ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast 2 Tim. 1. 9. Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began Tit. 3. 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us c. And many more you will meet with in reading but by these few you may judge how available our works even the very best we can do are to salvation Before I leave this Point I presume it will not be impertinent if I add something in this Place touching Justification by Faith In which for brevity sake I shall do little more than set down the most pertinent Texts of Scripture and leave the rest to your Ingenuity And in the first place Gen. 15. 6. Abraham believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness Habak 2. 4. Behold his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him but the just shall live by his Faith. Joh. 1. 12. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name And Chap. 3. 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life When our Saviour went to raise the Ruler of the Synagogue's Daughter he bid him only believe Mark 5. 36. Acts 10. 23. To him give all the Prophets witness That through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins And Chap. 16. 31. When the Keeper of the Prison wherein Paul and Silas were asked them What he should do to be saved their Answer was Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house Rom. 3. 23. For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Where is boasting then it is excluded By what law of works Nay but by the law of Faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law If you consider this Quotation throughly you will find it as compleat to the purpose as can be desired However I 'll present you with a few more Rom. 4. 1. What shall we say then that Abraham our father as pertaining to the flesh hath found no for if Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God for what say the Scriptures Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness And to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Where by the way the Word ungodly in this Text must not be taken to mean Impenitent Sinners for they as such can have no Right to Justification but as no man is Upright in the Sight of God he is said in the Best of Men to justifie ungodly freely by his grace in the foregoing Chapter Verse 23 24. So that this makes doubly for my Purpose shewing first That Justification comes by Faith and also That those that are Justified being Sinners before God cannot with Reason boast of the Merit of Works Rom. 5. 1. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Chap. 10. 8. The word is nigh thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that is the word of faith which we preach That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Gal. 2. 16. 21. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus 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 I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain And Chap. 3. 11. And the Scripture foreseeing that God would Justifie the Heathen through Faith preached before the Gospel unto Abraham saying In thee shall all nations be blessed But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident for the just shall live by faith For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing but faith which worketh by love Let that Text. Eph. 2. 8. above cited summ up all For by grace ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast Neither have I been at all this Pains from a solifidian Principle to endeavour to seclude Good Works from being the Fruits of a lively Faith For so I should frustrate the Grace of God. And I presume Madam you know my Opinion better than to think so my Intent was only to shew How Erronious it is to suppose Merit from Works especially according to the Doctrin of the Church of Rome That Men may Merit for themselves and others To conclude this Point give me leave to present to your Meditation the Heinousness of Original Sin only and then I 'll leave you to Judge if for all that and the many Actual Sins we daily commit God will be gracious to us and receive us unto his Glory how little Reason we have to boast of that Nothing we have done to Merit his Favour Gen. 6. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air for it repenteth me that I have made them I think no man can deny Original Sin to be the Cause of all this and then how Heinous a thing that is which is the Cause of so much Displeasure in God I submit to any person to Judge You will read to the same Purpose Verse 11 12 13. Job 14. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one For Psal 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Prov. 20. 9. Who then can say
A LETTER TO A LADY Furnishing her with Scripture Testimonies Against the Principal Points and Doctrines OF POPERY All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is Profitable for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness That the Man of God may be Perfect throughly furnished unto all Good Works 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. The Law of the Lord is Perfect converting the Soul c. Psal 19. 7 8 9 10 11. Search the Scriptures c. John 5. 39. Blessed is he that readeth c. Rev. 1. 3. Licensed July 6. 1688. LONDON Printed for John Taylor at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-Yard M DC LXXX VIII Admonition to the Reader concerning the Authority and Vse of the Holy Scriptures THe following Papers being intended only for a private Satisfaction and not for the publick View are writ in a Stile agreeable to the Sex to which they are dedicated and the few Arguments here and there added either to explain or Illustrate a Text of Scripture are such as are more obvious to a Female Capacity than perhaps the common way of Arguing used by one great Disputant against another is For it was no more my intent than it was my Business in writing to Women who by Reason of their general want of Learning understand nothing of Logical Reasoning and as little of Syllogismal Inferences to endeavour to make a thing plain by rendring it more unintelligible But to make every thing as obvious and plain to the most ordinary Understanding as I might tho' my Words were never so homely And though it is confest The Lady to whom these Papers were especially directed is a Person endued with better Parts and more Learning than others of her Sex generally are yet I considered That many more of her Society or Acquaintance might be concerned in the Reading of them And therefore I thought as a plain Method would not be unpleasant to the Lady her self so it would certainly be both more Acceptable and Profitable to others not loaden with so much Sagacity and Understanding But since in this Undertaking I have wholly relyed on the Testimony of the Scriptures and have drawn all my Arguments from them I think it proper to vindicate my Proceeding that way by giving the Reader a cursory Account of the Supreme Authority of the Sacred Writings consisting in two Particulars The First is Their containing fully all things needful for our Salvation And the Second Their being sufficient to determine Points of Doubt and Controversie In both which I shall still make my Appeal to the Scriptures themselves and likewise intermix a few Testimones of the Fathers not for Confirmation of the Scriptures Authority for that is evident enough in it self but to shew the Opinion of those great Pillars of the Church in a Matter about which there is so great a Disagreement betwixt us and the Church of Rome I begin therefore with the first Evidence of the Supreme Authority of the Scriptures Their containing fully all things needful for our Salvation The Evangelist Joh. 20. 30. tells us That Jesus did many signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book But these says he are written That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name And Cyril in Praef. in Johan this Gospel by S. John may without Injury be thought to excel the other three says S. Cyril and he gives no weak Reasons for it One of which is That it contains all things pertaining to Truth which the other do also but not in so high a Strain For whereas the rest do most Exquisitely describe the Genealogy of our Saviour either descending from Abraham to Joseph or ascending from Joseph to Adam S. John has not much laboured in these Matters but with an aspiring Mind seems to soar beyond Human Possibility and is not afraid in express Words to set down his Ineffable Generation In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God And so aspires directly to the Foundation of Divine Truth Where by the way it will not be amiss to observe That this Evangelist was the beloved Disciple of our Lord and therefore it cannot reasonably be supposed he would conceal any thing from him that was necessary to be known But on the contrary he revealed more to him than was needful to be set down in some Particulars whereof he was commanded to be Silent as may be seen Rev. 10. 4. But when any thing might be known he is to declare it Chap. 22. 10. and Chap. 1. 3. They are blessed who read and hear the words of this prophecy with an intent to keep those things which are written therein So then though we are ignorant of some things yet by what is written we may sufficiently be acquainted with whatever is necessary for us to know S. Paul Acts 20. after he had told the Ephesians Verse 30 That of their own selves should arise men speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them At the 32 Verse he commends them to God and to the Word of his Grace which he tells them is able to build them up and to give them an inheritance among all them which are sanctified And lest it should be thought that he had broached some unwritten Traditions of his own he professes Chap. 26. 22. That having obtained help of God he still continued witnessing both to small and great but saying no other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come Accordingly he tells the Romans in his Epistle to them Chap. 1. 16. That he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth And Chap. 15. 4. Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through Patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope And says S. Chrysostom Wherefore are these things written but that we should In Rom. hom 9. In 2 Cor. hom 13. In synop Athan. learn them For says he The Scriptures are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of all the most exact Ballance Guide and Rule And according to S. Athanasius they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Anchors and Support of our Faith. And Irenaeus calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iren. l. 3. c. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the immoveable Canon of Truth and the Pillar and Foundation of our Faith. And we being sure of what the Apostle says 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. That all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrin for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto Canonem fidei in Prophetarum Apostolorum libris figi atque terminari Aug de C. D. l. 11. c. 41. all good Works may safely conclude with S. Austin
That the Rule of Faith is fixed and terminated in the Books of the Prophets and Apostles It was the constant Opinion of this great Doctor of the Gentiles That the Scriptures were of themselves able to make Men Wise unto Salvation Neither is he alone for St. James assures us That they are able to save our Souls Jam. 1. 21. And therefore St. Peter calls 'em a more sure word of Prophecy than a Voice from Heaven and says That all Men would do well that they take good heed to 'em as unto a Light that shineth in a dark place 2 Pet. 1. 19. And our Lord himself in the Parable brings in Abraham telling the Rich Man in Hell That his Brethren had Moses and the Prophets whom let 'em hear says he for if they will not hear them neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the Dead Luk. 16. 29. 31. Upon which words St. Chrysostom's Inference was That we should believe the Scriptures Though the Dead should rise and though Angels should descend from Heaven we must prefer the Testimony of Scriptures before them According to the Apostle Gal. 1. 8. Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed All which I take to be Indications plain enough of the sufficiency of the Scriptures as to all things pertaining to Salvation But besides this I said they were also in themselves sufficient to determin Points of Controversie The Psalmist says of the Word of God That it is a Lamp to his Feet and a Light to his Path Psal 119. 105. And therefore it was that he so often speaks of ordering himself according to this Word and prays so earnestly to God to enable him to do it And thus the Prophet expostulates with the Jews Isa 8. 19 20. When they shall say unto you Seek unto them which have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and mutter Should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them It was the way of the Apostles on all occasions to have recourse to the Scriptures Thus St. Peter in his Sermon to Cornelius to confirm his Doctrin of the Messias says To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins Act. 10. 43. And that it was the constant practice of St. Paul no Man can deny that has had the least converse with his Writings especially that great Axiom of his which has never been contradicted That the Scriptures are given by Inspiration of God and are profitable for Doctrin for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness is a more than ordinary instance of his Opinion in this particular And as it is written was the only refuge of those Primitive Builders of the Church And it was the very same method that our Lord himself took to reprove the Tempter Matth. 4. 4. It is written Man shall not live by bread alone c. And Vers 7. It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And Vers 10. It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. And thus he us'd always to bring the Testimonies of Moses and the Prophets against the impious Objections of the Jews very often telling them That he did not speak his own Words but the Word of him that sent him that is the Word of God. And now would it not be a thing to be wonder'd at if the Holy Fathers of the Church should be ignorant of this way of arguing Or if they did know it that they would not chuse to follow his Example whom they pretended to worship and obey But we have no cause to wonder at this but rather at their ignorance or wilful stubbornness who pretend to be acquainted with them and yet seemingly at least assert their Sentiments and Practice in this matter to be contrary to their Predecessors It was usual with Basil thus to express himsel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Eustath 80 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the Scriptures which are divinely inspir'd be Judge between us For says he Whatsoever Idem Etb. Defin. 80. c. 22. 6. is contrary to them is not of Faith and therefore sinful Every Word or Cause ought to be tried and confirm'd by the Holy Scriptures Neither does St. Cyprian come behind him in this Cypr. ad Pomp. cont Steph. Pap. particular If says he the Pipes through which Water is conveyed into the City should be suddenly deficient should we not go presently to the Spring that thence we may know the cause of the defect whether the Spring it self is dry or whether the Pipes are stopt by any thing which may hinder the course of the Water And so the Pipes being clear'd the City may be supplied with Water as before So ought the Ministers of the Gospel to do In matters of Doubt they should go to our Lord and his Apostles that they may model their Actions by their Doctrin as the Fountain and Original of Divine Truth Tertullian likewise would accept of no Argument that was not drawn from the Scriptures And by this Tertul. de carne Christ Idem de Resur mort he confuted the Hereticks of his time For says he take away the Sophistry of the Heathen Philosophers which the Hereticks make use of and when they come to argue from the Scriptures they will not be able to stand St. Chrysostom says That if any thing is asserted without the authority of the Scriptures to back it on it leaves Chrys in Psalm 95. the Hearers in doubt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Clemens Alexandrinus We say nothing against the Scriptures Cl. Al. de Pet. Strom. lib. 6. Theod. dial 1. cap. 6. Id. Hist lib. 1. cap. 3. And Theodoret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I confide in the Scriptures only To which we may add his Testimony of the Saying of Constantine the Great That the Books of the Evangelists and Apostles and the Oracles of the the ancient Prophets do evidently teach us what we are to think of the Divine Power Therefore in every seditious Controversie let us discuss the Point in question by the Testimony of those divinely inspir'd Writings Whence we may see that all the Fathers are not against us in this matter I think Origen may come in for one on our side For in his Comment upon the Sixteenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans having explained those Admonitions of the Apostle vers 17 18. and coming to vers 19. where the Apostle tells the Romans That their Obedience is come abroad unto all Men And that he is therefore glad on their behalf The Apostle says he therefore rejoyces over those that were obedient being sure that as he had taught them not to use that general Obedience which