autorem agnoscit ne illos quidem LXX Interpretes qui Hebraea Biblia Grace reddiderunt à quibus Apostoli Evangelista multa in Scriptis suis quod ipsum loquendi modum attinet crebrò mutuentur Quamobrem plus quà m verisimile videtur Spiritum Sanctum quum novo loquendi more utaâ—ur quem fiduciam significare perspicuum est aliud quoddam praeter communem vocis significationem proponere voluisse I find that Seneca doth use the Latin Pharase Hunc sinquit Deum quis colet quis credet in eum Where Credet in eum is as much as fiduciam in eo collocaâ—it And so the Phrase of Believing in used in the New Testament seems to import as much as the Phrases of Trusting in and staying on used in the Old Testament as namely Isa 50. 10. See Mr. Ball of Faith part 1. chap. 3. p. 24 c. So far as I can judg your success is not answerable to your desire But if you did not intend to infer such a conclusion from your earnest seeking the Lord's Direction on your Knees I know not to what purpose you did speak of it For if it were only to shew the sincerity of your desire What is your Cause advantaged though that be granted as I know not why any should question it What is that which you say is yeelded That Faith doth not justifie as it is the fulfilling of the Condition of the whole Covenant Yet you make Justifying-Faith as such to be the Condition of the whole Covenant For you make it to include Obedience and what doth the Covenant require more than Faith and Obedience 2. Of Justification begun and Justification continued and consummated by sentence at Judgment I have spoken before not is there need here to say any more of it 1. No doubt the Holy Ghost means as he speaks But what of that Doth he speak so as you interpret him 2. Though our Divines in expounding the words of St. James express themselves diversly yet they agree in the Matter viz. That Works do not concur with Faith unto Justification Mr. Ball speaking of those words Faith is imputed unto Righteousness saith This Passage is diversly interpreted by Orthodox Divines all aiming at the same Truth and meeting in the Main being rather several Expressions of the same Truth than different Interpretations Then he shews three several ways where by those words are interpreted which differ as much as these Interpretations which you mention They that say That the Apostle speaketh of Justification coram Deo by Works understand a Working-Faith They that expound it of Justification coram Hominibus take the meaning to be That by Works a Man doth appear to be justified They that understand it of the Justification of the Person make the sense the same with those first mentioned and they that say it is meant of the Justification of a Man's Faith agree with those in the second place making Works to prove the sincerity of Faith and so to manifest a Man's Justification 3. Are not those words Hoc est Corpus meum as express words of Scripture as those which you alledg Though words be never so express yet not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to be considered 4. James might well and solidly prove by Works done many years after that the Faith of Abraham whereby he was justified was a working-Working-Faith of a Working Nature a Faith fruitful in good Works his Faith bringing forth such fruit in due season and so shewing it self by Works when occasion did require Abraham no doubt had many other Works whereby his Faith did appear yet the Apostle thought meet to instance in that Work which was most remarkable and by which his Faith did manifest it self in a more especial manner Hoc facinus saith Chrysostome tanto praestantius erat cateris omnibus ut illa cum hoc collata nihil esseviderentur What your Parenthesis doth mean Legal Justificatiion I mean I do not well understand But how doth James speak of Justification as Continued and not as Begun Is his meaning this That a Man is indeed at first justified by Faith only but both Faith and Works together do continue his Justification So you understand it but surely James doth neither speak nor mean so For by Faith alone without Works in his sense a Man never was never can be justified This is clear by his whole Discourse for he calls him a vain Man that relies on such a Faith and calls it a dead Faith c. So that when a Man is first justified it is by a Working Faith not that Faith must necessarily produce Works at the first but it is as I said of a Working Nature of such a Nature as to produce Works when they are required which is the same with what you say out of Grotius and this doth answer all that you object against the Interpretation which I stand for Who can doubt but Abraham was justified long before he offered up Isaac the Scripture being express for it But how then Therefore this Work could be no Condition of that Justification which was past Answ No indeed that Work was not nor could be but Faith apt to shew it self by that Work or any other when required and consequently a Working Faith might be and was the Condition of that Justification Grotius whom you cite giving you such a hint of it I wonder that you could not observe this James and Paul may well enough be reconciled though both of them speak of Justification as Begun For James doth not require Works otherwise than as Fruits of Faith to be brought forth in time convenient and Paul doth not exclude Works in that sense Every observant Reader saith Dr. Jackson may furnish himself with plenty of Arguments all demonstrative that Works taken as St. James meant not for the Act or Operation only but either for the Act or promptitude to it are necessary to Justification c. And again Faith virtually includes the same mind in us that was in Christ a readiness to do Works of every kind which notwithstanding are not Associates of Faith in the business of Justification And thus he reconcileth the two Apostles who in this Point seem to differ St. James affirming we are justified by Works and not by Faith only speaks of the Passive Qualification in the Subject or Party to be justified or made capable of absolute Approbation or final Absolation This qualification supposed St. Paul speaks of the Application of the Sentence or of the ground of the Plea for Absolution the one by his Doctrine must be conceived and the other sought for only by Faith The immediate and only cause of both he still contends not to be in us but without us and for this reason when he affirms that we are justified by Faith alone he considers not Faith as it is a part of
our qualification inherent or the foundation of other Graces but as it includes the Correlative Term or Immediate Cause of Justification whereunto it alone hath peculiar reference and continual aspect This is that which in other terms some have delivered Fides justificat relative non effective aut formaliter c. Take a few words more from this Author Ibid. The Apostle levels his whole Discourse to this Poinâ— maintained by us That seeing Righteousness was imputed to Abraham by Faith and not through Works none after him should in this life at any time N. B. whether before or after the infusion of Grace or Inherent Righteousness presume to seek or hope for like approbation from God otherwise than only by Faith How I exclude Love I have shewed even as you do viz. Love of Complacency which you grant doth follow Acceptance that Act of Faith by which we are justified And when I say that Protestants generally deny Faith which is without Works to justifie â—mean Faith which is without works when God doth call for them You might easily have perceived this to be my meaning by what I said out of Cajetan de fide non sterili sed faecunda operibus A Tree is not said to be barren except it doth not bring forth Fruit when the Season doth require 5. I shewed you what I take to be meant Jam. 2. 23. when it is said And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for Righteousness viz. That by Abraham's readiness to obey God in offering up Isaac the truth of that Scripture did clearly appear it was then most manifest That Abraham believed God indeed and that his Faith was a true justifying-Justifying-Faith it being operative and shewing forth it self so evidently by Works of Obedience when they were required of him so that the Scripture did well and truly say of him That he believed God and it was accounted to him for Righteousness Cajetan doth explicate it me-thinks very well Adverte saith he prudens Lector quòd Jacobus non sentit fidem absque operibus mortuam esse c. Sed sentit fidem sine operibus id est renuentem operati esse mortuam esse vanam non justificantèm Er rectè sentit quoniani quae non est paruta operari moâ—tua est Suâpte enim naturâ operatur per dilectionem ut Paulus dicit Quodergo Jacobus affert verba Gen. 15. Credidit Abraham Deo c. ad hoc affert quodcredidit paratus operari Er propereà dicâ— quod in opere oblationes filit impleta inquam est Scriptura loquens de fide Abrahae parata operari Impleta inquam est quoad executionem maximi operis ad quod parata erit fides Abrahae 〈◊〉 And though you make light of this interpretation of James as if it were nothing against you yet Calvin doubted not to say Nodo insolubili constrictos teneo quicunque justitiam Abrahae coram Deo imputatam fingunt quia immolavit filium Isaac qui nondum natus erat quum Spiritus Sanctus pronunciat justum fuisse Abraham Itaque necessario restat ut aliquâ—d posterius notari discamus Quomodo igitur Jacobus id fuisse impletum dicit Nempe oftendere vult qualis illa futrit fides quae justificavit Abraham non otiosa scilicet out evanida sed quae illum Deo reddidit obsequentem sicut etiam Heb. 11. 8. habetur Calvin it seems never dreamed of being justified one way at first and another way afterwards I would not have you put him off with a taunt as you did before Parcius ista tamen c. But let Mr. Blake also be heard speak James indeed saith he saith that Abraham was justified by Works when he had offered Isaac his Son on the Altar Jam. 2. 21. But either there we must understand a working-Working-Faith with Piscator Bareus Pemble c. and confess that Paul and James handle two distinct Questions the one Whether Faith alone justifies without Works which he concludes in the Affirmative The other What Faith justifies whether a Working-Faith only and not a Faith that is dead idle Or else I know not how to make sense of the Apostle who straight infers from Abraham's Justification by the offer of his Son And the Scripture was fulfilled that saith Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for Righteousness How otherwise do these accord He was justified by Works and the Scripture was fulfilled that saith He was justified by Faith Neither can I reconcile what he saith if this be denied with the whole current of the Gospel And he adds a little after All Works before or after Conversion are inherent in us or wrought by us are excluded from Justification Your Interpretations viz. Abraham believed i. e. believed and obeyed Or Yet the Scripture was fulfilled c. For Faith did justifie him but not only Faith are so uncouth and incongruous that I wonder how you could perswade your self much more think to perswade others to embrace them Paul cites those words to prove that Abraham was justified only by believing and that Justification is by Faith only And shall we admit of such an interpretation Faith doth justifie but not only Or Abraham was justified by Believing and Obeying What is this else but to make the Scripture a nose of wax and to wrest it which way we please Yea What is it else but to make the Scripture plainly to contradict it self And yet forsooth you pretend to stand upon the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the plain words of Scripture But Paul you say speaks of Justification as Begun and that you grant is by Faith only Well and for proof of his Doctrine say I he alledgeth the words of Moses concerning Abraham Must not those words then be understood of the same Justification Will you say with Bellarmine that Paul speaking of the first Justification doth fetch a proof from the second As on the other side he saith that James speaking of the second Justification doth fetch a proof from the first This is Caelum Terrae miscere Mare Caelo 6. For my interpretation of Jam. 2. 22. I did not only affirm it to be so but also shewed where the same phrase is so used viz. 2 Cor. 12. 9. And I find that Orthodox Writers do parallel those places and interpret the one by the other Thus Camero Fides inquit dicitur perfici operibue quia Fides dum producit opera ostenait quà m sit perfecta ut 2 Cor. 12. 9. Virtus Christ dicitur perfict in infirmitatibus quia tum scilicet se maximè exerit prodit And so Maccovius Fides fuit perfecta ex operibus quomodo virtus Christi perficitur in infirmitate 2 Cor. 12. 9. quia in ea se exerit consimili ratione Fides perfici per opera dicitur quia per ea se prodit Generally I find the words thus expounded by those
with Justification by Works And what the Apostle speaks of Election we may well apply to Justification the same medium equally proves the truth of both If by Grace then it is no more of Works otherwise Grace were no more Grace But if it be of Works then it is no more of Grace otherwise Works were no more Works Rom. 11. 6. Calvin also useth this Argument to confute those who would have Works to concur with Faith unto Justification that then we should have somewhat to boast of which is not to be admitted Sed quoniam inquit bona pars hominum justitiam ex fide operibus compositam imaginatur praemonstremus id quoque sic inter se differre fidei operumque justitiam ut altera stante necessariò altera evertatur Dicit Apostolus se omnia pro stercoribus reputasse ut Christum lucrifaceret c. Phil. 3. 8 9. Vides contrariorum esse hîc comparationem indicari propriam justitiam oportere pro derelicto haberi ab eo qui velit Christi justitiam obtinere Id ipsum quoque ostendit cum negat per Legem excludi gloriationem nostram sed per fidem Vnde sequitur quantisper manet quantulacunque operum justitia manere nobis nonnullam gloriandi materiam Jam si fides omnem gloriationem excludit cum justitiâ fidei sociari nullo pacto justitia operum potest In hunc sensum tam clarè loquitur quarto cap. ad Rom. ut nullum cavillis aut tergiversationibus locum relinquat St operibus inquit justificatus est Abraham habet gloriam Subjungit atque non habet gloriam apud Deum Consequens ergo est non justificatum esse operibus Ponit deinde alterum argumentum à contrariis Quum rependitur operibus merces id fit ex debito non ex gratiâ Fidei autem tribuitur justitia secundum gratiam Ergo id non est ex meritis operum Valeat igitur eorum somnium N. B. qui justitiam ex fide operibus conflatam comminiscuntur Who those multitudes of Divines be of whom you speak I cannot tell because you name none but I think that few or none of them will be found of your mind viz. That Paul doth only exclude Works from Justification in point of merit as if Justification might be by Works in some other respect so as that no merit thereby is presupposed So far as I observe our Divines note this as one main Argument whereby the Apostle doth wholly exclude Works from Justification because otherwise the merit of Works could not be denied which yet is to be exploded Thus the Centurists among many other Arguments whereby the Apostles they say prove Justification to be by Faith alone note this for one Non est gloriandum in nobis sed in Domino Ergo non ex operibus sed gratis justificamur ne quis glorietur Ephes 2. 1 Cor. 1. Ad 5. All good Works as I have shewed before and consequently those whereby we perform obedience to the Redeemer are works of the Law it being the Rule to which they must be conformed But it is Faith in the Redeemer not Obedience to the Redeemer by which we are justified though Justifying-Faith must and will shew it self by Obedience Ad 6. All Works that have an agency in Justification are meritorious and so make the Reward to be of Debt and not of Grace Now to your Answers to my Arguments in oppositum I reply And for the first thus If Abraham's Gospel-Works did justifie him otherwise than by evidencing his Faith whereby he was justified if they be made to have a co-interest with Faith in his Justification then they are set in Competition or Copartnership with Christ's Righteousness That no Work of the Gospel doth justifie Mr. Pemble proveth by this That every Work of the Gospel is a Work of the Law also and therefore the Apostle denying that a Man is justified by the Works of the Law doth consequently deny that he is justified by the Works of the Gospel That Works do justifie as Conditions under Christ is repugnant to what your self hold in respect of Justification as begun and I see not that the Scripture shews us any other Condition of Justification afterward than at first 2. My Conclusion That Abraham was not justified by Works but by Faith is not against Jam. 2. 21. no more than Paul's Doctrine Rom. 3. 4. is For I mean as Paul doth That Abraham's Works did not concur with his Faith to his Justification but James meant only That Abraham's Faith was not such as some presume of a dead idle Faith but a living working Faith and that his Works did manifest his Faith to be such as whereby he was justified Cum obtulisset inquit Bucanus Abraham Isaac filium suum super altare ex operibus justificatus est hoc est compertus est fuisse justificatus per fidem idque ex operibus tanquam testimoniis Justificationis Et sic homo operibus justificatur id est comprobatur esse illa persona quae Christi obedientiâ justificatur ex vitae sanctificatione quae tanquam effectus illam sequitur de illa testatur Quomodo etiam Deus dicitur in extremo illo die justificaturus electos suos ex ipsonum operibus Nam sunt duo principia unum existentiae alterum cognitionis Ità fides principium existentiae facit ut simus justi Opera autem ut principium cognitionis faciunt ut cognoscamur justi Ideo Dominus in extremo die proponet principium cognitionis justitiae fidei quod incurret in oculos omnium creaturarum Mat. 25. Venite benedicti c. For the second 1. The Apostle Rom. 4. 4. speaketh without any distinction To him that worketh c. Now as you know non est distinguendum ubi lex non distinguit 2. If Works justifie then they must be meritorious The Apostle doth not simply deny a Reward to belong of Grace to him that worketh but to him that worketh so as to be justified by his Works Such an one having no need of remission of sins because his Works do justifie him which they cannot do if they be imperfect and so he need pardon he is said to receive the Reward not of Grace but of Debt 3. Faith as a Work is excluded from Justification only it justifieth as an Instrument or Hand receiving Christ and his Righteousness Or which is to the same effect Faith doth not justifie as it is a Duty which if we perform not we sin but as a Condition upon which the Righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us for our Justification You are not to be blamed for making use o◠Bellarmine's Argument for so indeed it is not his Answer but for not taking notice how our Divines do answer it See Ames contra Bellar. tom 4. lib. 5. cap 4. ad 6. Love Hope and Obedience are not Instruments of receiving Christ
Righteousness by which we are justified So that de Dieu's Opinion and yours are much different Again Sola Fides inquit amplectens istam obedientiam sc Christi imputatur in justitiam Ibid. p. 104. And pag. 105. Fidei imputatio est in justitiam perfectam qualis est Obedientia Christi Operum imputatio in imperfectam qualia sunt ipsa Opera in hâc vitâ And pag. 109. he cites Bucer in Colloq Ratisb as agreeing with him and saying thus Dixeramus nos secuti Apostolum omnem Scripturam duplicem esse Sanctorum justitiam quâ justi sunt coram Deo hominibus Vnam Christi perfectam quâ illis spes omnis gratiae Dei salutis vitaeque sempâ—ternae tota nititur Alteram in ipsis per Spiritum Christi inchoatum quâ considere non debent proptereà quòd ea imperfecta semper est dum hîc vivunt Deo non nisi ex liberali infinitâ ejus misericordiâ merito Christi probari non potest Hâc justitia nemo justificatur coram Deo justificatione vitae Justitiam hanc Inchoatam sentimus esse quidem veram vivam Justitiam Dei praeclarum eximium donum vitamque novam in Christo hâc justitiâ constare omnesque Sanctos hac ipsâ quoque justitia justos esse coram Deo coram hominibus propter eam Sanctos quoque à Deo justificari justificatione Operum i. e. comprobari eos à Deo laudari remunerari Attamen quamlibet haec justitia sit vera ac viva suo etiam modo N. B. justificans tamen non esse ejusmodi non sic veram vivam solidam ut quisquam Sanctorum justificari ea possit justificatione vitae multo minus ut sit ipsa justitia vel justificatio vitae Thus then de Dieu in the Matter it self doth not differ from other Protestant-Writers who generally hold That the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us is that by which we are fully and perfectly justified and yet we must also have Inherent Righteousness which will justifie us in some sort but not fully and perfectly because it self is imperfect For Placeus I have him not but because you alledge his words I will say something to him He speaks indeed of a Two-fold Accusation and of a Two-fold Justification But 1. he seems to differ from me and others only modo loquendi For he saith Ab accusatione priore qua sc objicitur nos esse peccatores sola fide justificamur qua Christi gratiam justitiam amplectimur à posteriore qua objicitur nos esse infideles justificamur etiam operibus quatenus iis Fides N. B. ostenditur This seems to be in effect the same with that of Maccovius Conciliationem hîc inter Paulum Jacobum hanc ponunt Theologi quidem ex Scriptura sola Fides nos justificat apprehensivè opera declarativè 2. To speak properly they are not I think two distinct Accusations For to omit this That to be Infideles is to be Peccatores and so the one Accusation doth include the other To omit this I say the latter Accusation is but a re-inforcing of the former Thou art a Sinner saith the Accuser and therefore to be condemned Not so saith the Party accused for I am a Believer and therefore justified Hereupon the Accuser replies Nay it is not so as thou pretendest thou art indeed no Believer therefore the guilt of thy sins is upon thee and thou art under condemnation All this is but one Accusation prosecuted and confirmed against a Plea made against it If they were distinct Accusations tâ—en we might be freed from the one and yet be condemned by the other but it is here quite otherwise For the force of the former Accusation doth depend upon the latter neither are we freed from the former except we be freed from the latter whereas you seem to carry it so as if we were first justified from the former Accusation and then were again to be justified from the latter this seems to be the result of your Opinion 1. Because I grant Faith to be required of us that so Christ's Righteousness may become ours do I therefore make Faith it self to be our Righteousness viz. that whereby we are fully justified A part of Inherent Righteousness I grant Faith is by which we may be justified in some measure but that is not the justification here enquired of 2. You should not put me to prove That your Assertion is without Scripture it is sufficient for me to say it until you alledge Scripture for it 3. Christ's Satisfaction is solely and wholly our Righteousness whereby we are justified from all Condemnation though except we believe in him we cannot enjoy that benefit by him See 2 Cor. 5. ult and Acts 13. 39. 4. The New Covenant doth hold out unto us Christ's Righteousness to be made ours by Faith that so we may be freed from the Condemnation of the Old Covenant to which Condemnation we are left if we believe not and our Condemnation will be so much the sorer by how much the sin in neglecting so great Salvation is the greater 5. I confess indeed that there is more than Faith in the Condition of the New Covenant but not as to Justification For that which you add James saith We are justified by Works and Christ by our Words the question is not Whether we be said to be justified by our Works or Words but how and in what sense we are said to be so justified There is a Particular Justification and a Declarative Justification thus we are justified by our Works and Words but a full and formal Justification is only by Christ's Righteousness through Faith imputed unto us 6. To say That we are healed partly by the Medicine and partly by the Application I still think to be improper neither do you bring any thing whereby to shew the propriety of it The Application of the Medicine is indeed requisite yet it is the Medicine properly that doth heal though not except there be an Application of it Common Speech is not always Proper Speech neither can any that are acquainted with Scripture and know how to distinguish between Proper and Improper Speeches think it strange that there are improper Speeches found in Scripture What will you say of those This is my Body The Rock was Christ and a hundred such-like For Rules of Logick if you had made use of any I might have considered of them 7. May not a Similitude illustrate though there be such a difference as you speak of betwixt that from which it is fetched and that to which it is applied But why do you joyn Repentance and Obedience with Faith in point of Justification I speaking only of Faith and you as yet having said nothing for the joint interest of the other 8. In your Aphorisms you plainly assert two distinct Righteousnesses as requisite unto Justification that there you make them
that either comment upon them or have occasion to treat of them Dicitur ex operibus saith Calvin fuisse perfecta non quòd inde suam perfectionem accipiat sed quòd vera esse inde comprobetur So Beza Hoc igitur inquit ad declarationem quoque pertinet Fides enim eo perfectior dicitur quo pleniùs perspecta est ac cognita quo efficaciùs vires suas exerit quae prius non ita apparebant Fulke doth cite Beda thus expounding it His Faith was perfected by his Deeds that is by perfect execution of Works it was proved to be in his Heart Thus also Lud de Dieu Quatenus bona opera vitam fidei ejusque vim efficaciam sinceritatem produnt adeoque eam illustrant exornant rectè dicuntur persectio Fider And so Polanus Fides justificans perficitur ex bonis operibus non quoad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seu essentiam constitutionem suam sed quatenus per ea firmatur manifestatur comprobatur sicut res aliqua tum fieri dicitur quum patefit And he cites the Interlineary Gloss upon Jam. 2. Per opera fides est augmentata comprobata And Lyra Et ex operibus fides consummata est Habitus enim firmatur manifestatur per opera Et similiter magnitudo fidei Abrahae apparuit ex ejus obedientiae offerendo filium propter quod dictum fuit sibi 〈◊〉 Domino Nunc cognori c. Thus also Mr. Ball Faith is perfected by Works not that the Nature of Faith receiveth complement or perfection from Works but because it doth declare and manifest it self by Love and good Works and is esteemed so much the more perfect as the Works produced are the more excellent To illustrate this I used also the Similitude of a Tree the goodness of whose Fruit doth but manifest the goodness of it and so the power of Faith doth but appear by its fruits viz. Works You say that Faith is really perfected by Works as a Tree is by bearing fruit But as our Saviour saith a Tree is known by his Fruit. The Fruit doth not make the Tree good but only shew it to be so And this very Similitude have Learned Divines used to this purpose Beza immediately after the words before cited adds Vt si dicatur alicujus arboris bonitas tum fuisse perfecta quum optimum aliquem frractum edidit Nam quia de causa judicamus ex effectus videtur quodammodo caâ—sâ— vis vel minuâ— vel augeri ex effectorum proportione Sed hoc ex effectis intelligitur quidem astimatur non autem emanat So Mr. Ball How then saith the Apostle that Faith is perfected by Works As we judg of the Cause by the Effects and by the proportion of the Effects the efficacy and force of the Cause may seem to be increased or diminished Every thing is acknowledged to be perfect when it worketh and is esteemed so much the more perfect by how much the more it worketh As we say the goodness of a Tree is perfect when it hath brought forth some excellent good Fruit. Thus Philosophers teach That the Form is not perfect when it is considered as the first Act but when it is taken as the second Act for by working it putteth forth its force and declareth it self And so Faith is perfected by Works c. as before cited You say also That Faith is really perfected by Works as a Covenant or Promise is by Performance But the Performance doth only manifest the perfection of a Covenant or Promise It is a perfect Covenant or Promise as soon as it is made if it be made sincerely and without guile though it appears more fully to be so when it is performed Again you say That Faith is really perfected by Works as it hath naturam medii viz. Conditionis to the Continuation and Consummation of Justification But you have not yet proved That there is any other Condition of Justification as Continued and Consummated than of Justification as Begun Apprehensio illa fidei habet fluxum suum continuum c. saith Rivet Quod continuum beneficium fide apprehensum si secundam Justificationem appellare velint adversarii imò tertiam quartam quintam millesimam non repugnamus dummodo constet nullâ alia ratione N. B. nos justificari à peccatis sequentibus quà m câ quâ semel justificati fuimus à precedentibus St. James doth not speak of Works perfecting Faith more to the continuing and consummating of Justification than to the beginning of it For which must ever be remembred he speaks of Faith as apta nata operari and such a Faith is requisite that we may be justified as well at first as afterward Otherwise Works neither at first nor afterward do concur with Faith to our Justification A preparation or promptitude of Heart saith Mr. Ball to good Works is an effect of Faith as immediate as Justification And again Faith doth not begin to apprehend Life and leave the accomplishment to Works but doth rest upon the Promise of Life until we come to enjoy it Yet again you say That Faith is really perfected by Works as Works are a part of that necessary Matter not necessary at the first moment of Believing but necessary afterward when we are called to it whereby we are justified against the Charge of non-performance of the New-Covenants Condition even against the Charge of being an Unbeliever or an Hypocrite But all this proves not that Works give any perfection to Faith but only that they shew the perfection i.e. the sincerity force and efficacy of it Works may manifest a Man to be no Unbeliever or Hypocrite but it is his Faith which being unfained doth indeed make him to be no Unbeliever or Hypocrite All therefore that you have said makes nothing against my interpretation of those words Jam. 2. 22. And by Works was Faith made perfect 7. Your self deny necessitatem praesentiae operum in respect of our being justified at first And for the Conducibility of Works to the effect of Justification James speaketh not of it but only shews that Justifying Faith is not without Works viz. when God doth call for them He shews that Justifying-Faith is a Working-Faith a Faith ready to Work when occasion doth require But that Works do therefore conduce unto Justification as well as Faith he doth not shew neither doth this any way follow upon the other A Working-Faith is the Condition of Justification i.e. Faith which is of such a nature as to bring forth the Fruit of good Works in due season yet are we not therefore justified by Works as well as by Faith For we are justified by Faith only apprehending Christ and his Righteousness though the same Faith that doth this will also produce good Works as Abraham's Faith did That Works do justifie the Faith but not the Person
though I use not to speak so yet I think may be said without any implication of Contradiction It is true Justificatio causae est etiam Justificatio personae non simpliciter absolutè sed quoad istam causam but they that use that distinction mean I think only this that Works shew Faith to be sound and good yet it is Faith and not Works by which a Man is simply and absolutely justified Do not I pray here lay hold on the word absolutely it is referred to the word justified not to the word Faith I do not say That Faith absolutely considered doth justifie no it doth justifie as it is considered relatively Faith i.e. Christ apprehended by Faith is that whereby we are absolutely justified Though Works may justifie against the Accusation of being a final non-performer of the Condition so I would say not Conditions in respect of the Justification of which we speak of the New Covenant yet do they not therefore simply and absolutely justifie but only against that Accusation shewing that a Man did perform the Condition viz. believe and so is simply and absolutely justified not by Works which do but only declare him to be so but by Faith as the Condition or Instrument for I will use the terms promiscuously as others do of Justification Faith doth not justifie as Working i.e. as bringing forth the Fruit of good Works your self deny this in respect of our Justification at first yet Faith doth not justifie except it be of a Working-Nature i.e. of such a Nature as to work when God calls for it More than this cannot be inferred from Jam. 24. as is clear by the Context 1. All Works if good are Works of the Law viz. the Moral Law which as I said in the Animadversions is the eternal Rule of Righteousness And of that Law the Apostle speaks when he excludes Works from Justification as appears by his Reasons which he useth for proof of his Assertion Rom. 3. 20. Gal. 3. 10. Evangelii inquit Maccovius nulla sunt opera bona distincta à Lege formaliter Adversarii cum urgentur ex operibus legis non justificari hominem admittunt hoc dicunt ita quidem esse sed non proinde non justificari operibus Evangelii Hinc distinguunt inter opera Legis Evangelii Sed si obtineat hac distinctio tum utique dabuntur etiam peccata quae committuntur in Doctrinam Evangelii Non ergo erit adaequarâ—a definitio peccati quam dat Spiritus Sanctus 1 Joh. 3. 4. quòd peccatum sit Legis transgressio At Evangelium distinguitur à Lege Certè interim Evangelii Doctrinae praecipitur Lege Nam Deus postulat ut Evangelio credamus c. So Pemble Nor yet saith he hath this Distinction viz. Works of the Law and Works of the Gospel any ground in Scripture or in Reason For both tell us That the Works commanded in the Law and Works commanded in the Gospel are one and the same for the substance of them What Work can be named that is enjoyned us in the New Testament which is not commanded us in that summary Precept of the Moral Law Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul c. What is there against the Gospel which is not a transgression of the Law You will say It doth not command Faith in Christ I answer Yea it doth For that which commands us in general to believe what-ever God shall propose unto us commands us also to believe in Christ as soon as God shall make known that it is his Will we should believe in him The Gospel discovers to us the Object the Law commands us the obedience of believing it The Moral Law may be said to be a part of the New Covenant as it requireth that they which have believed be careful to maintain good works Tit. 3. 8 14. and to walk circumspectly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accuratè i. e. quam proximè ad Legis Dei praecepta as Beza doth well expound it Ephes 5. 15. But this is far and very far too from proving Works to have a co-interest with Faith in the effect of justifying For your Reasons why the Apostle doth not exclude all Works absolutely from Justification I see no strength in them and therefore I answer Ad 1. That which you call Justification against the Accusation of final Unbelief is indeed Justification against the Accusation of Transgressing the whole Law For that Accusation being only made void by Faith where there is final Unbelief there that Accusation hath its full force Besides though the Accusation of final Unbelief may be proved to be false by Works yet Works upon this account do no otherwise justifie than by manifesting a Man's Faith by which Faith indeed and not by Works he is justified Ad 2. So also that Justification which James speaketh of is against a true Charge and the same with Remission of sins as well as that which Paul doth speak of For can they that have but a dead Faith be justified against a true Charge and have their sins remitted Surely it must be a Living and a Working Faith such as James doth require can work that Effect Justification against a false Accusation is but such a Justification as the worst of Men and the Devils themselves are capable of Nemo enim iniquus adco as Bradshaw speaketh aut injustus dari potest qui falsò accusari consequenter etiam eatenus merito justificari non possit Indeed Justification aginst the Accusation of final Unbelief is by consequence a Justification against all Accusations because Faith is the Condition and Instrument of Universal Justification But hence it follows that we are justified universally by Faith and not by Works which are only an Argument à posteriori of Faith and so of Justification Ad 3. All Works that have a co-interest with Faith in Justification are Competitors with Christ or Copartners with him so that Justification must be partly by the Righteousness of Christ through Faith and partly by Works Ad 4. As the Righteousness of Christ is freely given or imputed at first upon condition of Faith so is the free gift and imputation of it still continued upon the same condition of Faith which Faith both when Justification is first begun and when it is continued must be a Working-Faith i. e. ready to work as occasion doth require If our Divines affirm That the Apostle speaking against Justification by Works means in point of merit as you say you could bring multitudes of them to this purpose surely it is because they know no other Justification by Works but that which doth presuppose Works to be meritorious Hear one whom I and so I presume you also take for a good Divine viz. Mr. Blake This Justification saith he wrought freely by Grace through Faith Rom. 3. 24. is no way consistent
Christ apprehended and received by Faith justifieth not Faith whereby it is apprehended and received unless it be by an improper speech whereby the Act of the Object by reason of the near and strict connexion betwixt them is given to the Instrument 3. What you have said before about Works perfecting Faith hath been considered Though Faith may save without manifestation yet not except it be of that nature as to manifest it self by Works when God doth call for them You say Works do perfect Faith ut Medium Conditio you mean of Justification but that Works are Medium Conditio Justificationis you do not prove The Tree and its Fruit are considered as distinct ut Causa Effectum non ut Totum Pars and so the perfection of the Tree is only manifested by its Fruit. It is not therefore a good Tree because it beareth good Fruit but it therefore beareth good Fruit because it is a good Tree For the Third If Procreation as you grant do not perfect Marriage in its Essence then it adds only an accidental perfection unto it 4. Your Explication is indeed now more full so that I can better see your meaning yet still I am unsatisfied For I do not conceive that Faith properly is our Covenant but that whereby we embrace God's Covenant Though a Covenant differ from a Promise yet it doth include a Promise Now a Promise is de futuro so that our reciprocal Promise both of Faith and Obedience I take to be our Covenant Faith is in part the matter of the Covenant but not properly the Covenant it self and perhaps when you call it our Covenant you only mean that it is the matter of our Covenant I being there the Respondent it was sufficient for me to deny the proof did lie upon you Yet nevertheless the Assertion viz. Faith alone is the Condition of the Covenant for so much as concerns Justification is sufficiently proved by those places where we are said to be justified by Faith and that without Works viz. as concurring with Faith unto Justification And for the reason of the Assertion viz. because Faith alone doth apprehend Christ's Righteousness much hath been said of it before What do our Divines more inculcate than this Wotton saith that only Faith doth justifie Quia solâ— fide rectà in Christum tendimâ— promissiones Dei de justificatione amplectimur De Reconcil Part 1. lib. 2. cap. 18. Amesius saith Dolor ac detestatio peccati non potest â—sse causa justificans quia non habet vim a plicandi nobis justitiam Christi Contra Bellar. tom 4. lib. 5. cap. 4. Sect. 5. So Bucanus Fides inquit sola justificat quia ipsa est unicum instrumentum unica facultas in nobis quâ recipimus justitiam Christi Loc. 31. ad Qâ—â—st 37. Thus also Mr. Ball By Repentance we know our selves we feel our selves we hunger and thirst after Grace but the hand which we stretch forth to receive it is Faith alone c. And a little after When therefore Justification and Life is said to be by Faith it is manifestly signified That Faith receiving the Promise doth receive Righteousness and Life freely promised You your self do sometimes say That Faith hath in it an aptitude to justifie in this respect only you deny that this aptitude of Faith is sufficient and say that therefore it doth justifie because God in his Covenant hath made it the Condition of Justification Now I also grant That if Faith were not ordained to that end of God its bare aptitude or its being that whereby we apprehend Christ would not justifie Yet I say it appear by Scripture That because Faith alone hath this aptitude to justifie viz. by apprehending Christ therefore God hath made it alone the Condition of Justification This appears in that we are said to be justified by Believing in or on Christ which imports an apprehending and receiving of him Joh. 1. 12. 2. Repentance doth avail with Faith yet are we justified only by Faith and not by Repentance and that for the reason even now alledged viz. because not Repentance but Faith is the Hand by which Christ is received 3. Though Remission of Sins be ordinarily ascribed to Repentance yet it is no where said That Repentance is imputed unto us for Righteousness as it is said of Faith Repentance in some sense is precedaneous to Justification Justifying Faith doth presuppose Repentance yet Faith and not Repentance iâ— made the Condition and Instrument of Justification as being that which doth apprehend the Righteousness of Christ by which we are justified 4. That though Faith only be the Condition of Justification at first yet Obedience also is a Condition afterward is often said but never proved I take Justification both at first and afterward to be by the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us therefore not by Obedience but by Faith by which alone we apprehend the Righteousness of Christ that so it may be ours unto Justification Certainly that was not the beginning of Abraham's Justification which is mentioned Gen. 15. 6. Yet by that doth the Apostle prove that Abraham was and all must be justified not by Obedience but by Faith only 1. Faith apt to produce good Works is necessary to procure that first change which makes us in God's account Justos ex Injustis For if it be not such a Faith it is dead and of no force 2. I hope you will not deny but that being justified by Believing every after Act of Faith doth find us justified for you are against the Amission and Intercision of Justification Yet I confess That the continuance of Faith is necessary to the continuance of Justification So it must needs be seeing we are justified by Faith therefore every Act of Faith may be said to justifie as well as the first Act because by after-Acts of Faith we continue justified Nihil erit absurdi inquit Rivetus si dicamus in quâ—libet verae fidei actu imputari justitiam credenti Etsi enim justificatio sit actus momentaneus cujus nunquam planè amittitur effectus in piis qui semel justificatâ— sunt indigent nihilominùs renovatione sensus justificationis suae qui sensus fit per fidem tunc dicitur etiam fides imputarâ— ad justitiam Nam apprehensio illâ— fides habet fluxum suum continuum secundùm plus minus praesertim cum fidelis si justificatus subinde in peccata incidat propter quae opus etiam habet remissione peccatorum Quod continuum beneficirum fide apprehensum si secundam justificationem appellare velâ—â—t adversarii imò tertiam quaâ—tam quintam millesimam non repugnabimus dummodo constet nullâ— alià ratione nos justificari à peccatis sequentibus quà m 〈◊〉 quâ— semel justificati futmus à praecedentibus Works therefore do not concur with Faith unto Justification no more afterward than at first 3. Your reasons whereby you endeavour to
confute this Assertion As our Justification is begun so it is continued viz. by Faith only and not by Works as concurrent with Faith unto Justification afterward though not at first seem to be of no force I answer therefore Ad 1. How do I contradict it by saying As it is begun so it is continued by Faith What though there be divers Acts of Faith yet still it is Faith and Faith without the concurrence of Works by which we are justified as well afterward as at first which is all that I assert Because a continued Act of Faith is requisite to the Continuation of Justification doth it therefore follow that Works have a co-interest with Faith in the effect of Justifying Ad 2. Do you think Repentance only requisite to the Continuation of Justification and not also to the Inchoation of it Ad 3. We are not to measure God's Covenant by Humane Covenants God's Covenant doth reach further than to Justification and more may be requisite for the enjoyment of those benefits which belong unto Justified Persons than is requisite unto Justification Your Similitudes are no Proofs and you still suppose that there is one Condition of Justification at first and another Condition thereof afterwards that though at first we are justified only by Faith yet afterward by Faith and Works But though Works are required of Justified Persons as Fruits of that Faith whereby they are justified yet they do not therefore concur with Faith unto Justification which as it is begun by Faith only so is it also continued Your self observe That Abraham's Believing mentioned Gen. 15. was not his first Act of Faith So then he was justified before by Faith and so was be also afterward even by Faith only as the Apostle from that very place doth prove Rom. 4. Therefore by Faith without Works viz. as having a co-partnership with Faith in Justifying Abraham was justified both at first and afterward 1. Do you think that Abraham was justified from the guilt of those many sins which he committed after his first Justification by his Works Credat Judâ—â—â— for my part I cannot but detest such Doctrine I know no way whereby he could be justified from those sins but by Faith in Christ even as he was at first justified Besides as I noted before and that as acknowledged by your self Abraham was justified before he produced that Act of Faith spoken of Gen. 15. and in the interim no doubt he committed some sins yet still by Faith and not by Works as Paul sheweth he was justified 2. You do but still affirm without any proof at all That Abraham's Justification could not be continued by the same means viz. by Faith alone works not concurring with it unto Justification as it was begun 3. For Sentential Justification at the Last Judgment I have said enough before Bucan having said that Abraham was Justified operibus tanquam testimontis Justificatienis Adds Quomodo etiam Deus dicitur in extremo illo die justificaturus electos suos ex ipsorum operibus And again Fides principium existentiae facit ut simus justi Opera autem ut principium cognitionis faciunt ut cognoscamur justi Ideò Deus in extremo die proponet principium cognitionis justitiae fides quod incurret in oculos omnium creaturarum 4. I think the Argument is good and sound Christ's Righteousness whereby we are justified is an everlasting Righteousness therefore our Justification is an everlasting Justification This alwayes presupposed That this Righteousness of Christ be apprehended by Faith for otherwise there is no being justified at all by it 1. To be just quoad praestationem Conditionis is but to be just in some respect and in some respect just even the most unjust may be Yet it is true This praestatio Conditionis will be of force to procure Universal Justification not that it is it self the Righteousness by which we are justified but only the Means whereby we are made Partakers of the Righteousness of Christ and so by his Righteousness are universally justified And though this performing of the Condition be required unto Justification yet nevertheless that remains good which I said in the Animadversions If we be fully freed from the accusation of the Law we are fully justified For can we be fully freed from the Accusation of the Law except we perform the Condition required in the Gospel And if we be fully freed from the Accusation of the Law will the Gospel accuse us It is the Law that worketh Wrath Rom. 4. 15. The Gospel doth free from Wrath though not without performing the Condition for then it suffereth the Law to have its force and to inflict Wrath and that so much the more in that so great a benefit was neglected 2. The performing of a Condition as the Condition is a Duty is a Righteousness but such as cannot justifie as we now speak of Justification But as the Condition is meerly a Condition the performing of it is not properly Righteousness though by it we partake of Righteousness viz. the Righteousness of Christ by which we are justified 3. Therefore this is no contradiction to grant Faith to be the Condition of Justification and yet to deny it to be the Righteousness by which we are justified That which you think to be most clear Vignerius before cited thought most absurd An possibile est inquit ut sit Fides Instrumentum accipiendae justitia seu Conditio ad obtinendam justitiam requisita si ita loqui libeat simul sit ipsa quam quaerimus justitia Indeed you seem but to strive about words for here immediately you confess That it is but a Subordinate Righteousness meaning I think that which all acknowledg that it is but a means whereby to partake of Christ's Righteousness And you that charge others with Self-Contradiction seem not to agree with your self For here presently after you say This Personal Righteousness praestitae conditionis N. T. must be had before we can have that which freeth us from the Law yet elsewhere your Expressions are such as if being first justified from the Accusation of the Law by the Righteousness of Christ we should after be justified from the Accusation of the Gospel by Personal Righteousness However as I have said before this latter Accusation is but a further prosecution and confirmation of the former by taking away the Plea that some might make why the Accusation of the Law should not stand good and be of force to condemn them 4. Of what force is Satans Accusation against any if be cannot make good his Accusation so as to procure his Condemnation And are not Unbelievers and Rebels against Christ condemned by the Law Is it not for sin that they are condemned And is there any sin which is not against the Law The Gospel indeed may aggravate Sin and increase Condemnation and so those words which you cite The words which I speak shall judg you
c. may be understood as those are more clearly to the purpose Joh. 15. 22. If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin viz. in so high degree as it follows but now they have no cloak for their sin But still it is by the Law that all sinners are convinced and condemned As for Righteousness whereby one is justified from a false Accusation it is but such as the Devil himself may have as hath been noted before though Faith be of force to take off all Satan's Accusations whatsoever And when Satan doth accuse any of not performing the Condition of the Gospel he doth but only shew that such stand guilty by the Law and so are to be condemned as having no benefit of the Gospel because they have not performed the Condition of it So that still it is the Law by which Satan doth accuse and bring to condemnation But by the way I observe That in this place of your Aphor. p. 308. you say That Rom. 3. 28. and 4. 2 3 14 15 16. Paul concludeth that neither Faith nor Works is the Righteousness which we must plead against the Accusation of the Law but the Righteousness which is by Faith i. e. Christ's Righteousness Yet before in this Writing you stand upon the very Letter of the Text and will have it to prove That Faith it self properly taken is our Righteousness If you say that you mean our Evangelical Righteousness yet so you agree not with your self in your Aphorisms where you make Paul in those Texts to speak of our Legal Righteousness 1. They against whom James disputed relied on Faith as the Condition of the New Covenant but it was not such a Faith as the New Covenant doth require it was a Faith renuens operari upon that account James confuted them not as if Faith alone without Works though yet a Faith ready to shew it self by Works were not the Condition of Justification 2. I am sorry that Beza's words which I cited and which to me seem very excellent should be so censured by you as if there were I know not how many mistakes in them but truly I think the mistakes will be found to be in your censure To your Exceptions I answer 1. Quis vel ex nostris vel ex Transmarinis Theologis Fidem pro Causa nempe Instrumentali Justificationis non habet 2. Beza ait tu negas Vtri potius assentiendum Quid dico Beza Quis enim istud non dicit Sed hominum authoritate nolo te obruere rationes antè allatae expendantur 3. Affirmes tanthùm non probas Opera à Jacobo stabiliri ut Justificationis Conditiones Media Effecti ut effecti potest esse necessitas ad veritatem causae comprobandam nec aliâ ratione operum necessitas à Jacobo stabilitur neque enim ad justificationem procurandam sed ad eam duntaxat comprobandam tanquam Justificantis Fidei fructus Opera ut necessaria stabiliuntur ut anteâ ex ipsâ Apostoli Argumentatione ostensum est 4. Nec Beza nec alius quisquam quòd sciam distinctionem istam de Justificatione Inchoatâ Justificatione Continuatâ quasi sc alia hujus alia illius esset conditio perspectam habuit Hujus inventionis gloriam ego equidem tibi non invideo 1. Certain it is All Works are not the fulfilling of the Old Law 's Condition but all Works whereby we are justified are the fulfilling of it and therefore as I said in the Animadversions to be justified by Works and to be justified by the Law are with Paul one and the same See Rivet Disp de Fide Justif § 21. the words are before cited 2. We are justified by the New Law against the Accusation of the Old Law Certainly if we be accused of Unbelief and Rebellion against Christ we are accused of being Sinners For are Unbelief and Rebellion against Christ no sins 3. Who doth not so distinguish of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Credere except some few whom I have no mind to follow But how will this Distinction inter quod opus quà opus serve to keep in Obedience as having a joint interest with Faith in Justification What dark Equivocal I pray is this That Faith doth justifie as that whereby we are made Partakers of Christ's Righteousness Your self acknowledges an aptitude in Faith to justifie in this respect and in this respect I say Faith is appointed to be the Condition of Justification I take what you grant viz. That Paul doth not imply Obedience as concurrent with Faith in our first Justification that he doth imply it as concurrent in our Justification afterward you should prove and not content your self with the bare affirming of it Doth not Paul by that Gen. 15. Abraham believed God c. prove that Abraham was justified by Faith without the concurrence of Obedience Yet that was not the first time that Abraham either believed or was justified The truth therefore is Paul implieth Obedience as the Fruit of that Faith which justifieth both at first and last but not as concurring with Faith unto Justification either at first or last 1. There is a necessity of Faith shewing it self by Works that so it may appear to be such a Faith whereby Christ is truly apprehended and received But are Works therefore Copartners with Faith in justifying because only such a Faith doth justifie as doth also produce Works You exclude Works from having any thing to do in our Justification at first yet surely Works must follow as Fruits of that Faith whereby we are at first justified 2. For the Texts alledged that Mat. 12. 37. By thy words thou shalt be justified c. is as plain you say as We are justified by Faith But if it be so plain it may seem wonderful that Bellarmine should never make use of it when he labours to prove That Faith alone doth not justifie which so far as I observe he doth not Nor do the Rhemists on the place take any notice of those words who yet are ready to catch at every thing that may but seem to make for them Yet it seems some of our Romish Adversaries have laid hold on those words But hear how Calvin doth censure them for it Quod autem Papistae ad enervandam fidei justitiam hoc torquent puerile est Certainly all good that we do may justifie quadantemus so far as it is good But can we therefore be simply and absolutely or if you like those terms better fully and perfectly justified either by our Words or Works Those places that require forgiving of others that so God may forgive us shew indeed that it is no true Justifying Faith which doth not as occasion requires manifest it self in that kind but we are not therefore justified as well by forgiving others as by believing nor doth the forgiving of others concur with Faith unto Justification That in 1 John 1. 9. and Acts 3. 19. shews that
Repentance must go before Justification and is required unto Justification but not so as Faith is required Repentance is required that we may be justified but not that we may be justified by it as we are by Faith though Instrumentally and Relatively as it apprehendeth Christ's Righteousness by which we are justified For Prayer it is a Fruit of Faith and therefore called The Prayer of Faith Jam. 5. 15. Repentance saith Mr. Ball Of the Coven c. 3. p. 18. is the Condition of Faith and the Qualification of a Person capable of Salvation but Faith alone is the Cause of Justification and Salvation on our part required And immediately after he adds It is a penitent and petitioning Faith whereby we receive the promises of Mercy but we are not justified partly by Prayer partly by Repentance but by that Faith which stirreth up Godly sorrow for sin and inforceth us to pray for Pardon and Salvation And again Prayer is nothing else but the Stream or River of Faith and an issue of the desire of that which joyfully we believe Of Faith Part 1. Chap. 8. pag. 105. For that place Acts 22. 16. the Exposition which I gave of it in the Animadversions is confirmed by this That the nature of a Sacrament is to signifie and seal as the Apostle shews Rom. 4. 11. Quatenus ergò fidem nostram adjuvat Baptismus inquit Calvinus ut remissionem peccatorum percipiat 〈◊〉 solo Christi sanguine Lavacrum animae vocatur Ita ablutio cujus meminit Lucas non causam designat sed ad sensum Pauli refertur qui symbolo accepto peccata suae esse expiata N. B. melius cognovit Cum testimonium haberet Paulus gratiae Dei jam illi remissa erant peccata Non igitur Baptismo demum ablutus est sed novam gratiae quam adeptus erat confirmationem accepit That Paul's sins were but incompleatly washed away by Faith until he was baptized your Similitudes which are too often your only proofs do not prove Yea a Kings Coronation of which you speak when the Kingdom is hereditary is I think but a confirmation of what was done before The purifying of the Heart spoken of 1 Pet. 1. 22. is I conceive to be understood as Jam. 4. 8. Jer. 4. 14. viz. of purifying from the filth of sin by Sanctification And for 1 Pet. 4. 18. who denies the diligence of the Righteous to be a means of their Salvation But what is that to prove Works to concur with Faith unto Justification 1. I take what you grant That at first believing a Man is justified so fully as that he is acquitted from the guilt of all Sin and from all Condemnation And surely at the last one can have no fuller Justification than this is That afterwards he is acquitted from the guilt of more sins is not to the purpose seeing he is acquitted from all at first and but from all at last though this all be more at last than at first Otherwise the Justification of one who hath fewer sins should not be so full as the Justification of him whose sins are more in number 2. That there is a further Condition of Justification afterward than at first hath been said often but was never yet proved 3. That which you call Sentential Justification viz. at the Last Judgment I hold to be only the manifestation of that Justification which was before That because Obedience is a Condition of Salvation heretofore it is also a Condition of Justification I deny as you see all along in the Animadversions and therefore I thought it enough here to touch that which you say of full Justification especially seeing your self hold Obedience to be no Condition of Justification at first You lay the weight of your 78th Thesis upon the word full which therefore was enough for me to take hold of For your Queries therefore about Sentential Justification at Judgment I have told you my mind before and you might sufficiently understand it by the Animadversions When you prove 1. that Justification at Judgment is a Justification distinct from Justification here and not only a manifestation of it 2. That Justification at Judgment hath the same Conditions with Salvation as taken for the accomplishment of it viz. Glorification And 3. That consequently Obedience is a Condition of Justification at Judgment When you shall prove I say these things I shall see more than yet I do In the mean while besides what hath been said before hear what Bucan saith to this purpose An perficitur justificatio nostra in hâc vitâ In Justificatione quemadmodum judicamur reputamur à Deo justi ita etiam adjudicamur vitae aeternae Ratione igitur decreti divini sententiae ipsius de vitâ aternâ prolatae à Deo judice item ratione justitiae quam imputat nobis Judex Coelestis jam perfecta est justificatio nostra in hâc vitâ nisi quòd in alterâ magis patefacienda N. B. si◠ac revelanda eadem illa justitia imputata arctiûs etiam nobis applicanda Ea tamen tota perficitur in hac vitâ in quâ potest homo dici plenè perfectéque justificatus Filii Dei sumus ergo justificati sed nondum patefactum est quid erimus 1 John 3. 2. At si executionem respicias rationem habeas vitae gloriae quae nobis adjudicatur quae nobis inhaesura est quia in nobis non perficitur in hâc vitâ imperfecta etiam Justificatio in hâc vitâ censeri potest 1. I think there is not the like right of Salvation and Justification but that although we must be saved by Works though not by the Merit of them yet we cannot be justified by Works except it be by the merit of them My reason is Because that whereby we are justified must fully satisfie the Law for it must fully acquit us from all Condemnation which otherwise by the Law will fall upon us This Works cannot do except they be fully conform to the Law and so be meritorious as far forth as the Creature can merit of the Creator But being justified by Faith i.e. by the Righteousness of Christ through Faith imputed to us and so put into a state of Salvation we must yet shew our Faith by our Works which though they be imperfect and so not meritorious yet make way for the full enjoyment of Salvation And me-thinks the Scripture is so frequent and clear in distinguishing betwixt Justification and Salvation as to the full enjoyment of it that it may seem strange that you should so confound them as you do and argue as if there were the same reason of the one as of the other 2. You might easily see that by Via Regni as opposed to Causa Regnandi I meant only to exclude the Merit of Works not to deny Works to be a Means and a Condition required of us for the obtaining of compleat Salvation Salvation is a Chain
consisting of many Links but so is not Justification it is but one Link of that Chain 3. If all the World of Divines be against this That Justification at Judgment is but a Declaration of our Justification here I have hitherto it seems been in some other World For truly so far as I observe both Scripture and Divines usually speak of Justification as we here partake of it As for Justification at Judgment it is but rarely touched either in Scripture or in other Writings Neither so far as I can see will it consist with either to make Justification at Judgment a compleating of our Justification as if before we were but imperfectly justified but rather they shew that our Justification is then fully declared and made manifest and that then we come to the full enjoyment of that benefit which we have right unto by our Justification viz. Glorification For whom he justified them he also glorified Rom. 8. 30. I have spoken enough of this before but you do so continually repeat the same things that I am forced also to repeat things oftner than I would 1. That Justification by Sentence viz. at the Last Judgment and Continued Justification are several kinds of Justification distinct from Justification begun and have several Conditions you continually affirm or suppose but never prove 2. My debate with you was about those words That which we are justified by we are saved by and the full possession or enjoyment of Salvation What your reply is to the purpose I cannot see And besides you had need to clear those words In justifying it is the same thing to give a right to a thing and to give the thing it self For if you mean That as soon as a right to a thing is given by Justification the thing it self also is actually given it appears to me far otherwise For I think that Justification presently gives a right to Glorification For what doth debar from that right but sin Now the guilt of sin is done away by Justification therefore there is a present right too to Glorification yet no present enjoyment of it How I do yeeld your Assertion you do not shew Your Repetitions indeed have been troublesome unto me I grant here more than you desire viz. That not only to morrow there will be Condemnation to him that shall not sincerely obey but even to day there is condemnation to him his Faith being not prompt and ready to bring forth the Fruit of Obedience is not such as doth justifie him at all But though Faith whereby we are justified must and will shew it self by Works yet we are not therefore justified by Works as well as by Faith Paul doth exclud Works as well from Justification afterward as at first viz. as concurring with Faith unto the Effect of Justifying for he shews that Abraham was Justified not only at first but also afterward by Faith and not by Works Rom. 4. 2 3. And James doth require Works as well to Justification at first as afterward viz. as Fruits of that Faith whereby we are justified For otherwise he saith it is a dead Faith ineffectual and unprofitable Though Works do not presently appear upon our first believing yet if they do not appear in due season that Faith doth not justifie Such a Believer doth not cease to be but indeed never was in Christ viz. as a justified Person is in him How is Justification at Judgment a declaring of a Righteousness in question The Word of God the tru◠whereof is unquestionable assures us that all true Believers are justified And that such and such were true Believers God by his Word and Spirit did evidence unto them before though then he will make it more fully evident unto all That Satan shall publickly accuse at the Last Judgment is more than I see either Scripture or Reason for He shall then be judged himself and that in some sort by the Saints 1 Cor. 6. 3. He shall then have little courage to accuse the Saints though now he doth it Yet I question also whether Satan do at any time directly put up unto God any Accusations against the Saints He seems to be called the Accuser of the Brethren Apoc. 12. 10. because by his Instruments he is ever traducing and slandering them He is said to accuse them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before God or in the sight of God not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unto God as the unjust Steward was accused to his Master 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luk. 16. 1. That in Joh 1. 2. seems to be parabolically expressed Satan knows his Accusations against the Saints to be false Therefore he knows it is to little purpose to accuse them unto God Especially at the Last Judgment by the very separating of the Elect from the Reprobate he will see that it is in vain to bring any Accusation against the Elect and therefore how there should then be any such publick Accuser or any question of the Righteousness of the Saints I do not see besides that excepting those who will be found alive at Christ's coming all have received their doom before though not so openly as then they shall That Obedience is a Condition of Glorification not of right unto it but of possession and enjoyment of it I here and every-where confess 1. What mean you by those words Doth Obedience get Faith Doth any such thing follow upon that which I say But you say If Obedience only manifest Faith how then doth it procure Right Answ It is not said That Obedience doth procure right but only thus much is signified That none can have right without Obedience as the Fruit of that Faith by which right is procured As I said before of Works so I say now of keeping the Commandments which doth comprehend in it all good Works it is spoken of only as a Fruit of Faith which Faith indeed doth Instrumentally and Relatively procure Right For the words of James I have said enough before I have neither list nor leisure to repeat the same things continually upon every occasion What your multitude of other Texts is I do not know but if they be not more forced than by my Opinion the words of James are there will be little cause to complain of the forcing of them 2. That Faith without Obedience doth give right at first you grant The same right I hold is still continued only by Faith though Faith if not of such a Nature as to produce Obedience can neither give right at first nor afterward continue it Though Repentance must go before Justification yet Faith alone may justifie and so give right which though it be not the same with Justifying yet it is necessarily joined with it 3. Jus in re I take to be such a Right as from which the Possession it self is not nor can be separated 4. The Text doth not ascribe Jus ad rem to Obedience but only Declarativè as a Fruit of Faith it
places he doth maintain and plead for as without which we must not think to be saved but he speaks in reference to Justification and so he excludes Works even for this very reason because they cannot justifie except they be meritorious and such as that the reward of them is of debt and not of Grace viz. pardoning Grace for otherwise whatever reward the Creator doth bestow upon the Creature it is of Grace Yet it doth not therefore follow that Faith is meritorious because we are justified by Faith For Faith doth justifie Relatively in respect of Christ's Righteousness which it apprehendeth and by which so apprehended we are justified but so Works cannot justifie they must either justifie for their own worth or not at all save only Declaratirè by manifesting our Faith and so our Justification See Mr. Ball of the Coven c. 3. p. 19. c. 6. p. 69 70. 1. The Scriptures do plainly so distinguish as to deny Working that thereby we may be justified Rom. 3. 28. and 4. 5. Yet to asser Working that thereby we may be saved Phil. 2. 12. You will say That the former places speak of Meritorious and Legal Working But 1. All Working which is good is Legal as I have shewed before i.e. according to the Rule and Prescript of the Law even Gospel-Obedience is in that respect Legal And when the Apostle doth exclude the Deeds of the Law from Justification he doth not mean as some take it Deeds done by the Power of the Law without Grace but Deeds which the Law doth prescribe however done For he denies that Abraham was justified by his Works yet doubtless they were not done without Grace The Apostle taketh it as granted That all Works whereby we are justified are meritorious for if there be no meritoriousness in them he supposeth there is no being justified by them For indeed how can Working justifie if there be any defect and failing in it Therefore Faith it self doth not justifie in respect of it self but in respect of Christ whom it apprehendeth See Calvin Inst. lib. 3 cap. 11. § 7. the words were before-cited To your Second I have always denied that there is the same reason of Salvation viz. compleat and Justification and have always held That Justification at Judgment is but a manifestation of our present Justification To your Third None is Reus Poenae except he be Reus Culpae and there is no Reatus Culpae but by transgressing the Law though it may be aggravated and so the other by the Gospel But properly the not-fulfilling of the Condition of the Gospel taking it merely as a Condition and not as a Duty doth not bring a new Guilt but only leaves a Man in the old Guilt with an aggravation of it he having no benefit of the Gospel to free him from his Guilt and being the more deeply guilty in that he neglected the Mercy which he might have obtained 1. Some of your words I confess I do not understand nor can I see what reference they have to mine in the Animadversions But when you speak of Right to Justification and Salvation you seem to mean Sentential Justification at Judgment For else we have here Justification it self and not only a right unto it though we have only a right to Salvation and not Salvation it self I mean in respect of the fulness and perfection of it And though Justification and Salvation flow from the same Covenant yet there is more required unto Salvation than unto Justification by that Covenant and so you also hold in respect of your first Justification 2. You trouble your self more than needs with your Distinctions which as you do use them do but involve the Matter in more obscurity Surely my words of themselves Freedom from all sin in respect of imputation and from all condemnation for sin are far more perspicuous than when you so multiply Distinctions to find out forsooth the meaning of them For 1. Is not Freedom more plain than Liberation though they both signifie the same thing 2. Can there be an Active Liberation without a Passive or a Passive without an Active If God free us are we not freed And if we be freed doth not God free us What need then to distinguish in that manner If freedom relate to God it is Active if to us it is Passive And what difference betwixt Liberation or Freedom viz. from the Imputation of Sin and Condemnation for Sin and Absolution 3. The Reprobate are Condemnati per sententiam Judicis Joh. 3. 18. etiamsi sententiae publica prolatio ejùsque plena executio in ultimum usque diem sit dilata 4. Not only right to Absolution but Absolution it self is perfect to a Believer through Christ Rom. 8. 1. Neither are there any more Conditions of Justification at any time than Faith though more sins be every day committed and so more are to be pardoned yet still Faith as well afterward as at first doth procure the pardon of them without Works as therein concurrent with it Non aliam Justitiam saith Calvin ad finem usque vitae habent fideles quà m quae illic nempe Rom. 4. 2 Cor. 5. describitur 5. Actual Absolution and Judicial per sententiam Judicis is in this life and that perfect though there be not a perfect declaration of it till the Last Judgment 6. When you say Condemnation is not perfect if any at all till the Last Judgment you do in effect question whether there be any Justification till then For if no Condemnation then no Justification But Condemnation I say is perfect here though the Sentence be not publickly pronounced and fully executed till hereafter 7. I do not speak of freedom from all sin as the Antinomians do as if God did see no sin in his Children and they had no sin to be humbled for but I say That God doth not impute sin unto them so as to condemn them for it And so much surely the Scripture doth say if I understand it 2 Cor. 5. 19. Rom. 8. 1. For freedom from future sins I have said enough before 8. The word Justification may be used in sensu Judiciario as I have shewed before and yet Justification at Judgment be but a manifestation of our present Justification Your Quotations out of the Civilians are not against me for I say Sententia Judicis jam lata est etiamsi in extremo demum die plenè publicéque sit revelanda I speak also of an Authoritative Manifestation and therefore your Instance of a Woman manifesting a Felony c. is not to the purpose Obedience as a Fruit of Faith is necessary both necessitate pracepti so that it is sin to omit it and also necessitate medii so that we cannot be saved without it But if it be a Means say you then it is a Condition Well but a Means and a Condition say I of what Of Salvation It is granted Of Justification It is denied neither doth