homilies of the Church of England Christ is the Righteousness of all them that 〈◊〉 truely believe in him He for them paid the Ransom by his Death He for them fulfilled 〈◊〉 Law in his Life So that now in him and 〈◊〉 him every true Christian Man may be called Fulfiller of the Law forasmuch as that which their Infirmities lacked Christs Justice has supplied But this consequence will not 〈◊〉 denied it is the Antecedent that must be proved viz. That Christ fulfill'd the Law whâ—â— was given to and broken by Man and that was made Subject to that Law For to avâ—â— this Argument our Authors have devised new Notion That Christ fulfilled not the Law as given to Man knowing that then his Righteousness must be imputed to Man but the teach that Christ fulfilled only a particular Law given to himself which they call the Law of a Mediator which consisteth so much of the Law given to Mankind in general and of so much of the Jewish Law as the Father thought fit to appoint him to perform and also of some particular precepts peculiar to Christ alone wherein Men were not concern'd which Law if Christ would fulfill Men should have a New Covenant of Life given them But they could not be justified by his fulfilling this Law because it contained not all things to which they were obliged and moreover did contain some things peculiar to Christ in which Men were not concerned It must therefore be proved That Christ was oblig'd to and did fulfill the Law of perfect Obedience given to Men and the Jewish Law which concerned that Nation It is sometimes said by our Opposites That Christ is our Legal Righteousness that Righteousness which the Law of Works required of us If so then he must have fulfill'd and satisfied that Law but this hath been touched before I argue therefore Christ was subject to the Law of Mankind else he needed not to have been Man The only reason why Christ was made Man is that the same Nature that sinned might also satisfie for Sin it must therefore be by fulfilling that Law which concerned Humane Nature For if any other way of satisfaction might be admitted why might it not be accepted from a Person of another Nature that was not Man If there was no necessity that the Law broken by Man should be fulfilled but that it was sufficient that something should be done to repair God's Honour some other way though his Law was not properly satisfied Why might it not have been enough if Christ as God only without assuming any created Nature would have undertaken to conquer the Devils to bring all Mankind to Repentance to accept once of Pardon and to restore them to perfect Obedience again This would have repaired the Honour of God and of the Law as much or more than the procuring a New Covenant of Salvation for Sinners which for any thing Christ did merit might have never took effect in any Why might not this have served without his taking Mans Nature upon him Moreover the Angels are obliged by the same general Law of Love to God and their Fellow creatures that Men are though the particular Wages of exercising it be different If then it were enough that Christ fulfill'd some Generals of the Law without being obliged to all the Particulars that concerned Men why might it not have sufficed him to have taken the Nature of Angels and not to have come down into this miserable World for in that he might have performed the Law of a Mediator However à fortiori he needed not to have been the Son of Adam born of a Woman and in the same condition with other men or to have taken upon him the Form of a Servant Phil. 2.7 He might have been immediately created as Adam was and not have derived his Nature from him if it were not that he must be subject to the same Law which Adam had broken It is said Gal. 4.4 That God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons If Christ could not redeem the Jews without being born a Jew subject to their Law then neither could he redeem the Sons of Adam in general without being himself the Son of Adam subject to the same Law that he was I argue also from the Nature of the Law The End of the Law was Obedience and for failure that the Penalty of it should be suffered and this was the absolute establisht Decree or Sanction of God It must therefore be fulfilled by some one it was not done by Men therefore
curses and natural evils may be inflicted without sin Even Arminius Episcopius and others of their chief Friends grant That God may without injustice lay temporal evils upon men without respect to sin of his own meer pleasure If Afflictions be part of the Curse to the godly it must be by some Law 2ly It cannot be by the Law of Grace for that is a remediating Law threatning no curse to them that obey it If by the Law of Works then Believers are in part still under the Law whereas the Apostle makes these inconsistent to be under the Law and under Grace Rom. 6.14 Moreover Afflictions if they be punishments must be satisfactory to Divine Justice For the Law requires nothing but in order to satisfie Divine Justice by obedience or punishment for failure and then Christ hath not redeemed us from the Curse of the Law part of it remaining for us to bare and so Christ's Redemption must be diminished he having onely purchased that the Law should not have its full force viz. to condemn us for ever but that we should have terms of grace or life eternal nevertheless that we should be left in the hands of the Law for this life that God may lay what curses upon us he pleaseth so that he save our Souls The same is to be said concerning sin and spiritual evils some sins are proper chastisements when men are suffered to run into some sins to correct them for former sins As David's Murder was a correction for his Adultery but these chastisements proceed really from the love of God though mixed with fatherly displeasure but for the general that God hath left sin in the hearts and lives of the Godly is not to satisfie his Law or the Curse but to magnifie his Grace and Wisdome in over-ruling sin and death to his own Glory and to further man's Salvation by those things which the Devil designed to undermine and overthrow both Object 6 If Faith only justifie and give right to life then is there no use of the Law to Believers nor any thing for them to do in way of obedience but only to expect that God should bring them to Heaven by his Grace to which Faith gives right as well as to life it self Answ As Faith it self is commanded though it be the work of God so is the use of all means whereby Grace is to be improved and exercised and in the use of them in dependance on God's Grace lies a Christian's Obedience The Promises of Grace and Perseverance do encourage to obedience but alter not the nature of obedience Phil. 2.12 13. As you have always obeyed c. work out your Salvation with fear and trembling For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure Our Saviour came not to dissolve the Moral Law nor gave he commission to any man to do it but requireth better obedience to it than that of the Pharisees though they expected to be justified by it Mat. 5.18 19 20. and upon all occasions he directs men to the Law as the rule of Life Mat. 19.17 Chap. 22. v. 37. c. Though Faith encourage and Love incline to good works yet these works are properly obedience because done upon the Command of God It is true the Law is not a Covenant of Works or a Law of Life to Believers promising Life to Obedience perfect or imperfect and threatning death to the want of it Nor is this essential to a Law that life and death must depend thereon though they do so upon some Laws nor is it essential to obedience that it must proceed from hope of life and fear of death For there is no such thing with Saints in Heaven where yet is perfect obedience yet is it a Rule of Obedience a Declaration of God's Will how his Children ought to walk and to please him which is the very nature of a Law But it is not necessary to the Sanction of every Law Quest that there should be Promises to obedience and Threatnings to disobedience Answ Not from the nature of a Law but because of man's infirmities it is needful Gal. 3.19 So the Gospel hath promises of Blessings in this Life peace of Conscience increase of Grace and the Fatherly Love and Presence of God to obedience and diligence and the threatning of the contrary to negligence and disobedience yea the knowledge of the Covenant of Works as it restrains the ungodly so it is of use to the godly in this life to curb the flesh and to make them more afraid of sin and to quicken them to diligence But life and death eternal are not the Sanctions of the Law as properly given to Believers But do not the sins of Believers deserve Hell and put them into a damned state Quest Answ No. They interrupt their peace with God and the Work of Grace but make them not Children of wrath their sins in their own nature tend to death as they are an aversion from God but he will recover them out of them by repentance at death if not before and they deserve death according to the Law of Works by which they must judge of the â—inousness of them and be humbled accordingly But as the Law is tempered by the Gospel they shall not bring death And deâ—â—rt of sin being obligatio ad poenam ex lege the Laws binding a man over to punishment 〈◊〉 may be truly said they do not deserve death according to the Gospel because that doth not threaten death eternal to them yet they 〈◊〉 deserve other corrections threatned thereâ—y which are more effectual to restrain the godly than the threatning of Hell is to the â—icked But doth not this open a way to Sin and Sloth Quest. â—hen men that think they are Believers shall â—hen conclude their sins shall not damn them Answ No. For it is not the promise of great Retards nor threatning of great Punishment that 〈◊〉 keep men from sin else the Angels and Adam would never have sinned but it is the certain assistance of effectual grace which can 〈◊〉 will make men obedient without such â—â—nctions by other Reasons and Motives If Christians were left to their free will as much is Adam was then would there be a necessity 〈◊〉 the like Promises and Threats to keep them 〈◊〉 their Duty but because God hath undertaken to work all our Works in us it is enough â—â—at God declare his Will to them and will make them obedient Promises and Threaâ— of another nature are added because of the infirmity of the Flesh but they could not keeâ— them in obedience if there were not a certainty of prevailing grace and when these infirmities shall be taken away then the Declaration of God's Will without any Promise 〈◊〉 Threat will be a sufficient Obligation to Obedience for ever by the perfect and full concurrence of the Grace of God For it is the Spirit of Grace that holdeth
Justification but his granting of this Promise or Act of Grace is the true natural efficient instrumental cause of our Justification even the immediate cause If Christ's Merit was but the remote Cause of Justification then justifying Faith doth respect it but remotely as the procuring cause of the New Covenant and if the grant of an Act of Grace be the only proper and immediate Cause of Justification then Faith only respects that immediately when it justifies and so Christ only as a King or as the Enacter of a New Law Ibid. p. 27. Again he saith It is most evident in Scripture that Merit Satisfaction are but the moral remote preparatory causes of our Justification though exceeding eminent c. and that the perfecting neerer efficient causes were by other Acts of Christ and that all concurred to accomplish the work By this it appears that Justification is an Act of Christ as a King only though his Merit made way for his Kingly Power and his Prophetical teaching promoteth mans obedience that his justifying us is his acquitting us from guilt and condemnation because we have obeyed his Law or New Covenant and that obedience to that Law as obedience to a Royal Law is the condition of our Justification or the thing for which we must be justified and that Faith with these men is nothing but obedience to the Gospel-Precepts grounded upon a belief that they came from Christ and shall be rewarded according to his Promise and therefore when they contend That Faith justifieth not by one act of affiance but by all its acts they do but confound themselves and the question For even according to themselves Faith justifieth properly and immediately by one act only or under one onely notion viz. of obedience to the Gospel and that directed to Christ only as King and that the other acts of it respecting his Merit and Teaching are but accidental to it and without its notion as justifying We are then to prove that obedience to the Gospel is not the condition of our Justification though joyned with or builded upon Faith in the truth of it and thus I argue The First Argument From Rom. 4.16 17. Therefore it is of faith that it might be of grace to the end the Promise might be sure to all the Seed not to that only which is of the Law but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham who is the Father of us all c. The Faith here spoken of is that whereby Abraham was justified and by which the Promise should be made sure to all his Seed both Jews and Gentiles which is the Promise of being blessed with him in his Seed Christ Now the Apostle saith That Justification or Blessedness comes by Faith that it might be by Grace i.e. altogether free but Justification upon the condition of obedience is not altogether free therefore justifying Faith includeth not obedience as the condition of Justification I prove the Minor thus Grace and Works are utterly inconsistent in God's dealing with Man for his Salvation For Work bring some worthiness though not strict Merit but Grace supposeth nothing but deseâ—â— of Punishment Rom. 11.6 If by grace the not of works otherways grace is no more grace Election of grace v. 5. excludeth all works why doth not Justification also if it be bâ— Grace If obedience to the Gospel be the condition of our Justification as perfect obedience to the Law of Works was formerly how is it Grace more now than it was then Did God gratiously grant the New Covenant to lost Sinners True here was Grace but when he had granted it he justifieth them only for the performance of it or their obedience to it therefore the giving of the New Covenant is of Grace but Justification by obedience to it is not of Grace but of Works Doth a New Covenant accept of imperfect obedience and carry pardon with it It doâ—â— indeed not insist upon perfect obedience to the Law of Innocency as the only way of life but it doth not dispence with or allow the breach of any of those Commands that were perpetual What then It requireth perfect and exact obedience to the Gospel and fâ—â— want of that obedience men shall be condemned there is no pardon for want of sincere obedience under the Gospel no more that there was for want of perfect obedience to Adam therefore all the mercy grace and pardon of the New Covenant lieth in relaxing the Covenant of perfect works in giving a New and somewhat Milder Covenant to men when they might have been condemned for the breach of the former but still their Justification or right to Life dependeth wholly upon their obedience to this New Covenant and so â—â— no more of Grace properly than Adam should have been But they say our obedience is performed by the efficacy of Divine Grace and therefore we may be said to be justified by Grace though by our Obedience As if the Elect Angels that stand were not justified or accepted in and by their own integrity because preserved by the Grace of God or as if Adam could not have been justifyed by keeping the Law unless he had done it meerly by his own connate strength without additions or assistance of Divine Grace throughout his Life What the Grace is which these men allow to our obedience is yet uncertain but this altereth not the nature of Justification if it be by obedience it is not of grace but of works i. e. a man is pronounced Just or Righteous for his own obedience by what principle soever it be wrought therefore the saith here spoken of neither is nor doth include obedience Again It is a Faith that the Promise may be sure or firm to all the Seed but if obedience be the condition of life the Promise cannot be sure to all or any Believers Ergò this Faith doth not include Obedience Professed Arminians grant there can be no assurance ordinarily of any particular man's Salvation yea that there is no absolute certainty thet any Man should be saved though Christ died for them all Others speak more dubiously but if Justification be suspended upon our Obedience to the Gospel to our lives end it cannot be certain to any Man that he shall be justifyed and saved till he be out of the World there may be indeed an objective certainty of the Promise in general viz. He that obeyeth to the End shall be saved but thus the promise to Adam was as certain viz if he had obeyed perfectly to the End he should thereby be justifyed but here was a Promise to Abraham That he and his Seed should be blessed and this Promise was not made to the Works of the Law but to the Faith of Abraham and his Seed that the promise might be certain i. e. that they should certainly attain the promised blessedness and by no means fall short of it but this certainty comes not from persevering Obedience which is it self uncertain Ergò
be saved and former sins forgiven but if we fail as we may both the Curse of the Law and the Condemnation of the Gospel will fall upon us all this while we are but Probationers for life and all God's kindnesses to us spiritual and temporal are merciful encouragements to us but not the Effects of reconciliation 2ly Not the present favour of God God indeed out of his infinite goodness bestoweth many blessings for our present comfort to own and to encourage obedience but they proceed not from the Love of a Father to Children the greatest inward comfort and joys of the Godly cannot be tokens of fatherly love or certain special favour For Adoption doth certainly presuppose Justification God must 1st justify us before he be our Father and so accept our persons before he accept our obedience as the service of Children but obedience to the end being the condition of our Justification neither Justification nor Adoption nor the special Fruits of it can take place in this life and I think none will say we have inchoate adoption for God to be our Father and we to be his Children in this life imperfectly and when our obedience is compleat that Relation will be consummate also 3ly Nor joy in the hope of Glory for upon the uncertain condition of obedience which no man can be sure by this Doctrine that he shall persevere in a man can have at the most but a good probability of his Salvation mixed with fear and danger and this fear will be the greater the more serious men be and apprehensive how hard it is to enter in at the strait Gate what room then is there for great Joy and even boasting in the hope of Glory 4ly Nor joy in Tribulations Afflictions by this Doctrine are accounted some part of the curse fruits of vindicative Justice we must bear them Num. 196 197. but what great comfort can there be in them How can we be sure that they shall not sift out our Grace rather than our Chaff and that we shall have a blessed Issue of them seeing we have no Promise of any such thing but what depends only upon the condition of our own obedience 5ly Nor can the heart be filled with the sence of God's Love The largest apprehensions of the general offers of mercy and love though they may calm the Soul yet cannot make it joyful under afflictions nor fill it with joy and peace in believing and if there be a sence of Gods particular eternal love to us sealing to redemption and swallowing up all fears and the sence of other troubles as cannot be denied to have been in many Martyrs and some other Godly persons this must suppose their Salvation to be out of danger and not to depend upon conditions not yet fulfilled If Christians do here receive in some sort the end of their Faith the Salvation of their Souls and rejoyce even with joy unspeakable and full of glory and can be thankful for it then the finishing of their obedience is not the condition of it but it comes by believing 1 Pet. 1.8 9. Argument 5. If we are justifyed by obedience to the Gospel or obedience be the condition of our Justification which is all one then it may be truly said we are justifyed by love patience by self-denyal and every other grace as well and as much as by faith For these in habit and exercise are the parts of Gospel-obedience and Faith it self is but a part of the same and in it self not so noble and excellent a part as Love and some other Graces but the Scripture is wholly silent of any such matter We are never said to be justifyed by Love Patience c. but always by Faith and when it is once said Jam. 2. A man is justified by works and not by faith only Justification is taken improperly viz. That a man cannot be a true Christian and saved by Faith which brings not forth obedience If they say that it must be taken properly and that works in general include every particular Grace and so we may be said to be justifyed by them severally in part I demand how faith is opposed to works in justifying in the Apostle's Dispute about it in the Epistle to the Romans and Galatians Doth Faith signifie obedience to the Gospel flowing from Faith or a belief of it and Works perfect obedience to the Law Thus they say but I would fain know why obedience to the Gospel should be called Faith rather than obedience to the Law for Faith had as great aâ— part in it and as great influence upon that obedience as upon Gospel-obedience Adam that he might have kept the Law of God perfectly must have perfectly believed the Existence and Nature of God his Authority over him that this Law was from him that it was just and good for him to obey that the Promises and Threatnings annexed would be certainly fulfilled as there was occasion and then in the course of his Obedience he must have trusted in God for the fulfilling of every Promise which concerned each part of his Obedience and moreover that he should be happy â—â— he did persevere to the end Now Gospel-Faith according to this Doctrine doth no more it believeth that Jesus Christ is King and Saviour that he gave the Gospel as his Will and Law that if we keep it to the end we shall be saved that all the Promises and Threatnings of it in the general shall be performed and in particular as there is occasion for them in our lives only this Faith is imperfect as well as our obedience mixed with unbelief and subject to wavering why then may not Faith comprehend perfect as well as imperfect obedience or why should the latter be called Faith in opposition to the former if it be said Gospel-Faith doth also include a belief of the Pardon of Sin which Adam's Faith did not I Answer The addition of one new partial object alters not the nature of the habit Faith is Faith still though it believe some particulars under the Gospel which it did not extend to under the Law as it did then extend to some particular v. 9. perfect freedom from all trouble in the continuance of innocency which it doth not believe under the Gospel but perhaps belief of pardon may be the reason why it may be opposed to perfect works it may be the reason why imperfect works and the Faith joyned with them may be opposed to perfect works and their faith but it can be no reason why imperfect works should be called faith simply without any limitation and perfect works be called works simply as if they included no Faith Moreover the belief of pardon in the Gospel is but accidental by this Doctrine â—â— for eternal life is promised to sincere Obedience to the Precepts of the Law the direct and principle object of Gospel Faith here iâ— the promise of life to Obedience i. e. if they obey the Gospel sincerely they
to be called by the same Name This is the Name whereby she shall be called The Lord our Righteousness Answ But the Context sheweth that it speaketh of the same Person and almost in the same words sc the righteous Branch of David c. And therefore learned men translate it This is the name of him who shall call her viz. The Church The Lord our Righteousness So Junius translates it also the Geneva and the Dutch Annotions and others but if it be meant of the hurch as Mr. Gataker contends it must Gataker in locum it only because the Name of Christ is put upon or as being clothed with his Righteousness the New Jerusalem the Gospel Church named Jehovah Shammah the Lord is there â—â—om his Presence in her and as God himself pleased to take upon himself the Name of â—â—s People Ps 24.6 Ezek. 48.35 This is the Generation 〈◊〉 them that seek thy Face O Jacob i. e. the â—â—â—d of Jacob. Dan. 9.24 Seventy weeks are determined â—â—on thy People and upon thy Holy City to finish the Transgression and to make an end of â—â—ins and to make reconciliation for Iniquity and 〈◊〉 bring in Everlasting Righteousness Daniel â—â—d prayed for the deliverance of the Jews â—â—d the forgiveness of their Sins and that not â—â—r the sake of their own Righteousness but â—â—ods great Mercy v. 18 19. He is answerâ—â—d that the City shall be built again and the â—eople saved by the Messiah v. 25. and that 〈◊〉 his being cut off not for himself v. 26. â—â—plying that it should be for them and that â—â—en should be brought in everlasting Righteousness whereby Israel should be justified and â—â—ved This is the Righteousness of the Mesâ—â—ah for none else is a standing and everlasting â—ighteousness Ours is mutable and subject 〈◊〉 fail Hos 6.4 Neither was our righteousness in special manner to be brought in by â—â—e Death of Christ it had been before in the Sanctified in all Ages of the Church It was a new Righteousness then to be wrought and brought in at the Death of Christ though by the Virtue of it the former Saints were saved yet it was not actually wrought and Justification by it distinctly declared till now Therefore it is all one with finishing transgression making an end of sin making reconciliation for the people which is plainly Justification to be had by this Everlasting Righteousness Rom. 5.18 19. As by the offence of one Judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life All men were condemned by the offence or sin of Adam So they that believe shall be justified by the righteousness of Christ the free gift oâ— grant of life comes by the righteousness of Jesus Christ as the sentence of death came by Adams unrighteousness The 19 v. makes it clearer As by the disobedience of one many are made sinners so by the obedience of one many shall be made righteous Adam did not make way by his Sin for mens condemnation he did not only render them liable to death if they should sin as he did and break the same Covenant But he brought them under the Curse and Sentence of death absolutely by and for his Sin so that all that are of his Seed are under the Judgement of Condemnation ipso facto as soon as they have a Being In like manner Christ must not only make way for mens Justification or procure them a Covenant whereby they shall be justified if they perform it as he performed the Covenant of a Mediator but he must also justifie them intitle them to life so soon as they believe in him by and for his own Righteousness and Obedience One Exception against this place hath been answered in the former Chapter Another excepteth Object The Apostle doth not say IN one mans obedience many shall be made righteous Just Evang p. 72. but BY one mans obedience as a consequent and effect of it many shall be made righteous As the effect of one mans disobedience many come to be shapen in iniquity and brought forth in a sinful condemned nature so as the effect of one mans obedience many come to be new born and brought forth in a Righteous and Saving State Answ The vanity of the exception from the word BY hath been manifested before The Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used signifieth BY or WITH which is the proper sence of the place the term IN would be more obscure And thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is translated Rom. 14.20 To him that eateth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with offence but the Sum of this Exception is as it is largely prosecuted p. 68. c. That Adams personal disobedience is not imputed to his Posterity but he virtually containing all men in his Nature and Sinning before the Act of Propagation he did corrupt his Nature and so begat Children in a sinful mortal State But I have before proved the Imputation of his Actual Sin I now add Do Mankind derive a sinful mortal Nature from Adam by meer necessity of Nature seeing the effect must be like the cause or by virtue of Divine Constitution that his Posterity should inherit the Fruits of his Sin If by necessity of Nature as this Author seems to intimate then the Soul of Man must be ex traduce derived from the Parents else it could not be born sinful by necessity of Nature and then it must be corrupted with the Body and cannot exist without it and at best must be raised with the Body and sleep in the dust till the last day as the Socinians teach Nor would the want of original righteousness no nor positive dispositions to sin in our Nature as derived from Adam be sinful in us they be poena causa peocati the Punishment of Adams Sin and the cause of Sin in us but not peccatum our Sin no more than the natural Diseases of the Body which we derive from our Parents For that which comes by meer natural necessity cannot be a Sin But if it be by Divine Constitution then the meaning must be either that God appointed that if Adam should sin that one Sin then not only he should perish but that he should also propagate a sinful mortal Nature to all his Seed without exception and then the sin and misery of all Mankind is directly and properly the punishment of Adams personal sin only which besides the horrour of the thing that so many millions in all Ages should be made miserable both here and for ever as the punishment of another mans Sin in which they were no way concern'd is also against Gods own Law The Children shall not be put to death for the Fathers nor the Fathers for the Children but â—very man for his own sin Deut. 24.16 Or â—lse this Constitution must mean that God appointed that Adam shall stand or fall for all his â—osterity and then
Divines at Dort Rationes omnes Act. Syn. Art 2. Ibid. à scripturis fideique analogia petitae quibus Christi incarnatio humiliatio vel exaltatio probatur vel confirmatur eò spectant ut demonstretur divina expressa intentio de fructuoso hujus tanti mysterii effectu non conditionaliter producendo nempe si homines cùm aeque nolle possint velint ut hic fructus in de enascatur sed infrustrabiliter efficiendo potentiâ divinâ id operante i. e. All those Arguments that prove the Incarnation Humiliation and Exaltation of Christ tend to this to shew that it was God's express intention to produce the certain effects of that great Mystery infallibly by his own power and not to leave them to be conditional depending upon Man's Will who might as well neglect and refuse as accept of them I conclude the Sum of this Doctrine comes to this That God took occasion by the Incarnation Obedience and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant men terms of Salvation viz. if they should believe and obey the Gospel not as any satisfaction to his Justice or Law which man had broke but as some kind of salvo to his Honour at least as he was pleased to interpret it And what need Christ have been God to do no more than this How easie is the slip from hence into the dead Sea of Socinianism To lay that Christ came by his Life and Death to declare and confirm only this Covenant of Life on condition of Faith and Repentance and to intercede for the Penitents Indeed the whole platform of this Doctrine was borrowed from Socinus by the Arminians from whom most of our modern Writers have it and some immediately from the Socinian from whom also came that common but illogical Evasion of works being not the meritorious but the causa sine qua non of our Justification Opera ea sunt ex quibus justificamur sunt autem opera ista nostra Soc. de Justif apud Pelt i. e. ut dictum fuit obedientia quam Christo praestamus licet nec essiciens nec meritoria tamen causa ut vocant sine qua non justificationis coram Deo at que aeterne salut is nostrae I do not desire this should be believed on my credit much less do I write to reproach any who do in heart abhor that blasphemous heresie however their words and notions may agree too much with it I only beg that Scholars and Divines would take the pains to examin and compare them before they imbibe this new Doctrine CHAP. VII Of the Nature of Faith that it justifieth as an Instrument applying the Promises of life in Christ and not as a Condition or Part of Obedience T The Apostle Paul was sent to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles Act. 26. v. 17 18. to this end that they might receive the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance amongst thom which are sanctified by Faith which is in Christ therefore forgiveness and a right to the heavenly Inheritance comes by Faith But what this Faith is and how it gives right to Life is now to be inquired into In explaining the nature of Faith I shall wave all that is usually drawn from Philosophy to this Argument from the nature and difference of Man's Soul and his Faculties and the difference of the Faculties from each other also from the nature of Habits intellectual or moral which things are fit Exercises for Scholars but not fit to build the Doctrine of Justification and Eternal life upon and if the best Philosophers can give us no certain account how men see and hear and how the external Senses which yet are more material in their operations than the understanding do exercise their functions there is much less certainty to be had concerning the Faculties Operations and Habits of the rational part and the Scripture speaks of believing as a work of the whole Soul With the heart man believeth unto righteousness Rom. 10.9 The like may be said of every Grace and of every Sin that hath the consent of the Heart that they carry the whole Soul with them What then is this Faith The Socinians affirm Faith and Obedience to be really the same thing Peltius Artic. Parag. 21. distinct only formally or docendi causâ Soc. resp ad Epist Joan. Opera Fides nullo modo distinguuntur à Paulo nec ab ea seperari queant imò animo seu forma fidei sunt The Arminians agree with them in this and our late Authors with them both and make believing and obeying the Gospel all one and to be justified by Faith with them is to be justified by obedience to the Gospel Aphor. Th. 70. Hence it is that they describe Faith to be so to believe God as to love him fear him trust him and obey him in every particular command or more briefly to be an accepting of Christ for our Lord and Saviour i. e. to promise obedience to him Ibid. 69 67. and to desire and expect to be saved by him Now we grant as the Gospel is sometime taken for the whole Doctrine or Mind of Christ containing both Promises Precepts and Threatnings though properly it be nothing but a Promise of Life through Christ in contradistinction to all Law and Precepts so also the Faith of Christ and of the Gospel doth sometimes comprehend the whole Christian Profession whereby we promise both a belief of the doctrine and obedience to the Command of Christ Yet Faith taken properly is to be distinguished from all obediential Graces viz. those that are the immediate cause of obedience as much as those graces are distinct from each from other as Love from Fear both from Patience c. That we may wave that Philosophical question also whether Graces be several distinct habits or one universal habit distinguished by several acts and objects it is sufficient if Faith be distinct by its acts and proper object from all other graces as much as they are distinguished each from other And that it is so is evident because it is an assent of the mind to divinely revealed truth Its acts are to believe or assent its formal object is the revealed truth of God as such we speak of Divine Faith only The immediate End of it is the satisfaction of the mind in the certainty of a true proposition and the like All these are distinct from love fear desire which are the immediate principles of all obedience or practice in doing good or avoiding evil Moreover Faith is the root of obedience not as the immediate principle of the elicite acts of obedience but as a more remote principle which doth excite and direct all the immediate principles of it Thus Faith is prerequired to seeking and serving of God Heb. 11.2 to the End and yet the immediate principles of them were fear v. 7. self-denial v. 25. holy courage contempt of the World and the like Faith worketh by love Gal. 5.6 purifieth the