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A29414
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A Brief account of the state of the differences now depending and agitated about justification, and some other points of religion declaring plainly wherein both sides agree and wherein they differ.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing B4521; ESTC R31279
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7,448
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14
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A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE STATE of the DIFFERENCES Now Depending and Agitated about Justification And some other POINTS of RELIGION Declaring plainly Wherein both Sides AGREE and wherein they DIFFER OONDON Printed for Thomas Cockerill at the Three Legs over-against Stocks-Market MDCXCII A Brief Account of the State of the Differences now depending and agitated about JUSTIFICATION c. I Thought it might much conduce to the service of Truth and Peace to State plainly the Points that are in present Dispute among us For I find many are led to one side and another and yet understand not aright the Grounds of what they do but are led by their Affections animated with Passions and the respect they bear unto mens Persons And in many things I observe the Dispute is about Words when both Sides mean the same Thing Now so far as I can gather both from Discourses and Writings on one Side and the other I shall here set down wherein both Sides agree and wherein they differ If they have declared their minds plainly and sincerely and will stand to their own Assertions and not revoke what they have granted Now the more sober and judicious on both Sides agree in these things 1. Both Sides agree That there is an Eternal Election of a determinate number of Persons to Eternal Life 2. Both Sides agree That all these shall be certainly Called Justified and Saved 3. Both agree That eventually none others shall be Saved though they yield That if any others should Repent and truly Believe they might be Saved which is more than can be supposed of the Fallen Angels And that no Adult Persons do perish merely and only because they are not Elected 4. Both agree That there is no Justification by the Law of Works but by the Righteousness of Christ alone and that not by the Effects of his Righteousness but the Righteousness it self 5. Both agree That there was an Eternal Compact betwixt the Father and the Son in the Covenant of Redemption about man's Salvation A Council of Peace betwixt them both and Antecedent to Christ's Sufferings 6. Both agree That something is required to be done by men in order to their Justification and that they are not merely Passive in it and none are Justified from Eternity but only in the Decree of God nor actually Justified either by the Death or Resurrection of Christ till they actually Believe 7. Both agree That what God requires of man to do it is his Grace that enableth him to do it and the improvement of Nature or common Grace is not sufficient of it self much less Meritorious of special Grace 8. Both agree That whatever Qualifications God worketh in man as they do not Merit Justification neither are they the Righteousness wherein he is Justified before God 9. Both agree That though Justifying Faith is always accompanied with other Graces yet it is Faith alone that doth Justify a Sinner in the sight of God and that not as a moral qualification as other Graces are but as a recipient instrument receiving Christ and his Righteousness as a free gift tendred to Sinners in the Gospel 10. Again both agree That it is Christ's Obedience both Active and Passive that is the meritorious and material cause of Justification and not any Obedience performed by our selves 11. Both agree That the Covenant of Grace is absolute to the Elect tho conditionally administred in the Preaching of the Gospel as He that believeth shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned 12. Both agree That a man is Compleatly justified as to his State at his first Believing and that there is not a second Justification to perfect the first but only declarative at the Day of Judgment and by good Works in this World 13. Both agree That Justification consisteth not only in the Pardon or not imputing of Sin but in the imputing of Christ's Righteousness whereby a Sinner is reputed and accepted as Righteous in the sight of God and so differs from Sanctification by infusing Grace 14. Both Sides agree That no Works men perform are acceptable to God but through Faith and the Mediation of Jesus Christ 15. Both agree That Jesus Christ is the only Mediator of the New Covenant and the Surety of it both on God's Part and Man's and therein doth discharge the Office of a Mediator 16. Both agree That Jesus Christ was without all Sin Holy Harmless and Undefiled and though he had the Sin of all his People imputed to him yet God never looked upon him as formally a sinner as he looks upon wicked men 17. Further both agree That more is required to our compleat Salvation than to our first Justification as in Marriage mutual Consent doth enter Persons into the Married state but many more Duties are required as conditions of the Marriage Covenant to be performed afterwards 18. Both also agree That the Moral Law is still in force as a rule of life to Believers though it is abolish'd as a Covenant of Works so as to live by doing it though done by the special help of God's Grace and that every Transgression doth in its own nature deserve Death still 19. Both agree That some preparatory Work upon the Soul usually goes before Justifying Faith yet that it is not the like in all nor any further necessary than to make the Sinner willing to come to Christ and to accept of him as offered in the Gospel And that a Legal Repentance wrought by the Spirit of Bondage may be before Justifying Faith 20. Both Sides agree That tho no Act of Obedience concurs with Faith in our Justification yet all Justifying Faith contains in it a purpose of Future Obedience and will certainly bring it forth And it 's hoped that both Sides agree to exalt Christ and the freeness of Grace in man's Salvation and Holiness and Righteousness among men and not to expose their present Liberty to Hazard or Religion to Contempt by any passionate heats which are the fruits of the flesh and not that true Zeal which is the grace of the Spirit The Differences wherein they Disagree Which I shall state impartially on both Sides 1. THAT the Gospel is a Law of Grace wherein God as a Soveraign Rector doth dispense Pardon Adoption and all saving Benefits to men according to the Terms of the Moral Law as it is mitigated in Christ and some other Terms of Faith and Repentance required by the Gospel yet not without respect to the Merits of Christ herein which they term a subordinate Righteousness wherein others differ from them and say that this is not a Covenant of Grace but a milder Covenant of Works wherein a man is justified before God by some Works done by himself tho done by the help of Grace and through the Merits of a Mediator are accepted with God For the Apostle speaking of Abraham's Justification Rom. 4.3 mentions none of his Works but saith Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for
hath shewn him 5. Again some say There are no habits of Grace but the influences of the Spirit are instead of them which is a mistake for this denies all Sanctifying of the faculties growth in Grace distinctions of Grace in Believers c. 6. Again some say That the sufferings Christ underwent were not the very same that were threatned in the Law and the damned suffer but only equivalent to them For they say Christ suffered not the loss of God's Image in his Soul as man did as a Punishment for sin To this it 's answer'd This is to say That Christ must become a Sinner that he may save Sinness when if so he could not save them at all Cannot a Surety pay a debt for the discharge of the Debtor unless he become as wicked as it may be the Debtor is Christ was never sick and yet sickness came upon mens bodies as a fruit and punishment of Sin Christ suffered the Idem of that Punishment that was due to man for Sin so far as might consist with the work he came upon which was to Redeem and Restore man And he redeemed man by his Blood and restores him by his Spirit Had he suffered the Loss of God's Image he could not have performed perfect Obedience to the Law he could not have offered up himself a pure Sacrifice for Sin he could not have been a pattern of perfect Holiness to his People But it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren sin only excepted Heb. 2.17 Was man under the Curse of the Law So was he Was man by Sin deprived of the light of God's Countenance So was he for a time Was man to suffer the sence of God's wrath So did he Was man to die and to return to the Earth out of which he was taken So did he So that he suffered the same kind of Punishment that was due to man It 's true his sufferings were not Eternal because he paid the debt to the full which the damned in Hell cannot do and therefore also they despair which Christ never did because he knew he should and could deliver himself which they know they cannot do and therefore despair So that in this there is a Difference 7. Another Difference is about the Moral Law That it doth not remain as it did requiring perfect Obedience and threatning death to every Trangression still Which is judged an error For Christ tells us Mat. 6.18 That heaven and earth shall pass away but not one tittle of the law Luk. 16.17 And that he came not to destroy the law but fulfil it Only there is provision made in the Blood of Christ for the Pardon of sins against the Law to Penitent Believers So that some lower degrees of Obedience are not come in the room of that perfect Obedience which was at first required by the Law 8. That no Believer ought to have respect to any benefit to himself in any Duties he doth perform Which is judged a great mistake For may we not ask that we may have and seek that we may find as our Saviour speaks And look to the recompence of reward as Moses did for what we either do or suffer for God in this World And by the same reason we should not have respect to another's good neither 9. That not only the guilt but the filth of Sin was laid upon Christ That is the obliquity of the very act and the rebellion that is in it against God was charged upon Christ as guilty of it which is judged a very false and blasphemous Error Whereupon they say Christ became odious to his Father and abhorred by him when he Offered up himself a Sacrifice an offering to God of a sweet smelling savor Eph. 5.2 Christ indeed had our sin imputed to him and the sence of God's wrath against sin in his Soul whereby God testified his indignation against sin but not against his Son What was laid upon Christ was done away but the Act of sin was not done away though the guilt of it was 10. That Faith and Repentance are contained in the Moral Law and were written in man's Nature Which is judged a mistake For what was writ in man's heart did respect only the Moral Law or Covenant of Works where there is no mention of the Righteousness of Faith or any admittance of Repentance for sin 11. That the Gospel doth not promise life to Penitent sinners but the Impenitent because the Penitent have life already Which is judged an Opinion contrary to the whole Tenor of the Gospel It offers life to the Impenitent but doth not promise it 12. That the Gospel is nothing else but a Promise Which is judged a great mistake unless taken in a very strict sense For we find many Precepts and Threatnings in it according to which Christ 〈…〉 in executing his Kingly Office in his Church And thereâ—â—â—◠〈…〉 â—â—â—tainly a mistake that for sins against the Gospel men 〈…〉 to the Law for Punishment and shall not be judged by the Gospel at all 13. That a Christian ought not to make 〈…〉 inward Grace or Qualifications to examine his State by Which is judged a greaâ— mistake Doth not the Apostle Paul judge of the Thessalonians Election by their Faith receiving the word with much assurance 1 Thess 1.5 And the Apostle John by love by love to the brethren 1 John 3.14 As a Man's bad state may be judged of by evil habits and qualifications so may not his good state be judged of by good habits and qualifications Especially when made evident in an holy Conversation Doth not our Saviour himself direct us to judge of the Tree by the Fruits Mat. 7.20 And the Apostle of the good state of the Philippians by partaking of his Grace Phil. 1.7 14. That Justifying Faith is a full persuasion of heart that we are Justified Which is another great mistake For the Scripture sets it forth by a coming to Christ receiving him and trusting in him that we may be Justified Gal. 2.16.3.24 15. To give Obedience on the â—â—count of any Law-Sanction is legal Obedience whether new or old Law Which is a mistake and doth exclude all Obedience 16. That there is a work of Sanctification wrought in the Soul before Justification in a sinners first Calling the Apostle saying Rom. 8.30 Whom he called them he justified which is judged an error For calling taken in a strict sence is either the outward Call of the Gospel or the first answer of the Soul of a sinner to this Call in a willingness to leave his former sin and to come to Christ as King Priest and Prophet that he may be Justified and Sanctified by union with him Some other Differences I might mention but these are the Principal Thus for the sake of those that have not time to read long Discourses and cannot comprehend nice distinctions and controversies in Religion I have publish'd this plain Sheet Which I wish may be a Winding-sheet to our late Differences and an Instrument of Truth and Peace and of maintaining that Brotherly Union which hath been long desired and much endeavoured and at last happily effected and in the presence of God and Angels Attested and Solemnized Amen FINIS