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truth_n divine_a faith_n revelation_n 3,458 5 9.7228 5 true
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A47599 The marrow of true justification, or, Justification without works containing the substance of two sermons lately preached on Rom. 4:5 ... : wherein the nature of justification is opened, as it hath been formerly asserted by all sound Protestants, and the present prevailing errors against the said doctrine detected / by Benjamin Keach ... Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704. 1692 (1692) Wing K76; ESTC R18579 45,425 50

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another This to the learned Greeks was a strange Doctrine But to say a Man is justified by sincere Obedience i. e. by believing the Truth of God's Word and living a godly Life suits well with Man's natural Wisdom and Reason But the Doctrine of Faith though it be not against humane Reason yet it is above it and wholly depends upon divine or supernatural Revelation through this Man is preached unto you remission of Sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things by which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses Acts 13. 38 39. For as by one Man's Disobedience many were made Sinners so by the Obedience of one shall many be made righteous Rom 5. 19. How dare any say our Works or sincere Obedience is our Righteousness sith the Apostle positively asserts We are made righteous by the Obedience of Jesus Christ If it be by his Obedience 't is not by our own For as Adam's Sin was imputed to his Seed to Condemnation so is the Obedience or Righteousness of Christ imputed to all those who believe in him to Justification Now the worst of Men that have any sense of Religion are prone to conclude the only way to obtain God's Favour and to be justified in his sight is to make the practice of Holiness and upright Walking a Condition nay the only way thereunto and that Happiness is to be by that means obtained Hence 't is when they meet with any awakening Convictions or Terror of Conscience they presently begin to think they must amend their Lives and perform Religious Duties Nay this way the Heathens were brought to their best Devotion as a learned Writer observes Mankind being made and born under a Covenant of Works are naturally led to work for Life or to do something to procure God's Acceptance and escape his Displeasure The very Light of natural Reason informs us that it is just with God to require us to perform Duties of sincere Obedience or Duties of natural or instituted Religion and if we fall in doing what our Consciences tells us we ought to do we presently through self-love and blind hope persuade our selves God being gracious will pardon us wherein we come short through Christ who died for Sinners And thus we may perceive that the Persuasion of Salvation and Justification by the Condition of sincere Obedience hath its Original from our corrupt natural Reason and is part of the Wisdom of the World but it is none of the Wisdom of God in a Mystery yea that hidden Wisdom God hath ordained before the World began to our Glory It is not of the things of the Spirit of God nor of the Mystery of Faith which the natural Man cannot receive but are Foolishness unto him This is not the foolishness of preaching whereby God is pleased to save them that believe 1 Cor. 2. 6 7 9 14. Certainly the Justification of a Sinner in the sight of God by Faith only or to believe on him that justifies the Ungodly is one of the chief Mysteries of the Gospel but if our Justification was by our own Obedience or by conforming our Lives to the Rules of the Gospel Justification and Salvation would cease from being any more a Mystery But to be justified by the Righteousness of another though Sinners in our selves and have done nothing to procure such Favour and Acceptance at God's hand can't enter into the heart of natural and self-deceived Mortals Sirs our Justification is a great Mystery as 't is an Act of God's Sovereign Grace and Wisdom Herein his Justice and Mercy equally shine forth and the one doth not eclipse the Glory of the other Sin is punished and the Sinner acquitted 6 Arg. If when we have done all we can do we are unprofitable Servants then by our best Works of Obedience and Services under the Gospel we cannot be justified But contrariwise all Works in that respect as done by us are excluded Luke 17. 10. He is no unprofitable Servant whose Works or sincere Obedience commends him to God in point of Justification no Man is able to come up fully to discharge his Duty If therefore sincere Obedience ●nstead of perfect God now requires of us in the case of Justification and we are able fully to discharge the Law of sincere Obedience which our new Doctors must say or they say nothing then it follows that all such Persons are not unprofitable Servants for they have done all that God requires of them Nor indeed can I see as a Divine observes if sincere Obedience be the Condition of Justification and Life how the Imperfections of the Godly should be any Sins against the Gospel Where there is no Law there is no Transgression For this New Law i. e. the Gospel requires no more than sincere and upright Obedience say they though the Law did and the Gospel also promises Life in like manner to sincere Obedience as the Law did to perfect and compleat Obedience they may be Imperfections saith he in Nature but not proper Sins Praeter non contra Legem as the Papists say If they say that more than sincere Obedience is required of us but not as a Condition of Life I ask by what Law The Covenant of Works required nothing but as the Condition of Life no more doth the Gospel if it be a Law of Life After such a manner our Saviour doubtless by his Expressions shews us that all we do avails us nothing in point of Desert though never so sincerely performed and therefore far from justifying us in God's sight but that all we have is of God's Free Grace 7 Arg. Because we are said to be justified by the Righteousness of God Hence it follows that all our own Works of Obedience are excluded Rom. 3. 21 22. 'T is called the Righteousness of God in opposition to the Righteousness of the Creature not the Essential Righteousness of God but the Righteousness of Christ the Mediator who is God as well as Man and that Righteousness God in his infinite Wisdom hath found out to discharge us guilty and condemn'd Sinners and to justifie us in his sight Hence St. Paul renounced all his own Righteousness that he might be found in the Righteousness of God which is by Faith in Jesus Christ Phil. 3. 8 9 10. Obj. But say some Paul speaks only of that Righteousness which he had whilst a Pharisee or of the Righteousness of the Law He intends not saith Mr. Williams p. 204 205. Gospel-sincerity but those Jewish thing or what they boasted of And again he saith It was not Gospel-holiness which he counted dung or loss Answ 'T is strange this Man should adventure to give such a sence of this Text when at the same time he would ●ain have his Reader believe he owns the imputed Righteousness of Christ for our Justification p. 202. 'T is evident he does deny that the Righteousness of Christ alone is imputed to us for Justification as being the only Matter